Chapter 32
6. The Unknown God
The light gradually lost its sharpness.
At the sa ti, sothing that shouldn't be heard underground began to be heard.
The rustling of trees.
A cold but not unpleasant breeze brushed against my cheek.
My eyes, dazzled by the light, gradually adjusted and began to reflect the surrounding scenery.
A tranquil mountain path spread out, with lush green trees basking in the gentle afternoon sunlight.
"No way..."
I told myself it was a hallucination, but the temperature of the wind slipping in through my shirt collar and sleeves, the rich scent of water and earth, and the faint sound of birds rustling tree branches—all of it felt vividly real.
The deranged underground lab had vanished without a trace.
"Miyaki"
I looked around, but saw no sign of her.
As I tried to think through the confusion in my mind, I felt a sense of déjà vu from the gentle slope and the winding animal trail.
This is Mount Fudaraku, the place we climbed. But there's no trace of The Silent Voice or the shoddy god statue. Only a forest covering the sky, as if to conceal the mountain itself.
"What is this place...?"
I took a cautious step forward. Even the sensation of my shoe slipping in the muddy ground felt too real to be anything else.
As I walked along the disorienting mountain path, I heard a sound coming from the bushes.
I locked eyes with a skinny boy peeking out from the shadows of the treetops. He wore a washed-out linen kimono that seed out of place in this era.
"Um, excuse ."
The boy looked at , then turned on his heel and started walking down the animal trail as if guiding .
I followed behind him.
As I walked the mountain path, I realized how careless I had been. Speaking to an unknown being in the midst of a supernatural phenonon—what was I thinking?
If Miyaki were here, she would've sighed. But even that was too much to hope for now.
Investigating is no longer the priority. First and foremost, I need to reunite with Miyaki and get out of here.
The boy stopped and pointed to a spot where the bushes had cleared.
It was about halfway up the mountain, where the ruins had been.
I passed him and looked in the direction he indicated—and gasped.
There was a small settlent.
People had gathered in the fields carved out of the wasteland.
Washing farming tools, gazing at the sky, spending ti however they pleased—there were people of all ages, from children to the elderly.
It was a rural village like any other.
Only their clothing varied—from traditional kimonos to modern attire.
On a slope where lotus flowers were faintly budding stood a woman in an incongruous suit. Her stockings were slightly dirtied with soil, and she wore a black ribbon barrette.
The woman spotted and spoke.
"Katagishi-kun?"
"Izawa-san..."
I had forgotten until I ca here—Izawa, my forr boss, was standing right there.
"You're okay?"
"I ended up here."
Izawa gave a vague smile. I rushed toward her without thinking.
"What have you been doing all this ti? What is this place? What's going on with these people and the gods?"
Perhaps overwheld by my intensity, Izawa widened her eyes slightly, then looked down.
"Katagishi-kun, you already understand, don't you?"
The information that had been flooding into my head but left unsorted now raced through . The village on Mount Fudaraku, people in clothes from different eras, the missing Izawa.
"A gathering place for people erased by The Unseen God...?"
Izawa quietly nodded.
So I've been erased too. Probably Miyaki as well.
This must be the fate of everyone who tried to investigate this place. The hunter becos the hunted.
A line from the notebook in the basent flashed through my mind.
Gods are beyond human control.
Izawa gave a soothing smile.
"I'm glad I ca here. I got to see my younger brother again, and there are many people like ."
"How can you say that? This is like a goddamn abduction..."
My voice cracked and wouldn't co out right.
Izawa suddenly looked up.
"Katagishi-kun, there's soone I want you to et."
Izawa took my hand and led across the fields.
The villagers, perhaps used to sudden visitors, only gave indifferent glances.
"Even if Territorial Divine Offenses is unknowable, it's still a god, just like the na says."
Izawa said as we kept walking.
"What supports a god is faith. No matter how harmful or frightening it seems, I think the supernatural events caused by Territorial Divine Offenses happen because there are people who believe in and wish for them."
I couldn't reply.
"That's why..."
Izawa started to say sothing but then paused.
"From here on, it's better if you talk to them yourself. We're here."
Izawa's hand slipped from mine.
A woman stood with her back to .
The woman turned around.
A delicate profile. A beauty mark that made her look sad even when she smiled.
"Daigo..."
I had always rembered the voice that called my na.
"Misaki..."
The face I had never once forgotten was right there.
I couldn't trust my own senses. But the cold fingertips that grasped my unconsciously outstretched hand were undeniably real.
I had always wondered what I would say if I ever saw her again.
"It really is you, Misaki, right?"
Misaki gave a weary smile, as if exasperated, and gently guided my hand to her cheek. There was no mistaking it—she was real.
"Hey, Misaki, I'm sorry."
It felt like a stone was lodged in my throat—I couldn't speak.
"I didn't notice anything. I thought I could just keep going if I ignored it all. I'm sorry it took so long."
Misaki looked back at in silence, her eyes filled with the sa sadness and resignation as always.
"It's too late now, isn't it?"
I couldn't smile properly. Misaki must be the one who wants to cry. She ended up marrying soone like and coming to a place like this.
"That's not it. I'm not angry."
Misaki reached out as if to cradle my face.
"This is the third ti you've co here."
The world fell silent.
Even though the lotus grass swayed behind Misaki and a kite flew overhead, I couldn't hear anything.
"No way..."
Misaki smiled, looking like she might cry, and shook her head.
"There's no way I'd forget you after seeing you again! Then why didn't I stay here? Why did I leave you behind and go back alone?"
She nodded, her head bowed.
"Why..."
I started to speak, then realized. I didn't rember, but if I had left Misaki behind and gone back, there could only be one reason.
Misaki nodded as if she understood.
"Yes. The last ti, and the ti before that, you said you'd solve the problems in my hotown and co back. You said you'd finish everything so I could return."
"What an idiot I am..."
I made that promise twice and forgot it both tis. If not for that anonymous letter, I wouldn't have even found that village. And all that ti, Misaki had been waiting.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I was scared to escape that village and be happy on my own. I was even more scared that you'd hate if I told you. So I ran away."
I held Misaki's hand. I could feel the hard ring on her left hand.
"Misaki, I finally went to your village. I got the children out from underground, reported to the police... it's all over now."
Misaki let go of my hand and wrapped both arms around my neck.
"You did well. Thank you. You really did your best."
"Hey, that ans we can go ho now, right? There's nothing to worry about anymore."
Her damp breath touched my cheek.
"I'm sorry, but I can't anymore."
"Why..."
"I've been here too long. And that god... there's nothing we can do about it. It's always going to be there. Even if I could go ho, I think I'd just end up coming back here, afraid of the villagers and the god."
Misaki's warmth left . She smiled with the sa face I'd seen so many tis in my dreams.
"The god of this mountain only hides people who want to hide. Even if you can go ho, I can't because of that. I'm too weak."
"Then what am I supposed to do? There's nothing left to take care of, you're gone, so how am I supposed to live?"
"If you're alive, you'll manage. Everyone forgets little by little and keeps living with those mories tucked away."
I couldn't even reach out my hand. I shook my head like a child.
"There are probably still lots of villages like my hotown. If you find soone like , will you help them?"
Misaki smiled. I'm sure she sent off like this before, and the ti before that too.
"You're strong, unlike ."
"I'm not strong at all..."
I heard the sound of wind. Beyond the lotus field, I saw a black silhouette like a phantom.
Even if I didn't want to go back, Miyaki felt differently.
I lifted my head.
Misaki nodded as if she understood everything and traced the back of my hand.
"Take care, Daigo."
"See you, Misaki."
At that mont, Misaki smiled with a face completely free of shadows.
"Idiot."
The wind stopped.
The trees rustled.
I stood on the slope where I could see the abandoned station. It was already dark, and the forest covered the sky like a canopy, blending with the surroundings.
"Miyaki!"
When I turned around, Miyaki was standing there as if it were the most natural thing.
"Yes?"
On the rust-colored, torn-up fence, pieces of drawing paper with 'Main Line', 'This Station', and 'Temporary' written on them fluttered. It was the sa scene as when we arrived.
What was I so impatient about?
"It's gotten completely dark. And despite that, we haven't gained anything."
Miyaki stretched.
"Whoa, the dirt here is intense."
The hem of Miyaki's suit was stained with mud. My hands were dirty with dust too, like I'd been cleaning out an old archive.
"Want to wash up? It says hot spring over there."
"We'll get burned. I haven't forgotten what happened this morning."
I gave a wry smile at her cheerful protest.
From the mound of dirt piled over the abandoned tracks, a torii gate jutted out. It was exactly the sa as when we ca.
Nothing had changed, but sothing felt different.
It felt like I'd passed right by sothing important.
We walked down the slope.
Beneath the remnants of the station roof, the enclosure that used to be a footbath was now full of mud and soggy fallen leaves.
"No trace of Territorial Divine Offenses or even the missing persons. Doesn't seem like organized cri either. It's really a case of divine disappearance."
"Co to think of it, there was a village nad Kamikakushi before we ca here."
"That's bad luck."
"Not necessarily."
Miyaki walked beside , shoulder to shoulder.
"Places called Kamikakushi often had many hidden Christians. They say the na ca from a prayer—'Hide us like a god'—so they wouldn't be found by the authorities."
"You know a lot."
A drop fell, even though it wasn't raining.
The water that fell on the back of my hand, as if tracing the lingering warmth of sothing, soaked up the dirt and dust, and left behind a single pure streak that washed the gri away.
"Katagishi..."
Feeling Miyaki's gaze, I touched my face. My cheek was wet. The source of the drop was higher than my cheek.
Miyaki said nothing and gave my shoulder a strong pat, as if to encourage .
"Ow."
I wiped my face over and over and started walking again.
From far up the mountain, a god statue draped in a white veil looked down on us with no sense of reverence.
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