Mount Inari is located southeast of Heian-kyo and is the southernmost of the capital's "Thirty-Six Peaks of Higashiyama." Although one can overlook Heian-kyo from Mount Inari, it is still a considerable distance from the city itself.
At the foot of Mount Inari lies a human village. Many such settlements exist, clinging to the periphery of Heian-kyo, and this is one of them. Situated on a major transportation artery south of the capital, it is usually quite bustling.
"It looks pretty lively here..."
Standing by the side of the street, Miketsu, dressed like a shrine maiden in a white top and crimson hakama, observed the crowd coming and going, nodding slightly. Although the settlement consisted of dilapidated, small wooden huts and thatched houses, there were quite a few people. A wide road ran through the middle of the village from north to south, lined with many open-air vendors. The road was thronged with an endless stream of people: beggars in rags, merchants hawking their wares, laborers with bare torsos carrying heavy loads, and village girls in plain cloth garments walking with a light step. Occasionally, one could see a monk wearing a bamboo hat or a samurai carrying a sword. The true nobles, however, were all escorted by their attendants within ox-carts.
"This is one of the main roads into the capital, so there are always many people coming and going. The people from the shrine usually come here to purchase daily necessities," said the large fox, Tsuruha, who stood half a person's height beside Miketsu.
"Is that so... So if I follow this road, I'll reach the capital of this country?" Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu turned her head and gazed north along the road, as if trying to see the distant Heian-kyo, but it was impossible to see from her current position.
"Lady Uka... does being here bring back any memories?" Tsuruha asked, a hint of hope in her voice, as she watched Miketsu gaze into the distance.
"Hmm... well, nothing yet," Miketsu said, slightly embarrassed, averting her gaze from Tsuruha's.
After being cooped up in the mountain shrine for three consecutive days, Miketsu, feeling she was about to burst from boredom, finally decided to take a walk elsewhere. At first, Tsuruha strongly objected, thinking it was too dangerous for Miketsu to go out without her memories. This time, however, Miketsu had a reason.
"Maybe seeing different places will jog my memory."
Hearing this, Tsuruha couldn't find a reason to object further. And so, accompanied by Tsuruha, Miketsu finally left the shrine and came down to the human village at the foot of the mountain.
"By the way, Tsuruha, there's something I've been wanting to ask," Miketsu said, feeling the need to change the subject away from her memory loss.
"What is it, Lady Uka? As long as it is something Tsuruha knows, I will surely answer."
"Well, it's... are we ghosts?"
"Ghosts? Lady Uka, you are a deity. How could you possibly be such a lowly existence?" Tsuruha was somewhat surprised by Miketsu's question. Why would her own goddess ask such a thing?
"What I mean is, is the nature of a god similar to that of a ghost? Otherwise, why can't all these people see us?" This was something that had been bothering her for a while.
Just like now, although the street was bustling with people, not a single person had noticed her or Tsuruha. Since crossing over to this world, not one person had ever looked her in the eye. Even if she stood right in front of someone, they would completely ignore her, as if she didn't exist.
Besides Tsuruha, the only other beings who could sense her presence were the other foxes on Mount Inari. Although they were very affectionate towards her, they didn't possess the high level of intelligence that Tsuruha did, nor could they speak.
This led Miketsu to wonder if she was in some kind of spiritual state, just like in the movies.
"Regarding the nature of gods, I am not entirely certain, as I am not a god myself." Tsuruha tilted her head and pondered Miketsu's question for a moment before continuing.
"The reason mortals cannot see you, Lady Uka, or me, is because we do not walk upon the same 'realm.'"
"Realm?"
"Yes. As a deity, Lady Uka, you and I, your divine messenger, walk upon the 'divine realm,' while mortals walk upon the 'human realm.' Generally speaking, those who walk in the human realm cannot actively perceive things from other realms." Tsuruha patiently explained to her "amnesiac" goddess.
"Actively perceive? You mean it's not that they can't see us?" Miketsu sharply picked up on the key point in Tsuruha's words.
"Correct. It's not that mortals cannot see us, but that they automatically overlook us, subconsciously ignoring our existence. After all, the Three Realms of the Present World are completely overlapping; they are not independent," Tsuruha continued, introducing a new term.
"The Three Realms of the Present World? So there's another one besides the Divine and human realms?"
"Correct. There is also the 'demon realm,' which is where yokai and spirits dwell."
Afterward, Miketsu learned in detail from Tsuruha about the so-called Three Realms of the Present World. In summary, it was a relatively conceptual idea. The three realms overlapped, and although gods, humans, and demons walked in different realms, they still existed in the same space, but their perception of things from other realms was passively blocked.
There was also a hierarchy among the realms. The divine realm was on top, the human realm in the middle, and the demon realm at the bottom. The divine and demonic beings in the upper and lower realms could perceive things in their own realm as well as in the adjacent human realm. However, mortals in the human realm could only perceive things within their own realm, unable to discern the existence of the divine and demonic realms. This was why Miketsu and Tsuruha could perceive mortals, but mortals could not perceive them.
"Mortals in the human realm can't perceive the other two realms?" Miketsu mused, stroking her chin, feeling that this seemed like a major disadvantage.
"It's not absolute. Under certain conditions, mortals can still see things they aren't supposed to. Additionally, a few mortals born with extraordinary spiritual power possess the ability to actively peer into the other two realms. This is known as 'spiritual vision.' They are usually exorcists among mortals, such as onmyoji or high-ranking monks," Tsuruha continued. Upon hearing the words 'spiritual vision,' Miketsu's brow twitched slightly.
"spiritual vision? Then do I have that ability too?" Miketsu asked curiously, since there was still the demon realm that she couldn't see.
"For a deity of your rank, Lady Uka, the ability of spiritual vision is innate. You need only have the thought and concentrate a little. You don't even need to use any power," Tsuruha explained. She then thought for a moment and added, "However, it's best to keep the things of the demon realm out of sight and out of mind."
"Out of sight and out of mind?" A question mark appeared over Miketsu's head upon hearing Tsuruha's words.
"You can give it a try, but it's best to be mentally prepared first."
Hearing Tsuruha say this, Miketsu decided to try. From their interactions over the past two days, she could see that Tsuruha was extremely loyal to her divine master. Since she wasn't stopping her, it meant there was no danger. Even if Tsuruha knew she was a transmigrator, she wouldn't risk her master's body.
Following Tsuruha's instructions, Miketsu closed her eyes and began to concentrate. She focused her mind, thinking of concepts like 'spiritual vision' or 'to see.' Then, she slowly opened her eyes.
At that moment, another face of this world was revealed before Miketsu's eyes.
The street, once bustling with people, was instantly filled with bizarrely dressed, terrifying and strange "things."
On the ground, there was a severed hand that kept flopping forward, a messy ball of hair rolling about, a cat that was half bone and half flesh, a slowly writhing and twisting mass of meat, and more... In the air, there were skeletons weaving through the crowd, slowly drifting pale blue will-o'-the-wisps, translucent phantoms of indiscernible shape, and more... And in the dark corners of the street, countless eyes glinted.
Such grotesque beings filled the street, their numbers no less than the crowd of people.
They scurried about, passing through the oblivious crowd. A starving beggar didn't know that his entire body was covered in scrawny little demons. An arrogant samurai didn't know that his long sword was entwined with countless twisted, ghostly faces. A vendor selling sake didn't know that a human head was steeping in his wine jar, constantly gulping and spitting out the liquor.
After entering spiritual vision, Miketsu felt as if the sky had dimmed considerably. The surrounding air was permeated with an indescribable, sinister chill, and her ears filled with countless, overlapping whispers.
This was the demon realm, the other side of this world.
"Hiss..."
Seeing the perverse and terrifying scene before her, Miketsu's eyes suddenly widened. Her heart lurched, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Her legs went weak, and she started to fall backward.
Oh no...
Just as Miketsu felt she was about to collapse onto the ground, her lower back leaned against something soft. She instinctively used her hands to support herself on the object behind her, preventing a fall. She looked back and saw that Tsuruha had somehow moved behind her, catching her with her own body.
"Phew... Thank you, Tsuruha..."
Miketsu stood up straight, took a deep breath to calm herself, and then sincerely thanked her divine messenger.
"It is my duty, Lady Uka." As she spoke, Tsuruha glanced at Miketsu's somewhat pale face and continued, "If you wish to close your spiritual vision, you just need to concentrate and have the corresponding thought. If you feel unwell, Lady Uka, you can block out these impure things at any time."
"It's not quite that bad yet..." After initially calming her terror, Miketsu rubbed her temples and said, not immediately closing her spiritual vision.
"Lady Uka..." Tsuruha tilted her head slightly, looking at Miketsu.
"Although... although it's repulsive, this is a truer side of this world. There's no benefit in choosing to escape instead of adapting."
Feeling Tsuruha's gaze, Miketsu organized her thoughts and spoke. Upon hearing her words, Tsuruha actually smiled.
"Even though you've lost your memories, your character hasn't changed, Lady Uka. You are still that same great deity who dares to face everything head-on." Wagging her tail, Tsuruha's tone was exceptionally cheerful, showing how happy she was.
"Haha... is that so..." Hearing Tsuruha's praise, Miketsu looked away from her gratified gaze, slightly embarrassed, while muttering to herself inwardly.
'It's not that I don't want to block out this bunch of ghoulish things, it's that I can't! How am I supposed to concentrate when I'm this scared?!'
Rate on N.U.
