[Serialized Novel] "Lute of the North Wind" Episode 51 <Final Episode>

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Episode 51: Lute of the North Wind (2)
"The dragon hole has opened. Daughter of the Dragon People, I leave it to you."
A gust of wind like a tornado blew from the depths of the cave, and Rei hurriedly clutched the wind-harp to her chest. The lid of the "Dragon Secret Chronicles" closed, and it flew up on its own to settle against Rei's chest. Rei had no time to wonder at this, and she closed her eyes against the gale.
The tornado swirled up from beneath Rei's feet, enveloped her in an instant, and vanished while spiraling into the depths of the cave. The dragon hole closed as if absorbed by the vortex, leaving behind a silent darkness in the cave.

What had happened? Rei was tossed about by the sudden event. Her body was swept up by the fierce wind. The sensation of speed as she rode the wind and soared over the earth. The exhilaration of racing through the sky. A forgotten sensation awakened from the depths of her body.
"It's alright."
A muffled voice resonated from within her body to the top of her head.
The figure worshipped as a shrine maiden, lifting the bamboo blinds to gaze at the moon, running in a kimono, giving birth to a child, bestowing the wind-harp upon her daughter, passing through the fires of war, running through fields and mountains, longing for the sky, grieving, laughing, sorrow and joy flowing by. Ah, this is the spiral memory of Himika's DNA, who lived in this land. I am riding the wind and traveling back in time.
As the wind roared, Rei landed on a land of ice. The tornado that had carried her departed high into the heavens.
Before her stood towering twin walls of ice. The blue sky was reflected in them, shimmering. Beams of light poured down in many streaks. Rei was speechless at the divine sight. The depths of her chest grew hot. Surely Himika was shedding tears of nostalgia. Rei walked through the corridor of ice.
In the back, there was a space surrounded by a circular wall of ice. A single giant dragon lay there. Its scales emitted a silver light. Perhaps the wind-harp she held to her chest resonated with the scales, for it played on its own.
"Daughter who carries the blood of the Dragon People. It has been a long time."
The dragon raised its head and gazed at Rei. Rei flinched for a moment, but there was not a shred of terror in the dragon's eyes; there was a look of nostalgia and affection.
"Are you the Dragon of the North Wind?"
"Indeed."
"Is this the valley at the farthest reaches of the north?"
"A valley that once existed, but exists no more. My blade split the earth in two. This place has been called Bering for some time now. It was once called the Valley of the Hinge."
"The junction between the Eurasian continent and the American continent."
"Correct. It is now submerged at the bottom of the sea. The valley reflected in your eyes is a memory of the former valley, a phantom of an old memory that slept with me."
The dragon rose up.
"My strike also wounded the belly of the Southern Dragon. It seems they call that the Fossa Magna. It is all my mistake."
Was the Fossa Magna, said to be the trench of the Japanese archipelago, a wound inflicted by the Northern Dragon in an attempt to calm the raging Southern Dragon? At the Northern Dragon's sorrowful appearance, Rei instinctively played the wind-harp. It was written in the Dragon Secret Chronicles that the body was made of the reverse scales of the Northern and Southern Dragons, and the strings were made of the Northern Dragon's whiskers.
"The wind-harp is similar to a lute, isn't it?"
"Because humans fashioned it in imitation of the wind-harp. Since it is a zither played by the Dragon People, they called it a lute."
Once, dragons and the Dragon People were with humans. Dragons created wind and rain, and governed all things in nature. And on their backs, there were always Dragon People who connected humans and dragons.
"The fact that you have come means you must need my help."
Rei told him what was happening in the sky over Kagamihara. She explained that the "Red Poison Worms," which were mutated "Wind Worms," had capped the sky over Kagamihara, the Wind-Walkers had drastically decreased, and the people were gasping for breath.
"We must hurry. Get on."
The Northern Dragon lowered its head to the ground. Rei climbed onto the dragon's back, clutching the wind-harp.
"Coincidentally, tomorrow is the seventh new moon. If we depart now, we should make it by tomorrow. It is a fitting day to encounter the Southern Dragon and Susa. Let us go."
The Dragon of the North Wind carried Rei on its back, created a tornado from the ice valley, and soared upward.

[July 1st]
Riding on the back of the Dragon of the North Wind, they headed south over the Pacific Ocean. It flew at the speed of a gale, mindful of Rei, who was riding for the first time.
"Can you see? The land of Yamato is in the shape of the Southern Dragon, is it not?"
It took a full day to arrive over Japan. As the Northern Dragon said, the Japanese archipelago is in the shape of a dragon. When viewed from high above, the area around the belly of the lying dragon looks inflamed and red. Is that Kagamihara?
"The land of the mirror is inflamed and red."
The dragon lowered its altitude. As they approached the sky over Kagamihara, it was clear that red scabs were capping the Kagamihara basin.
"Then, let us eat."
The Northern Dragon wiggled its tail and descended, creating wind, and swallowed the Red Poison Worms into its throat as if drinking water. The sky cleared in order from the eastern sky. In the blink of an eye, the red scabs that had covered Kagamihara were swallowed into the dragon's belly. All the while, Rei kept playing the wind-harp. The melody echoed in the sky of Kagamihara as the sound of the wind, "hyuru-hyuru-rururu."
"I must soothe and cool the earth."
Even though it was July, the dragon made powder snow fall. The snow melted and disappeared instantly in the heat of Kagamihara. The Northern Dragon continued to make snow fall until the earth cooled.
"There are other places where Red Poison Worms have occurred."
"Can you tell?"
"If left alone, it will be a repeat of Kagamihara."
The dragon soared and flew east. It also ate the Red Poison Worms in Konan City and Nagato City.
When they returned to Kagamihara, the Northern Dragon dropped Rei off on the base apron.
"I shall vanish. However, the Wind-Walkers are my kin and my avatars. As a Wind-Walker, I will always be by your side."
It looked as if the Northern Dragon smiled at the very end. When it created a gust of wind, the dragon's body split into countless Wind-Walkers, and the newborn Wind-Walkers swam around Rei in circles and scattered into the blue sky.
"Rei, daughter of Himika. Farewell."
The beautiful blue sky of Kagamihara, where transparent fish swim leisurely, had returned.


The press conference would begin soon.
Ryuto looked up at the sky, which remained dark and stagnant, from the hospital room window. In the bed beside him, Jin lay with an eye patch. He had to report the failure of the "Red Scab Cleanup Operation." If the scabs could not be removed, the residents would lose the place they called home. Ikegami and Sakakibara had told him, "You don't have to go out. We will stand in the line of fire," but that was impossible. It was Ryuto who had involved Ikegami and Sakakibara in the operation he had planned. There was no way he would be allowed to run away.
"Tatchi, I'm going."
It was he who had ruined Jin's right eye and taken the Eagle from him. He could not regret it enough.
"The blindness isn't your fault, Ryuto. My own arrogance regarding my dynamic vision made me let my guard down. That's all. Don't misunderstand. The one who led us this far and united everyone's feelings was definitely you, Ryuto."
Ryuto gritted his teeth hard.
"Hey, what is that!"
Ikegami's raspy voice, which had been glaring at the sky, shook the hospital room.
"Oh, the red scabs are disappearing," Sakakibara also rushed to the window.
The hospital room window was long and large. Sagiike also dropped the cigarette he had been holding, pushed Sakakibara aside, and pressed his face to the window.
The sky, which had been ominously reddish-black, was clearing up from the east in the blink of an eye. The room was filled with a commotion. There was a long, thin band shining in rainbow colors in the western sky. It looked as if a rainbow was eating the red scabs.
"Rainbow..." Ryuto muttered.
"It's a rainbow, Tatchi." Ryuto supported Jin's back and helped him up.
"Tatchi, can you see? The Rainbow, the Rainbow did it."
"It's... beautiful."
Jin opened his left eye, which was not covered by bandages, as wide as he could.
"A circumhorizontal arc. The most beautiful rainbow. It's our Rainbow."
The figure of the Northern Dragon shimmering in the sun shone in rainbow colors like a circumhorizontal arc and trailed across the sky of Kagamihara. It was as if the rainbow that weather geeks long for was hanging over the cleared Kagamihara. Rainbow, Ryuto called out in his heart. You are truly a beautiful rainbow of hope.
"A circumhorizontal arc is also called a horizontal rainbow because it extends horizontally. It has a relative called a circumzenithal arc, but it only forms high in the sky in the morning or evening and is short. A circumhorizontal arc is the most beautiful rainbow because it extends for a long time during the day."
Director Takatsuka of the Meteorological Research Institute stood next to Ryuto, who had begun his explanation, and nodded silently.
"What is this, even though it's July? Is that snow?"
Ikegami let out his raspy voice again. The three fierce generals, Sakakibara and Sagiike, were huddled together, biting at the window.
"Wind-flowers calming the heavens, huh?" Ryuto muttered excitedly. "Tatchi, it's just like the oral tradition. Snow is called wind-flowers," he started to say, then realized. "That's right, today is a new moon. 'When the night of the seventh new moon arrives, feather-like snow begins to fall.' It's exactly that."
Snow danced in Kagamihara in July, which had been covered in heat exceeding 40 degrees. The snow fell as if to soothe the earth.
"A rainbow is descending... no, is that a dragon? A rainbow-colored dragon is coming down."
Sakakibara's voice trembled at the unbelievable sight.
The Northern Dragon descended onto the base apron. When Rei got off its back, she hugged the dragon's neck, pressed her forehead against it, and kissed it. Then, the figure of the Rainbow Dragon vanished like a phantom.
"The Rainbow Dragon vanishes into the mirror, huh?"
From the hospital window, he could see Rei spreading her hands toward the sky. She must be playing with the wind fish. As proof, the wind was dancing around in circles.

"Jin!"
Rei rushed in with the wind-harp on her back and hugged Jin in the bed.
"It's just as the Northern Dragon said. Can you not see out of your right eye?"
Rei gently placed her hand on Jin's eye patch. She took a silver crystal bead from her pocket.
"By any chance, is that the Dragon's Jewel? The one that is said to grant any wish?"
When Ryuto asked, Rei nodded. They say it's called a wish-fulfilling jewel.
"Jin, don't you have a bruise on your right chest?"
"How did you know? The doctor said it might have been caused by the wind pressure of the bailout or the impact when I fell from the parachute."
"Actually, it was enough to be a fatal wound. But, they say the Dragon of the South Wind protected you."
Jin wore a puzzled expression. Rei spoke, unable to suppress her excitement.
In ancient times, Susa, the Dragon Person of the South Wind, died after being struck by an arrow in his right chest. The Southern Dragon had continued to regret not being able to protect Susa. Jin was also about to suffer a fatal wound in the same right chest due to the wind pressure of the bailout, but the Southern Dragon protected him.
"Jin, was it? That young man carries the blood of Susa. The blood of the fierce yet gentle Susa. I will heal the wounded right eye in place of my Southern Dragon," it said, and gave him the jewel.
Rei placed the crystal bead over Jin's eye patch. After doing so for a while, the bead vanished. Rei removed Jin's eye patch.
"Try opening your eye."
Jin slowly opened his closed eyelid. Everyone's eyes gathered on Jin. Jin held his left eye and looked around with only his right eye.
"I can see, I can see. Rei, thank you."
Ryuto could no longer hold back his tears. He could not stop the sobbing that welled up.
"I... I couldn't save the sky of Kagamihara... I involved the Self-Defense Forces and many people... I blinded Jin and took the Eagle..."
He could not continue his words.
"That is not true."
Mayor Anpanman, who had been in the corner of the hospital room, stepped forward quietly.
"Originally, it was a problem that we in the administration should have dealt with. We left it all to you, who are nothing more than a researcher. We are the ones who should apologize. You taught us many things. Natural disasters are now emergencies. We must formulate plans for the evacuation of all residents as something that could happen. Kagamihara, a basin, will be hit by red tides in the sky again if we are careless. What to do about that? It is an urgent issue, including artificially creating wind paths. You made us realize such important things. I have nothing but gratitude. Thank you."
The mayor tightened his round face, which looked just like Anpanman, and bowed his head.
"The ones who saved this world, the Kagamihara Crisis, were undoubtedly you three lutes: Ryuto Tenma, Rei Kohada, and Jin Tachihara. As a general in charge of national defense, I express my heartfelt respect to you."
Ikegami, Sakakibara, and Sagiike stood straight and saluted.
Ryuto wiped his tears with his left arm and returned an awkward salute.
"For a long time, there was only me in my world. The schools of fish swimming and trailing in the sky were beautiful, but I couldn't share that excitement with anyone. The ones who changed that were Ryuto and Jin."
Rei stared straight at Ryuto with her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes.
"I will aim to be a meteorological researcher. Like Ryuto, I will aim to be a sky geek."
Outside the window, the blue, shining sky of Kagamihara spread out.
Ikegami opened the window wide.
As if to praise the three lutes, the wind danced in.

<End>