The volume of 'Sending JAU into the world of "Gold: The Borderland" 😛'❣️

"Gold: The Borderland"

Chapter 5: "The Ritual of Twenty" - JAU Edition

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"Gold: The Borderland"

Chapter 5: "The Ritual of Twenty" - JAU Edition

Five years have passed.
And so, the morning of the Ritual of Twenty arrived.

There is a building on top of the mountain.
That place was called Tenkoukan.

The wind was colder than usual, and
that coldness was not just a matter of temperature.

Gathered there are those who have completed the Ritual of Fifteen.
And those who are facing the Ritual of Twenty.

In this country, children born are entrusted to the state within thirty days.
Without crying or choosing, they are raised solely for the sake of the country.

The country raises them, the country educates them, and the country decides their future.

They are given a "color" at the Ritual of Fifteen, and
their "final assignment" is decided at the Ritual of Twenty.

That was the fixed point of life in this country.

Forest
Water
Fire
Moon
Light

The country was divided into five parts.
Roles are determined not by birth, but by aptitude.

But even that aptitude is not decided by human judgment.
Everything is entrusted to the records of the Tenkoukan.

In the center of the hall stands a circular stone.

The moment you touch it, the reactions deep within your body are read.

It is neither emotion nor will.
It is something from a much deeper place, something that has not yet become words.

A color emerges.

That was the person's essence, their nature.

The ritual at fifteen is the beginning,
and the ritual at twenty is the confirmation.

Here, it is not a matter of whether life continues or not,
but where it is fixed that is decided.

The future is not something you choose.
It is something that is defined.

JAU stood before the stone that day.

JAU.

That name still retains a tentative ring to it.

The moment JAU touched the stone, their vision wavered.

Normally, the color would be fixed there.

Fire, water, forest, moon, or light.

But...

The wavering does not fade.

It does not converge into a single point.

It continues to expand as if the world itself is being dismantled.

Silence.

That silence stopped time itself.

The next moment.

Beep. Beep.

With a high-pitched sound, the stone reacted.

It was not luminescence.
It was the sound of the entire recording device forcibly booting up.

Gold.

Golden.

It was.

Not light.

It was a phenomenon close to an excessive output of information.

An abnormal record whose meaning changes depending on the viewer.

The air in the room stopped for an instant.

It looked as if no one was breathing.

The administrator of the Tenkoukan stares at the recording board.

And says in a low voice,

'Boundary reaction... confirmed.'

The voice was cold and unwavering.

A murmur spreads through the surroundings.

But it was not understanding; it was a reflex close to fear.

fafa steps forward.

There is no hesitation in that movement.

It was the walk of someone who had seen the same phenomenon many times before.

"JAU"

After a beat, she continues.

"It is Gold."

In that moment, the air changes.

"Naming..."


"JAU Gold."

fafa announces.

It is an existence that is not dyed by any color.
It exists to find the biases of all nations.

"You are Gold."


Gold is the control authority of an unclassifiable domain that emerges to correct the biases of the world.
An existence that belongs to none of the five nations, permitted only to observe them equally.

Nothing more, nothing less.

That was the meaning of Gold.

JAU was not surprised.

But deep in his chest, a subtle reaction he couldn't explain was born for the first time.

He felt as if the sense of discomfort he had never understood had finally taken shape.

It is not a blessing.

It is not a surprise.

Confirmation.

That was the closest expression.

Gold.

It is...

A name given to things that could not be classified.

An auxiliary authority permitted to reintegrate
the fluctuations that the Tenkoukan could not process.

One in 100,000.

An existence that was once removed from classification and then returned.

fafa pinned a gold badge onto the left side of JAU's chest.

You will pay for the participation prize chip.

A small golden emblem.

JAU does not yet understand.

However, he can tell that only his surroundings are moving at a different speed.

Sounds are delayed, gazes are delayed, and the world itself is slightly out of sync.

They head to their assigned positions to protect their respective countries.

Even though they should have been standing in the same place.

The distance between them is becoming something that can no longer be bridged.

The line of the forest was quiet. The line of the water was soft. The line of the flame was straight. The line of the moon was small. The line of the light was the line of the chosen ones.

Before long, the lines separate completely.

In five directions.

And, within that divergence, no one notices.

That from here on, their lives will change drastically.

JAU remains there once again.

As a Gold.

As an unclassified entity.

And the Tenkoukan declares.

"Travel through each country and know the world, know the note."

It was not an order.

It was the activation of a function.

JAU stands there, still unable to comprehend while hearing those words.

But they certainly felt it.

That they could no longer return to where they came from.

That the world had quietly begun to move.

(JAU Arc Episode 5 End)

*This is the 💁‍♀️JAU arc.
Some parts have been cut for readability.

The main story is here 💁‍♀️

Click here for Gold Magazine
noter Yurari (Gold | The Borderland)🪶

JAU-san.
Yurari previously received a tip🌸 from fafa-san's cherry blossom viewing image.
This time, please make the payment💸🙇‍♀️. Hehe🤭

I couldn't choose between either, so I thought it would be difficult to participate.
But I thought, in this form, maybe I can participate in my own way.🤭
I would be happy if I could contribute even a little to the excitement of the project🌸

#noteRecommendationDerby