Yokai Encyclopedia: "Tsukuyomi"

Yokai Name: "Tsukuyomi"
Cosplayer: Liz

In a certain era, many onmyoji served in the capital.
Their duty was to command shikigami, exorcise calamities, and quell supernatural occurrences.
The rank of the shikigami one summoned was considered a direct reflection of the onmyoji's own power.

One day, an onmyoji summoned a shikigami.
What appeared was a butterfly.
It was a weak, low-ranking shikigami. Moreover, it had a black, shadow-like appearance.

Seeing this, the other onmyoji openly mocked him.
"What do you intend to exorcise with that?"
"Something like that couldn't even brush away the wind."
The black butterfly was also known as a harbinger of misfortune.
People began to distance themselves from the onmyoji who had summoned such a thing.
Before long, he was all alone.
Not only that, he even began to suffer from childish harassment.
Yet, he would only smile in a troubled way. He never grew angry, nor did he lament; he remained simply gentle.
Even so, the butterfly remained by his side. Flapping its small wings, it stayed close to its lonely master.
The onmyoji loved that butterfly like family.
"Oh, my dear Tsukuyomi. Don't make such a face. Even though you are so strong and beautiful. Thank you for staying by my side."
The voice that spoke these words was soft and quiet.

Eventually, he began taking on tasks alone.
One night, on the outskirts of the capital, a small supernatural entity appeared.
It was nameless and not worth the effort for other onmyoji to fight over.
He headed toward it with Tsukuyomi.
Shadows flickered, and the air grew heavy with presence.
Just as he was about to cast a spell, the butterfly fluttered up.
That was all that happened.
But the next moment, the entity vanished.
He did not understand what had occurred.
Yet, he felt as if something had truly passed through that space.
"...Tsukuyomi?"
He smiled quietly and looked at the butterfly.

When he returned to the capital and spoke of it, he was met only with sneers.
"It was a coincidence."
"Something like that couldn't possibly have any power."
He only nodded gently.
He had no desire to prove it or argue back.
For him, simply being by Tsukuyomi's side was enough.

Even so, he continued to accept tasks.
He exorcised small entities, wandered the nights, and fulfilled his duties all alone.
The harassment did not stop. On the contrary, it increased with each passing day.

It happened one night. As he was heading home, he was surrounded by several onmyoji.
"Are you still at it?"
"Have you no shame?"
"Exorcise that shikigami already."
The words poured down on him. He only smiled in a troubled way.
There was no anger, no tears. He simply stood there, gentle as ever.

A black butterfly rested on his shoulder.
MERE HUMANS
It is weak. It flickers, grows murky, and cannot maintain its form. It touched, received, and accumulated them.
At first, it was only to stay close.
Only for that reason.

But it flowed in without end, filled up, and eventually overflowed.
It is warm. It is soft. Yet, it is heavy.
Those who raised their voices. Those who sneered. Those who rejected. The things that were obstacles were all there.
MERE HUMANS
The black wings spread silently.
It was love. It was certainly love. But it could no longer maintain its form.
It overflowed, spread, and filled everything. Equally. Everything.
--Including its master.
The blackness spread quietly. There was nothing to resist it. Nothing to reject it. It was simply returning to the form it was meant to be.
Before long, nothing remained there. Only one thing. Only that remained.
It does not know. It does not know why its master disappeared. It simply exists. Having forgotten even the name of the one it once loved.

--And thus.
The black butterfly shikigami, having become a great curse, ran wild out of love, devoured even its master, and in the end, with everything lost, it is said that it continued to exist all alone.

Author: No. 55
Cosplayer: Liz
Photo: Doropan