Silver Serpent Singing to the Sea ~39~ Hiruko

Yare, having been pushed off the hill, could not just stay there. Even though he had been thrown down by several people, he was a god, so he did not get hurt.
He immediately created a "path" and connected the shortest distance to the Crystal Palace.
It is normally something one would not do, as it is rude to pass over the heads of high-ranking gods or their mansions, but he could not afford to be concerned with that.

He had heard that she was holed up in the detached palace, so he bypassed all intermediaries and barged into the deepest part of the castle, but he happened to run into Umiwaka just as she was leaving the detached palace to move elsewhere.

"Umiwaka!"

Relief welled up in Yare's chest. Beside her were Seoritsuhime and Sana.

"Yare!"

Sana tried to run over first, but she was staggering under the weight of the "Hatou" she was carrying.

"Just a little while ago, Umiwaka was crying. Utu was amused, saying what a big girl she is."

Seeing the halberd Sana was carrying, Yare was startled and turned his gaze to Umiwaka and Seoritsuhime. In the blink of an eye, he realized that it was the transformed remains of Utu.

"Huh? Are you crying too, Yare? Hey, why is everyone crying today?"

Feeling even more unbearable because of Sana's giggling, Yare came up to Umiwaka and said in a suppressed voice, "I have an urgent matter to discuss."

Umiwaka had been holed up for days without eating or drinking, but perhaps because she was a god, her complexion did not fade. Even so, Seoritsuhime was very worried and arranged cool-looking sweets and drinks on a small table set up on the veranda instead of the dining room.

There, Yare told her about what he had heard and seen—the "measures" that the sea gods had gathered to impose upon Watatsumi.

Seoritsuhime had lost all color in her face, but Umiwaka seemed somewhat detached. As Yare continued to speak, his emotions were thrown into chaos, and he felt impatient with Umiwaka's attitude.

"You don't have to stay here anymore, do you? You could come to my mansion. No, won't you do that?"

"Yare, you are lonely because I am going away, aren't you?"

".........Were you listening to me?"

"Yes."

"If you stay here, all the gods in the 'True Sea' might come swarming in. And that's not all—they're planning to call for reinforcements from 'Takamagahara'."

"And who would come from the heavens, hmm?"

"They're coming to tear you in two. This is no laughing matter."

"............If they demand I take responsibility for killing innocent people, then that is one way to do it. If Amatsuhikone acknowledges it, then it is just."

"What are you saying? There are other ways to take responsibility, aren't there?"

"That is correct."

Seoritsuhime also agrees. What meaning could there be in tearing a body and soul apart other than as a sanction? With the princess on his side, he continued.

"Even for Awanagi-no-kami, going out of his way to bring this matter to 'Takamagahara' suggests he has an ulterior motive. A plan led by such a god..."

"Lord Awanagi has long been obsessed with his standing. Perhaps he intends to use this opportunity to bring the heavenly gods over to his side. Is there any fairness in that?"

"Exactly! That must be it!"

Even though Yarei agrees strongly, Kaiwaka remains evasive. It is as if he has no interest in Awanagi at all. If that is the case—

"Even Amatsuhikone is just holding a grudge!"

"Yarei. He may be stubborn, but he is a man I can trust."

"But he's going too far."

"There were two people I spoke to before I stood in 'Yomi'. The princess and him. .............I asked them. I asked them to ensure that what I must accomplish is fulfilled. I asked them to cut off all paths of retreat so that even if I were no longer myself when I returned, the 'Ryugu' would remain eternal."

Neither Yarei nor Seoritsuhime could find words to respond to that.

"Please tell me......... I know I'm the one squatting in the 'True Sea', but......... why is the 'Ryugu' so important to you! The gods only blame you for what you did for the 'Ryugu', and in the end, the best they can come up with is this reckless act. If your desire to try being human is true, then I believe there must be other ways to live..."

Kaiwaka lifted the glass vessel placed on the table. He held the light purple drink with transparent kuzukiri floating in it with both hands as if it were something precious, gazed at it for a while, and then gently set it back down without taking a sip.

“The reason the ‘Ryugu’ exists in this vast sea is because there is a friend drifting through this vast sea.”

“A friend?”

“His name is Hiruko. My very first friend.”

“Could Hiruko be the first child of Izanagi and Izanami?”

Seoritsuhime asked. It was a name Yarei had never heard before. Hiruko was born between the creator gods Izanagi and Izanami, but because of his deformed body, he was a child placed in a reed boat and cast out into the sea.

“That’s right. Hiruko was an interesting fellow. He might have been a bit like you, Yarei.”

“Like me?”

“He just drifted through the sea. He did nothing.”

“.........I see.”

“He spoke the language of very ancient gods. For a long time after being abandoned, Hiruko’s only conversation partner was his own heart.”

“His heart?”

“It seems that when Hiruko spoke, his heart would answer with a thud. And it seems Hiruko could understand what his heart was saying. I wonder how long one has to be alone to come up with something like that......... But when he met me, he was very happy.”

Wata-tsumi’s eyes were dyed a pale purple, and an iris like the setting sun welled up within them.

“I created the ‘Ryugu.’ I lived with Hiruko for a long time, but he said he would go on a journey again. Hiruko, who had been abandoned and set adrift, was destined never to stay in one place. Just as I must travel back and forth to the underworld. Hiruko said he would return. But the sea is vast, and there are times when I am away. So he would say this: Since the ‘Ryugu’ is the most beautiful place in this sea, if I search for the most beautiful place, I will be able to find my way back.”

That was the beginning of the ‘Ryugu.’ Yarei remembered what Tsukuyomi had said.

—My brother is kind, you know. He says that if he feels sadness, he doesn’t want anyone else, anywhere, to feel the same way. The thing that such a brother reached out and offered to someone wasn’t just a hand, but a world... A paradise of the sea called ‘Ryugu.’

If that was how he had protected the ‘Ryugu’ until this day, Yarei understood why this place had to be a land without sorrow. At the same time, regret washed over him.

—Lord Tsukuyomi was warning me back then. And here I was, blabbering on without thinking......... That insane decision made by those gods was, in a way, half-induced by me.........

I love the 'Ryugu'. If Hiruko comes back, do you think we could be friends?

I'm sure you two would get along.

As Sana and Kaiwaka talked, they sipped their light purple drinks. Their throats moved healthily as they swallowed.

Yarei, you'll be staying here for a while, won't you? Please, won't you stay?

Yarei had never refused a request from Kaiwaka, but he did not say yes.

I feel I have to clean up the mess I made with my slip of the tongue.

There is nothing for you to worry about, Yarei. I am the King of the Sea, and...

He took the 'Hato' from Sana's hand and shook it, causing a swarm of 'wave beasts' to appear.

No matter who comes or by what means, it is not a problem. I said what I said, but I don't have to carry out the decisions of the 'Yaso-morokami' of the sea exactly as they are. I only said I would settle the score.

That's true, you are the Sea God Watatsumi-sama after all... But that doesn't mean there's nothing I can do.

......I understand.

Kaiwaka's dissatisfied expression changed instantly into a smile that seemed to scatter light. Yarei was always drawn to those fickle expressions of his.

For a while, they continued to talk about nothing in particular, and as evening fell, Yarei left the Crystal Palace.

As he was leaving, Seoritsuhime lightly tugged on his sleeve. Yarei, thinking he was about to be scolded for revealing a secret that neither Kaiwaka nor she had spoken of, stiffened in alarm.

What the princess pressed into his hand was a medicine pouch.

I prepared this myself.

For me?

"Yes. I believe in my lord, but I also believe in you."

"Eh...?"

He wondered why she would say that when he had done nothing but commit blunders, but the princess knew what he was about to do.

"Please, I implore you, do not attempt anything reckless that does not suit you..., |Fukafuchi no Mizuyarehana no Kami|."

"No god of 'Takamagahara' can enter the 'Ryugu'."

For the first time, Yare felt proud to be a god of ocean currents.
For one cannot enter the 'Ryugu' at the bottom of the sea without avoiding the "ocean currents." Seoritsu-hime bowed her head silently and departed.

Passing through the elaborately crafted main gate, Yare began to move along the "path."
When he looked back, the 'Ryugu' was enveloped in a dazzling radiance. Despite the fact that the sun was already beginning to set, what a brilliant glow it was.

Yare realized that the true nature of that light was the gold and silver radiance shed by the 'Ryugu' as it melted and faded away.

Although it was he who was moving away on the "path," he felt as if the 'Ryugu' itself was drifting away. It was something he could not take his eyes off of for even a moment, something receding into the distance. Glittering and sparkling...

To be continued

Click here for the previous story ⬜︎ Click here for the next story

真海に降ったのはその名を雷鳴の如く轟かせた神。相対するは深淵之水夜礼花神。その行方は……？