I turned fifteen.
The time had come, that was all there was to it.
In other words, I was going to become a sacrifice.
I wanted to run away more than anything, but because of this suffocating environment and the higher being I absolutely could not defeat, that was impossible.
So over the course of five years, I finished preparing myself.
Well, this life had basically just been like overtime in life anyway. Wahaha.
But I still believe there’s a route where I get to live because I’m an 『interesting human』…!
She hasn’t shown herself even once since that summer, but I’m still hoping a little, Sora…!
“Ei… I’m sorry for being such a useless mother…!”
“That’s not true. Thank you, Mom. You too, Dad.”
“…I truly am sorry.”
That was the conversation we had one month before the Karagokoro Festival.
After that, I didn’t speak a single word.
Because that was the rule imposed on the one to be offered as a sacrifice.
The first stage, 『Drawing Out the Dregs of Words』.
Apparently, this was something done to make a person as empty as possible.
If you compare it to cooking, I guess it would be draining the blood.
Even Kenji-san only watched me from a distance and never once spoke to me.
Well, yeah. Obviously. If I failed, there was no telling what Osora-sama would do.
And so I spent one month in silence, and on the August day when the sky was at its bluest, it moved on to the second stage.
That was the ritual being performed now, 『Carving of the Smiling Mask』.
This was a ritual where, while offering up norito, they placed a simple mask shaped like a smiling face over mine.
(TL Note: norito is spiritual chants. Think of it like prayer in a sense.)
If we’re comparing it to cooking, this is probably the heating step.
“Then, from this point onward, the Karagokoro Festival shall begin.”
With the village chief’s words, I walked under the blazing midsummer sun wearing a white robe that looked like the color had been drained out of shrine maiden garments, a mask fixed to my face.
The place we were headed for was Yodomigamine, a forbidden area where entry was normally prohibited.
It was from before I was born, but apparently the people who came from outside to develop that ridge all ended up mentally broken by the next day, laughing while staring at the sky. That’s way too terrifying.
After walking for an hour along the long path, drenched in sweat, we finally arrived at the summit.
The village chief and the others all began blindfolding themselves there, then sat down surrounding me.
After this, the village chief would offer a norito, and once I danced, I would be offered to Osora-sama.
“…tata naga hiso kuku kotohara minashi na izu miyo kuu… kuu…”
(TL Note: read the next sentence and you’ll see why this was left as is)
The village chief intoned a stream of words whose meaning I couldn’t understand.
According to him, they were not words, but merely a string of sounds. Apparently, the very lack of meaning was what gave them meaning.
When that ended, I put on the mask and spread both my arms wide toward the sky.
Little by little, the sky deepened in blueness, and the surroundings grew strangely quiet.
The cicadas that had been shrilling so noisily, even the sound of the wind blowing across the ridge, all vanished.
All that remained was the sensation that the sky was watching me.
This was the beginning of the final stage, 『Dance of the Sky’s Heart』.
The preparations for offering me to Sorayodo no Oohito were complete, and at last the time had come.
Even though I got reincarnated, I never got to dominate anything, I got made to dress like a girl, and now I was being made to dance in some tradition-bound village.
At this point, this was basically dignity destruction.
“…”
Once I confirmed that the sky was looking this way, I began the dance exactly as I had practiced.
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid.
That unnaturally blue sky definitely felt like it was watching only me, and yet I was accepting it without going mad.
Was it because Osora-sama didn’t have any concrete form?
If some obvious monster had shown up here, even I might have blacked out.
Apparently some people lose their minds in the middle of this dance, but it felt like I was going to be able to finish it.
Well, once I finished dancing, I’d be subjected to what people call being spirited away.
As for whether going mad or being spirited away was better, I really didn’t want to think too hard about that.
“―”
How long had I been dancing like that?
It felt as though not even a minute had passed, and yet it also felt like more than an hour already had.
Because I had to keep dancing while looking up at the sky, I couldn’t even check what was happening around me.
I didn’t know what would trigger the end, and in a situation where I didn’t even know that, all I could do was keep dancing.
“Have you been well?”
Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me.
Gradually, the sound of cicadas began to return to the surroundings.
Then I started to feel the sun’s rays scorching my skin and the wind brushing through my hair.
But instinctively, I knew.
The world was still wrong.
The world wrapped in the feeling of summer still seemed artificial somehow.
The cicadas, the wind, even the sunlight, all of it was no more than something produced by an imitation.
As I danced, I used the motion to look behind me.
There, a girl with light blue hair stood smiling.
“That was a splendid dance. I’m happy you practiced so well.”
Her speech was slightly lisping, and her voice was sweet.
And yet, I could still sense a kind of calmness and detached perspective in her values.
“You can stop dancing now, Ei.”
At those words, I hesitantly stopped the dance.
If you’re going to kill me, at least make it feel good.
But if possible, please save me…!
“It must have been a long time for a human. Take off the mask and let me see your face clearly.”
“…Yes.”
I removed the mask and met her gaze.
I should have been looking down at the girl, and yet somehow I felt like I was the one being looked down on.
“Very good.”
After saying that, Sora reached a hand out toward me.
When I bent down, Sora smiled as she stroked my cheek.
“You’ve grown beautifully. This generation’s Sorautsushi is of fine quality.”
“Thank you very much.”
Looking at Sora smiling so innocently, I became certain.
No good, this was the pattern where I get killed.
There is absolutely no way the word “fine quality” gets used in the route where you get to live.
“Then, let us fulfill our promise.”
“…Huh?”
Sora reached her hand toward me with a smile.
Seeing me tilt my head, Sora puffed her lips in dissatisfaction.
“I promised I would teach you about anime and manga. But those are not things to be told and heard about. Besides, if I were to send the information through Ten’i, I would have to embrace you right away…”
A scary word just came out.
What? Ten’i? That absolutely can’t be anything good.
“So, even if it will only be for the span of a blink, I would like to take you outside and let you actually see manga and anime for yourself!”
“Th-that…”
“Hm, did you not like that? I thought you would be happier than this… in that case, I shall use Ten’i at once.”
“Y-yaaay! I’m so happy! To think I could have such a wonderful experience before I die!”
I noisily cut off her words in my excitement.
That was close… I almost let a huge chance slip away.
“I see. Then that is good. Well, let us go.”
Saying that, Sora took my hand.
The instant she did, the blue sky split apart.
A tremendous wind rushed in, and before I knew it, the surroundings were wrapped in the darkness of night.
“Night…!?”
Only then did I finally realize the time.
It had already become the middle of the night.
Bonfires had been set around me, and only a few villagers who were probably on watch remained.
Among them was my father.
When Dad saw me, he shouted with a face as though he had seen something horrifying.
“!?Ei!? Why did you suddenly appe… no, that’s not it. Then does that mean the Karagokoro Festival ended in failure?”
Judging from the tone of his words, it seemed I had vanished in the middle of the dance.
Maybe by the moment the sky changed, I was already no longer in this world.
Well, I came back thanks to the content Japan is proud of, though.
“The humans are frightened by the sight of you. They are in the way, so shall I Ten’i them?”
Saying that, Sora casually moved as though she were about to do something outrageous, so I hurriedly grabbed her hand and held it tight.
Dad and the others could only see me. If she did something like that, it would make it look like I was the one using divine powers!
“Sora, don’t.”
“I see. Well, if that is what you want, Ei, then that is fine.”
“…Ei, who are you talking to? Is someone there?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped myself.
If I said, Osora-sama is right here＾＾, everyone here would probably lose their minds.
“Sora, let’s go.”
“Yes! Let’s go. There are so many things I want to show you, Ei!”
Sora innocently tugged my hand and started walking.
The instant she did, the scenery around me turned into a midsummer day.
Could it be that Sora uses this space like a passageway? It’s hot, though.
■
When Ei turned his back, no one could reach a hand out to stop him.
Not even his own father could take a single step forward.
The reason was simple.
It was his unnaturally outstretched hand.
At the end of that hand, stretched out as though he were holding hands with a small child, there was unquestionably something.
Ei was conversing with it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
(Could that be the messenger of Osora-sama named Sora that Ei was talking about…!?)
In the past, only once, the father had heard Ei speak of a child visible only to him.
He had said it was a blue-haired girl who appeared anywhere.
(If they are together like that now, then did the Karagokoro Festival succeed? No, but if so, then why is Ei here…?)
As those thoughts ran through his mind, when the father looked up once more, Ei was already gone.
“…Ei?”
There was not a single person who answered that question.
The sky was covered in darkness without a single star.
■
【Top Secret Ritual Deviation Report】
Document Code: EN-RF-7071-JP-SM-EI
Issuing Organization: Enri Agency, Investigation Section for Aberrant Ritual Disaster Festivals
Classification: Ritual Failure Investigation Record / Sorayodo no Oohito-Related Case / Class Omega – Mandatory Re-Monitoring and Investigation
■ Subject
Regarding the abnormal progression of the Karagokoro Festival in Sumime Village and the return of the sacrificial subject, 『Oretsu Ei』
■ Background
Sumime Village (Location: ██ Prefecture, ██ District, ██ Village) is one of the few remaining tradition-bound settlements in the country that still preserves ritual worship directed toward calamity-lord-class entities.
In this locality, a 15-year-old female selected every 15 years (formally, a girl) is designated as the Sorautsushi, and through the form of a sacrificial rite, the Karagokoro Festival is conducted to offer Sorayodo no Oohito “one who can look up with emotion.”
The relevant ritual has been kept under surveillance by this Agency, and according to records, at least nine previous rituals have involved spirited-away phenomena being observed (complete disappearance of the subject after the ritual).
■ Date of Occurrence
August 14, Reiwa ██ (the day of the Karagokoro Festival in the 15-year cycle)
■ Subject
Name: Oretsu Ei (Oretsu Ei)
Sex: Male (Due to an abnormal birth judgment made immediately after birth, made to masquerade as the Sorautsushi)
Age: 15
Birthplace: Sumime Village
■ Progress of the Karagokoro Festival (Surveillance Record Summary)
Time (after ritual start) / Observed content
12:00 The village chief begins the recitation of the norito. The Sorautsushi (Ei) begins dancing. Natural sounds such as cicadas and wind vanish. The sky-blueness level rises beyond measurable levels. An aberrant sky-gaze sensation is confirmed.
13:12 While the Sorautsushi continues dancing, a momentary hemispherical opening phenomenon is confirmed in the upper blue sky. The Sorautsushi disappears from sight. Immediately afterward, several ritual personnel enter a temporary state of speech cessation and rigidity.
■ Abnormal Aspects of the Case
The following three points are especially noteworthy in this case.
Disappearance and reappearance of the Sorautsushi during the ritual
In the Karagokoro Festival, being spirited away is considered the final stage, and the subject is physically erased from this phenomenal world.
However, in this case, Oretsu Ei reappeared at midnight.
At that time, no physical or mental trauma whatsoever was confirmed, and although a statement could not be obtained from the subject, clear retention of memory and normal mental function were observed.
Perceptual discrepancy with the surroundings
The time confirmed by the ritual participants and surveillance team was daytime, but the time at which Oretsu Ei reappeared was nighttime.
There is a possibility that an abnormal rupture in the time domain occurred only within the relevant area (not consistent with weather observation logs).
Hypothesis of non-lethal contact with Sorayodo no Oohito
Normally, contact with Sorayodo no Oohito causes cognitive collapse, resulting in “sky-vision dissolution” that dismantles the subject’s mental structure.
However, the subject remained unharmed even after direct conversation and contact, which has no precedent in past cases.
Additionally, there are signs that the subject received the benefit of temporary manifestation into the outside world from Sorayodo no Oohito.
This suggests the possibility that Sorayodo no Oohito was temporarily influenced by human sensitivity (see also: the 2020 【Mist Smile】 Incident).
■ Hypothesis: Change in the Meaning of the Karagokoro Festival
There is a possibility that Sorayodo no Oohito has entered a stage in which it no longer accepts humans merely as offerings, but instead regards them as objects of observation, dialogue, and resonance.
In particular, with regard to Oretsu Ei, factors such as long-term empathetic dialogue, self-referential thought, and a desire for entertainment culture may have influenced the higher being.
The Karagokoro Festival is no longer merely an “offering to a god,” but is gradually changing into a process for periodically selecting chosen observers who possess “the right to connect with a god.”
■ Recommendations and Risk Assessment
Class reassessment: Consider raising the contact risk in the Karagokoro Festival from the former S-Class to 《Omega-Class Individual Interference Contact》.
Establish a protection and observation system for the subject, Oretsu Ei.
Regardless of apparent age, there is a possibility that the relationship with Sorayodo no Oohito is continuing.
Full-scale restructuring of surveillance over Sumime Village
An urgent reevaluation is needed as to whether the Karagokoro Festival is truly functioning as its original aberrant-seal mechanism.
■ Supplementary Note
It is presumed that the subject, Oretsu Ei, has now left the village, but no trace whatsoever has been confirmed.
The villagers have accepted the disappearance, and for the time being there are no signs that they will speak of it publicly.
Upon submission of this report to the 【Enri Agency – Aberrant Disaster Headquarters】, all records are to be designated sealed and confidential.
【Classification Labels】
#ENR7071 Sorayodo no Oohito
#OretsuEi
#KaragokoroFestivalDeviation
#Omega-ClassAberrantMutualInterference
Prepared by: Enri Agency, Ritual Disaster Audit Team (Team Leader: ██ ██)
Issued: September 1, Reiwa ██