Vol 12 Epilogue (1/2)
Epilogue
G.o.dou was aware this was occurring within a dream.
After spending a lively Christmas Eve with his friends, he was supposed to
be sleeping soundly on his bed. But instead, Kusanagi G.o.dou's
consciousness was currently wandering on a wide plain who knows where.
Looking up at the sky, he saw a waxing crescent moon.
Other than that, this was a desolate land without anything of note.
Neither creatures nor buildings were present. If anything, the scene
amounted to a sea of tall silver gra.s.s growing haphazardly where one
could vaguely sense a mysterious atmosphere of incoming autumn.
G.o.dou's attention was drawn to the sounds of a stringed instrument
reverberating across the desolate plain.
The tone color did not resemble that of the j.a.panese zither known as the
kin. Undoubtedly, this wondrous melody was filled with exotic foreign
flavor. Regardless where the tune was first composed, it must have
originated somewhere far to the west of j.a.pan.
Otherwise aimless in the dream, G.o.dou could not help but begin to wander
across the wilderness in search of the musical performer.
Less than half a month had pa.s.sed since he last listened to Luo Cuilian's
yueqin performance in a corner of Mount Lu. Perhaps because of that,
G.o.dou was certain that the person playing the melody was definitely not
his sworn elder sister.
Perhaps the performer was someone whose heart was burdened with
inextinguishable sadness and regret?
Such an image surfaced from a corner of his mind. The delicate and
persisting tune was infused with emotional pulsation, thereby causing
G.o.dou to feel uncharacteristically sentimental.
At this time, a voice reciting a poem could be heard extremely close by.
In yonder days, there was an evil dragon in the sea. The king immediately
drew his bow and shot an arrow, wounding the dragon right in the chest —
The instant this voice entered his ears, G.o.dou could not help but tremble.
The feeling was as though he was hearing a song in praise of an enemy
for whom he was destined for an inevitable encounter. A song that filled
him with a sense of hostile, oppositional and compet.i.tive spirit.
In any case, G.o.dou quickened his pace and approached the owner of the
voice.
Pus.h.i.+ng the tall silver gra.s.s apart, G.o.dou was finally able to see the singer
playing the instrument.
”It's you!”
G.o.dou was struck with surprise, for the person on the opposite end of his
sights was someone he had seen before.
Sitting upright and dignified amidst the vast wilderness of the plain, gently
caressing a trapezoid zither on her lap was a princess dressed in a
magnificent Juunihitoe kimono with long, gorgeous, flaxen-colored hair and
eyes as clear as crystal gla.s.s.
The Princess of Gla.s.s whom G.o.dou had encountered multiple times in the
Netherworld.
Noticing G.o.dou's arrival, the princess stopped plucking the instrument in
her hand and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips.
”I have been waiting for quite some time, Rakshasa Monarch. As for the
impertinent act of appearing in Your Highness' dream without prior
consent, I do humbly beg forgiveness.”
”That's completely not an issue. But why are you in my dream!?”
Faced with G.o.dou's confusion, the Princess of Gla.s.s gradually brightened
her smile.
”In actual fact, I received a request from your adoptive mother, the
G.o.ddess who urged me to deliver this message to you no matter what and
bestowed upon me in the Netherworld the technique of dream encounters.”
”Adoptive mother — in that case, it must be Pandora?”
The one who proudly declared herself his adoptive mother with excessive
frivolity. As might be expected within a dream, G.o.dou swiftly recalled
memories from the Netherworld.
The Princess of Gla.s.s politely confirmed G.o.dou's question with an answer
of ”Indeed.”
”Come to think of it, I cannot see her easily unless I use that [Ram]
something or other. But anyway, why did she ask you to deliver her
message? Are you very close with Pandora or is there some other
reason?”
”My former self and that G.o.ddess' ancestor... If you trace back to their very
roots, one could consider them as sharing the same homeland. That is the
nature of our relations.h.i.+p.”
The princess brushed the issue aside with a vague answer. G.o.dou did not
pursue the matter any further.
After all, it was probably a long story. Instead, G.o.dou chose to cut straight
to the chase.
”So, what is the message?”
”Yes, King Perseus, whom you recall, was recently slain in preparation for
when the 'King's Arrowhead' shall enter the battlefield. Please be extra
careful.”