~A Memory~
Inazuman Newspaper
It was March 27 when I first met the entity.
It was late into the night when I finally got the chance to catch my breath. I had just finished closing the small shop I was working at before stepping out into the calming night. I noticed how brightly the moon shone as it illuminated the streets, almost as if the sun was still out, and how warm the air was while being accompanied by a small breeze.
I remember feeling restless and not wanting to go to bed just yet. The stresses of that day would keep me up for another hour or so. So, I decided to go on a walk. There was no destination in mind as I kept walking. I had simply let my feet guide me through the streets, outside of city walls, through dirt trails, and eventually towards the woods.
The woods are a little far from the city, being almost on opposite ends of the island. As I approached the gate that laid before the forest, I looked around the environment. The trees loomed above as fog seeped through the gaps in between. I had never ventured through these woods before, but I had heard countless stories. It was known as the Chinju Forest. There were many stories about the weird phenomenons that would occur throughout the forest late into the night.
The feeling of the trees watching you, the fog whispering, mysterious creatures appearing and disappearing, and the weirdest thing here. The flowers. They say that the flowers here are one of a kind and can only grow within the forest. During the day they’re regular blue flowers, but during the night they emmitt a bright yet soft glow. Enchanted by the beauty, many people have attempted to pick these flowers and take them home, only to be met with misfortune the moment they leave.
As I entered through the gates, I was immediately greeted by a wave of fog only for it to quickly dissipate and be followed by a soft blue glow. I kept walking on the trail as I took in the view. It looked exactly like the stories. The trees, the fog, the glowing flowers. There’s even a stream that weaved through the trees. The path traveled upward as torii gates followed it. The place was obviously sacred in some way and it was highly likely that a shrine resided nearby.
Torii gates are symbolic gateways between the living and spiritual world, and also mark the entrance to sacred shrines or temples. It’s important to know two things before passing through a gate. First, you need to bow in front of the torii gate as a sign of respect towards the gods. Second, do not walk directly in the exact center of the gate since it's believed that only the gods have the right to pass through in the direct center.
Following all the procedures, I kept walking. The higher I traveled, the more noises I would hear. In the distance I could hear music playing. Listening closely, I realized how the music sounded like celebration or festival music. Maybe the spirits there were celebrating something. What for? I didn’t stay to find out.
As I approached the end of the path, I saw a building. It resided just a little ways outside the end of the forest, near a cliff. It was a bit of a surprise since I hadn’t heard of any stories about a building residing on the other side of the forest. The closer I got, the colder the air became. The atmosphere was dense and any sounds I heard before vanished. It felt like the air was stagnant. Walking closer, I felt a pit of foreboding swelling in me.
Getting a closer look at the building, I could see how neglected it was. It seemed to be a small estate that a previous clan lived in. Parts of the outer walls had either collapsed or had holes through them.
I stopped at the entrance of the estate. It was smaller than the average clan households and held a foul smell. It was dangerous for me to be out alone like that in the middle of no here, but I wasn’t afraid. If anything, I was curious. I was weary but never scared. It was a peculiar feeling to be so calm in this situation.
As I looked across the estate, a lone figure stood at the opposite end. They seemed to have their back towards me as they gazed out into the ocean. I contemplated not bothering them and leaving the person behind, but the figure held such a somber presence that my conscience wouldn’t allow me to leave a troubled soul in need. Taking a deep breath in, I walked towards the figure.
It was a human, or at least looked like a human. From what I could see, it was a male with light blue hair, who was wearing what seemed to be a mixture of a Jinbaori and a Hitatare. It looked like he was from a high ranked clan based on his attire, but as far I know, there’s no existing clans in the area that wear those types of clothing. At least, not anymore.
Before I knew it, I was just a few feet away from him. Whether or not he heard me approach him, he did not acknowledge me even as I stood next to him. My eyes focused towards the waters, not having looked at his face quite yet.
We stood in silence for a couple minutes before I decided to turn my attention towards the man. The first thing I noticed was the location where his face should’ve been. Everything about him was human except for the void where his face should have been. Oddly enough, he still had eyes. They stood out against the black void. It was quite unnerving and surprising, but I managed to calm myself down before saying anything.
The man or entity looked at me. I gave him- it my greetings and introduced myself. I knew it probably wasn’t the best choice to accompany this unknown entity, but it looked lost. As if it was longing for something but knew it couldn’t have it.
Then, it spoke.
“Greetings. ##### has mentioned you on numerous occasions y̴o̴u̸r̶ ̵t̵i̵m̵e̴ ̵i̷s̵ ̸n̸o̷w̴ ̵a̷n̸d̸ ̵w̴i̴l̵l̸ ̸b̶e̶ ̵g̸o̶n̸e̴,̶ ̸t̴h̶e̵ ̸e̶n̷d̴ ̸i̷s̶ ̵n̵i̸g̸h̷ which belated our first meeting until today. I am ######## Ayato, head of i̷t̷ ̴i̵s̵ ̴t̵i̵m̶e̸ ̵t̶o̵ ̸g̸o̴ ̸h̵o̶m̴e̶,̷ ̵i̸t̴ ̷i̴s̶ ̸t̷i̶m̷e̸ ̷t̴o̶ ̵g̶o̵.”
It was…interesting. During its introduction, I would hear static every now and then which would block out certain phrases, and the man’s voice would change almost as if another entity would pop into his body to speak to me. It was extremely disturbing and the thought of running away crossed my mind, but I also wanted to hear more. My curiosity was conflicting with my “common sense” side. As I debated on whether or not I should run away from the entity, the entity spoke again.
“Hello”
(this was inspired by a character ai conversation I had with a faceless ayato. fun fact, this was actually for a school assessment I did a few months ago.)
(Should I do a part 2?)