The Festival

In a gloomy sky somewhere, strange crimson clouds surged, and a faint, vast glow permeated the air. Within the clouds, a bizarre carriage overflowing with demonic energy sped through the air. At the very front of the carriage, a strange, arrogant demonic face was fixed, laughing silently against the whistling wind.

Inside this peculiar yokai carriage sat a beautiful yokai of indistinguishable gender, dressed in layered, elegant robes and wearing a half-fox mask. He held one hand out in front of him, palm upward. Hovering above it was a glowing seal of an intertwined turtle and snake. Its pale blue light illuminated the dim interior of the carriage, drawing the golden gaze from beneath the fox mask.

Within the pale blue glow of the Black Tortoise Seal, a faint, dark purple hue emerged, only to vanish immediately and imperceptibly, as if it had never existed...

In the Void between the human realm and the Underworld—the crack between life and death—within that dark and empty space, the skeletal remains of an eight-headed serpent slowly stretched its massive body, which could easily crush mountains if brought to the human realm.

Amidst the slowly shifting skeletal heads that moved like tentacles, a man of sinister beauty stood suspended in the air. He wore deep black robes, his face pale, with long black-purple hair and violet eyes. At this moment, he looked up toward the sky with a faint smile, his serpentine vertical pupils narrowing slightly.

Where his gaze fell, above this dark and empty space, a profound and mysterious magical array large enough to cover the entire skeletal eight-headed monster manifested. Countless shimmering symbols and characters were layered in dense, orderly patterns, forming a massive whole that completely enveloped the terrifying creature below.

At the four cardinal directions of that massive array were four relatively independent regions. Within these four areas, twisted lines sketched out four large illustrations. Depicted on these four scrolls were four abstract creatures.

A coiling dragon, a bird with outspread wings, a ferocious tiger, and an intertwined snake and turtle. Upon this giant magical array standing in the void were depicted the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise—the Four Symbols. They served as the four array nodes of this massive array, guarding its four quarters, maintaining its normal operation, and suppressing the giant remains below.

Logically, the Four Symbols array nodes and the grand array were a single entity; their states should have been consistent. However, the statues of the Four Symbols within these nodes displayed completely different conditions.

The light of the Azure Dragon array node was much dimmer than the others, not even matching the main body of the surrounding array. The White Tiger array node was also slightly dim, and its form was fragmented and scattered, unable to connect. The Black Tortoise array node was shrouded in a mass of purple-red clouds, appearing blurred and indistinct. Among these Four Symbols array nodes, only the Vermilion Bird array node showed no abnormalities; it was coordinated with the grand array, emitting a faint glow, perfectly normal.

Looking at the four nodes in their varying states, the smile on the sinister, slender man's face widened. His gaze sharpened, focusing on the dimly glowing Azure Dragon array node.

"The handover is complete. The time has come..."

Following a ghostly voice, the man raised his hand toward the array in the sky. With his movement, one of the mouths of the massive eight-headed skeleton swung open. A surge of purple-red clouds erupted, sweeping toward the dim Azure Dragon array node and eventually enveloping it completely.

The sinister purple-red cloud emitted an extremely ominous aura, tightly wrapping around the already dim Azure Dragon array node. Taking advantage of the weakened power within the node, the evil cloud seeped directly inside. In an instant, the Azure Dragon array node absorbed energy it was never meant to receive.

Watching the Azure Dragon array node above being continuously eroded by the evil cloud, the smiling man spoke slowly.

"Now... how long will it take for you to bow before me? My new Divine Messenger..."

...

Winter gradually faded, and the ice and snow melted. With the returning warmth and the budding of tender shoots, Heian-kyo, having recently passed the New Year, welcomed the arrival of early spring.

For an agricultural society, spring was undoubtedly a crucial season. The fields, barren after winter, needed to be irrigated once more and planted with seedlings. Among the four seasons, this was the time for cultivation; only with enough hard work in the spring could there be a bountiful harvest in the autumn.

At such a vital time, rituals—activities where offerings were presented to pray for the protection of the gods—became paramount. And the most important deity to worship during the busy spring planting season was, naturally, the Inari Okami, who presided over prosperity and served as the symbol of harvest and grain.

Due to the disturbance caused by fox hunting, the Inari faith in the Kinki region had once suffered a significant blow, and the festivals had grown increasingly desolate. However, over the past year, miracles originating from the Inari shrines in Heian-kyo and the surrounding areas had appeared frequently. The fox hunters had been struck down as if by divine retribution, and rumors of the Inari Okami's return spread further and further. Consequently, this year's festival at the Inari Shrine had become particularly high-profile.

The fifth day of the second month each year is the day of the Hatsu-uma Grand Festival at Inari Shrine. Along with the Inari Festival, it is one of the two most important celebrations for the Inari Okami. This year's Hatsu-uma Grand Festival was held as scheduled under the auspices of the Hata Clan, the family of Shinto priests. Although they had anticipated a large turnout and prepared in advance, when the time came, they found the situation exceeded their expectations.

From early morning, ordinary citizens came to pay their respects in an endless stream, crowding the long approach to the shrine. Countless people from surrounding villages and within Heian-kyo gathered at Fushimi at the foot of the mountain to worship, allowing the vendors there to make a handsome profit.

Faced with the massive number of worshippers, the members of the Hata Clan and the miko were incredibly busy. What they hadn't expected was that the main event of this Hatsu-uma Grand Festival was still to come.

By the afternoon, led by the Fujiwara Clan and including the Kamo and Minamoto clans, many noble families of Heian-kyo sent representatives to present lavish offerings. Among them were figures of extremely high status, such as Young Lord Aka of the Fujiwara, the son and head disciple of the Kamo Senior Secretary, and the heir of the Minamoto Clan... Startled by this display, Hata no Michikiyo hurried to clear the area and receive this series of great nobles from the capital.

On the ritual stage within the shrine, miko dressed in chihaya held kagura suzu and danced gracefully, performing kagura in an attempt to communicate with the Inari deity. Below the stage, countless nobles sat on carpets on the ground, enjoying the kagura while participating in an outdoor tea ceremony. Meanwhile, many Hata Clan members were busy in the distance, cataloging the vast array of offerings.

Dressed as a young noble, Mokou watched the kagura on stage. She opened her folding fan, covering her lips as she whispered in a low voice.

"Well? These things I brought for you aren't bad, right? I had that old man at home mobilize those fellows to come over."

Within the divine realm, Miketsu, sitting beside Mokou, was eating sweets she had just taken from the offerings. Hearing Mokou's voice, she couldn't help but smile slightly. She took a piece of confectionery from the food box and tossed it into Mokou's hand. Mokou looked at the sweet that had suddenly appeared, smiled, and popped it into her mouth.

The Inari Shrine was effectively half of Miketsu's divine domain. Within it, spiritual vision was completely suppressed. Therefore, even though many Onmyoji were present, no one could discover Miketsu. Thus, Miketsu sat in the audience, laying out a pile of fruit and sweets taken from the offerings, eating while watching her miko dance. This left the staff cataloging the offerings scratching their heads in confusion as they noticed the numbers didn't add up, silently cursing the foxes of the mountain.

Hmm... they're dancing quite well. No major blunders. It seems the overtime rehearsals over the past few days were somewhat effective. It's just that the dance is so slow, and the movements aren't very large. It lacks impact. Maybe I can improve it for them next time.

Watching the miko perform kagura, Miketsu critiqued them in her mind. Watching the clumsy miko make mistakes during rehearsals had been her entertainment for the past few days. These miko hadn't really practiced kagura seriously before, and under strict requirements, they had made many errors, but they had managed to pull it together at the last moment.

Below the kagura stage sat a vast array of people. Minamoto no Yorimitsu was looking around the shrine with great interest. Not far from him, Yura, wearing a headscarf, was touching her forehead, deep in thought. Byakuren watched the kagura dance with her hands pressed together in prayer.

On one side of the stage, Seimei was gently waving his folding fan while watching the performance. Suddenly, he felt a slight sting in his forehead. He frowned and lightly touched his brow. There, the Azure Dragon Seal flashed with a hint of purple light before Seimei confusedly let go.

"It seems I still need more time to adapt..."

Miketsu, who was eating dango, suddenly froze. She turned her head toward a certain direction, but saw only the densely packed crowd. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke with a hint of doubt.

"Was it an illusion?"