The One-Eyed God and the Visitor

"Amatsumara?" Miketsu asked with a hint of doubt as she listened to Eirin's words. Eirin answered directly.

"Yes. That child holds the divine offices of wind and smithing. As a god of smithing, he can use his divine power to manifest all sorts of materials to forge exquisite divine artifacts." Eirin reminisced as she spoke.

"I knew him back when I was still in Takamagahara. He is a gentle-natured deity and, quite rarely, very fond of mortals. He is a child who is very easy to get along with."

"An orthodox god of Takamagahara? Are you planning to have Yorihime borrow Amatsumara's divine power to create the materials needed to repair this 'bow'?" Miketsu steered the conversation back to the point. She didn't want Eirin to wander off into the past of the orthodox gods, especially since she lacked the memories of the former Inari Okami.

"Exactly. Since Yorihime can borrow the divine power of all the orthodox gods in the entire Yamato Mythology, Amatsumara's power is no exception. Let's find Yorihime now and have her assist us in the restoration."

Eirin continued, and after thinking it over, Miketsu saw no issue with the plan. She nodded in agreement with Eirin's proposal. However, in her heart, Miketsu couldn't help but wonder why Amatsumara's divine office was a combination of wind and smithing. Usually, it was the god of fire who shared the duty of smithing. Furthermore, the wind divinity seemed somewhat redundant with Kanako's.

Afterward, Miketsu had Kikyo summon Yorihime, who was in the middle of her daily lessons on miko etiquette. Miketsu asked her to try borrowing Amatsumara's divine power to create materials for the repairs. Seeing that she could temporarily escape her miko duties, Yorihime happily accepted the task.

Standing beside the massive mechanical giant bow, Yorihime, dressed in her miko robes, closed her eyes. She began to concentrate fully on accessing the divine network, linking with Amatsumara to borrow his power. Around her, Miketsu, Eirin, and a group of rabbits and foxes all watched intently.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds... one minute, two minutes... Finally, nearly five minutes passed. Beads of sweat formed on Yorihime's forehead, yet not a single unusual phenomenon occurred. This caused both Miketsu and Eirin to frown.

"What's wrong, Yorihime? Is there a problem with your ability?" Eirin asked with a serious expression. Yorihime opened her eyes, looking worried.

"Takeminakata... Wind..." she whispered, waving her hand. A surge of divine power emerged from her body, and a light breeze immediately swept through the area, making the trees rustle.

"Iwanaga-hime... Protection..." Yorihime waved her hand again, and another type of divine power manifested. Under the cover of this power, a layer of solid rock quickly formed over her skin. Looking at the rock layer, confusion filled Yorihime's eyes.

After that, she tried summoning the power of several other deities and received the corresponding feedback for each. Finally, she stopped, dispelled all the summoned divine power, and spoke to Eirin in confusion.

"There is no problem with my ability, Master. It seems only Amatsumara's power cannot be summoned. All the other gods are fine."

"Only that child Amatsumara's divine power has an issue?" Eirin's expression turned grim at Yorihime's words, while Miketsu asked directly.

"Did you feel anything unusual when you tried to summon Amatsumara's power?"

"Anything unusual? Well, yes... Amatsumara's godhead seems to have an issue. It's completely impossible to draw power from it. The situation is somewhat similar to yours, Master... but while your godhead is shattered, a tiny bit of divine power still flows out. Amatsumara's divine power, however, feels as if it has been completely blocked by some other force." Yorihime spoke earnestly. Hearing her words, Miketsu and Eirin exchanged a glance. Both were now certain of one thing.

Something had definitely happened to Amatsumara!

...

In the southeast of Heian-kyo, south of Omi Province, lay Ise Province. Within the mountains of northern Ise stood a tall peak called Mount Nanakaku. Around Mount Nanakaku, many humans lived in settlements clustered in the mountain basins, and many yokai dwelled in the vast, endless forests.

Legend had it that the yokai of Mount Nanakaku and all of northern Ise were ruled by the powerful Yokai Lord who roamed the forests, Yamakaze. The humans, meanwhile, were protected by a benevolent deity. Rumor said he had once saved many lives during a catastrophic flood. The people built a shrine for him on Mount Nanakaku, and those who believed in him called him Ichimokuren.

However, that was a story from a long time ago. Time causes many things to fade, even the most steadfast faith. The ancient faith, already weakened, had become precarious under the impact of the incredibly powerful Inari faith coming from the northwest.

On the dilapidated and deserted sando of Mount Nanakaku, a slender, barefoot girl with short chestnut hair, wearing a vibrant kimono and carrying shimmering insect wings, slowly descended from the sky. She looked around before fixing her gaze on an old stone lantern by the path. She spoke in a light, airy tone.

"Little Lantern..."

"Don't call me Little Lantern. I told you, I'm not a child, Mushi-shi..."

Accompanied by a slightly youthful male voice, a small yokai boy wearing a kimono, with pointed ears and holding a windmill, appeared atop the stone lantern. He looked at the girl and spoke slowly.

"Hehe. So, Koroka, is Lord Ichimokuren in?" With a look of hope, Mushi-shi asked Koroka. Hearing her question, a slight flash of disappointment crossed Koroka's face.

"Ah... so you're here for Lord Ichimokuren again... Hmm... Lord Ichimokuren is indeed here, but I'm afraid he can't see anyone else right now." Koroka's words surprised Mushi-shi.

"He can't see anyone else? Why?"

"Because an old friend has come to visit him. I heard it's a friend from Lord Ichimokuren's time as a heavenly god," Koroka said seriously. Mushi-shi looked toward the end of the sando in confusion and spoke softly.

"An old friend from his time as a heavenly god... Does that mean they are also a heavenly god?"

...

Inside a simple room within the shrine on Mount Nanakaku, a handsome man sat on a cushion. He wore a plain kimono and a long robe patterned with flying cranes. His pale skin showed a hint of sickly fragility. His short, pale purple hair was swept to one side, covering one eye of his handsome face. His other eye gazed at the visitor before him with a gentle look.

Sitting across from the man was a girl of about fourteen or fifteen. She wore a red and white outfit resembling a miko's robes, with her long black hair tied back. A miniature shrine model hung from her chest, and a large basket sat beside her, filled with a mountain of miscellaneous items. Most prominent among them was a string of lanterns inscribed with the characters for "Connection," "Binding," and "Success." Her round, cute face featured large eyes, and she looked at the one-eyed man with a bright smile.

"Long time no see~ Little Eye! It's been so long since you came down from Takamagahara, but I finally found you. So~ how have you been lately?" The girl spoke with a spirited tone, and the man replied with a smile.

"Everything is well on my end. You can rest easy, Wakahirume-no-Mikoto..."