The Earth God

Time returned to normal at the shore of Lake Suwa, by Moriya Shrine.

Wearing a blue and white miko outfit, Sanae stepped out of the small hut with a look of discomfort. Beside her, Kaki spoke with a smile.

"It really does fit you perfectly. As expected of my descendant, Sanae—you can wear my clothes without any trouble at all."

"Ah... that's true. I just didn't expect the miko outfits from a thousand years ago to be so... well, traditional..." Sanae responded with a smile, while internally she couldn't help but wonder: at what point in the next thousand years did the Moriya miko outfit turn into that exposed-armpit outfit?

Living in the Heisei era, Sanae had never dreamed that the time travel she had only read about in novels would become a reality. Dozens of days ago, she had been mysteriously transported from a dry well at Higurashi Shrine to the bottom of a newly dug pit. There, she had seen Suwako, who was supposed to be at Moriya Shrine, leading her to briefly think she had somehow returned to her old home in Nagano.

'I did return... but it's the version from a thousand years ago...'

Sanae sighed to herself as she looked out over Lake Suwa. Compared to her own era, the water was much clearer now. The surrounding shores weren't yet crowded with modern buildings, and the cool breeze blowing off the lake felt more refreshing than anything she had experienced before.

'In a way... I guess I've temporarily escaped that unbearable Tokyo weather.'

As Sanae indulged in her thoughts, Suwako, on the other side, waved her arms and called out loudly.

"Hey—Sanae! Hurry up, we're about to start!"

"Coming! Suwako-sama!"

Hearing Suwako's call, Sanae immediately jogged over to her side by the lake.

"So... Sanae, have you remembered everything I taught you?" Suwako asked directly, looking at the young girl.

"No problem, Suwako-sama. My Kagura foundation is very solid. This... well, it's all thanks to your constant teaching and reminders," Sanae said with a slight hint of awkwardness. Suwako couldn't help but smile upon hearing this, then adjusted her hat.

"Is that so? In that case, let's get started without further delay."

"Mhm!"

Sanae took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She stepped forward a few paces into the designated clearing, raised her hands, and began to chant as her body moved into a dance.

Amidst a dance that flowed like water and wind, profound chants and hymns spread from Sanae's body, carried by an invisible force that echoed across the perfectly calm surface of Lake Suwa.

Watching Sanae's practiced Kagura dance, Suwako nodded slowly. She then sat cross-legged on the ground and closed her eyes. Her divine soul drifted out from her wild god vessel and plunged into the vast depths of Lake Suwa.

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble slightly. Ripples began to spread across the calm surface of Lake Suwa, growing more violent by the second.

The tremors in the earth intensified, and the ripples on the lake turned into crashing waves. A booming roar erupted from the water, and flocks of birds took flight from the woods surrounding the shore.

The increasingly intense environmental interference made Sanae frown slightly, but even under these conditions, she maintained her posture and footwork, continuing the ritual amidst the chaos.

As the booming roar grew louder, the waves in Lake Suwa transformed into a surging torrent. The lake water breached the banks and flooded the land. Within that turbulent flow, a colossal entity gradually rose from the lake bed and broke the surface. It was a majestic giant skeleton, three to four hundred meters tall, resembling a frog. First came the broad skull, then the complex skeletal frame. Long forelimbs were connected to wide, elongated claws. From the sturdy spine, rows of ribs extended to outline a massive chest cavity. At its base, four long, giant tails branched out, each ending in a snake-like skull.

'This... is the skeletal remains of Suwako-sama's true body...'

Both Sanae and Kaki were struck with awe. Although they had learned the truth about the ancient gods from Suwako in detail, seeing such a massive skeleton in person made it difficult to remain calm.

Suppressing her shock, Sanae continued the ritual dance. Atop the head of the giant remains, Suwako's translucent form appeared, looking up toward the heavens.

"Now... there's just one last step left."

...

High above the Japanese Archipelago, in low earth orbit, the Monitoring Pavilion space station—a technological marvel from the era before the Old Lunar Capital's destruction—floated silently in the void.

In the control hall, Eirin sat in her seat, watching the screen as the colossal skeleton emerged from the lake. Beside her, a moon rabbit hurried over to report.

"Eirin-sama, coordinate positioning is complete!"

Hearing the report, Eirin nodded and responded in a serious, deep voice.

"Good. Deploy it. Prepare for illumination..."

"Yes!"

Amidst a series of structural shifts, the metal behemoth floating in space began to transform into a new shape, resembling a partially deployed Star-Punishment Heavenly Fire Bow.

Inside the control hall, seeing the deployment completion icon on the screen, Eirin breathed a sigh of relief and then gave a stern command.

"Energy illumination, activate!"

With those words, the jutsu-shiki on the Monitoring Pavilion's energy rails lit up layer by layer. Amidst leaping arcs of electricity, a thick beam of incandescent white light shot directly toward Earth.

Though the Old Lunar Capital was destroyed, most of the industrial facilities on the edge of the Lunar Secret Realm had been preserved. This included the Old Lunar Capital's energy storage, which held vast amounts of energy. These reserves had been collected over centuries by converting the overflowing Chang'e power and were meant to power the entire capital. Now that the Old Lunar Capital was gone, the new capital established by the remaining moon rabbits and lunarians didn't need nearly that much energy, so Miketsu and the others had put it to direct use.

The white beam, carrying immense energy, descended from the sky, pierced through the atmosphere, and struck the giant skeleton in Lake Suwa. Under Sanae's ritual dance and the brilliance of the incandescent light, flesh and blood began to grow upon the giant frog-like remains. Bathed in the heavenly fire, the ancient god of the earth was being reborn.

Finally, when the white light faded, what appeared before everyone was a majestic body taller than the mountains themselves.

Dark grey, solid rock covered the surface of the frog-like body, giving it the appearance of a naturally formed mountain. Within the eye sockets were deep, bottomless black voids. At the rear, the four branching giant tails had become four great serpents that looked as if they were sculpted from stone.

Quiet and steady, without a hint of movement, the giant body of the Earth God stood there as if it were a part of the earth itself.

"Whoa, amazing! Is this Suwako-sama's true body? It's way bigger than the monsters in tokusatsu! If this were in Tokyo... whoa! The destruction it could cause to the city would be spectacular!" Sanae said excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she finished the Kagura.

She thought to herself that if there were a Giant of Light or a giant robot among the ancient gods, it would be even more thrilling.

Atop the steady, massive body of the Earth God, Suwako's translucent image appeared. Looking down at the colossal entity, she gave a soft sigh.

"Phew... well then, let's get this settled..."

As she spoke, Suwako turned her gaze toward the western sky.