A Thousand Years Later

Time flows like a river, and the torrent of time pushes the world ever forward. The past is sealed away as increasingly distant history, while the future world undergoes rapid, daily renewal, changing in a thousand ways.

Eras alternate, and history marches on through these updates. Current events become rumors of the past, rumors are recorded as history, history blurs into legend, and legend is sublimated into myth...

By the time the people of this world generally no longer believed in legends and myths, a thousand years had already passed. When the age of gods had completely bid its farewell, mortals experienced countless cycles of ups and downs throughout these ten centuries. It seemed that mortals had finally taken mastery of this world into their own hands. When forests and wilderness were covered by cities of steel and concrete, and when towering mountains were carved with crisscrossing transportation networks, the mortals' transformation of the world could be witnessed even from far above the starry sky.

On the surface, the modern civilization constructed by mortals dominated the world's operations. However, the mysterious shadows from ancient times had never truly departed. They existed on the reverse side of history, spending a thousand years alongside mortals. Even in today's society, they remained rooted in the darkness of every corner of human society, flourishing in the moments when the vast majority of people were not paying attention.

Heisei era, Japan, Kanto region.

In the spring season, the afternoon sun shone upon an ordinary Japanese school, passing through glass to finally spill into a classroom. Inside, students in uniforms were attending class—some focused, some distracted, and some secretly enjoying themselves.

In a single seat by the window sat a girl with short black hair, black eyes, fair skin, and delicate features, appearing to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. She sat leisurely, basking in the soft sunlight from the window while gazing at the azure sky outside. She watched the birds that occasionally flew past, and after a long while, she sighed softly.

'It really is peaceful...'

The girl's subtle movements seemed to be noticed by the teacher lecturing at the front. The middle-aged teacher, roughly in his forties, stopped reading the text, pushed up his thick glasses, and cast a stern gaze toward the girl's seat.

"Fushimi-san, please read the next passage."

As soon as the teacher spoke, the attention of everyone in the classroom converged on the girl by the window. A flurry of rustling whispers immediately filled the air. Several girls in the back row began to whisper and giggle, seemingly wanting to see her make a fool of herself.

"Understood."

Upon hearing the teacher's words, the girl's attention returned from the window to the classroom. She stood up from her seat, spoke softly, and shifted her gaze to the textbook on her desk. After flipping a few pages, she began to read a passage aloud.

"Though heaven and earth are wide, they are narrow for me. Though sun and moon are bright, they shine not on me. Is it so for all men, or only for me..."

The girl's voice echoed through the classroom. Hearing it, both the teacher and the students could not help but feel a slight sense of astonishment.

Normally, reciting a text was a very common occurrence. Even if recited correctly, it wasn't particularly remarkable. However, what caught everyone's attention was not the accuracy of the reading, but the rhythm of it.

The ancient poetry in the Japanese textbook was recited with an elegant tone, its twists and turns perfectly placed. Though it was a recitation, it felt more like a chant. It was as if the poetry on the page had been breathed with a spark of life by the girl's rhythmic reading, feeling like a small melody that gave people a different sensation.

"A world of sorrow, a world of shame. I regret I am no bird of the air; I wish to fly, but lack the wings..."

The girl finished the poem and stopped. However, the classroom was deathly silent. The previous rustling had long since vanished. All the students remained motionless where they were, and the middle-aged teacher on the podium stood still as well, without any further movement.

"Teacher, I have finished reading."

Seeing this scene, the girl spoke softly. At the reminder, the middle-aged teacher suddenly snapped back to his senses. The stern expression on his face vanished, replaced by a smile as he spoke to the girl.

"Ah... Fushimi-san, as expected of someone from Kyoto. Your recitation has a unique elegance and charm, just like something out of a period drama. Sit down. I suppose I've had my eyes opened today..."

After offering his praise, the teacher told the girl to sit and continued the lesson. Most students cast envious glances at her, while the girls in the back row seemed dissatisfied at not seeing a joke; they slumped onto their desks in silence.

Sitting back in her seat, the girl focused her attention back outside the window, but her mind was silently grumbling about something else.

'I never thought a half-baked person like me would be called refined one day... Is it really just the influence of the era? Even though I usually don't care, I was still subtly influenced by those nobles in Heian-kyo who spent all day praising the wind and moon...'

'We've reached an age where even a dilettante like me can be called elegant...'

The girl lamented inwardly. Indeed, beneath this seemingly ordinary body resided a soul from the distant past.

This girl, named Fushimi Inaba, was none other than Miketsu. Having lived for a long time in the Heian period, she had unintentionally been stained with the traces of that era, creating a contrast with the current age she lived in.

During the Heian period, Miketsu held the status of a Great Onmyoji. She was a courtier who could stand before the Emperor, a guest of the Fujiwara Clan, and an important figure in the aristocratic circles of Heian-kyo. What the Heian nobles loved most was gathering to appreciate the beauty of nature and indulge in refined tastes. Although Miketsu usually didn't care for such things and rarely participated, she was inevitably influenced over time.

For example, while attending school in modern Tokyo, she spoke with an extremely heavy Kansai dialect, sounding as if she had stepped out of a jidaigeki. This unique trait had caused her to be noticed by some in her class, becoming a label used for private gossip.

As for why Miketsu was suddenly attending school here as an ordinary human? That would involve the events that occurred after she ended her fusion with Mandate and prepared to return to the mortal world.

'That was quite a miscalculation...'

Looking at the sky outside, Miketsu, now wearing a sailor uniform and re-experiencing school life, began to reminisce.