The Celestial Realm Connection

In the western outskirts of Tokyo, far from the urban neon glow, lay a desolate expanse. Deep within this uninhabited wasteland, amidst the rolling hills, a massive mountain loomed. At this moment, surrounding this desolate peak, countless eerie green spirits were scattered in a circular formation. This vast spirit army, originating from decades past, was stationed at every strategic point. In the forests and on the ridges, these spirits of the Showa era had constructed defensive positions. Ghastly spirit tanks were parked on the roads to block passage, machine guns were mounted at bridgeheads, and mutually supporting fire points stretched for kilometers.

With the mountain as its center, a defensive zone spanning more than ten square kilometers was now crawling with spirit forces. They had built their own fortress here to guard the mountain at the core, prepared to stop any threat at any cost. On the mountain itself, an air-raid tunnel led directly into its heart. Beyond several heavy iron doors, the tunnel opened into a cavernous space. The brick walls and massive pillars revealed that this had once been a secret experimental base for the Old Empire’s military. There seemed to be many such underground experimental sites around Tokyo.

Inside this particular site, eerie green ghost fires drifted through the darkness, illuminating the cavern. Cold, broken floor tiles covered the gloomy space. At the center of these tiles stood a simple stone shrine. The shrine was carved entirely from pale gray rock, plain yet solemn, carrying a silk-like sense of mystery. Under the glow of the ghost fires, the entire stone shrine took on a ghastly green hue, appearing incredibly sinister.

At this moment, in front of the shrine, the vengeful spirit of the Onmyo Major General, Saburo Kitano, stood looking up at the nameless plaque atop the stone torii gate. Beside him was the terrified Reinin, who looked around in a panic. Having been brought to this strange, grim environment, Reinin’s face was pale with fear.

"W-Where is this?" Reinin asked with a trembling voice. Having just been released from the biting winds of the flight, he was still shivering violently.

"This is one of the many underground experimental sites established by the Onmyo Agency around Tokyo during the Great War. Within these sites, for the sake of the Empire's victory, we worked tirelessly day and night to develop powerful jutsu-shiki to support the war effort."

As he spoke, Saburo turned to look at Reinin, his gaze turning cold and dark. "Initially, these sites only researched conventional jutsu-shiki. However, as the war progressed and the Empire's disadvantage became apparent, we began to delve into areas once considered taboo in Onmyodo to provide our frontline warriors with even more powerful spell support. Many unheard-of projects were researched here. And the project at this site... was the most important of all. If successful, it would possess the power to reverse the entire course of the war."

Saburo pointed toward the floor as he spoke. Hearing this, Reinin’s expression shifted, and he asked gravely, "Reverse the course of the war? What kind of research was being conducted here?"

Hearing Reinin’s question, Saburo smiled slightly. He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes shining with a palpable fervor. He spread his hands slightly and spoke.

"It was the Celestial Realm Connection."

"Celestial Realm Connection?"

"Yes. Did I not ask you earlier? I asked if you believed that Takamagahara existed, that the gods of our Yamato truly existed. Disappointingly, as the Sun Disk bloodline and a manifested god of this world, you gave an evasive answer. Such a response is truly a disgrace to your blood, Your Majesty."

Hearing Saburo’s words, Reinin replied, "I couldn't help it. Among the common folk, there are still many of the Eight Million Gods who respond to prayers. Inari’s Inari Okami are everywhere and manifest often. However, the celestial gods enshrined in the Imperial Palace have never once responded to a prayer. No matter how much incense is offered, no divine sign has ever descended. Though Inari Okami are numerous, even the most noble among them, Uka-no-Kami, who is considered a celestial god, has never manifested. In the face of gods who haven't responded for hundreds or even a thousand years, it is difficult even for me to believe in their existence in my heart."

Reinin sighed. Compared to the state of the Eight Million Gods and Inari Okami among the people, the celestial gods officially worshiped by the Japanese government had almost no record of response for over a thousand years. Gods who never responded naturally made people doubt their existence.

'Except for Wakahirume-no-Mikoto... though everyone knows how unreliable her records are,' Reinin added inwardly, suddenly remembering that outlier in the celestial faith.

It might be hard to believe, but in official records over the past thousand years, among the many celestial faiths, the only ones with response records were Takeminakata-no-Kami, Amatsumara, and Wakahirume-no-Mikoto. Among them, Wakahirume-no-Mikoto, as a God of Marriage, had the most records. Frequent responses had caused the number of Enmusubi shrines to grow rapidly, making it the second largest faith after Inari. However, since her divine signs usually manifested as prayers for love being realized—couples seeing various small, strange phenomena—the manifestations were highly metaphysical and not intuitive. Although the shrine priests insisted on recording these as divine signs when couples returned to give thanks, many remained skeptical, believing it was just good luck rather than a true miracle.

Even though the Imperial line was considered the bloodline of the gods in myth, Reinin could not hold a firm belief in gods who never responded, especially when other gods did.

Hearing Reinin's words, Saburo smiled and continued, "Is that what Your Majesty thinks? It's no wonder. It is natural to doubt gods who do not grant miracles. However, based on our long-term research into ancient Onmyodo, we have concluded that the celestial gods absolutely exist. They exist in a higher spatial dimension separate from our own. That place is called the Celestial Realm, or what we commonly refer to as Takamagahara."

"The Celestial Realm... Takamagahara... But if you say the gods are all there, why have they never given a sign or miracle? Do they simply look down upon this impure land of mortals?" Reinin asked curiously. Saburo turned back, his expression solemn.

"No. It is not that the celestial gods do not want to interfere in the mortal world; they are being blocked. Based on our research into boundaries, we discovered an extremely dense Boundary Wall above the divine realm. This wall is so thick it can even sever space itself. Therefore, we believe this is the barrier separating the mortal world from the Celestial Realm. The gods are surely unable to descend because of this barrier!"

Saburo spoke with conviction. Hearing his words, Reinin couldn't help but ask, "What... you mean the gods aren't ignoring us, they're just forced outside the mortal world?"

"Yes. The gods are isolated from the mortal world, unable to set foot here. Otherwise, how could the gods of our Yamato simply watch as the nation exhausted its entire strength in a final battle? How could they allow our land to fall, for the American brutes to run rampant, and for yokai calamities to take over?"

As he spoke, Saburo grew more impassioned. He waved his hand and shouted to Reinin.

"If the gods could have acted during the war, they surely would not have sat by as the Empire suffered a humiliating defeat! They would have summoned boundless divine winds and infinite lightning! They would have sunk the entire American fleet into the abyss! The American fleet suffered more losses from a single typhoon than it did from regular combat with our forces. If orthodox gods capable of triggering massive natural phenomena had participated, modern armies wouldn't stand a chance!"

Reinin stood stunned for a long time before he finally spoke blankly. "Then... do you mean you want the miracles of Takamagahara to return to this world?!"

"Of course! I believe that the gods in heaven, seeing the humiliating state of the Empire today and the American brutes and demons running rampant everywhere, must be filled with rage. As long as I can successfully connect to the Celestial Realm, I can surely draw upon the power of the gods from above. Once the miracles of the gods return to this world, neither the rebel gods nor the American brutes will be a threat. Sweeping the land clean and restoring the Imperial Way will happen in the blink of an eye!"

Saburo spread his arms wide, shouting with excitement. Seeing his fervent, almost manic state, Reinin instinctively stepped back.

"You want to connect to the Celestial Realm? To bring miracles down? But if the gods themselves cannot interfere because of that barrier, how could you possibly connect to it?"

"Heh, you needn't worry about that, Your Majesty. We have researched this. The repulsive force of that boundary barrier is primarily directed outward—toward the Celestial Realm. This means the barrier acts like many barriers in Onmyojutsu, treating the gods as external interference and repelling them. It primarily blocks forces moving from the outside in. However, such Onmyojutsu generally offers no resistance to interference from the inside—forces moving from the inside out."

"The proof is that for over a thousand years, though no miracle has descended from the Celestial Realm, there are records of beings ascending from the mortal world to heaven. In Huaxia, there were records of those attaining the Dao and ascending as immortals until just a few hundred years ago. In Esoteric Buddhism, there are occasional instances of those becoming a Sokushinbutsu. By Lake Biwa, there are even records of an entire family of priests serving the earthquake god being chosen to ascend. Interfering with the Celestial Realm from the mortal world is not impossible."

Saburo spoke as he slowly approached Reinin.

"Therefore, we developed a ritual based on ancient techniques called the blood contract. This jutsu-shiki will use bloodline as a medium to connect the mortal world and the Celestial Realm from the inside out, creating a tiny opening. Then, using the Deity Summoning Spell, we shall invite the divine power of the Celestial Realm out through that opening!"

"This jutsu-shiki was nearly completed during the Great War and had already passed preliminary experiments. Just as it was about to be officially implemented, I—the primary practitioner—was assassinated by the yokai Nura Rihan, who was lurking in Tokyo. Consequently, this jutsu-shiki that could have changed the war was never activated, and the Empire ultimately fell."

As he spoke, Saburo’s expression tightened for a moment, then he continued with a wicked smile.

"However... it is not too late to activate it now. Once the supreme divine power of the Celestial Realm is drawn down, the rebel gods and American brutes will fall under divine punishment. The remaining process of the Restoration will be a mere matter of time. And Japan, possessing the power of the gods, will truly become a Divine Nation! In its form as a Divine Nation, it will once again seek dominance over the world!"

Saburo stared at Reinin. "A Divine Nation with the power of the gods... it is enough to conquer the world!" Saburo said. He hadn't ignored the possibility that other nations had gods, but he was confident that the medium of the Emperor was unique to Japan.

Hearing Saburo’s words, Reinin stumbled and fell to the floor. The look in his eyes was one of pure terror.

"Using bloodline as a medium... you mean you want my blood... That’s why you kidnapped me and brought me here?" Reinin’s voice shook. Saburo continued to smile.

"Exactly, Your Majesty. Now, please rise and move to the altar over there. I will do my best to preserve your life during the ritual. But do not worry; should you unfortunately pass away during the ceremony, I will ensure the next Emperor records your deeds prominently in history, granting you a supreme status surpassing all Emperors past and present. Oh, and once we conquer Huaxia, I will honor you as Emperor and arrange a grand temple name for you!"

Saburo pressed his hand to his chest and spoke with terrifying sincerity.

"After all, I am the Empire's greatest loyalist. So, Your Majesty, do not be alarmed. Go in peace."

In the dark night of Tokyo, on the desolate outskirts, the battle between the hundred demons and the spirits reached its end. The rampaging spirits had now been almost entirely annihilated by the surging yokai.

In the middle of the wasteland, Miketsu stood in her black robes. Beside her, the beautiful Makoto landed slowly and whispered to the dark figure.

"Great Clan Leader, the follow-up forces from Inari have arrived from the base shrine and are currently standing by."