•Chinatown•
The morning chill was still in the air as Alex walked down the street once again, cars passing by him on the asphalt beside him, though he paid them no mind as he took a deep breath in, waiting a few seconds before he released it.
Thankfully, not too many people were out and about at the moment, given it was still early in the morning, checking his phone the man saw it was around 9:30am, so he didn't have to worry too much about his nerves.
He put his phone back into his pocket, and continued to walk down the street, a few more cars and people passing him by, though paid him no mind.
'Yuzuki could've let me bleed out in that car, and yet he saved me..'
It was thought that had stuck in his head ever since he got onto the plane heading back to San Francisco, when the near full weight of everything that happened to him over the past days before hit him like a truck.
Did he trust Yuzuki? No, not entirely, or at least enough to fully let his guard down around him, but at the same time, the man wanted to give him a chance to be at least allies with him, even if it blew up in his face.
Before he could think more on it, an odd ball of light floated down to him, booping him on the nose to catch his attention.
"Huh..? What the-?" Alex said to himself as the orb floated around him, booping him on the nose again before it floated away again.
"...Does it want me to follow it?"
As if to answer his question, the orb of light went down moved in an up and down motion, as if saying yes, before it flew down an alleyway, the man running after it.
It kept moving while staying a good distance ahead, exiting out of the alleyway and back onto the street with Alex in hot pursuit.
'Where the hell is this thing taking me?'
Again, as if to answer his question, the orb of light seemed to stop before floating up a set of stairs and into a building, the man following behind it.
Once he was inside, Alex realized it had led him to a shrine, a Buddhist shrine, to be specific, and one that looked to be rather old yet well maintained, even though it seemed as if no one had come to pray there in quite a long time.
Perhaps this place meant alot to someone or to some people, and they took it upon themselves to manage care over it.
A familiar feeling began to ring in the back of his mind, which made him turn around and face the shrine that was located against the back wall, a large statue of Buddha sitting atop it.
Alex walked over to it, seeing that the shrine was decorated with old candles, melted to various degrees, with a couple being only dried up puddles, old talisman's hanging on strings, the paper they were written on faded and yellowed, and incense sticks in small holders, though they seemed have been long since burned out.
"..i suppose it wouldn't hurt to leave an offering." The man said to himself as he spied a jar of unused incense sticks, which he took three out of and sat them down, looking up and seeing a ceramic bowl on a higher shelf, which he grabbed and saw was full of uncooked rice.
Alex knew that normally cooked rice was used for these sort of things, but given the fact that the man had no way to cook said rice, this would have to do, he did hope that Buddha or whatever spirit took the offering wouldnt be upset by it.
Still, as he took out a lighter he kept in his jacket pocket, clicking the button a few times to get it to light, after setting the three incense sticks into the uncooked rice and then using burning the incense, little wisps of perfumed smoke rising into the air before they faded.
Why had that orb of light led him here? Was there something it wanted him to see, something it wanted him to know?
Though, before the man could figure out exactly what it wanted, a wind began to blow past him, which rang a set of chimes that were hanging from the shrine, the sound of their ringing making him close his eyes, and cover his ears, due to the loud noise, as he felt like he was weightless, floating for a few moments before he was dropped back down onto his feet.
Alex opened his eyes as he noticed the chimes were no longer ringing, in fact, the only thing he could hear was the sounds of birds and squirrels intermixed with the sound of trees moving.
"Where..where the hell am i?" The man asked himself.
The man looked around where he was, noting he was in a rather large forest, with massive trees surrounding him on all sides, their trunks covered in green moss and lichen, some having vines growing on their branches as said branches formed a thick canopy that allowed some light to pass through it in places.
The shrine he was standing in front of looked to have been overtaken by the forest around it, old man's beard moss hanging off in places and vines growing up on the posts and pillars, and much like the shrine he was just at, this one still seemed to be in use by..someone or something, as candles and incense were lit within, and tiny statuette like dolls, seemingly made out of clay, were placed within as well, with pieces of paper decorated with japanese kanji upon them placed amongst everything.
"Alex? Is that you?" A voice asked.
Alex's eyes widened as he heard the voice, looking down at the ground where he saw a familiar little friend.
"Lenu? How in the world are you here?" The man asked as the spirit climbed up him and rested on his shoulder, tail gently wrapping around his neck.
"Glad to see you too, but as for how i'm here, haven't you figured it out?" The lemur spirit answered.
The man went into thought, before it seemed to hit him like an out of control truck.
"Wait..I'm in the spirit world, aren't i?" Alex asked.
"Bingo." Lenu answered.
The man walked forward a few steps, stopping as he stood underneath a beam of sunlight that broke through the canopy above, before he sat down on an old tree stump that was also sitting beneath it.
"How am i here again? I thought the only way i could get here was through what the dreamtime elders did.." Alex asked.
"I think it would be better if i let him explain it to you." Lenu answered.
"Wait who- WOAH!" The man yelled as he came face to face with a deer, which caused him to fall backwards, rolling and landing on his back, Lenu having jumped off and onto the stump as he was falling, letting out a groan of pain as he accidently hit his left arm.
"Does this mortal always scare so easily?"
He heard some kind of voice echo through his mind, which confused him greatly, as he picked himself up off the grass, though it was a little difficult since he could only use his right arm and hand.
"As long as i've known him, yes." Lenu answered, making a sound that seemed to be a chuckle.
"Who said that? I heard someone talking in my head." Alex said.
"That would be me, mortal." The deer said, stepping on its hooves towards him.
The young man then got a better look at the deer, seeing it was a good two to three feet bigger than he was, its shaggy and thick fur a light mocha brown with an almost cream tone to it on its neck and belly.
It's face was of a normal deer, it's eyes a foresty green color, matching the moss and lichen that covered the trees, and it's antlers were large, larger than any he had ever seen before, having what seemed to be thin tree roots with branches intertwined into them, maybe even as a part of the being itself, the branches having thick tufts of leaves on them, much like the canopy above and having flowers of all kinds and colors within them, likely growing on the branches as well.
"What is..your name?" Alex asked, looking up at them.
"I have many names, but you may call me Shishi Gami." The spirit answered, their voice deep but mellow, as if it came from the forest itself.
"Ok..Shishi Gami..can you tell me how i got here? I mean, the last time was because of the dreamtime elders, but how am I here again?" The man asked.
"It is quite simple. As i was told by your friend here, you entered the spirit realm while your soul was still tethered to its physical vessel, however, your soul also became tethered to the spirit realm, even after you returned to the mortal realm, which has created a sort of path you can take to be in either." Shishi explained.
"If I have a path that I can take between the realms, how come I've only used it now and not sooner?" The man asked.
"How exactly did you come here this time?" Shishi asked.
"I was praying at this very old shrine, when this wind began to pick up and ring the chimes that were hanging on it. I had to close my eyes to keep myself from having a meltdown and when I opened them, I was here." Alex answered.
"I see..well, normally a sort of barrier exists to keep the mortal and spiritual realm separate from each other, however spirits can still crossover from the spirit to mortal realm and vice versa, however, in certain areas where the spiritual presence is especially prevalent, the barrier is thinner and more..malleable, for lack of a better term.." the spirit said, clearing its throat before continuing.
"You may have travelled through it without realizing, physical vessel and all, likely because of the panic you felt at that moment was enough to pierce the barrier." Shishi finished.
"And what, can I travel back through it?" Alex asked.
"..there is really only one way to find out." The spirit said, and the man nodded, closing his eyes as he did previously, and letting the quiet of the forest overtake him.
It was only a few moments before Alex opened his eyes and saw he was still in the Spirit World, his face almost going crestfallen in response.
"Oh..I guess I can't.." the man said, letting out a quiet sigh.
"You shouldn't expect to do things on the first try. As you mortals say 'practice makes perfect.'" Shishi Gami said.
Alex nodded. "So now what?" The man asked.
Shishi Gami gazed up into the canopy above them for a few moments, before it kneeled down, at least thats what the man though he was doing, into the grass, before his horns and the foliage on them started to glow a soft green, which caused an odd symbol to appear on the spirit's forehead.
"I think he wants you to put your hand onto his forehead." Lenu whispered to him.
Alex nodded, shakily reaching out his hand and soon placed it flat against the symbol, and waited for something, anything, to happen.
He didn't have to wait long, as a few moments after the man laid his hand down, the glowing energy stated to flow into him, going up his arm like the branches of a tree, into his chest and up to his face, going into his eyes which glowed the same color.
Deep within himself, Alex felt a sort of release, as if something that was being held back had been allowed to be free, though he had no idea why he was feeling this.
However, this feeling didn't last long as the energy soon began to slow until it stopped completely, and the man slowly pulled his hand away, before Shishi Gami slowly stood back up.
"Wha..What was that?" The man asked.
"I was granting you my blessing. As I am quite sure you're unaware of, I am but one of many deities that watch over and protect the spirits that live in this world, and as such, blessings are required to travel through it, including this forest, which I myself protect." The spirit explained.
"Well..that's good to know.." alex said, fixing his jacket abit, though that did nothing to explain the feeling he just felt from within himself, but perhaps it was just that, a feeling and nothing more.
"Yes, now let us get on our way, as we have a long walk ahead of us." ShiShi said, beginning to walk away from the shrine, with Alex and Lenu following him.
"W-wait, where are we going?" The man asked.
"As I am only a single deity, I alone do not have the power to open a portal to allow you to go back to the mortal realm, but I do know another deity who would be willing to help, and with our magic combined, we can open said portal." It answered as they kept walking, small twigs and leaves snapping and crunching under their feet and hooves.
"Who is it?" Alex asked, ducking under a low branch.
"They're a lanternfish spirit who lives in a ruined grotto within this forest, though it's a good ways from here." The deity answered.
"A lanternfish? Those are usually pretty small, how could they help us?" The man said, ducking under another low branch.
"Well, they're more around the size of what I've heard described as a tank." ShiShi said.
The look of shock on his face after hearing that made the spirit chuckle, shaking it's head as from his jacket pocket, Lenu could be heard laughing.
"You certainly cannot still be surprised by such things, mortal, given your ties to the demon sorcerer, Shendu." The spirit said, which made Alex stop in his tracks.
"You..you know about Shendu?" He asked, which the deity nodded to.
"There is not a single soul here that doesn't know of him and his kin. Secretly, i believe we all hoped he had been banished to the netherworld alongside them, but, it seems that was wishful thinking on our part." ShiShi Gami answered, shaking its head.
"..What exactly is the netherworld?" The man asked
"The Netherworld is a sort of pocket dimension, away from the mortal and spiritual realms. It was created to contain the most dangerous of demons, so that they couldn't harm humanity." Lenu explained having poked his head out of Alex's jacket pocket.
'No wonder Shendu hasn't talked about them..not that he seems to want to.'
"The Eight Immortals were the ones who created it, however it is unknown exactly what methods were used in doing so. Some believe they delved into dark magic to make sure it was inescapable." The deity said.
"So they're stuck there for eternity then?" Alex asked.
"It would seem so." ShiShi answered.
"If they had escaped, we would know immediately." Lenu chimed in from the man's pocket.
"Anyway, how far are we from this grotto?" The man asked, a yawn escaping him.
"Another day, give or take." The deity answered.
"You're joking. If I'm gone for an entire day, my friends are going to freak out." Alex said.
"Time in the mortal and spirit realms runs differently, for example, a day here in the spirit realm is equal to a few hours in the mortal realm, and vice versa." ShiShi explained.
"Oh, well that is good to know, then." The man said, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand.
They continued walking, soon coming across another clearing, however, instead of a shrine in the middle of it there was a crumbling statue of..well something, but Alex couldn't tell what it used to be, as it had become covered in vines, moss and lichen, though the man had to guess it's been here for a very long time at the very least.
"...Come closer, mortal.."
The man's eyes widened, swearing for a moment that he just imagined those words in his mind, though they were repeated not a moment later, so against his better judgement the man began to walk towards it, even despite Lenu's very loud protests.
"Alex, what the hell are you doing?! Are you listening to me?!" The spirit yelled, having climbed out of his jacket pocket and up to his shoulder.
"..The statue..it's speaking to me, telling me to come closer.." the man said.
"Speaking to you?! Have you lost your marbles, kid?!" Lenu said.
It was then that the spirit lemur realized that they were only a good foot away from where it was standing, and it noticed that it's hands were positioned in such a way that it seemed to be holding something, or rather that it was supposed to be holding something.
"..Look down.."
Doing as the voice said, he looked down and at his feet lay what the man saw to be a rose, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion as he picked it up off the grass.
"A rose? Where the hell did that come from?" Lenu asked, though he got no response from the man.
The rose itself seemed to be rather ordinary, the only thing that made it less so was the fact it had dark blue petals, which Alex knew was possible, just not in nature, as they are usually created by dyeing white roses.
And yet, as the man looked it over, he realized there was something else about the flower, as if..
"..The statue. That's where it belongs." He said, walking over to it and setting the rose in it's eroded hands.
Upon doing so, it began to glow, which caused the head of the statue, despite being somewhat eroded itself, to turn towards him, it's eyes (or what Alex assumed were its eyes), met his own as his vision became nothing but white.
•?•
After what felt like minutes his vision started to return, making him groan as the man swore he was going to have a headache later, well, more of one than he already was going to have.
"Where am i..?" Alex asked himself as after his vision fully came back, he noticed he wasn't in the clearing with ShiShi Gami and Lenu, but perhaps the spirits couldn't travel to where he was, wherever that was.
Speaking of that, Alex looked around him, noting that he was on some kind of platform that seemed to be floating, and a quick glance over the edge showed what looked like a vast ocean far beneath it, though he quickly stepped back so as to not find out first hand.
Around him were what seemed like pillars, some whole, others shattered in pieces, trees, and even cars that were all floating in the air, the same as the platform he was standing on, which he realized was made of cobblestone, as if it was torn from the ground itself.
In the distance he could see more platforms, and those seemed to be much larger than the one he was currently taking refuge on, with what seemed like banners flowing and wrapping around them, being blown by some kind of wind that he himself couldn't feel.
Past them and into the horizon was what the man assumed was the sun, which seemed to be stuck in perpetual sunset, the sky a mix of light blue and dark blue, with some dark clouds hanging around within it.
But the question was, how was Alex going to get to them? He couldn't fly, and he didn't have the rooster talisman, so floating was out of the question too.
"..Turn around.."
The man's eyes widened as he recognized the voice to be the same one he heard in the clearing, which made him turn around, as the voice had told him to do, to see whoever or whatever was behind him.
Upon doing so, he saw a tall, spindly, mannequin-like figure, it's skin, or what he could see of it, given it was mostly covered up, and seemed to be made of porcelain, as it shone in the light of the setting sun behind them.
It's body was covered by white robes, sparkling gold weaved throughout it as well as golden ropes wrapped rather tightly at it's shoulders, waist and ankles.
On it's wrists were golden rings, likely bracelets, and, like the ropes they seemed incredibly tight fitting, almost like shackles.
It's face was covered by a mask that looked to be made of solid gold and porcelain, two eye holes could be seen as well, though Alex wasn't sure if this being had any to begin with.
"Who..what are you?" Alex asked.
The figure didn't answer, simply raised and opened it's hands in a way that looked like it was supposed to be holding something in them, after a few moments a rod of light appeared in them which after another few moments became what looked like a sword, with one of its hand on the grip and the other between the fuller and the edge.
It then kneeled down, holding it's arms up and hands open, presenting the sword to him as one would to a knight or king.
He walked over to the figure and put his hand onto the grip of the sword, upon doing so it felt as though he was stabbed through his heart, which caused immense pain to him as well as causing him to fall backwards onto the floor, landing on his ass, the sword clattering against the ground as the man attempting to regather himself, feeling like he just had a heart attack.
"Why..why the fuck did you give me this?! And what the fuck did it just do to me?!" Alex yelled, coughing mid-sentence as some blood dripped onto the cobbled floor.
Again, the figure did not answer, having returned to it's standing position, as it simply seemed to observe him, even though it seemingly had no eyes to do so, but the man could feel that it was indeed watching him.
Alex slowly got back up onto his feet, his body still a little shaky but was steady enough that the man could stand up and not fall back down, the blade of the sword scraping on the ground as he did.
"..I..am..an..Angel.."
The man's eyes widened as the voice echoed through his mind, and before he could properly wrap his head around what he just heard, the figure began to glow, which grew in intensity until like before his vision became nothing but white.
•Back in the Forest•
The man let out a groan as his vision once again began to return to normal, the sounds of birds and squirrels around him keying the man into the fact that he was back in the forest that shishi gami presided over.
"..Alex, you're ok!" A voice said.
Alex turned his head towards the voice, seeing Lenu standing next to him with a worried look on his face.
"Lenu..? What happened?" The man asked as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"You disappeared into thin air..it was freaky." Lenu explained.
Alex looked around him, but noticed they weren't in the same clearing anymore, in fact they were in a campsite of sorts, a hammock made of vines and large leaves was set up between two trees, likely for himself, and a crackling sound near him caught his attention, and he saw that a campfire had been made, with rocks around it in a circular perimeter.
"..who made all this?" The man asked.
"ShiShi Gami, though i made the campfire..it's actually pretty difficult to make fire when you have little paws like mine.." the lemur answered.
Alex chuckled quietly, the sounds of hoof steps getting closer drawing both of their attention as the forest deity arrived with what seemed to be a few baskets hanging off of his tree antlers.
"I am glad to see you're finally back with us after your trip, Alexander." He said.
Using magic, the deity lifted the baskets from his antlers and onto the grass, revealing they had fruits of all kinds in them.
"Woah.." Alex said, his mouth watering as he remembered he didn't eat breakfast that morning.
"Go ahead, eat what you wish, I do not need sustenance myself, so I will simply sit and watch." It said, sitting down like it had before on the grass.
The man smiled softly and grabbed an apple from one of the baskets as Lenu hopped into one of them and began to eat on a large peach.
"..So, how far are we from that grotto?" He asked, taking a bite of the apple.
"Not far, though given it is almost nightfall, we will have to walk the rest of the way in the morning." The forest deity answered.
"Works for me..i'm too stuffed to move any further.." the spirit lemur said as he patted his stomach, which had become bigger due to the peach he had devoured.
Alex laughed as he scooped the lemur up into his open palms, walking over to the hammock and seeing that a much smaller one had been made above it, which he gingerly set Lenu into.
The man then glanced over at ShiShi Gami, who seemed to be looking off into the sky above them, which had become a beautiful purple color as stars began to appear within it, each one sparkling with its own light.
Alex walked over to the deity, sitting down next to him without a word.
"..A beautiful night, isn't it?" They asked, not taking their eyes off the sky.
"Yea..it um, is." The man answered.
"There seems to be something you wish to speak of, am I correct, Alexander?" Shishi Gami asked, turning his head towards them.
Alex let out a sigh as he fiddled with the cross necklace, a habit done out of nervousness, and something the man wished he could nip it in the bud, so to speak.
"You are..correct." He answered.
"Then speak your mind." The deity said.
"..I saw them..when i disappeared." The man said.
"Who..ah, you mean the angels, correct?" ShiShi Gami asked, which Alex gave a nod to.
"Wait, you know about them?" The man said, his eyes widening a little.
The deity gave a small nod, glancing up at the sky once again.
"I am a being of a similar nature to them, a guardian, even if it is to spirits rather than mortals, it would not be much of a stretch to say that they were the ones who created me and my comrades." They said, giving a glance towards them.
"I was always taught that angels looked like us, and were protectors of humanity..seeing that they look like mannequins..it's a bit of an eye opener." Alex said.
"And you are correct, when angels enter into the mortal realm, they disguise themselves as mortals so as to not arouse suspicion..It is possible that they may have revealed themselves to certain people, leading to the many pieces of artwork depicting them as winged humans." He said.
Alex gave a soft nod in understanding.
"If I may, can I ask you a question?" ShiShi Gami asked.
"Shoot." The man answered.
"..Regarding what we discussed earlier, why are you helping Shendu? Certainly, you must know of the things he has done and could do should he obtain all of his lost power." The deity asked.
"I know what he's done." Alex answered, though he didn't know of everything the demon had done in his likely extremely long lifespan, but he knew of what garnered him his reputation.
"And you still wish to help him?" ShiShi Gami asked.
The man took shaky breaths, glancing up at the starry sky, as if they held the answer he was looking for.
"I..i've always tried to see the good in people, ever since i was little.." The man answered.
"My grandma always used to say that there was a light in everyone, and even if someone fell into the deepest, darkest abyss, that the light never fades away..it's just waiting for someone to find it, and to help it." Alex said, tearing up as he spoke.
"And you believe there is a light within him?" The deity asked, which the man nodded to.
"I'd like to believe there is, and..even if i'm wrong, I'd be happy with knowing I at least tried." He said.
"That is a way to look at things, I suppose..You should rest, Alexander." ShiShi said.
"Right.." The man said, picking himself up off the grass and walking over to the hammock and got into it, getting comfortable and soon after falling into slumber.
The morning seemingly came faster in the spirit world, as in a blink of an eye Alex was awoken by the streams of sunlight that came through the canopy above.
"Mmm.." the man said as his eyes opened, moving a hand so that he wouldn't be blinded.
"Good morning, Alex." Lenu said, sitting on the man's stomach.
"Morning..why were you sitting on my stomach?" He asked, getting into a more comfortable position as the spirit lemur hopped from his stomach and onto his shoulder.
"It was comfortable and warm." Lenu answered.
Both of them soon got out of the hammock, seeing that ShiShi Gami was still in his spot, having seemingly not moved a single muscle.
"Good morning, you two. I hope you have slept well." The deity said.
"Have you been lying there all night?" Alex asked, walking over to him.
"Yes, I have." ShiShi Gami answered, slowly getting onto his hooves, the branches swaying with his movements.
"I suppose we should get moving, shouldn't we?" The man asked, stretching his right arm.
"Yes, we should." The deity answered.
After a quick breakfast of fruit, the trio continued on their way, the forest becoming thicker as they went along, Alex having to climb onto ShiShi Gami's back once the forest became too thick for him to continue on foot, Lenu climbing into the deity's antlers.
They continued to walk until the came upon another clearing, the sun above indicating it was past noon, and at the far side of the clearing was a lagoon like pool of water surrounded by a large wall of rock that curved, forming a half circle that was covered in moss, lichen, vines and other plant life, some of which hung off of it to the point where it touched the surface of the water.
A waterfall flowed from the top of the wall, which was covered in trees, bushes and other plant life like the wall, and into the pool of water.
"..So, this is the grotto?" Alex asked.
"Yes. It is beautiful, is it not?" ShiShi Gami answered, as the man and lenu got off of the deity, the trio walked up to the water's edge, noticing that the pool of water was actually pretty deep, the bottom being lost in a blueish black aquatic haze.
"This reminds me of a Cenote I saw during an archeology class field trip to Mexico back in university, it was very beautiful and we even got to swim in it, to escape the humidity and the heat." Alex said.
"What is a Cenote?" The lemu spirit asked as he climbed and sat on the man's shoulder.
"Think of it like an underground pool. The Mayan's used these underground water sources for their drinking water supply and for sacrificial purposes, though the civilization and the people vanished without a trace one day, leaving them behind." The man explained.
"Precisely, though, I shall be the one to let our friend know we are here..I suggest you both stand back a good few feet behind me." The deity said, which both Alex and Lenu did.
After they did, ShiShi Gami's antlers began to glow brightly, an orb of light slowly forming and growing in size and intensity until it floated over to the center of the pool, before it went into the water, the glow being lost in the dark depths.
Before anyone could react, a large lantern fish jumped out of the water, flying a good 5ft in the air before it fell back down, making a large splash that drenched ShiShi Gami, though it thankfully did not get either Alex or Lenu, who walked back over to the deities.
"..Ah, you're the mortal who can walk amongst the living and the dead, aren't you?" The lantern fish asked, their voice, like ShiShi Gami's, echoed through his mind, though where the forest deities sounded like it came from the forest itself, the lanternfish sounded like it came from deep underwater.
"How do you know about that already?" Alex asked, the large fish letting out a yawn as he spoke.
"Word travels quickly in the spirit world, child." They answered
"That is rather true, it is likely our brothers and sisters know of you by now." ShiShi Gami said.
"Wonderful..i'm already a celebrity.." The man said, rubbing his temples in annoyance.
"Don't like the attention?" Lenu asked.
"..Pretty much." Alex answered.
"Anyhow, the reason why we are here is to help our friend get back to the mortal realm, and since it takes two deities to open a portal, I figured we would come to you." The deer deity said.
"Under any other circumstances, i would tell you, as i have heard mortals say 'to fuck off' but, given it is for the mortal who transcends life and death-" the lantern fish spirit said.
"My name is Alexander, but everyone calls me Alex." The man said, before the deity continued speaking.
"..Then I shall be glad to help." It finished.
"What is your name?" Alex asked the deity.
"Like ShiShi Gami, I have many names, but you may call me Shuì Yú." They answered.
"Yes, now shall we get to work, brother?" ShiShi Gami asked.
"Yes, we shall." Shuì Yú answered, as a blue orb of light began to form in the air between it's yellow-orange eyes, while another green orb of light formed from the deer deities antlers, getting brighter until they were launched at each other, seemingly exploding in a bright flash of light which made both Alex and Lenu cover their eyes.
After a few moments, the light faded away, both the lemur and human opening their eyes and seeing a portal had opened, which was the same blue color as Shuì Yú's orb of light, which pulsed lightly, though it had little green sparkles floating around it, which were the same green color as ShiShi Gami's orb.
"Woah." They both said, Alex walking up to the portal, but did not step into it.
"Now, you should get home, Alexander. But do not be afraid to drop by again for a visit." The forest deity said.
"You are always welcome here, mortal, though I am sure this is not the last time we will see you." The fish deirt said.
The man gave a nod, starting to step through the portal, though he felt something climb up his back and onto his shoulder, making him stop and look to see who it was and saw it was Lenu.
"You'll be coming back, right?" The spirit asked.
"Of course, it may take a while to get back, but i promise i will." Alex answered, before he stepped into the portal, disappearing after he did.
•San Francisco•
The man let out a groan as his vision slowly returned to normal, revealing he was back in the temple he had disappeared from only hours earlier, which made him sigh with relief.
stepping out of the temple, Alex looked up at the sky and saw it was mid afternoon, slowly turning into early evening, which was enough to make his stomach rumble.
'..I suppose i can pick up dinner on my way back to the shop, and i can look through Uncle's books to see if he has any information about that sword..'