Storm Clouds
A foreboding darkness looms over the heads of the migrating flowers.
The orange hue of the late-afternoon sun shimmers over the forested hillside of Mt. Shosha. A light breeze flutters through the trees, carrying the gentle aroma of the flower fields lining the nearby Yumesaki River. The chirping of songbirds occasionally breaks the overbearing silence. Overhead, a large railway runs from a small station in the city to roughly the halfway point of the mountain, lying in various states of disrepair.
The end station for the railway sits in a small clearing. The passage of time has not been kind to the small shack; many of the building's windows have been smashed. The wires that once helped to bring countless tourists up the historic mountain have snapped near the station, ensuring no railcars will ever ride the lift again. From the treeline near the station emerge Rina and Noriko, with the former panting heavily as they arrive.
"Huff… huff… Are we there yet? I… can't go on much longer…"
"Just a bit further, Rina. Look, we've already reached the station."
Noriko looks unfazed by the steep vertical climb the two have undergone as she leads the duo forward. Several decrepit structures line the walkway near the rail station, looking similarly disheveled to the central building.
"Doesn't look like this place fared as well as the other temples."
Rina's offhand remark resonates with Noriko as she takes in the unkempt nature of their surroundings.
"I was thinking the same thing. It's odd… For such a large temple, it's in a considerably worse state than the others we've visited. Though, I suppose that is to be expected."
Noriko's last comment piques Rina's curiosity, enticing the junior Scout to pursue it further.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Well, from the information the Taisha left us with, Shoshazan Temple was the victim of a particularly fierce attack before the Vertexes took over the outside."
As the two progress further into the mountains, they arrive at a fork in the dirt path. The left pathway seems to lead straight up the mountain while the right curves off into a densely forested footpath. Noriko quickly pulls out her smartphone and consults the map the Taisha had provided to her before the girls' departure.
"It looks like this used to be where the tourist paths split. The left used to be a shuttle path while walkers generally headed up the right."
Rina leans over and glances at the map, noticing some marks on the right path.
"It looks like there are some small shrines down the path to the right. Think we should take that one then, Nori-Nori?"
Noriko nods and shoots a smile back at Rina.
"Good thinking. It couldn't hurt to hit those on our way up."
Stowing her phone away once more, Noriko starts down the pathway after Rina. The gentle breeze peters out as they move deeper into the thick forest. The tree cover dims the forest floor as they navigate the winding trail. Rina gazes around in awe at the various statues and informative signs lining the path, seemingly unaware of the shift in Noriko's demeanor.
"Rina… stay on guard."
"Wow, Nori-Nori, look at this!"
Noriko's warnings fall on deaf ears as Rina's fanaticism drowns out the concerns of her superior officer. Watching as Rina approaches a particular statue, Noriko catches sight of a heavy rustling in the bushes just behind her companion.
"Rina, eyes up!"
"Huh!?"
Noriko's sudden cry catches Rina off-guard causing her to stumble away from the statue just before a white blur crashes out of the shrubbery into the spot Rina once stood. Now standing before the two Scouts is a large white-and-red creature resembling an elk. A gaping maw with sharpened teeth snarls at the pair, and they slowly back away from the Beast-type Stardust. Noriko carefully reaches for her musket, desperately attempting to avoid alerting the horrific creature.
~SCRRRR~
The beast lets out a low rumble as it eyes the off-guard Rina, struggling to stumble back to her feet and frantically reaching for her weapon. Leaving a cloud of dirt behind it, the Stardust leaps from the ground and bares its fangs as it dives at Rina. The blue-haired Sentinel is barely able to clutch her musket in time to catch the blow when she hears a shout from behind her.
"Drop your head!"
Without a second thought, Rina follows Noriko's orders and her head quickly slams into the dirt below. Her eyes gaze into the horrid mouth of the creature just long enough to catch a beam of green light pierce through the creature's head. The grip of the beast's fangs on her musket releases immediately as it lets out a blood-curdling scream and erupts into a cloud of sand, blanketing Rina in fine crystals.
"Rina, are you alright?"
The tension in the air from the close encounter quickly dissipates as Noriko hurries to Rina's side, extending an arm to her downed partner. Rina takes Noriko's hand and pulls herself up, brushing the excess sand from her uniform.
"That was a close call… Thanks, Nori-Nori."
"Thankfully, you're okay."
Noriko's face has shifted to a stern expression, wearing the gravity of the situation before them on her face. She turns towards the pathway leading up the mountain once more, ushering Rina to follow along behind her.
"Rina, you know how I mentioned earlier that Shoshazan Temple was on the wrong end of a particularly bad attack in the past?"
"Yeah?"
The gentle breeze picks up into a minor gale as the two girls pass through a large ornate gate. The harsh winds cause Rina to stagger as she walks, slowing her pace as she struggles to listen to the explanation from her superior officer.
"The Taisha were fearful of the state of some of the temples that were left behind. In places with heavily concentrated Stardust presence, there was some worry that the ground may have been tainted. They say that was especially true around certain temples where the presence of Heroes was light."
"And Shoshazan Temple was one of them?"
Noriko solemnly nods as the two girls approach a small sub-temple set off the side of the pathway. The leader slows to a halt by the minor shrine as the strong winds continue to whip through the hillside, sending her white ponytail into a frenzy.
"Rina, let's stop for a moment. There are several of these smaller shrines along the way. We should pay our respects."
"Okay!"
The two girls step inside the small courtyard of the building. The once highly revered Juryo-in sub-temple stands at odds with many of the shrines the girls had previously visited. Gaping holes bearing clearly defined teeth marks dot the walls of the rundown shrine. The two girls fight the raging zephyr to lower themselves to the ground. Contrasting the usual grandiose gestures the two typically perform, Noriko and Rina simply clasp their hands together and offer a silent prayer.
"May the gods of the earth return to your sacred homes and flourish once more."
After a few moments of praying, the two girls rise to their feet once again and are buffeted by the fierce winds.
"Rina, let's keep going. We shouldn't be too far from the main building now."
Heading back to the pathway and beginning their hampered march once more, Rina notices the serious nature of Noriko's demeanor. Her posture and attitude bears an intensity she has never seen before, not even when staring down the partial Vertexes the Sentinels had previously fought.
"Nori-Nori… What was it you were saying about the temple before?"
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Noriko regains her composure as she harkens back to a particular meeting she had before the girls' departure.
"I was briefed on this sort of situation before you and I embarked. A Taisha member had summoned myself along with Commander Kusunoki and Miss Kokudou, the Miko."
＊＊＊＊＊
"I thank the three of you for meeting with me today."
The light of the midday sun illuminates the interior of a small office within the Taisha headquarters. The bookshelves along both of the room's side walls are lined with a mix of legal books and official Taisha records. A single robed Taisha member sits at a desk in the center of the room, the same Aki who once led both Washio Sumi's team of Heroes and acted as the Taisha liaison for the Sentinels. Across from her sits Noriko, the Sentinels' former commander Mebuki, and the blonde-haired miko Aya, who had once accompanied the group. Mebuki is the first of the young group to speak, addressing the officer of the Taisha.
"I assume preparations are going well?"
Aki lightly chuckles at the ever-serious nature of the Sentinels' former leader. She wastes no time in pulling a folder from the top drawer of her desk, opening it and displaying the file for the three girls.
"Right to business as always."
Aki smiles at Noriko, who wears a similarly serious demeanor to that of Mebuki.
"Thanks to Miss Ishida and Miss Konoe's acceptance of the mission, the plan has been progressing smoothly. Training regimens for the two of you are nearly finished and you should be ready to embark within the coming weeks."
Noriko smiles and bows in her seat to the officer before her. Mebuki, unaffected by the praise heaped onto her former teammate, continues to press the issue of their meeting.
"So, what's the meaning for this meeting today?"
"Yes, please. If you would direct your attention behind me."
Aki rises from her seat and draws the solid black curtains closed, ushering an all-encompassing darkness into the room as she hurries towards the opposite wall. Pushing a button on a projector sitting near the door causes a large image to display on the curtain, depicting a decrepit temple.
"As you've already been informed, one of your duties as Scouts will be the purification of several major temples located across the mainland. You should already have been provided with the seeds granted to us by the Shinju-sama's departure."
Noriko had indeed received a package containing a large bundle of seeds. The mysterious kernels had been found in a large pile at the Monument to the War Dead following the final battle between the Heroes and the heavenly gods. The massive spiritual energy detected within the sprouts was interpreted as a final gift to humanity from the Shinju-sama.
"However… several of these temples were left without a suitable defense due to the deaths of local Heroes. Reports from the end of the Christian era said that these temples had become breeding grounds for the Stardust and were supposedly too dangerous even for Heroes of the Shinju-sama."
Mebuki's rage grew as Aki continued her explanation, now palpable as Aya struggles to keep her companion calm.
"So, you intend to send these two into a place like that? Are you looking to get them killed?"
"Mebuki, calm down! Please let Miss Aki finish."
"Aya…"
Aya's piety towards the Taisha and Shinju-sama was something to behold. Her ties to the divine tree that had protected humanity for three centuries had instilled a deep respect for the Taisha into her, one that could even quell an incensed Mebuki.
"Thank you, Miss Kokudou. Though I wish I could say Miss Kusunoki's fears were unfounded… there is a certain level of risk that accompanies this portion of the girls' mission. We don't know what kind of condition the outside was left in following Yuuki-sama and the other Heroes' victory. But, we do have a plan for purifying these areas."
Aki clicks a button, causing the image depicted on the curtain to shift to an informative diagram. On screen, a figure is seen performing a ritual at a shrine's offering box and a phrase is written near the top of the image.
"For locations like these, we have prepared a special ritual. Many of these temples had ceremonial phrases that those who journeyed to the shrines would recite. We have prepared a document containing these phrases to be used alongside the most potent of the seeds bestowed by the Shinju-sama. In some cases, you may need to perform these rituals at multiple locations within a temple."
Aki flicks the lights on within the office once more and returns to her seat, continuing to deliver more information about Rina and Noriko's impending mission.
＊＊＊＊＊
"Wow… sounds serious."
As Noriko finishes recounting the tale to Rina, the two come to a large clearing. A variety of rundown, decaying buildings dot the open area as a massive temple overlooks the once bustling courtyard. Returning her attention to the two girls' surroundings, Noriko checks her smartphone once more and looks up at the massive structure standing before them.
"This should be the place. The Mani-den is one of the main buildings of the temple, so we'll start the ritual here."
The two quickly ascend the steps leading to the massive temple, steeling themselves for the ritual to come. As the winds rage outside, Rina and Noriko slip inside a side door of the temple and find themselves in the Mani-den's main hall. The rafters of the sacred shrine are lined in a dazzling latticework motif and decadent pillars lined with swaying frills hang from the ceiling.
"Wow… It's amazing…"
Rina can't help but marvel at the decadent architecture of the Christian era temple. Noriko, on the other hand, quickly works her way inside the temple to the central offering box. The open front of the structure lets in some of the raging winds as the last of the sun's orangish rays are being blotted out by a dark and foreboding cloud cover. Setting her bag down in front of her, Noriko searches for the special seeds designated for this particular ritual.
"Rina, it's time."
"Oh, right! Coming!"
Rina snaps herself from her awestruck trance and hurries to Noriko's side. She starts to lower herself to the ground alongside Noriko but is quickly stopped by the superior officer, who points to her musket.
"I need you to stay on guard for this one, Rina. We've already been attacked once, things could get bad if it happens during the ritual."
"Roger."
Rina removes the weapon from her back once again and clutches it tightly in her hands as Noriko begins the ritual. With a hymnic voice, Noriko begins to recite the special chant for Shoshazan Temple.
"We climbed to the summit of Mt. Shosha as a strong wind blew down from the peak. The pines whispered as they swayed in the breeze. For us, even this sound is a teaching from the Buddha."
As Noriko completes the temple's ceremonial 'Goeika', the raging winds seem to dissipate. A familiar energy begins to fill the air as Noriko continues her prayer while Rina stands guard.
"Oh, divine gods of Shoshazan Temple… Saint of Mercy… May your blessings be returned to the Earth once again… We disciples of the divine Shinju… Bless these lands that humanity may walk them once more… "
Rina notices a jarring shift in the atmosphere surrounding the temple. Gone is the familiar warmth the two girls have experienced a handful of times over their journey, replaced with a stifling aura of contempt. Seeking a release from the throttling energy within the temple, Rina quickly steps over to the temple's balcony and gazes at their surroundings. The skies have now fully clouded over and an eerie silence falls over the hillside. However, that silence is quickly broken by a low rumbling from the courtyard below.
~SCRRRRRRRRRRRRRR~
From the forests surrounding the large temple, several Stardust beasts begin to emerge into the courtyard. For every creature to emerge from the treeline, another seems to follow closely behind. Before long, a small horde of creatures prowls the common area below. The beasts' noises remain a low rumble for several moments as Rina closely surveys their movements, before one near the rear of the pack notices the former Sentinel watching them.
~SCREEYAAAAAA~
As the beast lets out its earth-shattering scream, the rest of the pack follows suit as they charge towards the temple. Panicked, Rina grips her rifle and aims into the crowd before shouting back to her companion, still deep in her ritual.
"Nori-Nori! We've got company!"