Opening Song: Moonlit Melody by Ryan Amon

All of the items that were left in the carriage are laying on the bed. I swap clothes, cinch the armor up and mount the wagon wheel on my back. It was almost dawn in the real world, which means that instead of having to wait an entire day here, it would be better to wait about two or three. That would probably put it closer to being night time than just returning right after this task is completed.

I eject the spent shells from earlier out of the revolver and reload on the way out to the castle's courtyard. Daemogina and Raesetsu are conversing back and forth as they wait at the front gate. Both of them are holding something that looks like a wooden lunch box.

"You ready?" Daemogina asks.

"Yes. What are we doing?"

"Dinner time. All of us grow weary from hunger." Raesetsu states.

"Annalise told us of a special creature that will make a fine feast for our banquet tonight." Daemogina states.

"Tonight? It's dark all the time."

Daemogina and Raesetsu point at the sky simultaneously. I squeeze in between them both and look up. Up in the black veil that's decorated with the blue moon are several patterns of stars. All of which look exactly the same.

"What am I looking for?"

"You haven't seen it yet?" Raesetsu replies.

"Am I supposed to be looking for something specific? Because all I see is a bunch of little dots in a nighttime sky."

Daemogina giggles as Raesetsu sighs. "Visualize a clock in your mind."

"Alright."

"The moon is setting on what would be twelve."

"Uh huh."

"Most of the stars are white, but there is one that sticks out."

"That orange one?"

"Yes. Now, that star is resting between the six and seven on an actual clock. That star orbits around the moon, and the moment that star eclipses in front of the moon, the moon will turn orange, and the star will change to red." Raesetsu states.

"The way we tell how many days have passed is by the color of the moon. It goes blue, orange, red, and back to blue again. We tell time by the location of the star. It's much more difficult, but we have based our estimates off two and six. Since the star is resting in between what would be the six and seven on a clock, it would be the thirteenth hour of the azure moon." Daemogina adds. "So if the star was located on the three of a clock, what would it be?"

"The sixth hour?"

"Of?"

"The azure moon?" I answer Daemogina's cryptic question.

"If it's in between the nine and the ten it would be..."

"The nineteenth hour of the azure moon?"

"You catch on quick." Raesetsu says as she takes off walking into the forest.

"So where are we going?" I ask.

"To gather some red pearls and blood sprouts. We're going to make a wine to go with dinner tonight." Raesetsu answers."

"Is this part of Annalise's grocery list?"

"No, but it's a nice delicacy that helps dinner feel more refined." Daemogina states.

Raesetsu strays off into a small opening and digs through the snow. Daemogina picks up the pile and sifts through the white powder. I intently watch what they are doing. Daemogina filters through another clump and carefully examines the powder. There are some red dots that speckle the white blob. Daemogina clenches her fist and rolls the packed snow around. Four red seeds break the surface, and she plucks them out.

"These are the pearls we were talking about earlier. These seeds that produce a sprout that will eventually become a flower. However, this is where we collect the pearls. The sprouts are harvested elsewhere." Daemogina states.

"How many do we need?" Raesetsu asks.

"The pearls are still forming, but there will be plenty of sprouts. Quantity or quality?"

"I've never had the stuff, but I'd choose quality." I answer.

"Good choice." Daemogina states.

"You can't get drunk off quality." Raesetsu sighs.

"But it does taste like actual wine than watered down apple juice." Daemogina replies.

Raesetsu covers the holes back up and heads deeper into the forest. Daemogina puts a handful of fleshy seeds in her pocket and follows. The next area over is another clearing. All across the colorless ground are red specs. Raesetsu and Daemogina bend down and gather up the dots. Unlike the red pearls, a stalk has grown out of the seed, and several white flower pods that haven't bloomed yet line the protruding black stems.

I bend down and watch these women work. Several questions come to mind. Yet it would be insensitive to ask. How long have they been doing this? How long have they been here? And why don't they go back to the real world? This is even more difficult to ask about because of certain circumstances involving Daemogina.

"So how long have you both been here?" I ask.

"Do you know how old Fubuki is?" Daemogina says.

"Around twenty, maybe twenty-two."

Raesetsu walks off while Daemogina uses her fingers and mentally counts to herself. "Fubuki was about six the last time I seen her, and now she's nearly twenty? I'm getting old. Well, I was old already. Tell me, are you two friends?"

"We know of one another."

"How's she doing?"

"Well, I can't really answer that. The last time we spoke was shortly before I got sealed."

"The last time I saw her was before I got sealed too. We didn't even get to say goodbye." Daemogina states as she folds her hands and stares up at the moon.

"What was Fubuki like?"

"Precious. Smart. Beautiful. The day I held that newborn in my arms will be something I will never forget. The moment Fubuki stopped crying and smiled at me made me feel like I'd actually accomplished something. I truly was the luckiest woman in the world. Until that one day I lost everything..."

Daemogina's lips curl up and quiver. The white sclera of her eyes become translucent with water that sparkles under the moonlight, "Alan? You've been in the real world recently. Do you know why people value principles more than their family?"

"What do you mean?"

"The shinobi and hunters saw me as a monster. A trophy that could be forged into a weapon, but I never did anything to them. Nor did my husband, or our child."

"There are people who exploit standards for their own benefit, and if you can convince someone the cause is greater than the clan, that's when people lose sight of what really matters."

"I want to return to the old world, but I'm afraid to. Not because of what hunters or shinobi could do to me, but because of my daughter. Nothing would hurt more than to go back only for Fubuki to turn her back and tell me how much she hates me."

I clamp my teeth together in despair and listen. This is something that can't really be answered. Is she aware of what has happened to Fubuki? Would something like that even be Daemogina's fault? It's insensitive, repulsive and stupid for someone to think that, but from Fubuki's point of view, it is a strong possibility.

I clear my throat, "Someone told me once that the first image of God a newborn sees is their mother."

"God? I was cast out by my own tribe for failing to become the next matriarch, my husband valued principles more than me and Fubuki, and Raesetsu was forced to care for my daughter until she was banished here. Now Fubuki is out there. Alone, scared and confused. I'm no God. I don't even deserve to be called a mother."

"Don't say that. I know for a fact Fubuki still loves you."

"How do you know?"

"In the way she acts. She acts all tough, but I'm certain once she realizes you're alive, that act will melt away, and Fubuki will turn back into that little girl you remember so much."

Daemogina takes a deep breath and contemplates the statement. She stands up and walks away in the direction Raesetsu was headed. Her lack of words lead me to believe she doesn't completely believe the statement. Understandable. Even my own heart doesn't trust those words, but what else was I going to say? Daemogina was beating herself up, and seeing someone tear themselves apart over something they had no say in is unacceptable.

She kept mentioning something about her husband choosing principles over her and Fubuki. What exactly does she mean? Is Daemogina implying that he's the reason she's here? I can't really ask what she means since the conversation is over, but could he be the reason those terrible things happened to Fubuki? Did he sell his family out, or was there some kind of ulterior motive? I just can't accept that he would betray his family because he was following orders, but that's not an option that can't be dismissed yet.

The top of Raesetsu's head pokes out from a ditch. What sounds like flexible tree branches snapping come from the hole. Sparse amounts of blood stain the ground as Raesetsu fills several sets of drinking horns from the essence draining from a recently killed yoma. Daemogina is stripping sinew and meat from the bones and packing it into the wooden boxes.

"Since I did the hunting, and Daemogina is preparing the meat, you can go replant the pearls and sprouts." Raesetsu says.

She reaches into the creature's chest cavity and yanks out a lung, "bury this where we were collecting the sprouts." Raesetsu hands me a horn filled with blood that's coagulated. "Those chunks are the red pearls, and that goes underneath the snow."

"Alright."

Raesetsu pries an eyeball out of the creature's skull and holds it out. Daemogina takes the eye and chews the stringy nerve that's still attached to the sclera. I head back to the place where we were digging up sprouts from earlier and bury the lung and pearls in the snow. Raesetsu didn't say how deep the hole needs to be, so the length of a finger should be good enough. I use my index finger to measure the depth and toss a pearl in.

A couple memories try to force their way into my thoughts, but my mind suppresses them. The quicker this gets done, the quicker I can kill those memories. Yet, the ones from what could resemble a childhood keep trying to force their way in. The wear from the headache gets the better of me, and the memory finally sets in.

The day when that adoptive family would tend to the crops while Miyabi and I played in the fields recreates itself. Neither of us liked tending to the crops, but we liked playing in them because they were easy to hide in. On hot summer days when the sun was at its peak, Miyabi and I would lay under the shade of the leafy plants and talk about our childish dreams until we cooled down. Sometimes we would go jump in the river to cool off then race back to the shade just to see who was faster.

I finish planting the final red pearl and lean up against a nearby tree. Daemogina and Raesetsu are nowhere in sight so they are still carving up dinner. I open my side satchel and dig through it. Bullets, receipts, a copy of Shinmai volume 3, a couple syringes, an empty vial and a platinum pocket watch.

"Oh yeah. That was the one Jonathan gave me so I could gauge how much darkness I was generating."

The watch flips around and reveals the corruption levels. The dial is nearly around twelve thousand and rising. What was it Jonathan told me to do? Was it take a shot around ten thousand? It was only a couple days ago when he gave me instructions, but so much has happened since then that everything in the past seems like an incoherent blur. The thing caps out at fifteen thousand, and it's at twelve thousand as of now.

I feel around for another vial of holy water, but the only one that's in the side satchel is empty. That's not good. It has never went past fifteen thousand as far as memory serves. Yet those days shortly after I killed Roger, I had to be locked away from the world because I was suffering from an intense bloodlust.

Those times Yumi would come to give me a shot, and she would have to arm herself with something that could take my head off in one clean blow if I got a hold of her. The corruption has never gotten past fifteen thousand in the past, but if it does, then I'll probably be in that frenzied stupor where anyone that got within reaching distance was potential food.

"You get those pearls planted?" Raesetsu asks.

"Yes."

Daemogina and Raesetsu both have the creature's flesh and viscera packed up into the wooden boxes they brought. They walk around the area and check the pockets where the red pearls they are buried.

"Alright. Let's head back and get started on the cooking." Raesetsu says.

"So were you able to fit that entire creature in those two boxes?"

"We picked what we normally eat, and left the rest as an offering." Daemogina replies.

"An offering to who?"

"The guardian that protects the land of Cainhurst. He ensures that our hunts are always successful in exchange for leaving him half of the carcass and blood." Daemogina answers.

The three of us cross the bridge and into the threshold of the castle's courtyard. Daemogina and Raesetsu head into the kitchen and unpack all the meat they have collected. Daemogina washes her hands with some kind of red vinegar and gets to preparing the meat. Raesetsu takes the red pearls and crushes them into dust. Since they are working, it would be best not to bother them.

I make my way to the throne room. Annalise looks up from a book and puts it away as I crouch down in the little candlelit symbol.

"What is it boy?"

"Queen Annalise, I have an ailing condition."

"What is that?"

"I have to take shots to prevent myself from going into a frenzied bloodlust, and I forgot to grab medicine before coming back. I am not asking for permission to return now, but is there any way you have holy water somewhere around here?"

"I do not. However, I will offer you two solutions. Drink of my blood and be cured of your feeble nature, or I can send one of my servants to fetch this water you speak of."

"With all due respect, there's no need to hurt yourself for my sake."

"Wise and devious choice of words. Rutur?"

The sound of fleshy wings flapping in the breezy wind grows, and a screeching howl rains down from above. What looks like the thing that brought me back lands in-between me and Annalise. The creature folds its wings in and stares directly at me.

This thing is almost indescribable. What looks like deer antlers form the tusks in the corners of its mouth. The furrowing fleshy pink cartridge is stained yellow with what looks like red arteries that pulse and wrap around the thing's tusks. Two yellow orbs slitted with black irises rest behind a thick ribcage set in the creature's stomach.

Somehow, the creature is facing towards me while Annalise speaks to it. As I try to peek around, the creature called Rutur is constantly facing in my direction. I stand up and walk to the side, but the thing doesn't move, and it's still facing me.

"Rutur, fetch this boy some holy water. He's got a condition, and he didn't think about grabbing any before summoning you."

Rutur takes out a moldy, disgusting chalice from his mess of a body and holds it out. Annalise's finger nails grow, and she digs into her arm. Black blood floods out of the open wound as she severs an artery and pulls it from her forearm. Rutur holds out the cup like he's offering it to me. The essence stops in mid-air, and his cup fills with Annalise's blood despite the cup not being under the steady stream.

Rutur downs the blood in one swift gulp and sticks the cup back into his body. He lets out a high frequency bellow like he understands Annalise's order and flies off. Annalise presses the artery back into her arm, and the wound seals itself back up.

"Thank you, Annalise." I say.

"What confounds you?"

"How was Rutur able to face me and talk to you the entire time, and how did your blood not spill on the floor when he was holding his cup out?"

"Rutur possesses a pseudo form of omnipresence. He cannot be everyone at once, but those who look at him will be met with his gaze. Even if he is not looking at them directly."

"What exactly is he?"

"My servant."

"Fair enough."

Annalise stands up from her throne and slowly descends from her elevated throne, "It appears our banquet is almost complete. Come. Let us engage in a royal festivity."

"I'm not royalty, but I have basic table etiquette and mild manners."

"That's all we ask of you." Annalise says as she slowly walks.

This woman is in no rush to get to dinner. In the time she takes one step, I could have already been at the bottom of the stairs. Yet I stay slightly behind her and off to the side if she chooses to speak. Annalise keeps her hands cusped together and majestically walks in a dead way.

"When do you intend on returning to your world?" Annalise asks.

"In about two or three days."

"Why?"

"Time flow is different, and it would be best to wait for a more opportune time rather than suddenly rushing back."

"A wise choice for a boy your age."

I move ahead and open the double doors leading to the dining room. Daemogina and Raesetsu back away from the decorated table and bow as Annalise makes her way towards two gilded thrones decorated with illustous precious metals and gemstones. She sits down in the silver throne.

The table is dressed with all sorts of silver platters. Everything one could expect at an extremely fancy dinner. Except this goes beyond anything a human could expect. Most of the yoma is still pulsating in the soaking blood. Everyone has their own pitcher filled with some kind of liquid. Probably that red pearl and sprout stuff Raesetsu was working on.

"Forgive me that I do not join you, but I never drink wine." Annalise states as she sits her pitcher off to the side of the table.

"All is alright." Raesetsu replies.

Annalise spreads out her arms, "Please my humble guests, eat and drink your fill."

"Are you not going to eat?" Daemogina asks as we all sit down.

"I must refrain from removing my mask, but I will certainly take some to my personal quarters. Please children, you have my permission to partake."

Daemogina and Raesetsu pick up a small spoon and sip on the bloody stew the yoma is soaking in. I pick a small soup spoon up and carefully watch how everyone is eating. Red erodes the shiny silver dip and streaks over the sides of the spoon. Annalise's barren mask concerns me because there's no way to tell when she's looking in my direction. Daemogina and Raesetsu are dinning like people who light cigars with ten-thousand-yen bills, and I'm sitting here like some peasant chump who hasn't seen food in weeks.

"Does the food not sate you?" Annalise asks.

"This is all new to me so I am unfamiliar with these customs." I reply as I put the spoon in my mouth and quietly sip the broth. The metallic taste from the iron gives the broth a pungent sweet flavor. The blood itself could almost be considered desert.

"Then tell me Alan. How do people from your world eat?"

"McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King."

"Who is this king of burgers?"

"It's not an actual person. It's a place where people can order food and have it brought to them."

"People do not cook for themselves anymore?"

"Some people still do, but there aren't very many people that know how to cook something entirely from scratch. It's a dying art in my world." I answer as I get another spoonful of blood broth.

"Can you cook?"

"Yes, but it's the simple type of food. Nothing like what we're having now. Before I met my bride, I traveled a lot, and the food had to be made quickly and for long journeys. It was very rare to actually have a home cooked meal. Now my bride and her family know how to actually cook, and before I enlisted and went to war, I would have dinner with my bride and her family at the end of every week."

Annalise looks intrigued by the answer. Staying locked up for an undisclosed amount of time and being forbidden from leaving this land has piqued her interest. Daemogina and Raesetsu sip on their wine goblet and proceed to eating the yoma meat. I copy what they're doing and try to think of ways to answer any incoming questions.

The wine Raesetsu made from those red pearls and sprouts tastes like something from back home. There's no bite or any kind of alcoholic punch, but it has a strange fruit flavor. Almost like a soda with artificial cherry flavoring. Very stout and floral, but I can see how one could acquire a taste for it over time.

"You told me that you wanted to return to your world because of your bride. What is her name?" Annalise asks.

"Her name is Asuka."

"What is she like?"

"The most wonderful girl in the world. Tough. Brave. Supportive. Always there to lend a shoulder to me when I've fallen in my convictions."

"If what you say about Asuka is true, then she will make you a fine wife one day." Annalise answers.

"A good woman is greater than any set piece in a king's crown. Worth far above rubies." Raesetsu adds.

Daemogina's posture changes, and the frequency and speed of her eating drastically drops.

"Right now, Asuka is in trouble, and I have to get back to my world and save her, but it's a very thin line. The only reason I haven't done it now is because in the time it took me to get the resources and come up with a plan, I was chased away by our enemies." I say.

Daemogina wipes her mouth on a napkin, "Annalise, may I be excused for a couple moments?"

"Granted."

Daemogina pushes her chair up and leaves the dining room in haste. Raesetsu takes a deep breath and exhales out her nose.

"It wasn't anything I said, was it?"

"Not at all." Annalise answers.

"Daemogina tends to get emotional when she hears about couples that love one another." Raesetsu adds.

As tempting as it is to ask, it would be wise to just remain quiet. Although it's kind of obvious why a conversation about marriage and couples would upset Daemogina. I finish eating and polish off the last of the red pearl wine. Raesetsu takes a final bite and points the utensils towards her plate.

"You are excused."

"Thank you Annalise."

Raesetsu picks up all of her dinning utensils and exits the dining room. Daemogina returns and sits back down.

"Forgive me, but I had an emergency." She says as she wipes her face.

"All is forgiven." Annalise replies.

I point the utensils towards the plate and signal that I am done.

"When Daemogina is finished, she will show you how to clean and put up your plate for the next banquet. Until then, I am going to excuse myself." Annalise states. Raesetsu returns to the room and picks up the plate. Annalise leaves the dining room as Raesetsu escorts her.

"So I have a couple days until it is time for me to head back. What do we do in that span of time?"

"Housework. Cleaning, rebuilding, and keeping the fire places running." Daemogina answers.

"Ah yes. The most wholesome kind of work. Just like ye olden days."

"Just like ye olden days." Daemogina chuckles behind a gentle smile.

She finishes her dinner and turns her utensils toward the plate despite Annalise's absence. Daemogina and I gather up the remaining stuff. She seems to be doing better now. When she came back, the look in her eyes was nothing but trapped pain. What exactly happened to Daemogina? From the context given, it sounds like her husband willingly let her be sent here. Why?

Asking now would just spoil the good mood she worked so hard to re-achieve, but if he would have never allowed something like that to happen, could all those terrible things that happened to Fubuki been avoided?

I follow Daemogina outside to a well and put my plate in with several others that are inside a basket. She sends the pail and draws it back up full.

"You ever wash dishes?"

"Yeah. My adoptive family used to make us do it." I reply.

"After we finish this, we'll go dust the castle."

It never occurred to me that I'd be doing house work for a queen in a land that's been damned sometime in my life. For some bizarre reason, the memories of the past comfort me. Even though I try to ward them off, this hard work combined with those terrible memories make me feel at peace. I still have the worries about Asuka, but I believe Jonathan and Old Man Hanzo won't let anything happen to her.

I look up at the moon and cross my heart, "Stay strong for me Asuka. I'm coming for you…"

Ending Song: Yamiyo Wa Otome o Hana Ni Suru BGM version by Ruka Kawada