Certainly, Masami wasn't joking when he recalled the feeling of being home, and that the feeling was awful despite supposedly being comfortable. That feeling had intensified when he woke up to a completely different place; he remembered the feeling of his cheek hitting the tabletop before losing consciousness, and then the hazy feeling of slight nausea for being transported into another place. Listen to me, Masami, the voice spoke in Masami's head as if it glistened; his ears rang the first time he heard it, and it was a painful, colorful, thread-like scream, in which Masami was willing enough to listen to. You don't have enough time, make sure you look ahead. I don't know what you see—usually, it is a road. Do you see torii gates ahead? In that moment, Masami looked ahead as he was indirectly told to. Torii gates...? he thought, and his fingers pointed at the first gate from afar, Yes, I see one—no, two of them, the third gate was too far away to be seen by Masami's eyes, and he was just a young boy. He shouldn't have sufficient mana to make his visions clear enough for realism but for Masami, surely, all of these were "clear enough" for realism. Assuming that he'd be wasting his said "enough time" if he would make attempts to question the place he is in, and the colors he is seeing, Masami kept his thoughts shut. Great, answered the voice, it will lead you to the stage. Don't let the monsters get you, they seem to take interest in your unfamiliar presence, it sounded like a bad thing... was it a bad thing? No—Masami shouldn't ask, even in his thoughts, or else he'll lose more energy than he already was. Having to control your own thoughts otherwise losing the self, he wondered what kind of moral lesson he'd learn from this. Is it controlling the self, chaining the desires? The hyoshigi—they have called to force Masami to move. As if he was on stage, he followed the sound—it clapped twice, signaling the start of a great show. It clapped twice, and so did the wooden sandals of Masami's feet. 366/1500 木魅の鬼 |
夢幻能 / Mugen Noh [SQ: SOLO]
Mon Sep 28, 2020 6:13 pm
Tue Sep 29, 2020 4:39 am
Sooner or later, Masami will no longer hear his wooden sandals' soles clap with the road's rocky path, and instead recall the sound of fresh grass that rise even after being stamped down. Do not panic, called the voice once more, but it had startled Masami more than he should have been in the first place, keep calm, the furutsubaki-no-rei seeks your attention. Certainly, that was a bad thing—What a hassle—Masami would slow his pace down, knowing for sure how greedy the plant can be. Every time an herbalist attempts to pick one to create medicine out of it, they have always failed—even, with the usage of magic, the plant refused to cooperate. Masami has heard many tales of this plant and the folklore had continued to mesmerize him until now, especially now that he was witnessing an actual spirit world. He tried not to, but the boy was scared—he was sent off to an unknown realm alone, for the sake of his mother's cure: the purpose of his prelude to Fiore, with only a mysterious stranger's voice to keep him company. From afar, he'd see forms—human? No—they were definitely spirits. Noderabou, the boy thought, flinching a little, but his legs continued to seep through the greedy plants' soul-sucking nature; even if he was wearing high enough wooden soles, the plants were large enough to touch his feet, only to weaken him into nothingness. No good, he'd say, afraid of the spirits' stares. He raised a hand, ready to imbue the palm with fire. He could no longer distinguish emotions from voices; when Zeami's voice shouted, You must not, and startled Masami, he unleashed his magic... by accident? A part of Masami believed that he did this by intention, how devious. The spark of fire had caught the attention of the spirits nearby; it also scared the soul-sucking plants away due to the heat, knowing that they may burn from it, but the other spirits did not feel the same. Specifically, the wanyuudo, the wheel of fire with a head in the middle, felt the alert, then it started to spin in Masami's direction. Other than distinguishing emotions from voices, Masami had also failed to listen; he ran, and now he was being chased. Zeami's voice was no longer present, but the first torii was drawing closer and closer. 761/1500 木魅の鬼 |
Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:13 am
He was being chased. Well, he wasn't supposed to. If he runs, he'll run out of breath, and eventually run out of mana, but how is he going to escape this without speeding away? I'm being chased, he thought, convincing himself that he was calm despite his heartbeat saying the complete opposite. I'm being chased... no use; even if he repeats the same thing again, he will not wake up from the dream—the intervention—he passed through the first torii gate just in time, and then the bell rang. As if Masami's aura exploded, all of the spirits that chased him were pushed away, and now they were far enough to disappear into the distance—or perhaps they were near, and this haze was getting into Masami's vision, after all? From behind Masami, the bell's ringing continued to echo, and Masami halted to look behind him. I shouldn't look back, he thought before continuing his movements—all sorts of movements as from that point, he had forgotten how to breathe. Upon realizing it, he suddenly took deep breaths, then he'd realize that his wooden sandals were once again stepping on cobblestone paths. No more pesky soul-sucking plants to greed over the unfamiliarity of his presence, no more similar discomfort. The voice was no longer reminding Masami of what to do and what not to do, could it be Masami's fault? Could it be because he used magic when he wasn't supposed to? Did that cut their connection off? Nevertheless, regardless of doubt and anxiety, Masami continued to walk as he followed the path he was directed to follow. The second torii didn't seem to be as far as the previous one, he thought, therefore when he focused on that thought, he had forgotten that spirits will continue to chase him. Not to slow, but not too fast, he feared as if he'll forget how to speak in any moment now but if he called for help, he will draw more unnecessary attention; Zeami's voice had completely abandoned him and the only person he can rely on is himself. Following the patterns of his wooden sandals' beats, Masami reached the second torii gate sooner than when he reached the first one a while ago. The same had happened: the torii gate's bell had rung, and it echoed throughout the realm—Masami heard it and he was sure of it. One last gate, one last gate, surely. 1167/1500 木魅の鬼 |
Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:25 am
One last torii gate, why does this one seem so far away? Could it be symbolic, or was the spirit realm simply messing with Masami? There were no more furutsubaki-no-rei, neither were there the wanyuudo and the noderabou, perhaps the second gate's bell had repelled all of them into distances and nothingness; Masami felt relieved. Although, when he looked to his sides, he saw a face from the shadows; it was more of a comical, silly face in appearance, silly enough not to scare Masami—it greatly resembled a prop from the Noh theater in Joya, when they had an akashita as an enemy. What did it do again? It senses the presence of unfamiliar spirits, Masami answered himself, but he also gave himself an answer unto how to deal with the said spirit. As if he didn't see it, Masami continued to walk whilst ignoring the spirit. A very specific spirit, however, was the chochin-obake, a lantern with a face. Compared to the akashita, this one had a rather mortifying face with its' tongue stuck out. It followed right behind Masami, hopping with its' nonexistent legs. "Do not follow me," he uttered, quickly facing the spirit only to give an order for its' disappearance. The lantern spirit didn't seem to understand, so it continued to follow Masami despite being told not to. At that point, Masami realized that he was able to speak after all? He was afraid that he may not recall simple senses, let alone losing consciousness the second time. The last torii is close, too, yet, the chochin-obake continued to follow him. They weren't supposed to be harmful, so Masami doesn't have to attack it otherwise he'll truly get into a fight, wouldn't he? The torii gate's bell had rang when Masami passed through it, except the lantern spirit did not seem to get pushed away. Maybe it was a special one? If only it would not betray Masami and reassure him that everything will be alright. When he passed through that last gate, finally, the shrine had revealed itself with the similar voices that called out: "Welcome, Raikou." 1520/1500 木魅の鬼 |
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