"I can already see it! The light of the Dainichi Mikoshi! It's not very bright—but at least there's still some light left."
"That's strange." Cradled in Lumine's arms, Sangonomiya Kokomi turned her head slightly. "According to the records, there should be a barrier around the Dainichi Mikoshi..."
"We disabled that barrier the last time we came."
"It would normally regenerate," Kokomi explained. "Certain special 'Sinshades' reset the mechanisms after the trials end. Otherwise, the Bathysmal Vishaps would've long destroyed the Dainichi Mikoshi. Judging by how things look, though, that function must have been corrupted by the black mist…"
"Is that so?" Paimon scratched her head—then suddenly pointed. "Hey! The area around the Dainichi Mikoshi looks clear—no mist!"
"Could that be the 'Festival of a Thousand Lanterns'?"
"The Festival of a Thousand Lanterns?"
Kokomi closed her eyes, then opened them again to confirm that the radiant light pushing away the darkness was real. Her heart swelled with emotion as she explained, "Before the Dainichi Mikoshi was built, Enkanomiya knew only darkness. In those days, the people of Byakuyakoku lit a thousand lanterns to fend off the shadows. I never thought it would still work against this black mist—it must be borrowing the power of the Light Realm. I'd only read about it in 'The Collected Rituals of the Abyssal Sea', but I never expected to witness it myself."
"Other than us, there shouldn't be anyone left in Enkanomiya, right? So that means…" Lumine asked, puzzled.
"It must be special 'Sinshades'!" Paimon answered immediately.
"Friend or foe, we'll know once we get closer."
Before they even landed, a shrine maiden wearing a strange half-mask stepped out onto the platform beneath the Dainichi Mikoshi. She murmured to herself, "Humans? Human children? And… why do I feel such a sense of familiarity?"
"Whoa! She's not an 'Sinshade'?!"
"Sinshade? Of course not."
"Well, we can tell that now—but how did you get here before us, all by yourself?" Paimon asked bluntly.
The shrine maiden didn't answer.
Kokomi took the lead and said gently, "You're not Enjou, are you?"
"I'm not. You can call me Tsumi."
"Tsumi… why are you wearing that mask? It's too ornate—it doesn't really suit you."
"Because I'm hiding something unsightly," Tsumi said softly. "Certain things happened to me as I grew. I just don't want to frighten people, that's all."
"Then this 'Festival of a Thousand Lanterns'—you're the one maintaining it?"
"Yes." Tsumi's tone carried a peculiar warmth as she spoke to Kokomi. She could sense that these visitors were from the surface—likely drawn here by the abnormal events. Given that the Sangacorexes had recently stirred, she could almost be sure they were from Sangonomiya. Still, she confirmed, "And what brings you here?"
"We came to resolve the anomaly in Enkanomiya," Kokomi replied.
So, it really was them who imprisoned the Bathysmal Vishaps…
But now, needing help to dispel the mist, Tsumi chose diplomacy. "That's good to hear. Maintaining these thousand lanterns is already exhausting me. I don't have the strength to drive back the spreading darkness myself."
"Do you know what's causing it?" Lumine asked.
"It's an incursion of the Void Realm," Tsumi said solemnly. "The ancient people of Byakuyakoku believed in the existence of three realms: the Draconic Realm, the Human Realm, and the Void Realm. The darkness in Enkanomiya stems from the Void Abyss. Neither dragon nor human can withstand it."
"But wait," Paimon interrupted, "don't the Bathysmal Vishaps like the darkness?"
"They merely hate the light," Tsumi corrected her. "Because, in the abyss below, light means human presence." Then, to prevent further misunderstanding, she explained, "The Draconic Realm is actually the world of pure, primal elemental beings. In ancient texts, it's called the Light Realm. Its seven kings are the Seven Elemental Dragons, rulers of elemental power in its most primitive form."
Victor Wang spoke up. "Could you tell us more about the Void Realm?"
Tsumi turned her gaze toward him. Strangely, she felt a faint kinship with this man. "I don't know much," she admitted. "The Void Realm rarely reveals itself. As far as I know, no creature can survive there perfectly. It's like that Abyssal being—"
"Sorry to interrupt," Lumine cut in. "Are you talking about that self-proclaimed scholar—the deceitful Pyro Abyss Lector?"
"Yes, that one. He talks nonsense most of the time, but he does know a few things. He even knew about Enkanomiya's three realms and the Triangular Doctrine… Speaking of triangles, let me finish the main topic first."
No one interrupted again, so Tsumi continued:
"The source of the black mist lies in the three Void Towers built at the edges of Enkanomiya. The Abyss creatures reconstructed them in imitation of the 'Towers of the Void Realm' described in ancient tradition.
To dispel the mist, one must climb to the top of a Void Tower and activate the Light Realm Spire there, channeling Light Realm energy into this world.
That's why I said that Abyssal man did know a thing or two—but I can't fathom his purpose.
As I said earlier, no living being can truly exist within the Void Realm. The energy those towers release is not only harmful to the Light and Human Realms—it's also a slow, addictive poison to the Abyss beings themselves.
"Maybe he just enjoys betrayal and manipulation."
"You done?" Paimon asked.
"Yes."
"Great! Then let me summarize!" Paimon said brightly, holding up a tiny finger. "So—the black mist in Enkanomiya is caused by Void Towers leaking Void Realm power. The way to fix it is to climb the towers, activate the mechanism, and let in the Light Realm's energy! And the mastermind behind all of it is that creep, Enjou!"
Tsumi nodded. Lumine and Kokomi both indicated they understood as well.
Only Victor Wang seemed lost in thought. "Tsumi, you mentioned the three realms—how exactly do they coexist? Are they fully overlapping, partially overlapping, or separate worlds?"
"Hmm? Hard to say," Tsumi replied. "But there are definitely overlapping zones. Enkanomiya, for instance, is one such convergence—its leylines are of the Human Realm, its elemental currents belong to the Light Realm, and its undercurrents to the Void Realm."
Unsatisfied with that answer, she added, "If I had to guess their layers, I'd say the Human Realm is the outermost—our present world. The Light Realm lies deeper—reachable only through special means. The Void Realm is deepest of all—rarely in contact with the others."
"Then… do you know the true nature of the 'Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri'?"
At that, Kokomi instinctively looked toward Victor Wang, then back to Tsumi, anticipation in her eyes.
Tsumi hesitated for two seconds before asking, "What's your connection to Sangonomiya?"
Victor answered, "We're the ones who came before—to harvest the coral."
"So, it was you…" Tsumi nodded slowly. "According to the texts, the essence of the 'Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri' is this: the life force of the serpent god forcibly awakens its second kin—the Sangacorallia. They are organisms that decompose wild elemental energy into gentler forms suited for the human world. The great coral reefs are the visible sign of these butterflies being awakened by the serpent's blood."
Victor had already known this. He'd asked the question for Kokomi's sake—hoping that by pooling knowledge, they might find a real solution.
Tsumi continued, "Unfortunately, the Sangacorexes are also weakened by the black mist. If you wish for the 'Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri' to continue, you must first purify the darkness."
Victor thanked her quietly, storing the new information in his mind for later contemplation.
"If you've decided to confront the black mist," Tsumi said at last, "then please take this—the Bokuso Box."
She held out a small ornate box. "I found it in the Dainichi Mikoshi while seeking a solution. It can absorb light and use it to nullify the Void's darkness within a small radius. When you face monsters shrouded in the mist, invoke its power—it will strip them back to their true form."