The plan was set, and logically, there shouldn't be any issues—even if an accident occurred, Sū ěr, who had already communicated with the world, was ready to bolt.
Safe! He felt very safe right now!
As mentioned before, the Yasakani no Magatama was always restlessly agitated in the outside world, jumping whenever it faced the moon. But once Sū ěr arrived on the moon and released it, it became exceptionally calm.
What was constantly surging was the black aura contained within each bead. It was no longer simply staining the color as it had in the past; in Sū ěr eyes, it seemed to have come alive, flowing out of the Magatama.
Like someone who had finally awakened after a slumber of unknown years, the black aura circled the beads in a very human-like manner, appearing dazed, as if it didn't know who it was, where it was, or what it was supposed to do.
As the black aura gradually woke up and left its host beads, the Magatama finally regained the same color as the one Sū ěr had purified. But at a time like this, neither Sū ěr nor Think had the luxury of caring about such small details.
The giant humanoid below finally showed a reaction.
The brownish-black substances Sū ěr had initially taken as shackles were actually parts of the nameless giant's body. A few breaths ago, they were in a state of no reaction other than faint pulses of light. But once the black aura from the Magatama manifested, they followed suit and changed.
At the edges of these brownish-black substances—which were rooted into the moon from a single direction like aerial roots—something was constantly reaching outward. With just a bit of scrutiny, Sū ěr recognized what it was: the same unknown creature that had been the first to poke its head out from the other side of the passage after Yakumo Yukari opened the path to the moon.
After it lunged and was hammered back, Sū ěr had lost track of the creature. Only now did he finally confirm its true nature.
It wasn't just hiding in the brownish-black substance; the unknown creature was also hidden within the perpetually glowing moon itself. The clean, jade-like, unblemished surface of the moon was its nest.
Sū ěr couldn't help but think of a swarm of ants. This black, unknown entity flowed like a liquid, gathering bit by bit. The process wasn't slow; on the contrary, it was filled with a bizarre aesthetic.
Finally, the pitch-black fluid extended infinitely upward, like a growing tree with tangled roots, a thick trunk, and slender branches. The bifurcated limbs were like an open palm, twisting irregularly, the "fingertips" about to touch the black aura flowing from the Magatama.
For some reason, Sū ěr recalled a mural he had seen in his first life... The Creation of Adam. Only here, the role of Adam was played by a black sludge that couldn't be associated with "good" by any stretch of the imagination, while God was an even more questionable black mist.
If he had to give an accurate description, it looked more like the scene where the final boss in a manga is awakened.
Where is Takamagahara? Where is the gate to Takamagahara? Sū ěr couldn't help but mutter in his heart, looking around. He focused mainly on the direction of the Silver River and its zenith.
In the few seconds he was looking, the fluid black sludge made contact with the black aura. They entwined, merged, and became one.
"...Run... fast..."
Something was making a sound.
The voice came from the merged black sludge—intermittent, and if one didn't listen carefully, it was impossible to tell what was being said. A massive slit had appeared on the surface of the sludge, and within the opening and closing, one could see distinct white teeth. It was a mouth opening and closing in agony, like a human's.
"...Don't... stop..."
"...Why... Aaaaaah..."
The creature's voice grew gradually more fluent as it produced more syllables, though its fluency was still limited. It clearly hadn't been attacked, yet it seemed to be enduring immense pain, its fluid body twisting and deforming constantly.
Residual pain.
This concept appeared in Sū ěr mind—information passed to him by the world itself through this creature. What caused this creature such agony wasn't an attack in the present, but a pain that had remained in its body and spirit from countless years ago. Pain from the past, a mere memory.
This painful voice even found resonance, interweaving and overlapping.
More slits were pulled open, more pale teeth revealed. These lip-like slits were groaning in pain, until the nightmarish symphony reached its climax.
The giant came to life.
It looked like soft tissue, like flesh and blood, but when the giant humanoid moved slightly, it produced the crisp sound of breaking rock. Arms tried to break free from their bonds, legs were melted down to the knees, and even the stiff head was trembling slightly.
"...Ah... Aaah... Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
The giant's lips broke the seal of rock formed by aeons of accumulated dust. His voice was raspy, like a steel saw cutting wood. From a dry rattle to a heaven-shaking roar, Sū ěr couldn't help but cover his ears. He saw the rock fragments sealing the giant's eyes burst outward as he opened them.
Like a firework ascending into the sky, the moment the most beautiful spark explodes is the moment its life ends.
In an instant, what erupted seemed to be his final strength. The giant humanoid's struggling movements gradually slowed until it returned to stillness... like a moth about to plunge into the fire, falling right beside the flames.
"...Why..."
Only these words remained, mixed into the heavy breathing.
Sū ěr wasn't sure what reaction he would get if he stepped forward to speak to the giant, but seeing its aura grow weaker and its eyes gradually close, he felt he couldn't just stand by and watch.
He wanted to know what happened to this bizarre world. Whether this world, so clearly hiding layer upon layer of secrets, could still be lived in. Whether there was trouble he couldn't solve even with his current power. If there was, he would have to collect the world's source and flee as soon as possible.
The Nine-Tailed Fox couldn't answer these questions, and Yakumo Yukari certainly couldn't. But this giant, who had clearly survived from ancient times and seemed to have gone through a harrowing experience, should be able to answer him—if it could still communicate.
Sū ěr drew closer.