"Hehe... If my tongue is cut out, I can no longer sing. But it's fine, I can still dance."
The girl's ethereal voice echoed, the mournful, desolate melody sending chills down the spine.
"If my eyes are gouged out, I can no longer see. But it's fine, I can still dance."
Under the crimson moonlight, her song intertwined with the petals drifting through the air, creating a unique, sorrowful beauty.
Surrounded by this eerie singing, Kenmei felt only absurdity. If her tongue was cut out, then who exactly is singing this song?
Earlier, Kenmei had merely used his psychic power to enhance his vision out of concern for his classmate. He never expected to be transported here. Now, he was just a helpless spectator, unable to move a muscle.
Before him, illuminated by countless burning torches, stood a massive cherry blossom tree. Its trunk was so vast it would take fifty people holding hands to encircle it. The bark was wrapped in red and white shimenawa ropes.
These sacred objects, meant for blessings and warding off evil, seemed tainted. Their bright colors were fading, turning ominous with time.
Beneath the giant cherry tree lay a large, blood-colored altar. In the center of the altar, a pure white figure was dancing.
She wore a pure white bridal kimono. Her makeup was exquisite, her beauty almost unearthly. She bore a striking resemblance to Eru Chitanda.
Her eyes were closed tight as if in deep slumber. Despite her petite frame, she radiated an undeniable aura of nobility and divinity.
Her long, snow-white hair and sleeves flowed with the wind. In her hand, she held a dark golden kagura suzu. With every movement of her dance, the bells chimed with a clear, melodious sound.
Everything was so beautiful, so holy.
But as the girl danced, the massive cherry tree behind the blood altar began to change. It turned艳 (bewitching/eerie), as if coming alive.
From beneath the earth, countless thick roots, like dragons or serpents, burst through the cracked ground. These vines were terrifying—they looked like flayed flesh, pulsing with a heartbeat.
What shocked Kenmei even more was what the rampaging vines churned up from the depths.
It was then Kenmei realized: this wasn't a sacred tree being worshipped. It was a sealed monster of unknown horror.
Every inch of the massive roots was embedded with human skulls. Holes were bored into the skulls, and the wood grew through them. There were countless roots, and the white skulls covered them like clusters of insect eggs. Dense, packed together.
Kenmei's scalp tingled with horror.
To grow this large, how many lives had this cherry tree devoured?
Cracks spread across the blood-colored altar, but the girl in white seemed oblivious, continuing her dance.
Suddenly, a twisted vine shot out from the cracked surface of the altar, instantly piercing through her shoulder. Her white miko robes were immediately stained with a blossoming red mark.
Pain washed over the girl's face, but even with her shoulder impaled, she tried to keep dancing. As if stopping the ritual would bring about terrifying consequences.
Her blood trickled down the vine, which only excited the other roots. More and more vines burst from the ground. At first, she struggled, but soon she was completely immobilized.
The altar was torn apart by the vines, opening a gaping maw. The vines wrapped around the girl, slowly dragging her down to be swallowed whole.
Even though he didn't know her, seeing such a tragic fate unfold left Kenmei shaken. He wanted to do something, anything. But he could only watch helplessly, paralyzed.
In her final moments, the girl slowly opened her eyes. Kenmei winced, finally understanding why she had danced with her eyes closed.
Her eyes had been gouged out long ago. Only empty sockets remained.
Worse still, a bloody vine had sprouted from her right eye socket. The tip, nourished by her flesh, had bloomed into an eerily beautiful pink cherry blossom, filling the socket and creating a stark contrast with the emptiness of her left eye.
The stunningly beautiful girl seemed beyond pain now. She lifted her head and gave Kenmei a brilliant smile.
Kenmei saw her mouth move, trying to say something, but no sound came out. Recalling the song from earlier, it was safe to assume her tongue had indeed been cut out.
"Soon..."
Kenmei could only read her lips.
"Soon... I will come to find you..."
Realizing what she was saying, Kenmei felt his heart spasm violently. The world before him—the terrifying cherry tree, the altar—suddenly cracked like shattered glass. Then, with a sharp snap, it broke apart completely.
Kenmei was plunged into darkness. A sharp pain shot through his brain. He didn't know how much time passed before light returned.
He opened his eyes and found himself back in the classroom. The cherry tree, the girl eaten by the roots, the smile—fragments of memory assaulted his nerves.
"What is this?"
"Why do I want to cry?"
Kenmei stared at the blood-colored tears dripping onto his palm, bewildered by the overwhelming sorrow rising in his chest.
His rationality still intact, he noticed that no one around him had sensed anything wrong. Only a brief moment must have passed in reality.
Asagi-nee had just placed her books on the lectern, about to start homeroom.
Not good. I might lose it here.
Realizing his emotions were being influenced by something unknown—a severe case of mental pollution—Kenmei took a deep breath and immediately activated an ancient incantation.
[Mana -20]
As the psychic energy washed over him, Kenmei felt his consciousness stabilizing, the alien emotions fading away.
Psykers constantly peer into the Warp; mental pollution is inevitable. A qualified Psyker must always monitor their mental state.
Kenmei thanked his unmet mentor in his heart once again.
The inheritance included a psychic technique to alleviate mental corruption. It didn't have a name in the text, so Kenmei simply called it the [Calming Mantra].
Regaining his composure, Kenmei let out a long breath. His face was grim.
"This world is far more dangerous than I thought..."
Without a guide, the novice Kenmei had used his psychic powers without caution. Focusing psychic energy into his eyes was like opening the "Eye of Truth."
The secret hidden within Eru Chitanda was not something he could handle right now.
Meanwhile, far away in Kamiyama City, deep within an ancient mountain range in the territory of the Chitanda clan, a massive cherry blossom tree stood tall. If Kenmei saw it, he would be shocked—it was identical to the one in his vision.
Having weathered countless eras, the tree remained beautiful and brimming with vitality, shedding petals into the wind.
Beneath it, however, lay a vast black swamp formed by an abyss of evil Cursed Energy. Countless terrifying, blood-red humanoid Cursed Spirits bobbed in the mire, a scene straight out of hell.
At the very top of the canopy, a girl in pure white miko robes was firmly bound within the deep branches. White hair adorned with fallen petals, she slept peacefully.
Slowly, the girl opened her blood-red, amber-like eyes.