犬鳴村
Inunaki-Mura
'Inunaki Village'
- Finale -
The sweet soundtrack of silence echoed off the walls. Wind had become noticeably stronger, the grey clouds above the impaled rooftop of this abandoned temple blocking light from blessing the space. Yet, this music wasn't pleasing to the ear. It was the miserable cry of terror, the metaphor for nails digging into wood and bleeding heavily. Voice was the branch of thorns sent down the throat to cut onto flesh and meat. And this wind, it carried every single detail of such pain and curse.
Tingle of bells was easily heard melody in this place, but it was far from useful. The Mononoke was somewhere here, but what was its form, truth and reason?
Certainly, the most logical conclusion to come up with was that the statue of a female was the form of this Mononoke. But where could they possibly dig up its truth and reason?
Y/N and Medicine Seller took better look at the denied temple they were in.
A little bit of observation was enough for them to realise that the base of this temple had been built upon the roots of a large tree, the largest one that sat upon this hill and guarded the village.
Cold that wind carried with it sent shivers down Y/N's spine, her body already used to the sickening scent of blood and rotting flesh, and above all, death.
This village smelled of death in its dirtiest, most punishing form, the one closest to hell.
"Could that be what we are looking for?" Y/N spoke up, pointing her finger at the realistic statue, her brows raised and furrowed at the same time, lips pale from present cold.
The blonde man looked at the wooden figure, his own brows narrowing as he felt uneasy by the lack of knowledge and control over the situation. He knew there was nothing to fear – the truth, form and reason still existed and only had to be found – but the lack of their much-needed presence at this very moment sent the second worth of a bad gut-feeling shoot through his body.
"Maybe so." His words, however, were still very much calm and collected, and he took off the luggage off his back, opening the drawers of his box to take out the sheathed blade of velvet gold.
As expected, it reacted to the open space, clearly stating that their assumptions were, in fact, correct.
"It is!" Y/N exclaimed, already aware of the signs the mysterious blade was giving off.
One was done with, two more left. How would they find the truth and reason of the doomed wooden sculpture?
The two approached the body with intent to look into it a bit better, but rushed footsteps cut through the deadly silence like the sharpest sword, catching them off guard. They both rushed towards the entrance of the temple, old and rusty floor screeching beneath their feet, threatening to fall apart at any moment.
Outside, the villagers were clumsily walking up the muddy stairs, their bodies smelling of disease, pale with sickness. Half-naked, they kept on stepping forward while earth, mud and leaves stuck to their cut feet that were covered in blood which turned into a horrific glue. With eyes widened in an unnatural, demonic manner and their mouths carrying dried grass and chopped wood, some of them still chewed onto raw flesh and insides.
Like the after-effect of a pill, adrenaline shot through Y/N's veins, her heart pumping the hot blood to burn the cold away, melting the fear and common-sense alike.
She found herself reaching for the ground, her fingers wrapping around the fallen, thick branch which wasn't too heavy for her to lift up and carry, but still held much size. Unknowing the arts of combat, she could only throw the said branch in a clumsy manner of an amateur, but to survive, she couldn't care less about how her actions seemed unworthy of aesthetics.
The branch flew through air and hit one of the living corpses, the sharper part of it stabbing through his eye socket, sending fresh waterfall of blood down his face. The branch broke apart, leaving him with the thorn-like piece of wood still within his skin and flesh.
Smell of fresh blood spread through the air, and the group had stopped walking.
Y/N straightened her back, a single exhale leaving her lips, the fog of her breath escaping into the skies. One mere moment of silence shot through the space before numerous blood-curdling voices scratched onto its walls.
The wounded man was sent into the earth, pinned down by the others who wasted no time in digging into his body, tearing the already fragile skin and indulging deeply in his insides. Blood watered the ground, thickening in its pools, sticking onto the torn clothes of others. Bones cracked among voices and cries, the thick soup of flesh and gore mixing due to fingers dipping themselves in it. His lungs had already filled with blood and every other juice of body had blended with it. Teeth bit into raw skins and guts, tearing the tissue and chewing onto it, while tongues grazed over the bones over and over to lick whatever left-over of meat there might be.
Those who couldn't reach the body had indulged into pleasure of taking the ones who were occupied devouring the man.
Swallowing the sickness, Y/N forced herself to look away from the scene, eyes searching for the Medicine Seller, who had just turned on his heel and was about to go back inside with his sword of exorcism.
Y/N was about to follow along, but as their feet caused the old floor to start a dusty melody of rust, all attention was back up on them and their intention to possibly harm the wooden statue.
In that moment, the cannibals were walking again, on their feet and even messier than before, even wilder than before, approaching the temple.
"Do... Not... Harm the MOTHER!" One of them coughed out with a growl, dry throat choking onto the thirstiness of air itself.
"They must not want us close to it." The Medicine Seller mumbled out, which only proved their theory of Mononoke's form all the more possible. "Y/N, take shelter." He ordered, rushing to his box of ingredients and opening up the drawers holding generous amount of medicine and dust.
Snatching the handful of the dark crimson dust while covering his mouth with the sleeve of his other arm, he stepped out at the entrance, pouring the powder into the dried leaves. The distasteful smell of the powder polluted air and had once again sent the puppets onto the ground, but now they've indulged into sinking into this mud, searching for the source of the strong smell of death they've wished to devour. They licked onto branches and mud, sucking the water out of it wishing that it was blood.
No animal would ever behave like this, even if it unleashed its deepest instinctual desires for survival.
Y/N was already back inside the central room, running towards the deity of these creatures. There must have been something. Something to pick up on.
She grazed over the features of the woman with her eyes, and her heartbeat stopped when the statue's gaze met hers, its hand reaching out for her face in unseen speed.
And that is where the time simply stopped and the darkness pulled Y/N in.
モ
ノ
ノ
怪
The break of dawn. The decorations awaiting. The wedding gown lingering on the skin.
Pale young woman of rosy cheeks and eyes puffed from tears held the hems of her traditional gown. Her pretty, thin lips were shut in hatred, teeth gritting and cutting against one another. She stood outside waiting in the grass, the morning dew wetting her feet and silk that kissed the ground.
She looked up upon hearing the noise of huffing and her eyes met the man she adored, sitting at the back of dappled steed.
His lips moved, calling out for her,
"Mitsumi." They read.
Mitsumi's face was now free of hatred for her fate as she approached the mare and took the hand of the man, her own lips responding to his call.
"Brother..." She sang out with yearning.
Together, they snatched Mitsumi away from her cruel fate which would have led her to the embrace of a man she could never desire for the rest of her life.
They followed the speed of wind and rode through the bushes and over the branches, through the nonexistent paths of the woods. They crossed rivers and fields, until they've come to the cliffs that watched upon a village.
Lively place, full of rice fields rich with income. Sun bathed it in its mercy, turning it to gold.
An abandoned temple with no deity but the tree it was built on became their home, and they exchanged vows and promises by the nightfall.
However, the destiny didn't have a merciful touch and after the shifts of nights and mornings, days and twilights, the man fell sick, unable to move. He spoke Mitsumi's name with his last breath and sent his beloved sibling into the never-ending hole of despair.
She crawled his dead body into the roots of the tree, her throat dry of words and air. Eyes lifeless, she straddled his corpse and cried upon his chest for days.
His skin turned soft from her tears. She began to tear it off. She began to chew on it. She fed on his skin. The smell of blood – his blood – was like the best perfume. No flower could compare. Her hands were dipped in his chest from which she would grasp handfuls of his liquids to shower herself with. When there was no skin left, she devoured his meat. She sucked onto his sight. When there was no flesh left, she licked the bones dry. With heart being the last thing left as the memory of her lover, she grazed on it, drying it out.
The insanity kissed her when there was no fresh blood left, leaving her own heart so scarred she had to punish the wood. Like a beast, she grazed it with her fingernails, until they've torn off her hands.
Tree became poisoned by her blood, and instead of exhaling the freshness from its leaves, it now produced a gas so hypnotising that it deceived lungs and hearts of villagers into Mitsumi's insanity.
The fog embraced the village, sealing it with a curse.
モ
ノ
ノ
怪
Time has come back once again.
Y/N breathed heavily, sweat kissing her skin. Her eyes burned and she stepped away from the wooden statue that was no longer touching her and instead, seemed normal, dead, like it should be.
Though it felt as if she had been absent for days, or possibly months of Mitsumi's life, the travel had taken merely a second.
"It is her..." She began, capturing Medicine Seller's attention, "It is her! She is the cause of everything." Y/N rushed towards the blonde man, taking his hand into hers and pulling him towards the statue, setting his hand onto the woman's chest.
And it took a second of this world's time for the male's eyes to wide open, and the sword in his hand to unsheathe.
The blinding light filled up the room.
Sparkling gold and crimson mixed into a wonderful palette, breathtaking fire of white cutting opening up like fireworks and cutting through everything.
The never-ending, barely controllable flame of a blade melted the unwanted spirits as the three main forms of existence performed a spell on it. Not only that it had slain the touchable, but its honey tip also slew space and time itself.
No longer did the smell of blood dirty the breeze.
The light died out, like a flicker of a candle flame after breath executes it. Standing before the blank gates, the Medicine Seller and a young woman looked at one another. Beyond the gates there was no path, just thick bushes of trees and further on, hills and mountains. No sign of a village.
It was over and the sky was clear once again, shaded with azure.
Unsure of where to go but still full of newly born determination, the female spoke, "Take me with you."
Wind carried the dramatic uncertainty, eyes speaking what tongue and lips could not word out.
Pale lips followed the curve of pastel plum make-up's edges curled up into fox's grin, eyelids hiding the ocean's emotions by shutting.
"Do come along then." The Medicine Seller worded out.
And the rooster's 'good morning' was a new beginning.
ー AUTHOR'S NOTE
Repeating the circle again, I apologise for taking ten months to update this book. Really, I have no excuses nor do I want to use them to justify me not writing. Writer's block does wonders.
HOWEVER, when I saw how many comments people have left on this book and when I checked the rankings today ( after not opening Wattpad for months ), I was just speechless.
I am so thankful to all of you who voted and commented on my story, and just read it in general. Today I was unexplainably happy because of everything I saw, and it really made my day and inspired me to finish the Inunaki-Mura arc.
One more thing that took my breath away was the fact that I, or my work, has been inspiration for @kiiarda 's own book. I just couldn't believe it.
I will try my best to stay motivated for this book, but whether I take one week or ten more months to update this book again, I am certain I will still be continuing it nonetheless.
Thank you so much for your patience and support, and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the future ones as well!!
Pages: 7
Words: 2110