The Shaman Wants Transcendence

146 – I Will Stand Alone

Torii painted red.

Thick pillars, dyed in the darkness and visible even in pitch black, stood on both sides.

The pillars standing with the well-polished stone floor in between become dark red as the moonlight repeats being hidden by the clouds and sometimes turns into a black that embraces the darkness of a different color from the darkness.

The trees that grew to surround the torii gate swayed and swayed in the chilly wind of the night, and the rustling of the leaves and the sound of the branches swaying and cutting through the air made it seem like something invisible was swarming towards him. Gave

I hear a sound.

When the wind blows once, the leaves shake, and when the leaves shake, you can feel the presence.

The shapeless presence hides its form by wrapping the shade created by the trees like a cloak, and peers through the darkness with blinded eyes.

There is a beast of prey looking at a bright place from a dark place and aiming for the breath of its prey.

I can feel the gaze watching him, crawling on all fours with silent steps in the shade.

Sight.

Like sticking out his tongue and licking the nape of his neck.

Touching the tips of his fingers, stimulating his downy hair.

I feel that terrifying, incomparable gaze as if I am breathing into the ends of his hair.

Ryosuke looked at that gaze.

I couldn’t bear to take my feet off the gaze that made the hairs on his body stand up and give goose bumps.

His eyes seemed to be waiting for him to cross the torii.

It seems like they are just waiting to cross the torii and cross the border into a world other than this world.

I couldn’t move at all because of that terrifying feeling.

Because of that, he had no choice but to stand tall in front of the torii gate and stare beyond it in a cold sweat.

Like a frightened animal.

As if feeling something strange, but worrying about the instinctive warning before the prey bites.

Just like that, Ryosuke stood still and faced the night wind as it was.

The cold sweat was washed away by the wind, and before I knew it, I continued to stand still, shivering with chills.

And how long was that?

How many times had the moonlight looked at him and withdrew his gaze?

A muffled noise was heard in his ears.

[Look. How are you standing there? ]

When Ryosuke looked at the source of the sound, he saw a human figure.

She was a woman wearing a white yukata that was thin enough to see through.

The woman was looking at Ryosuke with a cold gaze, and she held her smartphone forward with one hand. Also, on a smartphone, a person’s face was reflected in poor quality, but it was clearly visible to Ryosuke even though noise was added and the distance increased.

As if he had found a light in the dark, the person, the person’s face reflected on his smartphone, came into his eyes clearly.

The next priest.

A bizarre man who suddenly appears one day and invades the political world.

He is a monstrous human who casts ghosts and seduces people, and an unknown being who wields the ruling class who wield omnipotent power for pleasure.

He was looking at Ryosuke on his smartphone and talking to him.

[Look. Come in here. The night wind is so cold, and there are so many grass insects, how are you standing in front of the door? Don’t hesitate, come in and have a chat with me. ]

The next priest smilesAnd said so.

He cut through the darkness of the night with a noisey voice and punched his words into his ears, and his voice, which was not high, was deeply imprinted in his brain as if each word was stuck. However, Ryosuke did not move even after hearing those words.

As if his feet were stuck to the ground, he stood there and stared at his smartphone.

[Look. You seem to have come here as a guest, so how can you embarrass me like this? Come in Go through that torii and come here. ]

Continued urging of the next priest.

And a heart beating like it would explode in proportion to him.

Feet that do not move as if holding on to something.

It was difficult for Ryosuke to come to his senses in the chaotic situation.

The darkness seemed to cling to his body and stretch out a cool hand, and the eyes of the next priest looking through the smartphone seemed to be dazzling as if they were swirling in front of him as they formed a light, and the voice in his ears telling him to come in kept his balance. I felt like I was going to lose it.

Ryosuke was troubled.

He was worried

And in the end, he tried to take a step by lifting his leg, which seemed to weigh more than a thousand pounds, as if possessed.

Do–ryan-se Do-ryan-three.

But at that moment, there was a sound that caught his attention.

It was the sound of pedestrian traffic coming from a traffic light near the temple.

Originally, it would be normal if there were only mechanical sounds and no lyrics, but the lyrics with a voice that sounded like a ghost squeezing out the soul came to his ears. And when he suddenly came to his senses, the voice that tickled his ears disappeared before he knew it and changed to a small mechanical sound barely audible from far away.

Beep-beep-beep-beep-

He heard that little sound and hummed involuntarily.

“Where is this byway going?”

Was it to forget the fear?

Or was it a simple act to connect the broken lyrics?

“…This is a byway to the Heavenly God (天神sama no 細道じゃ)…”

And did you hear those two hums?

The next priest who appeared on the smartphone spoke to him with a smile on his face.

[I’ll let it pass. I have business, so can’t I pass by? Just have fear and go through this torii. ]

A friendly smile was drawn on the face of the next priest who strangely distorted the lyrics of the first verse of the nursery rhyme, Pass By. However, Ryosuke, who had come back to his senses after humming a song, couldn’t erase the thought that that smile was like the aggressive expression of a beast before hunting.

So, instead of taking a step forward, Ryosuke stretched that foot straight back.

He would step back

Seeing that, the next priest smiled brightly.

[Uh huh. Look, the owner came all the way to the door to greet the noble guest. How can he embarrass me? Come in Like the song you sang, I allowed you to pass, so don’t be burdened and come in. ]

Ryosuke couldn’t stand the sound that seemed to tempt him.

“Oh, no. That… I received the text message you sent. I remembered something urgent, so I’d like to schedule a date later to talk to you…”

I know that this kind of behavior doesn’t look good.

It was clear in his head.

＜Br＞ However, his own eyes that hurt as if being stabbed with a needle.

A heart beating like it’s about to explode.

The sweat that made my back damp and soaked my hands and feet.

His whole body was telling him he should never go in there.

They say they are suspicious, they say they are stigmatized for treason.

He was screaming that he should never go in there.

[Did you say it was a long day? ]

“Yes, yes. I hope to see you on the road.”

[It’s a long day, a long day. hahahaha. hahahaha! ]

The next priest laughed out loud when he heard the word “Lucky day”.

He laughed so loudly that he laughed and laughed, even though the speakers were smashed and the sound was broken.

[Yes, Gil-il. Very good, good If you want it that way, it’s me. There’s no problem. ]

The next priest muttered in a voice that did not erase his laughter.

But soon, his voice changed to a cold one.

From noble mtl dot com

[ By the way. Hey, do you like classics? ]

“Oh, a classic?”

[ Okay. What for example… The Three Classics of the Librarian or the Tao Teokyeong, things like that. ]

“Great. I’m not a warrior or a scholar, so I’m not very interested in those things…”

Even as Ryosuke said that, he pulled his body back very minutely.

My body was telling me subconsciously that I didn’t enjoy talking to you.

However, even though the next priest noticed it, he smiled brightly as if he was rather willing.

[Then, you don’t know the story about this thing called Chirisso. ]

“Can I hear your opinion?”

An alarm bell rang in Ryosuke’s head.

That something is going wrong

My instincts were screaming that something big was about to happen.

However, even in the midst of this, Ryosuke, based on his experience as a politician, was faithfully responding to the stories of the next priest, and was able to disguise himself as calm at first glance.

[ No. You don’t have to know. Jiriso is a person whose uselessness soon became another use, but aren’t you more special than anyone else, let alone useless? So you don’t need to know the story of Chirisso. Yes, especially if you take a step back now…]

“That…”

Ryosuke realized that the next priest’s words were very meaningful.

I don’t know what that means.

He doesn’t know what his intentions were.

But he was sure of one thing.

Choice was made.

Just like the day I first met the new priest.

Ryosuke pondered for a moment that seemed like an eternity.

And he concluded

“That, then that…Just as you said. I’ll see you on the auspicious day.”

The conclusion he made was to get out of this position.

He chose to leave this place, as his body, his sixth sense, said.

He chose to escape from being a prey and return to being human, to his most comfortable and safest place in the world.

He greeted them politely and went down the stairs.

And when they reached a position where their eyes could not reach, he started to run frantically.

Not caring about running out of breath and about to fall down the stairs, I went ahead and got into the car, thinking only of getting away from the shrine.

And I put my head on the steering wheel and catch my breath for a long time, and it turns cold like iceAfter warming up his body with the heater, he was able to start by grabbing the steering wheel with trembling hands.

Ryosuke put down his smartphone and stepped on the pedal as if he didn’t want to look at it.

And how far has it gone?

He got caught on a signal.

And while he waits for that signal for a while.

Machine sounds were heard on either side of him.

Beep-beep-beep-beep–

It was the pedestrian traffic signal that had brought him to his senses earlier.

It was a walking beep sound made up of only mechanical sounds, but for some reason, it seemed that a clear lyric was floating in his head.

He has listened to it countless times since he was young, and it became the lyrics of the song he sang until it was imprinted in his head.

It’s okay to go, but it’s scary to go back.

Even though I’m afraid (kowainagaramo).

Pass by (通りゃんせ).

Pass by (通りゃんせ).

Ryosuke blankly recalled the lyrics, and involuntarily tried to hum.

But just as he was about to call, the signal changed again and the traffic signal cut off.

Ryosuke let out a small sigh on the empty road and stepped on the pedal.

To go back

To return home from the shrine.