Time trickled by, and the sky gradually darkened.
Soon, a brilliant light shimmered across the night sky, swaying gently like ribbons scattered by a celestial maiden against the curtain of night.
"The aurora's starting!"
Hiruko grinned.
His knowledge of celestial phenomena was among the best at the Research Institute. Successfully predicting an aurora might not have been much of an achievement for him, but it was enough to prove his worth among his group of bizarre colleagues.
Amado looked toward Orochimaru in the middle of the site. "Are you ready?"
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "We can start whenever you like."
At the edge of the site, Kabuto Yakushi was on tenterhooks.
Having taken part in so much research alongside Orochimaru, he was a top researcher in many fields. That meant he understood better than ordinary researchers just how dangerous this ritual was.
He had tried to persuade Orochimaru in private, but Orochimaru had been utterly resolute, which had given him a vague sense that something was off. Orochimaru might have been mad, but he never did anything he wasn't confident about. His current determination had to mean there was something he wasn't telling them.
On another peak in the distance,
Yakumo gazed toward the towering cliff where the ritual was taking place and said to Haku beside her, "I don't like Orochimaru. There's something about him that makes me uneasy!"
"But we need him," Haku said.
"Earlier, Hiruko told me that if this ritual succeeds, Orochimaru might master 'divine techniques' and become someone who surpasses Ada and Daemon. So I really am worried he might slip out of our control!"
Haku considered this for a moment. "The boss approved this experimental plan, so he must have made preparations on his end."
At the mention of Shinji, Yakumo felt a little more