99: The Despairing Cycle

The fox next to Shuya, along with the other foxes that had followed, all whimpered.

Shuya held his breath, watching the scene suddenly filled with sorrow, puzzled.

He was completely stunned.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

The Fox God sadly lowered its head and lay prostrate on the ground.

His emotions caused a reaction in the Divine Domain, resulting in a continuous Xiao Yu.

Rena reached out with trembling hands and gently stroked the white fox's massive head, saying very tenderly, "It's not your fault. I should have said thank you. I don't regret it, it's just... it's just..."

"They've suffered so much..."

"I didn't expect this, I really didn't expect this..."

The Fox God nuzzled her hand with its head, tears streaming down its face, repeatedly murmuring her name: "Rena, Rena, Rena..."

"Bai, it's me."

Just as Rena was about to speak, the Fox God fully regained consciousness, and the divine power that he could not control automatically retracted back into his body.

At the same time, a sudden change occurred.

With a loud bang, the tightly closed doors of the Main Hall were flung open, and amidst the crisp clanging sounds, one after another, jet-black iron chains, carrying an aura of ominous misfortune, lashed out like venomous snakes.

Countless iron chains clamped onto the white fox's body, and a deafening roar of Curse erupted, accompanied by countless thunderous voices chanting:

"Sin God! Sin God! Sin God! Sin God!"

"Ah---!"

The Fox God was pulled back a bit, and couldn't help but cry out in pain as its huge body convulsed.

The foxes near Shuya all looked up to the sky and howled mournfully.

"White!"

Rena rushed forward and grasped the Fox God's paw, trembling and weeping, "It's my fault! It's my fault! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

As Rena was speaking, her body suddenly went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

"Rena- neechan, what exactly happened?!"

Shuya disregarded the danger and ran over to help Rena up.

But she abruptly closed her eyes and fainted.

The white fox looked at Rena with immense heartache:

"Is it starting again, this punishment, this cycle... Ahh---We've committed a grave mistake---"

"What punishment? What terrible mistake?! What are you talking about?! What exactly happened back then?! I'm going crazy!"

Shuya shouted angrily at the Fox God.

The Fox God finally looked at Shuya.

The moment He saw him, His pupils contracted. "You, you are---"

"I... I've seen you before!"

"Ah---How could this happen!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"?????"

Shuya was about to explode. "When have you ever seen me?! Don't apologize, just tell me the reason, please, sister! I'll kneel down and beg you, okay?!"

"Quick"

The Fox God tried to say something more, but the chains suddenly tightened, and a tremendous force extended from the Main Hall. The Fox God was violently pulled and unexpectedly dragged into the Main Hall, disappearing into the depths of darkness.

The main gate of this Main Hall was forcefully slammed shut by a mysterious force.

"Fuck your mother, don't run away when it matters!"

Shuya stared in disbelief as the Fox God suddenly vanished.

But.

This year's Fox God is different from the past. This year, it has absorbed the power of Shuya's Power of Will, making it stronger than in any previous year.

So He struggled for a moment.

Boom!!!

Another loud bang.

The Main Hall's doors were once again pushed open forcefully.

A pair of claws gripped the door frame tightly.

The Fox God's enormous head struggled to emerge, letting out a shrill cry towards Shuya:

"Inoue Shuya, remember! Remember!"

"Don't let me..."

At the same time, Curse erupted. "Sin God! Sin God! Sin God! Sin God!"

"Aaaaaaah!"

He only had time to utter the words above before he was dragged into the depths of the Main Hall with a scream.

This time, He did not come out again.

Peace has returned to the grounds of the Shrine.

Shuya's face was bitter, and he let his arms hang limply.

"What... what is all this about...?"

P. S. 1: Small Island's story is basically finished; the next chapter will conclude the story and then begin a new one.

Ps2: The story of Rena and the Fox God is not over yet, but it has temporarily come to a close.

Ps3: I've come up with a new book title.

<The art style in this crossover anime world is seriously problematic>

<Something seems off about the art style in this anime crossover world?>

What do you think of these two? Would you be interested if you saw them at first glance?

Section 112, Chapter 99: The Cycle of Despair

The next day.

"Hey, Shu-chan, why do you have dark circles under your eyes? Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Shu-chan, Shu-chan, did you have fun at yesterday's festival?"

On the ship back to the Main Island, the Quintuplets chattered excitedly around Shuya.

Rena asked with concern, "Shu-chan, are you really alright? Are you sick?"

"It's nothing... Hmm, I'll go see the sea."

Shuya forced a smile and walked alone to a secluded spot on the deck.

He glanced at Rena secretly, and helplessly confirmed a fact:

--- Rena has lost both her memories again!

A day has passed since the incident with the Fox God, but Shuya still hasn't recovered.

What happened yesterday left Shuya completely baffled.

He was eager to find the truth, but didn't know where to begin.

After the Fox God disappeared last night, Shuya stood at the Shrine like an idiot for a long time.

After the Fox God disappeared, all the foxes collapsed to the ground, and the Divine Domain naturally vanished as well.

In the end, Shuya had no choice but to carry Rena back to the hotel in a princess carry.

She remained unconscious until she woke up in the morning.

The others affected woke up in the middle of the night, seemingly with their memories erased, collectively ignoring the fact that they had fallen asleep on the street, and groggily walked back to their hotels.

Of course, Shuya didn't care about the others; he just mentioned it casually.

He spent the whole night thinking about it in his room.

I couldn't fall asleep all night.

Rena woke up in the morning as if nothing had happened and greeted him. He asked her a few questions tentatively before realizing that Rena's memory had disappeared again.

With some time still remaining before boarding the ship, he relentlessly rushed to the Shrine to check on the situation.

When he arrived at the Shrine, Nine Pairs of Foxes still lined up gracefully to welcome him.

The Fox God has indeed fallen into a deep sleep again (or perhaps sealed away? Shuya said he didn't know which was correct).

Shuya stood inside the Shrine, questioning the meaning of life.

It was so clean here, as if nothing had ever happened.

Shuya, not believing it, asked the Nine Pairs of Foxes, whose eyes were full of doubt.

They don't remember anything from yesterday.

Regarding the word "reincarnation" that the Fox God once mentioned.

Shuya finally understood.

The so-called cycle should occur once a year.

The Bon Festival marks the beginning and end of a new period.

On the day of the Bon Festival, the Fox God is said to awaken and regain its power due to the revival of faith.

Meanwhile, in order to regain his memories, he summons Rena to the Shrine.

When God and Man meet, lost memories will return.

Then, the god and the human will each fall into pain and self-blame because of the so-called "great mistakes" they made in the past and the repeated blows of the cycle that happens once a year.

Finally, when the Fox God fully awakens, the "punishment mechanism" is triggered, and ominous chains appear to pull him back.

The Fox God and Rena will then lose their memories again.

---Until the following year's Bon Festival, I experienced the same sorrow again.

The cycle of despair begins again...

"That's absolutely vicious."

Shuya leaned against the railing, feeling utterly exasperated.

He was truly powerless to help.

The most frustrating thing is that even though he knows Rena knows the truth, he's completely helpless.

He doesn't know what happened back then, nor does he know what is happening now.

He wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do.

He really suffered from a lack of knowledge; he couldn't understand what was happening to Rena and the Fox God at all.

In short, he first organized the information he currently had.

According to Rena's father, Rena was no longer Spirit Abduction by the Fox God before she became pregnant.

I guess it happened around that time. The Quintuplets are six years old this year, so it must have happened at least six years ago.

In other words, six years ago, the Fox God and Rena did "something" and were punished as a result.