Princess Yao, that was no longer my name.

"Why?"

"Why!"

Atop the Shrine Palace's tower,

Himiko stood at the railing at the highest point in Sun Wheel City, hoarsely questioning the heavens shrouded in dark clouds.

"I've prayed devoutly countless times, repented humbly countless times, and surrendered my identity, my position, everything that belonged to the divine maiden to someone else!"

"Why do you still refuse to let me go?"

"Why must you still drag all of Sun Wheel City into this?"

"The people living here have been your most devout followers for a thousand years!!"

"How can you bear to bring divine punishment down on them?"

"If someone must be punished, punish me alone. Whatever the crime, I'll shoulder it!!"

"..."

As she tilted her face upward and screamed, she used no divine power to shield herself from the rain. She faced heaven's reproach only as a mortal, as a sinner.

Yet as the exquisite makeup on her cheeks gradually washed away, as her beloved long hair and wedding dress became soaked, as she lost every trace of her bridal radiance and beauty,

she received no forgiveness from the heavens above.

The sun, the symbol of life, never broke through the dark clouds to return to this world.

The only answers were the unrestrained roar of thunder and the faint, sorrowful cries of her subjects within the city.

Himiko stared straight at the cloud-shrouded heavens. Rainwater and another liquid slowly slid down her suddenly haggard cheeks. Her fingers curled and tightened several times against the railing, only to slacken in defeat.

...?

Even with two secret treasures in her possession, she could summon no will to resist.

After all, these were objects left behind by Takamagahara, by the Sun God. Using divine artifacts left behind by a god to oppose the will of all Takamagahara?

That would