Hagoromo and Hamura

"Do you know what that place is?"

Gamamaru stopped in his tracks, raised a forelimb to point toward the distant God Tree, and asked indifferently.

Gamamaru

Hagoromo and Hamura exchanged a glance.

"Of course we do. That is the God Tree, the sacred object protected by Mother, and the root that nourishes this land."

Hagoromo spoke first.

This was what their mother had taught them since they were young: the God Tree was a sacred and inviolable existence.

"The root that nourishes this land?"

Gamamaru let out a scoff, his tone laced with clear mockery. "Have you ever seen a true God Tree? Has your mother ever allowed you to get close to it?"

"That, she has not."

The expressions of Hagoromo and Hamura shifted slightly.

It was true; their mother had warned them since childhood that the God Tree was a forbidden zone that no one was allowed to approach. Even they, as brothers, could only observe it from afar.

"Nourishes? Look for yourselves—what does the area around the God Tree look like?"

Gamamaru extended a finger, gesturing toward the scene surrounding the God Tree.

Hagoromo and Hamura followed his gaze, their faces instantly turning grave.

Around the God Tree, there was no sign of the vibrant life they had imagined; instead, it was a desolate, desert-like wasteland.

Not a blade of grass grew, the earth was cracked and parched, and the air was thick with an aura of deathly silence. It stood in stark, jarring contrast to the immense chakra radiating from the God Tree itself.

"The truth is, this God Tree is not nourishing the land at all; it is continuously draining the earth's energy and vitality!"

Gamamaru's voice turned stern.

Hagoromo's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes filled with confusion and hesitation.

He looked at the desolation surrounding the God Tree, then recalled his mother's actions over the years—the "sacrifices" regularly sent to the God Tree.

Hamura also fell silent.

"Whether it is true or not, you will know once you investigate it yourselves."

Gamamaru did not continue, leaving only those words behind.

His figure flickered and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Hagoromo and Hamura standing on the peak, gazing at the distant God Tree with complex expressions.

A cold wind swept across the summit, kicking up dust as the two remained silent for a long time.

The doubts in Hagoromo's heart grew deeper; he wanted to go to the base of the God Tree to investigate and uncover the truth.

Yet, at the thought of his mother's stern warnings and her immense power, he hesitated.

Their mother's majesty had been branded into their hearts since childhood, making them afraid to defy her easily.

"Brother, should we... go and take a look?"

Hamura's voice held a hint of probing; he, too, wanted to know the truth, but he was equally afraid of their mother's punishment.

Hagoromo took a deep breath and ultimately shook his head, his eyes showing a trace of struggle. "No. Mother has her reasons for not letting us approach. Perhaps... what he said is not the whole truth.

We cannot doubt Mother based solely on the words of a strange toad."

Upon hearing this, Hamura nodded, suppressing the curiosity in his heart.

Although the misgivings in their hearts did not dissipate, they ultimately chose to retreat in the face of their mother's majesty.

Yet, once the seed of doubt was planted, it would gradually take root and sprout under the nourishment of time, eventually growing into a towering tree.

A few days later, the day for the routine sacrifice arrived.

A neat, long line moved slowly toward the God Tree.

The mortals in the procession were expressionless, as if they had long since accepted this fated destiny.

Hagoromo and Hamura stood on a high slope not far away, watching it all quietly; the atmosphere was stifling.

For the past few days, Gamamaru's words had been like a thorn, deeply embedded in their hearts.

The desolate scene around the God Tree surfaced in their minds repeatedly, clashing with their mother's claims that the "God Tree nourishes the land."

Their eyes drifted, landing on the sacrificial procession.

From time to time, they glanced toward the towering God Tree, the suspicion in their hearts growing wildly like vines.

Yet, they remained firmly bound by their awe of their mother; a thousand words were stuck in their throats, but in the end, they dared not step forward to ask why.

"Brother, look..."

Hamura's voice suddenly carried a hint of hesitation, his gaze locked firmly onto the sacrificial procession, his expression shifting slightly.

Hagoromo's heart sank, and as he followed his brother's gaze, his pupils constricted sharply, and he gasped, "Haori? What?! How?!"

In the middle of the sacrificial procession, a slender figure stood out with striking clarity.

It was a woman dressed in plain cloth, her features gentle and her hair simply tied back; she was the human woman Hagoromo had hidden in his heart for years, the one he had silently loved—Haori.

Haori was a delicate and refined girl.

How could she be in the sacrificial procession?!

Hagoromo's mind went blank, the shock and anxiety in his heart instantly scattering all hesitation and reverence.

"Haori! Haori!"

Hearing this, Haori stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around.

Seeing Hagoromo rushing toward her with Hamura close behind, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but it quickly returned to calm.

"Hagoromo? Hamura? Why are you here?"

Haori asked calmly.

"Why are you in the sacrificial procession? Who chose you? Come out now! You cannot go to this sacrifice!"

Hagoromo rushed to her, his eyes filled with anxiety and unwillingness.

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Haori away from the procession, but she gently evaded him.

"Hagoromo..."

Haori looked at his anxious expression, a faint, bitter smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, her voice gentle yet incomparably firm: "I received the notification. This is my fate; I must go to sacrifice to the God Tree."

Haori and the brothers Hagoromo and Hamura.

Her tone was terrifyingly calm, as if she were speaking of something unrelated to herself, as if the impending death were merely an ordinary parting.

"Fate? What fate? This is not fate at all!"

"This is a rule set by Mother, but this rule is fundamentally wrong!"

Hagoromo's emotions grew increasingly agitated, his clenched fists trembling slightly.

"You are her son; you do not understand."

Haori only shook her head gently. She did not know the truth about the God Tree, nor had she ever thought of resisting the rules set by Kaguya.

In her eyes, Kaguya was the Creator Goddess, the master of this land, and the rules of the gods were the destiny that mortals must obey.

"This is the rule set by Lady Kaguya. We are born this way; we cannot resist it."

She looked at Hagoromo, a trace of reluctance flashing in the depths of her eyes.

"I am glad to have known you, Hagoromo."

As she finished speaking, she raised her hand and unclasped the Magatama Necklace from her neck.

The necklace was something she had polished by hand using mountain jade; it was simple yet exquisite, her most precious possession.

She stood on her tiptoes and gently placed the necklace around Hagoromo's neck.

"Do not forget me, Hagoromo."

Haori's voice was soft, like a gentle breeze.

After saying this, she no longer looked at Hagoromo, turned around, and returned to the sacrificial procession, walking with firm steps toward the God Tree, never looking back.

That slender figure gradually drifted away in his sight, eventually merging into the long line until she could no longer be distinguished.

"Haori!"

Hagoromo froze in place, the Magatama Necklace around his neck feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds, pressing down until he could barely breathe.

He watched Haori's receding back, feeling the cold touch of the jade against his skin, his heart filled with resentment!

Hagoromo slowly clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force, his nails digging deep into his palms until blood seeped out, yet he remained completely unaware.