Council of the Gods

It was said that shrines and temples in the human world were reflections of the palaces of the heavenly gods. Though they were not exactly alike, the palace architecture of the Izumo Divine Realm—even many of its designs—was very similar to the Izumo Grand Shrine in the mortal world. It was just that... this grand shrine had been expanded countless times over in the divine realm.

Otherwise, how could it claim to host a council of eight million gods?

A faintly imposing aura permeated the divine domain. The floor, paved with fine divine jade, gleamed with a gentle luster. Wisps of mist seemed to shroud the indistinct palaces around them, while majestic temples towered in place. What drew even more attention was that the great sacred rope of the temple was over eight meters thick... Even the great sacred rope at the mortal Izumo Grand Shrine weighed 4.4 tons, making it one of the largest in the country.

Inside the temple stood many pairs of white rabbit statues. Whenever a god passed by... the rabbit statues transformed into rabbit-eared maidservants and bowed.

The legend of the Hare of Inaba had always been told in Izumo, and most of the maidservants here were rabbit girls as well.

At this moment, the gods had taken their places in the main hall for the divine council. They sat on both sides of the temple. Above them were beams of sandalwood beneath cloud-painted ceilings, crystal jade walls used as lamps, pearl curtains, and gilded pillar bases. It was a truly magnificent sight...

Though it was called a gathering of eight million gods... fewer than a hundred gods were actually present. After all, the people and gods of this country alike loved exaggeration.

There were not many gods, but none of those qualified to