Why Wasn't It Great Amaterasu?

Amenominakanushi!

Across Kyoto City, even those who had not joined the Gion Festival held their breath when they saw the great god's ethereal figure.

According to the Kojiki, Amenominakanushi was the first god to form in Takama-ga-hara at the dawn of the universe. He commanded the waters of the world to gather in one place, exposing the dry land.

When he saw that the earth had not yet fully solidified, he gave Izanagi and Izanami the Heavenly Jeweled Spear to reshape it. They created the first island, Onogoro Island, whose name meant "self-solidifying island."

After that, Amenominakanushi dwelled among the gods' palaces in Takama-ga-hara and commanded the gods to work together to create the world.

"It's the great Amenominakanushi," Priest Ito murmured, looking up. His gaze grew humble.

Amenominakanushi was not a god worshipped in Shinto shrines.

Not one of the three great sacred complexes or five great Shinto Shrines was dedicated to Amenominakanushi.

But in Japan, anyone with even a little education knew of Amenominakanushi.

His standing was comparable to Pangu's in Chinese mythology, Atum's in Egyptian mythology, and Chaos's in Greek mythology.

Though no Shinto Shrine worshipped him, his standing far surpassed that of the gods they did worship.

How could it be Amenominakanushi? Where is my lord Great Amaterasu? My lord Amaterasu Ōkami is the ruler of Takama-ga-hara.

The priest from Ise opened and closed his mouth, disbelief in his eyes.

But... but my lord Great Amaterasu is the ruler of Takama-ga-hara.

And that... that was clearly the ritual for summoning Great Amaterasu recorded in the Chronicles of Empress Jingu.

Why did it summon Amenominakanushi instead?

Seated high upon the Sacred Palanquin, Amenominakanushi slowly rose. His silver-white eyes swept across Kyoto from Takama-ga-hara.

In that instant, everyone—whether they had attended the Gion Festival or not—felt a gaze sweep over them, as indifferent to mortals as it would be to ants.

Their hair stood on end. Their knees bent against their will, and an invisible force pressed down on their spines.

Divine grace was as boundless as the sea; divine might was as merciless as a prison...

Just when everyone thought they were about to fall to their knees, Amenominakanushi withdrew his gaze and departed in the Sacred Palanquin.

As Amenominakanushi left, the ripples that reflected the strange vision of Takama-ga-hara gradually vanished.

Before everyone's eyes, the lush Sacred Tree began to turn insubstantial.

Like a bubble, it swayed in a passing breeze, as though it might burst at any moment.

"A-Amenominakanushi left?"

"What's happening to the tree? Is it going to disappear too?"

"The Sacred Tree, also known as the Era Tree, can cross the boundaries of time and connect multiple eras. It isn't disappearing. It has already slipped into another era, leaving only a projection behind in ours."

"So gods really exist?"

"I never believed they were real before, but I do now."

"..."

Everything they thought they knew about the world had been overturned.

Before, if anyone had told them gods were real, they would have laughed in that person's face. Now, they would laugh in the face of anyone who said gods weren't real.

If there were no gods, how could anyone explain what had just happened?

Jiang Hao watched the commotion caused by Amenominakanushi's arrival and closed his eyes.

Just now, when Amenominakanushi had appeared from "Takama-ga-hara," Jiang Hao had felt a vast surge of faith.

So pretending to be a god from a statue really does work for gathering faith.

Excitement burned in Jiang Hao's heart. He had displayed this miracle at the Gion Festival to test whether he could gain faith by impersonating gods from various mythologies. The results were excellent.

One miracle brought faith from over a hundred thousand people.

But while plenty of people contributed faith, each person contributed very little. Even combined, their faith was only two or three times what a single large-scale sacrifice by primitive people would yield.

Faith came to him from the void and transformed into divine power within his body.

Some of that power circulated through his body, reshaping it and sustaining its functions. The rest was stored away.

Creating the miracle had nearly exhausted his reserves, but afterward, his divine power had filled up again.

That's only natural. Most people on Blue Star would rather believe gods exist than risk believing they don't. They treat gods as a source of comfort, but that hardly counts as faith, much less devotion.

I just need to make the people of Blue Star believe gods really exist. Others will take care of the rest on their own.

At a thought from him, Reiko, who had appeared to preside over the miracle, suddenly fainted. The crowd erupted into chaos.

The two priests reacted at once.

They struggled to push their way through.

With so many people packed together, they would normally have had a hard time getting in.

But after witnessing the miracle, tourists and locals alike stepped aside for the priests. They looked at them with a respect they did not even realize they felt.

In myth and legend, priests were the bridge between gods and humans. Every priest was a representative of the gods of Takama-ga-hara in Japan.

The priest from Ise pushed through, scooped Reiko into his arms, and cried anxiously, "Reiko, what's wrong? Wake up!"

Before today, Reiko had merely been a trainee at Ise Grand Shrine. Even helping preside over the Gion Festival would only have added a line to her record. Perhaps when she grew up, it would help her pass the assessment and become one of the shrine's many maidens.

But now, unless Amenominakanushi himself descended and declared that Reiko had nothing to do with him, her standing in Shinto would soar. She would rise from a minor shrine maiden to a high priestess serving Amenominakanushi.

"Priest of Ise, Lady Reiko must have exhausted her divine power summoning the great Amenominakanushi to bless the faithful. I suggest taking her to a Shinto Shrine to rest at once. Fushimi Inari Shrine is the closest. It has beautiful surroundings and excellent facilities—the perfect place for Lady Reiko to recover."

Priest Ito spoke earnestly.

Whatever Reiko's status had been before, from this day on, she had to be addressed as Lady Reiko.

Beautiful surroundings and excellent facilities? As if Fushimi Inari Shrine could compare with Ise Grand Shrine. The priest from Ise scoffed inwardly, but he lifted Reiko into his arms. "Sorry for the trouble, Priest Ito."

When it came to surroundings, Ise Grand Shrine was the finest in Shinto. But it was far away in Tokyo—much too far.

Priest Ito nodded solemnly. "It would be Fushimi Inari Shrine's honor to host Lady Reiko."