Eerily Quiet

"Activate and use the Eye of Horus?"

"Did I hear that right?"

"It's just a stone. You don't actually think it's the eye plucked from Horus's socket in the myths, do you?"

When Sherif, Egypt's minister of the interior, said this, most of the experts' first thought was that he had lost his mind. He seemed to believe the Eye of Horus made by the ancient Egyptians was the same mystical object from the myths.

Yes, they admitted the ancient Egyptians had been remarkable. Without modern construction equipment, they had built the awe-inspiring pyramids.

But ancient Egypt was gone. It was time to face reality.

A few experts, however, went pale. The way they looked at the Eye of Horus changed completely.

Before Amenominakanushi appeared in the Eastern Isles and the great serpent Jormungandr appeared in Northern Europe, scholars of myth and folklore had ranked near the bottom of the academic world. Folklore and myth had been treated as little more than supplements to history.

After those appearances, everything changed. Those in power no longer regarded gods as imaginary idols invented by ancient people. They now saw them as real, mighty beings whose influence ran throughout human history.

The standing of myth and folklore scholars rose accordingly.

Lesser-known scholars might not have noticed the shift, but these experts, among the best in their respective countries, certainly had.

Presidents they had once seen only on television had suddenly invited them to meet, greeted them warmly, and asked for their advice on supernatural myths.

For a moment, they felt almost cherished...

They had also gained access to information kept secret from ordinary people. They learned that Amenominakanushi had appeared in the Eastern Isles and saved Heijō-kyō, and that a superhuman had appeared in Northern Europe and killed Jormungandr when the serpent invaded