Ninigi-no-Mikoto was utterly humiliated. He had been standing on high ground, used to being fawned over and flattered, and his face flushed red instantly at Shinsei's public rebuke.
He pointed at Shinsei, his fingertips trembling.
"Who are you? How dare you speak to me like that in God's Kingdom!"
Grandmother is Great Goddess Amaterasu! Every inch of light in Takamagahara was laid down by her. The land beneath your feet is our Takamagahara!
Shinsei didn't say anything, just looked at him as if he were looking at a spoiled child.
Seeing Shinsei's mocking expression, Ninigi-no-Mikoto became even angrier.
He suddenly looked up and shouted at the sky.
"Grandmother! Please help! Let this arrogant outsider know what Kamui is!"
The sound echoed through the altar. The stone walls hummed, and the golden light seemed to flicker. But apart from the echo, there was nothing. Amaterasu did not respond as he had expected.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto changed. He called out again.
"Grandma!"
This time, even the echo was fainter. Ninigi-no-Mikoto slowly lowered her hand, the blush on her face fading, turning into alternating pale and bluish hues.
Shinsei didn't look at his face again. He turned around and picked up the boys and girls who were slumped on the ground one by one.
Kaguya also stepped forward to help. None of the immortals at the altar dared to stop her.
Several even shrank back half a foot, afraid that Shinsei's sleeve would brush against them. Shinsei only looked back once he reached the stone path.
"Your grandmother is busy. Try asking your father next time," he said.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto on the altar, as if nailed to the spot. Shinsei ignored him and carried him outside. Kaguya followed behind him, her steps light.
The two men led the person into a dilapidated side hall. The hall was dusty and grimy, with cobwebs hanging from the beams and a thin layer of dust on the floor.
Shinsei put the last person down, sat on the ground, and patted their cheeks.
The first to wake up was the girl carrying the wooden lantern.
She opened her eyes, was momentarily dazed, and then abruptly turned to look at Shinsei.
"You! Where did you take us?"
"You've been taken out of the altar. You are saved."
"Who gave you the right to bring us out!" The girl sat up, her face flushed with anger. "We're still at the ceremony! What right do you have to make decisions for us!"
The boy next to him also woke up. He rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled something incoherently.
"We're doomed. If we don't finish this round, the Divine Kingdom will definitely abandon us."
He looked up at Shinsei, his eyes filled with resentment, not gratitude.
Shinsei didn't speak, he just quietly watched the boy and girl.
The girl became more and more agitated as she spoke, her voice trembling with a high-pitched shrillness.
"You don't understand at all! The ritual Great Goddess Amaterasu is an opportunity we've earned through countless lifetimes! Even if we die on it, we're offering our lives to the divine kingdom!"
It is our greatest honor to help Lady Ninigi-no-Mikoto improve her aptitude! Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to choose for us?!
The boy chimed in with a comment.
"Exactly. We finally got chosen, and you've ruined it all."
Looking at them, Shinsei suddenly lost the urge to persuade them any further.
These two people weren't forced; they genuinely believed in it. The more they believed that, the less likely they were to be saved. He stood up and moved aside.
"Do you want to go back?" Shinsei asked.
The girl raised her chin. "Yes, we want to go back."
"Then let's go back," Shinsei said.
The girl and boy exchanged a glance, and as if afraid Shinsei would change his mind, they hurriedly walked towards the door. The girl turned back and tossed out a sentence as she reached the door.
"Don't meddle in other people's business anymore!"
Shinsei didn't respond. He just stood there, watching the two run away and disappear at the end of the corridor. Kaguya asked softly.
"Aren't you going to stop them?"
"I won't stop them," Shinsei said. "If I do, they'll only hate me more. Their lives are their own; let them do what they want with them."
After he finished speaking, he chuckled to himself. The smile was faint, tinged with helplessness and a sense of relief.
He suddenly remembered a saying from his past life, "Don't easily interfere with other people's fate." In this era, some things cannot be changed by force. If a person is willing to kneel down, no one can help them up.
When the two people ran back to the altar along the same route, there were hardly any people left inside.
Several immortals are cleaning up the mess.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto stood by the altar, his face ashen. The girl and boy stumbled to him and knelt down with a thud.
" Ninigi-no-Mikoto, we're back!" The girl looked up, her eyes shining brightly. "We shouldn't have gone with that outsider. We've returned willingly. Please continue the ritual, Lord; we're willing to offer you all our talents!"
The boy also kowtowed beside him, pleading, "Please, sir, don't send us away! We really want to!"
Ninigi-no-Mikoto to look at them. His eyes were as cold as ice. He slowly drew the knife from his waist. The blade reflected the last rays of light and flashed briefly.
Before the girl could react, the knife had already fallen.
Two muffled thuds. Two heads rolled to the ground one after the other. Their expressions remained frozen in that moment, devout and expectant, as if they were truly waiting for divine favor.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto shook the blood off her knife and sheathed it.
The old immortal beside him said with a regretful expression.
"It's a bit of a pity; once they die, they can no longer be sacrificed to absorb talent."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto didn't even glance at the two kneeling corpses, and only said one sentence coldly.
"You lowly creatures, like pigs and dogs, dare to offer alms to this immortal?"