Orochi

私は一人深淵の漆黒の世界で、深い眠りと覚醒を繰り返していた。
だが、源家の陰陽師が私を見つけたあの日、全てが変わった。
私が祀られている祠を見つけた陰陽師は、崩れかけた祭壇を修復し、取引を持ちかけてきた。
私はその陰陽師と、生贄と交換に、ヤツに力を与える契約を交わした。
生贄など私にとって特に意味を成さないものだったが、生贄の儀式を通じて、私は人間を観察する目を手に入れたのだ。
「人間とは、まるで桜のように儚く、一瞬で散り去る生き物だ。」
「え？」
陰陽師は動揺していた。彼は頭を下げ、こう聞いてきた。
「何を仰っしゃりたいのでしょうか？偉大なる邪神様。」
「お前たちはこれほどにも脆く、弱いというのに、常に永遠に生きる事を追い求めている…愚かな生き物だ…」
「これは信念なんです」
源家の陰陽師は躊躇せず答えた。
「一族が未来永劫繁栄する事が、私達の信念なんです。」
「……愚かな考え方だ。」
ヤツの考えは浅はかではあったが、その眼には固い決意が見えた。
「……だが、その愚かさ、羨ましくもある。」
「……どういう意味でしょうか、邪神様？」
「この世界のすべての命には、始まりと終わりがある。神だけが例外だ。」
私は自分に言い聞かせるよう、言葉を繰り返した。
「そう……神だけが例外だ。」
私は深淵の暗闇の世界を見回した。
どうすれば陰陽の境を越え、この目で現世を見ることが出来るのだろうか？

Ever since I was sealed in the crevice between the inkai and the onkai, I was alone for these hundreds of years. In this boundless darkness, sometimes asleep, and sometimes awake. Until one day, the onmyoji of the Minamoto clan found me.
The onmyoji of the Minamoto clan wanted my power, they built an altar for me.
We reached an agreement, the Minamoto clan would offer me sacrifices, and in exchange, I'd grant the Minamoto clan my power.
However, what I minded was not the sacrifices of the Minamoto clan.
Through the rituals of the Minamoto clan, I finally obtained an eye that could observe the human world.
"Humans, just like the fleeting blossoming of sakura, how fragile."
"Ah?" The Minamoto clan onmyoji lowered his head in fright, "Are you speaking to me, honourable snake god-sama?"
"Indeed, you are all so weak, yet you would pursue eternity...... how truly......"
"This is our belief." The Minamoto clan onmyoji answered without hesitation, "the glory of the clan is our belief."
"...... How truly ignorant." I looked at that onmyoji's naive yet determined eyes, "...... However, that ignorance of yours is worth admiring."
"...... What are you saying, snake god-sama?"
"On this world, anything that is alive, as long as they have a beginning, they shall have an end, only gods are the exception." Like a reminder to myself. "...... Only gods are the exception."
I looked to the crevice, 'tis a boundless darkness. How might I cross this boundary line between the worlds, to see with my own eyes?

それから少し経ったある日、源頼光という名の陰陽師が現れた。
彼の眼は欲望と野心に満ち、まるで音を立てて燃える炎のようだった。
その炎が彼の魂を徐々に蝕んでいることに、彼は気づいていない。
「私は源頼光。」
彼の若くて凛々しい顔には、少しも恐れが見えなかった。
「貴き邪神様、命を生み出す力を私に授けてください。」
「お前はその力を持ってどうする気だ？」
「私は自分だけに尽くす式神をつくりたいのです。新しい生贄を持って参りました、邪神様。」
祭壇の上には縛られた若い巫女がいて、恐怖で震えていた。私は彼女の体から発せられる霊力を感じた。
この霊力を使えば現世を見ることが出来る、私はそう確信した。
お前にこの力を分けてやってもいい。だが、これは陰陽の理に背く行いだ。
不完全な命しか生み出せないぞ。」
「不完全な命、ですか？」
若い男の顔には、冷たい笑みが浮かんだ。
「構いません。契約成立です。」
私の力が巫女の身体に入ったその瞬間、少女は悲鳴をあげた。
だがそれは一瞬の事だった。彼女の命は桜の花のように散り、果てて行った。

The Minamoto clan onmyoji that suddenly appeared before me that day was named Minamoto no Yorimitsu.
His eyes were filled with ambition and conspiracy, just like crackling flames, yet unaware that those flames would consume him into nothingness.
"I am Minamoto no Yorimitsu." On his young and untamed face, there was not a shred of fear, "Magnificent snake god, I beg of you to grant me the power to create life."
"And with that power, what do you intend to do?"
"I desire to create a shikigami belonging solely to me. I present a new sacrifice to you, magnificent snake god."
A young miko was chained to the altar, her whole person trembled in terror. I could feel the spiritual power emanating off of her body, perhaps...... this spiritual power could be used for something.
"I can grant that power to you. However, this is an act that goes against the laws of onmyo, and will only create defective lives."
"Defective lives?" A cold smile appeared on that youthful face, "The deal is made."
When my power entered the body of the miko, she shrieked, unable to withstand the divine power.
Like sakura, she wilted.

私は待っていた。新月の夜、逢魔が時がやってきた。
巫女の魂、怨念、腐った身体が混ざり合い、祭壇の上には穢れた命が生まれ、形を成し始めた。
そして、ついにそれは恐ろしい巨大な蛇となった。
「 ……やはり蛇の姿になったか。」
私はその巨大な蛇を見ていた。
「もったいない……お前たちの魂は美しかったはず。なのに怨念しか残らなかったのか。」
「フクシュウ……ニクキオンミョウジ……ニクイ！ツミブカキミヤコ……！」
私の力の器として捧げられた巫女は、陰陽師を、そして都を憎んでいた。
自分たちの運命を知った巫女達の心の中に生まれた恐怖と恨みは、彼女たちが事切れるその瞬間まで増幅し続けた。
そこに私の力が加わり、本来の姿を保てず、蛇となったのだ。
「お前は、人間の欲望と罪深さが生み出した怪物だ。お前たちはもう人間ではない。だが妖怪でもない。無論、神でもない……」
「ワレハ……ワレハ…ジャシンオロチ！！」
巨大な蛇は怒りを爆発させ、叫び声をあげた。
「ワレハオロチ！ミヤコニ、フクシュウスル……！」
私はその巨大な蛇を見つめた。
「自我すら無い生き物になってしまったか………」
怪物は言葉にならない叫び声をあげて、祭壇の陰に消えた。
しかし、陽界の巫女の霊力と、闇の間の大邪神の神力……
陰陽の境を突き破る力は、巨大な蛇の体の中で培われている。
巨大な蛇もまた、桜の花の様に散る事になるだろう。
その瞬間、私は現世に舞立っているだろう。
その時は、そう遠くない。

I await.
Another night of the new moon, Omagatoki.
Ghosts, lingering regrets, and some rotted limbs of the sacrificed miko formed a cluster of filth, struggling and writhing on the altar.
Finally, that thing took the shape of a massive snake with eight heads and eight tails.
"...... In the end, it still took the form of a snake." I looked at that massive snake, "What a shame...... your souls were originally filled with such lovely things, but now only grievances remain."
"Revenge...... damned onmyoji... damn it all! Sinful capital......!"
The sacrificed miko that became a vessel for power hated the onmyoji, hated Miyako. The terror and hatred within their hearts grow stronger and stronger, and because they bore my power, they could no longer maintain their original forms, turning into a snake.
"Monster born of human desire and sin. You are neither human, nor yokai, and god even less......"
"I am... I am... I am the evil god Yamata no Orochi!!" The massive snake roared in pain, "I am Yamata no Orochi! I will have my revenge on Miyako......!"
I stared at that massive snake, "So you've abandoned even your sense of self......"
The monster let loose incomprehensible cries, disappearing into the shadow of the altar.
However, the spiritual power of the onkai miko, and the divine power of the darkness chasm's great snake god...... the power to break through the boundary between worlds festered within that massive snake. When the massive snake crumbles, that shall be my chance to descend upon the human world.
That moment is not far now.

Unlocks the skill-casting effect Shadow.
It was midnight and the world had fallen into a deep slumber. A thin layer of mist covered the dark mirror where the faces of the dreamers were etched. It was so mesmerizing, so quiet and so peaceful...
The white fox as nestling with the onmyoji in a corner. The whole capital was blanketed in white snow. It was the most serene night.
The images of the night-tail and the maiden were manifested on the mirror. Their appearance in the dream delivered a sincere message.
...
For demons, spirits and humans, one is most vulnerable when asleep. When the deepest desires manifest and intertwine, they turn into blurry colors.
"Whether you're a demoniac lord or an onmyoji, or even a mere mortal being, you all have the purest thoughts."
"If they must forsake everything they are born with, I'm afraid it will mean giving up on life itself."
I'm yet to venture to the bottom of dreamland ever since leaving the Rift. Thoughts lying in the depths of the souls were intertwined in dreamland, emanating with the essence of desire. I looked into the illusions reflected in the mirror and saw that golden wound among the naga shadows. It was a scar that is yet to heal over tens of centuries.
"But this world is so alluring because... there's something missing."
"How fascinating."
A pure white lotus bloomed freely in the depths of the mirror. The visitor talked to me in a happy tone as if he had come for a chat. Dreamland ceased to be stable while another visitor started watching me from a corner.
The naga shadows in the mirror were shrouded in the blooming lotuses, and just as I tried to chat back, I was interrupted by a violent force. A dark and crimson flame rose up from the mirror. It looked at me as if it was some kind of warning.
In the dream of the dreamer, the one being dreamed about was also waking up. All lives are puny and everything was created from destruction and became trapped in a loop. Even if the great creator is benevolent, I wonder how long they will last.

Unlocks the skill-casting effect Gloom Doom.
During a time of strife, a scavenger took shelter from the rain in a deserted shrine, and came across a crystalline mask. The mask glowed with an ethereal shine, signifying its unusual origin. However, a piece of it was broken. When the scavenger touched the mask, he heard a voice in his head as if a deity was relaying a message to him.

"Find the next mask," said the voice, "and you will be granted a wish with each mask you find. By the time you find all five masks, you will be left with no regrets."

Half convinced, the scavenger made a wish to the mask, "I wish I wasn't a drifter with nothing to my name."

After making his wish, he fell asleep then awoke to find himself in an idyllic courtyard instead of the deserted shrine. Taking in the view of a well-organized field and the sound of hens and dogs, the scavenger realized that the mask had granted his wish. Elated, he was convinced he'd gained the blessing of a deity. but the home he had longed for suddenly lost its appeal as he set about finding the remaining masks following the mask's guidance.

To achieve this goal, the scavenger was willing to sacrifice anything, even his own life. When he found the second mask, he wished for his family, who had left him, to return to his side. When he found the third mask, he wished for endless wealth. By the time, he was no longer a scavenger, but a rich man with a happy family. He lived in the most luxurious house in the capital, and hired others to find the next mask for him.

The voice asked, "Do you perhaps have more unfulfilled wishes?"

The rich man replied, "My wife quarrels with me over trifling matters. My daughter rebels against my teaching. My servants commit foolish deeds that disturb my life. The lord disagrees with me on certain affairs and betrays me interests. My life is yet devoid of regrets."

The crystalline mask listened to the man's woe and responded with nothing but a bemused laugh.

Finding the fourth mask proved to be difficult. The rich man was forced to sacrifice his best men, and lost his daughter to a fever that he ignored. His wife jumped off a building in loneliness and despair. The city he lived in was ravaged by war. By the time the man got his hands on the fourth mask, its ethereal brilliance was the only thing he had left.

The voice in his head asked again, "For this wish, do you want to regain everything you've lost?"

Surprisingly, the man replied, "I want the fifth mask."

And so his wish was granted. Finally, the five crystalline masks reunited upon his hands, resting together like scales on a serpent. Their glow grew intense before suddenly receding, revealing the deserted shrine which he'd started out from. Only this time, the scavenger stood silently as a crystalline statue.

An illusory figure of the Serpent Lord slowly appeared, and spoke with the voice of the masks, "And now you have gained enlightenment, clear like crystal and devoid of filth."

He gently pressed his finger on the statue. Together, his figure and the statue broke apart and faded into nothing.

Even if it was only a fraction of his divinity residing within its scales, the Serpent Lord was willing to hear the wishes of mortals. After all, this realm of wishes has no shortages of excellent tales of joy and sorrow.