I loaded the geek game

Food of the night.

"Are you all ready?"

In the shadows, beside the shrine where the luminescence lay dormant, Jue stood quietly, holding the mysterious lacquered and gilded wooden box in his hands. Dark gold patterns flowed across the surface of the box, appearing and disappearing in the dim light.

Opposite her stood Kamiyagawa, Baku, and Kaguya-hime side by side. Further back, besides Mary, Hannya, Inugami, and other deities, Iso-hime, Kani-hime, Kinkuma, Hoshiguma, and other high-ranking members of the new Takamagahara also stood silently.

Of the three at the front, Kamiya remained calm, Baku, who had transformed into a beautiful human form, was as languid as ever, while only Princess Kaguya was so nervous that she kept swallowing, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

No wonder Kaguya was nervous.

After all, they are about to do something big.

The lacquered wooden box in Satori's hand was a trophy she had seized from the Void Ship. During the time Kamiya was unconscious, the chief craftswoman of Shin-Takamagahara had devoted herself wholeheartedly to her work. She not only oversaw the construction of the Raijin Shrine but also performed many other duties, including appraising this lacquered wooden box.

After studying day and night, Jue finally confirmed that the wooden box sealed inside was the special entrance to the "Ruins".

Interestingly, this wooden box from the void boat bears some resemblance to the Thousand-Pulse Stone from Hirasaka in the Underworld.

After all, the Thousand-Stone originated from the seal of the Yellow Springs, and the Yellow Springs is itself a part of the "Ruins".

As a master craftswoman, Jue's talent is nothing short of extraordinary. Back when the curse cast upon the artisans by Tianjin Maro was still in effect, she was already able to independently complete the research and modification of the Yellow Springs Thousand-Guiding Stone. With her previous successful research experience, coupled with the inherited techniques from the Golden Mountain Bigu God, deciphering the mysteries of the Void Boat Wooden Box is simply a natural progression for her.

“I’m absolutely certain.” Satoru faced Kamiyagawa, his fingertips lightly tracing the intricate patterns on the wooden box, his golden heterochromatic eyes gleaming. “Opening this box will open a passage to the Ruins for you. However—”

She paused, her tone slightly somber: "This passage can only accommodate one person at a time for a short period of time, and the situation inside the Ruins is unknown. You may not be able to summon Mary and Prajna from there."

"It's okay, I'm going alone anyway."

Kamiya's tone was calm and composed.

He had long been prepared to venture deep into the area alone.

Deities like Mary and Hannya, who possess only a single divine bone, naturally cannot risk summoning within the "Ruins." They can simply rely on the power of the divine casket and remain in the shadows. Furthermore, the little old man and Zashiki-warashi, among other legendary spirits who have always been by his side, are even less likely to accompany him this time.

Furthermore, the seal on the Dark Side of the Moon may not be secure. If any external force enters the Ruins, the Dark Side could potentially unleash a devastating energy turbulence. The lesson learned from the Night Eater Plains is still fresh in our minds; therefore, the entire process of Kamiya entering the Ruins must be guarded by the Baku, who possesses the power of two Tsukuyomi relics, and Princess Kaguya.

"Now that everything is ready..." Jue's fingertips lingered briefly on the lock of the wooden box, and a hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes when he looked up.

The gods and demons behind stepped forward, among them Iso-hime, the ruler of the new Takamagahara, looked worried, her long, golden dragon tail swaying uneasily on the ground:

“Master, the ruins are fraught with danger and unpredictability. The information left by the god Seimei may not be entirely reliable. If anything unusual happens, we must retreat immediately—Takamagahara cannot lose its master.”

"Don't worry, I'll know what I'm doing this time."

Kamiya stood proudly, nodded slightly, and the two swords at his waist gleamed coldly in the darkness.

On the left is Futsu-no-Mitama, a divine sword from the Age of Gods. Although it lost its spirit in the Battle of the Abyss, it was reforged by Satori using divine craftsmanship and remains as sharp as ever, worthy of the newly ascended Thunder God's might. On the right is the fully reforged Ame-no-O-Habari, its fragments finally gathered after countless hardships. Satori even used the secret techniques inherited from the ancestral god of craftsmen to bring this divine sword from the Age of Gods that could cleave heaven and earth back to life.

"Then, let's get started."

Jue took a deep breath and gently flicked the hidden clasp on the lacquered wooden box with her fingertips.

Click——

A soft sound.

A wisp of eerie purple mist suddenly seeped out from the cracks of the golden wooden box. The mist meandered and flowed in the air as if it were alive, exuding a chilling sense of oppression.

Kamiya narrowed his eyes, watching the wisp of mist gradually spread, twisting and swirling before everyone's eyes, finally transforming into a slowly rotating vortex. The center of the vortex was as deep as an abyss, seemingly capable of swallowing even light, while its edges shimmered with tiny, dark golden runes.

It was an ancient divine pattern similar to the one on the Thousand-Headed Stone of Hirasaka in the Underworld, but it carried a more chaotic aura.

"The passage is open." Jue's voice was unusually low and solemn. "This passage won't last long. If you don't return within the time limit..."

She didn't continue, but everyone understood what she meant.

Kamiya nodded slightly, his right hand resting on the hilt of Futsu-no-Mitama, lightning silently swirling in his palm. The vortex's gravity gradually intensified, the surrounding air began to tremble, and even the ground on the dark side of the moon faintly trembled with unease.

"Baku, Kaguya." Kamiya turned his head to look at the two people standing guard behind him. "I'll leave the Dark Side to you."

"Don't worry, owner!"

The little tapir tossed its long hair, its previous lazy demeanor replaced by a confident and composed air.

Princess Kaguya gripped the Hourai Jewel Branch tightly and nodded vigorously: "Please be careful..."

Kamiyagawa said no more and turned to walk into the whirlpool.

The moment he stepped in, the vortex suddenly expanded, and a dark purple light surged up like a tide, completely engulfing his figure.

pat.

Jue quickly closed the slightly warm lacquered wooden box again.

The next second, the vortex contracted rapidly, releasing the last wisp of purple mist, which transformed into a thin, ethereal line...

……

When Kamiya stepped into the realm of "Ruins", a thick darkness surged in like a tide, and the air itself had a suffocating weight.

The boundless darkness writhed like a living thing, yet hesitated to advance more than three feet away from Kamiya.

The divine pressure emanating from the two divine bones within his body, combined with the flowing sharpness and blade intent of the twin swords at his waist, formed a faint halo, creating a hazy realm in this absolute darkness, like a lone lamp in a storm.

"This is……"

Looking around, Kamiya's pupils contracted slightly.

Within the chaos of his vision, countless indescribable, colossal white phantoms drifted silently. Each one stretched across the depths of darkness like a mountain range, each outline large enough to blot out the sky.

Most of the afterimages have no fixed shape, sometimes resembling dissipating smoke, sometimes like distorted silhouettes, gathering and dispersing in the darkness. But at certain moments, those shadows will suddenly solidify into terrifying shapes—

For example, it's like a constantly proliferating, illusory tumor, with countless painful faces appearing and disappearing on its surface; or like an illusory white pillar piercing the heavens and the earth, which, upon closer inspection, turns out to be tens of thousands of infant arms, slowly swaying in a way that violates the joints...

Even more bizarre is the sense of distance; those colossal creatures are sometimes within arm's reach, and at other times seem to be on the other side of the world. Their movement defies logic; one second they are at the edge of your field of vision, and the next they may be flying overhead.

Suddenly, the giant white shadow composed of infant arms stopped its movement. Thousands upon thousands of hands opened simultaneously, and the eyeballs embedded in the palms all turned towards Kamiya's direction.

Boom!

The illusory pillar of flesh roared and surged down.

At the same time, lightning burst forth from Futsu-no-Mitama, and blinding electric sparks erupted from its scabbard. The white giant crumbled the instant it touched the halo, and a tar-like viscous liquid gushed from its broken surface, emitting a sharp wail in the air before evaporating completely.

"Nothing special." Kamiya's fingers gently caressed Futsu no Mitama, but his gaze grew increasingly solemn.

He noticed that the disintegrating phantom quickly reformed in the depths of darkness, its new form more distorted than before, yet it dared not approach again.

Given Kamiya's current status, he is naturally not subject to the substantial disturbance of these distorted phantoms, but the discomfort caused by their existence is still like a persistent ailment.

It can't hurt people, but it can disgust them.

If you stare at these entities for too long, your temples will throb, and you'll hear incomprehensible whispers in your ears. It seems these distorted projections are trying to erode the intruder's sanity.

"Now I understand why the travelers trapped here seem so crazy, spending all their time with these things... I don't even know what these shadows are."

Kamiya River turned his head.

Behind him, in the dark space, a purple fissure, like a thin thread, floated in the darkness.

"The supply chain can't be maintained for long, we need to hurry."

He gripped the hilt of Futsu-no-Mitama with one hand, remaining vigilant against the surrounding phantoms, before resolutely stepping forward. As he moved, the surrounding darkness grew thicker, as if countless invisible hands were tugging at his clothes, only to recoil as if electrocuted the moment they touched the light.

The pale, illusory figures that swam in the darkness hovered around him, always keeping their distance. Even when they occasionally brushed past the halo around the Kamiya River, they would scatter like a school of startled fish, only to regroup in the distance.

Moreover, these phantoms gathered more and more as the Kamiya River moved forward.

Their massive outlines appeared and disappeared in the chaos, and without exception, they were all "watching" him—not just with their eyes, but with some more primitive and unsettling way of perceiving.

And so, Kamiya, like a lead sheep, "led" a large number of phantoms through the chaos for an unknown amount of time, until finally, a strange outline emerged at the end of the darkness—

A towering stone seat stands alone in the void.

It was entirely black, its surface covered with fine cracks. The base of the stone seat was deeply embedded in the ground, with heavy stone steps spiraling in front of it, while its top was hidden in the darkness, connecting to an unknown height.

"Something's off... Uh, this stone seat, why does it look so much like the one in the Takamagahara Shrine?"

Suppressing his doubts, Kamiyagawa continued forward, his hand on his sword. When he finally reached the stone pedestal, he saw only a gaunt old man standing beneath its towering, dark silhouette, a darkness even more profound than the surrounding gloom. (End of Chapter)