I loaded the geek game

The old man was so thin he was almost nothing but skin and bones, his skin clinging to his gnarled frame in a sickly grayish-white hue. The black lines that snaked along his withered arms seemed to writhe slowly, as if alive, their eerie glow emanating with each breath. His tattered robes had long since blended into the surrounding darkness, appearing as if they were shadows growing from nothingness.

"Finally... someone has come." The old man spoke first, his voice hoarse and dry. "The supreme ruler of Izumo... your soul is powerful, resilient... and kind... Hmm, you didn't originally belong to Izumo. You and I come from the same place, right?"

"You recognize me?"

“You’ve called my name, more than once.” The old man’s withered, claw-like hand pointed to the mottled stone seat beside him. “Every time you call my name… this stone seat trembles. The afterglow of Takamagahara… shines through the cracks in the stone seat… I can see it all.”

Just by listening to the first half of the old man's sentence, it can be basically confirmed that he is Xu Fu, the voyageer to the east that Kamiya River is looking for.

The second half of Xu Fu's statement, however, seemed to contain a great deal of information.

Kamiya had many questions at this moment, but he didn't ask them immediately. Instead, he said, "Tatsuo asked me to come find you. He has been looking for you and hopes to see you."

Chenfu, that's the real name of the medicine seller.

It was after learning from Shin-Takamagahara that the travelers from the east were trapped in the "ruins" that the medicine seller proactively informed Kamiyagawa.

Subsequently, Kamiya also searched for information in real-world settings. Finally, he found a related record in the origin book of the Jinli Shrine in Saga Prefecture, which enshrines Xu Fu—

Tatsuo was a disciple of Xu Fu. He traveled east with Xu Fu and taught the locals about herbal medicine after landing in Japan.

"Then my good disciple... has wasted his efforts." Xu Fu's tone was tinged with a bitter smile, and the black patterns on his body flickered with his breath.

“I can’t leave here.” He raised his wrist, and the black lines on his arm immediately flared up, twisting wildly, like shackles forcibly pulling him back to his original position. “I’ve long been a part of this cage…”

Xu Fu could not leave the ruins.

Kamiya had anticipated this situation.

According to the information provided by Seimei's divine sense, Xu Fu harbors a great secret, which is likely related to the deepest truth of Takamagahara. Moreover, compared to Anokami, who was also trapped in the Ruins, Xu Fu's condition is significantly different. At the very least, calling out Anokami's name directly in the mortal world would not attract strange murmurs.

Even the medicine seller, in his final meeting with Kamiya before he entered the ruins, made a different request of Kamiya—

"I want to know why Master is trapped in the ruins."

The medicine seller, who always wore a smile beneath his exaggerated makeup, had an unusually solemn expression when he spoke these words. He probably also anticipated that his master would not be able to come out of the ruins.

"I have many questions I want to ask you—for Tatsuo, and for myself." Kamiyagawa's voice was exceptionally clear in the darkness.

"Hehe..." Xu Fu's dry lips curled into a half-smile. "Even without the connection of Chen Fu, being able to talk to someone like you who came later... is a great comfort to me. I can't even remember the last time I spoke with anyone."

"Um……"

Kamiya nodded slightly.

Xu Fu was in much better condition than he had expected; he was lucid and spoke coherently. It seemed that the progress in obtaining the secrets of Takamagahara would be smoother than anticipated.

"Then," Xu Fu slowly raised his withered, twig-like finger, pointing to the white phantoms roaming behind Kamiya, "do you know what these enormous creatures that have followed you all the way here are?"

Kamiya looked back.

Those twisted white giant shadows appeared and disappeared in the darkness, all seemingly poised to move towards the throne.

He shook his head.

"They were all gods."

"god?"

Kamiya followed Xu Fu's gaze and saw those white phantoms twisting and writhing in the darkness. Looking at them now, those disintegrating outlines did indeed seem to contain some kind of sacred and ancient rhythm, only they had long been distorted beyond recognition.

“Yes, God. The Heavenly Dao gives birth to countless worlds, and then destroys them one by one.” Xu Fu raised his cloudy eyes, the light spots projected onto his pupils by the distorted phantoms in the air flickering uncertainly. “In every world that is destroyed, the gods who fall within it will eventually fall into the Void, becoming shadows projected within it. I am trapped in this Void of Izumo, and I can see many things… These shadows around us, the ones you see now… They may have once been the gods of the Sea of ​​Milk, the gods of Kamui, the gods of Nuen, the gods in the belly of the Rainbow Serpent, the gods on the back of the Spirit Turtle… But in the end, they have all become like this.”

Kamiya was able to fully understand Xu Fu's words.

The "Heavenly Way" mentioned by the other party should be the same concept as the "Divine Nest" of Izumo.

"Guixu" is the same as "xu" in the concept.

As for "Ocean of Milk" and "Kamui," they refer to the Hindu pantheon and the Ainu pantheon, respectively. Kamiya was already familiar with these two mythological worlds that have been destroyed.

As for the remaining ones, such as "Nun", "Rainbow Serpent", and "Spirit Turtle"...

Kamiyagawa is also constantly learning.

He knew that Nunn referred to the Egyptian pantheon, while the rainbow serpent and the spirit turtle likely represented certain indigenous mythologies in Australia and the Americas.

Xu Fu's ability to say these things also confirms his statement—

He could indeed "see" a lot in the ruins.

"How many Saha worlds have been destroyed?" Kamiya asked in a deep voice.

Xu Fu extended three withered fingers: "You should ask how much of the Red Land, Olympus, and your Izumo are left, that's all. When the last Saha world is extinguished, everything will return to nothingness."

“And you are the supreme ruler of the spirits and gods of Izumo, so you have more to worry about than just these things.” Xu Fu continued, “I don’t want to exaggerate… but even if only Izumo is destroyed, your fate will probably be the same as the phantoms here. You will become part of those shadows and wander in this void forever.”

"So, if I want to protect Izumo, I have to sit on the throne of Takamagahara, just like Abe no Seimei?"

"Yes."

“I have seen the spirit of Abe no Seimei. He said that I can obtain some truths about Takamagahara from you that he could not say out loud.”

Ever since witnessing Seimei's divine consciousness, Kamiyagawa had a vague feeling—

Ascending to the throne of God is far more complicated than it appears on the surface.

The reason for this can probably only be found out from Xu Fu.

“Abe no Seimei…the last ruler of all gods and spirits…he didn’t come here. Some truths cannot be spoken by those who sit on the throne, but I can tell you.” Xu Fu’s voice suddenly became ethereal, his cloudy eyes staring directly at Kamiya. “Do you know why I am trapped here, and why I am entangled with Takamagahara here?”

Kamiyagawa, of course, didn't know, otherwise he wouldn't have come here.

"Because of Izanagi, I was tricked by the former ruler of Izumo."

“Izanagi? That is…”

"He...is dead."

As Xu Fu spoke, he turned to look at the somber black outlined by the towering stone base behind him.

Is Izanagi dead?

This was somewhat unexpected by Kamiya. (End of Chapter)