Ritual fusion: Summoning the gods

"Mama, I need your help."

. .

After Sakuya contacted Mama Jumo about performing a West African exorcism, she immediately began gathering the resources she needed. The elderly woman was understandably worried about her son's safety, but Sakuya assured her she had everything under control. This was not entirely true, but the woman didn't need to know that. Even though Jumo was stable, Sakuya was still very much frightened she might mess things up with the ritual.

There was no one else who could help him for hundreds of miles. She was the only one, and she needed to try.

Mama Jumo began explaining.

...

"Okay, my dear. You first need to purify the area for the ritual."

...

Sakuya began by cleaning up the blood from the temple courtyard. The battle between the samurai spirit and Ogun had left the place in quite the ruined state, with a few broken fences and some scattered body parts—mostly from the samurai. Luckily, the noble spirit was going to make a full recovery while resting in the spirit realm. If he hadn't chosen to help them, they would have never gotten the time they needed to save Jumo.

...

"Next, you will need to get the necessary items for the ritual. An animal for blood sacrifice."

...

Sakuya was ready to go buy a goat from the market, but Kanna volunteered to handle it instead. The older woman had helped snap Sakuya out of her panicked state earlier, and if it also wasn't for her suggestion to put Jumo to sleep, Ogun would have gotten past the samurai, and the boy she loved would have been dead by now. She was extremely grateful for Kanna's intervention, and whether or not the older woman was going to change her mind about Jumo anytime soon, Sakuya was just glad to have her around and helping.

...

"Salt, white chalk or ash, alcohol, and a talking drum."

...

Ash was able to get some clean salt from the kitchen. Shiun provided white chalk when both she and Ayane got back from school. Sakuya herself was able to get some ash from burning firewood in the corner of the temple. But for talking drums, which were made from Iroko, a type of sacred wood native mainly to Africa, Sakuya opted for a Japanese substitute.

Taiko drums.

In terms of functionality, they both served the same purpose. The talking drum from West African spiritual practices was utilized to communicate, evoke, and summon spirits. Which was exactly what the taiko drums were used for in Japanese spiritual practices. Whether there were enough similarities for her other chosen Japanese alternatives to work as intended was yet to be seen. But as nighttime came, it was time to start the ritual.

...

The goat was sacrificed by Kanna, and some of the blood was used to draw a circle on the ground. Jumo's body was placed in the middle.

The chalk was also used to draw another ring outside of the blood circle. This was to serve as an extra layer of sealing power, in case the blood barrier failed.

Sakuya dipped her hands in pure water before removing them and dipping them into the bowl of ash she had collected from the aftermath of the fire she had started. She allowed her hands to rest for five seconds before removing them and smudging the sticky powder on her face.

She drew three smudges on her forehead, touched a dot on her nose, drew a line underneath her left eye, and made a circular one around her right eye. This way, the spirit, Ogun, would recognize her as the mortal who summoned him. That is, if the ritual even worked to begin with.

...

While outside, Sakuya designated further duties to her family. Despite only knowing Jumo for a short time, they had all come out to help. She was extremely grateful for all of their assistance and support.

Kanna was in charge of occasionally splashing Jumo's body with alcohol. This, together with the incense already burning around Jumo, was to keep Ogun in a docile state when he appeared.

Shiun and Ayane were going to be playing the taiko drums in a particular rhythm she had shown them. This was to force Ogun to reveal himself when Sakuya eventually began calling his name.

Ash, who was still sporting a broken leg, was the getaway driver standing with Shiun and Ayane. If things became too heated and something terrible happened, then her job was to teleport the girls to safety first, before coming back for Sakuya and Kanna.

Finally, everything was in place to start the ritual.

...

Sakuya first went over to Jumo's unconscious body, careful not to ruin the blood and chalk barrier by stepping over it. She went on her knees and cradled his head on her lap again. She lowered her ear to listen for his breathing. Like before, it was shallow.

She removed her ear and kissed him on the forehead. Then she whispered.

"Hang in there, alright?" she said.

"Zettai ni anata o watashi no moto e tsuremodosu kara ne."

"I promise to bring you back to me."

...

As soon as she was seated on her knees across from Jumo's unconscious body, Sakuya signaled with a thumbs-up for her sisters to begin drumming. But the sudden singing from Kanna caught her off guard.

"He-yoooooo."

Kanna sang, choosing to lead the group in a simple but powerful ritual melody. Everybody present was shocked.

"Hoooh."

"Yoohooh."

"Hooohooh."

The song had no lyrics. Just sounds. And its purpose was to cleanse the soul and atmosphere while extending a peaceful invitation to any nearby spirits.

Sakuya smiled in appreciation, and Kanna gave a nod in her direction before continuing.

"He-yoooooo."

"Hoooh."

"Yoohooh."

"Hooohooh."

Sakuya turned to her sisters and urged them to match up with Kanna. After a moment of hesitation, they began drumming.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

"He-yoooooo."

Boom.

"Hoooh."

Boom.

"Yoohooh."

Boom.

"Hooohooh."

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

"Yooh."

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

"Hoooh."

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

"Hoooh."

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

"Hoooh."

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

As the procession carried on, Sakuya could sense the subtle change in the environment.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The night got a little colder. The wind slowly picked up as leaves began to rustle. She could feel the drumming in her chest and the singing in her heart. The courtyard became a little claustrophobic.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

She had the sudden sense they were no longer alone, so she swapped over to her second sight ability.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

A gasp suddenly caught in her throat as her eyes grew wide. They were everywhere. Crawling in over the temple walls, slowly emerging up from the ground.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Ghosts. Entities. Spirits she had never seen before. But there was no Ogun.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

She needed to call his name.

...

"Ogun!" Sakuya began, speaking into the night. "War god! Lord of iron! Spirit of craftsmanship!"

Her sisters were still quietly beating the drum to the rhythm, but Kanna had stopped singing and was now observing.

"I am Sakuya Alba!" she continued. "Spirit guardian of Mitsuzawa Temple! Hear my call and step forward! I summon you!"

If her sisters could see what she was seeing in that moment, none of them would remain standing outside. There were now over thirty spirits standing around in the courtyard, each one more horrifying than the last.

An angry woman with flowing hair as if caught in zero gravity. A giant spider with multiple eyes and legs. A serpent fish with the head of a dragon. A warrior with fiery eyes and a double-headed ax. And so much more.

They were all staring at her. Every single one. And as she continued to observe them, Sakuya soon made a connection.

They all looked familiar. Each one was a spirit Jumo had as a tattoo on his body. Instead of summoning just Ogun, the ritual had accidentally summoned all of them. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

...

Her initial plan was simple. Or, at the very least, less difficult. She was going to summon Ogun, talk to him, and somehow reach an agreement where Jumo got to stay alive. She couldn't proceed with the standard exorcism and simply remove the war god from Jumo's body since his power was what was keeping her boyfriend from relapsing into the strange illness he developed as a kid—the main reason his mother got the tattoos for him in the first place.

But with all of the spirits now present, all of the gods that were angry at Jumo because, from their understanding, her boyfriend was stealing their powers to keep himself healthy, how was she meant to address all of them at the same time? One wrong bargaining move, and that could be it. Jumo could die.

"You summon me, Guardian?"

Sakuya was so occupied with her thoughts, she did not realize the exact moment he began approaching her from the crowd in front of her.

Standing over eight feet tall and built like a metal statue, his long braids swayed as he strolled forward. Other gods and spirits made room for him as he passed. Kanna and her sisters remained oblivious as to what was actually happening, and it was for the best. Finally, he stood in front of her. Ogun. In all his ruthless glory.

Through eyes of bright yellow circles, he looked down at Jumo. Then, slowly, he lifted his massive leg and placed it on her boyfriend's neck.

Sakuya seethed with rage at the sight. She wanted to launch forward and punch the god right off Jumo. To hell with spiritual diplomacy. But then she realized—he wasn't trying to press down. He wasn't trying to kill him. At least, not yet.

Ogun then lifted his gaze to look at her.

"You have five minutes, Guardian," he said. "Then he dies."