Chapter 3:
The Discovery in the Scriptorium
Born Without a Voice, My Hands Shaped the Fate of Silent Gods in a Distant World (Koe Naki Shoujo)
“If the gods have lost their powers, then how are you able to do this?” She signed to him and then motioned to the floating books above.
“Right. Great question. This happened when you arrived. It seems that I have the faintest bit of power back, but not nearly enough to access our once-lost texts on my own,” he said, his eyes reflecting the curiosity that Shion felt.
Shosei paused, as if trying to piece together a puzzle all by himself. “Do you know what could have brought you here?”
He glanced at her thoughtfully, as if weighing the significance of her presence. "It's as though you carry a trace of that moment with you, like an unexplainable tether binding us through realms."
The two sat in silence for some time, Shosei giving her the time to take in everything she had been through until now. Finally, Shosei’s gentle yet curious voice broke through her thoughts.
“Shion? Can we try something?” He asked. He wore a tight, nervous smile while his eyes pleaded with her. She looked at the god before her; he seemed so human in that moment. Shion could not help but nod.
“Thank you,” Shosei said, his entire form becoming visibly relaxed. He laid out one of the sacred tomes between them and sat cross-legged across from her. The beautiful quill he had tucked behind his ear, he laid on the blank parchment before them. He took one of his hands in hers and placed his free hand over the book.
Shion nodded slowly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the touch of a god. As she prepared to sign, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to reach into the depths of her heart and mind. In that moment of stillness, she envisioned the intertwined stories of her childhood and the ancient tales she yearned to revive that had once slept on these pages. What enabled her power was a blend of emotion, memory, and the silent language of her gestures—a unique harmony that bridged her with this realm. The key to her power seemed to be that in this world, her unspoken language now held dominion, where sounds failed, her gestures spoke truth. A sensation washed over her, bringing warmth that spread from her core to her fingertips, guiding her gestures with an unspoken clarity. It was as if the very essence of language was flowing through her. It was both powerful and gentle, connecting her to the world around her in a profound way.
“Please…remember. Remember the tales you wish to tell.” She signed.
Silver light flowed from her fingertips and into Shosei’s; the quill beneath his left hand began to move on its own at an incredible speed. Pages turned faster than her eyes could comprehend until the back cover of the book slammed shut, causing human and god alike to jump a bit in surprise. Shosei’s hand slowly let go of Shion’s, and she allowed it to drop into her lap with the other one.Shosei picked up the book and flipped through it, his hand slowly raising to his mouth in awe. He stood abruptly and began to pace before sitting back down.
The Scriptorium of Falling Leaves felt emptier without Shosei’s chatter filling it. As he stared at the text before him, his glasses slid lower on the bridge of his nose. His trembling fingertips lightly brushed the restored text, terrified that the words might fade into nothing once more.Shion watched him closely, somewhat rattled by what had just happened. Her signs had done this. The way the ink had bloomed like vines across the pages in the blink of an eye was, in part, her doing. The cracked leather cover of the book still glowed faintly, a sign of warmth in the perpetual cold twilight of the strange world she had landed in.
“…So it’s true then,” Shosei murmured at last. Lifting the restored text and setting it adrift amongst the autumn-red leaves that floated endlessly through the courtyard’s air, he added, “You’re not simply the missing verse of a long-forgotten prophecy. You’re like a living script, Shion.” His voice was strained with a mixture of awe and unease.
Her chest and throat tightened at the word ‘script.’ She felt once more reduced to a subject that needed to be studied, rather than a person. Even so, she found herself signing a small, hesitant thanks. Though Shosei was already furiously scrawling at a new section of his divine scroll, recording every motion of her hands.
As he lost himself in writing…whatever he was writing, Shion got to her feet. She began to gently touch books and scrolls with her fingertips. Her other hand began to sign once more. She wanted to know if she could do it on her own. After all, she had felt quite the surge run through her before.
With each book she touched, an unexpected shiver ran up her spine, like static electricity flickering just beneath her pale skin. As the words exploded across the blank pages, an unfamiliar heaviness settled in her limbs, leaving her breath shallow. With care, she restored several of the beautiful ancient texts, but a dull ache pooled at the nape of her neck, hinting at a boundary she was unknowingly crossing. Without guidance, she just touched as many as she could until Shosei broke her concentration.
The god’s bright blue eyes glinted behind ink-smudged lenses – he had clearly remembered something of importance. “Would you… Come with me? The texts of this library were not the only things robbed of their voice. I would like you to see for yourself.”
Shion felt hesitant, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had only just arrived in this world. And she was still reeling from not only an eclipse that had torn her from home, but also a world where her voicelessness seemed to be an asset.
She couldn't understand any of it, really, but something about his tone—urgent yet hopeful—pushed her to nod, and she stepped forward. “Yes. I will come.” She signed before shoving her hands into her pockets.— — —As they passed through the impressive archways of the Scriptorium, Shion slowly took in the sights that had been obscured by the Scriptorium’s enclosed courtyard. The world outside was nothing like she could have imagined.
Inside the Scriptorium, it had been dark and chilly, but seeing it outside was quite different. The sky was permanently awash in the same deep indigo and violet that had befallen her own world when the moon had eclipsed the sun. Here, however, the sky was frozen in an eternal dusk; it was devoid of both the sun and the moon. The wind was even chillier outside of the temple, and it carried the thick scent of ash and iron.
“This is Izumo,” Shosei explained, his breath fogging faintly. “It’s The Land of the Gods. Or… what remains of it.”
As they carefully made their way down a crumbling staircase carved into the valley cliffs, Shion slowed down to sign to Shosei. “No moon? No sun?” Shion asked, her hands shaking softly from the cold.
“Both have gone dormant - sealed in the veil between our world and yours, alongside our powers. It’s been centuries since they graced our skies, causing the days to blur together.”
She clenched her lip between her teeth and drew in a breath. She had always loved twilight; it was a beautiful and quiet hour when the world would soften. But here, in Izumo, it was different. The fields that should’ve been lush were brown, cracked, and grumbling – rice fields had dried up, scarring wide plains with famine.
Village homes were on the brink of their demise with collapsing rooftops and chimneys that had long since gone cold. The stench of rot wafted through the air from shallow riverbeds below. She saw the shadows of villagers kneeling in the mud, desperately scooping up what little cloudy water remained in the riverbed.
Shion’s heart ached, and she clenched her hands to her chest. She wanted to run down and offer help, even if she did not know how, but Shosei placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her."This world cannot be healed with your gestures alone," he softly told her. "But... I believe you'll be able to awaken the others and help restore their powers. In turn, this world can heal if you lend a hand to others. However, you should know that awakening the others and their abilities is no easy task. It is a journey fraught with obstacles and doubt, and the stakes are incredibly high. If you fail, the realm will remain in eternal twilight, and those who dwell here will continue to suffer under the weight of silence and decay."
“Right. Great question. This happened when you arrived. It seems that I have the faintest bit of power back, but not nearly enough to access our once-lost texts on my own,” he said, his eyes reflecting the curiosity that Shion felt.
Shosei paused, as if trying to piece together a puzzle all by himself. “Do you know what could have brought you here?”
“I was watching the solar eclipse,” Shion signed. She shifted a bit, wondering if this world even had such a word before clarifying, “The sun was completely covered and blacked out by the moon.”
Shosei’s eyes widened with delight. “Amazing. It may have marked a convergence of our worlds, almost like a fleeting bridge. When our sun was blacked out 2000 years ago, that is when our world, Izumo, became as it is now.”
Shion watched as he began to pace excitedly, pressing a finger to his lips in thought, “It's possible that your arrival sparked an echo of divine energy, just enough to awaken a part of me. It's still weak and unstable, but it is very likely to grow over time."He glanced at her thoughtfully, as if weighing the significance of her presence. "It's as though you carry a trace of that moment with you, like an unexplainable tether binding us through realms."
The two sat in silence for some time, Shosei giving her the time to take in everything she had been through until now. Finally, Shosei’s gentle yet curious voice broke through her thoughts.
“Shion? Can we try something?” He asked. He wore a tight, nervous smile while his eyes pleaded with her. She looked at the god before her; he seemed so human in that moment. Shion could not help but nod.
“Thank you,” Shosei said, his entire form becoming visibly relaxed. He laid out one of the sacred tomes between them and sat cross-legged across from her. The beautiful quill he had tucked behind his ear, he laid on the blank parchment before them. He took one of his hands in hers and placed his free hand over the book.
Shion nodded slowly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the touch of a god. As she prepared to sign, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to reach into the depths of her heart and mind. In that moment of stillness, she envisioned the intertwined stories of her childhood and the ancient tales she yearned to revive that had once slept on these pages. What enabled her power was a blend of emotion, memory, and the silent language of her gestures—a unique harmony that bridged her with this realm. The key to her power seemed to be that in this world, her unspoken language now held dominion, where sounds failed, her gestures spoke truth. A sensation washed over her, bringing warmth that spread from her core to her fingertips, guiding her gestures with an unspoken clarity. It was as if the very essence of language was flowing through her. It was both powerful and gentle, connecting her to the world around her in a profound way.
“Please…remember. Remember the tales you wish to tell.” She signed.
Silver light flowed from her fingertips and into Shosei’s; the quill beneath his left hand began to move on its own at an incredible speed. Pages turned faster than her eyes could comprehend until the back cover of the book slammed shut, causing human and god alike to jump a bit in surprise. Shosei’s hand slowly let go of Shion’s, and she allowed it to drop into her lap with the other one.Shosei picked up the book and flipped through it, his hand slowly raising to his mouth in awe. He stood abruptly and began to pace before sitting back down.
The Scriptorium of Falling Leaves felt emptier without Shosei’s chatter filling it. As he stared at the text before him, his glasses slid lower on the bridge of his nose. His trembling fingertips lightly brushed the restored text, terrified that the words might fade into nothing once more.Shion watched him closely, somewhat rattled by what had just happened. Her signs had done this. The way the ink had bloomed like vines across the pages in the blink of an eye was, in part, her doing. The cracked leather cover of the book still glowed faintly, a sign of warmth in the perpetual cold twilight of the strange world she had landed in.
“…So it’s true then,” Shosei murmured at last. Lifting the restored text and setting it adrift amongst the autumn-red leaves that floated endlessly through the courtyard’s air, he added, “You’re not simply the missing verse of a long-forgotten prophecy. You’re like a living script, Shion.” His voice was strained with a mixture of awe and unease.
Her chest and throat tightened at the word ‘script.’ She felt once more reduced to a subject that needed to be studied, rather than a person. Even so, she found herself signing a small, hesitant thanks. Though Shosei was already furiously scrawling at a new section of his divine scroll, recording every motion of her hands.
As he lost himself in writing…whatever he was writing, Shion got to her feet. She began to gently touch books and scrolls with her fingertips. Her other hand began to sign once more. She wanted to know if she could do it on her own. After all, she had felt quite the surge run through her before.
With each book she touched, an unexpected shiver ran up her spine, like static electricity flickering just beneath her pale skin. As the words exploded across the blank pages, an unfamiliar heaviness settled in her limbs, leaving her breath shallow. With care, she restored several of the beautiful ancient texts, but a dull ache pooled at the nape of her neck, hinting at a boundary she was unknowingly crossing. Without guidance, she just touched as many as she could until Shosei broke her concentration.
The god’s bright blue eyes glinted behind ink-smudged lenses – he had clearly remembered something of importance. “Would you… Come with me? The texts of this library were not the only things robbed of their voice. I would like you to see for yourself.”
Shion felt hesitant, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had only just arrived in this world. And she was still reeling from not only an eclipse that had torn her from home, but also a world where her voicelessness seemed to be an asset.
She couldn't understand any of it, really, but something about his tone—urgent yet hopeful—pushed her to nod, and she stepped forward. “Yes. I will come.” She signed before shoving her hands into her pockets.— — —As they passed through the impressive archways of the Scriptorium, Shion slowly took in the sights that had been obscured by the Scriptorium’s enclosed courtyard. The world outside was nothing like she could have imagined.
Inside the Scriptorium, it had been dark and chilly, but seeing it outside was quite different. The sky was permanently awash in the same deep indigo and violet that had befallen her own world when the moon had eclipsed the sun. Here, however, the sky was frozen in an eternal dusk; it was devoid of both the sun and the moon. The wind was even chillier outside of the temple, and it carried the thick scent of ash and iron.
“This is Izumo,” Shosei explained, his breath fogging faintly. “It’s The Land of the Gods. Or… what remains of it.”
As they carefully made their way down a crumbling staircase carved into the valley cliffs, Shion slowed down to sign to Shosei. “No moon? No sun?” Shion asked, her hands shaking softly from the cold.
“Both have gone dormant - sealed in the veil between our world and yours, alongside our powers. It’s been centuries since they graced our skies, causing the days to blur together.”
She clenched her lip between her teeth and drew in a breath. She had always loved twilight; it was a beautiful and quiet hour when the world would soften. But here, in Izumo, it was different. The fields that should’ve been lush were brown, cracked, and grumbling – rice fields had dried up, scarring wide plains with famine.
Village homes were on the brink of their demise with collapsing rooftops and chimneys that had long since gone cold. The stench of rot wafted through the air from shallow riverbeds below. She saw the shadows of villagers kneeling in the mud, desperately scooping up what little cloudy water remained in the riverbed.
Shion’s heart ached, and she clenched her hands to her chest. She wanted to run down and offer help, even if she did not know how, but Shosei placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her."This world cannot be healed with your gestures alone," he softly told her. "But... I believe you'll be able to awaken the others and help restore their powers. In turn, this world can heal if you lend a hand to others. However, you should know that awakening the others and their abilities is no easy task. It is a journey fraught with obstacles and doubt, and the stakes are incredibly high. If you fail, the realm will remain in eternal twilight, and those who dwell here will continue to suffer under the weight of silence and decay."
He paused, his gaze steady and serious. "And should that happen, Shion, you may find yourself questioning whether the silence that once guarded you has the possibility of becoming an endless void that will isolate you further. Possibly even leading to your destruction. Can you bear the thought of being cut off from all hope, with nothing but solitude to cushion the fall?"
He shook his head slightly, regaining his hopeful demeanor. "That is why I brought you with me. I believe in you, Shion." As Shion absorbed his words, a question took root in her mind. Could she truly harness the silence that had both protected and isolated her to light a path toward hope? This lingering uncertainty stirred within her, pulling her into the unknown, as she followed Shosei with a burgeoning mix of doubt and determination. Every step forward felt heavy but full of newfound purpose.
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