Chapter 3: the whims of a goddess

Chapter three:

Darkness, nothingness, surrounded Kaiji, he then opened his eyes as there was light. A woman sitting in front of him on a golden throne with Silver hair and a sleeveless deep amethyst purple dress cut in the style of a Chinese qipao, with silver armor on each shoulder and flowing from it, a gold-bordered matte black cape that shimmered in the light. She held a small golden scepter that looked like it was used as a wand that bulbed up near the top where it looked like an orange-shaped fruit where every other slice that wasn't golden was a bright red pigeon blood marquise cut ruby gemstone. From her seat, she spoke: “My, that was really quite impressive” as she spoke, her voice echoed across the void “I have to hand it to you, I really thought that girl was finished until you showed up and stole the show.”

Kaiji, still delirious, asked

“What are you talking- ah! The girl! where is she?!”

“Oh relax” the woman responded, “she’s fine, because of you, she got out with only a couple of broken ribs and a handful of scratches, but she’s top-notch compared to you.”

“Compared to me?” he questioned “what do you mean?”

The woman explained,

“I mean, you’re in rough shape, to be frank… you’re dead.” She said.

“No way, this can’t be real.” he said.

“You know, I think you said the same this when you saw the wicked phantasm” 

“Wicked fanta-wha?”

“A wicked phantasm is a being composed primarily-” she began

“never mind that! you said I was dead!? How am I talking to you then!?” he interrupted.

“My, the lungs on this boy” she scratched her head “well, you seeeee, you’re not supposed to die today.”

“excuse me?”

“your day of reckoning kiddo isn’t on the schedule. Of course, the details are confidential, but I can tell you for certain it’s definitely not today” 

“then why am I here?” 

“well, to be honest, I don't really know how this happened, we always knew you were selfless but we didn't know you were stupid” 

“Stupid?! What’s that supposed to mean??!” 

“Sweetie you jumped off a cliff to save a stranger. On top of that, you took the brunt of the fall to keep her safe. Noble, but terrible for self-preservation. Not very smart if you ask me” 

“Whatever! It was either death by rhino or slight chance of death by fall, I chose the latter” he argued.

“About that… that phantom was out of mana, it wasn't shooting anything deadly at anyone. So, not only did you jump off a cliff, but you also jumped the gun!” she laughed.

Kaiji's face turned blue as a weight suddenly fell on his chest “you can’t be serious”

“oh, deadly! Pun intended” 

“ghaaaaa” he swung his arms around like a child throwing a tantrum. But after letting out his frustrations, he was over it.

“so I’m dead huh? Now what? And what is this place?”

“thankfully your Obasan has always kept you up to date with the supernatural, so you’ll know what I mean when I say, you’re in the otherworld”

kanjis jaw dropped

“the otherworld?! For real?? It's a real place?” he said

“well actually this isn’t technically the otherworld just yet. It was where you were going right before I intercepted the transfer so I can talk to you” 

“talk to me? Why me?” 

The woman giggled in her throne for a moment before she stood up and walked towards him. She towered above any adult Kaiji had ever even seen, almost to an inhuman level. She pointed her wand like scepter down at him and said in a low tone to make her voice seem deeper,

“because you did something no one else could” then she sat down in front of him and continued saying, now in her normal speaking voice “and I just had to bring you here and speak to you myself” her large body shrank down to normal human levels when she said that. Before, he was intimidated by her size, but now, he feels comfortable enough to ask with more confidence “speak to me about what?” 

She smiled for a moment, got up, turned around, and said “well I’m glad you asked!” in a laxer tone while walking back to her chair and shrinking it down to her current stature.

"I was so impressed by your actions that I’ve decided to pronounce you an honorary spirit hunter!”

“A spirit hunter?” he asked with more than a hint of doubt.

“YES!” she shouted excitedly “if you could manage to save that girl, and outsmart a wicked demon with nothing but your wits, just imagine what you could do with a little training!” she continued on.

“What you did today, was superb, and all of it without using a wisp of your latent potential. Which Is why I’m giving you this” she waved her wand around in a circle above her and then pointed it at Kaiji, then a blinding light manifested into a small locket that slowly hovered towards him.

He grabbed it from the air and examined it. it looked like a scarab beetle from the Egyptian paintings he saw in history class. But it was colored differently, rather than being all blue, the head was solid gold and the wings were emerald green with gold ascents decorating it.

“This will allow me to communicate with you directly, so, if need be, I can help you out in a pinch. If I’m not too busy that is. It also heightens your perception so you’ll be able to see things you couldn't see before, like phantoms that are too weak for regular humans to notice. But, as you tap into your capabilities, you’ll start seeing them without having to use the scarab. Think of it like a… spirit detective training wheel.”

“I thought I was a spirit hunter” he interrupted.

She smacks her teeth “oh” she waved him off “spirit hunter, spirit detective, it’s all the same.” She continued on “The head twists to open it, so do that for me please?”

Kaiji looks at the pendant and twists the head, it turned on a pivot pulling the wings back with an internal mechanism to project a hologram in front of him

“ta-da! A pocket-sized little ol’ me to keep you company”

Kaiji stood there for a moment not sure of how to respond, then he finally spoke up

“Well, this is great and all but I’m only 16, how am I supposed to be a spirit hunter slash spirit detective whatchamacallit?” as he spoke she walked back to her chair, swing her leg over one of the arms, and threw her body over the chair sitting down sideways.

from her chair, she waved him off again “age is but a number sweetie”

Then Kaiji remembered something she said earlier “but wait you said something about my latent potential, what did you mean by that?” his question brought on a grin and a sinister look to her face “oh, all in due time Kaiji-Kun <3”

She took a moment to look around above them as if she was looking for something “oh, and it looks like our time is up. I gotta send you on out o’ here” she stood up from her chair and got in a stance, and began waving her arms in circles as sparkly blue arrays surrounded Kaiji like a vortex. “Get stronger, and fight harder, and don't be so reckless next time or I will be seeing you again; and keep an eye out for any scary rumors going around” as she spoke he began to float in place “wait, you never told me who you were!” he asked “name’s Aurora, pleasure to meet’cha” she said as she winked at him. The energy spun faster and faster as he started flying further and further away from her, and before he knew it, he was coughing up water.

Kaiji was still unconscious but he could faintly make out the words “are you okay?” he opened his eyes to see the words were coming from the girl he risked his life to save. “Oh hey, you” he clumsily made the words come out of his mouth. He asked her if she was okay

“better than you I suppose” she said as snarky as ever. “Take a look, not a single scratch on me.”

Aurora told him she had a couple of broken ribs so he knew she was lying, but he couldn’t bring himself to ruin the moment. He chuckled “ I guess the gambit paid off” he said. The girl looked at him with a confused look on her face “what?” her face shifted from confusion to rage as she realized what he meant “you mean to tell me you had no idea this would work?”

“between facing off a rhino and jumping off a cliff I chose the cliff”

“…you’re crazy! You’re a crazy person!”

“Yeah but I saved your life”

“At the cost of yours! You almost died!”

“Oh well actually I did, I saw a goddess of the otherworld and everything.”

"mhhm yeah right”

They both laughed away the close encounter with death. Kaiji looked at the girl he just saved and thought about all that happened and what the goddess had told her. And he spoke up “Hey, who are you? What the hell was that and why were you fighting it all by yourself?”

Her eyes widen as she suddenly remembered that Kaiji was an outsider to her cause. She would have to break the news to him that his world wasn't what it seemed.

“Listen, what I’m about to tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. I mean it, you can’t tell a single soul, not your parents, not your friends, not even your girlfriend.” She said

“I don't have a girlfriend” he said.

“Good. keep it that way” she said.

“What’s going on? Why all the fuss?” He said.

She took in a deep breath and let out a big sigh.

“The world as you know it, will never be the same. There’s something that's been right in front of you this whole time but you just weren’t able to see it. But once I point it out to you, you won’t be able to unsee it. And once you do, there’s no going back, your life will never be the same again. So make up your mind now whether or not you really want to know, ignorance is bliss after all.” She said.

Kaiji thought about it for a second, he thought about what he had already seen so far, a giant rampaging rhino, a magic sword lady, and the goddess of the afterlife and he thought to ruminate. Then he spoke.

“Whether I want to or not isn’t up to me, my life will already never be the same after this. There’s no way I can go back to the matrix after seeing what I’ve seen” He said.

“I was afraid you would say that”. She let out another big sigh and sat down on the ground cross-legged “in that case you’re gonna wanna sit down”.

“Okay...” Kaiji did as he was told.

“This is gonna be difficult, I’m really sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but… Kyokai is a city shrouded in death. The people you meet the people you know. Over half of them don't know they’re gone.” she said

“Gone? what- what do you mean? What are you saying” he said

“I’m saying… that Kyokai is a city overrun by spirits. Spirits that feed off the energy of the living and get stronger and stronger. And there are those of us who fight to maintain the delicate balance of life and death. Were called spirit hunters.”

Kaiji didn't know what to say, any sane person would start to realize the person they were talking to was a complete lunatic. But, after all he’s seen, it’s becoming a lot more believable than it would have been a couple of hours ago. But then something came over him, doubt. What if all of this was just one big hallucination? What if everything that happened was all in his head, and the pictures his eyes were projecting were the last vivid dreams of a person who was assuredly approaching death? And while it would be easier to say all of this was an elaborate ploy by the lovers of the waterfall to steal his soul triggered by the little bit of water that got in his mouth when the rock fell… “wait, could it be?” he asked himself starting to disassociate from his surroundings. Sadly, the truth of life isn’t always the one we’d prefer. And besides, the rock fell off the cliff before the water got in his mouth so that's not even a real possibility. “I- hold on. I need a minute” he said

“Don't worry take your time” she said

“How do I know if someone is real or not?”

“Can you remember them, by name?

“What? Of course I can!”

“Then they’re real.”

“What?”

“The first thing they take is peoples recollection of you, if friends you've known all your life fail to recognize you it means they are already feeding off of you, followed shortly by people’s perception of you, that is your presence in the person's cognition. If you can see someone and remember them, they’re in no immediate danger. If you look at a person who’s being fed on you’ll see them only while you look at them. Then soon forget them once you part gaze. Sadly that is only one of the many strategies the phantoms use, there is still a lot we don't know about them.”

“So then why don't people fight back? If they’re feeding off them they can’t be very far off” he said

“That's true, but the thing is normal people can’t see them with the naked eye.”

“What? But I was able to see the monster up there! What are you talking about?”

“Like I said… Normal people.”

Kaiji was silent for a moment. What does this mean? Was he not normal like everyone else? How was he different?

“Truth is… I don't know how you were able to see it, that's why I thought you were one of us. That's why I asked you what division you were in.”

“But I’m just a high schooler, there’s nothing special about me.”

“That's not true, not only were you able to see it, you were also able to dodge his attack like it was nothing; even some top-level hunters can’t do that. By the way, the way you dodged that demon was crazy, where did you learn to do something like that?”

Kaiji thought about it for a second before responding “believe it or not, playing football.”

She dropped her eyebrow in doubt “football?” she questioned

“Yeah!” Kaiji assured. “When you fake left then weave right, it's super common. I’m surprised it worked.”

She shook her head in disbelief “I’m starting to think I gave you more credit than you were owed”.

“Credit or not, I still saved your life”

“By a hair” she clarified pressing her thumb and index finger together.

Kaiji made the same hand gesture “even by a single hair” he said in agreement.

Then they laughed and sat there for a while looking down at the village appreciating the peace and quiet. They sat there appreciating the beauty of nature. Feeling the wind brush their face as they gazed at the stars. The laughs they shared on that mountain would sow the seeds of a beautiful relationship that would grow and blossom throughout the years.

They sat there in silence looking up at the waterfall. Until she broke the silence “Hey, you don't have to join us or anything, I know this is a lot so if you want out we could keep this between us if you want.”

Kaiji shook his head saying no. “I couldn't if I tried, there’s no way I could turn my back to something so big, people are dying and the town doesn't even know it.”

She was surprised at his response, most people given the opportunity to go back to ignorance would jump at the chance. That's why some veterans have difficulty reentering civilian life, you can’t just go to hell and back and not have that change you. She admired that about him, even if she wouldn't admit it.

She looked down at the village, took in a deep breath the turned towards him “In that case, the name’s Alice” she extended her hand “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

He extended his hand to meet hers “I’m Kaiji, it's a pleasure to meet you too” they spoke in a soft tender tone as if their hearts were opening up for each other through their words. That name ‘Kaiji’, where had she heard it before? She thought to herself.

After that, they made their way down the mountain and were about to head their separate ways until,

“So when do you want to start your training?”

“I don’t know, what kind of training is it?”

“Well, the first one is body training, in order to fight monsters and demons you can’t be a slouch”

“Well, I’m no slouch”

“Clearly, so the next training regimen would be spirit vision but you don't seem to have any problem with that one either, so I guess we should start with sword fighting. Do you have any experience with swords?”

“Actually I do, I used to practice with my grandfather every morning when I was a kid. I actually already restarted my training with him this morning.”

“That's perfect, for now, keep training with your grandfather. When you’re ready I’ll take you on the field.”

“Okay, but wouldn't I be good enough already?”

“There’s a lot more to being a demon hunter than dodging blows and seeing ghosts. You’ll get there in due time.”

As she said that, the sun had finally started to rise, lighting up the sky with red hot fire to start everyone’s day. And with that, they parted ways. Turns out, her house wasn't that far from his house at all; only a short walking distance. But it looked more like a temple than anything else. What he didn't know, was that she was the daughter of the person in charge of the whole organization. And he just made her his friend.

On his way home, as he walked down the twilight rural street alone with nothing but the street lamps to guide him. He saw people walking up the road he had never seen before; wearing strange clothing “strange time of year to be cosplaying” he thought to himself. But the man looked at him like he didn't belong. Like he was an oddity to behold. Kaiji didn't think too much about it. He had no idea that man was a phantasm that died 70 years ago from a hit and run. He walked the path to his house over and over again only to keep getting hit by the same car, never reaching home. Stuck in an endless cycle only to be put to rest every morning when the sun came up.

He walked into the front door quietly, making sure his grandparents didn’t notice him. He had woken up 3 hours ago and his world had been turned upside down. A part of him hoped it was all a dream and after going to sleep he would wake up to realize none of it had actually happened. Too tired to contemplate the things to come. Too exhausted to worry about what the goddess Aurora had told him. He would leave such things for tomorrow. But For now, he would sleep.

…

Sunlight shown through the crack between the sliding doors in Kaiji's room. The bright rays did wonders in annoying him to the point of waking up. At first, he felt delirious, like he was forgetting something. And with that Kaiji's grandfather, after seeing he was awake walked in

“Kaiji!” he said “I wanted to apologize and let you know what I said was not how I really felt, I said it because I felt it would push you to an extreme, but I see now that it was too extreme and a mistake”

Kaiji looked at his grandfather and felt the sincerity in his voice. He was glad that Jisan didn't mean it, but that didn't undo the hurt he had done. At least now he could begin to let it go.

As his Ojisan was about to leave his room Kaiji stopped him

“Hey old man, is it okay if we keep practicing from now on?”

His grandfather was taken aback by his request, he thought Kaiji wouldn't want to practice ever again. The thought his grandchild was more resilient than he pegged him for, filled him with so much glee it spilled out of his face in the form of a smile.

“Sure thing, kiddo.”

With that being settled, Kaiji felt determined. Maybe his world had turned upside down, but at least he had something to strive for. He looked out onto the sun-bathed farmland that surrounded his home as excitement grew inside him. As if a whole new chapter of his life had just started. A whole new journey was about to take flight. His thoughts lingered on Alice and how he’d get to see her more once he got better at his swordplay.

He felt something rummaging in his pocket. He reached in to grab it and found the scarab Aurora gave him to be vibrating. He didn't know what to do so he began fidgeting with it until eventually, he managed to twist the head on its axis making the wings spread out letting the mini aurora out into the light.

“Howdy” she said

Her sudden appearance startled him.

“Whoa, were you just sleeping? You know it's the middle of the day right? That's a sure-fire way to throw your circadian rhythm out of whack”

“Shhhhh wait, not here”

The speaker on the scarab was surprisingly loud and he was worried his grandparents would hear, he covered it up with a blanket and made for the backyard.

There was a shrine under a tree his grandparents had made for the forest spirit that was far enough away from the house for his grandparents not to hear. It would be hard to make out what they were talking about even if they could. He sat down on a rock behind the tree and unraveled the locket.

“Bough, you know kidnapping is illegal in most countries!”

“I’m sorry, you were being too loud and I didn't want my guardians to know” he said

“I was not! Do not tell a lady to be quiet. It’s incredibly rude!”

“Did you just call me to scold me or something?”

“Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot why I called you.” She opened a drawer and took out a piece of paper “I called you to let you know what we were going to do in regards to your training.”

“My training? But I thought-”

“First we’ll start off with two low-level exorcisms a day, a 30-minute meditation break, and top it off with my special brand of Aurora’s spirit aura boosting training for beginners”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on-”

“No time to wait! It’s time to train!” she said.

A fleshy blob started spilling out of the speaker's wholes forming into a disembodied hand. The horror of the sight left Kaiji speechless as the hand grabbed him by the face and pulled him forward and through the lockets speaker.

It looks like Kaiji's journey has already begun.