Miyajima

“We’ll take it easy, my ass,” Naoya whispered as he was ripped out of bed for an incident in the middle of the night.

Apparently ghosts didn’t need sleep, so they were up at all hours. The hotel cells were really only there for possessed humans. Half asleep and still hurting, he accepted the eyepatch Aki handed him and followed him to their teleporter location above ground.

Miyajima.

Naoya hadn’t been that far west before, though he had always looked at the photos of the island with longing. They walked out from behind one of the temple buildings, underneath the elegantly curving branches of a maple tree, its leaves fiery red. It was early evening, but night had already fallen and the light-up display of Miyajima’s fall foliage was on full display.

The place was packed. Tourists from Japan and abroad were walking in the crisp autumn air, admiring the oranges, reds and yellows of the trees around them, all lit up against the dark night sky. It was as if a painter had splashed vivid colours all around them, the brushstrokes shaking gently in the breeze.

Walking among the crowds with the knowledge Naoya possessed was decidedly weird. They didn’t stand out in their jackets, as most people wore similar, dark clothes, but he knew they were different and he couldn’t help but look for signs that anyone else realised it, or maybe even stare at his eyepatch.

“What do you see?” Aki asked.

“Uhm… a lot of people? Am I supposed to see the rift itself?”

“Not in this world, no. The interception team is already working on it. But for you… basics first.”

“Right.”

“Come on.”

Aki led Naoya down narrow stairs, which were covered in colourful fallen leaves. They ended up walking along a stream down the mountain towards the sea.

“You know of the principle of the barrier between the realms, and how natural energy keeps it in balance? The problem is that this barrier is being constantly eroded by a human invention called photography.”

Naoya looked back at Aki. “Photography?”

“Do you know the old belief that photos can steal a person’s soul? Well, it’s not true directly, but indirectly I can see how that belief came about. When enough photos of a location erode the barrier, ghosts can slip through and possess people—often making them seem like their soul is gone. In very thin places, a single photo can be enough.”

They walked through a group of students, all taking selfies in front of the lit-up fall foliage. All of a sudden, Naoya’s stomach fell.

“But… taking photos, selfies, memories… It's basically everyone’s favourite hobby.”

Aki nodded. “Especially since the rise of social media. And there have been more and more tourists coming to Japan’s popular spots. There are more people with cameras than ever before, and every snap steals energy. I know what you want to say, but we can’t exactly forbid them from taking pictures.”

Naoya followed Aki further down the coast. They reached the seaside, where they could see Itsukushima Shrine Otorii Gate standing in the ocean. It was high tide that night and the Otorii Gate was lit up brilliantly, glowing in a confident red against the dark background. Its reflection danced in the waves, a beautiful, fleeting image.

And all around them, hundreds of pictures were taken every minute.

“The rift is above the Otorii. There are some of us around the perimeters to monitor for ghosts, who make it through the gap. But the bulk of us is on the other side. Ready?”

Naoya balled his hands to fists.

“Ready.”

“Thank you.”

Naoya shook his head. “Don’t thank me every time.”

“I really feel like I ought to,” Aki said, taking Naoya’s hand and holding it up. “I’m going to take us over now. Your glove can do the same, but the activation takes getting used to. For now, just feel.”

He did try to feel, but the switch was so quick, he barely noticed the change—except for the shift into purple. They moved from the living world into the Deadrealm and landed in the middle of a battlefield.

The living people disappeared from sight and a large team of people from the organisation appeared. There were… a lot. More than Naoya thought there were in total, but if they had to keep order throughout Japan, there had to be a sizable amount. He estimated there to be at least fifty people around the bay, sitting in their chanting position, talismans floating around them. Aki had explained that those talismans held the collected energy needed to fill in the rift.

Over the water around the Otorii, however, a battle was raging. Spectres of all sizes tried to reach the glowing rift in the sky. Opposed to them, an array of agents, dressed in black, hovered in the air, fighting them back.

“I’m going to help them fight off the ghosts,” Aki said. “Aerial combat is my specialty.”

“What can I do?”

“Actual combat needs more practice. Ruri suggested using you as bait so that the ghosts don’t cross over.”

“What?!”

“Calm down, calm down. I told her no immediately. You’ll stay with Kazu.”

Aki pointed behind Naoya, and there was the bird, looking at Naoya with one large eye.

“Hi again.”

“Uh. Weren’t you on another team?” Naoya asked.

“I volunteered. Whatever’s wrong with you is… intriguing.”

“Keep an eye on him. He needs to get used to being out here,” Aki said and took off.

They watched her fly towards the centre of the commotion, disappearing into the cloud of ghosts being kept at bay as long as the rift was open. Exorcising them would have been easy—but that wasn’t their goal. These ghosts were driven by their desires, thoughtless and rash. Their intentions weren’t malicious, and even if the consequences were, if they could be prevented from reaching the rift at all, there were no consequences to begin with.

But…

“There are so many,” Naoya stammered.

He could see more and more souls being attracted to the rift, and it didn’t seem to get any smaller. There was only so much they could do before they had to thin them.

“Is that normal?”

Kazu shook his head. “We have big events like this ever so often when an event like the Momijigari and popular places like Miyajima overlap and result in a lot of pictures, but to this extent… It’s not often that several teams have to be called in. Here, take these talismans. I’m going to teach you the incantation to transfer the energy in them to heal the rift.”

“Alright.”

Kazu led him to the perimeter, where other agents were chanting constantly. He sat Naoya down and put a talisman in front of him on the floor.

“For the incantation, intent and concentration is actually more important than the actual words. Concentrate on the goal and recite whatever you like—just don’t stop.”

“Whatever?”

“I usually talk about birds. What I like about them. I can fill hours with that.”

“That… Uh. Is that why you chose that mask?”

“I’m a simple person. I see bird, I take. Now try it.”

Naoya looked at the talisman. Anything, huh? Was there anything he could just talk about for hours on end? Maybe…

“Itsumodoori no aruhi no koto, kimi wa totsuzen tachiagari itta…”

“Singing works too. Keep it up and focus on the outcome.”

Naoya looked up at the rift, at the shining patch in the sky, which was impossibly bright in the purple twilight of the night. A large number of agents were locked up in fights in the air around it, standing out like shadow puppets against the bright background. He concentrated on the goal as he kept singing quietly to himself. Channel the energy into the rift. Fix the barrier. Keep the people safe. The talisman started floating and Naoya felt more than see it start working, as a pulse of energy washed over him for a moment, the air around it becoming a physical presence in itself.

Help?

He whipped his head around to Kazu, but the man had taken up a talisman of his own, chanting away by listing facts about crows. What was that voice?

Help?

“Help me?” Naoya asked.

The talisman wavered and Naoya immediately went back to reciting the lyrics. It helped that it was a very long song with many words.

Help you. And them.

“Okay?”

Not even a second, a beam of white energy emerged from Naoya’s eye, burning up the talisman in front of him, hitting the rift like something out of a science fiction film. Naoya screamed as the energy burned through his eyepatch, leaving him petrified as he had to just accept the powers surging through him.