3:00 AM

“This is… terrifying!” Robert’s enthusiasm for sightseeing evaporated, replaced by dread.

“Definitely. But it was a long time ago. It is what it is—I only know the old world from stories. Apparently, before the Moon fell, magic wasn’t nearly as widespread as it is now…”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you feel like hearing a longer story? No problem—we have time… literally and figuratively…”

“I just have one more question before we begin,” Robert interjected. “It seems we all understand each other perfectly, even though we’re speaking different languages…?”

“Oh, that problem was solved a long time ago. After the cataclysm, survivors from different countries had to learn to communicate quickly, so a universal translator was created. It conveys meanings more than words. It works fairly well as long as you speak simply. It has quite a wide range…”

Marian reached into one of the many pockets of her suit, careful not to disturb the tubes pumping anti-magic fluid.

“And that fluid—anti-magic. Where did it come from?” Kaguya asked another question.

“From the need to survive.”

Marian patted her pockets until she found what she was looking for: a sloppily rolled cigarette. A moment later she produced a lighter and lit it, shielding the flame from the wind that had begun to sweep across the beach.

At last, Robert had time to look around and assess the situation. The beach was littered with trash and rubble that must have lain there for a very long time, judging by its condition. The sand itself contained strange, rounded, shiny shapes—pieces of glass. Something must have heated the sand to extreme temperatures to form them.

The crooked half of the Moon hanging in the sky constantly reminded him of the catastrophic consequences of what had happened, even though he still didn’t fully understand what he himself had done.

Marian had short-cropped blond hair and stood beside a barrel in which a tall flame burned. She wore the same kind of suit as her brothers. She was fairly tall—slightly taller than Asagi. The exorcist watched Marian closely, just in case she planned any tricks like her brothers.

“Relax. I won’t hurt you,” Marian said, raising a hand in a conciliatory gesture. “And certainly not here. Our guardian goddess watches over those who survived.”

“Excuse me—who?” Kaguya asked.

“The goddess. In the language once spoken here, she was called something a little different, but the meaning is ‘goddess.’ Wait—I’ll write it down. You should recognize these characters…”

Using a piece of steel rod, she wrote the same word both in the Latin alphabet and in katakana: kami.

“You… know the kami?” Kaguya asked. The translator rendered Marian’s words as “goddess.”

“Of course. A rather sad being, I must admit. And lost. But she helps us, and we help her. It’s a fair exchange.”

“What exactly do you do?”

“The goddess searches for devices and magical items that enable time travel. We’re allowed to keep the devices; magical artifacts must be given to her. In return, she protects us from rampant magic—storms and magical monsters.”

She gestured at the tubes filled with black fluid.

“Right—the fluid. Where does it actually come from?”

“I think it’s… the goddess’s blood? I’m not certain. She’s hard to understand sometimes. It just shows up here in there, sometimes in the ocean. But one thing we know for sure: she hates magic.”

“Magic seems to be… a major threat to you,” Kaguya said, unconsciously reaching for her pouches of magical powder.

“That’s right. On the day the Moon shattered, a powerful mage revealed himself to humanity…”

“Murata?”

“So you know him? I thought you came from before the cataclysm, judging by your clothes…”

“We kind of… well. It’s a long story,” Kaguya replied, already practiced in evasive answers.

“Just like ours,” Marian said, respecting her reluctance.

“In any case, one of the Moon’s fragments began falling out of orbit and threatened total annihilation of our planet. At that time, the existence of magic was completely unknown and incomprehensible—can you imagine?”

She laughed softly, shaking her head in pity at the naïveté of primitive humans of the past.

Most of the group exchanged embarrassed looks. Tamamo, still a swirling cloud, had no eyes to roll.

“That Murata…” Mr. Harada spoke up. “What exactly did he do?”

“They say he softened the impact. Reduced the destruction and saved the world from total annihilation. But to obtain that power, he had to take the lives of an enormous number of people…”

“What?!” everyone shouted in shock. Only Tamamo’s cloud swirled approvingly, demon-like as ever.

“All of Tokyo’s inhabitants died instantly, where they stood. Murata drained all their life force—and he didn’t stop there. As his power grew, he expanded his aura, consuming the lives of everyone in Japan, then neighboring countries, and eventually cities in China with tens of millions of people.”

The group listened in silence.

“With the power gained through that necromancy, he managed to redirect the Moon fragment into the middle of the Pacific Ocean and slow its descent. But the resulting wave still swept through half of the United States and nearly all of South America… You know, few people remember those names now—but Bimmy once brought me this from one of his expeditions!”

Marian proudly lifted a thick book—it was a world atlas.

Kaguya carefully took it in her hands.

“Published in 1996… Yes. This is a fairly accurate representation of the world we came from.”

“Geography is completely different now. Sea levels rose by several meters, and very few places are fit for life.”

“Why?”

“Magic storms. On one hand, Murata saved us—but unfortunately, he lost control of his power. He became drunk on it. He wanted to announce to every surviving human what he had done, what a hero he was. Leaving aside that not everyone shared his opinion, magic storms spread across the globe, warping reality, tearing people apart, and rendering vast regions uninhabitable. People fled wherever they could…”

“And why here? To Tokyo—or what used to be Tokyo?”

“I’m not entirely sure. But I believe it was the goddess’s doing. She didn’t reveal herself immediately, but I think even then, it was her influence. We don’t know where she came from, but… thanks to her, this—what should we call it—ground zero became safe from magic storms and Murata’s curse. That was generations ago. Hundreds of years in the past, maybe? Some people keep track.”

“This goddess…” Aya interjected. “Can you speak with her? Meet her?”

“Of course. I’ll take you there later. We built a small shrine around her—shame it’s all we can do. Maybe we should head there now?”

Marian gestured toward a small truck.

“I’m supposed to retrieve my brothers, but they can wait a bit and think about their mistakes. It’s a bit of a drive—we’ll talk on the way.”

The group had nothing else to do, so they climbed into the cab and the back of the truck. Tamamo’s cloud drifted along and settled on the hood—she didn’t really have another option.

Kaguya remained silent, gripping the bundle containing the kami’s hand, thinking intensely. This couldn’t be a coincidence—but she wanted to be sure before acting. One wrong decision could lead to total catastrophe.

“Shining objects began appearing around a specific point—where legend says Murata stood when he began his ritual. The so-called ground zero,” Marian continued.

“You can’t touch them—your hand passes through them like air. People started gathering there because it was free of magic storms. More fragments appeared, until they began forming something like a small human figure—still incomplete, missing limbs, parts of the torso and head.”

“That’s rather… disturbing,” Suzuki the taxi driver said, probably thinking about the vehicle he’d left on the beach.

“I don’t know. They’re just glowing fragments—like little bricks or pebbles. It has nothing to do with corpses or anything like that. Quite the opposite. Near the goddess, you feel warmth and joy—you feel safe.”

Marian smiled dreamily.

“But if you misbehave—for example, seriously injure time travelers—the goddess can get angry. Then she may punish you and trap you in crystal… It’s best to obey our deity.”

They drove into streets first filled with hastily built shacks, then with fairly solid houses assembled from materials scavenged from Tokyo’s ruins.

“And those devices,” Robert remembered. “You know—time travel ones. Where did you get them from?”

“That’s an interesting story. We call him the Traveler—it’s old history. One day, a man came to the first settlers here. Supposedly just another refugee, but he was different—he spoke strangely, dressed differently. He talked about time travel, which no one believed until he demonstrated it and showed us how to build the device.”

“And how do you make one?” Asagi asked.

“It’s ridiculously simple—and dangerous. You take a lump of glass—easy to find. You immerse it in anti-magic fluid, which might be the goddess’s blood, as I said earlier, but we’re not sure. Then you expose the crystal to the strongest magic storm you can find. Simple, right?”

Marian smiled cynically.

“As far as we understand the goddess’s wishes, we use them to recover artifacts and obtain necessities for survival—but we are careful not to take too much, so she doesn’t get angry.”

“And the Traveler?” Asagi asked.

“He disappeared. One day he argued with others about recovery methods and just left. Oh well. But look—we’re here.”

Indeed, they had arrived at a small shrine with an Asian-style roof, filled with golden decorations and objects from many different eras.

The group got out and approached the building.

“May we…?”

“Of course,” Marian said, waving reassuringly at the guard. “Relax—they’re not dangerous.”

“Why did you bring them here? This isn’t a tourist attraction!”

“They beat up my brothers, so they’re not just anyone. I wanted to show them something interesting… I have a feeling this is how it should be…”

Marian suddenly fell silent, thinking.

“Actually… could this be the goddess’s will?”

The gate guard abruptly stood up.

“If that’s what you believe, then I have nothing to say.”

He pulled a large metal wheel, opening the doors.

The involuntary time travelers entered the hall. At the far end stood a small humanoid silhouette, glowing with pale light. Nearby were several crystals containing people—motionless, eyes closed. Everyone understood these were those punished by the goddess.

Kaguya tightened her grip on the bundle containing the kami’s hand. Was this it…?

She had no more time to think—the glowing shape moved.

“Oh?” Marian turned her head toward the goddess.

At that moment, a deafening cry echoed, and the shrine’s roof was torn away. Cracks thundered overhead, heralding the arrival of the most powerful magic storm ever seen.