The festival atmosphere in this village was still bustling and extravagant, even though it didn't quite resemble what one would normally expect. There were no food stalls like those outside the village, yet lanterns shaped like nine-tailed foxes were hung everywhere, dense and glowing. The villagers wore vividly colored yukata, all of them donning fox masks.
Festival music boomed through the air, accompanied by all kinds of entertainment—sumo wrestling, horseback riding, and more. As Duyen passed by a wrestling match, she found herself staring in awe.
Two women stood in the ring, wearing nothing but loincloths and fox masks, while the surrounding crowd roared wildly.
The ring was a blazing red circle. Though the two women inside had slender builds, the aura surrounding them was ferocious—pure bloodlust. They grappled fiercely, each trying to force the other out of the circle. One of them, wearing a red loincloth, let out a savage roar before lifting and slamming her opponent backward with brutal force.
Duyen instinctively covered her eyes.
"They really do that…?" she muttered.
That had to hurt. A lot.
Beside her, Shana stood with her arms crossed, a crooked smirk playing on her lips. "Not bad," she murmured.
Duyen could only laugh awkwardly. Right—this was a village full of superhumans, after all.
Still, as she glanced at Shana standing next to her, her curiosity grew. What exactly was Shana's relationship with this village?
The villagers seemed to adore the nine-tailed fox as if it were their sacred symbol, almost a religion. There had to be a reason for that… right?
Shana noticed Duyen staring at her and grinned mischievously.
"What is it? Got something on my face?"
Duyen flushed and waved her hands quickly.
"N-no! Nothing! I was just thinking!"
Maybe I should ask another time, she thought.
Before she could dwell on it further, Shana grabbed her arm and gently pulled her away from the wrestling area.
"Let's go. Sumo is actually pretty boring."
Duyen let out a wry chuckle. It wasn't that boring, but she had to admit—it was far too violent to watch for long. She found herself worrying about the wrestlers after the match, but judging by the people here, they were far too tough to need concern by normal human standards.
The farther they walked, the more Duyen realized just how massive the village was—far larger than she'd imagined. It felt less like a village and more like a compact ancient city. There had to be over fifteen thousand people living here.
And it wasn't as if they lived poorly, either. Their food, clothing, and housing were all luxurious in their own way. Except for one thing. Everyone here was female…And their lifespans were astonishingly long.
This was truly an experience Duyen never thought she'd have in her lifetime—though there were still many things she didn't fully understand.
Suddenly, Duyen froze. A gigantic nine-tailed fox loomed before her—so large and realistic that she screamed.
"OH MY GOD—WHAT IS THAT?!"
Her scream sent the surrounding people into laughter, including Shana.
Duyen stopped clutching her head and looked around in embarrassment, only then noticing the wooden beams beneath the fox. More than twenty people were carrying it.
"…It's just a wooden statue?"
Even so, she was still stunned.
"But it's that heavy?! How can they possibly—?!"
Apparently, weight wasn't something these women cared about at all. They carried the massive wooden fox forward in a long procession, drums and horns blaring loudly as they marched. Duyen and Shana stepped aside to let them pass.
The procession was heading toward a hilltop reached by countless stone steps. At the top stood a brilliant red shrine adorned with gold—its wealth and extravagance utterly breathtaking.
While Duyen stood there in shock, mouth still hanging open, Shana grew quiet and contemplative. She murmured something under her breath—too softly for anyone to hear.
"…Really. Even though I'm still standing right here."
Shana shook the thought away, smiled, and tugged Duyen along in another direction.
"Look over there."
Following Shana's gesture, Duyen saw a group of women pounding steaming glutinous rice with massive wooden mallets to make dango. Some swung the mallets, others quickly turned and shaped the rice—it looked lively and fun.
Duyen flushed with excitement and asked, "Are they making offerings?"
Shana giggled.
"You dummy. If you wanted to help make offerings, you should've woken up earlier. This is just food for everyone at the festival. So—want to join them?"
Duyen watched the heavy mallet slam into the mortar. It looked intimidatingly heavy… yet something inside her stirred with the desire to try.
She beamed and nodded.
"Yes! I want to!"
Shana smiled knowingly, gentle and warm, releasing Duyen's hand and letting her run toward the women. A flicker of regret surfaced in Shana's chest—but it quickly faded when she saw Duyen's excitement.
Duyen approached them shyly.
"Um… excuse me. May I help too?"
At first, some of the women were shocked. They hadn't expected someone as important as Duyen to join them. But then they glanced at Shana—and after receiving a single nod, their expressions softened.
"So you're Lady Duyen," one of them said warmly. "Of course. Would you like to pound the rice?"
She handed the mallet to Duyen. Duyen eyed the heavy wooden mallet and swallowed hard.
Then she shrugged off her leather jacket, revealing her pale, lean yet toned physique beneath a black tank top. The women couldn't help but murmur in admiration.
"Look at her arms…"
"Damn, she's hot…"
Duyen was given protective gloves and took the mallet. Immediately, she hadn't expected it to be that heavy—she nearly lost her balance as it pulled her backward.
"Hey, careful!"
One woman quickly steadied her, teasing with a smile.
"Heavy, huh? Take it slow."
Duyen blushed—but then tightened her grip and stood firm again.
"It's not heavy at all!"
Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, she lifted the mallet as if it weighed nothing and began pounding in rhythm with the others.
One. Two.
Sweat soon dotted her skin. The way her arms flexed with every lift was mesmerizing—an absolute work of art. The other women stopped working entirely, just to watch.
Even Shana didn't realize she was staring—until a bit of drool slipped from her lips.
"Ahem!"
She hastily cleared her throat and wiped it away. This is bad. I didn't expect her to look this hot doing that.
Shana's face flushed as she watched Duyen pant softly, unintentional moans slipping from her lips with each powerful swing. It reminded her far too vividly of Duyen's breathless expression the night before.
Heat surged low in Shana's groin.
…Maybe tonight, I should drag her to bed early.
But then Duyen looked over—eyes bright, smiling purely as she worked with all her heart. And Shana felt something warm bloom in her chest.
Because no matter what desire stirred within her at that moment, what she wanted most—more than anything—was for the girl in front of her to be truly happy.
By the time dusk blurred into early evening, Shana had just finished a ritual alongside Haru and the women from the other village councils. Only then did she return to the Dango pounding area.
Most people had already taken a break, snacking lightly. Some had begun loosening their yukata, preparing to head for the communal bath. Shana scanned the area—but Duyen was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey." Shana spoke in a commanding tone. "Do any of you know where Duyen is?"
The women, towels slung over their shoulders, exchanged uneasy glances.
"Lady Shigonami… earlier, after everyone finished their work, she was eating some dango. Then she said she needed to take care of something and hurried off somewhere."
"Somewhere?"
Both Shana and Haru showed a flicker of alarm.
"Did you see which direction she went?"
The woman hesitated, then pointed toward the western side of the village.
Seeing this, Haru tried to reassure her.
"She's probably just taking a walk around the village. Please don't worry too much."
But Shana snapped back immediately, her anger unmistakable.
"She said she needed to go somewhere. Does that sound like someone just going for a casual stroll to you?!"
Shana's sudden outburst left Haru momentarily flustered.
"…Ah—yes. Then we'll split up and search for her."
Haru turned and barked orders to the women under her command.
"Hurry. Bring your weapons with you. Find Lady Duyen—especially in the western area."
The women's expressions hardened at once. Each grabbed a sword or spear and dispersed throughout the village.
Suddenly, Shana felt something—an inexplicable sensation. She looked up instinctively. Even Haru sensed that something was wrong.
"Fog…? No. This isn't right. It shouldn't be this thick at this time."
Shana's eyes narrowed as she muttered,
"This is definitely not normal…"
---
Somewhere else in the village, Duyen was completely unaware that the entire place had been thrown into chaos over her disappearance.
Guided purely by instinct, she walked toward the western edge of the village, a single lantern in hand. The fog grew stranger by the minute, thickening until she could only make out faint, shadowy silhouettes around her.
At some point, she seemed to have stepped onto a rocky ledge. She brushed snow from her knees.
Ahead of her, an image slowly came into focus.
A windmill…?
The closer she walked, the clearer it became. Before her lay the edge of a forest, an old windmill with broken blades, and beside it, an equally ancient well. Strangely, the snow had melted completely in this area. The grass was unnaturally lush, moss creeping over everything—as if this place belonged to an entirely different world.
Duyen couldn't help but marvel. She reached out, resting her hand on the rim of the well and peered inside.
It was impossibly deep, pitch-black, the bottom invisible. Yet an eerie chill crept up her spine.
Poke!
Duyen jolted, gasping as she spun around.
"Hallo~"
Standing before her was an incredibly beautiful and adorable girl with softly curled light-purple hair and bright violet eyes. She wore a distinctly modern outfit—high-waisted jeans and a cute cat-eared hat—completely different from the last time they'd met.
Duyen nearly fell straight into the well from fright, forcing Luna to quickly grab her arm and pull her back.
"Honestly! Why are you acting so scared? Are you that much of a coward?"
Embarrassed, Duyen scratched the back of her head. Only then did she fully recognize her.
"Ah—sorry, Luna. I'm a bit late. Did you wait long?"
Luna put her hands on her hips, turned her face away, and spoke sarcastically.
"Oh, not long at all. Just two whole hours."
"I—I'm really sorry!"
Duyen bowed repeatedly in panic, then pulled out a freshly made box of dango from behind her back, fragrant with molasses.
"Here."
"Huh? For me?"
Duyen nodded with a shy smile.
"I just made this batch. I thought you might like it."
"Hmph."
Luna pretended to sulk before taking the box.
"It's nothing special—just glutinous rice and sugar. A basic offering. But fine. Since you've shown such 'sincerity,' I suppose I should respond in kind."
The two sat together on the base of the windmill, quietly eating dango. Midway through, Luna seemed to notice something stirring within the village. She curved her lips into a knowing smile and glanced at Duyen.
"There's no more time. It's time."
"Time for what?" Then it clicked for Duyen. "Oh—you mean what you mentioned before. Helping me understand Shana."
Luna nodded, smiling brightly.
"Yes. That's right. But this is something you'll have to experience yourself."
"Me?" Duyen tilted her head, confused.
"Time doesn't matter. Everything is happening all at once. Do you understand?"
The question left Duyen utterly bewildered. It felt strangely familiar, as if she'd heard it somewhere before. Luna merely laughed softly.
"If you want to know Shigonami Shana, you must see her past. The thing is—it's already inside your subconscious. It's just been sealed away, waiting for the day it's unlocked."
"It's… inside me? What do you mean?"
Luna turned to her, her expression suddenly grave.
"This won't be simple. And it will hurt—like dying all over again. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Duyen swallowed hard. She didn't truly understand what Luna meant. But she knew, instinctively, that stepping further would mean pain—something deep and terrifying.
Her heart pounded. Fear crept in.
And yet—
"Yes. Please help me, Luna."
Luna smiled faintly. Her hand traced along Duyen's face—soft yet sharply defined.
"Close your eyes."
Duyen obeyed. Her heart raced wildly, fear and anticipation twisting together. Suddenly, a violent dizziness slammed into her.
Overwhelming drowsiness dragged her under. The last thing she heard was Luna's distant voice echoing in her ears.
"…This might be very dangerous."
When she came to, Duyen heard the sound of trickling water, birdsong nearby. Sunlight poured into her eyes, forcing her awake. She screamed and flung herself backward—only to realize her body was tightly constrained.
No—more accurately, she was wearing an outfit that was nearly impossible to move in.
Looking down, she saw herself dressed in a plain kimono, layered heavily beneath, making it hard to breathe.
"Where… is this…?"
She looked around. A lush bamboo forest surrounded her. She lay beside a clear, cool stream. The air was warm—gentle, clean, and utterly unlike before.
"What is happening…?"
"Kaya? Kaya? Where are you?"
A voice called out. Duyen turned instinctively. And what she saw left her completely frozen.
"…Shana?"