There was no doubt that the Tensun's move to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni hundreds of years ago to establish the Kingdom of Yamato was driven by far more than mere territorial conquest. Or rather, his mere presence there was sufficient—his presence was all Amaterasu required.
Sū ěr even suspected that the curse the Tensun suffered, and the atrocities he committed, were all manifested under Amaterasu secret inducement. After all, he was the direct bloodline of the Great Goddess Amaterasu, the head of the Three Noble Children . Centuries ago, before the "Galaxy" had completely severed the realms, gods still walked freely upon the earth.
Under such circumstances, it was inherently suspicious that a scion of the Sun God's bloodline would suffer an indelible, incurable curse. Solar energy is naturally purificatory, possessing the innate power to dispel evil and miasma. Who would even possess the authority and power to lay such a curse upon the grandson of Heaven?
Sū ěr had researched the god Ōyamatsumi, but the records across Ashihara no Nakatsukuni only mentioned the few incidents involving the Tensun. Beyond that, for tens of thousands of years, neither god nor yōkai had seen a trace of him.
The Tensun was like a primer, or rather, a wedge—a wedge Amaterasu had driven into Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.
The bloody Tensun—without a single patch of intact skin, bound by iron chains that bit deep into his flesh—contorted his body violently, as if trying to convey some message to Sū ěr. From his ankles, thick chains dangled, ending in jagged, distorted fractures as if someone had forcibly ripped them apart.
But before Sū ěr could spare a moment to listen to his final words, the dark shadow-tree rising from the former territory of Yamato surged upward. In the next second, the Tensun plummeted—no, it was more as if something was dragging the chains, hauling him down into the abyss!
The speed was immense, following a stark, linear trajectory.
Before the three of them could intervene, the Tensun vanished completely. In his stead, the shadow-tree, which had pierced through the clouds in just a few breaths, impaled the remains of Amaterasu. As fast as that branchless, leafless trunk ascended, the Tensun disappeared.
To the lives on the ground, the first sign was the bizarre spectacle of everything—including themselves—beginning to float. But from Sū ěr perspective, the entire Ashihara no Nakatsukuni was curling. This transformation accelerated with every passing second until the inhabitants themselves realized the anomaly.
It was as if an invisible giant was "making a dumpling" [Bāo jiǎozi] out of the world. The edges of the earth, lifted from the four cardinal poles, were the dough, and they were the... filling.
Plants, animals, rocks, rivers, snow, lava, inorganic and organic matter—everything in the Central Land collapsed toward the center as the world folded upward from the corners.
Surrounded by a black tsunami that seemed as if it would never fall, countless lives vanished within seconds in this cataclysm. The barbarians who worshipped indigenous gods were wiped out instantly, along with their deities.
All beings stared in stunned silence at the horizon. They were like microbes living on a giant's palm; as the giant chose to close his hand, they could only watch helplessly as the "fingers" rose and... met.
Miraculously, the humans sheltered by the gods and Oni in Izumo survived. Within the folded Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, only three areas remained vibrant with life: the City of Yōkai, the Kingdom of Izumo, and the lunar citizens—whose protective radiance was thin but stable due to their small numbers.
Many yōkai, confident in their personal strength and living in the wilds, scrambled for shelter in this world-turning disaster. Those near the boundaries took the opportunity to leap out of this "round heaven and square earth" [Tiānyuán dìfāng] world.
But before they could celebrate their escape, they were exposed to the naked, false cosmos. They felt a chill... a cold that froze their blood and even their very thoughts.
Powerless to stop it, Sū ěr could only watch this biological mass extinction. Before their eyes, the entirety of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni had folded into a sphere. Black soil mixed with white bones was exposed to the exterior; the blue seawater had turned transparent, trailing off the sphere's edges. At the very center of this globe was Amaterasu.
The original Ashihara no Nakatsukuni was merely floating "jellyfish" on the sea. It was the second-generation god, Izanagi, who had anchored it to the ocean. Now, in Amaterasu final madness, Sū ěr saw a grey, root-like cord being pulled from the sea, stretching until it reached its limit and snapped.
Before that snapped, another piece of land had been pulled out—a pitch-black territory smaller than Takamagahara. It seemed to have met a disaster even earlier; not a single intact skeleton remained, only black debris falling through the air.
The aura that had once corrupted Tamamo-no-Mae into a pure yōkai permeated this land. These were the roots of the black tree—the very fibers that formed the trunk impaling Amaterasu. It was the tree itself.
Yomi-no-Kuni [World of Darkness]—Sū ěr finally knew its name.
"I... I am God... I am—the FORMLESS GOD!!!"
A roar erupted from the depths of the sphere. The surface of the globe rippled and contoured, eventually forming the face of Amaterasu. She split her mouth open in a hideous grin, refining the whole of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni into a "pill" to be swallowed, seeking to use it to ascend as the most powerful Primordial Deity.
Sū ěr had no time to worry about whether the yōkai and humans he knew within that earthen mass were still alive. If he couldn't defeat Amaterasu here, then Yakumo Yukari and the others being alive would be meaningless. A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
Bip—Snap!
An incredibly thin line of light zipped past Sū ěr and struck Amaterasu current body. Sū ěr thought he heard a crisp sound.
"Still talking about being 'formless'? This looks like a very solid body to me," Jibril muttered, lowering her hand. That provocative attack had come from her.
"I have an idea." Sensing Sū ěr gaze, Jibril turned and grinned. "Let us through, Sū ěr."
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me! Did you forget our 'daring games' from before~?" She playfully slapped Sū ěr shoulder, then let out a boisterous laugh and kicked him in the back, sending the man hurtling toward Amaterasu at high speed.
"Of course we're going all out!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
"YOU BIRD-WOMAN, ARE YOU INSANE!!!"
Intermingled with Sū ěr screams were Jibril heroic declarations and Think curses. The speed of the Elf's profanity was so fast that an ordinary person couldn't even distinguish the words.
"I told you I have a plan!" Gripping Sū ěr arm to guide his flight, Jibril child-like face wore a long-lost, battle-hungry smile.
This feeling of challenging a powerful foe was the best. She didn't have to worry about the things that had troubled her for three thousand years. Right now, she only needed to win. Save his life, and seize victory for him!
"There! There, Sū ěr! Isn't that all just energy over there?!" Pointing with her small, chubby finger, Jibril shouted excitedly.
"Ah? Where?" Sū ěr turned his head in confusion, but he quickly understood her meaning.
The fact that this world was a "box" was something he already knew. The only real thing in the starscape was likely that Galaxy—the one that had resumed flowing after Takamagahara's collapse but was now crumbling from below. It had already disintegrated up to its midpoint.
Was there a problem?
If things went as expected, it was that Galaxy that had carried him and Think through the past and future of this world. Since that was the case, wasn't it better to use it than to watch it break apart?
In fact, Sū ěr was probably the person in this world who least wanted to see that Galaxy destroyed, as it concerned their ability to return to a civilized society. He had only set it aside because of Amaterasu onslaught and the world's restructuring.
"Fine! Then faster!" Having made up his mind, Sū ěr gritted his teeth and pulled Jibril, warping directly into the heart of the Galaxy. Now stripped of its constraints, it could be reached directly—even if the price was Amaterasu taking a few more "bites" out of his soul in her final struggle.
But the time saved was worth it.
There was no need for complex rituals. Sū ěr simply closed his eyes and used his authority over the world—at least the portion he still held—to link the concept of the Galaxy with Jibril.
Whether Jibril would be converted from an Elemental lifeform to a Spiritual one could be decided after they won. For now, she was ready to go.
In an instant, she reverted from her child form to her full-powered state. Jibril clenched her fist in satisfaction. Sū ěr felt as if he were witnessing a "Digimon" evolution and de-evolution. In the moment he used his authority, Amaterasu took the chance to tear at his soul again. He coughed up blood once more, but the injury and his authority no longer mattered. Sū ěr completely relinquished his connection to this world.
This caused Amaterasu frantic, hideous face to show a flash of confusion. But for Her, it didn't matter. She believed she was invincible.
"DIE!!!"
With that roar—no physical attack needed—the space surrounding Sū ěr trio shattered, threatening to tear them into mincemeat.
"Yeah, yeah~ I know, I know~ don't be in such a rush~~"
Jibril skipped forward a couple of steps, her tone flippant.
Blinding light radiated from within her body, making her skin look like translucent crystal.
Faster than light, faster than thought, faster than space and time. By the time Sū ěr realized it, Jibril had vanished. All that remained was an afterimage of white light slowly fading from his retinas.
Behind her, the sphere that mimicked Amaterasu face exploded outward. Through the blast, Sū ěr could see the central remnant of Amaterasu body and the black fibers rooted in her. Amaterasu was slowly disintegrating, shattering into nothingness. Not even dust would remain.
Jibril had reached the far side of the sphere that was once Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. She casually shook out her right hand, not even bothering to look back. Sū ěr only heard her relaxed voice:
"Your 'Death' has been delivered... enjoy~"
BOOM!!!
[Amaterasu—DEAD!!!]