On the snowy plain, metal and bricks rise from the ground, stacked on top of each other, transforming into iron and boron benches, and forming a small, ordinary platform.
Kisaragi Station was constructed and appeared in Kamui, the place where Ainu mythology originated.
"It can really be summoned."
Kamiyagawa took the Kisaragi train key, looked at the platform that appeared next to Kamiya, and nodded with satisfaction.
With Ruyue Station here, it will be very convenient for you to let your subordinates and foreign aid enter this map.
"Abba, Abba."
The little old man walked around in a circle and returned to his master again.
"Did you find anything?" Kamiya asked him.
"Abba!"
The scout seemed to sense that there was an area worth exploring in the distance, but he was not sure what kind of place it was.
"Okay, let's go take a look."
Kamiya nodded and asked the little old man to clear the way.
…
The master and the servant walked for a while on the white snowfield.
"It's so cold here."
Kamiya wrapped the Jinhaori around his body.
The temperature in the Kamui wilderness is very low, and the cold wind is blowing across my face mixed with snow flakes.
Kamiya raised his head and narrowed his pupils slightly.
This place is extremely dark, with almost no light visible.
Even with the vision bonus provided by the [Autumn Hair Cutting] skill, you can see clearly in the dark, but in the wind and snow, if there is no little old man to lead the way, it is impossible to distinguish the direction.
"A little weird."
Kamiya looked away from the sky and called out Inugami.
Inujiro's tall body stood up slowly from Kamiyagawa's side, his body's karma fire rising, sparks igniting, dispelling the severe cold.
After getting used to the meticulous, extremely gentle and comfortable heating provided by Rihebo at home, comparing it to Gouzi's, it is inevitable that it will feel a bit rough.
However, in this environment, having a heating source is already very good.
Kamiya raised his hand and patted the dog's hard skull.
The three masters and servants continued to walk forward.
"Abba!"
At this time, the little old man in front ran back all the way, making a lot of noise. He seemed to have discovered something again.
There is a dead tree not far ahead, with dark, withered branches branching and pointing messily upward.
Under the reminder of the little old man, and through the extraordinary vision provided by the [Autumn Hair Cutting] technique, Kamiya saw a bird falling on a dead branch from a distance.
The whole body is covered with snowflakes, but under the white snow, you can see the shiny black feathers.
"What is that, a crow? It's such a big one."
The bird that looked like a crow looked almost as big as an eagle.
Standing quietly on the dead tree, his two eyes emitted golden light, staring at the Valley of Gods from a distance, motionless.
"Ouch——"
On the edge of the Valley of Gods, the Inugami stood in front of his master, his knotted muscles trembling, his nose exhaling a rotten breath, his long teeth bared in protest, and a pair of red pupils stared back at the big bird unceremoniously.
This is the first "living creature" I saw after entering Kamui.
But the little old man did not run away immediately, indicating that the big crow did not show any hostility or aggression for the time being.
Kamiyagawa patted the Inugami's head again to tell it to calm down, and at the same time asked the little old man to step back behind him, holding the handle of the sword with his left hand on his waist, and called the Inugami to walk towards the dead tree where the crow was perched.
Buzz——
Before I took two steps, my phone vibrated.
[The foreign visit catalog has been updated.]
[Ghost story name: Karasu Tengu Kamui]
[Grade: C grade]
[Status: In the world of ghost stories]
[Interview progress: 50%]
Karatengu is also called Crow Tengu.
A type of Tengu, it is so named because it has a sharp beak and jet-black wings like a crow.
Karasu Tengu is also known as "Little Tengu". It can fly. In common kaidan stories, it wears Yamabushi costumes like the Big Tengu. Moreover, Karasu Tengu seems to be good at using weapons. In the legendary story of Minamoto Yoshitsune, there is Kurama Mountain's Karasu.
A scene in which Tengu teaches the swordsmanship of Minamoto Yoshitsune.
"Is that a tengu?"
Moreover, the word "Kamui" is included in the name, indicating that the Karasu Tengu is a god-like existence in Ainu legends.
But if it is only C-level, it should be a low-level "god".
The Ainu believe in "animism", and it is normal for ordinary spirits to be regarded as "kamui".
"Is there a Tengu in Ainu mythology? No, it shouldn't be in mythology. It should be more derived from folk tales."
Kamiyagawa recalled the information collected last night.
He remembered that where the Ainu people lived, that is, in the area north of Hokkaido, there seemed to be a folk legend of "kappa".
The kappas in Hokkaido are called "Mitsuki Seven", and the Ainu language also calls them "Mitsuku Seven Kamui".
The appearance is similar to that of kappas from various parts of Honshu. Their skin is purple or red, their feet are shaped like birds or sickles, and they are also bald, but there is no water on the top of their heads.
The difference between Mingchu Shichi and Honshu Kappa is that the kappa in Honshu stories can confuse and tease people, but Mingchu Shichi can protect people and is a kind of water god.
"The Ainu people of Hokkaido have been influenced by Japanese culture for a long time. Some similar ghost stories appear in folk ghost stories. It seems quite normal. Kappas have them. It should not be surprising to have Karasutengu."
Kamiyagawa thought like this and continued to walk towards the Karasutengu in the distance.
But not quite close yet.
"Wow--"
The tengu in the form of a crow cried out, flapping its wings and rising from the dead tree, shaking off the white snow on its body.
Because the snow flakes were shaken away, Kamiya noticed at this time that the Karasou Tengu was not pure black.
Its facial feathers seem to be originally white.
The clear distinction between black and white on the body is like a white mask covering the face of a big crow.
The Karasu Tengu fell far away on the ground, and continued to stare at the Kamiya River.
Then try to get closer.
The Karasu Tengu was still the same. Before formal contact, it flapped its wings and flew up, landing far away, always keeping a certain distance from Kamiya.
"It doesn't seem like it wants to communicate with me."
Having no other choice, Kamiya gave up communicating with Karatengu for the time being.
Moreover, the shikigami were not called out to attack each other actively.
When he was active in the inner and outer world, he always maintained the code of conduct of "I will not offend others unless they offend me."
The Karasu Tengu has not shown any hostility yet, so there is no need to take action against it.
Since it tends to observe and look at itself from a distance, let's just let it look at it first.
"If you're nice, then so am I."
Kamiya said this to Wu Tengu, greeted his subordinates, and continued on his way.
Along the way, the big crow with black feathers and white face always kept a certain distance from him and followed him from a distance.
…
We marched in the wilderness for about half an hour.
Kamiyagawa saw a group of buildings in the distance, and there seemed to be a settlement in front of him.
The little old man noticed it at first and wanted to bring his master to this place.
"There are actually settlements, so this map is somewhat similar to Fu Sangxiang?"
Kamiyakawa continued to walk forward.
At this time, the Karasutengu, which was far behind, flapped its wings violently and flew into the gathering area in front of the wind and snow.
"Is there some connection between that tengu and the settlement here?"
Kamiya guessed so.
He came to Kamui this time to search for "divine power". Since there is a settlement ahead, he might be able to get some clues related to "divine power".
outside the settlement.
I saw some strange sculptures here in Kamiya.
The stone human figures are very short, each sculpture is only about half a meter tall.
But judging from the appearance, there are some old ones and some young ones, and it is not a child's statue.
Kamiyagawa stopped in front of the statue closest to him and raised his hand to brush off the fallen snow accumulated on it.
The stone statue in front of him had the appearance of an old man, and his movements seemed to be walking.
The details of the carving are very vivid and lifelike, and you can even see the wrinkles and fine lines on the old man's face.
In addition, the old man's ears are long and pointed.
Wind ears, or elf ears.
Other humanoid sculptures also have this same ear feature.
"Dwarves? No...these are the little Krobokuru?"
After all, Kamiyagawa had done his homework seriously.
In Ainu legend, there is a spirit monster named Kropokuru.
"Kropokuru" means "the person who lives under the grass" in the Ainu language.
They are said to be monsters, but they are actually more like small humans. They are honest by nature and do not play tricks or harm others.
It is said that Kropokuru once lived in groups in the Ainu area. It is said that these little people taught tattoos to the Ainu people. In the real wilderness of Hokkaido, a plant called ghost root grows with very large leaves.
It can almost be used as an umbrella. Krobokulu likes to live under this plant. One ghost root can accommodate several little people.
This is also the origin of their name.
In short, Kropokuru is a kind of existence similar to Western goblins. In legend, it is also considered to be the real aboriginal people of Hokkaido before the Ainu moved to Hokkaido.
"These things don't look as simple as stone sculptures."
Kamiyagawa looked away from the sculptures around him and walked towards the settlement.
The houses in this small settlement are very short and dense, and most of them are deserted and collapsed. The few intact houses seem to be made of burned clay, and the tallest one is only more than two meters high.
"The little humans who once lived here couldn't be your distant relatives, right?"
Kamiyagawa asked the little old man.
The master and servant went deep into the settlement and saw more dwarf stone sculptures, most of which were covered with snow and turned into small snow packs.
"Wow - wow -"
When the masters and servants of Kamiya were exploring the settlement, the Karasutengu from before appeared again.
This time, it was hovering above Kamiya and others' heads, circling back and forth.
"Do you want to take me somewhere?"
Kamiya observed the movements of the Karastengu for a while, then raised his head and asked.
"Wow--!"
The Karasu Tengu spinning in the sky flapped its wings and flew forward.
…
Somewhere in a small human settlement.
It's dark, cold, windy and snowy.
There are also some small snowpacks standing on the snow here.
"Wow--"
The Karasu Tengu landed on one of the snowpacks and kept fluttering its wings.
The snow was swept away a little, revealing the little stone statue underneath.
This time the statue is of an old woman with coiled hair, but her face is covered with a primitive-looking shaman mask, mysterious and ferocious.
There are six eyes on the simple mask.
Kamiyagawa stepped forward holding the hilt of the sword. The Karasu Tengu standing on top of the stone sculpture twisted its head, its golden pupils always staring at him.
"Is there anything special about this statue compared to others?"
Kamiya looked up and down at the old woman's stone carving.
Then, at a certain moment, he suddenly felt a faint breath coming from the stone sculpture.
He heard an old female voice coming from the stone sculpture: "Yawusikp."
The voice was a little vague, and it was probably in Ainu, so I didn't understand it.
"This thing is alive, at least it used to be alive."
Kamiya thought so.
But there were no big surprises.
Entering the village of villains, I saw a large number of stone sculptures of villains in the village, which were either buried in the snow or half exposed in the wind and snow.
The exposed stone figures are walking, standing, or sitting, all maintaining a peaceful posture of daily routine.
Such a scene makes people wonder whether the Kropokuru who once lived in this settlement suffered some unknown accident and were all petrified in an instant, leaving behind what they saw before them.
A scene.
After finishing his sentence, the old woman's stone statue made another sound.
But this time, the language was not Ainu.
Although the tone and accent were a bit strange, Kamiya could still understand it.
She said: "The sun...is gone...we...need the sun."
"Wow!"
After the old woman in the stone sculpture finished speaking these words, the Wutengu above her head screamed shrilly, flapped its wings, soared into the sky, and disappeared into the wind and snow.
Only a group of foreign visitors stayed where they were.
Kamiya raised his eyes to see if the shaman-like stone sculpture had anything else to say.
But at this moment, there seemed to be a faint aura of ghost stories stirring in the entire settlement.
There are sounds coming from the stone sculptures covered with snow, or half-covered, layer by layer, overlapping together.
His voice was swallowed by the cold howling wind and snow, and he whimpered.
The stone people seemed to be speaking in Ainu language, which Kamiya couldn't understand originally, but at this moment, he seemed to be able to understand the strong emotions contained in the words.
The Krobokurus are saying: "Help...us..."
Kamiyakawa pressed his knife and looked around, and a word hummed.
But the abnormal sound just now stopped after a while.
The Kropokulu stone statues fell completely silent, and each one stood motionless in the snow.
This is normal. Stones cannot speak.
In the dark sky above Kamui, wind and snow covered the sky, the cold wind howled, and the sky was dark.
…
Kamiyagawa took Inugami and the little old man to spend time exploring the entire gathering place, but found nothing else.
The stone statues never spoke again.
You can only temporarily exit the map and return to reality.
But before leaving, he moved the Kisaragi Station, which was originally standing on the snowy shrine, outside the Kropokuru gathering point.
This way, when you enter [Lost Kamui] next time, you can take the train directly, saving you the trouble of traveling.
Living room at home.
While Kamiyagawa drank the milky coffee brewed by Hannya, he reviewed the results of his first exploration of Kamui.
"The Kropokuludu in a village were petrified and turned into statues. The reason is currently unknown."
"The word 'Yawsikpu' mentioned at the beginning of the shaman stone sculpture seems to be a spider-like god in Ainu mythology. It has a name and a surname, and it is also recorded in the mythological system. Maybe it can be regarded as a divine power."
"If we can get in touch with Yausikop, maybe the mission will be completed."
"The shaman said they need the sun... There seems to be no sun in the land where Kamui is lost? But since the shaman said that, it means that Kamui originally had the sun, right? The petrification of the Krobokuru,
Maybe it has something to do with the lack of the sun."
But...if that's the case, where has Kamui's original sun gone?