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Touko shook off the dirt of the forest quietly as she walked. Her eyes had adapted to the dimness beneath the tree canopy. The black leaves, twisted branches and sticky soil were all familiar sights to her now.
A sharp smell wafted over her at times. She didn’t know what had caused it, but she guessed that the stench was Fire Fiend waste. They hadn’t been attacked by any Fire Fiends at all so far. Touko knew that many of them had been driven crazy by the Spiders at the start of the attack on the capital. Just how many Fire Fiends had gone mad and died in that attack? It couldn’t possibly be all of them. Touko remembered fighting Fire Fiends with her borrowed sickle herself. She could no longer remember what the Fire Fiends she’d killed had looked like.
Touko didn’t have her borrowed sickle anymore, but Akira still had her weapon. She was the only one of the group who was armed. Kun led the way, and Akira trailed him closely, literally and figuratively watching his back. Kun walked with his eyes to the ground, his head turning this way and that. Sometimes he’d stop in front of a tree and reach into a hollow. Whenever he did this, insects clung to his fingers, and he sent them scurrying about. A few of the insects crawled up his arms and under his shirt. These all appeared to be ordinary insects, not the ones that the other Spiders had used to drive all the Fire Fiends crazy.
The idea that there were insects hidden in the forest that held the secret to immunity from combustion was just an idea. Koushi had theorized it, but there was no proof. For all Touko knew, they were wandering the forest in vain right now, searching for something that had never existed. The city was in a terrible state, and it seemed like everything was getting worse.
What if a terrible fire broke out in the capital, and all the people died? What if Touko and her companions were the only ones left? Touko clenched her jaw and forced her bad thoughts out of her head. Even if there was a fire in the capital right now, there was nothing she could do about it.
“Touko, are you tired?” Akira asked. “I can carry you for awhile, if you want.” Her red ponytail swayed with her movements.
“N-no, I’m fine. We just rested a little while ago. I can walk,” Touko replied hastily. Kiri had treated the worst of her injuries and Akira’s. When they’d first entered the forest, Akira had successfully killed a lynx-like Fire Fiend without too much trouble. Even so, she probably shouldn’t be fighting while her wounds were fresh. Akira was as exhausted as Touko was. If Kun got too hungry to walk, Touko would have to carry him.
How long could she do that, though? Ever since the battle, Touko had been preoccupied with her own capabilities. She hated being so weak. What if something happened and she wasn’t able to help her friends?
Akira draped a blanket over Touko’s shoulders like a cloak. Touko gripped it shut in front of her, shivering.
The forest hindered their progress, roots intertwining and twisting out of the ground. It was hard to walk without tripping. Touko’s legs were so tired.
Kanata repeatedly tried to get closer to Temari, who was walking ahead of Akira. Each time, the pure white little dog bared her teeth at Kanata in warning. Each time Temari rejected him, Kanata quietly backed off.
Seeing the dogs interacting reminded Touko of her journey in the black cart before she’d made any friends. Kanata would walk a little with Temari, and then turn back to check on Touko. Touko nodded at Kanata in encouragement.
“There really aren’t any Fire Fiends at all,” Akira said in a tone of complaint. “I wonder if they were all wiped out by that insect venom? At least we didn’t see any possessed Guardian Gods like that dragon that attacked you.” Her voice was swallowed up by the forest gloom and thick vegetation, which muffled all sounds.
“There was a girl who died because of the dragon. When the dragon crushed the cart, she… She was outside.” Touko felt heat creep into her cheeks. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. “She was a friend. She’d been sent away from her village as a bride. Her name was Benio. She was kind to me and Kaho.”
Sensing Touko’s distress, Kun stopped and looked back. He paused for a few moments, and then turned away and started walking again.
“I buried her,” Akira said. “I couldn’t get all the people who’d been crushed out of the carts. Most of the doors had warped, but I did give her a proper burial. Hopefully she’s at rest now,” Akira said. Even in this stuffy, oppressive forest, Akira’s voice had a lightness to it that Touko found deeply comforting.
Touko focused all her attention on not tripping. The ground was becoming more and more treacherous as they went on. Touko kept her head down, eyes fixed on the ground.
While Touko, Shouzou and the others had fled in terror from the crazed dragon, Akira had gone to witness the fates of those who had died.
“I heard that the Millennium Comet was actually a girl. A human, or something close to one.” There was a subtle change in Akira’s tone. Her eyes held no trace of their usual brightness. “Nicknames like ‘child of the heavens’ weren’t just metaphors. The Millennium Comet might be a person.”
“I don’t know,” Touko said, shaking her head stubbornly. Her voice came out too loud, and she winced. Even though they hadn’t seen a Fire Fiend in awhile, that didn’t mean the forest was safe. It was dangerous to draw attention to their location. “Long ago, people could go to the stars. I think that if people could do something amazing like that, then they could also make a machine out of bones and flesh. I’ve heard that Hakaisana, a Guardian God of the sea, was created and not born. Hakaisana is a living being created by people, so maybe the Millennium Comet is the same.”
“Who told you that Hakaisana was made by people? Do you remember?” Akira asked.
Touko couldn’t remember. All her thoughts were fuzzy in the cloying atmosphere of the forest.
Hakaisana was the Guardian God of the sea. The faces of the dead were engraved as patterns on its whale-shaped body. Touko had written a prayer on blessed paper and sent it adrift. Hakaisana had read it and had helped their tiny boat reach the capital. On its enormous, smooth back, Touko and the others had seen the ghost of the Fire Hunter who had saved Touko’s life. That Fire Hunter had been Kanata’s master.
Who had told her that Hakaisana was an artifact from the ancient world?
Touko’s temples ached. A vision of shimmering silver hair flitted across her memory. Where was the Millennium Comet now? The last time Touko had seen her, she had disappeared suddenly in the underground passage leading out of the city.
Kun let out a small cry. He turned sharply and slipped into a grove of trees. Akira quickly chased after him, and Touko hurried to follow. Kanata smoothly circled around to catch up with Kun.
“There it is, the bug,” Kun said. He shifted leaves and twigs out of the way to reveal the insects he was talking about.
By the time that Touko caught up with Kanata, Kun was crouching on the roots of a tree with twisted, drooping branches. Kun reached into a hollow at the base of the tree and then pulled his hand out. “See? Here,” Kun said.
Kun held up both of his hands high so that Touko and Akira could see better. Something dripped from his upraised hands, falling like droplets of water. It was a swarm of large ants, their copper-red bodies packed tightly together. The mass of ants clung together and were difficult to separate.
“Don’t touch them. They’re poisonous. I had the other bugs stand guard to help,” Kun said. He held the poisonous ants calmly. Then he blew gently on them, causing the ants to go berserk and fall to the ground in a scrambling panic.
As the last of the poisonous ants fell, Akira gripped a large glass bottle and removed the stopper. Kun accepted the bottle and started collecting the insects inside it.
Furrowing her brow and straining her eyes, Touko tried to see inside the bottle more clearly. In the dim forest, she couldn’t make out much detail. She managed to identify what kind of insects they were based on how they moved.
The Spiders. They really were here…
The glass jar was completely full of the bugs that had driven the dragon and the Fire Fiends crazy.
“You’re sure these are the right ones, Kun?” Akira asked. She frowned.
Kun’s expression didn’t change.
Touko was anxious. Was Kun okay? These insects were poisonous. She wouldn’t be able to stay calm if she handled them.
Both humans and Guardian Gods had inherited a curse from the ancient world: spontaneous combustion in the presence of fire. But fire was rendered comparatively harmless by these poisonous ants. Kun alone was unaffected by their venom, and that was why he’d been abandoned by his family in the forest.
“Is this all of them?”
“I think so.” He handed the stoppered bottle full of bugs to Akira. “I’m not sure. There might be more, but these are the only ones nearby.”
Akira tilted her head, holding the bottle of insects Kun had given her. She pulled Kun close in a hug with her free arm. “All right, then let’s head back to the capital. We’ve found the insects, and we’re almost out of time.”
The ground bucked under them viciously. Akira caught Kun and barely avoided falling. Touko nearly fell, herself. Temari braced her stubby little legs and growled. It felt like the word had just turned on its head.
But it was only an illusion. Touko had nearly fallen, but the ground was perfectly solid. The same could not be said of the forest, which was moving: writhing like a monster of nature. Twisted trees raised their heads like serpents. Branches shaped like the claws of Fire Fiends hung down threateningly. Pitch-black leaves fell thickly underfoot. Several curved roots jutted upward from the earth.
Akira drew a weapon—not a sickle for hunting, but a short dagger. She held it in front of her, ready for action.
As swiftly as the forest plants had started moving, they stopped.
Temari jumped up and down on the spot, barking loudly. Kun clutched the bottle of insects tightly in both arms, pressing it to his chest.
“These plants aren’t responding well to us,” a woman said in an imperious tone. She stepped into the grove of trees, standing tall. Her black hair twisted over the shoulders of her pale green dress like dark vines. She had a tattoo on her cheek, just like many Tree People did. Instead of leaves or vines, as was typical among Tree People, her tattoo was of a blue flower. The blossoms trailed down her cheek, matching the blue flowers and green vines that patterned her dress. Her lips were a vivid red like the petals of a blooming rose.
Touko hugged Kanata tightly as she tried to suppress her growing fear. This was the Guardian God that she and Kanata had met with Kunugi and Willow in the capital’s industrial area. She had spoken to the Millennium Comet.
“Princess Teyuri helped the fleeing humans escape,” the Guardian God said. “I think that it would be fine to leave them be, but there are many other Guardian Gods scattered about, issuing orders to find and dispose of them. The capital is in ruins, so there’s not much point in watching over it. I decided to move. Unfortunately, the Guardian Gods who usually handle this kind of work are out of commission.” She frowned.
“…Are you talking about Hibari?” Akira asked. Her wounds appeared more pronounced in the presence of the Guardian God, who was hale and healthy.
“Oh my. Red hair. I remember that sickle, too. Are you related to the Fire Hunter who came all the way to the shrine to make a petition regarding the Millennium Comet? He said a King of the Fire Hunters would arise in this world.”
Akira’s face froze in shock. This Guardian God had met her older brother.
Temari kept barking in agitation.
Touko heard a long, slow exhale all around her, as if the forest itself was breathing heavily.
“Did you kill him?” Akira asked. Her expression hadn’t shifted, but there was a burning hatred in her eyes. She was like a Fire Fiend confronting a hated enemy. “My brother went to the shrine with a message about the King of the Fire Hunters and the Millennium Comet. Did you kill him?”
The Guardian God tilted her head slightly. “Not personally, no. I heard you were meddling from Hibari. What is your plan? Revenge?”
“No.”
Temari stopped barking, but she glared at the Guardian God. Her whole body was tense and ready to attack.
“There’s no point in revenge,” Akira said. “The world is on the brink. Old grudges matter less than living to see another day.”
Touko felt something slip under her straw sandals. She shivered, but stayed still. Kun exhaled sharply through his nose. His insects were mobilizing. They were marching toward the Guardian God under the leaves, moving in concealment as much as possible.
“In the end, it turned out just as my brother said it would,” Akira said. “What are the Guardian Gods going to do? You’re not united. You just said as much yourself. What can you accomplish when you’re fighting amongst yourselves?”
“I don’t know,” the Guardian God said. “None of the clans, not even the Spiders, has a real plan. Everyone is desperate to keep the world going. If they think this world is worth so much, they’re fools. It is the Millennium Comet who will decide in the end. The fire inside that thing is nothing like the tiny flames that the Spiders rekindled. It’s the fire of the ancient world, from when the Guardian Gods could control natural fire. The Millennium Comet has her own will and her own power. She could use it to end this world in an instant.”
Even though her words were heavy, the Guardian God’s tone remained light and unperturbed. She had already accepted the worst that could happen.
Touko remembered what the Millennium Comet had said. She couldn’t decide what to do, Touko thought. She needs to do something with the fire inside her, but she doesn’t know what.
The Millennium Comet seemed like such a lonely girl. Touko felt sad whenever she thought of her.
What would happen if Kun’s insects bit the Guardian God?
“I thought the Guardian Gods were trying to control what the Millennium Comet would do,” Akira said. “Why else would they need a human vessel?” Her voice was low and hostile.
The Guardian God smiled. “Some of the Guardian Gods believe that will work. I don’t. In the end, we cannot stand against the power of the ancient world. Not against its diseases or its powerful fire.”
Touko wondered if Akira had noticed that Kun was controlling the insects. Maybe she had noticed, and that was why she was talking to the Guardian God. As a distraction.
“I thought the Guardian Gods were in a precarious position already,” Akira said. “If you’re already going to die, why not take a risk? Humans are the same. We can’t just accept the world as it is. And the Guardian Gods won’t save us this time. They’re too busy trying to save themselves.”
The Guardian God laughed in delight. Her presence was like a blooming bubble of life in the death and decay of the Black Forest. “Living is never in vain. If the world dies, I too will die and decay. In a world without Guardian Gods, I cannot take root and grow. I am of the Wood Clan. I stand or fall with the trees.”
The drooping branches and leaves of the forest drew in a slow breath and let out a long exhale that echoed all around them. Touko’s scalp prickled at the sound. She hadn’t ever thought of the forest as one single organism that could breathe together like this. She felt like the eyes of the forest were on her and Akira and Kun. The surveillance felt uncomfortable.
Why is the Black Forest watching us? Touko wondered.
“You’re all talk,” the Guardian God said. “Why did you come to the capital? You said it’s not for revenge, so what purpose could you have? Do you intend to become the King of the Fire Hunters that Princess Tokohana spoke of in her last moments? Her last words were fearsome and terrible. ‘The one who hunts the Millennium Comet will be called the King of the Fire Hunters.’ She told humans and other Guardian Gods to hunt that thing.”
Temari tensed and then sneezed. Kanata’s tail brushed Touko’s knee. Akira said nothing to the Guardian God. She stayed alert to their surroundings. Touko didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she noticed how loud Kun’s breathing sounded.
“Did you come back here to die? You were born in the capital. You don’t intend to become the King of the Fire Hunters. You just want to feel like you’ve done all you could. Then you can die in peace.” When the Guardian God spoke now, her lips didn’t move. Her voice came from the forest all around them. The branches, leaves, bark, roots, and undergrowth that surrounded them whispered together, creating her voice.
“You don’t even trust the other Fire Hunters, do you? They tried to take everything you had from you,” the Guardian God said. “You cannot trust humans, and you cannot trust Guardian Gods. Who does that leave? The Fire Fiends.”
Akira’s hands shook. Temari was shaking with rage or fear or some other deep emotion. The black mottled patterns on the bark and leaves of the forest assumed the shape of eyes and stared at Touko and the others. Thousands, even millions of eyes in the forest twisted and writhed.
“And the Spiders,” the Guardian God added. She looked at Kun, who was clinging to Akira’s legs for support.
“Don’t try anything,” the Guardian God said to Kun. “Even if you manage to kill me here, all you’ll be doing is wasting time. I’ll return you to the cliff outside the city.”
The overwhelming pressure of the Black Forest’s presence suddenly eased. The countless eyes peering at Touko and the others dissolved like mist. Startled by this change, Touko tried to move, but Akira gripped her by the shoulder and held her still. Touko’s back tensed. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. Kun reached for one of her hands and squeezed it.
The Guardian God placed one hand inside the sleeve of her dress and then knelt down on the forest floor. She plucked a seed from her sleeve and set it on bare earth.
“Why are you doing this?” Akira asked. Her voice sounded small, like a frightened child speaking to an angry adult.
A plant sprouted and grew from the seed that the Guardian God had planted. It was the same vivid jade color as the Tree People’s eyes.
“You must not involve yourselves any further. When you make a mess, Hibari only causes more trouble. It makes cleaning up after her much more difficult.” Her voice was coming from the forest again and not her throat. The sounds of rustling leaves and twisting roots formed themselves into words.
The plant continued growing, fresh and green and alive in this place of death.
“Princess Teyuri is certainly a pitiful figure,” the Guardian God said. “She is given blank blessed paper, ink, and a brush, but she cannot write the truth because no one will tell her what that is. She writes what the clan elders dictate, and that is all lies to placate the Millennium Comet’s ire. Hibari pities her. She desires to help, but she is not in a position to do so. That is why she acts out like a petulant child.”
Then the Guardian God pressed her hands to the ground and muttered words that Touko didn’t recognize. Was she casting a spell? The growing plant seemed like magic.
Touko pulled Kun closer to her and made sure Akira was near enough to protect them. Kanata grabbed Temari by the scruff of the neck with his teeth. Temari barked once in protest, but then fell silent.
Plants broke through the forest soil and grew upwards from underground, surrounding Touko and the others in a brown-green dome. The susurrating sound of green, growing plants filled their ears. Touko hugged Akira and hid her face, holding her breath.
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