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"Do you know what that is?"
Gamamaru stopped at the cliff's edge, raised a front leg toward the distant Divine Tree, and asked in a calm, measured tone.
Hagoromo and Hamura exchanged a glance.
"Of course. That's the Divine Tree—a sacred relic under Mother's protection. The source that nourishes this land."
Hagoromo answered first.
This was what their mother had taught them since childhood. The Divine Tree was holy and inviolable.
"The source that nourishes this land?"
Gamamaru let out a derisive snort, his voice dripping with undisguised sarcasm. "Have you ever actually seen the Divine Tree up close? Has your mother ever let you go near it?"
"…No. She hasn't."
Both brothers' expressions shifted.
It was true—since they were small, Kaguya had strictly forbidden them from approaching the Divine Tree. Even her own sons were only permitted to observe it from a distance.
"Nourishes, you say? Then look—look at what the land around the Divine Tree actually looks like."
Gamamaru pointed.
Hagoromo and Hamura followed his gesture—and their faces darkened instantly.
The area surrounding the Divine Tree was nothing like the lush paradise they'd imagined. Instead—a wasteland. A barren, cracked expanse of dead earth. Not a blade of grass in sight. The air itself felt lifeless, saturated with a suffocating stillness that stood in jarring contrast to the overwhelming chakra pulsing from the tree.
It didn't belong. None of it fit together.
"The truth is—this tree isn't nourishing the earth. It's been draining it. Every last drop of energy. Every trace of life. Continuously. Endlessly."
Gamamaru's voice turned sharp and grave.
Hagoromo's brow furrowed deeply, his eyes clouded with confusion and something dangerously close to doubt.
He stared at the desolation surrounding the Divine Tree—then thought back to everything his mother had done over the years. The "offerings" that were periodically sent to the tree's base…
Hamura said nothing. His silence spoke volumes.
"Whether it's true or not—go see for yourselves."
Gamamaru offered nothing more. Just that single sentence.
His form blurred—vanished in a puff of smoke—leaving the brothers alone atop the peak, gazing at the distant Divine Tree, their expressions tangled with conflict.
Cold wind swept across the summit, kicking up dust. Neither spoke for a long time.
The doubt gnawing at Hagoromo's heart grew deeper with every passing second. He wanted to go—to investigate the Divine Tree with his own eyes and uncover the truth.
But the memory of his mother's stern warnings held him back. Her immense power. Her absolute authority—branded into their minds since birth, a force they'd never dared to defy.
"Brother… should we go look?"
Hamura's voice carried a tentative edge. He wanted the truth just as badly—but the fear of their mother's wrath was equally real.
Hagoromo drew a long breath. In the end—he shook his head, conflict still burning in his eyes.
"No. Mother has her reasons for keeping us away. Maybe… that toad wasn't telling us the whole truth either. We can't question Mother based on the words of one stranger."
Hamura nodded and buried his curiosity alongside his brother's.
Though the doubts hadn't dissipated—not even close—their mother's authority still won out. For now, they retreated.
But a seed of suspicion, once planted, could never be unplanted. With time—it would put down roots, sprout, and grow into something that could never be ignored.
.....
A few days later—the next scheduled sacrifice arrived.
A long, orderly procession crept slowly toward the Divine Tree.
The humans in the queue wore blank, resigned expressions—as though they'd long since accepted this as their inescapable fate.
Hagoromo and Hamura stood on a nearby rise, watching in heavy silence. The air between them was thick with tension.
For days, Gamamaru's words had lodged in their minds like a thorn—impossible to remove, impossible to ignore.
The barren wasteland surrounding the Divine Tree kept flashing through their thoughts, clashing violently with their mother's claim that the tree "nourished the land."
Their gazes drifted—settling on the sacrificial procession, then flickering to the towering Divine Tree, back and forth—doubt coiling tighter and tighter inside them like strangling vines.
Yet their reverence for their mother held firm, shackling every impulse. A thousand words piled up in their throats—and not a single one made it past their lips.
"Brother—look…"
Hamura's voice faltered. His eyes locked onto something in the procession, and his face went pale.
Hagoromo's heart plummeted. He followed his brother's gaze—and the blood drained from his face.
"Haori? WHAT??"
Near the middle of the procession—a slender figure stood out like a knife wound in the crowd.
A young woman in simple, undyed cloth. Gentle features. Hair pinned up in a modest twist. It was unmistakably Haori—the human girl Hagoromo had secretly loved for years, a feeling he'd never once spoken aloud.
'Why was she in the sacrificial line??'
Hagoromo's mind went white. The shock and desperation that surged through him obliterated every trace of hesitation and deference in an instant.
"Haori! HAORI!"
She stopped. Turned slowly.
Seeing Hagoromo sprinting toward her with Hamura close behind, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes—then faded back into quiet acceptance.
"Hagoromo? Hamura? What are you doing here?"
Her voice was calm. Too calm.
"Why are you in the sacrificial procession?? Who chose you?? Get out of there—NOW! You can't go through with this!"
Hagoromo skidded to a halt in front of her, his eyes wild with panic and defiance.
He reached for her hand—to pull her out of the line—but she gently stepped aside.
"Hagoromo…"
Haori looked at his frantic face, and a small, bittersweet smile touched her lips. Her voice was soft but unwavering.
"I received the summons. This is my fate—to offer myself to the Divine Tree."
Her tone was terrifyingly serene. As if she were describing something happening to someone else entirely. As if the death marching toward her was nothing more than an ordinary goodbye.
"Fate? What fate?? This isn't fate—this is WRONG!"
"This is a rule Mother created—and the rule is broken!"
Hagoromo's voice cracked with emotion. His clenched fists trembled at his sides.
"You're her son. You wouldn't understand."
Haori shook her head gently. She didn't know the truth about the Divine Tree. She'd never even considered defying Kaguya's decrees.
In her eyes, Kaguya was the Creator Goddess—the supreme ruler of this world. And the edicts of a god were simply the destiny mortals were born to obey.
"Lady Kaguya established this order. We were born into it. There's no fighting it."
She looked at Hagoromo, and for just a moment—a shadow of longing passed through her eyes.
"Meeting you… made me happy, Hagoromo."
With those words, she reached behind her neck and unclasped a necklace—a string of magatama beads, hand-carved from mountain jade. Simple. Beautiful. The most precious thing she owned.
She rose on her toes—and gently placed the necklace around Hagoromo's neck.
"Don't forget me, Hagoromo."
Her voice was barely a whisper—light as a passing breeze.
Then she turned away. Stepped back into the procession. Her stride was steady and sure as she walked toward the Divine Tree—and she never looked back.
That slender figure grew smaller and smaller—until it blended into the long line of the condemned and could no longer be distinguished from the rest.
"HAORIIII!"
Hagoromo stood paralyzed. The magatama necklace hung around his throat like a millstone, crushing the air from his lungs.
He watched her disappear—and something inside him cracked.
His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned bone-white. His nails bit into his palms until blood seeped between his fingers.
He didn't even notice.
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