Chapter 9

CHAPTER FOUR At school the next day, there was a bit of a commotion in the sixth-grade classroom. Ms. Ikeda was going on maternity leave, and a severe-looking, bespectacled teacher named Ryuuji Morisaki had come to substitute for her. The boys grumbled about the fact that they hadn’t gotten a female teacher, while the consensus among the girls was that he was “actually kinda handsome.” Frankly, Asuna didn’t have the mental energy to spare on that. She couldn’t get the idea that Shun might be dead out of her mind; it was all she’d thought about since yesterday. They were in the middle of their Japanese Language class, and Morisaki was explaining a passage from the Kojiki to them. “Stricken with grief, Izanagi journeyed deep underground to Yomi-no-kuni, the land of the dead, in order to resurrect his wife, Izanami.” To resurrect his wife. Those words resonated strongly with Asuna. Was it really possible to bring someone back to life? Morisaki continued. “Deep below the earth, Izanagi was reunited with Izanami. However, Izanami told him, ‘I already belong to the land of the dead. If the god of Yomi permits it, I may return to you, but on one condition: While I am speaking with the god, whatever you do, please don’t look at me.’ But Izanagi broke his promise and opened the door of Yomi. In the end, she was lost to him. This is an excerpt from one of the myths in the Kojiki.” Closing the textbook with a snap, Morisaki continued. “All over the world, there are myths about people going underground in order to revive a lover. To Yomi-no-kuni, Hades, Shambhala, Agartha.” “______!” Asuna looked up sharply from her textbook. Agartha. That was where Shun had said he’d come from. Morisaki noticed the change in Asuna’s expression, but he went on with his lesson as though nothing had happened. “The names are different, but they all hint at the existence of an underground world. Humans once believed that the secret of their deaths lay under the earth.” After school, Asuna went to the library. What if there was a way to bring Shun back to life? …She wasn’t seriously entertaining such a ridiculous idea, but Morisaki’s lesson had intrigued her, and she wanted to find out more about Agartha. However, even if the school itself had a long history, this was just an elementary school library. There were almost no books that mentioned legends about underground worlds. All she found were books that said, as Morisaki had, that similar legends were found worldwide. She left the library a little discouraged. What should I do? Could I just ask Mr. Morisaki? “Asunaaaa, are you going home?” Yuu called to her again. “Hi, Yuu.” She was delighted, but she had to work hard to keep it from showing in her voice. She didn’t want anybody to think she was a weirdo who got excited over something so trivial. “Wanna go together?” The invitation made Asuna incredibly happy. At the same time, though, she was bewildered. Why had Yuu asked somebody like her? Is it because she doesn’t know about all the things that are wrong with me? If they talked, and Yuu found out more about her, would she end up despising her? “Oh, um.” I have to say no. For some reason, that thought reached her mouth first, and… “Th-there’s something I want to ask Mr. Morisaki.” It wasn’t a lie. She’d been conflicted until just a minute ago, but now that she’d said it, all she had to do was make it the truth. However, Yuu smiled. “I’ll wait for you, then. It shouldn’t take too long, right?” “Huh? Oh.” True, questions for teachers didn’t usually take much time. If she kept refusing anyway, would Yuu start to dislike her for it? “I-in that case, sure, wait a minute.” Her heart was pounding. Today, I’ll be going home from school with Yuu. How far would it be before their routes diverged? What should she talk about on the way? While Asuna was bracing herself for the walk home, Yuu lowered her voice a little. “You know, Mr. Morisaki is kinda scary. Today’s class freaked me out.” “It did?” She hadn’t expected that—but on second thought, maybe it wasn’t surprising. The subject of dead people and resurrection might be frightening for ordinary children. As she was about to nod in agreement, Yuu went on. “I think Mr. Morisaki’s wife is dead. I heard Ms. Ikeda talking about it a little while ago.” Asuna understood what Yuu was getting at right away. Today’s lesson and the teacher’s dead wife—when she put those two facts together, what Yuu was suggesting was immediately obvious. Maybe he wants to bring his wife back from the dead. Yes… Just like she herself was wondering whether there was a way to bring Shun back to life. “What’s the matter, Asuna?” Yuu sounded worried. Asuna must have gotten lost in thought; she hastily shook her head. “N-nothing. Okay, I’ll be right back.” She left Yuu and went to the faculty room door. Why did faculty rooms always make her nervous, even when she hadn’t done anything wrong? As she wondered this, Asuna knocked. “Excuse me. Is Mr. Morisaki here?” She stepped inside, but as it happened, she’d been nervous for nothing. “Mr. Morisaki? He’s gone home already,” Ms. Ikeda said. Asuna was disappointed. Still, if there was a way to resurrect Shun, she wanted to find out about it as soon as she possibly could. That thought pushed her toward her next question. “U-um.” “What?” “Could you please tell me where he lives?” Despite the abruptness of the request, Ms. Ikeda politely gave her Mr. Morisaki’s address. Perhaps she understood that Asuna’s question was an urgent one. When she left the faculty room, Yuu was waiting for her. Asuna had half forgotten she’d be there. “Oh, I-I’m sorry,” she said hastily. “I kept you waiting, didn’t I?” Yuu smiled and said something that made her very happy: “It’s fine. I thought it was going to take longer.” And even so, she’d been planning to wait. Asuna thought she really should thank her, but she didn’t know what to say, so all she managed was, “Um, so yeah. It sounds like Mr. Morisaki’s already gone home.” She hated that she couldn’t just say a simple thank you. However, Yuu didn’t seem to be bothered. “Okay, you wanna go?” “S-sure.” And so Asuna left the school with Yuu. She couldn’t maintain her end of the conversation. Yuu would come up with something to say, and Asuna would respond. That was all. Asuna had read in a book somewhere that if you wanted to keep a conversation going, you had to either respond in ways that would encourage the other person to ask questions or ask questions of your own. The knowledge didn’t help her at all. “Well, I need to go this way, so…” While they were talking, they’d reached the point where Yuu’s route split off. Feeling frustrated and disheartened after yet another failure to have a real conversation, Asuna said, “Okay. See you tomorrow.” Somehow, at the very end, she managed to smile. Or she hoped she did. And then… After saying good-bye to Yuu, Asuna waited just a little, then turned back the way they’d come. She hadn’t wanted Yuu to know, but Mr. Morisaki lived in that direction. Moreover, she wanted to learn more about Agartha, no matter what, and do it as soon as possible. She just couldn’t get it out of her mind. Morisaki lived in an old apartment building, and right about then, he was by himself, writing a report on a typewriter. …A typewriter, meaning the only characters he could type were the Latin alphabet. Accordingly, the text was in a foreign language, and needless to say, the report wasn’t one for the school from Mr. Morisaki, the teacher. It was directed to the organization that called him Commander Morisaki. Suddenly, his hands stopped. His eyes turned to a hand-cranked music box that sat on top of the desk, and just then… The intercom sounded. “……” When Morisaki opened the front door, Asuna was standing there. It was the first time she’d ever visited a teacher at home, and she was so nervous she could hardly stand it. But she’d rung for him, and now he was here, so she had to speak. “Um, I’m sorry, there was something I wanted to ask you about.” “Oh— Uh, it’s Asuna Watase, right?” “Y-yes sir.” “I don’t have all the students’ names memorized yet, you see. I was worried I’d get yours wrong.” Giving Asuna a pleasant welcome, Morisaki showed her to a table in the living room. It was more like a Western-style living room than a traditional Japanese one, Asuna thought. She wasn’t used to seeing a table with chairs, a closet, or a tea set. Books were piled in tall stacks all around the room, and she wondered whether all teachers’ houses were like that. “Would you like some coffee?” His kind offer took her by surprise. “Huh? Oh, y-yes,” she hurried to respond. “If I could have some milk in it, please.” Morisaki made instant coffee, poured a generous amount of milk into one of the cups, then set it on the table. He set the other cup down on the opposite side, then took a seat. “Thank you very much.” Wait, I haven’t told him anything yet. I have to say something, fast, she thought, coming to the conclusion that she should give a greeting. “I-I’m sorry to bother you out of nowhere. Ms. Ikeda told me where you lived…” “As you can see, I live alone. There’s no need for formalities… Although, I’ve just moved in, so there isn’t much here except books.” Speaking gently, Morisaki pushed his glasses up with his middle finger. “And? What was it you wanted to ask?” “______” She shouldn’t mention Agartha and resurrecting the dead. Quickly coming to that decision, Asuna said, “Um, it was about today’s lesson.” Morisaki broke into a smile. “Yes, you were listening very eagerly,” he said. There was something vaguely ominous about that smile. “Is there someone you’d like to bring back to life?” “______!” She couldn’t say anything. If she’d said she didn’t want to resurrect Shun, she would have been lying. On the other hand, she vaguely sensed that actually saying so aloud might be…dangerous. It would be dangerous. Even so, Morisaki seemed to have taken her silence as a yes. Then he said it. “Are you the one who met the boy who claimed to be from Agartha?” “Huh…?” How had he known that? Morisaki held a notebook out to the bewildered girl. “Take a look at this.” The foreign words on the cover read MIZONOFUCHI REPORT. That part wasn’t anything special, but— Underneath them, in red ink, was a stamp that said CONFIDENTIAL. This was classified information. If she read this, there was no going back… But that thought didn’t occur to Asuna. She opened the book and flipped through a few pages with photos pasted onto them, without really understanding— But then her eyes fell on one particular picture, and she gave a little cry. It showed the corpse of that bearlike monster. Realizing which photo Asuna was looking at, Morisaki said, “We call those Quetzal Coatls. They guard the gates to Agartha.” He opened another notebook, showing it to Asuna. “One more thing. What do you think of this?” The book seemed to be a collection of social studies materials; it held several photographs of grotesque statues. She couldn’t explain what it was in just a word or two, but something about them was different from the living creatures she knew. “They look a little like that earlier one.” Morisaki nodded. “They’re statues of Sumerian gods from over three millennia ago. Long ago, gods like these were all over the world, and they guided humankind through its infancy. They are the Quetzal Coatls.” “Quetzal Coatls…” Asuna repeated the word softly, and Morisaki nodded again. “Before long, humanity had outgrown their gods. Realizing that their role had ended, the Quetzal Coatls went underground, leaving gatekeepers behind. A few clans followed them.” “Clans?” The word wasn’t one Asuna was familiar with, but Morisaki didn’t elaborate. “They say a few humans went underground with the Quetzal Coatls. They live in Agartha, the world below. Agartha still holds the lost wisdom of the gods, and they say there’s a place in it where any wish can be granted.” The smile Morisaki wore then was fearless—or that was one word for it, at any rate. It frightened Asuna, just a little. Then Morisaki said it aloud: “—Even the resurrection of the dead.” The resurrection of the dead. Asuna swallowed hard. “Um, does Agartha really…” …exist? was what she was planning to ask, but her voice slowly faded, leaving the question unfinished. “I couldn’t say. It may be only a legend. There are a variety of theories; I’m just—I’m just researching it.” “But…” Didn’t you want to resurrect your wife? Asuna wasn’t able to finish that sentence, either, this time because Morisaki got to his feet and interrupted her. “All right, you should run along home. It’s getting dark.” “Mr. Morisaki…” Maybe it was because Asuna had believed what Shun had told her, or maybe she wanted to believe in the possibility of bringing him back to life. She didn’t know which it was herself, but— “I think Agartha really does exist,” she said. How had Morisaki interpreted that remark? The heat in his tone from a moment before was gone now. “It’s going to be dark soon,” he said, now simply a teacher concerned for his student. “Head straight home; don’t take any detours.” On the way home, at the usual railroad crossing, Asuna spotted Mimi. “Mimi!” The moment the cat heard Asuna’s voice, she took off running down the tracks. Asuna ran after her, compelled by some reason she couldn’t explain. But Mimi kept pulling farther and farther ahead. “Wait!” This wasn’t normal. Ordinarily, Mimi did what she told her, and yet… When was it that Mimi stopped listening to me? She soon remembered. It had been when Shun appeared. “Mimi!” Asuna couldn’t hope to catch up to a cat who was running at full speed, and before long, she’d lost sight of her. By then, Asuna had reached the railroad bridge. Then she saw it. Up on the side of the mountain, on her favorite outcrop, a blue light shone. “…!” Asuna started walking. Something inside her urged her to hurry. Her steps grew faster and faster, until she broke into a run again. That blue light was definitely from Shun’s jewel. And that meant— When Asuna reached the outcrop, panting for breath, there he was, wearing an unfamiliar leather cloak and unconventional clothes. It was Shun. Registering Asuna’s presence, he turned around. The blue jewel was shining on his chest. “…!” Ready to cry, Asuna ran to him. “Shun!” She took his hands, forgetting herself in her joy. “Shun! Shun, I knew it!” Asuna shouted, heart leaping with delight. He was alive. He hadn’t fallen from the outcrop; of course he hadn’t. …But Shun’s response wasn’t any of the things she’d been hoping for. He roughly shook off Asuna’s hands. “Who are you?” he said. Openly wary, Shun paused for a brief moment, then grumbled to himself. “So he made contact with a Topsider?” “Shun…?” When Asuna called to him, Shun shook his head. “He’s gone. Whatever happened, just forget it.” Asuna had no idea what was going on. She was confused, but just as she was about to say something to him… Right in front of the outcrop, a helicopter rose into view. Asuna reflexively shielded her face from the wind and the light it turned on them. “Arch Angels…!” Shun said. He whirled toward Asuna, his cloak flaring out behind him. “I’m going!” But then— Before he could get very far, three men in what looked like military fatigues appeared in front of him, holding guns at the ready. Tsking quietly in irritation, Shun stopped in his tracks. The men were wearing masks and goggles, and it wasn’t possible to make out their faces. The man in the center took a step toward them. “Are you from Agartha, boy?” he asked, holding out his right hand. “Hand over the clavis.” Asuna couldn’t even begin to understand what was going on. Guns? Are those real? The situation was unfolding far too fast. “Who…are these people?” she murmured. As she spoke, the helicopter slowly began to move. Asuna had no way of knowing it was a military helicopter—but its machine gun was pointed straight at the two of them. “Dammit!” Grabbing Asuna’s hand, Shun broke into a run away from the group. Two of the men quickly prepared to shoot, but their leader stopped them. Shun took a flying leap off the outcrop, pulling Asuna into his arms in midair, then plunged toward the forest below—from a height that any normal person would expect to die from. “Aaaaaaaaah!” But while Asuna screamed, Shun used the branches of the trees to break their fall, touched down on the soil, and started to run. Once the helicopter had confirmed they were alive, its machine gun opened fire on the ground, kicking up dust behind them. Shun appeared to evade all of it—but appearances were deceiving. “Don’t hit them,” the man who’d spoken earlier had ordered. “We’ll make them lead us to the gate.” Naturally, the fleeing pair weren’t aware of his intentions. If Shun hadn’t been there, Asuna would have thought the rock door was simply a dead end in the cave. Putting all his strength behind it, Shun pushed the rock to the side, opening it to reveal a secret passage while the jewel on his chest radiated blue light. “That jewel…” “It’s a clavis. I came up to the surface to get it back,” Shun brusquely replied as he started into the depths of the cave. Asuna was still completely bewildered, but it didn’t seem as though she’d be able to settle things peacefully with the military types outside, so with no other options, she followed him. “They won’t be able to get in here now. You won’t need a clavis to get out; wait until morning, then go home.” “You said ‘the surface.’” As Asuna ran after Shun, she asked, “Does that mean Agartha really is underground?” “…You even heard about that?” He sounded appalled—or just surprised. “Shun… Did you lose your memory?” “I’m—” Shun started to speak, but then he launched himself off the ground, grabbing Asuna and pulling her with him. A moment later, the ceiling crumbled, and the helicopter’s machine gun was about to assault them again. No, not quite. Shun made that call in the blink of an eye. The machine gun was only there to break open the entrance to the cave. “Dammit— They’re coming in!” Shun headed farther and farther back, and Asuna followed him into the cave. There was no telling how vast the cavern actually was. It went on and on, sometimes turning into a vertical shaft, sometimes collecting water in small pools. I doubt I’ll be able to get back on my own now, Asuna thought. “Hey, just how far are we—?” She started to speak, then gulped the words back down. In the rock wall, she had spotted a fossil of some sort. She didn’t know what kind it was—not because she was uninformed, but because the grotesque shape was completely unlike any fossil she’d ever seen before. Something about it was decisively different from living creatures on the surface. “What’s the matter? Hurry! They’ll catch up to us.” “Shun, this cave—” “I’m not Shun.” As he headed farther into the cave, the boy who wasn’t Shun spoke. “I’m not even obligated to save you, actually.” “…What happened to you?” It really is like he’s a completely different person, Asuna thought. Shun had been so kind earlier, but now… Was it true? “If you aren’t Shun, then who are you?!” Was he actually someone else? The boy put out his right hand, stopping Asuna. “Quiet. You stay here.” “…What is it?” The boy removed the jewel—the clavis—from his chest. “A gatekeeper.” The passage had led them to a wide-open cavern, easily large enough to house the school gym. In the center of it was a strange creature. It looked like a crocodile—and also rather like a lizard, but the enormity of the creature reminded her of a hippopotamus as well. Its body was at least several meters high and probably over a dozen meters long. A gatekeeper. She got the feeling she’d heard that word before, recently… “Before long, humanity had outgrown their gods. Realizing that their role had ended, the Quetzal Coatls went underground, leaving gatekeepers behind.” Morisaki was the one who’d brought them up. Was this a Quetzal Coatl, then? A real one? “The gatekeepers guided humans, long ago,” the boy explained. It was the same thing Morisaki had said. “By now, though, the impurity on the surface has nearly driven them out of their minds.” As he spoke, the boy swung the clavis in front of the Quetzal Coatl’s eyes. “I hope it remembers, but…” The next moment— The Quetzal Coatl bared its fangs and tried to bite the boy. He spun away, parrying the creature’s jaw with a short sword he’d been wearing at his waist. The clear sound of metal striking metal rang out; the gatekeeper was left unscathed. “Ghk…” The Quetzal Coatl charged at the boy at full speed, and both combatants disappeared into a cloud of dust. “Shun!” Asuna screamed, but he was all right. “Stay there!” he quickly shouted back. Asuna had been about to run over to him, but she stopped. Then she saw the clavis on the boy’s chest begin to radiate a brilliant light. The Quetzal Coatl was momentarily weakened, and the boy didn’t miss his chance: He kicked the creature’s jaw upward, then did a backflip, putting some distance between them. “Are you okay?!” “It’s not over yet.” As Asuna ran up to him, the boy put the clavis around her neck. “Hang onto this. I don’t want to kill it.” With that, he ran toward the Quetzal Coatl again. “I’ll knock it out…!” The boy dashed out in front of his foe, and with a roar, the creature charged. Just barely avoiding the attack, the boy flipped halfway around, using his momentum to slam an elbow into the Quetzal Coatl’s temple. The Quetzal Coatl’s head swayed to the side, and the boy jumped on top of it, clasped his hands together, and brought them down like a hammer. The gambit was successful, and the creature crashed to the ground. “It worked…I guess.” The boy drew a deep breath, seeming satisfied. “Asuna, give me the clavis—” Just as the boy turned around, it happened. The Quetzal Coatl wasn’t unconscious after all. It swept its tail through, knocking the boy up into the air and against the rock wall. “Shun!” Asuna hastily ran to him— And the Quetzal Coatl charged again. Its huge maw opened, and just as Asuna braced for death— Three sharp, unfamiliar bursts rang out in rapid succession. Blood spurted from the side of the Quetzal Coatl’s head. Huh…? Asuna still didn’t understand what was happening. When she glanced over, she saw the men in military clothes from earlier. Smoke was rising from their handguns. “If there’s a Quetzal Coatl here,” said one of the men, “that means…” “This really is the entrance, isn’t it?” Real guns? They couldn’t be… For now, we have to run. With that thought, Asuna helped the boy to his feet, letting him lean on her shoulder. She tried to flee deeper into the cave, but supporting him was slowing her down. She didn’t get far. The group’s leader gazed at the Quetzal Coatl. “That’s—” “…What?” one of the men asked. “That’s an ancient, fifty million-year-old whale. Kill it.” “But they said to retrieve all proof.” “As long as we get a clavis, they won’t complain. Do it.” As the man spoke, one of the men beside him leveled his machine gun. “—Stop!” the boy shouted, but the bullets mercilessly tore into the Quetzal Coatl. As the beast fell behind him, the leader walked toward the boy and Asuna. The boy stepped away from Asuna’s shoulder and stood in front of her, if weakly, with his short sword at the ready. There was a rock wall at their backs. They had nowhere to run. The man leveled his gun. “Come here,” he said to Asuna, “and bring the clavis. If you don’t, I’ll kill the boy.” “Don’t go,” the boy whispered softly—and in the next moment, the man fired. The rock right next to the boy exploded into shrapnel. “I could also kill you both right here.” “…Shun.” The boy was silent for a little while, but then— He whispered again, so that the man couldn’t hear. “I’ll watch for a chance to rescue you.” As usual, she didn’t understand any of this. Was the clavis that valuable? But it didn’t matter what she thought; her only choice was to do as the boy said. Asuna gave a small nod, then started toward the man. There was a distance of about ten meters between them— And then… Suddenly, the clavis began to shine. At the same time, the wall just beside Asuna started glowing in the same way. Huh…? What? What?! Startled, she stopped, but the man coldly spoke to her. “Keep walking.” Behind her, the men were swarming and stepping on the prone Quetzal Coatl, firing at it again to finish it off. Their leader turned to them. “Stay here and guard the boy” was all he said. One of the men asked, “Is that the door?” “Probably. I hear the explosives and rock drills did nothing to the one at the South Pole,” the leader replied. Then, more quietly, he continued, “On the other hand…” He pushed Asuna’s back, moving closer to the “door” in the rock wall. Part of the rock radiated a brilliant light. “Touch that light with the clavis.” Asuna gulped, closing a trembling hand around the crystal. What should she do? Something terrible might happen. Was it okay to do what this man said? No, it wasn’t; she was sure of it. “What’s the matter? Do it.” But right now, she had no choice. Timidly, Asuna touched the tip of the clavis to the light. As she did, like magic, the “door” vanished, revealing a stone corridor. The corridor was in good condition, far too neat to call a ruin; however, a few plants still grew here and there in the worn, ancient-looking stone. The man exhaled in admiration. “The Interstitial Sea… Finally, it’s within reach.” With that, the man slowly turned his gun toward the other two men, who had their weapons trained on the boy. “Thanks for coming with me this far.” The men seemed surprised at that. “Commander, what are you—?” “From here on, I go alone.” Pulling Asuna backward with him, he cautiously stepped through the door. “Give my regards to the old men of Europa.” As the rock wall began to rematerialize—the boy seized that fleeting chance. Crouching low, he made a break for it. The two men hastily fired, but none of their bullets struck home. And by the time the door was a rock wall again… There were three of them on the other side: the man, Asuna, and the boy. “Shun!” “Arch Angel!” The boy was holding his short sword at the ready, but the man simply tossed his gun to him. The boy stared back, too stunned to immediately react, while the man pushed Asuna’s back to show he was letting her go. Hastily, Asuna ran to her companion. Putting her behind him again, the boy kept his short sword raised without lowering his guard. “What are you playing at?” he asked. Without answering, the man pulled off his mask, revealing his face. “Mr. Morisaki?!” It was the new teacher, Ryuuji Morisaki. “Now that I’ve come this far, I have no reason to fight you.” Morisaki’s tone was suddenly tranquil. “I only want to go to Agartha.” Agartha. Asuna gulped. Still wary, the boy spoke to Morisaki. “Agartha is falling into ruin. There’s nothing like what you Arch Angels are hoping for.” However, there was an unwavering strength in Morisaki’s eyes. “I’m not after the secret of immortality or ancient wisdom,” he said. A tenacious will burned in his eyes and his words. “I just want to resurrect my wife.” I knew it. Mr. Morisaki did want to bring his wife back, Asuna thought. Did that mean what lay beyond here was Agartha? “……” The boy faced down Morisaki for a few moments—but then he returned his short sword to the sheath at his waist. “I don’t care what you’re here for. All I’m supposed to do is retrieve the clavis.” Removing the clavis from Asuna’s neck and putting it around his own, he asked her, “What’s your name?” He was still so brusque, unlike the kind Shun she’d known. “…Asuna.” “I’m Shin. Shun’s younger brother.” “Shin… Then Shun is…” “He’s dead. He knew we can’t survive long on the surface, and he still broke the law and went out.” Shun was dead. She turned those words over in her mind, like a curse, but Shin didn’t seem to notice. “I’m leaving. The exit will open without a clavis. Wait until morning, then go home,” he said, but then he turned back to her. “Sorry for dragging you into this, Asuna.” Then, for the first time, Shin smiled. His smile was exactly like Shun’s. Her heart was aching. Just when I thought… Just when I thought Shun was back… Without hesitating, Shin walked into the underground lake and vanished. Before she had time to wonder about the odd route he’d taken… “I’m sure I frightened you, didn’t I?” As he spoke, Morisaki retrieved his gun. “Mr. Morisaki, why…?” “Are you familiar with the name Arch Angels?” Asuna shook her head. “No.” “They’re the only organization that knows of Agartha’s existence. Their goal is to acquire the wisdom of the subterranean world and guide humankind toward progress.” Morisaki pushed his glasses up. “I am a member, and I’ve spent ten years searching for the entrance to this place.” “But the people who were with you…” “At heart, the Arch Angels are a group of empty, ineffective gnostics. I’m not interested in gods or the truth of the world.” Asuna didn’t understand even half of what Morisaki was saying—but he was extremely clear about one thing. “My only goal is to resurrect my wife.” He wanted his wife back. But was such a thing possible—bringing the dead back to life? “I’m going to go on to Agartha and look for a way to do that. I’m sorry I put you in danger.” Then, like Shin, Morisaki walked into the underground lake. When the water was up to his waist, he scooped some up and brought it to his lips. “Vita-aqua, hmm? I knew it.” So many things about this situation were puzzling to Asuna—Shun, and Shin, and Morisaki, and Agartha, and resurrecting the dead. But still— “…Mr. Morisaki!” Asuna shouted, running toward him. “Mr. Morisaki, I’m coming, too.” “Why? Do you want to bring back the boy who died?” “I…don’t know, but…” Even she wasn’t certain what it was she wanted to do. “But—!” Whatever lay beyond that word wouldn’t come out. She hadn’t sorted through all her feelings yet; that much was true. However, if she didn’t go with Morisaki right now, she might never get another chance to go to Agartha. “The journey may be a dangerous one, and there’s no telling when we’ll be able to come back. You still want to go?” Morisaki asked. Asuna nodded with fervent emotion. “Yes.” When she gave her answer, Morisaki held out a hand to her. “Then come.” Timidly, Asuna took his hand, stepping into the lake. “This is an ancient liquid called Vita-aqua. It has almost no buoyancy, and you can breathe if it fills your lungs. Agartha lies below this.” Morisaki waded farther and farther in, and in no time at all, the lake was up to Asuna’s chest. She struggled a little, but Morisaki forged ahead. “Um, Mr. Morisaki, wait just a minute—” “Don’t worry! Just drink the water, and you’ll be able to breathe!” He could say that, but that didn’t make it any less frightening. Common sense told her that people couldn’t breathe underwater. However, Morisaki was advancing rapidly, pushing through the Vita-aqua. “It’ll be worth it—we’re going to bring them back!” Later on, Asuna thought about that moment. In all likelihood—Morisaki had been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time. He’d said he’d spent ten years constantly searching for the way to Agartha, and now he’d finally found it. “Get ready, Asuna!” Asuna was dragged under the surface of the Vita-aqua— And then she noticed she could breathe. In an abrupt change, Morisaki gave her a kind smile. Then he began walking again. Under the lake, a long stairway ran on and on, flanked on either side by ruined stone structures. Stealing glances at the ruins around them, they advanced down the staircase until it came to an abrupt end. Beyond it lay a hole that seemed bottomless. Asuna felt a primitive sort of fear. She hesitated for just a moment, but… Morisaki took her hand and leaped into the hole. And they fell down, down, down into the darkness. Asuna felt as if she was dreaming. A man and woman were sitting on a veranda that seemed somehow familiar. The woman’s belly was big; she was pregnant. “I pray this child’s life will be a happy one,” she said. The man smiled. “It’s all right.” He stroked her stomach gently. “Simply being born is blessing enough.”