The moment I stepped inside, a hush settled over the shrine, as though the very walls had exhaled a long-held breath. The heavy wooden doors closed behind me with a muted thud, leaving only the soft echoes of our movements within the vast hall. The air smelled of old wood and dried incense, a scent both ancient and strangely comforting.

I pulled off my boots and set them neatly by the entrance, feeling the smooth, timeworn planks beneath my feet. Even in its abandoned state, the shrine held an undeniable reverence. Yuzu followed suit, stepping out of her boots with quiet reverence, her bare feet making no sound against the cool floor. The black cloak draped over her small frame fluttered slightly as she took in our surroundings.

“Bery relaxing,” Yuzu murmured, her voice softer than usual, almost as if she didn’t want to disturb the silence that lingered here.

Dust motes drifted lazily in the golden afternoon light that streamed through the broken lattice windows, casting fractured patterns across the tatami mats that lined the floor. Some were torn, the edges curling with age, but their presence still gave the space a sense of warmth. Wooden pillars, once painted with intricate designs, now stood faded yet steadfast, their surfaces worn smooth by time and touch.

The shrine stretched into a vast open space, its high ceiling supported by beams that creaked softly in the occasional whisper of wind. A few faded paper lanterns still hung overhead, their delicate forms swaying as if moved by unseen hands. Along the walls, old calligraphy scrolls remained, their ink faded but their meaning still intact. Prayers, blessings, and wishes left behind by those who once sought guidance here.

At the far end of the hall, an altar stood, its wooden surface dusted with time but untouched by decay. Small offerings had been left behind, dried flowers, brittle rice grains, and a scattering of talismans, their inscriptions barely legible. Behind the altar, a grand curtain hung, its fabric frayed yet retaining a quiet majesty. It depicted a gathering of nine-tailed foxes beneath a luminous full moon, their

I swallowed, my eyes flicking around the room, taking in every detail as if seeing it for the first time. The shrine’s walls were adorned with faded murals, their depictions of fox spirits and celestial beings barely visible beneath layers of dust and age. Lanterns, long extinguished, hung from wooden beams overhead, their intricate carvings telling stories of a time when this place had been alive with prayer and ceremony.

The altar, once merely a relic of the past, now radiated a soft, golden glow. The brittle offerings trembled slightly, as if touched by an unseen hand. The old charms and talismans lifted, caught in a slow, spiraling dance before settling back down.

Ai let out another sharp yip, her eyes reflecting the glow of the altar. Her tails fluffed up in excitement or maybe nervousness. Yuzu, still holding my hand, gripped it even tighter. Her black fox ears twitched wildly, her usual energy dampened by something else. Awe? Fear? I couldn’t tell.

“Bery… real…” she whispered. “Not just memory. This shrine… it still remembers.”

I looked back at the curtain behind the altar. The grand nine-tailed fox figures, their luminous eyes watching over everything, seemed more vivid now, their presence pressing against my mind like an echo from the past.

"You have returned… though you do not yet remember why."

A soft glow pooled at the base of the altar, spreading outward like ripples on a pond. The light moved with purpose, curling around Ai’s small form before stretching toward me and Yuzu. It wasn’t cold, nor was it warm. It simply was, wrapping around us like a gentle embrace.

I took a shaky breath, my heart pounding. “Who…?”

The air shimmered again, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw something. A figure, tall and draped in flowing robes, with long, elegant tails swaying behind them. Their presence was immense, yet oddly comforting, like the warmth of a fire on a winter night.

Yuzu’s breath hitched, her grip on my hand tightening as her black tails bristled, every strand of fur standing on edge. She took a hesitant step forward, her free hand clenching at the fabric of her cloak as if grounding herself against an unseen force. The air inside the shrine felt heavier now, thick with something ancient, something that had been waiting.

The figure’s voice, soft yet undeniable, echoed through the wooden beams, weaving through the dust motes that still hovered in the dim afternoon light.

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"Little foxes, will you listen to the past?"

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the figure began to waver. The glow around it flickered, the air rippling as if disturbed by an unseen force.

The golden light shimmered again, swirling like mist caught in a gentle breeze, casting long, flickering shadows along the aged wooden floor. The scent of old incense, long burned out yet still lingering drifted faintly in the air. The altar, once quiet and still, now pulsed with an eerie yet comforting glow, illuminating the faded curtain behind it.

I turned to Yuzu, meeting her wide-eyed gaze. Her black fox ears twitched, uncertainty and recognition warring in her expression. Ai, who had been silent until now, let out a small, uncertain whine, pressing herself against my leg.

I inhaled deeply, steadying myself as the shrine seemed to exhale with me, the unseen presence waiting for an answer.

“…Yes.”

The altar shuddered, a deep rumbling echoing through the shrine’s wooden beams. Then, without warning, a burst of fire erupted from its center, swirling upwards before condensing into a floating, holographic-like rectangle. The golden glow around the altar flickered, casting eerie shadows against the walls as an undeniable aura of mystery settled over us.

Within the rectangle, an image slowly formed clearer than any TV I had ever seen. A woman sat at the edge of a cliff, her long, flowing purple robes billowing in an unseen wind. The staff in her hand shimmered with an ethereal glow, and her sharp violet eyes gazed toward the shrine… but not as it was now. No, in the projection, the shrine stood proud and untouched by time, its torii gates freshly painted, its walls sturdy and unblemished.

My brain barely processed the significance before my mouth acted on its own.

"Wow, she's hot!" I blurted out.

Karma was swift and merciless. A small rock from the ceiling dislodged itself and bonked me squarely on the head.

“Ouch.”

The soft voice, which had carried a tone of serenity before, now sharpened with unrestrained irritation. “Silence!” it snapped. Then, after a brief pause, it muttered, “…but yeah, you’re right. Having that kind of big boobs should be illegal.”

Yuzu made a strangled noise, torn between horror and agreement. Ai let out a confused yip, her tiny eyes darting between me and the floating projection. Meanwhile, I rubbed my sore head, staring at the scene before us, my curiosity now outweighing my embarrassment.

Who was this witch? And why was she watching this shrine from so long ago?

The image flickered slightly, but the figure of the witch remained steady. Her violet eyes fixed on the shrine in its former glory.

“She’s… the Sealy Seal Witch,” Yuzu muttered, her voice laced with unease.

I turned to her sharply. “Wait, is she the one you were talking about? The one you and Natsumi encountered?”

“Bery yes,” Yuzu nodded quickly, her black fox ears twitching. “She bery notto aged wan bit here.”

That was unsettling. If this projection was from the past, it should’ve shown a younger version of her, right? Yet, the witch in the image looked exactly as Yuzu described, unchanged by time.

“I see…” I murmured, glancing back at the flickering vision. “I wonder what she’s doing there.”

As if answering my question, the purple witch held her staff tight, as she pointed towards the shrine from miles away, still standing on the cliff.

“Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark… I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson. “

“Wait a minute… this sounds similar…” I muttered.

“The time of awakening cometh. Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortions!"

My jaw dropped. “Wait, wait, wait. THIS SOUNDS WAY TOO FAMILIAR!”

"I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come frome the abyss! “

“Explosion!”

The moment the final word left her lips, the entire projection trembled. A blinding surge of violet energy erupted from the witch’s staff, swallowing the cliffside in a swirling vortex of arcane power. The sheer force of the explosion sent shockwaves across the land, warping the air itself.

The image flickered violently, distorting under the immense magical pressure. In the vision, the shrine, once pristine, shook under the force of the spell. Trees bent as the wind roared, the ground trembling as the blast illuminated the sky in a fiery purple glow.

I stood frozen in place, my mind struggling to process what I was witnessing.

“That’s… literally Explosion Magic,” I choked out. “That’s literally the chant!”

Yuzu, ears flattened against her head, clutched my sleeve. “Bery dangerous! Yuzu remembers now, bery scary lady!”

The holographic image continued to play, the explosion slowly dissipating. Smoke and dust obscured the surroundings, but when it finally cleared, something was wrong. The shrine remained intact, untouched by the blast—yet, the very air around it seemed warped, as if the magic had done something far worse than just destruction.

Then, for the first time, the witch in the vision spoke directly to the shrine, her lips curling into a smirk.

“So, that wasn’t enough, huh?” she mused. “Then let’s see just how long you can keep your secrets from me.”