Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue Read Online Free PDF

assemble the nyosen immediately..."
    Gyokuyou interrupted Teiei mid-sentence.
    "There's no need."
    "But..."
    Gyokuyou turned to look at a blankly-staring Sanshi, who was standing behind Teiei and Youka. She  set her fan on the table and then reached out with both hands.
    "Sanshi, come here."
    Sanshi slowly strode toward Gyokuyou.
    "I told you that we would find Taiki and bring him back. I didn't trick you, did I?"
    Gyokuyou took Sanshi's hand.
    "Please forgive us for making you wait so long."
    She patted Sanshi's hand.
    "There's a gate where the roots of the Shashinboku are. You should go. And this time, use your hands  to pull Taiki back to us."
    Sanshi's round eyes filled with tears, but she didn't cry. She turned and flew out the door.
    Gyokuyou squinted to see Sanshi's figure getting farther and farther away. She waited until Sanshi  turned onto a small path and was not visible anymore. She turned to Teiei and laughed cheerfully.
    "At last, a season of celebration has come to Mt. Hou!"
    - - - - -
    Sanshi ran as fast as she could. When she arrived at the nest of her birth--the bottom part of the  Shashinboku, she saw a young woman standing under the trunk of the tree. The woman was pointing down  towards her feet where there was a round hole giving off a white glow.
    Many nyosen had already gathered here, but Sanshi did not have the time to pay them any attention.
    She ran straight to that woman.
    The Shashinboku was on an enormous rock at the side of a cliff. The woman was standing right next to  a root on top of a rock covered in moss.
    Aside the woman's feet was a silver ring. On closer inspection, the ring wasn't a ring at all. It was a  snake. This silvery-white snake had two tails and a curved body. One of its tails was held in its mouth,  forming a circle.
    This snake gave off a shallow glow, as if rays of light were shining on it from the sky and a glow was  coming from the green moss under it.
    Sanshi stopped. The woman smiled beautifully and reached her right hand out towards Sanshi. The  other tail of the snake was wrapped around this hand.
    "You must be Sanshi."
    Sanshi looked at her and then at the glowing ring of the snake. The ring was about as wide as a circle  formed with one's arms, and inside, pale white shadows formed a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel there was  another round hole, and through that small hole, she could only see a very unusual sort of building, an area  that appeared to be a yard, and a round, golden shadow. However, for Sanshi, this was already enough.
    --Taiki!
    No matter what, there was no way she wouldn't recognize that golden shadow. It was Taiki!
    "You should go in. However, no matter what happens, you must not let go of my hand."
    Sanshi didn't recognize this woman, but right now, she didn't care.
    Sanshi held onto her hand, and stepped into the glowing ring. She felt cool air coming at her. At the  exit of the tunnel, white snowflakes were fluttering about, like the petals of the spirea.
    When she reached the beginning of the tunnel of white light, she suddenly felt her body become more  nimble, as she already didn't know where she was. The woman followed Sanshi tightly from behind.
    "Keep walking forward."
    Hearing the woman say this, Sanshi strode forward. She walked to the end of the tunnel and reached  her hand out.
    She could now see the scene more clearly. Cold snowflakes were flying everywhere, and a golden  shadow was floating in the dark air. This was what she saw.
    A closer look at the glimmering shadow would reveal that it was actually the silhouette of a small boy.
    However, in Sanshi's eyes, it was a fruit, the same one that she should have plucked from the white branch  ten years ago. This fruit had a shiny golden surface and was just big enough that she would be able to wrap  her hands around it.
    Sanshi did her best to reach out with her fingers, but she just wasn't able to touch that fruit. She  tightened her grip on the woman's hand and,