The commotion woke him.
Voices from outside. Multiple voices. Hurried footsteps. Screams.
Something was happening.
Koyoi leapt out of bed. He clutched the pouch. Cold. Far colder than last night.
"...coming."
The shrine god's voice reached him, taut with tension.
"...something, coming."
When he stepped outside, the square was in chaos. The villagers moved frantically. Some ushered children indoors. Others ran with bundles in their arms. Though the morning sun was still faint, everyone was awake.
The air was different. The usual calm of morning had vanished, replaced by a strained tension that blanketed the entire village. Smoke from the bonfires dissolved into the gray sky. A dog had tucked its tail and crawled beneath a hut.
"What happened?"
He asked a woman nearby. She looked at Koyoi, her face drained of color.
"The Boundary... they've crossed the Boundary."
"Who?"
"The Observers. They've come."
Observer. The word sent ice down his spine.
Shiori's words flashed through his mind.
"The ones who measure are here. If they measure you, you'll be fixed."
The warning he had heard then was becoming reality.
In the center of the square, a young man was shouting. One of the lookouts. His breath ragged, his face ashen.
"They've crossed the First Boundary! There are several of them!"
"They're heading this way!"
The murmur of the crowd swelled louder.
"Run." "Where to?" "Hide the children."
Voices overlapped into confusion.
Koyoi ran to the elder's house. When he opened the door, the elder was already awake. He sat before the hearth, his expression severe.
"Elder, the Observers—"
"I know."
The elder looked at Koyoi. His eyes were sharper than usual.
"They are after you."
The words caught in Koyoi's throat.
"...me?"
"Yes. Their objective is you."
The elder rose to his feet.
"A gatherer is an obstacle to the Observers."
"As long as you carry the gods, the world can remain 'in flux.'"
"That is something they will not permit."
Koyoi's hands were trembling. The pouch grew colder still.
"...what do I do?"
"Run."
The elder's voice held no hesitation.
"Run now. Go out through the back gate and make for the Second Boundary."
"They cannot stay long in this village. This place lies on the other side of the Boundary."
"But if they catch you, it's over."
"If they catch you..."
"You will be fixed."
The elder's eyes held Koyoi's without wavering.
"You, the gods, everything—fixed."
"Unable to move. Unable to change. For eternity, just as you are."
It seemed more terrifying than death. To exist, yet be unable to move. Unable to change. Hardened like a specimen.
"...I understand."
Koyoi nodded.
"I'll run."
The elder gave a small nod.
"Go out through the back gate. There's an animal trail in the forest."
"Follow it, and you'll come out at the Valley of No Names."
"Cross the valley, and that's the Second Boundary."
Koyoi bowed his head to the elder.
"Thank you."
"No need for thanks. Hurry."
He returned to the hut and gathered his things. Food. Water. Only the essentials. There was no time.
He checked the pouch. The shrine god and the empty-lot god were inside.
"...going."
The shrine god's voice.
"...hurry."
The empty-lot god's voice.
"Yeah. Let's go."
He shouldered his pack and headed for the back gate. The villagers cleared a path for him. Everyone was watching Koyoi. Anxious eyes. Worried eyes. But no one stopped him.
The wooden gate at the back came into view. Beyond it lay the forest. Just a little farther. Just a little more, and he could escape.
That was when it happened.
"...here."
The shrine god's voice trembled.
"...already, here."
Koyoi stopped. He turned around.
Someone stood at the edge of the square.
Not a villager. A figure he had never seen. Dark clothing. Dressed like a surveyor. In one hand, something metallic—an instrument resembling a compass.
The face was expressionless. Unreadable. A face like a doll's. But the eyes—the eyes were fixed on Koyoi. Cold eyes. Observing eyes. Measuring eyes.
No emotion was reflected in those pupils. No anger, no joy, no sorrow. Only the recognition of a subject. The sterile gaze of a researcher regarding a specimen. Koyoi understood instinctively that he was being seen not as a human being, but as some manner of numerical value.
The sounds around him receded. The murmur of the crowd fell away. The air turned suddenly cold.
An Observer.
The pouch was cold as ice. The gods were trembling.
"...run."
The empty-lot god's voice came out cracked. "...hurry." But his legs would not move.
The Observer's gaze held Koyoi in place. He was being watched. Being measured.
The Observer took a step forward. Slowly. Deliberately. Toward Koyoi. Already, right before his eyes.