The next morning, Asahi and Koyoi left the inn early. The Wind God inside the pouch sent forth a small breeze, having just awakened from sleep. The air in the town remained as cold as ever, and only the color of the Japanese rose flowers was strikingly vivid. The hallway of the inn was silent, footsteps echoing against the wood. The landlady at the reception desk bowed silently, her eyes alone saying "Be careful." Koyoi gave a small nod to that gaze. When they stepped outside, the faint scent of the river drifted by, and the morning chill pricked at their cheeks.
The morning sun was out, but the town was still dim. They walked along the main street leading to the western highway, heading for the town's exit. Though shops lined both sides of the road, few doors were open. He felt someone's gaze, but no voice called out. When he breathed in, his chest grew slightly tight. Sand from the ground clung to the soles of his shoes, making his feet feel heavy. Each time the Wind God stirred inside the pouch, it tugged lightly at Koyoi's waist. Through the fabric, he felt a presence yearning to go outside.
"Right, we're almost there."
Asahi pointed toward the site of the former gate. A grand gate must have stood there once, but now only the bases of the pillars remained. Beyond it, a path stretched out, leading toward a lush green forest. Morning light filtered through the trees, and the faint calls of distant birds could be heard.
Koyoi tried to take a step forward.
Thump.
"Ow..."
He had struck the tip of his nose hard. He had hit something. Yet there was nothing before his eyes. Only empty space.
"What happened?"
Looking puzzled, Asahi approached and reached out his hand.
"...!"
Asahi's hand stopped in midair. It was pressed against a place where nothing should have been. The air in that spot alone had hardened like rock.
"...A wall. There's an invisible wall."
Asahi carefully moved his hand from side to side. The wall completely blocked the highway. Even looking up, it seemed to continue to the far reaches of the sky. An invisible pane stretching into the heavens enveloped the entire town. A distant bird suddenly changed direction just before the wall, its feathers fluttering as it flew away. The flow of the wind also broke there, causing the air to swirl. Though invisible, it was unmistakably there.
Koyoi stroked the air as if drawing a circle with his finger. The spot he touched grew cold, and the feeling quickly left his fingertips. His skin told him that this was a Boundary.
"...The Observer's doing?"
"Yeah. They've 'fixed' the town's Boundary lines. ...They don't intend to let anyone out—neither resident nor traveler."
Koyoi tried touching the wall. Cold. An inorganic, emotionless cold. It did not even vibrate when pushed or struck. A sensation as if that space alone had been cut out from this world and brought to a standstill. Deep in his ears, there was a faint mechanical hum... bzzz... The cold traveled from his fingertips to his arm, siphoning the heat from his body. There was no wind flow on the surface of the wall. The presence of the Wind God wavered inside the pouch as if struggling to breathe. Asahi laid the blade of his sword against the wall and slid it slowly. The tip of the blade stopped midway, catching on something slight. But the seam was invisible. Precisely because it was invisible, the depth of the Observer's trap was evident.
"...Are we trapped?"
"Hmph, it won't be that simple."
Asahi drew his sword.
"No matter how hard a wall is, there's always a 'seam.' We just have to sever it."
Asahi swung his sword down with all his might.
Clang!
Sparks flew. Yet not a single scratch appeared on the wall. Instead, the impact recoiled into his arm, making Asahi stumble. The sword trembled slightly, and the smell of metal mingled with the wind.
"Damn... physical attacks are absorbed?"
"...Open it."
The Wind God's voice came from inside the pouch. Painfully, but desperately.
"...It hurts. ...There is no flow here."
"Wind? Are you okay?"
"...Make a path. ...Restore the flow."
Was the Wind God suggesting a way to break this wall? Koyoi pressed his ear to the wall. As he pressed his cheek against the ice-cold surface, he heard a faint sound. A mechanical hum... bzzz... And beneath that, a low vibration like a cry. The town's fluctuations were being siphoned away.
That vibration felt like the pulse of a heart beating in the distance. The entire town was being slowly tightened, its breath taken away. Koyoi moved away from the wall and placed his hand on his chest.
"Asahi, this... isn't just a wall. Something is being siphoned."
"Yeah. They're using the fluctuations of the entire town as fuel to maintain this wall."
Asahi slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. A soundless, cold rejection. Koyoi searched for the edge of the wall, looking up past the stone fences and onto the roofs. There were no gaps anywhere. Even the color of the sky looked slightly different just beyond this wall. The Boundary was stopping the town's breathing.
"...If this place is closed off, where does the wind go?"
As Koyoi murmured, the wind inside the pouch gave a thin groan. The flow was blocked, with nowhere to go. Koyoi was beginning to understand that this was the source of the pain.
The town's residents were watching from a distance. Their eyes were full of resignation. It was as if he could hear voices saying, "It's useless," and "We can no longer leave this place." No one screamed. No one ran. Only a quiet despair drifted about.
The old man's hands trembled, and a child hid behind their mother's back. In a town where the wind did not blow, everyone held their breath. That silence gradually tightened its grip on the depths of Koyoi's chest. A child asked their mother in a small voice, "What does it smell like outside?" The mother could not answer, only holding the child tight. Koyoi looked away and hugged the pouch firmly.
The Wind God murmured softly, "...Outside." Koyoi replied in the depths of his heart. To go outside. That was not only for their sake.
(I absolutely won't accept that.)
Koyoi gripped the pouch tightly. We have to get out. I have to take the Wind God and the fellow gods out into the vast sky.
"...Wind, please. Lend me your strength."
Inside the pouch, the wind swirled lightly, coldly stroking Koyoi's palm. He felt as if a gust of wind had blown on the other side of the sky. It was a craving for freedom.
Asahi looked up at the wall and gritted his teeth.
"There must be a core. There's surely a 'center of fixation' somewhere."
Koyoi nodded. Break this wall. Free the town. Lead the wind outside. Find that path now. The Wind God swirled lightly inside the pouch and pushed against Koyoi's palm. It was saying: Go. Koyoi took a deep breath and clutched his chest as if protecting a lamp.
"Heading for the center."
Asahi said briefly. Koyoi nodded silently and stepped firmly on the sand beneath his feet. Only the footsteps of the two echoed through the quiet town. While he had been touching the wall, a low hum had remained in Koyoi's ears. Tracing the direction of the sound, his gaze naturally turned toward the center of the town. Something was there. It overlapped with the sensation the Wind God had shown him, and Koyoi was certain.
In the distance, the shadow of a bell tower wavered. Someone pointed at the fire watchtower and murmured in a hoarse voice, "It used to be a place to signal fires." Koyoi began to walk, as if urged by that voice.
The wind inside the pouch swirled lightly and tugged at Koyoi's waist. It was saying: Move forward. Koyoi nodded and repeated "To the outside, definitely" in the depths of his heart.
The cobblestones of the town were cold, and the chill traveled through the soles of his feet. Koyoi walked as if creating heat with every step. The wind inside the pouch cried out softly, and Koyoi replied in his heart, "Just wait."
He felt as though the scent of wind—the wind that should have been reaching them from beyond the wall—had grown just a little stronger. If that was the answer, he had no choice but to go forward. The wind stroked his cheek and urged him onward. Doubt remained, but the duty was heavier than the doubt. His steps were sure.