Prologue | The Oni Sinks, the Tengu Soars

In an age before recorded time—
Upon the summit of the Starfall Azure Hills, a woman sat, quietly playing a game of Go.

It was a beautiful mountain. The ground itself seemed woven from precious gems, and in the still of night, it looked as though stars had spilled across heaven and earth.

“…You would do well to remember my words.”

Her face was veiled in a silk cloth, yet from every gesture exuded a dignity so radiant it took one’s breath away.

“I shall soon depart for the far beyond, but I cannot help feeling uneasy about you. Perhaps it is the disturbance of starlight you harbor within, or perhaps the twist in your soul from the very beginning… In any case, your nature will surely bring you countless torments and tragedies.”

She placed a white stone upon the board.
The one holding the black stones hesitated ever so slightly.

Their fingers—clawed and sharp—shone with a sapphire glow, like glass forged from the deep sea.
Golden hair shimmered with each subtle movement, like a field of wheat beneath the sun.

“That is why I, Nüwa, will now teach you a fragment more of this world.”

The night stretched endlessly. Stars streaked across the sky, and secrets poured from Nüwa’s lips like falling snow.

“—What is the difference between a Tengu and an Oni? Are they not both the end result of what once was human?”

The one playing black asked, and Nüwa gently tapped the surface of the Go board with her fingertip.

A single white stone floated up from the board—and nothing more. It simply hovered in mid-air.

“This is a Tengu. Light of bone, it can soar to any height… yet because it is hollow inside, it reaches nowhere.”

Then, Nüwa picked up a black stone and handed it to her opponent.

It landed softly in the black player’s palm… only to slip and fall back onto the board.

The surrounding stones trembled. Cracks burst forth across the purple sandalwood surface.

“This is an Oni. Bound by chains of obsession, it sinks beneath the weight of being too human—more human than human.”

“I see. So in the end, both are pitiful creatures,” the black player said with a chuckle.

“Don’t be so quick to think you understand, my golden one.”

“…It’s only natural. I am superior to you in every way.”

Golden irises etched with ninefold rings gleamed with mockery. With a flick of her fan, she gestured to the heavens above.

“If humans are but stones of the earth, then I am a star of the sky. I am sacred. I am precious.
So why, you, of all people… why must you leave me behind?”

“…In your present state, my true purpose would be lost on you.”

With a weary whisper, Nüwa traced her fingers over the board once more. The cracks dissolved as if they had never existed.

Then, she placed a new white stone—a decisive move that cut off the black’s path to survival.
The smile vanished from her opponent’s lips.

“An Oni sinks from attachment.
A Tengu floats from escape.
Which is to say… humans can become either, in all manner of ways.
That is what makes them so fearsome.”

She turned her gaze toward the golden-haired one—

“My little fox.”