Aiko's knees had gone numb hours ago.
The mud beneath her had turned to a cold, sucking sludge, but she didn't move. Rain sliced through the ruins of the forest, plastering her torn clothes to her skin. Her ribs screamed with every shallow breath, her split lip throbbed, and the cut on her cheek had crusted over with dried blood.
None of it mattered.
Three days.
Three days of miracles. Three days of surviving the impossible. Three days of owing her life to a voice that never showed its face.
"Why?" The word tore from her raw throat, lost in the storm.
She'd prayed to every god she could name.
To Amaterasu, the sun goddess, burning incense stolen from a village shrine. To Hachiman, god of war, offering broken blades and whispered pleas. To Inari, fox spirit of mercy, scattering stolen rice in the dirt. Silence. Always silence.
Her fingers dug into the mud. What do you want from me?
The Eagle-Eye Totem lay in pieces nearby. Its shattered owl face stared at her, mocking. Kami-sama had spoken through it before—guiding her, teasing her, saving her. Now it was just wood and broken glass.
Aiko's mind spiraled. No god helps without a price. Her mother's warning, hissed years ago when Aiko had begged to visit the festival shrine.
They take. They always take.
A shudder ran through her. There was one god she hadn't considered. One whose name made her stomach churn.
Kanzashi.
The god of carnal desires. The deity who traded miracles for… favors. Stories whispered in brothels, warnings from older girls: Never pray to Kanzashi. He answers too well.
Aiko's nails bit into her palms. Was this it? Had Kami-sama been Kanzashi all along, waiting to claim his payment? The miracles, the protection—all just bait?
She gagged, acid burning her throat. But what choice did she have?
"K-Kami-sama…" Her voice cracked. "If… if you are Kanzashi… I…"
The words stuck. She swallowed, rain mixing with tears.
"I accept."
Her trembling fingers found the knot of her obi. The soaked fabric resisted, but she yanked it loose. The outermost robe slipped from her shoulders, pooling in the mud.
"Take me," she whispered, voice hollow. "I owe you… everything."
She thought about the legends. The legends about how Kanzashi interacted with his… followers.
Mina, the girl with the scarred face. She'd prayed to Kanzashi for beauty. Woke up flawless… but her reflection began moving on its own.
One morning, they found her corpse, skin peeled off like a discarded kimono.
Rin, who begged for a client's love. He became obsessed… then carved her name into his chest daily until he bled out.
Kanzashi's gifts were poison wrapped in silk. Yet here Aiko knelt, alive only because Kami-sama had burned mountains, summoned demons, and slain an assassin for her.
What price could match that?
Her fingers trembled as they brushed the sodden fabric of her outer robe.
The brothel's lessons hissed in her ears: Nothing's free. Especially from gods.
"K-Kami-sama…" Her voice cracked. "If… if you are Kanzashi…"
The words choked her. She knew what came next.
Honor demanded repayment.
Even if it destroyed her.
Michael's Phone Screen blinks at 3:14 AM as he taps the game icon.
The game's rain pattered quietly as Michael stared at Aiko's trembling avatar.
Her health bar flickered red at 28%, status blinking [BROKEN SPIRIT].
"C'mon, Aiko, just rest already," he muttered, scrolling through inventory for a healing item.
He'd barely won the last battle—Tatsuya's gory end, the arm fused to his shoulder, the Curator's creepy texts. Now this?
[SYSTEM ALERT: Player Bond Event Triggered!]
Aiko's sprite knelt in the mud, hands clutching her robes.
"THE FUCK IS SHE DOING…?"
The first knot gave way.
Aiko's numb fingers tugged at her obi, the soaked silk unraveling like a serpent shedding skin.
Her outer robe—once vibrant indigo, now stained with blood and filth—slumped off her shoulders.
Cold air bit her collarbones.
Stop. This is madness.
But Kami-sama had chosen her. Protected her. Even if he was Kanzashi… even if this was a trap…
She owed him.
Her Family had discarded her. Her father wouldn't trust her, and her blood sister sold her to the brothel to pay Father's gambling debts.
The only being who had shown her unmitigated love was…
Kami-Sama.
The second robe slipped down, pooling at her waist.
Her thin undergarment clung to her skin, translucent from rain. She crossed her arms over her chest, nails digging into flesh.
Don't cry. Don't.
"Wait, WAIT—" Michael's thumb jammed the [SEND ITEM] button as Aiko's sprite began removing another layer. "Nope, nope, nope!"
A pixelated [ERROR] message flashed.
"TF?!" Michael kicked his dorm bed, the prosthetic arm on his shoulder humming angrily. "Skip! SKIP!"
Aiko's underrobe hit the mud with a wet slap.
Aiko's breath hitched. She was down to her ragged underclothes—threadbare fabric clinging to her hips, breasts. The brothel's clients had seen worse, but this… this was voluntary.
Kanzashi's price.
Tears blurred her vision. She fumbled with the final knot at her waist.
Do it. Repay the debt. Be honorable.
Her fingers slipped.
A memory flashed:
Yuriko's smirk as she'd auctioned Aiko's virginity to the highest bidder. The client's clammy hands, the way he'd—
"NO!"
Aiko recoiled, scrambling backward in the mud. Her bare back scraped against a broken log, pain sharpening her panic.
I can't. I can't.
But Kami-sama's voice echoed in her skull—not the playful trickster from before, but the wrathful force that had birthed the Scarlet Sovereign.
I owe him everything.
"Dammit, think!" Michael mashed buttons, but the game's UI had locked him out. Aiko's bond meter quivered at 80%, the screen flashing ominous red.
[WARNING: TRAUMATIC EVENT MAY LOWER BOND!]
"Yeah, NO KIDDING!" He stabbed the [EMERGENCY MESSAGE] option—
[ERROR!]
[EMERGENCY MESSAGE FUNCTION: LOCKED!]
[$10,000 TO UNLOCK FOR 5 MINUTES!]
[COOL DOWN: 7 DAYS.]
[PURCHASE?]
[Y] / [N]
Michael's thumbs spammed the [Y] button.
[TRANSACTION SUCCESSFUL!]
[REMAINING FUND: $42,342]
Aiko's fingernails drew blood from her palms.
Do it. He owns you.
The final knot loosened—
BZZT!
A familiar chime rang in her skull.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE FROM KAMI-SAMA:]
["Aiko. Stop. Now."]
She froze.
["Put your clothes on. I don't want that."]
Silence.
The rain softened. Aiko's breath came in ragged gasps as the words hung in her mind—not a god's decree, but a command edged in… concern?
"K-Kami-sama…?"
["You don't owe me flesh. Just survive."]
A choked sob escaped her.
She crumpled forward, forehead pressing into the mud as hysterical laughter shook her body.
Not Kanzashi.
Kami-sama wasn't here to claim her. He'd stopped her. Protected her. Again.
Her trembling hands clutched the discarded robes, dragging them over her shivering frame.