"Do...main?"
Hearing this obscure and difficult term, Mitsuha Miyamizu couldn't help but pause in confusion.
Ye Xing replied with a smile.
"Just think of this as an independent space. As for matters concerning the Reverse World, specialists in Kyoto will explain everything to you when we arrive."
"Within my Domain, nothing from outside can enter, and nothing inside can escape. Of course, it's also impossible to..."
At this point, Ye Xing gripped the female secretary's neck with one hand, applying so much force that the back of her head began to deform and crack, while with his other hand, he retrieved the phone from her pocket, glanced at the screen, then waved it before her eyes with a smile.
"See? Failed to send. Within my Domain, no form of communication with the outside world is possible."
"I... I..."
"Still trying to make excuses?"
Looking at the secretary whose face had turned purple from suffocation as she struggled in agony, Ye Xing simply shook his head and sighed softly.
"Well, time's up. Sending you on your way now."
With that, dark flames extended from Ye Xing's hand, completely covering the secretary's body. Without even giving her time to cry out in pain, they burned her into nothingness.
Watching the gold-rimmed glasses fall to the ground, then glancing at Ye Xing's completely indifferent expression as if killing someone was no big deal, Mitsuha Miyamizu wore a complex expression and murmured.
"This... do you often do things like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... kill... killing people."
"Killing people?"
Hearing the term Mitsuha used, Ye Xing simply smiled indifferently.
"If you knew the true nature of these creatures, you'd understand they ceased being human the moment they were transformed. Does stepping on pests that threaten the world present any moral dilemma?"
"Hmm... I understand."
Mitsuha Miyamizu clearly wasn't the type to dwell on such matters.
She had already heard from Ye Xing that the psychics who had followed them that day originally planned to find the shrine where the kuchikamizake was enshrined, then kill her, her grandmother Hitoha, and her elementary school-aged sister Yotsuha.
Not to mention, their original plan was to create a terrifying disaster in Itomori Town.
From the moment they conceived such an idea, they were no longer human beings, but twisted and repulsive evil spirits, naturally undeserving of so-called human rights.
"This number..."
Ye Xing glanced at the phone number displayed on his mobile screen, memorised it firmly, then burned it into nothingness with black flames.
"Huff... huff..."
Hearing Ye Xing's slightly laboured breathing and noticing his body sway slightly as if his strength was failing, Mitsuha Miyamizu hurried forward to support him, her face full of concern as she whispered softly.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Ye Xing nodded, gazing towards the black-red mist seeping from the corridor corner as he spoke slowly.
"Pulling that peculiar Gate, along with the disaster it represents, into the Domain... truly consumes a great deal of power..."
Mitsuha looked at him with deep concern, pressing her lips together.
"Do you need to rest for a while?"
"No, there's no time."
Ye Xing shook his head and walked towards the source of the black-red mist.
"Let's finish this quickly."
...
Meanwhile, in the real world outside the Domain.
Toshiki Miyamizu stood outside the town council office building, watching the black-red mist swirling in the sky gradually thinning as if its source had been forcibly severed. Frowning deeply, he pointed towards that direction in the sky and asked a staff member beside him.
"Has it been confirmed? What is that thing?"
"Eh? Councilman Miyamizu, what are you talking about?"
The staff member looked puzzled, raising his head to glance at the clear sky with a confused expression.
"What thing... Did you see something?"
Noticing the others' expressions, Toshiki Miyamizu paused for a moment, then scanned the surrounding staff members and realised none of them seemed to have noticed the anomaly in the sky as he had.
"No... It's nothing."
Toshiki Miyamizu shook his head, saying nothing more, but continued staring at the gradually fading black-red mist in the sky, an ominous premonition growing in his heart.
...
"Is this... a Gate?"
Looking at the wooden door of the town councillor's office, which now appeared dilapidated as if having endured countless years, with strands of black-red mist bursting forth from within, Mitsuha couldn't help but pale.
Just standing before this eerie wooden door, she could seemingly hear countless whispers and feel an inexplicable fear.
"Strictly speaking, we don't call this thing a Gate."
Ye Xing remained composed, maintaining a distance of about one metre as he observed the door emitting black-red mist, thoughtfully remarking.
"Well... to distinguish it from the Gates in Kyoto, let's call this an Ever-After Gate, though it's not a name I came up with anyway."
Seeing him still so unhurried at this critical moment, Mitsuha grew increasingly anxious, almost laughing in frustration.
"Wait... so what should we do now?"
"Close the door, of course."
Ye Xing replied casually, reaching out his hand and slowly pressing it against the wide-open wooden door.
In that instant, the blackish-red mist seemed to be provoked, erupting directly from within the Gate.
"Ugh..."
Mitsuha Miyamizu raised her arms to shield her face, feeling the impact of the blackish-red mist so intensely that she couldn't even keep her eyes open.
"Still resisting?"
The last time a Gate appeared within Kyoto City, it had taken the combined efforts of Hina Amano, who wielded the Weather God's power, Miko Yotsuya, Itomori Town's guardian deity, and the Goat-Headed Deity to barely manage to close it at the last moment.
This time, only Ye Xing was present.
"No key..."
Facing the onslaught of the blackish-red mist, Ye Xing didn't close his eyes like Mitsuha Miyamizu but instead stared directly into the world beyond the Gate.
Obscured by the mist and the faint golden threads intertwined within, his vision was unclear, yet he could just make out a vast, shimmering lake in the world inside the Gate.
It was identical to the lake formed by the meteorite impact outside Itomori Town.
"Ye Xing, I'll help you!"
Seeing that Ye Xing seemed to be struggling while closing the Gate, Mitsuha Miyamizu immediately rushed forward, pressing half her body against the wooden door as well.
Logically, since she wasn't a true psychic, even with such an effort, she shouldn't have been able to contribute anything to the process of closing the Gate.
Unexpectedly, however, with Mitsuha's involvement, Ye Xing clearly felt the Gate closing much faster.
In less than two seconds, the once wide-open wooden door was reduced to a mere sliver.
"Just a bit more... just a bit more and..."
Mitsuha clenched her teeth, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She appeared physically drained but gritted her teeth and persisted.
Just as the Gate was about to fully close, Mitsuha inadvertently glanced inside.
What met her eyes was a familiar figure of a woman in a kimono.
"Mu... Mum?"
Thud.
With only a fleeting glimpse—too brief for Mitsuha to determine whether it was an illusion or reality—the Gate sealed completely, and the blackish-red mist and golden threads in the air vanished instantly, as if they had never existed.
...
Later, outside the Itomori Town government building.
Mitsuha Miyamizu wore a complex, thoughtful expression as she turned to Ye Xing beside her and hesitantly spoke.
"Just now... I think I saw my mother in that Gate."
"Futaba?"
Ye Xing replied casually.
"Didn't she pass away a few years after Yotsuha was born? It must have been an illusion. After all, the nature of the Gates is still unknown—they might create phantoms to interfere with the minds of those trying to close them."
"Is that so..."
Mitsuha found the explanation reasonable, yet she couldn't shake a strange, unsettling feeling.
Was the figure she saw really just an illusion?
Just then, hurried footsteps approached.
"Mitsuha!"
Toshiki Miyamizu strode up to Mitsuha, his brow furrowed deeply, and spoke in a grave tone.
"What exactly is going on? It's time you gave me an explanation, isn't it?"
After speaking, Toshiki Miyamizu turned his gaze towards Ye Xing, standing nearby, his expression displeased.
"You... you're the one rumoured these past few days... doing strange things with my daughter, aren't you? What exactly are your intentions in approaching Mitsuha!?"
Hearing this, Mitsuha Miyamizu frowned slightly and stepped between her father and Ye Xing, meeting her father's gaze directly with an unhappy expression.
"Father... please calm down."
"Calm down? How can I possibly calm down!?"
Toshiki Miyamizu was clearly very agitated.
"Every day after school, you run off to hang out with this... this boy who came from who knows where. Do you know what people in town are saying? They're saying that if I, Toshiki Miyamizu, can't even control my own daughter, how can I possibly manage an entire town!? This is a critical period for my re-election campaign, and your behaviour is affecting me! Understand? Grow up, Mitsuha!"
Listening to her father's words, Mitsuha first clenched her teeth, then lifted her head to meet his gaze directly, her expression angry.
"Back then, you were the one who left, abandoning me and Yotsuha! Now you want to act like a father and discipline me? It's too late for that!"
"Mitsuha, you... how dare you speak to me like that..."
"Everyone stop, everyone stop now."
Seeing the emotions between this father and daughter growing increasingly intense, Kyoto's Number One Eroge Protagonist chose to intervene.
"First, don't argue, don't argue. Everyone, don't be hasty."
Ye Xing didn't dislike Toshiki Miyamizu.
This town councillor, while seeming to do outrageous things - like doing anything for his re-election campaign, abandoning his two daughters, and leaving the Miyamizu family despite his responsibilities as an adopted son-in-law - wasn't actually like that.
Back when Toshiki Miyamizu was still called Toshiki Mizoguchi, he had voluntarily given up his family's business to come to the remote Itomori Town and become the Miyamizu family's adopted son-in-law.
How could someone with such an extreme romantic disposition possibly be a cold-blooded father who would abandon his two daughters for his own prospects?
The reason Toshiki Miyamizu was running for town councillor was because of his wife, Yotsuha and Mitsuha's mother, Futaba, who had contracted an autoimmune disease. Combined with the exhausting life of a shrine priestess who had to conduct various ceremonies, she missed the optimal treatment window and passed away.
In Toshiki Miyamizu's view, his wife's death was precisely because of the existence of Miyamizu Shrine - these ignorant, superstitious beliefs about gods and rituals were what killed his wife.
To change this, he needed to reform the backwards-thinking Itomori Town, and he needed to be in the position of town councillor to make the changes he wanted.
"You brat..."
Seeing Toshiki Miyamizu looking at him with that angry expression, Ye Xing noticed the subtle details in his demeanour and spoke softly.
"Mr Miyamizu... you've seen something, haven't you?"
Toshiki Miyamizu paused briefly, then frowned slightly.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Even your lies are terrible; no wonder you're just a town councillor."
Before Toshiki Miyamizu could retort, Ye Xing continued speaking.
"What you just witnessed wasn't any illusion, but a truly existing scene - the precursor to 'disaster'. But you can rest assured now, because Mitsuha and I have already closed the Gate to 'disaster'."
After hearing these words, Toshiki Miyamizu remained silent for a long while before finally speaking with furrowed brows.
"Mitsuha... is your friend's mental state... still normal?"
Mitsuha Miyamizu pressed her lips together and said quietly,
"Father... what Ye Xing says is true. Whether it's gods or disasters, these... all truly exist. And... and..."
At this point, Mitsuha paused slightly before continuing cautiously,
"I think... I saw mother."
"Mitsuha... are you still saying such things?"
Toshiki Miyamizu shook his head.
"Perhaps leaving you and Yotsuha at the Miyamizu household was the biggest mistake I ever made. You've become superstitious too, starting to believe in these non-existent things."
After saying this, Toshiki Miyamizu didn't give Mitsuha another chance to speak, merely stating with furrowed brows,
"I have work I must attend to now. When I have time, I hope you'll have a serious talk with me and let me know what's been going on with you recently."
With that, Toshiki Miyamizu turned and left, heading towards the entrance of the town government building.
Watching her father's retreating back, Mitsuha Miyamizu sighed softly and forced a slight smile.
"I'm sorry... you had to see that embarrassing scene."
Ye Xing waved his hand and replied with a light laugh,
"No problem, after all, he's our dad. Family shouldn't speak like strangers."
Mitsuha Miyamizu's pretty face flushed slightly as she said, somewhat flustered,
"What do you mean 'our dad'... don't say such things randomly. Anyway, about the town's future thread..."
The guardian deity of Itomori Town appeared promptly, forming a message with red threads.
[Hmm... that hazy node has vanished as well. Next... as long as we handle the meteorite fall seven days from now, Itomori Town's future will continue onward.]
"Wonderful!"
Hearing this reassuring news, Mitsuha Miyamizu let out a relieved sigh, then suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion.
Noticing her expression, Ye Xing spoke with a smile.
"You should go back and rest first. You've expended quite a lot of physical strength after all."
"Mmm... then tonight..."
Mitsuha Miyamizu blushed and spoke softly.
"Come back early."
With that, Mitsuha Miyamizu walked off into the distance.
After she had gone far away, Ye Xing looked at the strands of red thread floating in the air beside him and spoke in a flat tone.
[That so-called future thread doesn't actually represent Itomori Town's future, but rather your future, correct?]
The words formed by Itomori Town's guardian deity lacked their usual flippancy and liveliness, instead carrying a somewhat bitter tone.
[You've already figured it out... as expected of Lord Ye Xing.]
"Isn't this rather simple reasoning?"
Ye Xing's voice betrayed no fluctuation whatsoever.
"If the thread truly only continued extending after resolving a crisis, then those initial two hazy nodes should have been endpoints - we should only see the future beyond after resolving them. But that's not what actually happened."
"The so-called future thread completely disappears on that day, seven days from now. This proves it's a crisis that can't be resolved at this stage - that Itomori Town's destruction is inevitable under current conditions - but you truly believe I can save Itomori Town, leaving only one other explanation."
"Regardless of Itomori Town's future, your future only lasts until that day."
Seeing that her thoughts had been completely discerned, Itomori Town's guardian deity didn't continue hiding anything.
[Just as you said... as this town's guardian deity, my future only lasts until that day.]
Ye Xing nodded noncommittally, then immediately inquired.
"Earlier in that Gate, Mitsuha saw her mother's figure. That wasn't an illusion, was it?"
[Indeed, it wasn't. However, this isn't a responsibility you need to bear.]
Itomori Town's guardian deity's red threads slowly formed new words.
[You only need to consider how to save Itomori Town from the falling meteorite. The rest... I will resolve.]
The red threads floated in the air, forming another passage.
[As a guardian deity, what I must protect isn't just Itomori Town's residents, but also... Futaba, who once served as my divine envoy.]
[I... will save her.]