The Shrine of a Mountain 4

"Netherworlds?" Yata uttered and gasped at the ghastly thought which popped into his head.

Orochi surely didn't mean that the system before him ran on soul energy from their netherworld, Yomi-no-Kuni. Or is it for real?

Even with his understanding of technology, Yata knew the massive system before him required an enormous source of energy. Human society has not reached the level of generating such power to fuel this regulatory machine.

He could only lament his past of innocence, when he was a mere juvenile spider who saw everything as magical. Life was much better, then.

Orochi tapped a few commands on the screen and Earth's image disappeared, revealing a dark swirling formation below.

"The battery," he said as a pearlescent huge boulder appeared in the formation and then vanished. "A trillion soul stones in that boulder alone."

"From where? Yomi-no-kuni?" Yata exclaimed in surprise.

Dark tendrils burst out of the formation at the same time as Yata's questions and wrapped itself around the boulder.

On the tendrils, the dark-coloured tone changed to a flowing multicoloured, flowing hues moving towards the boulder while the boulder glowed softly.

"Today's charger is Avici," Ōmononushi added, recognising the tendrils, and he tapped on the controls to bring back the image of Earth. "He does it for three alliances, Xitian, Vedas and Takamagahara."

The mention of Avici, the overseer and collector of all fragmented and sheered soul energy, surprised Yata for a bit as he recalled the trauma of passing through the afterlife with Avici's soul shearing creatures.

Had his soul sheared on death, his soul energy may be part of the millions powering up the massive machine.

The gruesome thought made Yata a little uneasy about the fact that netherworld as an energy farm. From a full sentient soul to a battery didn't seem like much of an existence.

A stirring Alex distracted him from Yata's thoughts. Best not to reveal too much to this human soul. Ignorance is bliss. Alex stretched his arms and rubbed his eyes. Then he straightened up from his slouch, still sitting on the cold stone ground, staring at their environment.

"Where am I?" Alex asked, surveying the surroundings.

"A safe place," Yata replied.

Then Alex paused. "Why don't I remember what happened? One moment in the shrine, next in this… um… laboratory?"

Orochi snickered softly, but refused to say a word or look at him.

"L-look at that… that's a cool machine," Yata pointed at the rotating holographic Earth, hoping to distract Alex from asking too many questions.

"Eh?" Alex muttered as he slowly got up from the floor.

Alex, no longer a stranger to the odd contraptions of the hidden dimension, guessed that it was a makeshift laboratory in a cave from the jagged interior. Untidy compared to Orochi's cave, with unruly plants growing everywhere.

The huge image of Earth around his height, rotating in front of the platform, was a tad unsettling. Orochi and Ōmononushi standing at the platforms entering information in a human way unsettled him more.

Not as sophisticated as the Xitian technology, like the ones he saw in the Court of Hell. Still, his understanding of the advanced technology is close.

He squinted at the words on the screen, partially blocked by Orochi's body, and noticed the different language used. Xitian used an ancient Chinese script, but the stringy ones on the screen in front of Earth's image reminded him of pencilled snakes.

"They are regulating earth somehow," Yata leaned in and whispered to him.

"Not regulating Earth. Just monitoring and making adjustments in our territory," Ōmononushi corrected Yata.

Alex walked slowly to the platform to study the image displaying the tectonic plates under the superimposed waves. When he studied archaeology, the university made them learn the basics of geological and climate science, needed to calculate timelines and events.

His eyes narrowed on the meeting point of the North American tectonic plate at the top, with the Philippine Sea plate under it and the overlapping Pacific plate. When the plates crashed against each other, earthquakes happen.

Orochi paused and asked, "what are you looking at?"

"Tokyo. Where the plate boundaries meet," Alex replied.

Yata stared at Alex. "How did you know that?"

"I learnt a bit when I was alive." Alex shrugged.

Orochi rubbed his chin with his finger in thought and studied him carefully. "Spider, you lived for five centuries and you didn't know this. But him, he knows."

"He was human. They had special schools to teach them all those specialties," Yata protested.

Orochi scowled at Yata's words. "Excuses, you forged an identity, learned to drive, use a mobile phone, and own properties in the human world, but you don't know any science? Use your fake identity to get into school then!"

Yeats hung his head.

"500 years and you don't even know the planet you originated from?"

Ōmononushi snickered at Orochi's harsh words used on a downtrodden looking Yata and then glanced at the silent Alex, who continued studying the screen.

He approached Alex while Orochi continued to berate Yata about his lack of general knowledge. Ōmononushi knew only about Alex's Yasu Mawari's mark and his lack of fighting skills from the less.

Perhaps there is some hope for the human soul before him. Maybe Yasu Mawari's device marked the human soul for a reason.

Alex didn't impress him when they met. To Ōmononushi, Alex looked like any other young ordinary human, with ignorance shaped by the modern life and sheltered from the chaos of his ancestors who bore arms daily to survive.

The image of Sugawara no Michizane popped into Ōmononushi's head. Humans worshipped Sugawara no Michizane as the God of Scholars, or Tenjin, in Japan. He was of Alex's kind, a former human. The spark of curiosity in Alex's eyes reminded Ōmononushi of Sugawara. More intelligent than the average human.

And Orochi valued intellect over brawn, exactly an advantage placing Alex for favourable attention from the old serpent himself.

"We are adjusting the seismic movement around the core of Earth," Ōmononushi said.

"That's why Japan has so many earthquakes?"

Ōmononushi nodded. "Not much of a choice, considering the geological location. We adjust it to limit the damages."

"So why do they still have big ones if you are regulating the movements?" Alex asked.

"Takamagahara isn't the only one regulating the seismic movement. There are others, like Xitian, Morningstar etc.," Ōmononushi explained. "Any adjustments will come with counter adjustments from the others that feedback into the loop. The main purpose is to protect the core of the planet and the lives on it."

"We are not gods, even if the humans think we are," Orochi added.

"Or even if some primeval beings think they are," Ōmononushi quipped as Orochi guffawed.

"Since today's task is done, see if you can scan the locations of the legendary weapons on that map," Orochi tapped on Ōmononushi's shoulders.

"The planetary regulator is now your personal search engine?"

Planetary regulator sounded quite scientific, even though fantastic beyond Alex's realm of laptops and mobile phones. Hordes of human scientists would line up to pick this planetary regulator apart the moment they got their hands on it.

The closest thing Alex ever wowed about was the Hadron Collider rumoured to make mini black holes using quantum theory and particle physics. Those topics were beyond his understanding.

Rumoured, thankfully, because Alex couldn't imagine his world swallowed into a dark hole like an imploding star.

"Hey have you heard of the Hadron Collider?" Alex asked.

"Troublesome thing, but sits under Morningstar's responsibility," Orochi said. "He has to make sure that the humans don't trigger the Void."

"The Void?"

"What you humans call a black hole comes from the Void, where elemental aether comes from," Orochi said. "Humans only figured a small part of dark matter - the more dangerous part of how to trigger."

"They destroyed some worlds when their species experimented with dark matter beyond their understanding," Ōmononushi said as Orochi nodded.

"Because it's in nature to be curious," Alex said.

"Hence, curiosity killed the cat," Orochi countered. "Or worlds. So now, all have to monitor it."

"What's the purpose of our existence if not to explore?" Alex asked.

Orochi and Ōmononushi looked at each other, then back at Alex and shrugged. "To us, the meaning of existence bears no value."

"No value?" Alex exclaimed.

"None. We exist and every day is a new day on a very long and boring journey. You find your own meaning. Some get assigned to new worlds and learn more. Some stay on in their world and watch it grow," Orochi said.

"Or some, like this old snake, hides and enjoys life," Ōmononushi added while Orochi rolled his eyes.

"About searching for those legendary weapons," Orochi asked.

"Seriously?"

"I did your tasks to last a week. Do you expect me to use google?" Orochi snapped back.

"Point taken."

The two screens merged in front of them, forming a grid map of the Kansai region. Orochi stepped onto the platform and placed his right hand on the grid as purplish blackish waves flowed from his fingertips, forming snaking veins all over the screens.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Ōmononushi hollered at Orochi.