KAMIYO Episode 34: The Law of Yomi and the Broken Taboo — Beyond the Unseen Door

Prologue: The Closed Stone Door and the Irrevocable Reality

Absolute darkness where neither light, nor sound, nor even wind exists. In the ears of Izanagi, who stood motionless before the giant stone door separating life and death, the voice of his beloved wife echoed from the other side.

"...My beloved... husband... To think you have come... all this way to take me back..."

Izanami's voice was not bright and full of compassion like the sun, as it had been when they created the country together on the surface.

It was somehow distant, cold, and tinged with an eerie stillness.

"Izanami! Come, open the door! Return with me to that beautiful Oyashimakuni once more!"

Izanagi clung to the cold stone door, calling out desperately. However, only a heavy, tragic silence returned from beyond the door.

Then, after an exceptionally deep and sorrowful sigh, Izanami spoke an irrevocable, cruel truth.

Chapter 1: The Curse of Yomotsu-Hegui

"...You are too late, my husband. I have already partaken in Yomotsu-Hegui..."

The moment he heard those words, an ice-cold chill ran down Izanagi's spine.

 Yomotsu-Hegui — to consume the food of this country, cooked with the fire from the hearths of the Yomi-no-Kuni (The Underworld).

Taking in something from a different world meant that one's soul would completely transform into something of that world, becoming irrevocably bound to it.

The moment she ate the food of the country of the dead, Izanami had completely turned into a "resident of Yomi."

"Wh-what...? Are you saying you have already been swallowed by the law of the country of death...!"

"Yes... Therefore, I can no longer return to the surface, the country of the living. Please, return as you are..."

He could feel the presence of Izanami weeping quietly beyond the door.

 Scorched by the flames of Hinokagutsuchi-no-Kami, falling into darkness all alone—in how much despair must she have been to eat the food of the country of death?

Izanagi's chest tightened with tearing regret and sorrow.

Chapter 2: The Direct Negotiation with Yomotsu-Kami and the Absolute Condition

"No! I will never give up!!"

Izanagi shouted in a voice that sounded as if it were bleeding.

"Without you, what meaning is there in the beautiful world we created!

To hell with the law, I am the god of creation!

No matter what sacrifice I must pay, I will definitely bring you back!!"

The fierce obsession of a husband, tinged even with madness.

It lit a faint fire of hope in the heart of Izanami, who was at the abyss of death.

 The deep love of a husband trying to forcefully pull up her soul, even though it was bound by the law.

"...I understand. If you desire me that strongly..." A faint heat resided in Izanami's voice.

"I shall go and negotiate directly with the Yomotsu-Kami, the masters of this country who bind me, to ask them to let me return to the surface.

However, during that time... there is a 'promise' I absolutely need you to keep."

"A promise? Name it. I will swallow any condition for your sake."

"While I am discussing with the Yomotsu-Kami, absolutely, under no circumstances, look inside the door. Do not look at my figure. ...Do you promise?"

Izanagi nodded powerfully.

"Yes, I promise. Until you return, I shall wait before this door without moving a single step."

Chapter 3: The Binding of Darkness and the Maddening Sense of Time

Izanami's presence faded into the depths of the door, and absolute silence descended once again.

As promised, Izanagi sat down before the stone door and began to wait for his wife's return.

However, in the Yomi-no-Kuni, the act of "waiting" held a terrifying meaning completely different from the world of the living. In this world of darkness with no sun or moon, the concept of the flow of time does not exist.

There is no boundary between day and night; only the sound of one's own breathing and the beating of one's heart continue to echo within infinite nothingness.

At first, he merely prayed quietly.

But no matter how long he waited, there was no sign of the door opening.

Had a day passed? A month? Or had a hundred years already flowed by?

For him, a god of "motion" who constantly commanded great nature and continued to bring forth seas and mountains in the world of the living, the time spent standing in darkness, unable to do anything, was the ultimate psychological torture.

Chapter 4: Paranoia and the Swelling Obsession

"...Absolutely, under no circumstances, look at my figure."

In his mind, the words Izanami left behind looped over and over.

As time passed, a dark, murky paranoia began to well up in Izanagi's heart.

(Why is it taking so long? Are the negotiations with the Yomotsu-Kami struggling?)

(Or... has she incurred the wrath of the Yomotsu-Kami and is undergoing terrible torture?)

He couldn't see.

He didn't know.

He couldn't hear anything.

The pure desire to "save the one he loves," through the extreme darkness and impatience, gradually transformed into a muddy, "maddened obsession."

(Even though my wife might be suffering, is it right for me to merely wait here?)

 (In the first place, why did she say 'do not look'? Was there not supposed to be a single secret between Izanami and me!)

Reason was scraped away, and only instinctive craving swelled up.

Because he loved her, he wanted to see.

Because he was worried, he wanted to confirm.

The terror of not knowing the truth finally and completely dominated Izanagi's heart, overshadowing the guilt of breaking a taboo.

Chapter 5: The Broken Bamboo Comb and the Forbidden Light

"...I can wait no longer."

Izanagi slowly stood up.

His eyes had lost the normal light of a god, completely clouded by a bizarre obsession, as if possessed by something.

He took hold of the sacred Yutsu-Tsumagushi (bamboo comb) inserted in his left Mizura (ancient hairstyle).

In the country of death enveloped in silence, a sharp "snap" echoed.

Izanagi had violently broken off one of the thick teeth of his own hair ornament.

He rubbed the broken bamboo tooth to strike a fire. Spark... Whoosh!

A small, yet intensely bright orange flame flared up. In the Yomi-no-Kuni, the absolute darkness that rejected any light, it was the absolutely unforgivable "light of life" brought in by the living.

With the red flickering flame in his hand, Izanagi placed his fingers on the gap of the firmly closed stone door, and slowly, powerfully pushed it open.

To uncover the truth of his wife, which he was told must not be seen.

"Izanami... I am coming now."

Beyond the door, illuminated by the taboo flame.

What awaited him there was not the warmth of his beloved wife, but a hair-raising "ultimate despair," so horrifying that it made maintaining one's sanity impossible.