KAMIYO Episode 30: The Birth of Kayanohime-no-Kami — The Carpet of Deadly Poison Crawling the Fields, and the Quickening of Despair

Prologue: The Foot of the Towering Mountain, the Leftover Blank Space of the Earth

With the majestic Oyamatsumi-no-Kami towering as heaven-piercing mountain ranges, and Kukunochi-no-Kami's forest powerfully covering its slopes, Oyashimakuni (The Great Eight Islands) gained overwhelming "three-dimensionality" and "order."

However, when Izanagi and Izanami looked down at the earth from above the sea of clouds, the vast plains continuing from the foot of the mountains to the sea were still left with the bare, brown mud of Haniyasubiko-no-Kami.

"Giant trees and high mountains are strong lives aiming for the heavens. But the 'soft lives' that flawlessly fill the skirts of this earth and spread as if crawling upon the ground are still missing," Izanagi said, pointing at the vast plains.

"Yes. The resilient yet beautiful life of the grasses and fields, never dying out even when trampled, spreading its roots everywhere. Let us bring that forth and guide this world to its true completion."

The two gods offered their next prayer of creation toward the foot of Oyamatsumi-no-Kami—the endlessly expanding plains.

Little did they know, this would awaken a grotesque goddess possessing both beauty and terror.

Chapter 1: The Creeping Grotesque Presence, the Throbbing of the Nozuchi

The moment the two gods' divine spirit touched the mud of the plains, the earth showed a completely different reaction from when the tree god was born.

Rather than exploding toward the heavens, a "horizontal" erosion began at a tremendous speed, as if crawling upon the ground.

Slither, slither, rustle...!

Countless vines and stems shot out from the mud, writhing like thousands of giant serpents with a will of their own, spreading in all directions.

This was the primordial form of the field spirits possessing the shape of snakes, which in later eras would be called "Nozuchi".

The Nozuchi coiled around rocks, covered the soil, and intertwined with each other, instantly painting the brown earth with a yellow-green carpet.

"What reproductive power...! They are not high like trees, but this tenacious, ground-crawling vitality is, in a way, more terrifying than the forest."

Izanagi gasped at the sight of the snake-like swarm of vegetation swallowing the earth.

Chapter 2: The Beautiful Deadly Poison, the Manifestation of Kayanohime-no-Kami

The swarm of Nozuchi that completely covered the plains swirled into a giant vortex at the foot of Oyamatsumi-no-Kami, forming a single large bud.

As that bud slowly opened, emitting a bewitching, richly colored light, a single goddess revealed her form from within.

She was the god unifying all grasses, fields, and crawling lives.

It was the birth of Kayanohime-no-Kami.

"..."

Her figure was breathtakingly beautiful, and fatally terrifying.

The robes she wore were woven from the burning red of cluster amaryllis, the bewitching purple of wolfsbane, and the fresh, vibrant green of young grass wet with morning mist.

Countless Nozuchi (snakes) crawled around her feet like beloved pets, and every time she took a step, brightly colored flowers bloomed madly, releasing an overly mellow fragrance.

However, a "deadly poison" lurked within those beautiful grassy fields.

Medicinal herbs that heal life, and poisonous plants that easily snatch life away. Kayanohime-no-Kami was an entity embodying the absolute duality of great nature, encompassing both.

Chapter 3: The Carpet of Life, the Perfect World Complete

"I am the God of the Fields, Kayanohime. I shall dye all of this land in my colors."

When the goddess spread her arms with a bewitching smile, the plains of Oyashimakuni instantly transformed into a sea of profusely blooming flowers.

Drawn by the sweet scent of nectar, countless insects danced, and following them, birds and beasts were released into the fields.

Infinite vitality to put forth new sprouts the next day, even if trampled or torn.

A barrier of thorns and poison that rejects anyone approaching carelessly.

The "grassy fields" brought by Kayanohime-no-Kami filled the foot of Oyamatsumi-no-Kami's mountain, covering the entirety of the earth with the breath of life.

Waves crashed in the sea, winds danced in the sky.

Rich soil was laid upon a solid bedrock, heaven-piercing mountains and forests towered, and brightly colored flowers and grasses filled their bases without a gap.

"Oh... look, my wife. The sea, the mountains, the forests, the fields... Our Oyashimakuni has finally reached its perfect form!"

Izanagi shed tears of joy before the radiant world overflowing with vitality.

"Yes... truly, what a beautiful world. All lives are in harmony, filled with the utmost joy."

Izanami, too, nestled into her husband's chest, enveloped in supreme happiness as she beheld the beautiful sequence of all creation they had brought forth.

At this moment, the world was welcoming the most beautiful and perfect "climax of life" in its history.

Chapter 4: The Pinnacle of Happiness and the Creeping "Alien Heat"

Oyashimakuni, completed by the love and prayers of the gods, was supposed to become an eternal paradise.

Izanagi and Izanami intended to watch over this perfect world from the summit of Oyamatsumi-no-Kami forever.

However—.

"...Ugh, ah...?"

The color suddenly drained from Izanami's face, who had been at the pinnacle of bliss.

She pressed her lower abdomen tightly, her face contorting in agony as she crouched down on the spot.

"Izanami!? What's wrong, does it hurt somewhere!"

The moment Izanagi hurriedly tried to lift his wife, he instinctively pulled his hand back.

From Izanami's body, an "abnormal heat" was radiating, so intense that it made one hesitate to even touch her.

It was neither the warmth of the soil nor the light of the sun.

It was a "heat of destruction" that would devour everything, decisively different from the "heat of growth" to nurture life that the two gods had brought forth thus far.

Chapter 5: The Quickening of Despair, the Premonition of Hinokagutsuchi-no-Kami

"Ah, aaaaaaahhh!! It's hot, my stomach feels like it's burning...!!"

Izanami's scream tore through the silence of the beautiful world.

An eerie red light began to leak from her abdomen. The surrounding air instantly became extremely dry, and the beautiful flowers at her feet that Kayanohime-no-Kami had just made bloom crackled and dried up, turning into black charcoal without even being touched.

"I-impossible... Such a terrifying thing could not possibly be born from our love! Stop, Izanami, you must not give birth to it!!"

For the first time in the history of creation, a "despairing terror" appeared on Izanagi's face.

However, it could no longer be stopped.

The only absolute power missing in this beautiful world, perfectly arranged and overflowing with vitality.

The purest and most ferocious "incarnation of ruin," capable of reducing the ultimate harmony woven by water, wind, earth, and greenery to ashes in a single instant.

The burning god of fire, Hinokagutsuchi-no-Kami, was right now about to be born into this world, scorching his mother's womb.

The golden sky of Oyashimakuni began to be dyed in an ominous crimson.

The gods' paradise, turning completely from the joy of birth, would heavily derail its fate toward a fierce curtain rise of flames and tragedy.