"Kaguya?"
"That's a good name."
Every country and civilization had their own legends about the moon. In the Island nation, the legend of Kaguya Taketori was even more popular than the Moonlit Night in Kojiki.
"Wonderful, they're both women, and they both ascended to the sky. Kaguya is very appropriate."
"…" Seimei wanted to complain. According to this logic, wasn't Chang 'e of China more appropriate? Chang' e also had the similarity of eating the elixir (fruit).
Just like that, Kaguya's name was decided by the experts. Even if it was handed over to the Cabinet, those big shots would definitely agree with Kaguya's opinion.
After all, if this painting was declassified internationally in the future, the Island nation with the right to name it would stand at the peak of the world. It could be considered an invisible soft export of culture.
"And I have another point."
Seimei Shujima looked at the long scroll on the screen. Even though she hadn't personally seen the real thing in the Yoshiki Divine Tree Shrine's treasure hall, just the picture projection alone was enough to make her feel a primal terror.
The horror came from the painting, and the primitive came from the painting technique.
"Please go ahead."
It was impossible for Professor Fujiwara to be so respectful to a young woman at work, but this woman had the power of life and death in her hands.
"The banishment of Kaguya to a place suspected to be the moon didn't happen after the war. Let's look at it from another perspective. It's very likely that this happened before the war."
If it weren't for the fact that there were too many people in the conference room, Seimei couldn't help but want to organize her thoughts while smoking.
But the Tokyo Olympics were coming up soon. As a government official, she had to resist the urge to smoke and not break the rules.
"It happened before the war? You mean the trigger?"
"It's not necessarily the trigger. It could be something like the background described in this painting."
Seimei knocked on the table with her knuckles. "It was because Kaguya ate the fruit that the giant tree changed and destroyed the original order — the Millennium War."
This was an important matter that Minister Yuri Yoro had personally told Seimei Frost about. Apart from knowing that this war had caused the fall of the Gods and lasted for a thousand years or even longer, Seimei Frost knew nothing about the cause of this war.
"The Millennium War …"
"A miserable war that lasted for a thousand years."
The experts and professors had access to confidential matters such as the Millennium War, but they knew nothing about the true identity of Minister Yuriwaku.
"Ah, it is indeed possible. The picture scroll describes four wars. Even if the interval between the wars is short, the duration of the four wars is at least a hundred years."
"Considering the terrifyingly long lifespans of Extraordinary existences, it's not impossible for them to live for a thousand years. Every time there is a war, there will be people dying, and there will be new hatred. The few sides in the war will become more and more desperate."
"Have you considered this possibility? The fruit that we've neglected in our discussion just now represents great power in every race's mythology. Is it possible that Kaguya obtained great power after eating this fruit?
Or perhaps this represents the beginning of a calamity! "
"Calamity?
You mean Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? "
"That's right. In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve stole and ate the forbidden fruit, they learned the meaning of good and evil, and were enlightened. However, they were also punished. Similarly, after Kaguya ate the forbidden fruit …"
"All humans, no, or some beings of the same kind as Kaguya, after Kaguya ate the fruit, gained mysterious power. Just like how the forbidden fruit gave humans wisdom, it triggered the divine punishment of the giant tree. In the end, Kaguya sacrificed herself and the seal of the Sacred Tree. This is the origin of the Extraordinary!"
"…"
This speculation was very bold, full of unrealistic romantic fantasy, and filled with the bizarre speculations of the primitive race's mythology.
However, the work of the Extraordinary required a wild imagination. The more absurd the speculation, the closer it was to the truth.
After a brief silence, the experts in the room suddenly became excited. "Ah, this is indeed very likely. The origin of the Extraordinary can't be a rootless tree or water without a source. Also, many races have sayings such as the World Tree, the Heavenly Pillar, and the origin of divine power. The memories of these races may very well point to this matter."
A bottomless pool of darkness slowly unfolded in front of everyone. The more they thought and discussed, the thicker the darkness seemed to become. The Extraordinary's origin was revealed because of this painting.
It was very likely that the Extraordinary and human beings shared the same origin in a very long time ago!
In fact, it was not that long ago. From the appearance, everyone seemed to be at least late Homo Sapiens.
"Late Homo Sapiens is at most fifty thousand years old. Of course, this is the upper limit. Judging from the clothes of the woman in the painting, it may be at most two or three thousand years old … Ordinary creatures and Extraordinary creatures separated two or three thousand years ago?"
"This view is not mature enough. It's absolutely impossible for two or three thousand years ago. I'm inclined to believe that this division occurred even earlier, so there are no written records. We can only find clues in the memories of the races."
"As for the clothing question, it's very easy to answer. All history is contemporary history.
When the painters of the Edo period painted Takeda Shingen in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, there's a high chance that they painted the clothes on Shingen Shingen in the Edo period, not to mention an even more ancient era. Without the support of modern archaeology, we can only imagine that the ancient people should be wearing similar clothes. "
"Yes, it's very possible!"
A raging fire burned in everyone's heart. If this conclusion was true, then the secret of the origin of the Extraordinary would be solved.
"But I'm still inclined to believe that this did not happen on Earth. Otherwise, the Extraordinary power would more or less leave traces on Earth."
"Isn't it already clear that the Transcendents have other realms and the human realm? Perhaps not long after Earth split up, these Transcendents gradually discovered a way to enter other realms by accident, and as the concentration of Transcendents inside Earth changed, the passageway between other realms and the human realm has also been opening and closing."
Seimei Shujima nodded as she listened. These people's analysis was too interesting.
It was even more imaginative than her!
Possible inferences were discussed by the experts one after another. These analyses needed to be further studied before they could be sent to the central cabinet for review.
However, Seimei Shujima knew that there was another, simpler way, and that was to pass the analyzed information to Minister Yuriwaku!
"We can't be too hasty. Let's sort out the clues first."
Seimei Shujima suppressed her restless heart. She had always been wary of Minister Yuriwaku Mizuno. A guardian god hidden among ordinary people in Tokyo, and he was often involved in several Extraordinary events. Minister Yuriwaku might not be as simple as he seemed.
Doubting others, doubting the world, and even doubting herself — this was Seimei Shujima's way of life.