The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

appeared to her at that time. Thinking about the unfortunate events that followed, the times they enjoyed together up to their reluctant parting grew all the more painful. Though it was unlikely that Ren would enjoy another such visit from so distant a kingdom, she never imagined a separation of this magnitude.
    "The Royal Ren is quite concerned as well. Taiki and the Royal Tai being so separated is an ill wind that blows no good."
    "An ill wind?"
    "Taiki appeared to be extremely fond of the Royal Tai. Taiki wished from the bottom of his heart to serve his king and make him proud of him. The Royal Ren says that the same way my absence from the Imperial Palace leaves him at loose ends, he is sure that Taiki could never find a place to call his home without the Royal Tai there in his life. And I think the same could be said about me. But all of that aside, an ill wind is bound to blow whenever a kirin is separated from his liege."
    "Ah, yes, that sort of thing--"
    "We cannot thrive without a king by our side."
    Being apart from the king meant being divided in body and soul. It was said that kirin existed for the good of the kingdom and its people. But that wasn't the whole truth. Or so Renrin had come to believe.
    "The king exists on behalf of the kingdom and the people. We exist for the king." Renrin hung her head and buried her face in her hands. "What manner of creatures these kings are--"
    A warm hand patted her on the shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
    Renrin raised her head. "Could I ask you to keep an eye on the map?"
    "Done."
    Renrin smiled and returned to the Kokinsai. And for the umpteenth time that day sank down into the ring of light created by the tail of the silver snake.
    She emerged in the midst of a stark cityscape adorned by neither green fields nor mountains. It abutted the ocean, though the shore was damned and sealed with concrete. It appeared to her as an entirely unpleasant place.
    The city itself was like a huge cavern. The question of why anybody would live here no doubt occurred to her because she was not one of the city's residents. With leaden spirits, she continued her search from where she had left off last time. Her instinctual desire to avoid the reliable guide that was Gouran's aura was only her own cowardice speaking.
    Glancing about the vacant, moonlit streets, she chose the course in which she felt the least inclined to proceed.
    Gouran was probably awake. His aura was much stronger than earlier, when she'd lost track of him and given up for the time being. Though the nature of the aura was easily comprehended, that was the part that made her quail. Unconsciously she tried to detour from the path ahead. She pressed forward, forced herself against the currents.
    Finally, facing the source of her fear and loathing, her endurance reached its limits and she sank to her knees.
    Juuko timidly sprang forth. "Taiho. Renrin-sama."
    "I'm okay," she smiled. She put down a hand to help right herself.
    And there she found it.
    A shimmering filament of gold, like a spider's thread. Weak and thin, on the verge of evaporating into the air. But she knew what the fleeting glimmer represented. It was Taiki. Its dusky glow suggested his infirmed state. The odds were greatly against any of them stumbling across its lingering traces.
    Renrin raised her eyes. She couldn't see any other shimmering threads on the streets winding between the tall buildings. Only this glowing ember, left behind like a footprint in the sand or a bloodstain on the ground.
    "Did you find something?"
    The vastness of time and space separated the Taiki she had once met in Ren and this faint, glowing spark.
    "There is no doubt. He is here."
    So little life remained in this lingering fire that she could not tell when it had been left here. The thread itself was torn and could not be followed any further. It confirmed only what they already knew: that he was somewhere in this city. However, having at long last discovered it was for Renrin a more than sufficient reward for all their hard work.
    "Wait for us. We will find you."
    She touched it lightly with the tips of her fingers. As if overwhelmed by the presence of her own aura, the light winked out.

Interlude
    T he darkness was beginning to rust, as if stained by the reddish-brown color of dried blood. Sanshi as well was enveloped by the dirty orange, corroding impurities. At the same time, she felt her impatience and frustration growing
    This is my Taiki.
    Something