The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

feeling, but remained at a loss.
    "Did you understand what Genkun was telling us?" Rokuta asked. When Youko nodded he added, "I'm going on to Sou to fill them in. It was about time I dropped by and said hello, anyway. Why don't you head back and wait for word from Shouryuu?"
    "Yeah. Sure."
    "Later," Rokuta said with a casual wave. He climbed onto his suugu and flew away to the south and disappeared from view.

Interlude
    T wo and then three years passed. The impurities accumulated, steadily eating away at him. The dusky golden hue of his shadow grew darker and darker.
    And, thought Sanshi cynically, it seemed that the more polluted his shadow became, the easier things got for them. Despite how difficult slipping away from Taiki's shadow once had been, it was becoming surprisingly easy. Perhaps they were drawing energy from the pollution itself. Or perhaps this was proof that the shell enclosing them was growing thinner and more brittle.
    Or perhaps--and as she examined the state of her own being, the thought send chills down her spine--the impurities gathering within Taiki's shadow were not solely external, but came from themselves.
    Sanshi drove away all those who attempted to do Taiki harm. And every time she sensed the golden glow corroding and dimming. But as far as she was concerned, she didn't have a choice.
    She was his foster mother, born from the golden fruit at the same time as he, and destined to share the entirety of his life with him. When the end of his days arrived, so would hers as well. Such was the extent to which she lived her life through him. Taiki chose the king and then descended from the place of his birth to become the Saiho. Even though no longer the child that Sanshi had raised, she lived to serve him as she always had.
    Gouran was no different. To be sure, Gouran had not been born for Taiki's sake. But the covenant that bound them was as fast as that binding Taiki and Sanshi. The covenant between kirin and shirei was on a par with that between king and kirin. So not only Sanshi, but Gouran as well existed to protect and serve Taiki.
    How long could they stand by silently and watch injury pile upon injury? If according to the Taiki's command, or for the king whom Taiki served with all his heart and soul, they could endure and even approve of the suffering he incurred. But no such reasons were forthcoming.
    Only a warning at first. Those who showed him any disrespect had to understand that a price must be paid. But the incivilities did not cease. Sanshi had no choice but to impress upon them what a grievous mistake it was to take Taiki for granted. Reason compelled her and Gouran to condone his imprisonment and the abuse of his jailers, but not because he had lost any of his dignity or divinity.
    In particular, attempts to compound his injuries with malice aforethought were deserving of death. The law notwithstanding, injuring the Saiho was a capital offense. There were no mitigating circumstances.
    But remove one threat and there were more malcontents where that one came from. They came, it seemed, out of the woodwork. Every time they disposed of one, their patience and forbearance ran thinner. With every contest, the malice of his persecutors increasing, Sanshi and Gouran sensed the golden hues of Taiki's shadow growing muddier. The muddier it became, the weaker the psychic streams became.
    Even if this was in part the fault of Sanshi and Gouran, she didn't know how else to deal with the threats. How long must it continue?
    If there was one thing that rescued her at all from the depths of despair, it was the joy that Taiki evinced when, spurred by one impetus or another, she reached out to touch and console. Unfortunately, Taiki remembered nothing about Sanshi or Mt. Hou or Tai. And yet he had not forgotten the touch of her hand.
    I am always with you. I am always by your side.
    Whenever she comforted him, a small ray of light brightened the darkness, and Sanshi felt, however slightly, that her efforts were being rewarded.
    "I shall protect you, come what may," she whispered.
    Within the gloom, though, she was gradually losing form. Sanshi was not aware of this herself--that she was gradually losing control of herself. Her thoughts constricted and hardened. In such a state, it did not occur to her in the slightest that the impurities were attaching to herself as well.
    And neither was she aware that these changes were occurring to herself and to Taiki. Or rather, he had noticed the many