Chapter :-42 Truth behind Izanami's Darkness

"We are here...."

The Underworld – the dark, putrid kingdom of the souls – was located in an independent plane, where the counterpart of Amaterasu, a black, sun's darkness penetrates the region. The dead were as shadows with only the outline of their bodies, but no physical substance or, usually, memory.

The Underworld was born alongside the world (earth), it existed even before the birth of first Gods. The inhabitants of this plane were silence and darkness.

Even though emotions, negative emotions to be specific, filled the plane. They weren't a part of it, the underworld wasn't born with such things but the dark nature of those sealed here made it so filled with negative emotions.

The souls were tainted black due to the nature of this plane. Many Gods claimed different parts of this plane as their own. [Yama, the Hindu God of Underworld], [Hades, the Greek God of Underworld] and [Izanami no Mikoto, the Shinto God of Underworld] are some of the major domains within the [Underworld].

The plane is too big, vast and powerful for a single God to channel his power that's why many domains are formed within the plane so to safely channel the power of the plane. The most notable domain is of [Hades, the Greek God of Underworld] while others are also known.

According to the texts written in Kojiki,

Izanagi-no-Mikoto lamented the death of Izanami-no-Mikoto and undertook a journey to Yomi ("the shadowy land of the dead"). He searched for Izanami-no-Mikoto and found her. At first, Izanagi-no-Mikoto could not see her for the shadows hid her appearance. He asked her to return with him. Izanami-no-Mikoto informed Izanagi-no-Mikoto that he was too late.

She had already eaten the food of the underworld and was now one with the land of the dead. She could no longer return to the living but would try to ask for permission to leave.

The news shocked Izanagi-no-Mikoto, but he refused to leave her in Yomi. While Izanami-no-Mikoto was sleeping, he took the comb that bound his long hair and set it alight as a torch. Under the sudden burst of light, he saw the horrid form of the once beautiful and graceful Izanami-no-Mikoto.

She was now a rotting form of flesh with maggots and foul creatures running over her ravaged body.

Crying out loud, Izanagi-no-Mikoto could no longer control his fear and started to run, intending to return to the living and abandon his death-ridden wife.

Izanami-no-Mikoto woke up, shrieking and indignant, and chased after him. She also sent Yakusa-no-ikazuchi-no-kami (Raijin) and shikome (foul women) to hunt for Izanagi-no-Mikoto and bring him back to Yomi.

Izanagi-no-Mikoto burst out of the entrance and pushed a boulder in the mouth of the Yomotsuhirasaka (cavern that was the entrance of Yomi) to create a separation between the world of the living and the world of the dead, as well as separating Izanagi from Izanami.

Izanami-no-Mikoto screamed from behind this impenetrable barricade and told Izanagi-no-Mikoto that if he left her she would destroy 1,000 residents of the living every day. He furiously replied he would give life to 1,500 residents.

Izanagi is said to have performed ritualistic cleansing, harai, after witnessing the decomposing body of his wife.

This is the traditional explanation for the purification rituals often performed at Shinto shrines in Japanese religion, where shrine-goers wash themselves with water before entering the sacred space. While he bathed, Izanagi gave birth to the sun goddess, Amaterasu, from his left eye, the moon god, Tsukiyomi, from his right eye, and the storm god, Susanoo, from his nose.

So to summarize it all, Izanagi was an idiot who had a loving wife, he screwed himself over by not listening to his wife's words, just like every husband does.

He saw her without makeup and ran like the guy in the meme, but this wasn't the end he even blocked the cave so that she wouldn't be able to enter the world of the living.

Was Izanagi a fool?

Of course, he was!!!..

Due to his actions, the whole domain of the Shinto's Underworld was filled with only one emotion–Rage.

The unending desire to make Izanagi pay for his actions, the unending hate for everything related to Izanagi, the unending desire to escape her imprisonment, were the things that Henrik could clearly feel.

A young, handsome man with white hair and ocean blue eyes looked around to get better information about the plane. He wore black Haori with a black clock surrounding his body.

The upper portion of his right arm was covered in bandages, a purple pendant hung from his neck while the kanji letter "寸" glowed over his palm. Beside him stood two ladies, one with Silver-white hair, green eyes, a similar purple pendant, wearing a Silver Yukata, she stood a grace and elegance which put Gods to shame.

She has an attractive face and exquisite figure along with gentle eyes and a smile, Freya Mikaelson her name. The oldest sibling in the Mikaelson family.

Another woman with long white hair, crimson eyes, a Flintlock, and a Katana hung from her waist. She wore red kimono which had patterns over it and had a sharp presence.

Striking eyebrows and serious face, Henrik's "Happy meal...!!!", his singer, the last surviving Corona clan member, the current head and founder of the Gerard family. Her name is Kiyohime Gerard, the only servant to the youngest Mikaelson.

Other than these three, there were 2-more people, no...two more entities together with them. Amaterasu, the Goddess of Sun and Universe and Susanoo, the God of Storms and Waves.

The group has been teleported to the seal of Izanami, to unseal her and complete the first part of the deal between Susanoo and Henrik.

" That is the guardian of the Seal, if we step near him, he will attack and at the same time, Izanagi would be alerted about what was going on here. With me and sister fighting together against the guardian, we will be able to match its strength but once Izanagi arrives, it will be the end of us all."

"His much time will it take for him to arrive here?"

"Total 5-seconds, after that he will just teleport here."

"Little brother, with only fiv—"

"Even a single second is enough for me to free her."

"Just remember your end of the bargain."

"Of course, I will...."

"Very well..."

"Since the guardian isn't a God, the black Grimoire wouldn't affect it but it can be used as a barrier which will keep us protected from the divine energy."

"This way we would be able to unseal her without getting caught in your fight."

"Ok..."

"Take us to the cave where [Izanami] is sealed.."

"Follow me..."