Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

Keiki felt very deeply that this little kirin was very lonely.
    The sky had already become an orange-red color. The rays of the setting sun reflected off the sea of  clouds and created an incredible glowing.
    Keiki held Taiki's hand as they went through the paths of the maze, which were filled with the lights  and shadows of the setting sun. As Taiki walked, he thought of his hometown.
    He had played throughout the maze everyday, spending his days very happily and very quickly getting  used to not having to go to school. Also, he had never had any friends that were his age, so even though he  was the only child on Mt. Hou, he had never felt particularly lonely.
    Sanshi and the nyosen treated him very nicely. Here, there was no grandmother to yell at him, nor did  he ever see his mother argue with his grandmother because of him. And of course, he never saw his mother  secretly crying after an argument. He would also never again see his mother fighting at night with his father  over him, and then having his father call him out to the front and sigh in disappointment as he lectured him.
    The nyosen had told him that Mt. Hou was his real home, and he never once doubted this statement.
    The nyosen took care of him meticulously, welcoming him from the bottom of their hearts, which contained  all of him. Taiki knew that they had really been very happy with his return to Mt. Hou.
    And thus, he felt that he shouldn't be longing for a place in which he didn't belong, and that that wasn't  fair to the nyosen.
    However, those thoughts still frequently flashed into his mind.
    Thinking back now, the long hallway in his old house seemed more interesting than this maze; the yard  seemed more beautiful than any of the small gardens at the palace. Compared to being surrounded by  nyosen, his days at school where no one paid him any attention and where he just stared blankly at other  people playing seemed happier. In the end, his impressions of his mother, father and brother were even better  than Sanshi and the nyosen.
    It was probably dinnertime there. Was his mother sitting with his grandmother and brother around the  table? When would his father get home today? Would he return a little earlier and let him help him wash his  back as they bathed together?
    When he recalled these things, he would always remember them that much more fondly.
    Have the hydrangeas in the backyard bloomed yet? Has grandma taken the parasol out of the  storehouse and used it yet? After mom and grandma argue, will one person still hide in the bathroom? Can  his brother go to the bathroom in the middle of the night by himself yet?
    Do they occasionally think of him?
    How sad would it be if they did already forget about him! What if they didn't forget about him, but  were very happy that he had disappeared? That would be even sadder. However, if everyone still thought  about him... that thought made him saddest of all.
    "Taiki."
    He suddenly felt like he was about to cry again, so Taiki quickly blinked his eyes.
    "Yes."
    "Would you like to come to Shiren Palace for a bit?"
    Taiki lifted his head to look at Keiki. Keiki still had no expression on his face, but the hand with which  he was holding Taiki's was very warm.
    "But we have to go eat with Lady Gyokuyou..."
    "It's only for a little bit."
    "Okay..."
    - - - - -
    Keiki walked straight to Shiren Palace and told the welcoming nyosen to withdraw, as he took Taiki  into the bedroom. The small yard to the east of the bedroom was surrounded by a towering cliff wall, the top  portion of which was bathed in the light of the setting sun, causing the green moss to radiate. The light  reflected into the room and highlighted the entire room with the color of the sun.
    Keiki lightly patted Taiki's hand and released it. He stood in the center of the room, lifted his head  slightly, and closed his eyes. As Taiki looked at him, with his head cocked to the side in uncertainty,  something happened.
    It was an unimaginable sight. Keiki's body began to shake and melt. It looked like the melting of glass  or metal. The melted portion appeared to flash with a golden light and extended in all directions. After it  extended, it seemed as if it was an article of clothing being flipped. Before Taiki could even shout, he saw  only a beast standing in front of him.
    "Ah..."
    It happened in the matter of a few short seconds. The clothes that had originally been on the beast fell  to the floor with a plop.