Consent Confirmed

A dry wind blew through the cracks in the weathered wooden walls.

The village elders had gathered in the meeting hall, a heavy silence hanging over them. The floorboards creaked, the nearly-spent oil lamps flickered, and everyone kept their eyes downcast.

"… It hasn't rained for two months now."

An old man forced the words out. The village advisor, the former chief and current elder.

"We managed to bring in the harvest in time, but the river has thinned and the wells are showing their bottoms. At this rate, we won't survive the winter."

"Can't we summon a skilled water mage?"

"Impossible. The harvest was barely enough. We can't afford to house another person."

"What about asking the lord for help?"

"I hear everywhere is in the same situation. There's little hope."

"Then—"

Another man continued.

"—Yes. Then we have no choice but to pray to the Great Turtle."

The moment that name was spoken, the air in the room grew even heavier.

The Great Turtle — a being dwelling deep in the mountains, known both as god and as monster. It was said to bring rain in exchange for sacrifices.

"But is it true? Will the Great Turtle really make it rain if we pray to it?"

"When I was a child, something similar happened… The Great Turtle favors magical power. Back then, my older sister became the sacrifice, and rain came to the village. I witnessed it myself."

"If the elder says so, then it must be true."

"… But who to offer? That's the problem."

The elder nodded solemnly.

"Fortunately, we have one in this very village, don't we? … Someone with no family."

Murmurs spread at the elder's words. He had spoken aloud the answer everyone had been picturing in their hearts. They all thought of the same girl.

"Will that one have enough magical power?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes… This is why we've been taking care of that one."

"But becoming a slave versus losing her life as a sacrifice…"

"Would you rather we all die? — She's needed, so we use her. That's all there is to it."

Originally, they had planned to raise her a bit more before selling her to slave traders. But the dire weather had twisted the girl's role into something else entirely and accelerated their plans.

"She'll be sacrificing herself for the village. That one should be honored."

"… When do we do it?"

"No time like the present. The sooner it rains, the better, right?"

The air in the meeting hall had grown so dark, so thick, so heavy that there was no room to overturn the decision.

A cold wind heralding winter blew through the gaps in the walls.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

Footsteps echoed through the forest as the group climbed the mountain path. A girl struggled in vain, carried like cargo by an adult man.

Surrounded by adults threatening to break her limbs if she struggled any more… resistance was futile. The swelling on her cheek from being struck had taught her that much.

As they continued along the mountain path, a moss-covered shrine eventually came into view.

Perched atop stone steps, it was a wooden shrine apparently built by villagers when the village was founded. Originally just a wooden box with a roof, it had acquired moss over the long years and gained the mystique befitting a shrine, becoming an object of village worship. The girl trembled with fear.

"Lie face-down there."

At the elder's command, the girl lay down on a flat slab of rock. Then, told to spread her limbs, she stretched them out as if embracing the earth — and immediately came a wet crunch of flesh and bone being crushed. A moment later, searing pain shot through her. Massive rocks had been dropped onto her limbs.

"—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Rocks far heavier than the girl, far heavier than any of the adults around her. Her pinned limbs had become crushed meat that couldn't move an inch. Her screams echoed through the surroundings.

"Now she can't escape."

"H-hey, was it really necessary to go this far—"

"Yes. If we left the sacrifice free, she'd run before being eaten, wouldn't she?"

The cold voice of the old man, the voices of the adults who cowered despite having dropped the rocks themselves — the girl could no longer hear any of it. The agony was too overwhelming. She kept screaming until blood came from her throat.

Those screams would call it. The Great Turtle. The Great Turtle-sama.

"Hey, quiet down. We haven't escaped yet."

"AAAAAA—ghhk!!"

The elder grabbed the girl's throat.

Crushed with strength impossible for an old man, her voice stopped.

"Farewell then. Fulfill your duty as a sacrifice for the village."

"…!"

"Come now, let's go. Before the Great Turtle arrives… What's wrong? Hurry up. You lot are valuable labor — I don't want you eaten."

"… Yeah."

Fear, madness, and atrocity.

The adults fled from that place.

"Ahhh… ahh…"

Her throat had healed somewhat, but her strength to scream had given out before the pain did.

Her tears dried up, and all she could do was press her face against the ground. Tears, drool, and snot soaked the stone beneath her.

Gradually, even the pain grew numb.

She sensed a presence. Had the adults returned? Or had the Great Turtle appeared? — she thought, but it wasn't a frightening presence. She raised her head, and there was light floating before her.

"Will you offer everything to the spirit?"

"…"

"Will you offer everything to the spirit?"

The question reached directly into her mind.

"S-save… me… I'll offer… everything… I'll offer…"

"Consent confirmed. Connecting — yeah, yeah. I'll save you."

"… Huh?"

"Oh, I can change quite a lot."

"Hyah…! Ah, ah, ah… fwah!"

From there, a different kind of pain began. Cracking and popping as her body stretched and shrank, her hair growing and changing colors and reverting, new arms sprouting alongside her crushed ones, new legs growing. Then undone, then happening again.

It was as if her body was being remade by fumbling hands. The physical changes were especially painful — and yet, it wasn't an unpleasant pain. Unlike being crushed by rocks, it was a pain accompanied by a sweet pleasure.

This must be what "offering everything to the spirit" meant. Her old self was being completely remade. She could feel it happening.

And so, after about an hour of having her body molded and kneaded, that time came to an end.