Oomi
A siren, one I felt I had heard somewhere before, echoed through the air.
The difference lay in its magnitude. It shook not only my eardrums but even that enormous structure—the Heart itself.
Driven by the anxiety it stirred, I covered my ears and shut my eyes. It blared for about a minute before suddenly falling silent.
Carefully opening my eyes, I checked that everyone was still there. Good. For a moment, I had feared someone might have been carried away along with that siren. Especially Aochi-san.
Aochi-san’s Tufted puffin—the Watcher Bird—had been targeting him.
“Harvester, what was that siren just now?”
“It’s the signal to begin preparing for the transfer.”
—So it’s finally starting. I swallowed and clenched my hands tight.
“There are three signals. The first to begin preparations, the second when preparations are complete, and the third to start the transfer. Not just here—the same siren should have resounded across the entire world just now.”
“Preparations? What exactly is happening outside the Stone right now?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“I’ll tell you. Silent-chan, Ululu, come over here.”
Though he had always referred to them as ‘my passengers,’ Rhone-san seemed to keep a certain distance—until now. For the first time, he called the two of them closer.
It must mean the end was near, and danger as well.
“Just a moment ago, the last ship blew its whistle to mark the end of its selection. Well, last except for us, that is. At the signal of that siren, the ships that had finished their selections earlier and been stored beneath the sea also began surfacing toward the land. Once all the ships rise to the surface, those going on to other next worlds will also gather, and preparations will be complete.”
I had expected his tone to be grave, but he spoke with surprising lightness.
It felt like he was leaving a lot unsaid.
“Um… those ‘others going on to the next worlds’—who are they? Do you mean the Harvesters and the birds who serve God?”
“Hm? Ah, sorry, you wouldn’t know. If I go into God again it’ll take too long, so simply put, they’re like representatives of things—of the sun, the moon, the sea, the wind, the trees, the stones, and so on.”
Since everyone else was wearing puzzled expressions, and because I had asked the question, I took it upon myself to respond.
“…I see, so it’s like some sort of council. I’d never heard of it until now. So, how long do those preparations take? And what state will the Perching Stone be in during that time?”
When no one else reacted, Rhone-san turned to me and began explaining, stepping forward a few paces to close the distance. This sort of thing must be why even the Harvester finds him troublesome.
“That’s the thing—it’s different every time, so I can’t give you an answer. Even an estimate is difficult. Sometimes it’s been as short as two minutes, other times, for whatever reason, it took ten hours. As for the Perching Stone, you don’t need to worry. It’s one stone per Watcher Bird, so no other bird will come in. And during the preparations for transfer, in the chaos of the world, nobody pays any atte—huh??”
Against the white wall of the Heart, a bird was flying.