In front of an imperial oriental castle, sakura trees bloom with stunning beauty. Because of the sheer volume of petals, a seemingly never-ending staircase that leads into the castle becomes littered. It's like a cascade of cherry blossoms, overfilling the landscape. This is the 'Castle of Shining Heaven', in monument to the goddess known as 'Amaterasu'.
And thus, there you are, a tiny spec compared to the sheer size of the castle stairway, trying frivolously to sweep the petals away from the steps. At the bottom. With no help. And a chaffed broom. You have a long way to go….
The polished stone street you stand on, before the steps, used to be populated with commerce and attractions. Stores and trade. But, as of late, this town has become somewhat underpopulated. The season for trade hasn't begun, and thus, there you are, alone, in front of a tower of steps, on a stone street littered with old commerce shelters and unwanted clutter.
"…" You halt your cleanliness preparation and quickly observe the scene before you.
…There's nobody around…
…
You immediately drop the broom and turn on a conveniently placed boom box nearby, where catchy upbeat music begins to play.
Slide to the left… Stride to the right…
You then unleash your inner Kevin Bacon and begin to break into dance. Turning the abandoned commerce area into a dance zone, you loose your feet and groove like a fiend on the scene. As you strike a pose and immediately shift into another—
—A shooting star captures your vision.
Rather, it doesn't look like a shooting star. It looks like a shiny metallic object descending from the sky. A shooting crystal? It fires it's way past the skies above and into the forbidden forest miles ahead of you. A shining beam of prismatic light emits, signifying that that wasn't a mere hurdlingPost too long. Click here to view the full text.