I want to shine on you, and always like that dazzling sun.
I will defend you from all the darkness.
This is the truth from my heart.
If only our hearts could connect, I could get you to believe me.
Even if you can't see it now, don't lose it.
Your kindness won't be in vain.
You'll be carried aloft by the wind to somewhere that isn't here.
You'll cross the sea and cross time, and I know you'll blossom one day.
Whatever the day, I'll be there for you.
I hope I can watch over you like the sun for all time.
This is the truth from my heart.
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit This is the truth from my heart.
You're absolutely sure about that?
The Nyunga Ro lm is a spirit that belches out clouds...
...and generates water in both Nayug and Sagu?
Ah, I see...
It's a good thing I didn't mistake the egg for a water spirit and exorcise it.
In that case, the stories told in Yogo about an evil water demon being slain...
No, their entire official history of the country itself is all wrong, then?
Even if they have their reasons...
...what's to become of the boy who carries the egg?
...Nyunga Ro Chaga...
Right, I'm talking about the guardian of the spirit!
...Nyunga Ro Chaga...egg...
I see. It will do him no real harm.
...Nyunga Ro Chaga...
Cruel fate? What do you mean, " cruel fate" ?
Certain death awaits him? What are you saying will happen to the boy?
Rarunga?
You're saying that the boy has to die to protect the egg from him?
What exactly is this Rarunga?
An egg-eater?
Hey! I'm not done talking to you yet!
Wait! Where is this "Land of Feasting" you mentioned?
Why does he have to go there on the " spring day of equality" ?
How will the egg hatch there?
You can leave once you've answered all my questions!
The egg will do what needs to be done?
Certain death...
Episode 14 The Knot
The honored ancestor Torugaru...
...having crossed the wild seas and reached the verdant shores of Nayoro...
...was asked by the Yakoo, the land's inhabitants, to slay a vile water demon...
...that appeared once every hundred years to cause a great drought.
Torugaru, the Great Master Star Reader Nanai, and the Warriors Eight...
...forced their way deep into the Misty Blue Mountain range.
There, in a grove shrouded in dense mist...
...sat a child next to a bubbling spring.
The child pointed to the spring and spoke thus to Torugaru...
"Worship me. I rule over all the waters of this land."
"If you worship me, I shall bestow bountiful harvests to your lands."
But Torugaru was not deceived by the demon's words.
No sooner did his blade, Star's Heart, slide forth from its sheath...
...than the child transformed into a slimy water demon and attacked.
For three days and nights Torugaru and the Warriors Eight continued the fight...
...until at last they cut off the water demon's head...
...and let the blue blood from the stump gush into the spring.
At that instant, lightning tore the heavens asunder and struck the spring.
Blue light filled the spring, which became a gentle rain that nourished the land.
Having reclaimed the land's bounty of water...
...Torugaru proclaimed himself mikado, a child of heaven...
...and founded the Shin-Yogo empire.
This is the official history, the canonical scripture which...
...we star readers are required to commit to memory before any other.
To think that it was all a fabrication created to rule the country...
I'm positive that I killed Karbo.
But according to what that teacher told me...
There are no blood stains or splatter marks.
I fully intended to break my vow and kill that man, but...
Well, if she says I didn't kill him, I'm not going to argue.
Whatever happens, happens.
Charcoal oil? You don't see that very often...
If it's spewing that much, these fields won't be good for farming for a while...
Balsa...
Mistress Torogai?
Mistress Torogai!
Mistress Torogai! Mistress Torogai!
It is I.
The master star reader will not return until the third bell today.
Thank you again.
Please, think nothing of it.
Ever since you told us that Prince Chagum might still be alive...
...our goal has been the same as yours.
Thank you.
Balsa.
It's because I went to the festival that you almost...
It had nothing to do with you.
It was my problem to deal with.
Are you all right?
Yes, I'm not injured.
More importantly, how is she?
I'm fine too. Don't worry about me.
Mistress? You were awake this whole time?
If I had been, do you think I would have let you treat me?
Disgusting! What is this horrible stench?
It's charcoal oil.
Charcoal oil? Where in the world did I get that smell on me?
She says you were lying in a pool of charcoal oil gushing from a rice terrace.
Don't you remember?
But how could I have possibly survived that?
Wait a minute. Could charcoal oil be that thing's ...
There's still so much in this world that's beyond my understanding...
What are you muttering to yourself about?
Please explain so we can all understand.
Besides, weren't you going to the Knot to question the Water Folk?
I went to the Knot, all right.
And I learned all sorts of things from the Water Folk.
Including the fact that your egg is harmless...
...and that Shin-Yogo's "official history" is a lie.
What do you mean by that?
We've all been completely taken in by the lies of the official history.
For some 200 years.
Let's see... How am I supposed to put that into words?
Oh, what a pain!
Yes, I know! I have to tell the others about this too.
Leave without it!
Am I imagining things?
Leave without it!
Leave without what?
Do you mean the knowledge I got from the Water Folk?
Leave without it!
Ah, you people must be the Fire Folk!
I never thought I'd see the real thing! That's the Knot for you.
Let's get out of here!
Seems I'll have to carve the information into a stone to take it with me!
I have been telling them that Prince Chagum is alive...
But the more I read and decipher the epitaphs...
...the more despondent I become.
"The water demon...depicted in the official history...of Shin-Yogo..."
"...is not a demon... that brings drought."
"Rather, it is a water spirit that bestows... the blessing of water to this land."
Not knowing the intent of Nanai, the first star reader, who had these carved...
...we star readers have committed a terrible crime neglecting to read this.
But if it truly is a water spirit that possessed the prince...
...then the spreading sign of the great drought must be proof of his death.
No, I must not give up hope yet.
The official history was a lie.
In which case, it is possible that the prince may still be alive!
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit
The world of Nayug has existed back-to-back with our world of Sagu.
The two worlds influence, support, and co-exist with one another.
To a greater extent than I ever imagined.
Tell me, boy. Do you know how caves are formed?
Pay attention. Caves are formed by water gradually dissolving away...
...a layer of comparatively soft earth.
That being the case, where does the water take that dissolved earth?
It either seeps into the earth... or perhaps forms a river?
That's exactly right.
Looks like I gave them the slip.
Still, I'd better get out of here soon.
I think I'm going upwards, but I don't think the exit is anywhere near here.
What to do...
A river?
If I follow the flow of water, I can get outside!
Sounds like the river is right below me...
I wonder what this strange soil is...
All this is their dung?
They're here!
Oh, now what? A dead end?
I guess I'm still in one piece...
Damn! I'm not safe just yet!
This way...
This way?
You aren't the Fire Folk! Who are you!
This way...
And just what do you mean by this way?
The way out?
What was that light I saw?
I fell for it...
I can't believe they lured me in here to eat me.
This is ridiculous! I haven't even lived half of my days yet!
I'm not about to die here!
If you're hungry, eat this fella first!
When I'm reborn into my next life, I'll make damn sure I'm born in Nayug!
Balsa...
And that's my story.
So, that giant worm led you back here to safety, my mentor?
No, that was something else. I was eaten by it, that's all.
Still, it's hard to believe you came back as part of its dung.
You hold your tongue! It's not like you've ever believed in any of this!
I'm sure that something that wants to protect the water spirit...
...told me where to find the exit that led back here.
It looks like Nayug is made up of all sorts, just like Sagu is.
But if Torugaru, the founding father, didn't really slay the water spirit...
...why would such a story be recorded in the official history?
Good question.
Maybe they wanted to secure their grip on the country...
...by putting him on a pedestal.
Well, that's probably the long and short of it.
But wouldn't they have considered that covering up the truth...
...would be dangerous for future generations?
They must have realized that a new water spirit...
...would be born every hundred years.
There might be a record of it left somewhere inside the palace...
...but I doubt that anyone in charge there now knows about it.
I used to think...
...it was foolish of the Nyunga Ro lm to lay its egg inside the prince.
But if the people of the palace knew the significance of the egg...
...it would be the safest place in the world for it.
Poor thing. That Nyunga Ro lm made a bad miscalculation.
Because it has not vanished...
Because the sign of the great drought has not vanished...
...I believed it must surely mean that he is alive.
Why?
Why has no one ever read this until now?
If we had known the truth...
...Prince Chagum would not have been treated so terribly, and he'd still be...
What is going on?
It is not yet time for the master star reader to return.
As I sat huddled and alone, holding back the tears on those nights...
When it felt like I was about to succumb to my doubts...
...there you were, at my side before I knew it.
It was none other than you who was there for me.
I keep wishing, "I want to be strong." I stumble and hurt myself again.
But because I have you to believe in, I can get back to my feet.
I simply want to tell my dear one, "Thank you."
At the top of my lungs, again and again.
I call out to my precious loved one.
Is my voice reaching you?
In this world that always changes, human warmth never does.
I'm certain I sensed the presence of the one that I hold dear.
Balsa decides to set out on a journey to uncover clues.
At around the same time, Shuga is...
Next time, "Untimely Death."
Are you leaving, entrusting your goals to those you leave behind?