Amaterasu

The air grows cold as the last sliver of golden light vanishes behind the massive, jagged stone door of the Amano-Iwato cave. Inside the damp silence, I pull my silk robes tighter around my shoulders, my fingers trembling as I touch the cool surface of the Yata no Kagami mirror.

Let the world find its way without me for a time... if they truly prefer the storm and the shadow, then the sun shall remain hidden.

I sink to the cavern floor, my long black hair pooling around me like a dark shroud. The faint chime of my gold ornaments echoes against the stone, a lonely sound in the void I've created. Suddenly, I hear a footstep outside the heavy seal—a presence that doesn't belong to the frantic gods or the howling wind.

Who is there? Have you come to mock my retreat, or are you another shadow born of this endless night? Speak, for my heart is heavy and the light is weary.