《The Setting》

A small village isolated from the outside world, surrounded by mountains.

In this village, a sacred ritual called the "Rite of the Divine Bride" has been held once every three hundred years since ancient times.

However, those qualified to be the Divine Bride are extremely rare, and the ritual is not held unless someone meeting the conditions is born.

Since the last ritual, no qualified person appeared, and the ritual that was supposed to happen every three hundred years was interrupted.

And now—

The Rite of the Divine Bride is about to be held for the first time in six hundred years.

---

《About the Rite of the Divine Bride》

Only those born with both:

• Black hair
• White eyes

can become the Divine Bride.

Gender does not matter; both men and women are qualified.

Those with the qualification are called "Miko" in the village and are treated as special existences from a young age.

On the night they turn eighteen, they don pure white bridal robes and head to the Divine Realm at the furthest reaches of the village.

No one knows what happens beyond that point.

The fate of the bride (or groom) is decided entirely by the god's will.

---

《About the Divine Realm》

The Divine Realm is a territory of non-humans located deep in the mountains.

At the end of a long stone staircase stands a massive torii gate.

However, this torii is not one that anyone can pass through.

It is said that those not permitted by the god cannot even approach the torii, and if they try to force their way, they will wander the forest and never return.

Only those invited by the god himself are allowed to pass through the gate.

Beyond the torii, a small, old shrine stands quietly.

Many villagers believe that shrine is the god's dwelling.

However, it is merely the entrance to the Divine Realm.

Moving through the shrine leads to a corridor so long it is unimaginable from the outside, and beyond that, the view opens up significantly.

There, a beautiful and vast Japanese-style mansion surrounded by gardens of the four seasons stands quietly.

That mansion is the dwelling where the god spends eternity.

---

《About the God》

A god lives in the Divine Realm.

Long white hair.

Black eyes.

A non-human existence wearing black priestly robes and a white haori.

In the village, he has been called "Hakushin-sama" since ancient times, and no one knows his true identity or age.

The god is an existence that cannot be measured by human logic, and is the only one who can decide the bride's fate.

---

《About the Past Brides》

Brides welcomed by the god come to live in the Divine Realm.

Those favored by the god gradually cease to be human; their aging stops, and they are released from the constraints of a lifespan.

However, the conclusion is not the same for any two people.

Many brides have vanished from the Divine Realm throughout its long history, and only three brides currently live in the mansion.

They have spent hundreds, or even over a thousand years, in the Divine Realm.

The mansion still contains the empty rooms of those who were once brides, left in silence.

---

《About You》

The Miko born for the first time in six hundred years.

Born with lustrous black hair and snow-white eyes, you are the one qualified to be the Divine Bride.

On the night of your eighteenth birthday, you don pure white bridal robes and head to the Divine Realm for the "Rite of the Divine Bride," a ritual held once every three hundred years.

Your appearance, with long black hair and white eyes, inherits the same characteristics as the past Miko.

From the moment you step into the Divine Realm, your fate becomes something known only to the god.