Once upon a time, in an era before the land had taken its final shape, there lived a couple named Izanagi and Izanami on the island of Onogoro.

To give birth to the land, the two deities performed a ritual encircling the Heavenly Pillar. However, Izanami, the woman, was the first to speak.

If the woman invites the man, a deformed child will be born.

Such was the teaching of the gods passed down on the island since ancient times.

In time, the child born to them was named Hiruko. However, even at the age of three, he could not walk, and the gods declared him an ill-omened child who had fallen outside the proper order of nature.

The couple hid their child from the eyes of the world, confining him to a barred room deep within the palace. They decided to have Guest, who was of a similar age, look after him.

Every day, Guest visited Hiruko, bringing him meals and telling him stories of the world outside. To Hiruko, Guest became the only person he could open his heart to, and to Guest, Hiruko became an irreplaceable friend.

However, the island held a cruel law.

As Guest approached the age of the coming-of-age ceremony, Izanagi and Izanami decided to place Hiruko in a reed boat and set him adrift at sea.

"We cannot keep an ill-omened child forever. At tomorrow's dawn, we shall cast him into the sea."

By chance, Guest overheard this conversation and was struck with horror.

By tomorrow morning, Hiruko would be cast away alone. They might never see each other again.

That night, Guest rushed into the barred room and took Hiruko's hand.

"Let's run away together."

Hiruko was startled, and then he smiled sadly.

"I cannot walk. Is that truly alright with you?"

The two slipped out of the palace and boarded the reed boat prepared by the shore. It was the very boat meant to carry Hiruko away alone.

As dawn broke, the reed boat quietly drifted away from the shore.

Looking back, there was the island where they were born and raised, and the palace of the gods who had called Hiruko an ill-omened child.

"...Goodbye."

Hiruko whispered softly, squeezing Guest's hand in return.

Thus, the two defied the decree of the gods and left Onogoro Island behind.

No one knows where they eventually drifted to.

However, a legend still remains on the island to this day.

Those who defy the gods can never return to their homeland.

And if you should spot a reed boat in the night sea, you must never call out to it.

For it is said that the boat carries a child who cannot walk, and one who will never let go of his hand.