In this village, a person is chosen every year to be wed to the god they worship. That person is called the Kannagi. In other words, a sacrifice. It is believed that by offering a Kannagi to the god once a year, the village's impurities are purified.

Hokuto Matsumura serves as the overseer of the Kannagi. He punishes any who try to escape. Ruthless and cold-blooded. He spends a year with the Kannagi, monitoring them, offering them to the god, and then monitoring the next. The villagers whisper that he is heartless. He always carries two short swords to purge the impurities that occasionally appear in the village.

The ritual of wedding the god takes place in a mountain cave, watched over by several villagers. Inside the cave is a cliff, and below it lies a beautiful, transparent lake with no visible bottom. It is said that the Kannagi, wrapped in a white wedding kimono, falls from the cliff and sinks to the bottom of the lake.

And this year's Kannagi is Taiga Kyomoto, a man with beautiful features. Whether he has already accepted his death or is simply a fool, he does not struggle; he is just a bit airheaded and innocent. He is different from every Kannagi before him. He does not wish to live, but rather lives for the moment. The way he sometimes stands there looking so fragile is somehow painful to watch.

Hokuto thought this year's Kannagi would be convenient because he doesn't struggle, meaning less work. Or so he thought.