The Man From Shinami
The soft glow of the sun basked the peaceful village of Shinami, where a man named Qing Gui who was proficient in manufacturing clothing despite owning materials which had cost little to nothing, dwelled. Due to his lanky, flexible fingers, he had the ability to sew together clothes efficiently as if his hands were one with the thread. His mother had taught him the art of sewing together cloth at a time when Shinami was still at its prime. Ever since the phenomenon, however, Shinami’s food sources had been severely depleted as all the farms had been destroyed. That was when Shinami had begun its spiral into chaos, with the constant wars between other territories for food. When Qing Gui’s mother had died, she had gifted him with a special thread, with a slight moonlight glow, which she had wished to be used to create peace and harmony. Qing Gui didn’t really understand what she meant but he always kept it with him. He had always believed it helped ward of evil, and it felt like a piece of his mother still lived within it.
Every night, right before the sun dipped below the horizon, a festival would be held in Shinami, celebrating the gods and wishing for good fortune to bless the village. Qing Gui often attended these festivals in an attempt to connect with his mother in the other Realm, if it even existed. For some reason, he had always felt drawn to the earth below his feet, as if it were calling to him, talking to him. He could sometimes hear the voices of the dead or warnings of disasters. These abilities also presented themselves within the father of Qing Gui, where he would sometimes be seen communicating with soil or even trees. Qing Gui was never really sure of where this ability came from, but he knew that he wanted to use it for the good of Shinami. And so, whenever he was warned of some form of disaster, he would inform the Head of Shinami and he would announce it to the rest of the villagers. The Head had no reason to be skeptical as he had trusted in Qing Gui fully as he has been proven correct on multiple occasions. Qing Gui was also hired sometimes to aid grieving families communicate with lost loved ones or vengeful individuals to place curses on the souls of their enemies. These tasks were never really performed by him, but by the earth itself. He would utter silent prayers and the Earth would, on rare occasions reply to him and actually perform his wishes. If only this ability could have been used during that phenomenon, everything would be different now.
As Qing Gui sewed together pieces of thread, he felt a cold tingle down his spine, as if he were being watched. The air around him shifted as he placed the thread and needle down by his side.He placed his palms flat against the woodboards of his home and took several deep breaths. When he was ready, he shut his eyelids tight and focused on the ground beneath the floorboards, beneath the several platforms of the house, and into the darkness below the earth. He slowly exhaled as he uttered a silent prayer. Then, Qing Gui asked a simple question, Am I in danger? A slight shudder shook the house and the lights flickered. A low rumble could be heard from the ground below as the temperature in the room began to rise. This was an unusual result of Qing Gui’s prayers. This would only ever happened when he was being warned of a disaster. Qing Gui began to tremble, was he really in danger? Did he really feel eyes on him? Who was watching him? The rumbling stopped and the temperature returned to its normal state. Qing Gui was waiting for any answer from the Earth. He would usually remain focused until he received an answer for is prayer. Then he heard it. The soft whispers, as if the wind were speaking all around him. Qing Gui couldn’t make out what was being said, but there was a name being repeated over and over again. Heishi. “Heishi?” Qing Gui said as his view shot from each end of the room and then stopped at a pair of gleaming eyes staring at him from the corner of his room. There was no head nor body, just the eyes. As Qing Gui moved closer to the eyes, they disappeared with a flash of green, and the room had become immensely silent.
