Takuto left Naples airport dragging his luggage behind him. It was heavy, especially for a tall, but frail, young man like him. The exterior sunlight hit him suddenly, forcing him to put sunglasses on. It was the first time he went to Italy, but beneath the rickety hairs under his nose there was no smile to be seen. He was there with a task to complete.
Some weekes before, a PAMWAC user had posted a video that had shocked the community. This kid, Tropie233, an italian that had somehow managed to get in a few months before, claimed to have been able to transpose a waifu he created into reality and the video was indeed showing the character in question. In the midst of the general fuss, many doubts were raised about the truthfulness of the event. Some of the most renowned users had examined the recording and found no traces of photoshop use or any other kind of tampering. The user in question also claimed that the process could be replicated, it was easy to execute and even eco friendly. The necessary condition was, however, presence in a specific location. The occasion was too tempting for PAMWAC to let it be completely ignored. Afterall, as the name itself said, this was one of the primary objectives within the group.
But what to do? How to verify if it was true? The only option was to send someone. However, meeting face to face, in broad daylight, was in contrast to the most basic principles of the group. In the end, within the most inner and exclusive circles of the community, this was seen as a necessary sacrifice. The trip would have been kept secret until its end and the mission was going to be given to a trusted user, whose identity nobody actually knew and with some serious economic possibilities.
And thus Takuto found himself on a bus traveling towards a countryside town in a place called Basilicata, waiting to meet Tropie233. He personally doubted the story, but he had to admit that the willingness of the boy gave him credibility. He would welcome Takuto himself at his parents’ house, where he still lived, by giving them the excuse of an online friend that was touring Italy and wanted to come visit him. All of this made him think, but only time would have provided actual answers.
The bus had brought Takuto to a miniscule town, located at the point where a forested valley opened up onto a farmed area. The young man did not fail to notice that no one else got off there. Looking around, he was not surprised: the town, if it so could be called, was a small group of houses surrounded by fields with some farms sprinkled here and there. What a dump. If it weren’t for the fact that Tropie233 somehow had access to the forums, Takuto would even doubt that the internet actually reached the place. Somehow even less enthusiastic about his mission, the young man put the address he was given on Google Maps and began to walk.
It didn’t take much time to reach the house he was looking for. It was a break building of two floors plus, probably, an under-roof space. The colors of the walls were slightly bleached by the decades spent under the sun, meanwhile a rusty tracked tractor rested in the adjacent shed. He reached the entrance and saw that, unexpectedly, there was a doorbell, which he then pressed. A few seconds passed and a middle aged woman with dark air opened the door and examined him from head to toe.
He came forward and introduced himself. “Hello, miss, I’m Takuto, I’m loo…”
The woman turned around and called someone. Takuto heard some uncoordinated footsteps rushing down the stairs and soon a plump kid arrived in front of him and began to speak in a heavily accented english. “Hi, I-I’m Pietro, or Tropie on the forum… uh… sorry for my mother, she doesn’t know english. I’m the only one in the family actually. I… eh, how was the trip?” The kid seemed nervous.
“The trip was comfortable, but very long.”
“Oh! Right, sorry, I’ll let you settle in. You’ll sleep in the guest room.”
"Alright. By the way, I’m Takuto.”
Pietro seemed panicked for a moment while realizing he didn’t let his guest introduce himself. “Oh, yeah. Good. Nice to meet you.” He shook his hand, embarrassed. “Follow me, I’ll show you the room.”
Takuto followed Pietro upstairs and got in the room assigned to him. It was rather empty, but pretty large and the bed seemed comfortable. It would have sufficed until the end of the mission.
“We have to talk.”
“Yeah, sure. Ok.”
“You know why I’m here. You must tell me everything there is to know about the video.”
“You’re right. However I can’t show you anything before dark, so we could wait until after dinner. So you may rest a bit.”
Takuto did not want to wait and wanted to complete his mission as soon as possible, however he had to admit he was very tired. Sleeping for the remainder of the afternoon wasn’t a bad idea. “Ugh, alright. But you better know that if what you claimed turns out to be false, you will be immediately banned.”
Pietro seemed shocked and disappointed, so he said goodbye and left. He probably expected a friend, someone to share his interests and passions with. Takuto could understand him, however he was there with a task and he would have taken care of it to the best of his ability. No matter how thorough and cold he would need to be.
Being able to talk to only one of the three people present, dinner had a weird vibe. Pietro’s parents looked at him suspiciously for a while, but quickly realized that Takuto couldn’t hurt anyone even if he wanted to. They finished, Takuto thanked them and then followed Pietro to his room, which was revealed to be the exact opposite of the rest of the house. Posters took the place of antique furniture while various electronic devices adorned the places instead of flowers. Instead of a picture, various historic weapons were hanging on the wall behind the bed. A worthy geek hideout.
Pietro opened a drawer of his desk and took out some worn out papers. “You see, Takuto, these scrolls contain the instructions for a ritual. It allows you to use the energy of the forest to create life in the form chosen by who executes it, to summon the being of your dreams. Something beautiful and perfect.”
“How did you find all of this out?”
“One day, I went into the forest. I felt weird and followed a different path from usual. There I found an ancient chest. Everything was in there. I then transcribed and translated from the dialect used.”
“And I’m guessing you used this ritual to create the girl from the video?”
“Yes, my sweet Ingrid. Sadly however, it’s only one for each person.”
“I understand. Better than nothing I guess. So, what do we do now?”
“Well, now we go meet Ingrid.”
Pietro and Takuto left the house when the sun had already set. Their target was the forest at the mouth of the valley acting as a backdrop to the Lucanian town. The beam of light from their flashlights crossed the twisted bodies of the trees creating shadows both sinister and monstrous. Takuto, used only to the urban woods formed by the enormous skyscrapers of Tokyo, felt lost and, to be completely honest, quite scared. However his companion moved confidently, trusting the childhood spent finding out what was hidden below that green mantle that kept sky and ground apart.
It took them half an hour to reach a small peculiar clearing. Its center was completely devoid of trees, bushes and even grass. Despite the burned circle at its heart that could point to a voluntary act, it was not created; plants simply did not grow there. Takuto looked up to check if he could see the Moon and the stars. Only then did he notice that the trees surrounding that weird clearing grew such that they could cover it with their branches, as if wanting to hide it.
Pietro was looking around. “Ingrid?”
“I’m here, love.”
Both young men turned towards the soothing voice and Takuto’s jaw dropped. The girl in the video was in front of him, standing in her muscular form; her candid skin standing out in the dark night. She wasn’t very close to Takuto’s taste, blond, tall, with a simple look and clothing, but he could not avoid admiring the quality with which she was created. It felt like actually being in front of a character directly taken from a high quality anime and put into reality. From previous experiments he had seen with PAMWAC, he knew that the transition at times felt forced. There was always something wrong. Often, the borders gave the feeling that the creature should not have existed. Not this time. Despite the clear contrast with the rest of the world, she did not look unnatural, but simply as any other part of everything… no, not any other part, a perfect part.
He came out of his bewilderment only when Pietro started talking. “Ingrid, this is Takuto, the guy I talked to you about.”
She came close to him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, dear. I couldn’t wait.”
“The pleasure is mine…”
“I imagine you may have some questions.”
“Yes, many. Pietro didn’t explain much.”
“Alright then, let’s get the exposition out of the way. The ritual uncovered by Pietro allows to create life. To be precise, a living being for every person executing it. The ritual is simple and does not need anything other than a few ingredients and a clear idea. The new life form takes shape and psyche from the mind of the creator. My cutiepie took days to imagine me to the smallest detail so that I could be perfect for him. Did I explain it right, Pietro?”
“Y-you were perfect. As in everything else.” She blushed a little, then Pietro began to talk again. “What… what do you think Takuto? Will it be ok for PAMWAC?”
“It’ll be good, I can assure you.”
Ingrid intervened. “I’m glad to hear that! Do you already have a clear idea for yours?”
“What?”
“Oh, Pietro didn’t tell you? He sure does love surprises, such a cutie! We already prepared the necessary for you to perform the ritual!”
Takuto should have been nervous. In a forest in the middle of the night with a near stranger and his OC waifu preparing to perform a ritual he did not understand. Instead he was completely calm. He saw firsthand the results of the ritual. And he knew what to create. Who to create.
All ingredients were in the right place. Scrolls, trinkets and way more disgusting things. All placed within the circle burned like a scar in the soil, now covered in branches and bushes to burn once again. Only one thing was missing. Blood.
Takuto’s blood to be precise. It was a piece of the creator from which the new life would have taken shape. A single drop would have sufficed. The young man took the knife and made a small cut on his hand. The red drops fell on the soil beneath him. Once out of the circle, Pietro gave him and intense stare, as a sign of understanding. Ingrid meanwhile smiled calmly, maybe knowing that soon she would not be the only one of her kind. A couple of moments after, the couple left. It was something he needed to do alone.
Takuto kneeled and lit the bushes on the circle on fire. The flames spread abnormally fast and engulfed the entire circle. The clearing lit as if in the middle of the day.
The brightness was painful, but Takuto could not divert his eyes. He watched as the ingredients caught on fire and disappeared one by one. The drops of blood expanded and began to contort, to take from. The blood became matter and a shape began to appear, slowly getting more detailed. The light became more intense, forcing him to close his eyes. When he could once again open them, he saw her.
Tall, but less than Takuto, with tonic arms and legs barely covered by a short skirt and white shirt that struggled to contain her prominent breasts. All of this then topped off by a superfine visage of a beautiful pink, interrupted by two intense purple eyes matching the color of the flowing hair that fell back on her shoulders. Strength and grace coexisted in her perfect shape that stood in front of him. She was beautiful. She was a goddess. His goddess.
“Kagura-kun.” Takuto struggles to say the name of the girl he had dreamed of for years. A woman that could understand him; that could love him. And now she was in front of him. Real.
The flames extinguished and she exited the circle. She moved towards him. “I-I…uh. Welcome to- to our world. I…”
She stopped a few centimeters from him. “Don’t say anything, honey. I know everything I need to know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. uwu” And she kissed him.
Takuto couldn’t wait. He had barely slept after the previous night and as soon as he woke up he began to write on his laptop to spread the success of his missione, including a picture of Kugura-kun attached. He had to admit he had doubts at first, but Pietro had truly found a treasure. They would become messiahs of PAMWAC, those that had brought closure to the main calling of the community.
He finished writing his report and, finding himself stupidly happy, he decides to go for a walk in the town.
It was a warm day. Annoyingly warm for Takuto, but the young man was so excited that he didn’t even notice. He walked at random lazily studying the architecture of the very diverse houses of the town, peeking inside the garden, smiling at the inhabitants he met. For their part said inhabitants were quite confused by the japanese boy walking through their town with an ear to ear smile.
The idyllic walk stopped in a small cobbled square in the oldest part of town. By now incapable of ignoring the heat, Takuto drank from a water fountain and sat on a bench, tired, but still smiling.
“Nice day, uh?”
Takuto turned to his right until he saw that the voice that just talked to him in English belonged to a hunched old man that was sitting on a bench as well.
“Yeah, I’d say so. I didn’t expect to find someone that knew English, at least not…” The young man stopped talking.
“Not of my age? Don’t worry, kid, I won’t get offended. And I have to say you’re right, but I was born and raised in the United States. My parents emigrated there after getting married. Then more or less the usual stuff you hear in stories like these. After reaching economic stability, we began to come back here to their hometown regularly. I, as a city kid, fell in love with it. I was greatly fascinated by rural life, by the people, the traditions, the stories that each nook and cranny of the town tells. So, once I retired, I chose to spend here the last years of my life.”
“After this morning, I understand why one might like it.”
“Eh eh. By the way, I’m Paolo. And you?”
“Takuto.”
“Hmmm. Interesting. And how did you end up here? I’m guessing you are not from these parts.”
“I came from Tokyo to visit a friend. We met online.”
“Ah, computers. Extraordinary instruments. I mostly use mine to play solitaire these days. The world has surely changed since I was the one coming here to visit.”
Not knowing what to answer to the chatty old man, Takuto simply nodded. He was looking for an excuse to get away, when Paolo began to talk again. “You know, one of the things that most captivated me of this place as a kid are the various myths linked to the surrounding areas. I did all I could to learn more from the old people of the village. Orks, demons, celestial apparition. Or even just bandits clashing with Savoy soldiers. Maybe the most ‘local’ for us talks about the forest close to the town. It is said that hundreds of years ago a religious man trapped evil spirits inside.”
Takuto suddenly reawakened from the slumber that had taken him. Evil spirits in the forest? The young man knew too much about the anomalous world to simply ignore a legend like it was nothing. Kagura-kun and Ingrid were in that same forest. They could have been in danger and it was up to him to protect them. “These spirits, ar- were they dangerous?”
“Ah, fascinated by stories as well? Well, not according to the legend. Their essence was trapped in the rock below the forest by a holy man when he understood that him and the farmers of the village could do nothing against their corporeal form. He thus created some sort of spell so that the world itself, in its immensity, would take away their essence. Once done, they destroyed the bodies. However, it is said that a blood pact could be able to bring them back in full force.”
A- a blood pact? Takuto’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
“Not sure, but they say that some kind of ritual that involves human blood could recreate the body of one of these spirits. In fact for hundreds of years the village kept a series of guards at the confines of the forest to stop anyone from executing the ritual. Of course it hasn’t been done for decades. Luckily the world has stopped believing in such nonsense. As much as they fascinate me to no end, imagine thinking that things such as rituals and sacrifices are real when we can instantly communicate with the other side of the world using a device that we can easily keep in a pocket. Pffft. That’s the real magic eh eh.”
Unlike Paolo, Takuto had stopped smiling. And now he stood still with his eyes wide open, close to having a panic attack. He gulped and got up. “Thanks for the company, but if you’ll excuse me, I have to be at my friend’s home before lunch.”
“Of course, thank you. There’s not many that listen to me these days and, as you may have noticed, I like to run my mouth. Have a nice lunch.”
Takuto quickly surpassed the corner to one of the streets leading to the square and started running.
How could he have been so stupid? It was too perfect. Life is never perfect. That’s not how it works.
He opened the door of Pietro’s house with the keys they gave him and rushed up the stairs until he reached the boy’s room. He wasn’t there.
Takuto’s panic kept mounting up. Could Pietro have known from the beginning? No, no, he was clearly in love with Ingrid, or whatever she actually was. He had to warn him, but where the hell was he? Where did he go without telling him? He clicked the mouse of Pietro’s pc and quickly got past the password block. Immediately a browser page that was left open appeared. It talked about local legends. Only then did Takuto notice that one of the historical swords that the boy kept in his room wasn’t there. Takuto’s hands began to tremble. Pietro must have understood everything that same morning and feeling responsible he decided he had to fix the problem by himself. “Damn idiot!”
Takuto, no less an idiot than his companion, went out running towards the forest.
Takuto reached the clearing already out of breath. He had never run so fast in his life. He let himself fall to the ground and began to gasp for breath, feeling as if he was going to spit a lung.
“Takuto, dear, are you okay? uwu”
The young man turned immediately. Kagura-kun was sitting right next to him. “Honey, you're barely breathing.” Beautiful as the night before, she was smiling at him, but Takuto now knew what he actually had in front of him. What he had let touch him, desecrate him. Only then did he realize the shitty mistake he had made going there alone.
“I’m- I’m fine, love. I was just so… eager to see you that I had to run here. By- by the way, have you seen Pietro? He wasn’t at home.”
“Pietro? Yeah, yeah, he’s with Ingrid. They must have holed up somewhere.” She giggled, Takuto felt like death.
Takuto’s reaction to that information must have been clear, because the girl’s smile transformed into a serious expression. Her eyes, suddenly far from the fake sweetness they had shown him before, now stared at him eerily.
“W-what’s wrong, dear? You seem- you seem worried.”
“Stop lying, kid. You know everything, don’t you?”
“I- I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The girl grabbed Takuto by his arm and made him forcibly stand up. “I doubt that.”
“I- where’s Pietro?”
“As I said, he’s with Ingrid.”
“No, no, no! How could you do this to us? We loved you! You were goddesses to us!”
“If it can help, we planned on keeping both of you alive a while longer to make it easier to lure here your mates from around the world.”
“A-around the world? How? You can’t be se…”
“Oh yeah, dear. Our plans are a bit more ambitious than spending our time getting you hard. From what you said last night while I kept you in my arms, I think you may have already informed your pals of what happened. We’ll keep the rumor circulating and you’ll come in waves. One by one, we’ll free all our brothers.”
“I don’t- no.”
“Don’t worry, Takuto, we’ll build statues to honor you and Pietro. Your contribution won’t be forgotten.”
“Don’t- I beg you, don’t hurt me!”
“Oh don’t be silly. You’re too much of a risk for the operation. I’ll try to be quick. Or, better, I’ll be quick once you’ll have revealed your PAMWAC credentials.”
Takuto broke free from the girl’s grip and began to back up quickly, only to fall backwards a few steps later. Kagura-kun started getting closer again. Takuto crawled backwards until he hit two vertical objects. Two toned legs. He looked up to see the shape of Ingrid towering over him. She was covered in blood. Blood that clearly wasn’t hers.
Takuto looked down again. Kagura-kun was now at his level and stared at him with her purple eyes. “It’s a shame, you know?” She put a hand between his legs and moved closer seductively. “We could have had some more fun together. uwu”