Part 4: Chapter 5

    After returning Kerberos to the demon world, Nakajima hoisted Yumiko on his back and arrived at the stone burial chamber of Shirasagi Mound. However, after peering into the small room through the the Kumazasa overgrowth, he could not hold back an expression of disappointment. The burial chamber was dug vertically into the ground and was just waiting for him to come in through an opening about 90 centimeters wide and tall. But the walls of chamber itself were only a few meters long at most. It was just tall enough for Nakajima to stand in if he hunched over. It seemed awfully small for the entryway for such a huge Kofun tomb. Was Izanami really here?
    Don't panic, this sort of burial chambers must have some sort of trick or secret passage, or something! Trying to reassure himself, Nakajima lowered himself into the chamber.
    The room was stagnant with cold air, and the basalt walls glistened, damp with humidity. Nakajima gently lowered Yumiko off his back and onto the ground. A frog that had been watching this strange intruder from one of the corners of the chamber croaked and jumped forward in surprise. Sitting down on the stone floor, Nakajima entered a trance and tried to make a connection with Izanami. But he had very little experience doing this sort of thing; maybe it was because of his anxiety, but the picture in his mind's eye was unchanging, and the only thing that happened as he sat on the ground was the passage of time. Nakajima furrowed his brow in frustration.
    "I can't feel anything, even though I must be much closer to Izanami than I was before. Izanami, answer me--how can I find you?"
    As if in response to his whispered question, the entire burial chamber started shuddering. The stones in the walls started to groan, and a bit of dirt fell from the ceiling. Coughing, Nakajima unconsciously pulled Yumiko's corpse closer to him.
    "Izanami, answer me, so I can revive Yumiko!" Like he was chanting a spell, Nakajima murmured the same words over and over.
    Soon the earthquake subsided, and as if trying to ask something, the frog's croaking became louder. As Nakajima turned and looked in its direction, his eyes glimmered with excitement at what he saw. The earthquake had created a gap between the stones in the wall, such that crimson paint on their edges became clearly visible. Approaching the divide between the flagstones, Nakajima could feel cold air flowing forth from the reddish crack. Twisting his fingers into the gap, Nakajima dislodged the stones one by one, revealing a crawlspace beyond large enough for a person to enter. The crawlspace sloped slightly downward, proceeding deep into the earth.
    The pit was shrouded in darkness, but for Nakajima there was no hesitation. Tearing his shirt and using the strips to tie Yumiko and his handheld computer to his body, Nakajima got down on his stomach and put his feet into the hole. A cold, smooth feeling like marble under his palms gave lie to the fact that the structure was man-made. Hunkered down on all fours so that he would not slip, Nakajima started carefully climbing down the shaft, backwards into the inky blackness below.