Chapter 1
Keisuke Shimizu cracked a smile. Against his better judgement, he was beginning to like Okinawa.
The young man stood amidst a crowd of spectators, his eyes locked onto a young woman performing a dance some seven or eight meters in front of him. She was an enchanting sight, clad in a beautiful kimono and moving with an exquisitely choreographed elegance, the ancient steps of the surrounding temple serving as her stage. Her voice was similarly lovely, drifting through the air with ethereal grace.
It was a fascinating performance to watch. For Keisuke, it offered a combination of the familiar and the exotic. Dances like these were common on mainland Japan, but even still, this dance was just different enough to somehow feel a world apart. Like everything in Okinawa, its inherent sense of “Japaneseness” was slightly off and uniquely itself.
It wasn’t the easiest sensation to describe, but it was one that Keisuke had keenly felt over the last year of his life. In the nearly two years since Okinawa’s return to Japanese ownership, the country at large had gone positively crazy for everything Okinawan. There’d been an uptick in nationwide fascination with the native Ryukyu culture, an unsubtle push for tourism from the government, and even an increased pop-cultural presence. It was as if Japan had grown larger overnight, or had at least welcomed an estranged family member back into the fold.
And then, there was the expo. A massive project, still a year away from completion and public debut. It had been early 1972 when the Okinawa International Ocean Expo had been announced, and a year since Keisuke had ventured to the islands as a contractor. The opportunity to contribute to such a massive event – an expo to rival even Osaka’s from a mere four years earlier – had been too tempting to pass on, and the young man had been clearing land, overseeing piles of blueprints, and securing the necessary permits ever since. It was a busy job with seldom a moment of rest, and it afforded Keisuke few chances to actively explore the island and soak in its unique culture. But on this day, he had a good reason to arrive slightly late to the jobsite.
As the performance continued, Keisuke turned to briefly face his younger brother, who shot a warm smile back his way before returning his attention to the dance. Masahiko was seven years Keisuke’s junior, and a promising student of geology back on the mainland. His university studies combined with Keisuke’s extended stays in Okinawa meant the two had hardly seen each other over the previous year. Thankfully, Masahiko had secured a much-needed vacation, and the two had met up in Motobu several days prior. The arrangement wasn’t perfect; Keisuke was still needed at Expo ‘75’s latest development site nearly every day. But on most mornings, some afternoons and nearly all evenings for the next week, he was free to sightsee and secure some family time.
It had been Masahiko’s idea to visit the Azumi Castle, where they and the surrounding spectators continued to watch the young woman dance. The castle dated back thousands of years, and the same royal Ryukyu family had occupied its temples for generations. In fact, the dancer was Azumi royalty – a legitimate princess, and one of only two living members of the family. Perhaps there would be more in time, but for now, there’s was a tenuous lineage, living simply within the walls their ancestors had constructed. Perhaps, Keisuke thought, the modern influx of Japanese tourism and technology could help them. Perhaps the Expo would…
The air around the castle suddenly grew silent. The princess’s voice had stopped, as had her dance. She now stood frozen, a look of panic on her face as she seemed to stare into the distant skies.
Keisuke felt his muscles tense. He spun his head in the direction of her stare, but saw nothing.
He turned back to the princess just in time to see her scream, press her hands desperately across her eyes, and fall to the cold stone ground.
Instinct took over, and before Keisuke knew it, he was sprinting to her side and bending toward her unconscious body. Masahiko followed, and together, they attempted to lift her back and right her head.
“Hey! Can you hear me?” Keisuke felt a stirring as the princess began to awaken, but before he could react, a voice echoed down the temple stairs behind him.
“Nami!”
Keisuke turned to see an ancient man, clad in yellow robes and practically galloping down the stairs. The priest loosened his grip on his walking stick, allowing it to clatter down the steps as he rushed toward the princess. Keisuke and Masahiko parted to make way, and the old man slid into a kneel as he grabbed the young woman, holding her close.
“Nami! What happened? Are you alright?”
The princess – Nami – was now fully awake, and met the old man’s gaze with the same look of terror Keisuke had seen before her fall.
“Father…” she began, her voice shaking. “… a monster!”
The old man leaned in closer. “What’s that?”
“A monster!” she repeated. “A monster will come to destroy our cities and crush all those who attempt to flee!”
………………………………………………
It had all happened so suddenly. Like the sudden onset of a dream that had snatched her from waking life and into a nightmare. But Nami knew her vision was more than a simple dream. Much more.
This wasn’t her first such nightmare, of course. For all her life, Nami had seen things others hadn’t. Brief flashes of unimportant moments from a day, a week, a month into the future. Visions of events both great and terrible. But nothing like what she’d just witnessed.
Nami had looked forward with eyes that did not see. Her mind had swirled and crackled with sounds and images that flashed for the briefest of moments before being replaced with other, more terrible things. She’d seen tragedies yet to come, heard the promise of future destruction ringing in her ears. As always, her mind had struggled to contextualize the horrors before her, crashing through her psyche as a mix of unknown terrors and familiar echoes of past traumas. She’d heard the cries of dying hordes yet to perish intermingled with those already long dead. Buildings fell that had already fallen. The visage of a three-headed demon whose time of destruction had already come and passed. Things that had already happened. Things that were soon to happen again…
It had all been too much. Even now, in the comforting arms of her father, Nami felt no reassurance. There was something about her vision that felt somehow… personal. As if what she’d seen involved her very soul. How that could be, she didn’t yet know. Perhaps there would be more visions to come. But one thing was certain: something evil and monstrous was coming, and if her waking nightmare was any indication, hell was sure to follow with it.
Next Chapter Coming Soon!
The Godzilla Novelization Project 