Our story continues:
The mysterious old man admits he has been luring people through the mirror, convincing them they can "save the world," and turning them to stone. They are "Chosen Ones," in a way, but only because he selects people who are good at believing things. As they go through their adventures, he feeds on those beliefs, then freezes them forever in place at what should be their moment of triumph. It's how he keeps his world real.
You were never supposed to come. He was watching you through the mirrors, but he quickly realised that you were too suspicious of everything to be a good candidate. The girl next door was his target. You just happened to be there when she was pulled through the mirror, and you were dragged along.
But now...you're getting in the way, muddling up his nice neat plan, destabilising the world with your profound disbelief in it. He wants you gone.
You tell him you won't go without the girl next door.
He proposes you win her back by performing an impossible task for him. You can journey into the west to retrieve the Chalice of Opportu--
Nope.
You know this is just another lie, an attempt to rope you into his scheme. You will not be doing any tasks today. You will be taking your friend and leaving.
He tries to convince you he can't. He mentions quests and riddles. He proposes you play each other at chess. You're not having any of it. You just don't believe him.
The fire in the sky is growing hotter. Around you, the world is fracturing. And you realise: if the world is held together by belief, disbelief must be what can tear it apart.
The old man is desperate now, but it doesn't matter; your disbelief is destroying everything. You're finding it rather satisfying.
You wonder: what if you disbelieve in certain things?
So you refuse to believe the girl next door is a statue. You become deeply cynical about it. You're pretty sure deep cynicism is your new superpower.
And the girl next door is no longer a statue.
Neither are the others. All around you, stone is melting back into flesh. The world is dissolving, but the people the old man has captured are returning to life.
This is a good time for the taishogoto to come back into the story because the taishogoto was the instrument that introduced the girl next door, and she returns part of the way through this piece. The music is relatively cheerful. It's easy to be cheerful when you've relieved that you are in total command of the power of skepticism.
@thedutchwidows Feb 2022
I think this is my favourite instrument that I’d never heard of till this February. I love its sound and it totally suits the confrontational scene. Yay for cynicism being a superpower!