The Urbarium

At some point in the night, Ayumi slowly awakens, her eyes still closed. She's still wearing her day clothes. She mumbles, "Hmm? Did I leave the TV on?" At a low volume, she hears a news reporter on the TV. The lady commences, "Good morning, Nobushi, the City of Provisions. The time is 5:00am. As much of our population makes their commute this hour..." Ayumi's eyes are still closed. She mumbles, "It's only 5:00am? Where in the world is Nobushi City?" The news report continues, "Production remains low in the agricultural sector. Our city's potent variety of beans are in high-demand in recent days." In a nervous voice, the reporter continues, "We need to produce enough 'ryusan' beans to feed um... to feed..." Ayumi mumbles, "Feed who? What does this have to do with Tokyo? I'm going back to sleep."

As Ayumi starts to drift off to sleep again, three loud booms echo from outside. It knocks out the TV's signal. She sits up in bed. "What on Earth was that?" She gets out of bed. "Woah! This isn't my room!" She looks out the window. It's still pretty dark out. She sees a street below. She is two stories up. City lights glow in the distance. She flicks a lamp on and looks around the room. She hollers out, "Mom!" "Nobu, little bro!" There is no response. All she hears is the traffic picking up outside. The TV's signal returns.

Ayumi is scared to leave the room. She gets back in the bed and stares at the TV. It shows more news. She wonders, "Have I been kidnapped? I need to find help. My high-school graduation is tomorrow. I guess that doesn't matter right now." A public-service announcement is shown announcing the recent ban on the consumption of ryusan beans as they are reserved. Ayumi doesn't think she can get back to sleep, so she lies back and stares at the television as it drones on.

At 7AM, the sun is up and Ayumi is about to nod off when something on TV catches her attention. A memorial tribute is paying homage to the victims of last week's demolishing of an office building. Images of death and destruction are shown. Offerings are being left at a shrine erected near the site. The tribute concludes with a warning that this is why agriculture is so important in the city, especially ryusan beans. As the news goes to commercials, the city anthem plays. Images of happy citizens, folks dances, and offerings at shrines are shown. Ayumi is a bit creeped out by this.

She says to herself, "Alright. I need food and I need to get out of here." She opens the door and walks out of her room. All she sees so far is the bathroom and the stairs to go down. She goes downstairs and arrives in the kitchen. There doesn't appear to be much food around. She grabs the box of cereal off the counter and looks at the labeling. "It expired last month." She opens the fridge. There's a gallon of milk and nothing else. "It also expired last month. Sigh." She reaches in the cereal box and pulls out a piece. She pops it into her mouth. She then makes a disgusted face and spits it out. "Is there anything in the freezer? Let's see. Nope." She checks the cabinets. All she finds is a pack that says "Ryusan" on it. "It's those beans. Should I not... Whatever." She pops a handful of the beans in her mouth. "Oh, wow. These are great."

At the north end of Nobushi, in the Kami district, an enormous shrine is in its final stages of construction. It is intended as a plea for more time for farming lest more death and destruction come to the city. A short distance from the shrine, at the very edge of the city-state, there is an impossibly thick, impenetrable glass wall that reaches sky high separating the city from the outside world. In fact, there are four such walls surrounding the whole city-state, boxing it in.

In the south of Nobushi, in the Otoru disctrict, Ayumi is still in the house she found herself in, pacing around the kitchen. "What am I going to do? Sigh. I need some fresh air." She heads for the door and goes outside. She looks around and sees other houses along the street. "Huh. This part of town's a little run-down." She goes for a walk, heading up the sidewalk lining the street. She sees cars go by, birds in the sky, a couple squirrels raiding a trash can, and so on. A few flies start buzzing around her face. She whiffs what smells like trash. "Ugh, this neighborhood has a bit of an odor to it."

Strange birds fly over. She looks up to the sky. It's bluish, whitish, and a bit hazy. Something's off about it. She gets on with her walk. She's a little worried about getting lost, but she considered herself lost to begin with. After walking a bit, she approaches a car parked at the curb. She sees the driver inside and comes to its open window. Hoping for a map or something, she asks, "Excuse me. I'm totally lost. Could you..." The man interrupts, "Well, hey there! Do you have cash? I got ryusan beans." Ayumi responds, "What are you, a drug dealer or something?" "Yeah, that too. Do you want my beans or not?" "No, I want to go home." "Oh, then have a nice trip home," and he drives away.

She eventually reaches a bench and has a seat. Dejected, she looks down at her feet. "I still need something to drink. Ow. My stomach. I feel like I gotta... What are those beans doing to me? Why would people eat that stuff?!" She gets distracted by a faint, echoing thump from somewhere far off. A louder thump follows. Ayumi looks around. More thumps are heard and the ground starts shaking. A group of folks nearby show a mixture of joy and fear. A loud, low moan echoes around the city. She sees a gargantuan figure emerge in the northern horizon. As it becomes clear what the figure is, her eyes widen. She brings a hand to her gaping mouth.

In a suburban Tokyo home, Ayumi's brother, Nobu, is living alone in a house just for him despite having just turned sixteen. He doesn't go to school anymore. Thanks to the group of young occultists that he leads, as well as his scientific prowess, he has a glass box with an entire city-state populated by tiny humans. It is rectangular and sits upon a table by the window. His big city for tiny people is called "Nobushi", which he named after himself since he is the god of their city. Nobushi has the urban core, but also forests, lakes, suburban areas, and lots of agricultural land. The Nobushians hardly understand him when he speaks. He can communicate with city officials via a specialized microphone and audio system connected with the city hall. There's no lid to this glass box, or the "urbarium", as the occultists call it. There's no chance of a real escape over the glass walls. The urbarium, how it all functions, and how its citizens got there are secrets known only to Nobu and his group of science occultists collectively known as Fantomu-Tech. He's very proud of it and the worship he receives from its citizens.

It's lunch time for Nobu and he's ready for his favorite snack. Wearing only shorts, he enters his bedroom upstairs and approaches the urbarium. The frame wrapping around the tank's bottom edges has many buttons and such. He presses one of them to dispense a little box containing much of the ryusan beans harvested by the Nobushians. To his human size, the beans form a paste. He sticks it in his pocket. He moves his hair from his eyes, then smiles down upon the city as he stands at its north side. Thanks to the loads of leftover ryusan bean-paste he ate last night, he's good and ready for his next task.

A long, rubbery tube is connected to the underside of the urbarium and runs through the table. It is hooked up to Nobushi's power-generating facility. The other end of the tube has a pointed tip. Nobu picks up the end of the tube. Still standing at the north end of the urbarium, he slowly turns around so that his rump is facing Nobushi. He pulls down his shorts and underwear. Nobushi's citizens are now below eye level with his bare buttocks. Those in the city are intimidated and awestruck by the sight, especially those at the big shrine on the north end. Meanwhile, at the southern end of Nobushi, Ayumi is screaming in terror at the sight of her absolutely gigantic brother as she hollers out expletives, shouts for her mother, and so on.

Nobu inserts the pointed end of the tube into his anus. Feeling both proud and important, he relaxes his muscles a bit. Finally, he releases a long, loud fart into the tube, bending over a little to make even more of a show for the Nobushians. The city erupts with cheers while Ayumi sits in shock and confusion. Nobu's flatus travels through the tube directly into the power-generating facility known as Denki-Gasu. This will provide the city with a fresh supply of power again as the previous supply was almost spent. Those in the facility do their jobs to make sure Nobu's gas is effectively utilized in generating the power that gets distributed to everything from office buildings to far-flung homes. Nobu pulls his shorts back up and heads down to the kitchen to spread his ryusan paste on toast.

As things settle down in the city, Ayumi is still seated at the bench. "What is happening?!" She holds her stomach. "Ow..." Looking for a restroom, she goes into the little restaurant beside her. Ignoring everything else, she quickly finds the ladies room and goes into a stall. She throws the toilet lid up, drops her pants, and has a seat. She tries to make since of how she got to this city and where it even is. "Is the whole world like this?" she asks, still unaware of the glass city walls. The somewhat artificial atmosphere in Nobushi's sky, much of it dust and sunlight from Nobu's bedroom window, makes it harder for new citizens to tell what exists outside the city's walls.

Ayumi continues wondering, trying to think of clues about her now god-like brother. She can't come up with much yet. She thinks aloud, "He was talking more about bullies lately, nerdy little runt. He was always a bit 'off'. I've seen more of his geeky friends around. He calls them 'The Phantom' something-or-other. They talked about really weird stuff I barely knew about. Are they giants, too?" She flushes the toilet. "It already stunk in here anyway." When she washes her hands, the water is slightly brown. "Ew."

She walks towards the exit of the restaurant, but the man behind the counter says, "Lady, you look famished. We have a discount on burger combos." Ayumi responds, "Well... Uh... Oh wait. I don't have any money." "No money, huh? Sigh, that's too bad. Have a nice... Aw, geez lady. We'll make you a free combo. You guilted me into it with that look on your face." She soon receives a rice-patty burger, some fries, and lemonade. She takes it to one of the few tables. She's the only customer there.

Ayumi sees the TV on the wall showing more news. It shows a live shot of celebrations at the enormous shrine at the North end, Kami District. She can see people looking towards the outside world as they press up against the glass wall of the north. The camera operator approaches the wall. Ayumi now has a pretty clear shot of what lies beyond the city walls. She gasps and nearly falls out of her chair. She sees a bed with Nobu's blankets as well as other things he has in his room. His dirty laundry is piled in a corner. She wonders to herself, "So... He's got us in his bedroom. This is beyond horrifying. Wait... Why am I in this city?" She sits for a moment in confused fear. She then takes a bite of her burger. It tastes a little weird. "What kind of rice is in this burger?" She scarfs it down anyhow.

After finishing her meal, Ayumi notices a rack of brochures by the door. She pulls a map from it. It shows the districts with some cultural tidbits. She sees that she is in the Otoru District, a suburban area in the south. "Why is it called 'the inferior district?'" It is nestled between two forested districts. The urban core is to her north and is called "Kitei District". The small, rural district in the far north is Kami District. That is where Nobu's most loyal followers tend to be. "Okay, so which brochure explains how to get back to norm..." Some loud clangs echo outside. She steps out to investigate. To the north, she again sees her giant brother. This time, he has an unsettling look in his eyes.

Nobu taps on the glass of his urbarium. He stands silently for a moment, then speaks. "Your beans were a bit dry today. Also, there seems to be a bit less than there should be." Fear starts to grip the city. Ayumi hears concerned chatter all around. Nobu brings a hand into the urbarium, moving it around over each district. It stops over Kitei district, the urban core. With this hand, he points a finger downward at a tall residential building and its surroundings in the most affluent part of the district. The voices of concern grow louder. Televisions around the city go to live coverage from the district. Nobu is now smiling. He drives his finger downward, demolishing the building and others nearby.

As the tremendous sound echoes, those in the vicinity run from the area in chaotic terror. Many people are covered in the tower's dust. Nobu scoops up an entire crowd from near the destruction with one fingernail. He says, "I have the vital source of energy for the city. Here, take a look." He lowers his shorts and again turns his bare buttocks towards Nobushi. He spreads it open to expose his anus to the citizens. Next, He shoves the mass of people on his fingertip into his anus. He then casually pulls his shorts up and strolls off to use the bathroom. His lunch from earlier is churning his stomach a little.

Ayumi sits against the wall of the restaurant. "My little brother... What is he going to do to us?" She's not sure where to go or what to do. She wonders when she'll see her parents or friends again. She stands up and looks at her surroundings. There's still some sounds of panic and confusion. It's just ambient noise to her at the moment. Without a clear destination, she walks north towards the Kitei district despite the disaster there.

A few hours later, the sun is setting. Ayumi is seated at a park bench in front of the city library. There's a mild breeze. Some street lights come on. She sees some teenagers kicking a ball around in the park with a dog. It's quiet in the city tonight. Many who would be out are instead watching the news on TV about Nobu's earlier assault on the residential tower. Ayumi feels relaxed now in the calm scenery. She wonders aloud, "Hmm.. What to do. Is this my life now?" She stands up and looks at the library. "What do these crazy people like to read?" She walks up the stone steps and into the building.

A large portrait of Nobu hangs near the entrance. Ayumi approaches the first aisle of books that she sees. A sign hangs over it that says "Required Reading". She glances around and sees a lot of the same exact book in that aisle. She pulls one of them off the shelf. It's fairly thick. The title is Nobu, God of Nobushi. It's the autumn edition. She takes it to a table. Starting with the table of contents, she's disturbed by the entries. "Let's see here. 'Proper Worship of Nobu.' 'Worshipping Sites'. 'Nourishing Nobu.' 'Map of Nobu's Body'."

She flips to "Proper Worship of Nobu" and skims the text. "Mocking Nobu is a severe offense with penalties including death." "To avoid displeasing Nobu, all citizens are expected to pray to him at a shrine daily, complimenting him and swearing their loyalty." She flips over to "Nourishing Nobu" and continues skimming. "The health and happiness of Nobu comes before our own. He requires a substantial amount of ryusan beans on a frequent basis."

Ayumi closes the book and begins roaming the library, not really sure what to look for. She arrives at a door labeled "Fringe Philosophy". On a whim, she opens the door and heads down the stairs. She finds herself alone in a small, poorly maintained room in the library's basement. There are just a couple rows of books. She notices a book called "The Right to Reality" and grabs it. The author is not provided. Looking through it, the book lists various human rights abuses by the government and Nobu, without directly criticizing anything. On the back is an address. "2 Hollow Rd, Suimin District".

She heads back upstairs with the book. At the service desk, she acquires a library card and reveals the book to the man at the desk. He stares at her, as if analyzing. He simply says, "Hmm... Have a nice day" and Ayumi leaves with the book. The house she woke up in is a good clip away. She goes back to the bench and thinks of what to do but soon falls asleep.

The next morning as the sun rises, Nobu awakens. Lying in bed on his back, he has a morning erection. Some Nobushians have witnessed Nobu's morning wood like this in the past. In their folklore, it is known as Sunrise Mountain. Often, the event is a sign that Nobu will provide nutrients to the city's soils. Today is one of those days. He sits up, yawns, and stretches his arms. He walks over to the urbarium, still erect. He presses a button causing a hole to open in the tank's frame down by his penis. He pulls down his PJ pants and underwear, inserts his penis into the hole, and proceeds to hump the urbarium causing a prolonged tremor throughout Nobushi. Ayumi falls off the bench and wakes up. She's horrified to see her giant younger brother in this way as she screams. Nobu grips the urbarium as his load goes into the hole below Nobushi causing another eruption of cheers all around. His single discharge of semen is enough to nourish the soils of Nobushi as it gets distributed through a system of tubes, some of them monitored by scientists working underground. Thanks to his own genetic knowhow, it will aid the health of the crops. He pulls up his pants and stumbles back to bed.

Ayumi feels truly insignificant to her god of a brother. As amazing as his intellect is, he was always a bit gross and boyish. Among other things, Ayumi is disturbed by the fact that Nobu's bodily functions are now powerful forces of nature. Too small now to move even a speck of dandruff, she feels hopeless.

She feels hungry and thirsty again. As she glances around for the nearest restaurant, she hears a girl's voice. "You're Ayumi aren't you?" Ayumi lets out a startled yelp, then turns to see the girl emerging from the park entrance. When they come face to face, Ayumi asks who she is. The girl responds, "I'm Chichi. I used to hang out with Nobu in school, chitchatting with him here and there." Ayumi responds, "Really? Woah. Then... could you tell me what we're doing in this place?" Chichi answers, "My memory's fading. Some time before I ended up here, I started dating my boyfriend. Nobu found out about him and was acting jealous. He also got flirty. It was weird. I can't remember what all went on since that time. I just woke up here with my boyfriend one day. We were in the penthouse of a residential tower. We were living there. It's the tower that Nobu destroyed yesterday. When the news showed Nobu pointing down at our tower, some people tried to evacuate right then, including us. I had barely escaped the site as destruction filled the area. I lost sight of my boyfriend at the last moment. I think he was one of those who got shoved up Nobu's..." Ayumi puts a hand on Chichi's shoulder. Chichi finishes with, "But yeah, I figure Nobu brought him and I here to punish us for dating." Ayumi thinks about it, then says, "He knew where you two were. Does he know where I am right now?" Chichi sees that Ayumi is a bit undernourished. She takes her to a nearby restaurant with a breakfast buffet.

Soon, they are seated at a table along the windows with plates full of breakfast foods. "So Chichi, you had a penthouse. How did you manage that?" "I have no idea, Ayumi. I just woke up with a lot of local money. I haven't needed a job here yet. By the way, I remember something. Back when I hung out with Nobu, he'd ask why his parents liked you better when he was the genius. He also said you were weirded out by him." Ayumi puts a hand on her mouth then, after a moment, wonders aloud, "Is he planning on killing me soon?"

The TVs in the restaurant begin showing a live shot of Nobu as he approaches Nobushi. He scratches his butt, yawns, and smells his armpit. "So it's breakfast time is it," he says, ready for a meal. He presses a button. This causes an orchestral song to be heard throughout the city. The song is meant to make everyone stand at attention for Nobu. Everyone in the streets stop to look in his direction. Many exit the buildings, including the restaurant, to give Nobu their attention. Traffic comes to a stop. Chichi stands up. "I think we better join them." "But we haven't paid yet." "Nobu comes first, at least for these people." They exit the restaurant and stand on the sidewalk looking towards Nobu.

The song stops playing. Nobu's belly rumbles. He looks to the most densely populated part of the city. He captures a sizeable amount of people and infrastructure between two fingertips. The already paranoid city is thrown into panic once again. The mass between his fingers resembles not much more than dust. He brings the mass to his mouth and sticks out his tongue. He sprinkles it onto his tongue and draws it in. He tilts his head back and swallows. He burps. He then heads off to the fridge for a soda. For the rest of the day, the city remains in a chaotic panic.

Around midnight, Ayumi and Chichi are in a motel room that Chichi was able to afford with her dwindling money. After discussing the book that Ayumi had checked out from the library, they head out to the balcony to clear their heads. The city is relatively quiet again. Ayumi wears a deadpan expression as she looks upon the street. "I guess we're dead meat. I wonder when my brother will finally kill us." Chichi shakes her head. "Don't say that, Ayumi. ... That address. 2 Hollow Rd. I got a letter the other day from that address. It warned about stuff like what happened today. It said for me to go to that address because he or she had 'ideas'. I was a little creeped out and ended up ignoring it. Maybe we should go there, Ayumi. Maybe the author knows something others don't." Ayumi responds, "Well, I hope those are some good ideas." Shortly afterwards, they head back in to go to sleep.

Overnight, Nobushi remains busy as usual with a particular focus on agriculture with some people now forced to pull ultra-long shifts. Nobu himself sleeps away with a belly full of pizza and so on as it gurgles into the night. Other bodily functions of his join the nightly chorus.

At sunrise, Ayumi and Chichi are already walking over to a rent-a-car place nearby. Once they arrive, they get on with renting a car as most of them look the same, like something from Soviet Russia. They get in the car and drive off with Chichi at the wheel. Their ultimate destination is the Suimin district in the southwest to find "2 Hollow Rd". They start out by heading west to the rural Midori district ready to escape the residual chaos in the city.

Once they make it to the countryside, they observe the scenery as they ride by fields and streams. Ayumi says, "Wow. So all if this is my brother's?" Chichi responds, "Judging by that gold statue of over there, I'd say yes." Chichi notes that there's a rest stop up ahead. Ayumi says, "Maybe they have a snack machine. Let's head over there." They soon park at the rest area. As they head up the path to the toilets, they pass by a couple shady characters. Ayumi mutters, "More drug dealers. Nobushi has a drug problem. Maybe Nobu does, too." They head in to use the restroom. When they finish up, they head out front where the snack machines are. While they look at the available snacks, the sunlight suddenly dims a bit. "What's going on?" asks Ayumi.

Nobu has a full bladder. He has placed a mesh over the tank dimming the sky for all of Nobushi. It is filled with microscopic pores. He climbs up a step ladder next to the tank. He pulls down his pants and underwear. With a relaxed breath, he proceeds to urinate all over the mesh. As a result, it rains urine throughout Nobushi providing nourishment for its lands thanks again to his knowhow. With the mesh drenched, the rain continues as Nobu climbs down to marvel at his weather with a sense of accomplishment.

Ayumi and Chichi remain under the overhang where the snack machines are. As the rain keeps going, Ayumi exclaims, "I know exactly what this is. It reeks!" Chichi buys some snacks and a couple sodas from the machines. She passes a soda and some candy to Ayumi and starts snacking on some seeds. Ayumi says, "The smell of this rain burns my eyes. I hope it won't make this drink taste like it. (Sip). It kind of does." Some wildlife is not adapted to the urine rain. The girls notice some birds struggling in it. Eventually, the rain stops and the sky brightens again as the mesh is lifted. As the smell of urine hangs in the air, they head to the car dodging runoff, puddles, and so on. They get back on the road.

They flip around the radio stations. "Good morning, Nobushi. All farmers better be in the fields. Get a move on." They turn the dial. "As the weather clears, we hail Nobu, our divine ruler, the one who nourishes our crops and purifies the air. The 'moon of change' draws near. We shall witness the great change he speaketh of in the passing of the Moon of Change. Praise Nobu." The congregation on the radio repeats, "Praise Nobu!" Organs play. The girls change the station again. "Dr. Kawa from the Academy of Arts & Culture presents field recordings of Nobu's flatulence. Have a listen." Ayumi remarks, "For real?"

Further along the road, Ayumi's jaw drops as she sees something odd over in a field. Chichi does similarly. Off in the distance is an enormous, true-color statue of Nobu's erect genitalia. A shrine stands in front of it. Many people are there to worship Nobu. Some officers are present to make sure they do. Chichi parks at the roadside entrance. "Chichi, what are you doing?" "I just want take a photo." "Why?" Chichi snaps a photo. They get back on the highway.

After being on the road for a while, their car is low on gas. Chichi looks at the gauge and says, "I'm surprised it lasted this long. The sign says there's a gas station up that road. I can afford some more snacks, I guess." They head that way. Soon, they arrive at the rustic gas station with a convenience store. It sits against a backdrop of ryusan fields. Some forced laborers and worshippers are tending to the fields. Ayumi remarks, "It feels nice out. It's pretty. It still smells a little like pee out here, though." As soon as she says that, Chichi breathes in the air and smiles.

Chichi then grabs the hose and proceeds with pumping a watery, yellowish-brown liquid into the car. It reeks. She says, "It's not technically gasoline, but it gets the job done." They head into the convenience store to pay. But first, they roam the small store for snacks. The checkout worker and themselves are the only three people in the store. As they browse, a soft acoustic song about Nobu plays on the store radio. Chichi hums along.

Nobu lies in his underwear after eating a whole pizza in one sitting. It's been a while since he downed an entire pizza, but he has something planned. He looks over at the urbarium. "You're all just... too free. You don't love me enough for that."

After a little while, Ayumi and Chichi have finished shopping and head for the checkout counter with drinks and some unknown meat jerky. As they do, they see the sky suddenly become darker. The radio broadcast automatically switches to the worship station as heard earlier. The religious leader proclaims, "The Moon of Change is upon us! Bare witness to its might and majesty!" The crowd chants this while he delivers praise to Nobu and the change he will bring. The girls and the worker look up at the silent TV as it shows a live shot of Nobu's naked butt looming over Nobushi. Ayumi, alarmed, asks, "What the fuck is he doing?!" Chichi answers, "It's the moon of change." The worker adds, "That's right. I hear that great things are upon us." A low, deep moan vibrates the building and is heard throughout Nobushi. Ayumi says, "Great things, huh? Yeah right." The praise on the radio continues.

Perched on his stepladder, Nobu is in squatting position with his rump aimed at the city center. He grunts, then casually farts. This produces winds that are especially violent in Kitei, the urban core, as it mixes with the atmosphere. He continues passing gas for a bit. As winds pickup throughout the lands, the people on the radio become more energetic. Ayumi stands disgusted and confused as she gazes at the TV. Chichi appears more positive.

Seated comfortably enough upon the urbarium, Nobu is silently reading from Fantomu-Tech Progress, his group's private magazine. "That's really cool," he says aloud. "Oh!" His bowels become more active. "It's time." His face turns more serious as he focuses on the task at hand - the task of showing his true might and showing humanity its place under him. The first sign of a turd peeks out from his anus.

Nobushian folklore speaks extensively about the Moon of Change. Many believe that it will bring good fortune, less crime, and greater friendship among citizens. It was said that there would be mighty winds under "Nobu's divine moon" marking the transition towards the more utopian era. However, there is nothing in the mythology regarding Nobu's immanent defecation. The religious radio broadcast, as it continues to be heard in all of Nobushi, becomes confused and less joyous. The streets of Kitei remain especially darkened directly under Nobu's rump. Headlights turn on, traffic becomes jammed, and sounds of concern grow. Between grunts, Nobu announces, "Change is coming." A long, ominous fart gives a final warning of Nobu's "prophecy". Some folks, perfect strangers, hold on to one another. In an instant, a loud slithering from far above the city is heard followed a moment later by the sounds of destruction and death all around.

Still seated, Nobu had dropped his first turd upon the city as it covers Kitei and peeks into surrounding districts. Most of the buildings in the urban core were destroyed along with much of its population. With a sense of pride and urgency, he drops his magazine and focuses on his next turd. He grunts and pushes. "Respect it." He plops his second turd atop the first. With breaths of relief, he announces, "The age of death has started." He rubs his belly. "There's plenty of room in there."

Shortly after, Ayumi was overcome with shock and lost consciousness. At night, she wakes up on a bench beside the store. Chichi is seated next to her. The first thing Ayumi says is, "Ugh! That smell! It's horrible!" Chichi breathes deep. "I disagree. It smells divine." Ayumi stares at her in disbelief. Chichi then says, "You seem confused. You see, when I first arrived in Nobushi, I was terrified. My boyfriend, however, was just so... arrogant and controlling. He cared more about our sudden wealth here than he cared about me, our families in Tokyo, or anything. I realized Nobu must have been saving me from him." Ayumi says, "You think so, do you?" "I know so, Ayumi. Also, I just find Nobu so irresistible now. He's so endearing. He enchants me. He's... my savior. The all-powerful Nobu needs unwavering devotion." Ayumi stares at her, expressionless. "Chichi, I can see right through your brain-washed bullshit." Chichi says, "Hmm... You wanna find 2 Hollow Rd, right? There's not much point. Kasshoku, the owner of this store, lives there. It's on the other side of this field. He leads a government-sanctioned cult. I'm a member. He told me to find you at the library to investigate you." The man from the checkout, Kasshoku, comes around the corner and says, "We have the directive to place you under arrest for blasphemy against Nobu." Ayumi immediately runs off.

She goes right for the car. She throws the car door into Kasshoku, slams it shut, and drives off. Kasshoku turns to Chichi and says, "You did good. Don't worry, we'll get the authorities on her. She'll be punished in the end. Nobu sees all." Ayumi ends up on a road that goes back towards the East.

The road brings her to a forest. The stench is less noticeable thanks to heavy-duty air freshener Nobu sprayed around his room. Driving through the dark woods, Ayumi says to herself, "I'm as lonely as I've ever been. Maybe the radio will keep me company." She flips it on. Some light jazz plays. She starts to relax a bit. When the song ends, a news bulletin starts. "Here is the latest tonight on the ongoing horror: Many high-ranking officials were killed during the 'Divine Dump' as it is being called. A debate rages over Nobu's plans for our future as the illegal Freedom Party gains more members. The Agrarian and Green socialist parties blame the radicals for the chaos. Many individuals are being targeted by police for subversion. The latest individual is known only as 'Ayumi'. Be on the lookout for..." Her eyes light up as she flips off the radio.

She drives on through the forest as she tries to keep it together. She can see the lake through the trees that line the road. "I miss the lake Mom and Dad would take us to. Sigh. Where should I even go to? I just want to catch a break. Woah!" She swerves to avoid hitting a deer. She loses control of the car as it goes down the embankment and into a tree. As she gets jolted, she shouts in a bit of panic. She avoided injury. She's not sure about staying in the car, so she gets out and works her way down to a dirt trail that runs along the lake.

Katydids and other crickets sing in the woods as Ayumi walks up the lakeside trail. She can barely see the trail ahead. After walking a bit, she comes to a little pier. She wants to take a break from walking, so she walks up the pier and sits at the end of it with her feet dangling. As she looks across the lake, the glow of a town is visible way off in the distance. "Where will I end up? In my brother's stomach? In his toilet?" As she sits, she reflects deeply on her situation. After about an hour, she starts fantasizing about sinking into the water below never to come up again. "I'm so tired. Sigh." She falls asleep on the pier.

In the morning, Nobu wakes up feeling happy and energized. He gets out of bed and goes right to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Inside it, one of the bottles is black. It has the words "Pest Removal" written on it with some human stick figures. He takes the bottle back to his room and approaches the tank. He looks down at the two turds that he dropped upon the city yesterday, admiring the death and destruction left in the wake. He presses a button on the tank's lower part. A tube emerges. It is connected to the water tank that provides water for the lakes and rivers in Nobushi. It is ultimately the source of drinking water for its citizens. Nobu turns on the tube's suction. He then twists the cap off the bottle and pours all of its clear liquid into the tube. "Maybe I'll keep the next city in a bottle, or maybe even inside of me," he says as he begins fondling himself. As Nobushi's water quickly becomes poisonous, Nobu jumps into bed to continue daydreaming and whatnot.

Ayumi wakes up in her spot on the pier. She smells a chemical. The lake's water looks rather dark. As she looks down into the water, a dead fish rises to the surface. It's flesh is quickly dissolving from the contaminated water. She hears a loud splash further out as a strange, whale-like creature surfaces and cries out in agony as its flesh falls off in chunks. More dead creatures and other fish dot the lake.

She gets back on the trail and continues East. She comes to a small building along the path housing a restroom. She goes in. "Woah!" She discovers a woman dead on the floor with her hands and face dissolving as the sink floods. She exits and continues up the path. "What's going on now? It smells like dead fish out here."

A while later, Ayumi reaches a convenience store at the edge of the lake. It is in the Otoru district, the district she started in though a while away from her original building. To the north, she can see Nobu's drying turds as they lie upon the city district. About to pass out from exhaustion, she goes in. She sees a shelf of water bottles labeled "safe to drink" as the bottled water was made before the contamination. She takes one to the checkout. She has some coins leftover from the car. She plops some coins on the counter without counting them and guzzles the bottle. The little TV overhead quietly displays the breaking news of the water contamination as it hampers rescue and recovery efforts from the Divine Dump. The man running the register says, "I would turn you in..." Ayumi's eyes light up with concern as he continues, "But I don't think I will. I don't worship Nobu now, either. A lot of people are turning against him." That moment, as if by divine magic, Nobu's voice booms from all around.

Nobu stands completely naked in front of the urbarium. He addresses Nobushi. "My city, the city of my underlings. It took nanotechnology, deep-learning supercomputers, and so much more. My favorite part was soul stealing. By the way, how do I look?" He rotates himself as his buttocks and penis come right up to the urbarium. "Nowadays, nobody wants this body, sigh... not even the people who are supposed to worship me." He pauses as a feeling of grief comes over him. He cheers up, however, as he plans his next actions. He continues addressing Nobushi. "I've given all of this body to you. All you ever gave me was gas." He admires his landscapes. "Mom and Dad, a few friends, even some of the people who helped make this were in there. Get it? They 'were' in there (burp)." He smiles. "I nourished you, now you can nourish me."

He reaches into Kami District at the north end and grabs a handful of land and all the people, animals, and infrastructure upon it. He shoves it in his mouth and swallows it down. He's not at all worried about the poisoned water as it will have no effect on him. "Mmm... That earthy flavor. I wonder what a whole Earth-like planet would taste like?" He reaches for Midori district in the west and scoops up plenty of it. Places that Ayumi and Chichi had visited are effortlessly brought to his mouth and sent down into his belly. His stomach starts rumbling. His oncoming bout of flatulence won't stop his feast.

What remains of the capital Kitei district still has dust from debris all over it. It's citizens continue to choke on it. Some who have not heard warnings get killed and disintegrated by their poisoned water after drinking or bathing with it. Everything becomes extremely loud and dark as they are scooped up and largely destroyed by Nobu all in one clutch. He brings the mass up to his rump to show off his flatulent backside as he farts upon his clutch. He then brings it to his mouth and gobbles it down.

As he observes the Suimin disctrict in the southwest, he is fully erect. He grabs a handful of it and brings it to his hardened phallus. He wraps his hand around his penis and proceeds to masturbate into his handful. After that satisfying moment, he ejaculates. He balls it all up in a paper towel and tosses it into the waste basket.

Where Ayumi is, the television in the convenience store just shows a black screen as the TV and radio signals in Nobushi were largely depleted. Ayumi can hear people panicking nearby. She resigns to the fact that she will probably die shortly. She steps outside. She looks at the lake. She looks up the road and at some buildings. She sighs and then says, "Goodbye Nobushi. Goodbye Japan. Family, friends, the whole world... So long." Then Nobu's voice booms.

"It's time for dessert. I saved the best for last, Ayumi." He squirts some chocolate syrup onto Otoru district. He starts singing an anarchist folk song he had written for his Fantomu-Tech cult as he continues to coat Otoru in chocolate syrup. As he does, he pauses as he suddenly feels some physical discomfort. His chest tightens up and he drops the bottle. He feels numbness in his limbs. "Ow." He falls to the floor. He starts breathing heavily. He groans and speaks weakly. "I can eat as much as I want. My body can't be... Just you wait. Ow." He closes his eyes.

Ayumi finds herself lying in pitch darkness. She's having trouble moving her arms or anything as they just feel numb. She tries to speak but instead gives an indecipherable groan of, "Where am I? It's hard to breathe here." After lying there for a few minutes, she can finally move her left hand. She feels at her head. She pulls what seems like a plastic bag off her head. She can breathe better, but it still smells damp and musty. She props herself up with her left arm. She touches her neck. It feels like she was previously choked. She can now move her right arm. She feels around the wall behind her and finds a light switch. It becomes dimly lit as she takes in the sight. She sees that she was lying in a pile of cardboard boxes and garbage bags. She manages to stand up.

She speaks softly. "Whose basement is this? I need food. I need a doctor. Someone help." She goes up the stairs. When she opens the door, she finds herself in a kitchen. Through the windows, she can see the Tokyo skyline off in the distance. She checks the fridge, but all that's in there is expired milk. When she looks in the freezer, there is only bottles of chemicals. She roams the house and decides to go upstairs hoping to find anything she can eat that won't make her sicker. She reaches the top and rounds the corner to see that she is now in a bedroom. She walks in and suddenly jumps back against a wall with a scream. She sees Nobu's pale and stiff body lying naked in front of the urbarium.

"Oh, Nobu. My monster of a brother. Yup, you're gone." She can see out the window that the wind is suddenly picking up. An extremely loud, low groaning sound from outside rings her ears. She opens the window and peeks out. From off in the distance, she can hear horns honking. She looks to the horizon as a shadowy figure materializes in the sky and grows consuming the sky in darkness.