### Section: PageInfo
title=Outer Shrine
icon=minecraft:writable_book
category=reverie_dreams:structure

### EndSection: PageInfo

### Align: Center

【Exploration Log #01】

I discovered this shrine at dusk.

It wasn't conspicuous.

There were no lights along the approach path, no rows of torii gates; it simply stood out abruptly in a clearing in the woods.

It wasn't marked on the map, and there were no signs around, as if it had never intended to be found.

But strangely—it didn't seem abandoned.

The stone steps had been cleared, moss only growing at the edges; there were still traces of water that hadn't completely evaporated in the purifying basin; the offering box in front of the main hall wasn't locked, but the wood grain had been repeatedly touched until it shone.

It seems...someone still lives here.

—

【Exploration Log #02】

I met the old man the next morning.

He emerged from behind the side hall so quietly I barely heard his footsteps.

He was simply dressed, his movements slow but not sluggish.

He glanced at me, neither surprised nor asking any questions.

He simply nodded, then continued what he was doing—sweeping fallen leaves.

I tried to talk to him.

He didn't say much.

His answers were simple, even deliberately avoiding certain questions.

"Has it always been like this here?"

"Pretty much."

"Is there anyone else?"

"No."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

The conversation ended there.

He didn't seem inclined to continue.

—
[Exploration Log #03]

I began to pay attention to the details of the shrine.

The offerings on the altar were simple, mostly ordinary food, with the occasional less common item.

The ash in the incense burner was neatly arranged, indicating that the incense had never truly gone out.

Some old objects were piled up in the side hall.

Most of the items were broken utensils, faded fabrics, and some whose purpose was no longer identifiable.

These things were well-preserved.

They didn't seem abandoned; they seemed deliberately left behind.

I asked the old man about the origin of these items.

He glanced at them but didn't answer.

He only said one sentence:

"What should be kept, is kept."

—
【Exploration Log #04】

Time flows strangely here.

It's not stagnant, nor is it accelerated.

It's more like… it's stretched out.

It's quiet during the day; you can barely hear any outside sounds.

There are no lights at night, only the occasional sound of the wind.

But no matter when you come, the shrine always maintains a state of "just been tended to."

I tried arriving earlier.

I found the old man already cleaning.

I left later, and he was still there.

He always seems to be here.

—
【Exploration Log #05】

I asked him why he stayed here. He stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment.

“Someone has to be there.”

“Why you?”

“It just so happens to be me.”

His tone was calm, as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary.

I asked again:

“What if no one else comes?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

After a while, he leaned the broom against the side and said:

“That’s the same.”

—
【Exploration Log #06】

As I left, I glanced back.

The shrine still stood there quietly.

The old man was no longer in sight; I didn’t know if he had returned to some side hall.

But I knew—this place wouldn’t become ruins.

At least, while that person was still here.

End of record.