The chapter opens with a flashback to the beginning of the novel, when the spirit of nature, called the kami, created a magical veil to hide them from the eyes of man. From that moment on, the spirit and man could no longer see each other and live as if they were separate worlds. The kami created the veil to protect them from their enemies, and they took great care to ensure that they were nice and sharp so that they could pierce our enemies. The chapter ends with a description of the evil that has come to be known as the "noggo" . The noggo has taken the light from one of the children of the monk, and the monk has lost one of his own. The monk asks the monk to give him the light that he has lost, and he asks that the monk and the Onba honor the old link by bringing him offerings. He also asks that they kill the flesh of his brother, who has been killed by the nogo, and that they keep a relic of the moshur world, invisible to their eyes. He tells the monk that he will hold the monk responsible for the horrible consequences that will follow if the monk takes the onba in. He says that he is the guardian of the spirit, and it is his duty to protect its noble artifice. He warns the monk not to speak too much, as he will have to explain to him why the creature has been born. He praises the monk for his courage, and tells him that his father, the general of the shoguns, has praised him. He asks if he is right, and says that the monks are not supposed to interfere in the affairs of human beings.