Summer Time Rendering's gripping story continues to surprise viewers with unexpected twists and turns. The Shadows, who play an important role in the plot, manage to corrupt Shinpei and his friends on Hitogashima Island. So, who is the Mother in Summer Time Rendering?
This article contains spoilers from the Summer Time Rendering manga.
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Who is the Mother in Summer Time Rendering?
Hiruko no Mikoto, the God of Hitogashima Island, preys on humans to sustain her existence as the Mother of the Shadows in Summer Time Rendering.
On the night of the summer festival, Shinpei first encounters the Mother of the Shadows. It fed on dead bodies before enveloping the island in its own shadow.
This prompted Shinpei to look into its true identity. The Mother of the Shadows resembles a young girl dressed in a red kimono.
Despite seeing her, Shinpei doesn't recognize anyone on the island who resembles the Mother of the Shadows.
Shinpei discovers the Mother of the Shadows is Hiruko no Mikoto during his investigation with Sou and Ushio. Apparently, it was the first god created by Izanagi and Izanami when Japan was conceived.
Hiruko is a frail child who has been abandoned in the sea by everyone. It has the appearance of a leech with no arms or legs, implying that it is heteromorphic.
Apart from that, Hiruko's gender remains unknown to this day.
So far, Shinpei has learned that Hiruko is thought to have drifted from the ocean near Hitogashima Island. Then it imitated Haine's appearance. In Hizuru's memories, Haine acts like any other normal child.
Hizuru, who always brings her snacks and sweets, is very friendly to her. Things change after Hizuru pricks her finger and Haine tastes her blood.
Haine was never the same after that incident. She began to experience excruciating hunger pangs. As a result, Hizuru's brother, Ryuunosuke, succumbs to Haine's appetite.
Moving forward, Hiruko has long assumed Haine's identity. However, she suffered from severe malnutrition for many years and was too weak to leave the depths of Hitogashima Island.
Tokiko Hishigata claims that the Hishigata lineage has long cared for Haine's needs. To Sou's chagrin, it was her family's duty from her grandfather to her great grandfather to feed Haine some dead bodies.
Haine, it turns out, has been assisting Tokiko in repaying the favor she owed her family. While Sou believes her mother has been cured of her disease, Tokiko reveals that Haine also turned their mother into a shadow to relieve her suffering.
The true killer of Ushio has also been revealed in the midst of the conflict between Haine and Shinpei. Ushio's human body was strangled to death by the Shadow of Shiori. It turns out that Haine was the one who copied Shiori a long time ago.
It was also revealed that Haine, like Shinpei, can loop. After all, it planted its right eye on Shinpei's after the latter manifested in Hizuru's memories.
Shide, the four-eyed Shadow, claims that Shinpei can see the flow of time from a higher dimension, observe multiple parallel worlds, and make them a reality.
Shinpei, on the other hand, lacks the ability to willfully activate his power. Furthermore, he is unable to control Haine's right eye, whereas the latter can follow them anywhere after marking his hand.