I've been involved in a religion since I was in elementary school because of my parents. The practice involved wearing something around your neck and having someone hold their hands over you to cure illnesses and injuries. Of course, being just an elementary school kid, I didn't really believe in it, but my parents told me to do it, so I attended the lectures and got the object to wear around my neck. Eventually, I learned how to perform the healing myself, and it actually worked—seriously. From elementary school until my first year of junior high, I never took any medicine. Whenever I caught a cold, my parents would cure it.
Then, one day around the sixth grade, I apparently developed an eye disease and was told I needed surgery. My parents did the hand-holding ritual over my eyes. When I went to the doctor afterward, the doctor said, "It's gone." I asked, "What?" And the doctor replied, "It's vanished. Very rarely, it just disappears on its own." I was really surprised when that happened. Well, maybe it did disappear naturally, and I can't say for sure. Eventually, though, going to the training hall became a hassle, so I quit. Nowadays, I take medicine just like anyone else.
That religion sounds familiar. The one that used to come to my house wasn't the one you mentioned, but a different one. This was many years ago. A fellow university student came to the apartment I was living in at the time—they even showed me their student ID when I doubted them—and asked if I would let them hold their hands over me. Feeling somewhat relieved that they went to the same university, I agreed to let them do it each time since it seemed harmless. But as this kept repeating, my physical condition started getting weird, and I began breaking out in rashes. I also started feeling a presence near me when I was sleeping, and a constant sensation of being watched. The curtains over my closed windows would even flutter as if blown by a strong wind. When I mentioned this to the student, they said, "Bad things inside your body are coming out, so that's how it is at first." I didn't mention the presence, the feeling of being watched, or the curtains. After a few weeks, that student brought along another member of the same religion and invited me to come visit their local branch.
Thinking it would be fine just to visit, I decided to ride in a car with them on my day off to go there together. While riding in that car, I felt an indescribable chill and a sensation as if my entire body was being squeezed. During the drive, the student kept saying that ever since they started this religion, only good things had happened to them. Frankly, I listened with a sense of disbelief, figuring they were just trying to make me want to join. Soon, the branch building came into view, and we went inside. The moment I stepped through the door, I saw something like a black mist slithering around the interior. It vanished almost immediately, so I figured I was just imagining things and decided to keep following them.
There was something like an offering box, and I was handed a white paper bag and told to put any amount of money I wanted inside. Having no money, I tried to drop a 10-yen coin into the box, and I was given a terrifying glare. I put it in anyway. After that, I was handed a book and told to read passages that started with "In Takamanohara..." along with everyone else. When that day was over and I tried to leave the building, I felt an odd sensation as if my entire back was caving in, though it passed immediately. They drove me back home, and I went back to my routine of going to university.
Two days later, I noticed something was wrong with my body. Even though it wasn't hot, I was sweating abnormally, and nausea and fatigue persisted. Thinking it might be a cold, I went to the hospital, where they said I didn't have a fever but might be coming down with something, and prescribed me anti-nausea medication and cold medicine. The symptoms didn't stop, so I ended up visiting about four different hospitals. Finally, I went to a university hospital and was examined across multiple departments, but the cause remained unknown. Since I was living alone for the first time back then, I called my family home to explain my condition just in case.
Meanwhile, my physical condition kept getting worse, and I was losing weight rapidly. Even in that state, the university student who practiced the hand-healing would still come to my apartment every time, holding their hands over me to try and make me better. Around that time, while I was sleeping, I would feel the sensation of someone choking my neck, lights would turn on and off by themselves, and the walls would be banged on with incredible force. When I went to complain to my neighbor, they told me that I was the one who shouldn't be banging on the walls in the middle of the night. Sick of living in that apartment, I ended up living in my university club room for a while, bringing my clothes and books there.
As my physical health deteriorated further and I started seeing strange things, I called my parents again and told them I might be losing my mind. Sensing the severity of my condition, my parents said they would consult the family temple we had used for generations. A few hours later, I received a call not from my parents, but from the temple priest, who told me to get back immediately no matter what. At that time, he instructed me: do not return to the apartment, do not contact that student in any way, and drink even a little bit of Japanese sake. He told me to come straight to the temple instead of going back to my parents' home.
I rushed back, and there I spent several days chanting sutras and living at the temple. Strangely enough, my physical ailments gradually disappeared. Once I felt better, I decided to move out of that apartment immediately. Fortunately, the only piece of furniture left was the television, so during the day, I went to pick it up with a friend using their car.
When I returned to the apartment, the mailbox was stuffed with notes. The sender was that student, and they had written demanding that I contact them. For some reason, it had already been decided that I was joining, and the notes also instructed me to prepare 30,000 yen (I don't remember the exact amount). Among the many notes, one even read, "Don't run away." Trembling with fear, I carried out the television and ended up imposing on a friend's apartment for a while.
After that, I spent some time without incident, found a new room, and moved in. Curious about the student, I searched the university student directory, but couldn't find them. Since I knew their major, I asked older students and professors from that department, but they all said they had never heard of such a student. Apparently, they never existed.
When I visited my family home later and went to greet the temple priest, he scolded me for accepting strange things into my life. As for me, ever since then, I gradually started seeing various entities. After I began seeing these things, I went to consult the priest again. He told me that someone in my lineage often ends up like this and showed me something that looked like a long scroll. A family tree was drawn on it, and a mark was placed next to my great-grandfather. Then he told me, "It's your turn now, [My Name]." I don't know what kind of influence that religion had, and maybe that student was just desperate for recruits, but that's how it turned out.
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