Kafka on the shore by Murukami, 30: Stealing the entrance stone

In Chapter 30 of Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, As Hoshino follows the figure resembling Colonel Sanders into the woods behind the shrine, he learns that this entity is not the capitalist icon, but a formless being who assumed that shape. Tasked with maintaining the flow of time and preserving the boundaries between worlds, the entity takes Hoshino to a smaller shrine. There, he instructs Hoshino to retrieve the entrance stone. Hesitant, Hoshino fears desecrating the shrine and offending God. The entity reasons that the concept of God is flexible, persuading Hoshino to proceed.

The novel's supernatural elements and blurred world boundaries contribute to characters feeling disoriented. Hoshino retrieves the round, white entrance stone, which is heavier than expected. With the entity's assistance, he transports it back to the hotel and places it by Nakata's pillow.