Kitsune of the Blue Sun

[Keeno POV]

Standing in front of the gate, I was about to melt a hole through it when it swung open by itself.

 

“How inviting.” (Keeno)

 

Not even listening to my sarcasm, Freyr walked by right through.

 

“It’s best to just accept the invitation. Arrogance of this magnitude is what the king is known for. He wouldn’t invite us in like this if he didn’t believe we were walking in the palm of his hand.” (Freyr)

 

“Ugh.  All of these people in charge, always so arrogant. Get some originality.” (Freya)

 

“I agree with you there, Freya.  Don’t they know that this much arrogance only ever leads to death?” (Keeno)

 

{That’s not completely true, I mean if it was, you’d have met the king or equivalent ruler in most countries by now.}

 

‘…Pfft.  That’s true.’ (Keeno)

 

Thankful for Ama lightening the mood, I entered through the gate. Freyr once again leading the way, we pressed forward. As we went, we entered a rather lovely garden full of many colorful flowers, several fruit trees, their branches weighed down with fruit, several small streams that I think branched from the canals outside the walls flowed throughout, filling the garden with a light burble.  It was a place so full of life, it was like the outside of the castle’s walls didn’t exist.

 

“The gardens haven’t changed but gotten more beautiful than I remember.” (Freyr)

 

“I’ve only ever heard tales of the castle’s gardens.  The Jewel of the World, I believe.” (Sigurd)

 

“Yes, Sigurd, I remember the times when we were allowed to harvest the fruit here, how we always snuck a few into out pockets to snack on later, how the the others would try to gain the favor of someone they fancied by taking a flower from here.” (Freyr)

 

“I’m surprised that was ever allowed.” (Pram)

 

“Hah!  It wasn’t. Any who got caught, on a good day, were given a minimum of 20 lashes, on a bad day, hung.  But we still did it. We thought of it like a game, a very dangerous one, but a game all the same.” (Freyr)

 

“So, a thing many did, but was still a death sentence regardless. And no one ever tried to stop it?” (Freya)

 

“Ones that did got the same punishment as the ones caught.  We all learned to keep it to ourselves, but when someone did inevitably get caught, all we could do was hold our tongues. It’s something I deeply regret to this day, but it’s in the past now, and there is nothing I can do.” (Freyr)

 

I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of armor clanking.  In the doorway Freyr was leading us to, two knights in full armor stood guard.

 

“Ill take one, anyone care to take the other?” (Emma)

 

“Hmm. Huginn, Muninn, care to stretch your wings a bit?” (Keeno)

 

The two emerged from my tails and flapped up to my shoulders.

 

“I’ll take the one in the left.” (Emma)

 

“You two, go for the other one, if you please.” (Keeno)

 

The two got a glint in their eyes and took off from my shoulders.  They started to circle above the guard they were going to take while Emma emerged from the corner we were hiding behind.  Seeing her, the guards became alert and slowly approached her.

 

“Oi!  Lady, you don’t belong here. Unless you’re a new maid, and we would know if you were, then you’re going to have to come with us.”

 

“I think I’ll decline.” (Emma)

 

She summoned her Soul Weapon and readied herself. The guards took a cautious step back before drawing the swords at their hips.  This was when my two feathered friends made their move. Muninn flew down from above and slashed the right guard’s helmet with its wing. A second later, the helmet cracked like a cheap wooden bucket and fell apart, leaving the guard’s face unprotected.  Huginn then dove and went beak first through the guard’s eye and out the back of his head.  The two then flew over to one of the small streams and dove in.  Turning my attention back to the guards, I saw the second one’s head fall to the ground as Emma made her sword disappear.

 

“Lady Okami, your bird friends are very scary.” (Freyr)

 

“Nah.  They’re sweet little ones, if not a bit too mischievous at times.” (Keeno)

 

Once the two came back from their little bath, we entered through the door the guards were guarding.  Staying a bit low, we moved quickly through the halls, hiding behind corners or other things when too many knights passed by and taking out any we could as quietly as possible before hiding the bodies in closets or spare rooms.

 

‘You know, this is a lot of people in the way for inviting us in the gate.’ (Freya)

 

‘I was thinking the same thing.  It’s annoying.’ (Keeno)

 

{It’s more inviting you in just so you can tire yourselves out getting to the destination.}

 

“Yep.  Looking back, this has happened a lot of times here.  Though, this is the first time there have been more survivors on the attacking side.” (Moco)

 

‘You mean this scenario has happened before?’ (Keeno)

 

“Yep.  This isn’t the first time the king of Falheim’s children have tried to usurp the throne.  This is one of the more successful attempts, but still.  They’ve all failed, though this time is different.  It’s practically impossible for you to lose, Keeno, with my full Blessing of War.  Though that won’t stop you from getting slowed down by this or any other traps the king has set.  I mean, he has ruled Falheim since the beginning of the country.” (Moco)

 

‘There are a lot of things I want to comment on there, but it’ll have to wait.’ (Keeno)

 

We stopped at another corner with Sigurd being the one to peek around it this time.  After discreetly scanning for any enemies, he turned to us and whispered.

 

“There are only two guards around the corner, and they are guarding what I can only assume is the throne room.” (Sigurd)

 

“Were the doors as large as the hallway and decorated with murals?” (Freyr)

 

Sigurd nodded his head in affirmation.

 

“It’s the throne room.” (Freyr)

 

“Freya, you and me, fast as light.” (Keeno)

 

“On your mark.” (Freya)

 

I nodded and prepared myself before signaling Freya.  We both activated our magic and in a split second, we were next to the guards by the large doors and had our weapons through their chests and necks.  We carefully lowered the bodies to the ground trying to make as little sound as possible before the others joined us before the doors.  Once we were all ready, we faced the ornate doors.  Sigurd and Freyr walked up to them and, with a lot of effort, pushed the heavy doors open.  They made a deep groaning sound as they moved.  Once there was a space big enough for us to walk through, the two went in ahead of us and we followed.

 

The inside of the room was massive, like the inside of a giant cathedral.  The windows lining the walls were stained glass depicting scenes of a man fighting monsters, building a city by himself, shaping mountains and calling down storms.  The windows closer to the throne began to become much less colorful and full of shades of red depicting scenes of gruesome things.  Torture, cannibalism, desecration of corpses.  All these led to a giant glass mural depicting this same castle from outside its walls, only instead of water leading out from the walls, it was rivers of blood.  The white walls were painted in shades of black and red.  And behind it stood a mountain with its peak missing, replaced by another castle floating in the sky with a man standing atop it, looking down on the world with a cruel smile.

 

Looking down from the largest stained-glass window, I saw something that made me freeze up.  In the place where the throne should have been, a large skeleton.  In the place where the skull lay, its mouth open, a highly gilded cushion was suspended in the air with golden chains slung through the place where eyes should have been.  The wing bones on the back were spread like it was about to take flight while the tail was coiled around, displaying sharp looking spikes.  The ribcage was covered with carvings that looked the like the same kind of thing that I found on the scale in that one city.  From the teeth of the skull hung several flags, all with the symbol of Falheim embroidered on them.  And, in the cushion in the middle of the mouth sat a man.

 

Atop this man’s head was a crown of gold so polished, it was practically glowing, though it also had an interesting shape that made it look like it was just carved out of something than made of metal.  The man wearing the crown…left a lot to be desired from someone surrounded by so much opulence.  He had grey skin like that of a corpse that had been dead for a long time, sunken, sickly yellow eyes, so many wrinkles that he looked more like a raisin than a man, and even from the doors, I could smell the reek coming from him.  It was like he was a corpse left in the suns to decompose.

 

Even with the king staring at us with a toothy smile on his raisiny face, I barely noticed it.  All I could see were the skeleton and crown.  A rage I had felt several times since coming back to this country started to surface, only its potency was so strong, I could barely see straight.  My vision was wavering a bit, and I could barely stand.  In my periphery, I could see some smoke rising around me from the ground and the others backed away from me.  Looking directly at the king, I spoke, my voice surprisingly calm for how much rage I was currently feeling.

 

“So…not only did you pass out her scales like trinkets, but you also use her body as a chair and symbol of oppression, and you wear her reverse scale as a crown.  You step on her pride, and the pride of her descendants with your every action.” (Keeno)

 

As I continued to walk forward, the king of Falheim spoke.  His voice was a hoarse, croaky one that could curdle milk.

 

“Kukukuku.  You lack manners, parasite.  It is only appropriate to grovel at the feet of your god and speak only when told to.  As for this, it’s only natural that I use the lizard that once lived in the world I created as a chair.  Though it was vermin, it was indeed pretty to look at.  It’s a shame it took me so long to think of using it as my throne.  But enough of this, parasite.  Bow!  You shall not show me any more disrespect!” (King)

 

“I refuse, you walking corpse.  I bow to no one.” (Keeno)

 

{Keeno, calm down, you are getting too lost in your anger.}

 

“…Hmmm.  Kukukukukukuku!  You bare a resemblance to them…what were their names?  The duke who served me oh so faithfully before disappearing and…my daughter?” (King)

 

{You damn idiot!}

 

His words made me even angrier. The plush carpet under my feet started to catch fire and my Soul Weapons manifested.

 

“Such a temper for a mere parasite. It seems I should teach you why it’s a bad idea to face a god.” (King)

 

He raised his hands and lightning began to crackle between his fingers. Pointing them at me, he yelled at the top of his lungs.

 

“UNLIMITED POWAH!!!!!!!!!!!” (King)

 

The blue lightning flew across the room at me while other bolts were pulled towards the bones. I dodged out of the way and threw one of my swords at the I king. He moved some of his lightning and pushed the blade away. Taking the opportunity while he was distracted, I ran toward the king while pulling my sword back.  He directed his lightning back at me, causing me to start dodging it again.

 

{Keeno, redirect the lightning to the bones. Dragon bones absorb magic.}

 

Though I could just barely hear her voice, I heeded Ama’s advice.  I threw a sword again, though the angle I threw it was a little different than the last time. Once again, the king shot his lightning at my sword to protect himself, but this time the place he aimed was too close to the bones. All of the lightning was drawn toward it, causing the king to panic a little. I started to move forward again. Once I was close, I jumped up and kicked the king in the chest, knocking him off his plush little cushion.

 

“YOU DARE TOUCH A GOD!?” (King)

 

“I do every Solar Convergence.” (Keeno)

 

I brought my swords up to stab the king when I felt a weird chill at my back. I jumped away and soon a black metal pillar in the shape of a spiraling spear appeared out of nowhere. The king took that opportunity to try his lightning once again, but it was all attracted to the bones and pillar.  Choosing not to think about it much at the moment, I threw my sword again, and it sunk into the king’s face. Pulling on the chain and freeing my sword, I was going to cut the king’s body to cleanse his soul, but before I could it was forcefully pulled from his body into the black pillar. The pillar then vanished, leaving behind a small note.

 

[Don’t worry about the soul, it’s being taken care of by a specialist. Sorry for the intervention, but I promised someone that they could have this mongrel’s soul, so I took it. Won’t happen again. This message will now disappear, and you’ll all forget this happened. Have fun. -P]

 

I was confused, but before I could really question anything, the note burst into flames, and I became dizzy. When I recovered, I looked down and saw the king with a hole in his face and no soul to be seen.

 

‘Ama, did I black out and do this?’ (Keeno)

 

{…I think so?}

 

‘Why was that a question?’ (Keeno)

 

{I don’t know. I feel like something happened but can’t really recall what it was.}

 

Deciding not to think about it, I took the crown off the mongrel’s head while the others came up behind me.

 

“Talk about anticlimactic. I was so sure he would be some super powerful master of combat, but he didn’t even use his Soul Weapon.” (Emma)

 

{He probably couldn’t. Too old, the strain would have killed him.}

 

“Step one of being a tyrant. Convince those under you that you’re all powerful, even if you’re weaker than a child.” (Keeno)

 

“So, what now, my Lady?” (Sigurd)

 

“You and Freyr wait here while the rest of us deal with the Dead Zone. If that Prince shows up, stall him or kill him, either works.” (Keeno)

 

“Yes, my Lady.” (Sigurd)

 

“We shall await your return.” (Freyr)

 

Looking up at the bones and down at the crown in my hand, I closed my eyes for a moment before moving forward.

 

“Soon, Fafnir. We have more than enough to bring you back, just need the power.” (Keeno)

 

Chaos Realm:

Mofu bud: MOFU!!! *Sound of playing around with a raisin man’s soul*

Astraea: Hehehehe. Are you having fun, Mofu?

Mofu bud: MOFUFUFUFUFUFLUFF!

Astraea: Mofufufufluff!

Luna: Infeel like this should be worrying behavior, but it’s so dang cute I don’t care.

Naturally. My daughter is the cutest in the whole Sea of Chaos. Only beaten by the beauty of Order.

Order: Flatterer.

Guilty as charged.

Luna: Flattery gets you everywhere. Tamamo can attest to that because we use it all the time.

Mofu bud: *crunch*

Luna: Did it just eat a part of the soul?

Nope, just made a crunching sound.

Luna: Hmm. Anyway, Dead Zone numero dos time!

Endeed.