Kitsune of the Blue Sun

[Sigurd POV]

About an hour after my Lady left the throne room to go take care of the Dead Zone, a loud sound echoed from the doors to the room.  Several of our people rushed in while the Prince followed, surrounded by even more of our people and a few people that were wearing the armor of the royal guard.  The rebels in the group looked around the throne room and were clearly in awe at the splendor of the hall and the dragon bones that made up the throne.  While they approached us, Freyr leaned over and quietly spoke to me.

 

“Sigurd, leave the talking to me.  If this turns into a fight, I don’t think our allies will turn on us, but be ready for those royal guards.  We try to avoid combat as long as we can until Lady Okami returns.” (Freyr)

 

I nodded my head.  A minute later, the group that entered the hall lined up on either side and the Prince approached us.  When he got close enough to see the King’s body, he stopped and stared at it.

 

“…” (Prince)

 

I couldn’t really tell what emotion he was showing on his face, but I could see the flames of scorn, greed, and triumph in his eyes.  He walked up to the body and spat at it.

 

“Looks like I win, Father, all of it is mine now.  I’ve proven myself superior to you, now I will remake this world in my image.  I am no longer the person you deemed worthless, born from whatever mistress it was.” (Prince)

 

He started to kick the corpse, focusing on whatever was left of the face.  The sounds of the King’s bones breaking and dead flesh tearing was sickening, even to us who’ve spent many years on the battlefield.

 

“M-…Prince, that is no way for someone of your station to act, especially in front of so many.” (Freyr)

 

“Hmm?  Ah, Freyr, I forgot you were here.” (Prince)

 

Again, keeping his expression neutral, the Prince looked up at us, then over to the others in the room, some of which had disgusted expressions while others tried their best to just avoid eye contact.  I caught a brief glimpse of spite in his eyes before his head turned.

 

“Prince, what shall we do now?  What are your orders?” (Freyr)

 

“Hmm.  Send some people through the castle, round up any servants and nobles that are here and hiding.  We’re going to hold a grand execution before I ascend the throne…Speaking of, where is the crown?  Better question, where is that stupid niece of mine?  While I hate to admit it, she was invaluable to us, so I should at least let her witness my ascension before having her executed as well.” (Prince)

 

Those last words from the Prince set me on edge.  I almost instinctively summoned my Soul Weapon, but managed to just barely stop myself due to the presence of the royal guards, who I knew I would have a difficult time defeating in a sudden battle.

 

“Why would you do such a thing?  You said so yourself that she and her friends were invaluable, so they should be rewarded, not executed.” (Freyr)

 

“Because Freyr, she is still related to me through my sister, meaning she has a claim to the throne.  I will not allow ANYONE else to have such a claim to what is mine.  And her friends, they are unwelcome here, peasants that they are.” (Prince)

 

The Prince turned away from us and toward the royal guards.

 

“My guards, go and prepare for the execution.  Two of you stay here.  The rest of you I will allow to witness my ascension.” (Prince)

 

The royal guards saluted and left the throne room, shutting the large doors behind them.  I, and the rest of the rebels were silent.  I was doing my best to keep from cutting the Prince down right now while the others behind the Prince looked like they’d just received dire news, though in reality, they did.

 

“I see…so it really is coming to this.  Prince of Falheim, you will not lay a hand on the throne, you shall never rule this country.  You will just take the previous king’s mantle and oppress all those under your rule.  I, as Commander of the Rebel army, did not fight this war just to have another thousand years of the same oppressive rule to continue.” (Freyr)

 

Freyr’s greatsword appeared in his hand and at the ready.  I did the same shortly after, glaring at the Prince all the while.

 

“Pfft.  Pahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  You think I give a damn about what you think!?  You were just a means to an end!  Once I took the throne and replaced all the nobles, I planned on having all of you executed, but it seems that a change in plans is necessary.” (Prince)

 

He then turned back to the group that came in with him.

 

“As king of Falheim, I order all of you to kill these two traitors to the crown.  I will reward the one that gets the killing blow a position in the royal guard and a pardon for being part of a rebellion.” (Prince)

 

The two royal guards that were still present drew their swords and ran toward me and Freyr, but we thankfully managed to cut them down without much trouble.  Looking up from my freshly killed enemy, I saw the lot of the others looking unsure of themselves.

 

“What are you waiting for!?  This is an order from your king!” (Prince)

 

“Hahaha.  They don’t answer to you, you tomato-apple faced mongrel, they answer to Freyr, the one they’ve fought with side by side.  You’ve done nothing but ‘command’ from the backlines.  All you have going for you right now is social position.” (Keeno)

 

Turning around to face where the voice came from, I saw my Lady, accompanied by the others.  On her face was a knowing smirk while her tails waved behind her.  I was surprised by the appearance of a third one, but I could ask her about it later, for now it was imperative for me to protect her from anything the Prince threw at her.

 

“You dare look down on me and my station!?” (Prince)

 

“I do, Prince whateveryournameis.” (Keeno)

 

This caused the Prince to get even angrier and his face to turn even redder, somehow.

 

“Freya, if you please, help me cut these ugly chains, Pram get ready to help me.  Emma, stand back and make sure no one interrupts.” (Keeno)

 

Those three nodded their heads and got to work.  Lady Freya jumped up onto the dragon skull and cut through the chains holding the throne aloft in the skull.  Once she was done with that, she moved them and the cushion that was the throne away.  Emma stood next to me and Freyr, her Soul Weapon in her hand and she pointed it at the Prince.

 

“Now, I’m going to put on a spectacle to which none of you have ever seen in your lives and will never see again.” (Keeno)

 

She hopped up and stood on the skull of the dragon and knelt down.  Placing a hand on the skull, she acted like she crushed something in her other hand before moving it to the skull as well.  She then started to pour mana into the skull.  It was so much and so concentrated that it was becoming visible in an inky black color tinged with a slight hint of gold.  Several minutes passed with seemingly nothing happening when…something changed.  In the hollow parts of the skull, two lights started to glow.  In one was an orange light, while the other was blue.

 

“Pram.” (Keeno)

 

The snow leopard girl nodded her head and touched the skull and she also started to channel mana into it.  I could tell something was happening with her, but it wasn’t as drastic as where my Lady was.  Where she was at, a small humming sound could be heard as the mana poured out of her.  There was a crashing sound coming from next to me, but what was happening with the dragon skeleton was more important, so I didn’t glance over at it.

 

Another few minutes later, the skeleton began to change more than just a light glowing in the eyes.  Starting at the tail, arms, and legs something fleshy started to grow from the bones and crawling up before quickly becoming covered in shimmering golden scales.  Once the flesh and scales covered the whole torso, a scraping sound was heard.

 

“Okami…” (Pram)

 

“Just one more push, Pram.  Freya, get ready.” (Keeno)

 

My Lady stood up and hopped down next to Pram and placed her hand back on the dragon skull.  She channeled even more mana into the skull, this time it was about half black, half gold and there was a kind of oppressive power coming from her.  The skin and scales started to grow rapidly and soon they covered the neck and skull.  Now, instead of a pile of bones, a true dragon lay in front of us, its eyes closed.

 

“Pram, this is the end.  I’ve done as much as I can do without making it undead, so I’m gonna help you as you push the final bit.  Freya, help me out with mana transfer.” (Keeno)

 

“Right.” (Freya)

 

Lady Freya placed her hand on Lady Pram’s back along with my Lady.  My Lady then started to channel that golden mana into lady Pram.  This power along with whatever magic she was using encompassed the dragon, making its already golden scales shine even more.  Then, there was a sound.  A beat.  A rhythmic beat that made all those present stop and hold their breath.

 

*Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump*

 

I then felt a hot breath that nearly blew me back.  Then, the eyes opened, one a blazing orange, the other a blazing blue.  The dragon moved once more, its bones making cracking sounds due to it moving again after sitting in one place for a long time.

 

“Hmmm.  The world of the living…the air feels…stale.” (???)

 

The dragon raised its head a little off the ground and looked at the wall nearest to it.  It slightly opened its mouth and a faint glow shone in its chest before traveling up and out its mouth.  A blast similar to the one my Lady made earlier shot out and hit the wall, vaporizing it.  The dragon then breathed in.

 

“Mmmm.  Better.  So sweet and crisp, I’ve missed it.” (???)

 

The dragon then moved its head again and looked at my Lady.

 

“Many thanks, Lady Okami, you have done me a great service, returning me to life.” (???)

 

“It wasn’t any trouble, Fafnir.  Now, your part of the deal needs to be upheld.” (Keeno)

 

“Naturally, though I am quite famished, so I believe I will take a small snack first.” (Fafnir)

 

The dragon’s head moved once more and it eyed the Prince who was laying on the floor, pinned under Emma’s knees.

 

“Emma, move.” (Keeno)

 

“Right away.” (Emma)

 

Emma moved away from the Prince, who didn’t move a muscle, clearly unconscious.

 

“Small, but it will do for a very light snack.” (Fafnir)

 

The dragon then picked the Prince up, threw him into the air, then snapped its jaws shut on the Prince.

 

“…Disgusting.” (Fafnir)

 

The dragon then looked over the rest of us, like we were being appraised as livestock ready to be slaughtered for food.  It didn’t make a move to do the same as with the Prince, but when its eyes landed on the king’s corpse, a dangerous glint appeared and it spit a small ball of fire at the corpse.  It went up in flames instantly.

 

“Need more, but I will wait for later.  All of you tiny people, who is your leader?” (Fafnir)

 

No one could move due to the fear for several minutes but eventually a few started to point at Freyr.  Seeing that, others did the same until most people in the room were pointing at Freyr.

 

“Hmm.  You will rule this place now, if any object, send them to the mountains behind this human-made den.  Miss Okami, come here with your little friends and climb on my back.” (Fafnir)

 

My Lady nodded and slowly climbed onto the dragon, followed by lady Freya who was carrying lady Pram.  Emma also hopped up behind them.

 

“Sigurd, get up here.” (Keeno)

 

I froze up for a second, but feeling the stares of all the people present and wanting nothing more than to get away from the attention, I did as I was told and climbed up.  Once I was settled, the dragon swung its tail and broke down the wall behind where it once lay and moved over to the hole.  It looked over to the mountain and the long stone tunnel built into the castle.  It jumped onto the tunnel and started bounding towards the mountains, trying to outrun the collapsing structures underneath its feet.

 

“*Sigh*Fafnir, be happy this worked out so well.  I’m about out of mana and completely spent on Divinity.” (Keeno)

 

“Hmhmhmhm.  You did wonderfully, my descendant, I will get to a suitable cave and let you rest there.  Ah, and thank you for resurrecting me…I didn’t realize I missed the feeling of being alive until just now.” (Fafnir)

 

“Haha.  Just don’t die again, and if you do, at least wait until I’m fully ascended to do so.” (Keeno)

 

My Lady seemed to teeter in her seat for a moment before leaning to one side and being caught by Emma.

 

“You other three should rest as well.  You’ve all had a long day, and it will take a while to find a suitable home.  I will ensure you do not fall from my back, so rest.” (Fafnir)

 

The tone of the dragon was much calmer and gentler than when in the throne room, almost like a mother caring for its child.

 

“I think we should listen, Sigurd.  There is a lot you missed while we were in the Dead Zone, and we’ll probably need a few days for things to calm down out here, so listen to Fafnir here and rest.” (Emma)

 

“I get it, Emma…today truly has been long.” (Sigurd)

 

“Hmhmhm.  Rest well, tiny people.” (Fafnir)

 

Chaos Realm:

Aaaaaand…got it!  Prince soul is in my possession.

All Present: Woooooo!  Soul mutilation time!!!

Luna: Here, I got some blank canvases, let’s tie some of it to these and I can shoot it with arrows and stuff, just like those two.

Atmos: And give it just a little sentience again, I want to throw a lot of cakes at it!

Crisis: Let me give it Essence of Insanity!  I want to eat its delicious delirium!

Order: In-chan, don’t do that in front of the kids.

Crisis: Then I’ll let Mordred watch them in another room!

Order: …*Sigh*

Crisis: SHE DIDN’T SAY NO!  WOOOOO!!!