Chapter 18: The Fox Den

Darkness had already settled. The scorching desert heat of the day had given way to the biting cold of the night, but Finn remained unaffected, his body seemingly immune to the freezing temperatures.

He had been walking for hours on end. His primary concern was finding as many foxes as possible, as they were key to completing the mission he had already begun. However, considering the massive size of the desert, this task seemed extremely challenging. All he could realistically hope for was to encounter enough foxes while making his way out of the desert.

“I see the worms are gone. None have attacked in the last half hour,” Finn commented, noting the absence of the savage reptiles.

[They’re accustomed to the daytime heat, so they burrow deep underground and sleep until morning,] Sika explained.

“Well, good for me.”

[Target detected: A pack of foxes directly ahead, moving away.]

“Got it.” Finn ascended from the ground, using his levitation ability, which still hadn’t worn off, and flew swiftly under Sika’s guidance. Over the past few hours, he had killed thirty-two foxes in random locations, but there were still sixty-eight left to go. Each one was incredibly valuable now.

Finally, in his line of sight, he spotted a large pack running together. He grinned at their numbers and prepared to strike.

However, as he got closer, he suddenly stopped and focused his gaze. Despite the darkness, the bright moonlight helped him see clearly. Each fox was carrying a small or medium-sized prey in its mouth.

“Why are they carrying all of that?” he wondered aloud.

[If it were for their own food, they would have eaten it immediately upon finding it. It seems like they’re gathering it for someone else.]

“Well, mysterious enough for me to check it out.” He ascended higher into the sky, watching them from a distance. The foxes continued their steady progress without stopping. After a short while, Finn saw where they were heading.

Before him, a massive rock loomed in the middle of the desert. The foxes stopped in front of it, and four of them, who weren’t carrying anything in their mouths, stepped forward. They all howled in unison with a sharp, synchronized bark.

The massive rock trembled, and two yellow lines formed the shape of a door on its surface. The glowing lines illuminated the area before the rock split open, revealing a winding path.

The foxes entered one by one, and the large door disappeared as the rock resealed itself, as if nothing had happened. Finn was taken aback by the sight. He descended to the ground and touched the rock’s surface.

“Sika, how do I get in?” he asked, noticing how perfectly natural the rock felt, with no detectable gaps or weaknesses.

[It’s a simple spell. Fifty LIB coins will be enough for me to open it.]

“Ugh, the coins are the whole reason I’m doing this mess in the first place!” he grumbled. “Fine, go ahead.”

[-50∆]

[Now, place your hand on the rock.]

Finn complied, pressing his palm against the cold, solid surface. On the back of his hand, a symbol of a light green triangle appeared, with a line of the same color connecting the triangle’s base to its apex.

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After some thought, he recalled seeing the same symbol on his hand when Sika had freed Simon from the crown. He hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time.

The same two lines appeared on the rock, but this time in green, forming the same door shape. The passage reopened before him. “Huh, neat,” he remarked with a smile.

[Hardly worth mentioning,] Sika replied indifferently.

Finn entered the passage, which sloped downward in a spiral. Thankfully, there were no branching paths or multiple routes, which would have been troublesome in the pitch-darkness, as getting lost would have been a serious risk.

From a distance, Finn noticed a faint yellow glow that seemed to mark the end of the passage. He quickened his pace and finally reached it. What lay ahead was an open area bathed in a mesmerizing yellow light.

“Wow…” he murmured in amazement, his eyes widening as he took in the simple yet captivating scene before him.

There was a massive yellow gem embedded in the ceiling, radiating a bright golden light. On the ground, dozens of foxes stood in a circular formation, surrounding an empty area in the center. The scene resembled a miniature fox kingdom inside a vast cave.

The view was mesmerizing—between the brilliance of the gem, the harmonious colors of the foxes, and the perfectly shaped cave. A faint wind created a soft whistling sound, while several small waterfalls trickled from the cave walls, forming pristine pools of water.

“How many are here, Sika?” Finn asked, his gaze fixed on the breathtaking scene.

[Sixty-six in total, not counting the ones above.]

At Sika’s words, Finn tilted his head upward to see what she was referring to. Behind the gem emerged the figure of a fox, much larger than the rest. It circled the gem a few times before descending gracefully and landing on its four paws.

The creature was over ten meters long, its yellow fur reflecting the surrounding light and creating a dazzling visual effect. Its elegance and beauty were undeniable, and what made it even more striking was that it didn’t have just one tail—but two. Each tail moved independently, as if the fox was proudly displaying its grace and splendor.

“Wait, two tails?” Finn thought aloud, suddenly recalling the sacred beast: the two-tailed fox. And now, standing before him, was indeed a fox with two tails.

The massive fox stood in the empty space, which seemed to have been left for it by the others. From its mouth emerged tongues of gentle flame, warming the ground beneath it as it settled down to rest.

[Wait... could it be?]

“What could it be?” Finn asked, intrigued by Sika’s rare uncertainty.

[Oh no… This is real. Do you know who this fox is?]

“A fragment of the two-tailed fox’s soul?” Finn guessed, as new information began to form in his mind. It seemed even Sika didn’t know all the details of this world, as she had only just realized something herself.

[Not even close.]

“Then... is it the fox itself?!” Finn was stunned by the theory, which, for a moment, seemed plausible.

[You’re terrible at guessing. First off, it’s she, not it, and she is the daughter of the two-tailed fox.]

“Wait, what?” Finn wasn’t sure whether to be shocked or bewildered.

[Aside from her appearance, her flames are far purer than they should be—purer than any ordinary fire. That kind of purity is impossible to obtain, even if you went through the fox’s trial and acquired drops of its blood. Complete purity of blood can only be inherited.]

The smaller foxes began approaching, quietly placing food in front of the large fox with an air of calm reverence. In turn, she licked their heads affectionately before eating the food. None of the smaller foxes left until she finished and seemed satisfied with their offering.

Finn watched the scene, feeling unexpectedly moved. He didn’t say or do anything—he simply observed in silence. “Are they her children?” he asked softly.

[Yes and no. Yes, because each one carries a single drop of her blood. No, because she didn’t give birth to them. It seems they have deep affection for her; calling her their mother wouldn’t be an exaggeration.]

Finn watched for a while longer, then closed his eyes and sighed in resignation. He stood up and prepared to leave, resisting the urge to disrupt what felt like a sacred moment.

[Where are you going?]

“I’m not going to ruin this.” His gaze shifted to the fox, who had picked up a small fox cub with one of her tails.

[You realize what you’re giving up, right?]

“It doesn’t matter.” He began walking back toward the path he’d come from. Before exiting, he turned his head for one last look.

At that moment, a frail, malnourished fox approached the large fox, carrying a small snake’s corpse in its mouth. The starving fox laid the offering before her, looking up with an expression of sorrow and apology.

For a brief second, everything seemed still. Then, the two-tailed fox lowered her head, sniffed the dead snake, and left it untouched. Instead, she turned her attention to the frail fox. She appeared to lean in as though to lick it gently, like she had done with the others. But just before her tongue could touch it, she opened her mouth wide and swallowed the starving fox whole in a single bite.

Finn’s eyes widened in shock, his body shivering from the chilling sight. His perception of reality twisted as memories from his past came crashing into his mind. As the large fox chewed on the frail one, her face distorted in his mind, morphing into the silhouette of a woman in her thirties. She had long black hair, pale white skin, and lightly applied crimson lipstick that made her look both beautiful and ominous.

The woman turned her head gracefully toward him, her lips curling into a sly smile, her gaze sharp and taunting. “Oh, Omar, my little one... I always thought you were special, but you’re just as foolish as your father,” a phantom voice echoed from his darkest memories, spilling from the woman’s mocking lips.

Finn’s eyes burned a fiery red, his fists trembling violently as waves of heat radiated off his body, distorting the air around him. An overwhelming sense of rage and emptiness surged through him, igniting a scorching intensity within. He glared at that cursed face—the face he despised more than anything under the heavens of this world.

Veins bulged across his temples, pulsing with anger, shock, and an unrestrained thirst for vengeance. His body seemed to boil with power, his blood surging through his veins like molten fire, threatening to consume everything in its path.

[Your heart rate is spiking,] Sika warned, her voice edged with caution.

Even if Sika could glimpse his thoughts and memories—which she was forbidden from accessing—she wouldn’t have been able to grasp the depth of Finn’s fury. What he had just witnessed was something only he could understand, something only he could feel driven to destroy.

Finn clenched his teeth so tightly it felt like they might crack under the pressure. The heat around him intensified, causing the ground beneath his feet to glow faintly and fracture with each step. Every fiber of his being burned with raw energy, his body coiling with the unrelenting force of an eruption waiting to be unleashed.