Tsukiakari and Kagutsuchi sat up in bed as the morning sun rose over Wales, the warm, golden light creeping through the gap in their red curtains. For Yoko and Amatsuki, it was a sleepless night. They sat at the round coffee table in the corner of the room without a word passing between them. The dark, baggy circles around their eyes and absence of color in their faces said it all.

“You guys never came to bed…” Tsukiakari yawned.

“I keep thinking…about all the people he killed.” Amatsuki said, her disheveled, white hair covering her eyes. “It must’ve been thousands. I’m sure they’re still searching for the missing and digging bodies out of rubble. Thousands of lives ended abruptly, all because of Osamu and Taeko.”

“I know. I think about it too.” Tsukiakari said. “Come on. You two have been up all night. It’s still early. At least try to get some sleep.”

“How can you sleep after what he’s done?” Amatsuki asked.

“I…just try my best to believe he did it for us.” Tsukiakari answered.

“I don’t doubt that!” Amatsuki shouted, slamming her fist on the table. “But to go this far…”

“I get what you’re saying, but after the Inari Standoff, dialogue wasn’t really an option anymore.” Kagutsuchi interjected.

Amatsuki scoffed. “It seems like the only people in this room who even remotely understand Osamu anymore are the ones who’ve killed just as many people.”

“A good portion of this family are mass murderers.” Yoko murmured. “Two of his wives, his mother-in-law, and two of his closest friends. Each one had a reason for doing what they did. It seems Osamu has his as well.”

“You can’t seriously be justifying this, Yoko.” Amatsuki said.

“I can barely understand him either. I’ve never been through something as extreme as the Inari Standoff, or the Warring States era.” Yoko admitted. “If you had asked me seven years ago if I thought mass murder was wrong, I would’ve said yes without hesitation. But now…”

“It’s always wrong! There’s no justification for it!” Amatsuki protested.

“But think about what would’ve happened if he hadn’t done it!” Kagutsuchi argued.

“Chiya would still be alive!” Amatsuki cried.

The room went silent. Realizing she had said too much, Amatsuki let her hands fall into her lap. “I’m sorry, Gekko.”

Tsukiakari shook her head, fighting back her tears. “It’s okay.”

“…If I knew this was the cost of protecting our family, I would’ve stopped him from paying it.” Amatsuki said.

“I guess that’s what separates us from him.” Yoko said. “It’s no wonder Taeko is his confidant. Who else would understand him better than her?”

As Osamu made his way through the stained glass hallway, he suddenly came across Taeko, who stood in wait for him. She leaned against the wall to the right with her arms crossed as the sun’s morning light filtered through the row of stained glass in front of her, painting her with its vibrant colors and patterns.

“Hima’s waiting for us. Let’s go.” Osamu ordered.

Taeko stepped forward and grabbed Osamu by his shirt. She threw him against the wall in a fit of rage, gnashing her teeth as she inched her face closer to his.

“Stop dodging the question! Why did you go off on your own like that? Why did you make Satori the lord of the Underworld?” Taeko shouted. “I had finally repaid my debt to the Sentani family! I finally atoned, and now because of you, all of that is ruined! He was supposed to rest! Why did you drag a dead man into this war with us?”

“Satori is the one who agreed to help me.” Osamu said.

“When you told Hima you had something in mind to help bolster her numbers, you pretended as if you had come up with that idea on the spot!” Taeko growled. “But if you had went to Satori before we even came to Wales and instructed him to take over the Underworld, it means you already knew you’d be going down there. How could you have known that Hima would need the extra strength before you even met her?”

Osamu slapped Taeko’s hand away, his wavy, raven hair covering one of his eyes. “I’m doing all of this for our dream, for world peace. It’s not much farther now. A few more steps and we’ll start seeing the beginning of the end of war. I need you to trust me, Taeko.”

“Earlier, you said that Izanami inherited Satori’s memories.”

“Yeah, that’s right.

“Memories that would’ve included you asking Satori for help…”

“Yeah.”

“And yet, knowing this, let Izanami take over the Underworld? Why?”

“Even that is a single step towards world peace.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

“Like I said, Taeko. Trust me.” Osamu said, closing his eyes. “Not everything went according to plan, but we’re still on track to achieve our goal. Izanami is an important piece of the puzzle. Until it all comes together, our next step is to make Hima an adult. Then we can finally meet the Yakutsk Council and get this nation started.”

While the girls tried hard to make sense of the terrible situation unfolding around them, they suddenly received a knock on their door. Izanami stepped into the room. It was the first time they’d seen her since last night. Everyone stood from their seats and approached her, their eyes wide with insatiable curiosity.

“Izanami! Where were you?” Yoko questioned.

“We look all over the castle for you, and then Annabel told us you went off on some sort of mission.” Amatsuki asked. “What’s going on?”

Confused and ashamed of her actions, Izanami looked off to the side. She couldn’t bear to look anyone in the eyes for what she was about to say. “The vampires aren’t enough to win the war. We needed a way to ensure we’d have a big enough army for when the fighting starts. Osamu’s idea…was to take control of the Underworld and use some of the demons within.”

“…What?” Amatsuki recoiled. “Osamu came up with that?”

“But they’re demons!” Tsukiakari said. “They can’t be tamed unless…”

“Unless one of us becomes the lord of the Underworld, which is what I am now.” Izanami said. “Last night, Osamu, Hima, Carmilla, Taeko, and myself went down there and took control of the Underworld.”

“Why would you agree to something like that?” Amatsuki asked.

“I trusted Osamu!” Izanami cried. “I wanted to help him! But when we got down there…everything seemed off. The demons didn’t attack us. We practically walked right into the Onyx Temple. The person sitting on the throne wasn’t the same person I left in charge. It was Satori.”

Her last sentence sucked the air out of the room. The girls couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Why? Why would it be Satori?” Tsukiakari asked. “What happened down there?”

“When I took lordship from Satori, I also inherited many of his memories. I want to show them to you all.” Izanami said. “I’m scared that Osamu has plans he’s kept hidden even from Taeko. He said he wouldn’t keep us in the dark anymore, but that was a lie. These memories are just fragments of the truth.”

“…Okay.” Yoko said. “Show us.”

Izanami clasped her hands together. “Please close your eyes.”

Everyone did as she asked, linking hands with their eyes closed. The memories Izanami inherited from Satori played out in front of them as if they were in a shared dream. They suddenly found themselves in the dark caverns of the Underworld, surrounded by crypts and coffins.

They heard three pairs of footsteps echo from behind them. Turning around, the girls saw Osamu, Akatsuki, and Omagatoki wading through the miasmic cave together. Omagatoki led the way with a small torch in her hand, the fire’s flickering light causing the shadows on the jagged surface of the cave walls to dance as she passed by. The girls noticed that Akatsuki and Omagatoki were still in their childlike forms, a clear indication that these memories occurred before the attack on Kyoto.

“It’s here.” Akatsuki said, pointing to one of the dusty, cobweb-ridden coffins.

“I’ll open it.” Osamu said, getting his fingers beneath the heavy, stone lid.

Osamu grunted and tucked in his lips as he lifted the lid off the coffin, resting it on the coffin’s frame at an angle. He then dragged the lid off the frame and let it tumble onto the ground. The lid kicked up a cloud of odorous dirt and dust off the floor, prompting Osamu and the twins to cover their noses and mouths.

Omagatoki held the torch over the coffin. “It’s him…”

Sure enough, Satori rested inside the coffin, his body pale and lifeless. His dry lips slowly parted and his eyelids peeled open. His pupils shrank as the torch shined in his eyes. After years of being dead, his silver hair had grown down to the middle of his back. A short beard covered his lower face and his fingernails had grown long enough to act as claws.

“Satori. Get up.” Osamu said. “The world needs you.”

“Is that you, Osamu?” Satori asked, his voice low and raspy. “Heh…disturbing a dead man’s rest, are we?”

Omagatoki reached into her pocket and pulled out a flask of water. “Here. You must be thirsty.”

Satori took the flask into his long, thin fingers, though he struggled to unscrew the cap. Osamu helped Satori sit up in his coffin and unscrewed the flask cap for him. For the first time in years, fresh drinking water passed through Satori’s parched lips. For the living, water was nothing special, but for the dead, it was sweet as nectar.

“Why have you come? Is Kagu safe?” Satori asked.

“Kagutsuchi’s fine. I kept my promise to you.” Osamu answered. “But a lot has happened since you died. The exorcists managed to find Inari. A standoff ensued. A lot of exorcists died before they ended up killing Inari.”

“Inari? I know Bishamon was looking for her. He wanted her on his side so he could use her Bloodcraft to launch a coup against Amaterasu.” Satori explained.

“Osamu was there during the standoff that killed Inari. He was her accomplice.” Omagatoki said.

“He what?” Satori recoiled.

“I died during the standoff, but Inari brought me back by giving me her heart and blood.” Osamu explained. “In doing so, I inherited Inari’s powers. The pantheon wants me dead so they can get that power for itself, but my family and friends won’t let that happen. Taeko and I are preparing to start the Third Great Holy War. It’ll be a fight over Inari’s Bloodcraft, a fight for the power to control the world.”

Satori sighed as he rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I’ve missed a lot in the time I’ve been dead. What about Kagu? Is she involved in all of this?”

“Yeah.” Osamu said. “She doesn’t want the pantheon to kill me either. This war is going to be the most catastrophic conflict the world has ever seen. There won’t be a single person on earth unaffected by it. Taeko and I have a plan to protect everyone and wage the war we need to wage, but there’s something I need to do as well.”

“And what’s that?” Satori asked.

“I’m going to achieve world peace.” Osamu said, his peace sign necklace dangling over his chest. “But in order to do that, we need more than just a destructive war. My plans are much, much bigger than that. I’m going to force this world to start over from scratch.”

“Start over? What exactly does that mean?” Satori asked.

“We’ve been to timelines where Osamu’s plan succeeded.” Akatsuki said. “Sis, you should show him.”

Omagatoki nodded. “Satori, give me your hand.”

“Okay…” Satori said, unsure of what he was about to see.

When Satori took Omagatoki’s hand, a jolt ran down his spine. It occurred in just a split second, but whatever Satori witnessed in that time, it felt to him as if he lived through it for years. Whatever he saw made him recoil in fear. He turned his gaze to Osamu and looked at him as if he were looking at the devil incarnate.

“This can’t be real…” Satori gasped. “Of all people, you planned something so horrific? How does any of this lead to world peace?”

“The world will have a chance to start over from scratch.” Osamu said. “To be honest, I didn’t want to have to do this. I wanted the pantheon to handle this peacefully, but they’re not giving us any choice. I don’t want my children to inherit a world where events like the Inari Standoff can happen again. I want the world to be peaceful. I want the end of war as we know it. In due time, I’ll have the power to make that a reality.”

“Tell me, Osamu.” Satori began. “How many people die in this plan of yours?”

“The price I’ll pay for peace is nothing compared to everything I’ll save.” Osamu answered. “I arrived at this conclusion because I agree entirely with the philosophies of Taeko and Lucrezia. I only want to take that philosophy several steps further. As horrifying as it may seem, this plan will create all the conditions needed for world peace. Most importantly, it’ll ensure that Kagutsuchi and the others are protected long after I’m gone.”

“Does anyone know of this plan of yours?” Satori asked.

“Just the twins here and you. I can’t risk anyone trying to stop me before I’m ready.” Osamu said. “If I don’t enact permanent change in this world, Kagutsuchi will eventually find herself in the same danger Inari faced.

"If I run away from this, I’ll eventually get cornered just like Inari did. When that happens, the pantheon will take Inari’s Bloodcraft, and you can be damn sure that their first target will be Izanami.

“The issue is that they’ll realize that they can’t kill Izanami without first killing Kagutsuchi. Kagu will become collateral damage in the pantheon’s vendetta against my family. I won’t let that happen to her. Not now, not ever. This plan is the only way to ensure their safety, and that the world never sees another war ever again.”

“We’ve called it Project Dark Dawn.” Omagatoki said.

“All of that death and destruction…is it really the only way?” Satori asked, his hand balling up into a fist.

“The pantheon’s made it clear they have no interest in talking this out. They want this power, and that means they want me dead. Kagu and the others simply won’t stand for that.” Osamu explained. “So we need you to do this for us. There’ll come a time when I’ll need the power of the Underworld, but whoever was left in charge of it was hostile to us the last time we were here. It’s why we got attacked by those demons, remember?”

“Of course…I hadn’t thought of that.” Satori said.

“I want you to overthrow the lord of the Underworld and take control of this place.” Osamu said. “That way, we won’t have to spend days fighting our way to the Onyx Temple and risk getting killed once we’re there. It’ll be much more difficult for the demons to detect one man than a group of powerful people.”

“And if I can somehow do this…you’ll have everything you need to keep Kagu safe?” Satori asked.

Osamu nodded with a confident gleam in his eyes. “I know I will. Help me, Satori. Help me save our friends. Help me save the world. No one else has to know. This plan isn’t the end of the world. It’s the new beginning.”

The disaster to come flashed before the girls so quickly they could hardly understand it. All they saw were torched cities, an eerie eclipse hanging over a scorched earth, and the flags of an unknown nation.

They heard the deafening madness of war, the screams of the dying, and the thunderous war cries of what sounded like millions of people. They all shouted a phrase Yoko knew all too well from witnessing Osamu’s memories of the Inari Standoff.

That monstrous collection of voices shouted, “Win together, die together! Win together, die together!”

Yoko realized those were the murderous cheers of millions of people all loyal to Osamu. She realized that the horrible, thunderous sound was the war cry of a new movement of militant nationalism and the defining anthem of Osamu’s newborn country.

The memory faded and the girls opened their eyes. All of them were drenched in cold sweat as if they were there when the world was turned to embers. The memories only lasted minutes, but it felt like centuries to them.

Now Yoko and the others understood what was making Izanami so uneasy. From what they saw, Osamu was secretly plotting something that would bring an unprecedented cataclysm upon the human race. What they saw was nothing less than the apocalypse.

“He’s going through all of this because he wants to protect me?” Kagutsuchi asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to lose faith in him…” Izanami sobbed, falling to her knees. “But if these memories are true…we may need to stop Osamu before he does something terrible. Something that wide-scaled can’t be justified.”

Horrified but what she witnessed, Yoko hugged her knees to her chest. “Izanami…please keep an eye on Osamu. Whatever we just saw, we can’t let it happen. There’s no future in a world like that.”

“You want me to spy on him?” Izanami questioned.

“You’re the lord of the Underworld now, right?” Tsukiakari asked. “I’m sure he picked you because he figured you’d be the most loyal to him out of all of us. But he’s put himself in a bind.

"With you as the lord, he can’t use the power of the Underworld unless you’re on his side. His whole plan goes up in smoke if you stand against him. If there’s anyone who can stop him in the event he decides to do something drastic, it’s you, Izanami.”

Realizing how much of a central role she was taking in all of this, Izanami felt the weight of the world, of millions upon millions of innocent lives, fall upon her shoulders. Never did she think there would come a day where she might have to save the world from her own husband.

All she could do was hope that Osamu could find a better way to protect his family, a way that didn’t require millions to be slain.