I’m alive.
Yushia gasped with desperation, his eyes gaping as he tried pushing the boulder off his chest. He coughed violently as dust fell into his mouth, and miraculously, he pushed the heavy rock off him. He quickly sat up and clenched his chest before patting down every inch of his body. Somehow, he had managed to survive with only a headache and a few bruises around his body, but even those were already beginning to heal. Six-legged critters crawled across the walls and ceilings, emitting a bright yellow to reveal their home.
Inanis’ grace had landed Yushia in another cavern, sitting atop a mountain of rubble. He forced himself to squint his irritated eyes that had already been assaulted by the dust-heavy air. The smell of burning clung onto him, still fresh.
A gust of wind flourished itself, nearly pushing over Yushia. He held firmly to the rocks behind him, surprised by the impossible winds. He dug into the pockets of his overalls, pulling out a pocketknife. There could be no winds inside a cave this deep in the mines. It must have been a monster.
The winds vanished just as quickly as they came. Yushia scaled down the mountain of rumble sluggishly and reached its base with ease. Had it not been for the insects on the wall, he would’ve been completely blind.
Another gust of wind swept by, igniting the flame of a candle across from Yushia. Another breeze ran through, igniting a path of fire that lit under a dozen shrine gates.
A shrine made of carved stone awaited on the other side, and it too was lit by candles at the ends of an altar that sat in the middle. A box sat in the center of the altar, and behind it was a pillar etched with the image of a girl who bore wings wider than a wyvern’s. The girl's wings were covered in paper talismans, but with the shape they made, Yushia could tell what they were.
Naturally, he stepped forward out of curiosity, passing through the first shrine gate, then through the next. His pocketknife shook in his hand, but before he knew it, he stood before the altar and the box at its center. Upon closer inspection, the box had a small slit at the top.
Yushia glanced around the spacious cavern. This doesn’t make sense at all...
To the right of the box was a silver coin, and carved into it was a bird—a pheasant perhaps? Yushia reached his hand for it. His fingers pressed against its edge but it sliced his delicate flesh, causing him to drop it. He clenched his teeth, staring at his bleeding finger.
Yushia wiped the blood against his overalls, but for whatever reason, he could still feel his warm blood dripping down his arm. He brought his forearm to his face and spotted a small, diamond-shaped creature with its mouth drilled in his skin, pulsating as it drank his blood. A tribular?
His arms swung sporadically, forcing the creature to unveil its yellow wings and flee into the dark ceiling. Blood flew against the altar with some of it splashing on the box, but Yushia was too caught up trying to stop the bleeding. He tore off one of the straps on his overalls and tied it around the cavity in his arm.
“Fifth layer already? Was I really cut out for this?”
As Yushia tightened the strap, the candles on the altar blew out. The coin he touched earlier dropped appeared luminescent and the opening inside the offering box shot out a beam of light.
The glowing coin drew Yushia back to it. He picked it up carefully and placed it over the box’s slit and froze out of shock when he saw threads of ether forming a rope, connecting the two. He gulped before dropping the coin inside.
Light from both sources extinguished. Strangely enough, the cavern had become quieter than before. A heartbeat became the loudest noise.
Then, a crack. Yushia’s eyes widened as he froze again and gazed up without moving his head. The eyes of the winged girl on the stone pillar glowed red like roses, and a large streak ran across her face like lightning. The talismans on her wings were suddenly set ablaze and reduced to ashes revealing her enormous wings, but they too were set ablaze.
Yushia suddenly fell on his butt and crawled backward. What in Inanis is going on?!
The stone statue of the girl shattered into thousands of pieces, releasing a copious amount of thick slime. Yushia’s arms covered his face as he turned away, but he was unable to escape the disgusting substance.
“Haaaaa... Haaaaaaa...”
Yushia opened his eyes and uncovered his face. His voice caught in his throat.
A naked girl—one made of flesh unlike the statue—fell from the pillar and landed behind the altar in the puddle of slime she’d made. Her hand grabbed the edge of the altar, but she was too weak to pull herself up. Instead, she dragged herself out from behind it.
The girl had no eyes, mouth, or nose. Her ankle-length hair the deepest of red parted in the back, tied into long tails. She let out a muffled moan and bashed her head against the side of the altar. The skin near the bottom of her face ripped and formed thin pink lips. She smashed her head against the altar again, causing the middle of her face to protrude outward, sculpting her nose. Bashing her skull once more with all her strength, the upper regions of her face caved in, creating her slanted crimson eyes.
The girl, not having noticed Yushia yet, turned her back and faced the pillar that had once held her captive.
“My greatness is back,” the crimson-haired girl mumbled. She slammed her fists into the ground and shook her head violently to get rid of the heavy slime. She roared with pride. “A millennium and four centuries later, Suzaku, the Great Vermillion Bird, has returned!”
Yushia’s eyes squinted suspiciously. The Vermillion Bird...? His hand squelched against the slime as his body shifted.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
She twisted her body toward the noise. “Who’s there!?”
The two stared at each other. Yushia, frozen for the third time, gulped.
“Come closer,” Suzaku demanded, wiping her eyes. “Slime is still stuck in my greatness’ eyes, and she can’t see very well!”
Yushia readied his pocketknife. In his mind, there could be no way this was the Vermillion Bird. “Who are you?”
“What? You dare ignore my greatness’ calls? Surely you heard her the first time, human!” The Vermillion bird tried to stand but slipped, slamming her face into the stone ground. Unwavering, she got up. Her arms flailed trying to keepp balance on the slippery floor. “Help, you idiot!”
He weighed his options but inevitably rushed to her side and held her body upright as she was about to fall again. He did his best to stay respectful and grabbed only her shoulders. She was naked, after all.
“Ah, thank Inanis!” Suzaku said, holding onto the boy’s shoulder with one hand. “My greatness swears, another century all by her lonesome would drive her further down the steps of insanity!”
“Is that so...?” Yushia said.
The Vermillion Bird rubbed her eyes and squinted at the boy. Her face looked puzzled—unsure whether her eyes deceived her or not. “Those blue eyes...”
Yushia forced a nervous smile and averted his gaze. “Not the man you were expecting, were you?”
The Vermillion Bird brought her face closer to the boy’s, staring even more intently now with awe. “My greatness has never seen those eyes before. Eyes as blue as the sky and yellow pupils like the sun... Tell my greatness who you are.”
What? Until now, Yushia had never known anyone who didn’t know what a Cerulean was.
“Well!?” Suzaku shouted, “Are you going to answer the question or not!?” She headbutted the boy’s face, quite literally knocking some sense into him as he slipped. She too slipped and fell before hastily standing back up to assert her dominance over the idiot. Facing the consequences of her actions, she had to massage the aching in her forehead as well.
“Gyaaah...” Yushia groaned. He looked up at the girl who glared at him with her fire-red eyes sharper than any knife. “My name is Yushia. Can’t you see I’m Cerulean?”
“Clearly my greatness can’t, for she has never heard of ‘Ceruleans.’ Do you think your lies can penetrate my greatness’ wisdom?!”
Yushia kept his cool. “I’m not lying, I really am a Cerulean.”
Suzaku clicked her tongue and reached down for the boy’s hand, clutching it as she pulled him back up to stand. “Hmph! An unfamiliar name that must proceed my time...” She held her chin to ponder. “Oh, how that puzzles my greatness so...”
"And you’re the Vermillion Bird?”
“Suzaku to be exact!” She pointed her finger to her face, proud to speak so highly of herself. “Suzaku, the Vermillion Bird, Guardian of the South!”
Her voice boomed and bounced off the walls of the caves—even the Tribulars were shocked, scattering to the far corners of the cavern, too afraid of the being below.
She can’t be the ancient Vermillion Bird, Yushia thought The Vermillion Bird was a weapon, not a strange girl. At least, that’s how it was portrayed in Buford’s puppet show.
Having noticed the idiot’s stunned expression, Suzaku smirked. “Anyone would be stunned to be in the grace of a divine being such as my greatness. My greatness’ beauty alone would hypnotize men from the far north of my greatness’ mountains to the coast's deepest south. Of course, my greatness expects no less from you—”
“Sorry, I’m already married,” Yushia said plainly. “I couldn’t love another girl.”
Suzaku was taken aback by this and raised her eyes.
“And there’s no way the Vermillion Bird would act the way you do.”
“Really?” Suzaku clenched her fist at the rude remarks made but instead of punching him square in the face, she chose what she deemed to be a “louder” approach. She pointed her finger to the ceiling and channeled threads of ether to its tip, summoning a small, weak, and flickering ember. Embarrassed, she tried several more times before finally sustaining a decent flame.
Yushia watched disappointedly before looking at the ground to save her from the embarrassment. “If you’re going to pretend to be something you aren’t, please make it convincing.”
“How dare you call my greatness a fraud!” Suzaku exclaimed, clenching her fist again. This time she’d really punch him.
“The Vermillion Bird is a weapon,” Yushia stated, “an object, not something living. To me, you look very alive.”
“You think it’s polite questioning my greatness’ being?” Suzaku asked. “Well, if my greatness’ flames are unable to convince you, my greatness will show you what you want to see.”
Her right arm extended from her side. Threads of red ether wove carefully around her right hand and forearm, wrapping it in a cast that shone against her body. The threads of ether strangled her arm before dissipating back into the air, leaving a black blade in its place. “Witness the Ghost Mansion!”
In another one of Buford’s puppet shows, he’d tell of the Sevens Mansions: incredible powers wielded only by the Vermillion Bird. They consited of the Ghost, Well, Willow, Wings, Extended Net, and Chariot. Knowledge of these Mansions had been lost in time. After all, the Vermillion Bird hadn’t used them in over a thousand years. What is known—and what Buford states is true—is that they were vital in governing over Kratia.
As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t. Suzaku brought the tip of her blade just inches from his face, and he could feel the emanating heat. The Vermillion Bird had been found, and Yushia was the one who had released her. “You were the blade that cut down the Greater Demon Laplace?”
A bead of sweat rode down Suzaku’s forehead. Her breathing became heavy, and her face flustered. “Laplace, you say?”
“Laplace, the demon you slaye—”
Before he could finish, Suzaku’s Ghost Mansion deactivated and returned her arm. Suddenly, she struck the boy in his face. Yushia touched his cheek, more shocked at the burning sensation left behind from the punch. He looked back up and saw a provoked Suzaku, her eyes burning passionately with the pent-up anger of a thousand years.
Her voice trembled, her twin tails floating in the air. “Laplace... That is right, it was that bastard who did this to my greatness.”
Something was wrong. As Suzaku mumbled unintelligibly to herself, Yushia’s instincts told him to step away—far from the danger steadily climbing in intensity. If he didn’t die from Kran’s initial attempt to kill him, he would for sure die now.
Suzaku spun and faced her altar. She who was once worshipped as a deity, had lost to a being not from her world. “My greatness, with her own hands, will slay your wretched soul.”
As she spoke those words, Yushia hastily dove behind a large rock. Suzaku’s jaw opened, and what came after was an ear-piercing scream, a ferocious cry for what she failed to do a millennium and four centuries ago. Flames expelled out of her body like an explosion greater than dynamite, and it scorched anything surrounding her.
The heat alone was nearly enough to make Yushia pass out. He held his breath to avoid his lungs being set on fire. The flames withered and he gasped for air before looking over. Suzaku swayed like a drunkard on their dozenth pint, and her body fell over, unconscious.