“Something must be done!”

“And what do you propose, brother?” Rokusan asked from his usual seat in the assembly chamber.

Ichitiro slammed a black gauntleted fist onto the table, the sound echoing through the room. “Action. Anything. More than we have done the last seventy of their years, hiding here while the humans grow stronger by the day. The power they have harnessed, it is an insult to us and to the elder gods.”

“I am not certain I agree,” Reiden commented from the head of the table. “For thousands of years, Ichitiro, have we not had to listen to you bemoaning the humans’ stupidity, their lack of progress in the art of war? Now they have finally made the progress you claim to have hoped for, and yet you are the first to complain that it is too much.”

Midnite stifled the smile that threatened to escape her lips at watching her would-be suitor knocked down a peg. Ichitiro might be unstoppable on the battlefield, but waging a war of words was an entirely different matter altogether.

Others in the room were not so generous toward the war demon, agreeing with Reiden, eldest of the daimao, and earning them glares from Ichitiro that spoke of promises of retribution. He was neither known for his eloquence nor his sense of humor.

He glanced her way and she quickly averted her eyes toward her sister Hinode, sitting next to her. Midnite was fond of her, but not so much that she didn’t occasionally wish Ichitiro would turn his advances her way.

Alas, so long as she possessed the Taiyosori, that wasn’t likely to happen.

It was almost as if Ichitiro read her mind, because he bellowed, “I say we flood their cities. We rain fire from the sky upon their fields. We unleash the Taiyosori upon them, show them that no matter how far they believe they have progressed, their power is nothing compared to the gods.”

“The blade of heaven is not yours to unleash upon anyone,” Midnite replied. “And what makes you think they would cower before your so-called show of strength?”

“What else could they do?” he asked arrogantly, his eyes drinking her in.

“Match your force with equal or greater,” she stated.

That had been the argument which had kept them deadlocked for over half a century. Once again, it served to silence all discussion in the chamber.

Midnite considered this. The battle she had witnessed all those years ago, it had been but a small part of a much larger conflict. In retrospect, it was no wonder she and her brethren had awoken from their slumber. When last they’d walked amongst mankind, their world had been a large and daunting place. Only the bravest of humans would dare to venture out on rickety ships bound for new lands, knowing the odds were against them ever returning. In those days, most wars were petty affairs. True, there had been some visionaries, but they were few and far between.

However, the world had apparently become a much smaller place in the time since they last strode upon it. Midnite had been impressed with the ships she’d seen – those in the air as well as upon the sea. What she hadn’t realized during that fateful night was the conflict spanned nearly the breadth of the entire planet.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

At first, upon her return to the palace the next day, she’d found her drowsy siblings as excited as she was. Ichitiro had been singing a different tune then, crowing about how mankind had finally managed to overcome their many limitations. They now sailed in mighty ships made of iron that could spew death in many directions at once. They now crossed the land in metal chariots that didn’t rely upon beasts of burden. They had even conquered the sky itself.

In those early days, a sense of anticipation flowed from this chamber. Several of her brothers and sisters made similar sojourns to the planet below, marveling in the new sights and sounds. Many talked about openly presenting themselves upon the battlefield so as to test the mettle of this new level of warfare the humans had developed. Soon, they had shed the malaise that had led them to slumber and the halls of the celestial palace had become busy with activity again.

It was perfect timing, for it meant they were too busy to notice her and how her body was changing.

Then it happened.

An entire city destroyed in one fell swoop. A burst of energy upon one of the blessed isles, so powerful and devastating that all of her kind felt it in their very bones. Though none dared admit it afterward, they trembled – for what the humans had unleashed felt akin to the power of the elder gods themselves.

Disbelief spread through the halls of the celestial palace. It was a fluke, Reiden declared in this very chamber. It had to have been some accidental magic, perhaps another dimension brushing against this one too brusquely. As far as they had come, surely what had happened was impossible for such lowly beings as humans.

Then, a few days later, it happened again, this time even more powerful.

Another city was felled within minutes.

This time, there was no denying the truth: the humans, for so long pathetic beings barely worthy of recognition, had harnessed a power far greater than any of her kind thought them ever capable.

In the past, humans had been able to defeat various youkai, through strength of numbers or cunning. A few of the mazoku had even fallen to their more exceptional members. But a daimao? Such a thought was laughable at best.

In a flash, that had all changed. As powerful as they were, as much divine energy they had at their command, they were forced to admit this new power the humans had harnessed was capable of killing even their kind. The humans – lowest of the low – now possessed a capability that none save the gods themselves wielded.

Following this realization, something new happened within the ever-turning celestial cycle, for perhaps the first time in forever – the daimao retreated from the Earth, not out of boredom, but out of fear.

The ways were shut and locked. The gates sealed. None of the daimao dared visit the planet below. Likewise, access to the crystals that allowed servants to venture forth between the two realms was forbidden. Many of their cousins, both youkai and mazoku, were trapped on Earth, left to fend for themselves. Those who survived retreated to the forests or mountains to live like dogs, lest they find themselves hunted.

At the time, Reiden claimed it all to be temporary. The ways would be opened again as soon as the daimao reached a conclusion as to what needed to be done.

Yet decades had passed, and they continued to do nothing but argue. All the while, mankind continued to march forward at a pace undreamt of, building ever more powerful weapons of war. They’d even gone so far as to touch the face of the moon orbiting their planet. Some began to speak in hushed tones that soon the humans would possess the ability to detect the celestial palace itself. If so, what then? What if they invaded? What if they accidentally woke the elder gods?

Barely contained panic had taken hold.

Not all of it was bad, though, Midnite considered.

The chaos that had been borne of this had benefited her, given her an opportunity to fortify her chambers without question.

It had allowed her to keep safe the very special secret that none of her kind could ever know about.