An ocher sky spread out infinitely above and below the vast, icy desert and towering mountain peaks. Clouds the size of continents towered in the distance, harsh wind whispering over an ancient land. Immense structures of stone sat nestled into snow clad peaks- a land made for giants.

Or, as a coal-black figure tumbled out of a rift in the sky before catching the air with a snap of his wings, dragons. Silver eyes flickered over the massive yet elegant constructions and the barren landscape, then with a sigh shifted, his manifestation changing until he was larger. Much larger- almost two hundred feet long, to match the locals. He… greatly disliked changing his manifestation. His dexterity was totally shot at that height.

Alighting on a mountaintop nearby the dragon's complex, he spent a few days observing and pondering his actions. From what little motion he saw- and it was little indeed- the dragons were a massively powerful race, essentially immortal and ridiculously arrogant about it. All but the youngest were fiercely isolationist, and a deep vein of traditionalism set the routine of their lives in stone- hunting amidst the clouds, then years of sleepy meditation to grow more powerful.

Worst of all, they had no industrialization. None at all- but for a few primitive innovations, they were essentially pre-neolithic revolution. An absolute insult, he declared inwardly. Such magnificent potential…

Ajinan took off into the air, gliding down to totally wreck their lifestyle. This was going to be fun.

………

Supreme Lord High General Juna Ken, His Imperial Majesty's right hand and immortal sword-sage of the heavenly guard, found himself with a kitten. How he got a kitten, he didn't know- one day, atop of the second highest peak of the five sacred mountains where he had secluded himself for meditation, he'd woken to find an ocean blue, warm, fuzzy… thing curled up in his lap, purring softly.

It was adorable, but for the fact that he had no clue how a kitten of all things managed to climb to the top of one of the most difficult to reach locations in the entire realm. From then on though, no matter what he did, the kitten would follow him around everywhere.

"Juna," they would say as he prepared to give a serious report on the incursion of demonic forces through the shattered paths- "why do you have a kitten on your shoulder?" Or, not a day after he had set the kitten down in a park halfway across the capital city of millions- "Elder Juna, a kitten has infiltrated the compound. I found it on your bed." It was frustrating! Who sicced a kitten on him! They weren't even being subtle!

Perhaps, thought Juna Ken as he moved pieces across a massive board, trying to figure out some sort of way to save the distant province of Jirae without diverting critical resources from the other, far more important provinces, it was some sort of bid to disgrace him. Certainly it was already ruining his hard-won reputation as a cold killer, a calculating officer capable of sending millions to their death should the empire be served. The tiger, they used to call him, and he could already see people naming him kitten.

Sighing, he slumped back in his chair with a defeated expression. Their world was strong, and unified, but in spite of all the strength of their magic and the power of their armies, demonic forces still gnawed at them from all sides.

He remembered, as a child, when it hadn't been quite this bad- a piece on his board toppled over and he jerked upright, grabbing the kitten by the scruff of its neck only to look in horror at the mess the thing had made out of his careful planning. It would take hours…

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Pausing, he glanced over the mad jumble of pieces and lines scratched in the protective glass, first in befuddlement, then in absolute awe.

When he delivered a campaign plan to the emperor to save Jirae and close the southern shattered path in one fell swoop, only the emperor himself dared to ask the question that had consumed the gossip in the court: "A plan befitting of your genius… but, if I may ask, why do you have a kitten?"

Juna glanced over to the fuzzy blue ball in question, curled smugly on his shoulder and somehow refusing to fall off. "She's my new head tactical advisor," he'd answered.

The others thought he was joking.

He wasn't.

………

An infinite shadow came into being in the far reaches of dark space, slinking out of the darkness between the stars into a faint nebula of diffuse starlight and rainbow illumination. Slips of light in esoteric geometric shapes shied back, wary at the intruder into their midst- warning, calling, their mournful fluting speech a luting melody amidst the void.

The darkness manifested more fully, coalescing into a thing of twisted eyes and non-euclidean geometry beyond comprehension, and the starlight fragments fled in terror as it enveloped a small area of the nebula.

A single one remained, young and yet dull red, shivering as it tried and failed to comprehend the immensity that surrounded it. It looked into the endless eyes of destruction, and saw the slow end of all things.

A voice, a crescendo of enormous force and subtle, creeping presence, surrounded the red slip. It trembled in terror as a million discordant tunes coalesced together into one voice. "You're… cute."

It paused, confused.

Not… what it was expecting.

………

Somewhat ironically, Sara manifested directly into a host of seraphim. They had been doing something trivial- discussing the alignment of heavenly planes, rustling feathers, keeping an eye or ten out- she didn't exactly know, but it certainly stopped when she fell through nothing with a spear of radiant light hovering in the air behind her.

"Who… are you?" It was probably one of the younger seraphim- it only had a few eyes, six wings, and was altogether too euclidian to be more than a few hundred years old. "Are you a high councilor?"

"...no." She dismissed her spear, noticing a good percentage of the eyes' presence focused more fully onto her. "I'm a… newcomer. Actually, I have no idea where I am whatsoever. "

One of the elder seraphim frowned, or as close to such a ball of wings and eyes could do. "A traveler amongst the celestial realms?"

"A warrior amongst all the realms, and a powerful healer."

"Truly, then… perhaps you can be of use to the host. The miasma of the demonic host has burned with true flame, and we fear a new offensive soon… and the terrestrial realms yet resist our influence in their endless arrogance."

A tinge of excitement flickered through her form. "I would be pleased."

………

Disoriented at the sudden transition from the wrecked room to… somewhere, Kitsune almost didn't notice the immense blade of scarlet fire that slashed down toward her. Yelping, she rolled out of the way and wrested the blade from her attacker. Her will was fire- the blade sharpened where it was being held, tearing into something that screamed in immense rage- and the fire was her- and then she was in front of some towering monstrosity of scarlet flame and scaled, pulsating, rocky flesh.

A single strike of her paws caved in its chest and exploded a hundred miles of terrain around it, while a breath of fire consumed its flesh, burning it to nothing.

A moment of silence, in a land of cracked stone, flowing fires and skies tinged eternally red. Five figures crawled out rocks around her and she tensed, preparing for another fight- until each prostrated themselves, one by one, fearfully on the ground. Only one remained kneeling, cruel eyes staring into her own. "All hail, the new king of demons."

Kitsune groaned, but nonetheless manifested a few extra tails and a lot of extra feet until she looked appropriately demonic and powerful. "They made me into the antagonist, didn’t they…” The demons in front of her looked at each other, clearly confused. "Nevermind. We have a lot of work to do."