Two hundred years, two hundred bloody years- the vast domain of the eternal Emperor sprawled from the thousand isles to the frozen tundra of the north, from far west to beyond the rising sun. Legions on legions of soldiers in polished armor marched eternal into the distances, beneath the ever-watchful eyes of a nameless, ageless, emperor. Fearful soldiers spoke of his strength, nations capitulating as he took to the battlefield lest their cities be ground to dust beneath his heel. Only a scattering of independent nations yet resisted the inexorable tide, fearful yet defiant.
One by one, they fell. One by one the emperor’s army swept across them, and then they were no more. Kitsune watched history play itself over again, carefully stepping in where necessary- a word or two, to ensure a rebellion stayed true to its course for the expected time, a deflected arrow at the plan’s behest, just enough to ensure that a soldier or two went on to rise the ranks and die some ignoble death another time.
Tabs was a masterful planner, and it showed- how even with so many changes, the inherent randomness spiraling out from her mere presence in the world, history remained more or less unchanged. Perhaps if she’d deigned to step into the world they could have preserved history exactly, but that was unnecessarily overkill.
After all, the time to change was nigh.
She felt a stick prod her flank, pushing her out of the dingy cage she’d made so perfectly comfortable, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to level a glare at the ragged soldier that had been pressed into irritating her. “You try to manipulate history sometimes. A good few thousand degrees makes it all worth it.” Of course, all the poor soldier heard was an unintelligible yip or two, so her deathly stare would have to make do.
Nevertheless she allowed herself to be pushed out of the cage and onto the ramparts beside the small crowd of nervous soldiers. She didn’t blame them- who wouldn’t be nervous about the massive army camped only a mile or so out from bastion’s walls. Only the city’s general looked calm against the hoard of silver and perfect rows, running a hand through her fur before staring out toward a faint haze above the incoming legions.
So sue her, she liked pets and Eaera wasn’t here to give them. Or don’t- that particular sort of legal process likely didn’t even exist yet… her eyes followed the general’s to the one presence she’d felt more than any other on the battlefield.
The eternal Emperor. “Final projections, please.”
[ISON note - designate: “eternal Emperor” displays skills within appropriate margins for current time period.] A moment of silence, before another message flashed up and she had to fight to keep in character. [Prerecorded message from Seraph: Tabby - “Are you sure you don’t need aerial bombardment? Or a bandaid?” Prerecorded message from Seraph: Eaera - “Good luck!”] The second message, unexpected as it was, made her grin in soft excitement. Leave it to him to leave some reassuring messages for critical moments. Best brother ever.
Anyways, the legions had lined up for battle, even if that was more for show than anything with the eternal Emperor hovering above the battlefield in resplendant glory. A faint iridescence played out around him, the sheer force of will keeping him in the air impressing onto the atmosphere around him. An arm raised, a spear glinted in the sun as radiance solidified around him for his famous killing blow, first and last and only, to break walls and level cities-
To the others on the battlefield, one moment the eternal Emperor was charging his attack, the next something had smashed into him too fast to see, dragging him through a furrow half a mile long, straight through the center of his army and into the earthenworks beyond.
Staggering to his feet amidst the wreckage and awed silence, a spear of light flashed down from the sky to just barely miss a flicker or orange that bodied him again, tossing him through those perfect silver and slamming him into the city wall with a resonant explosion of force that sent half those still standing to their feet. Another bolt of force smashed out towards her but she was already lithely dodging away, trailing flame as he flowed smoothly from form to form, power mixed with endless hours attuning himself to the subtlest movements.
It wasn’t enough, of course, and for a third time- content in the awe and fear she’d already smashed into the imperial legions- she barreled into the Emperor and sent him thirty miles out into the ocean. Twin streaks of light, this time, orange and rainbow-tinted white as they scrabbled and flickered around one another in those brief seconds before they skipped across the ocean to the roar of water and blew apart a sandbar.
Standing in shallow water so many miles away from his army an empire, robes tattered and tassels long since discarded, a trickle of blood leaking from a gash on his forehead, he looked the part of a fearsome warrior. For Kitsune, compared to fighting the eternal emperor two millennia into the future, it was like beating up a kid. He staggered forwards, holding his spear in a defensive guard calculated in an instant to best prevent another flying tackle. “Show yourself! Mercy begets mercy, and I have none for you!” Bravado, really- Kitsune could see the slight wariness in his posture as she pulled herself out of the surf and shook her fur dry. “A… fox?”
“Opposable thumbs are overrated. Tails are the best.”
“I… what?” The eternal Emperor blinked owlishly, and Kitsune couldn’t help but snicker at his expression. It was golden. “Who… who do you serve, beast?”
She shrugged, settling down on the warm, only slightly glassed sand. “I wouldn’t know, Taza-” she smirked at the shock, then rage that played its way across the once-nameless Emperor’s face- “nobody, really. I’m not a fighter-” total lie- “more of a… spiritual guide. As in, a guide who’s a spirit.”
“A… spiritual guide?”
“I said that, didn’t I Tazzy?” She dodged out of the way of his spear as it blew half the beach to glass and smoke, but even he could probably tell it was halfhearted. “They thought a cage would get me to fight for them, but I was more interested in seeing you. A warning- not all ways to power are worth it. The soul is a delicate construct.” A sort of lie, that one, but against Sija, a human soul was less than dust. For the best part- she smirked, looking up into his eyes. “For old time’s sake, why don’t you call me… Tsune-” and then she was gone, burnt away in a flare of white-hot fire, but not before she got to see a thoroughly shocked emperor left alone on the beach.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
………
[ISON note - designate: “eternal Emperor” is displaying increased signs of agitation and restlessness. Current predictions place response along acceptable path-sets for maximum plan effectiveness.]
“Huh. He’s really going all out.” Kitsune hovered behind a cloud as a spark of flame, watching the assault on the city beneath her. The armies hadn’t even engaged… doorstops, the lot of them.
[ISON note - city infrastructure damage estimated at 103%]
“Is that even possible?”
[Prerecorded message from Seraph: Tabby - “Did you destroy that city? Did you destroy that bedrock? I’ m-”]
Kitsune sighed in exasperation and flickered away over the ocean, content at least this part of the plan was done. It probably wouldn’t keep him away from whatever remnant of Sija he’d picked up in so many iterations before… but that wasn’t the point. She didn't need to keep him away- she needed to know.
Hopefully it worked. If she had anything to say about it, she’d rather not repeat some other plan for the next two thousand years…
………
A man once named Taza stumbled into his rooms atop of the needle spires, throwing the remnants of a tattered cloak to the side in wordless rage before crashing into the plush couch. The twisted shard of metal that had been his spear landed neatly atop of the pile of now-rags- years of work and alchemical enhancement, ruined in a moment of frustration.
A hushed whisper from the room's lone servant seemed determined to ensure he didn't get the rest he- even if he wouldn't admit it- so desperately needed. "My- Emperor? You're bleeding!"
"Being wounded tends to do that to you." He sighed, but accepted the damp cloth passed to him. It smelled of flowers, and ironically, the sea.
A second man walked into the room, finally pulling the servant off him and sending him away. "I think, my lord, the more important question is how you could have been injured. Surely the…" a glance, to make sure the servant wasn't around- "...font has remained unblemished."
"It's possible what I fought had to do with the power of the font. It was a fox-specter, possessing a unique mastery over the element of fire, proclaiming itself a 'spiritual guide.'" It called him by name, and called itself by the name of a woman long dead. "Make some careful inquiries, Seneschal. Get to the bottom of this." He wanted to understand. "For me… I have a place to visit."
………
As a moment frozen in time; an ancient glade draped in the quiet remnants of a hidden past. Even as the world around it twirled and burned in advancement and furious war, these quiet mountains remained untouched- still gentle and cool against the icy northern seas and warmed by the vast and desolate southern plains. A spot of verdancy in a dreary expanse, nestled in jagged peaks and the promise of snow.
Taza touched down softly onto that neatly tended field, now a wooded forest's glade, breathing the crisp air and smelling the sharp scents of herbs grown wild. The terraces had begun to crumble, neat rows yielding to the sloop of ancient days.
Silent, he pushed aside the rotten wood of an old door, stepping into the gentle sunlight and ruined pasts. Dappled sunlight played across- a cold fireplace, a broken table, a pantry torn open and emptied long ago. A bed, pelts torn and scattered and dirtied, and a cold skeleton staring lifelessly at the ceiling.
He picked up a cup, grinning humorlessly at the faint traces of golden holly suffused into the grain of its being. Such was the consequence of immortality.
A creak echoed through the sudden silence, and Taza glanced behind him only to lock eyes with a small red fox as it nosed into the building. The two of them stood still for a while, Taza unwilling to move, the fox's expression unreadable.
A murmur, quiet. "You remembered her well." Taza couldn't help but think the voice felt… wise, if sharp. New or ancient it didn't matter, but there was something to the tenor of its speech that spoke to him. "I was hoping I'd find you here."
"What are you?"
"A spiritual guide-"
"You told me that already! What is your purpose, who made you- what made you-"
"My mother, I'd assume. Nice person, if only as intelligent as the average fox." Tsune- the fox had called itself Tsune- leapt up to the table and curled up in a ball, for all the world entirely uncaring to his presence. "Anyways, I'm only here for a message. The Tsune that lived here was… a legacy of sorts, to me, family in a sense. The community that once lived here was dedicated to keeping the secrets of the spring. They knew the dangers."
Taza's gaze settled fully onto her. "Dangers?"
"I may not have the power, but I do know the possible consequences. Perhaps, one day- when you plan to make your greatest step into the unknown, seek me out and I'll tell you." Their eyes locked, just for a moment. "Call for me, and I will know. I will come, then and only then."
"Wait-" but the fox was gone in a flash of fire as before, leaving the emperor of all the world behind alone in the ruins of the past. Hopefully, it would be enough.
.........
Independent Surveillance Operational Network
Report generated on request of Seraph: Kitsune on the spatio-temporal position of designate: "eternal Emperor" and other significant deviations.
Universe: Tau-33720
Designate: "eternal Emperor" followed secondary and quaternary predicted path-sets consistent with extreme interest in "Tsune" persona. Significant imperial resources were discretely diverted in order to search for "Tsune." Imperial conquest resumed within acceptable levels and initial global unification was achieved within three hundred years.
Note - significant point of deviation: second imperial seneschal failed to initiate imperial canal project due to fixation on "Tsune" persona.
Note - significant point of deviation: great great grandfather of first high priest killed prematurely in increased city devastation. Expect significant deviation in the existence of organization designate: “lunar church”.
Note - significant point of deviation: western trade system rendered generally inoperable. Minor delay in global economic and technological development expected.
(16) More significant points of deviation.
Report complete.