Halberd, clutched loosely for those long, lonely hours as the salty winds blew. Crossbow, strung tight and slung across the back, ready just in case- annoying, but necessary. Breastplate, tied tightly to protect against glancing blows. Funny hat- as his daughter always called it- tilted just enough to keep the sunlight glinting off the water out of his eyes. Tools of the trade, along with the endless boredom of a convoy guard, always ready, never needed; he'd held them on standby for so long that the awkward, slouched posture had become almost second nature to him. 

Now though, he peered out into the cerulean vastness of the endless oceans, watching beside the other crewmates in unrestrained awe as titans battled on the horizon- awe, and not a little bit of wry confusion. For all he'd heard the many sailor's tales and whispered nightmares, for all he'd seen the creatures of the deep as they seethed in the dark of the night-

Giant foxes were not ocean monsters.

A blast of hot wind washed over the ship, catching the sails and causing the woodwork to creak and groan in protest as a beam of light pierced the air and seas, the tenor of battle distilled to but a dull, rumbling roar so many miles away. A single paw the size of cities reached into the air and trailed a sea of flame behind it, a second sunrise dying the midday ocean lurid red as the very atmosphere burned beneath its strength. Something retaliated in kind, an invisible speck smashing against the fox's side and sending it crashing into the ocean with a massive spray of steam. 

Another beam of light flashed from the creature's maw, slicing through the air until that too-little-to-be-seen thing deflected it into the ocean, setting the water on fire… gaping, the guard couldn't help but wonder how such a beast had escaped the chains whatever hell it came from. Surely the empire… "That's what it's fighting." He laughed, half hysterical, still tinted with a hint of that bored drawl that had ingrained itself so thoroughly into his speech. The other crewmates looked at him, curiously- "It's fighting the eternal Emperor himself, and here we are, blessed or cursed to see the foretold final battle."

"So… it's not a sea monster?" Sighing, the guard contented himself once again with ignoring his fellow crewmates. Why, why did this job have to be so incredibly boring! Yes, he did recognize the irony of complaining of boredom while watching a fight between deities, but that was ultimately the prerogative of a ship's guard. Boredom…

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The fox stood on its hind legs, flames swirling in a sphere of blinding incandescent between its front two paws as specks of light tried and failed to impact whatever terrible magic it was working-

White. Fire. Heat like the sun his hat was so carefully supposed to keep out of his eyes. A radiance that seemed to worm its way into the depths of his self, boiling- he felt it, the knowledge that if he had been caught in those flames he would have been scoured from the world.

It seemed to go on for eternity before it finally faded, leaving behind a visage of boiling seas and jagged stones, half molten shattered spires jutting out from beneath the waves. Panting, the guard pulled himself to his feet with the staff of his halberd. "It's… over?" He breathed, tasting the scalding air, scanning the seas to find any trace of fox or emperor. A few crewmembers around him groaned as they tried- and failed- to pick themselves off the ground "Who… won?"

"Me, obviously." The guard twirled, dropping to his knees, halberd shakily pointed out towards the small fox lying innocently on the deck behind him, wishing the defensive posture was purposeful and not because he didn't have the energy to stand. "It took a long time, but finally-" there was a conviction there, a weight of power as he looked into eyes of infinite fire, "this universe is free."

There was a moment of cold silence as the two stared at another, thoughts bleeding from his exhausted mind against so stunning a revelation. "...cute."

"I am not-" the fox pouted. The fox which had just, by its own admission, killed the eternal Emperor of two thousand years, pouted. "Whatever… just… fine." It padded up to him and pounced, throwing him onto his back before settling onto his chest with a huff. "You sound like Eaera, so- pets, now."

He sat there, stroking the fur of a fox, a deity, watching the sea boil, hearing the crumbling tone of cataclysmic remnants and wondering when everything had gotten so… exciting.

Probably, he surmised, when giant foxes became sea monsters.