The feline that had exited the cave to gaze down at us in patient amusement was…gigantic. Next to Rhazal, they had to be the single largest creature I’d ever seen on Vereden, including Taran. The elderly Spirit Wolf had to be at least a single, massive head’s worth shorter than them.

Well.

Maybe not with the horns. That might just barely put him on the same level as the enormous saber-toothed tiger that loomed over us.

Because there was plenty of looming going on. The new arrival was much the same as the (relatively) smaller forms of Sena and Gin that had bowed at her arrival. She had the same basic body plan, the same proportions if only writ larger, but one major difference.

From her scalp, and surrounding her massive ears, flowed a mane of pure flame. It was not like that of a lion, as it reminded me more of what a human woman would have. It did not lay flat, and instead waved and flowed through the breeze with an almost fluid grace. Tongues and flickers of languid fire rolled down her back in a sheet that covered her almost like a cloak. Though she was close, and the curiously questing flames of her hair wisped low enough to nearly brush us, I felt no heat. Somehow I knew that the inferno would not harm me unless their owner wished for them to. But there was something almost familiar about the pressure of that fire.

After a moment, I sucked in a breath in realization.

That was her Mantle. Somehow, this creature had a physical Mantle, something that I’d thought was impossible. All of the Mantles I’d experienced in the past had been more of a sensation or an environmental phenomenon. Not a real thing.

“I…am Shurenga,” The massive Mystic Beast said proudly. “First and only daughter of Tarus, and the watcher of this nexus point. And you…are expected. All of you.” Her eyes drifted over each member of my party, the weight of her gaze affecting us all differently. However, I noticed that it settled longest on three of us in particular.

Me, Venix…

And Kazuma.

Said samurai finally shook off his shock and pushed his way to the front of our formation. “The flame that stalks…” He breathed, gazing up at Shurenga in astonishment. “Found where the silence burns…”

Shurenga blinked slowly, languidly at the words. “Interesting wording, child of the Higanashi Clan. Not untrue, but interesting. Tell me, where do they come from?”

Venix stepped forward then, catching her attention. “The dying words of a long lost brother-in-arms,” He said gravely, unexpectedly frowning up at her. “The boy told me of how, in his last moments, he spoke of my master’s blade, under your apparent protection. How did he come to know such a truth, O’Spirit?”

The enormous feline didn’t take offense to the Antium’s tone, although I saw that Sena did. The other cat almost appeared to be frowning in disapproval at him. In the meanwhile, more and more of the Shurengans began to appear. From the crags of the volcano itself as well as the mouth of the cave, they emerged from their hiding spots. Saber-tooths of all ages came to watch the conversation between us, seemingly unafraid to be in the presence of strangers.

To be fair, I’m not sure I would be afraid either if such a massively powerful being was my protector. Much less the already conventionally intimidating forms of Sena and Gin.

In fact, a troupe of curious cubs came bounding up to stare up at us in curiosity. To my surprise, only purrs and meows exited their furry little mouths, instead of the words that their elders used. But, that made sense. Not even Fade could talk like their elders could, and he was much older than these little tykes. I looked up from them briefly to see the same matriarch I had encountered multiple times before watching cautiously. Our eyes met, and after a considering look, she nodded grudgingly.

Permission granted, I guess.

I bent down and began to pet and play with the little cubs, to their obvious joy. Unsurprisingly, Liora and Bella joined me in playing with the kittens, since, well.

They were kind of irresistible, with those wide golden eyes tiny little fangs.

Besides.

It’s not like this was my show, anyway. I wasn’t the one after the sword, and it didn’t look like there was going to be a fight.

The sideshow happening behind Venix’s and Kazuma’s backs didn’t escape Shurenga’s notice, to her amusement, but she still answered the Antium. “You…I remember you,” She said musingly. “You were younger then, but you accompanied the soldiers during the last Ryumetsu Matsuri.”

Venix frowned up at her. “I do not remember you.”

Shurenga’s enormous, furry lips curled into an almost smile, her whiskers twitching. “That does not mean I was not there. After all, I had to be close if I wished to retrieve that which I suspect you are here for.”

Kazuma sucked in a quick, eager breath, his entire body vibrating with excitement. I couldn’t help but notice that the look he fixed the elder Mystic Beast with was almost hungry.

“You did not answer my question, daughter of the sun,” Venix said. “How did Jiro of the Flickering Storm come to know of your existence?”

Slowly, Shurenga eased down until she was laying her great furry belly. Delicately, she curled one paw up under her body and regarded Venix with a considering look. “Because we found him, of course. Your Jiro was half dead in the aftermath of that battle, and wandered the outer jungles for a week before discovery. Sena,” She said with a nod to the other saber-tooth, who dipped her own head at the acknowledgment. “Believes he woke sometime in the aftermath of the battle, only to find himself abandoned. Wounded and alone, she guided him back to the beaches, where thankfully a single ship still resided, picking over the leavings of war.”

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“There, I hoped he would receive the healing he so needed,” Sena said quietly. “Sadly, our people are not adept in the medicinal arts. Tell me, did he survive?”

Kazuma snapped out of his greed to answer her. “Ah…no, my lady,” He said, a tad awkwardly. “Sir Jiro unfortunately passed of an infection not long after he made it back to the capital.”

“That…is a shame,” Sena’s ears lowered, flattening against her head as she bowed it.

Venix…sighed then, and bowed his own head towards the smaller Shurengan. “Thank you for attempting to save him, at least. Jiro was…a good friend, once upon a time,” With a slight shake of it, the Antium. “To business, then. Lady Shurenga, you implied that the Shōmetsu no Kiba was in your possession?”

The much larger feline curled its lips then. She dipped her head in his direction. “I do possess the blade. It’s right behind me, within the heart of Mt. Umetsuji.”

Seemingly unable to stop himself, Kazuma took an eager step forward. He was stopped in place, freezing, when the enormous Mystic Beast raised her voice sharply.

“However! There is a slight…problem, if you wish to reclaim it.”

I stood up from my playing with the cubs to a few mews of disappointment. Heroically, I hardened my heart to the adorable cries and sighed.

Things could never be simple.

“And what exactly is the problem, my lady?” I asked.

In a strangely human gesture, the apparent daughter of Tarus extended claws larger than I was from her right paw, and began to tap them against the stone of the caldera. The tinkling stone of stone cracking under the slightest pressure exerted by the Mystic Beast filled my ears, as she visibly pondered the question. “When one considers artifacts as mighty as the Shōmetsu no Kiba,” She began slowly. “The concept of ownership enters a conceptual level. Many years ago, the blade was bound to the bloodline of the Higanashi Clan by the then sitting Emperor.”

She nodded to the form of Kazuma, nearly vibrating in place from impatience. I think if he dared, he would dash past the Shurengans to ransack their home looking for his ancestral blade.

But luckily, he wasn’t that stupid.

“The problem, however, is that when I chanced upon your master,” This time, she nodded at Venix. He twitched at the words but did not interrupt. “The line of succession was broken. Gozen of the Twin Fangs, as I believe his name was, did not bind the blade to an heir. The gift that the River Throne had bequeathed to his Clan required this if the possession was to be maintained. Thus, with his death, the overall binding was broken. As it stands, the Shōmetsu no Kiba is ownerless…and quite wild.”

Kazuma sucked in a quick breath, eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets. “I-I didn’t know it worked like that,” He breathed out in despair. “Then…I cannot use the blade?”

Shurenga shook her massive head from side to side. “As it stands, no. However…,” She continued before Kazuma’s anguish could overwhelm him. “I did anticipate the arrival of a representative of your Clan, even if it took…much longer than anticipated. It is within my power to…facilitate a new binding of the blade. There still exist wisps of the original binding which I could coax back into shape. Otherwise, you would be erased simply coming near the Shōmetsu no Kiba.”

Hmm…

That sounded to me like it didn’t necessarily have to be Kazuma that the blade could be bound to. Anyone could seek Shurenga’s approval and try to win her favor for it. And with that, they would gain a weapon that had apparently been capable of matching Calamity's back during the War in Heaven.

I could personally attest to how strong the blade would have to be, to manage that.

I exchanged a quick glance with Bella and Liora, both of them standing near me. Liora shrugged one shoulder minutely at me, as always uncaring about temptations. She was a very solid person, in that manner. But Bella…well, I won’t pretend she didn’t have a calculating glint in her eye. As a pirate, my lover had a certain degree of…moral flexitude, when it came to the concept of ownership.

And…

I won’t pretend the thought hadn’t ran through my minds as well. I’d crossed some lines in the past myself. Vereden had hardened me in some regards, and if it could help protect me and mine from the ravages of this world…

Well, I could be a little flexible myself.

Still, I gave Bella a slight shake of my head. She didn’t seem that disappointed, thankfully. It had just been a fleeting idea, in the end. The captain of the Thorny Reef bent back down to play with the much more interesting cubs once again.

I didn’t really need some super-weapon like the Shōmetsu no Kiba. I was getting along just fine with my own developments, both Statusial and in regards to my Profession. There were certain…projects I had yet to give up on that were showing promise, if only in the theoretical sense.

Besides, my core ring pointed out that it would essentially be spitting in the face of Venix, to try and claim the sword ourselves. He didn’t deserve that from us.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice the knowing, amused glance that Shurenga flickered our way at the byplay. She knew that her unstated message had been heard, and summarily rejected. Venix saw as well, no doubt having noticed ou little back and forth. He turned to briefly glower our way, before ignoring us in favor of the unfolding drama.

Honestly, I don’t think Renauld, Azarus, or even Kazuma himself noticed. The Gnoll and the Dwarf because they were oblivious to intrigue at the best of times, and the samurai…

Well, he had started vibrating in place at the offer from the ancient pseudo-Spirit.

Kazuma bowed sharply in her direction. “Please help me rebind the blade, Laday Shurenga!” He nearly shouted, voice echoing off the stone of the caldera.

“Hmm,” Shurenga rose to her feet to pad over to Kazuma, lowering her head to sniff delicately at him. The samurai didn’t budge from his bent posture, as the inhales from nostrils twice as large as his head roughed short black hair. After a moment, Shurenga raised her head. “Well, I can be convinced. Come with me, young samurai, and we shall…negotiate the release of the blade. Sena, Gin,” She said, turning her face to the other two cats. They sat up in attention at the word's direction their way. “Do show the others to the ‘guest room’. I have…another offer to convey later, and this shall take some time.”

At that, Shurenga turned her head ever so slightly to fix me with a single golden eye.

I merely rose my own in response, to the twinkling amusement in that huge orb.

As Shurenga turned about and began to stalk about into her den with Kazuma following close behind, Sena and Gin approached us on padded feet.

“Please,” Sena said, with a flick of her ear. “Follow us. We do not often have guests, but we do have a space you can rest the night in, while our Lady binds the blade.”

That was acceptable to us, and as a group, we followed the two cats into the cave. In the distance, Kazuma and Shurenga were disappearing into the dull glow at the heart of the volcano. I noticed, though, that Venix was still watching them. I couldn't parse the expression on his chitinous face.

I was startled out of my own observations when I felt a furry arm throw itself over my shoulder. I turned my head to see that the owner was Renauld, grinning at me playfully with a mouth full of sharp teeth. “Man, Nate. You take us to the most interesting places, don’tcha?”

I rolled my eyes at him, but didn’t respond.

I knew he was right.