image [https://i.imgur.com/DKj8I92.png]

John Fauster lay sprawled on the ground. Unsightly burns and peeling skin covered his back. Kitsu stood between himself and the bald, brown-skinned man.

“Who the hell are you?” John asked through gritted teeth. “Why are you doing this?”

“I’m doing God's will,” the bald man said, his expression unchanging. “And I’m here to take what’s rightfully mine.”

“Rightfully yours?!”

John pushed himself off the ground. He had sweat all over his body and used his arm to lean on Kitsu for support.

Kitsu snarled at the man.

“I’ve met your kind before…” John said. “You hunt precious beasts, offering them as trophies to your damn god.”

“You dare take Yiho’s name in vain?” The man’s eyes narrowed, and terrifying vibrations travelled through the ground, like a miniature earthquake. John nearly lost his footing because of the seismic waves.

“Hah!” John shouted, his eyes wide with madness. “I curse you and your god! May every one of you burn in hell!”

“Enough of this,” Garyu pulled out his bow. Magic energy coalescing between his fingers.

John’s eyes narrowed, and his breathing sped up. Kitsu’s voice caught in her throat from the sheer pressure the bald man emitted.

“Kitsu is a Sun type magic beast,” he said. “This man’s power will be too overwhelming for her.”

“Kitsu,” he whispered to her. “When I give the signal, run.”

Kitsu yelped unwillingly. Her large eyes looked at him with sadness.

“Don’t worry.” He put a hand on her. “I’ll come right behind you.”

John readied his own bow and pulled back on the string. Green energy swirled between his fingers, but his own arrow paled compared to the bald man’s.

“I’ll show you what it means to face Yiho’s judgement,” the bald man said.

The sheer radiance emitting from his presence was like standing in front of a forge. The forest lit up from his magic, and nearby leaves and twigs caught fire from the heat.

John shot his arrow at the man, who released his own‌. Green and red energy collided, and a gale of wind swept the nearby trees into the air.

“Kitsu, get out of here!”

John pushed Kitsu, urging her to leave.

The bald man’s arrow tore through John’s and made a beeline straight for him. John’s eyes widened helplessly as the arrow appeared right before his eyes.

A howl of complete pain filled the air. John’s eyes widened as he saw Kitsu standing before him. Smoke arising from her body.

“Kitsu!!” John screamed in horror. “No!”

Kitsu yelped, her colossal frame collapsing to the ground.

“What a pain,” the bald man said. “The fur is all burnt now. How will I offer it like this?”

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!”

John threw himself at the man, ignoring his injured body. Magic energy appeared in his fists. The bald man tried to dodge, but John appeared suddenly behind him. The bald man’s eyes widened as John launched a green fist straight at his face.

Bang his fist collided with the bald man’s face.

“What?!” John's face fell as the bald man stood there unfazed. Smoke emanated from his cheek, which John had punched.

“Pathetic fly,” the bald man said. Rage filled his eyes.

The ground cracked under the seismic waves coming from the Bald man’s feet. John coughed up blood, crumpling to the ground helplessly as the vibrations battered his body.

“I just wanted the fox,” the bald man said. “But maybe Pawan will appreciate your blood as an extra component.”

Garyu walked towards John, each step sending seismic waves through the ground and into his body. Each step closer felt like the beat of a drum, and the song of death was playing.

“Is this it for me…”

John looked behind him one last time. Kitsu's body lay on the floor.

Tears ran down John’s face, and a hatred like none he had felt before filled his veins. That hatred then turned to despair as the bald man walked closer to them.

“Please,” John spoke through sobs. “Please let us go. We’ll go far away from here. Just leave us.”

“I was never after you because you were in our territory,” the bald man said, mirth filling his eyes.

“Then… why?!”

“For more cultivation resources, of course!”

The hatred reignited, John felt his whole body overcome by anger.

All this, Kitsu’s death. Just for fucking cultivation resources?

”Do you want to take revenge?”

John’s eyes fixed on Kitsu’s body. The beautiful white fur was now stained red and black, its tall frame that grew since she was just a little sun fox, its last few breaths…

Wait… breaths?

“Kitsu is still alive!”

”I can save her…”

Garyu was already in front of John. A ball of fire filled his fist.

”You and your little doggie are going to die”

“Do it!” John shouted. “Save us! Please!” He shut his eyes tightly.

“Nobody is going to rescue you– what the hell?”

Purple energy filled the area like smog. It swirled around John and Kitsu, enveloping their bodies. An acrid scent filled the area, and the sound of laughter echoed out from somewhere.

“The Archon will be pleased”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

John and Kitsu’s bodies vanished.

image [https://i.imgur.com/9s19VLK.png]

At another time, during the set feast

Taiyo, Yuuki, Victor and Bronx sat on the Sun wood bleachers within the town square. The sound of villagers chattering and Tabla filled the surroundings, and the magic sun floating above the large sun wood stage cast golden light throughout the surroundings.

Yuuki pried himself free from Taiyo’s hands covering his mouth.

“I thought I was gonna suffocate!” he took big gasps of air.

“Oops, sorry.” Taiyo released her grip and chuckled.

“Anyway,” Yuuki glared at Taiyo. “Play The Sun’s Gambit!”

“What game is that?” Victor asked?

“Sis will explain,” Yuuki smirked.

This is his revenge, isn’t it? She thought.

“Look over there,” Sighing, Taiyo pointed towards the magical sun floating above the central stage. It glowed like a ball of golden magma, and rotated on an axis with tendrils of flame circulating the outside.

“That ball contains all the remaining Sun Energy in the village before night.” she said. “It keeps the village lively and warm well into the night. That spell we cast gathers all the energy together into a magical sun.”

“Hmm,” Victor stroked his stubbly beard. “That’s an interesting application of Sun Magic.”

The Magic sun unleashed a tongue of sun energy, which whipped out onto the stage, hitting a tree with orange leaves which ignited before retreating back into the sun.

“My beautiful Sun Tree!” Someone cried in the distance.

“I told you not to grow it too close to the stage…”

Yuuki laughed at the conversation in the distance. “Sun trees are resistant to flames, but not that resistant!”

“What was that?” Victor’s eyes widened.

“That’s a solar flare,” Taiyo said. “We will douse ourselves in Sun Whiskey and try to dodge the flare. That’s the aim of the game.”

“Isn’t that incredibly dangerous?” Bronx frowned.

Victor’s eyes were shining, and whatever sadness there was before was long gone. He stood up, taking the nearby glass of Sun Whiskey and poured it over his head. “Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked.

Taiyo covered her mouth with her hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“What?” He looked around with a puzzled expression.

“Sir Victor,” She said. “That’s the wrong sun whiskey…”

“Ahh what a waste!” Bronx said, his face dropping in despair.

“But Bronx is right,” Taiyo said, her expression becoming serious. “Sun Villagers are generally safe whilst playing this, but Sir Victor you–”

“Don’t worry!” he said. “I’m a Mythril Adventurer after all!”

“I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Taiyo felt slightly anxious as she said this.

“I’m sure it'll be fine,” Yuuki said.

“I’ve faced flames far more fiery than these.” Victor nodded.

Aren’t all flames fiery? Taiyo thought.

Victor was already walking towards the stage. She turned to look at Bronx, who frowned. And Yuuki just shrugged.

Villagers started murmuring as she walked onto the stage.

“Someone is playing The Sun God’s Gambit!”

“Who’s that foreigner?”

“That’s Taiyo! The daughter of the high priest!”

Taiyo nodded towards the man wearing a red turban drumming on the tabla (A/N: Hand Drums) next to the stage. He nodded back in response.

Bronx presented Taiyo and Victor with two maroon bottles of Sun Whiskey. They were wrapped in a red cloth, and the glass illuminated dark red under the magic sun’s light.

Victor was watching her.

I guess he’d want me to demonstrate, she thought.

Taiyo flipped the bottle in her hand, tossing it into the air. She then opened her arms wide above her head, striking a pose. A tongue of flame from the magic sun whipped the bottle, smashing it and spraying sparkling whiskey all over her.

The Whiskey felt warm, hot even. A comfortable feeling spread through her body as the magic energy permeated her skim.

The crowd cheered while watching this.

I’m sorry, Sir Victor. She thought. But you have zero chances of winning this game against me.

Victor followed suit, and he tossed the bottle into the air. Taiyo watched him as the golden liquid covered his face. For a moment, he seemed to wince, but he immediately covered it up.

“Yiho, don’t hurt him. Please.” She prayed quietly.

The sound of the tabla sped up.

“Let the Sun God’s Gambit Begin!” Yuuki shouted.

Taiyo took three steps forward. The Surface of the magic sun bubbled in response, as if it was acknowledging her presence. Victor copied her, and the Sun bristled as he got near it.

Taiyo steadied her breathing, closing her eyes as she felt the Sun Energy in the surroundings.

Behind closed eyes, she could see countless specs of amber light, each coalescing into one giant ball in front of her. That ball was the magic sun, and all the little specs were Sun Energy particles. The specs jirated, and gathered on her side of the magic Sun.

“Now!” She opened her eyes, and a tongue of Sun Energy came whipping out towards her feet. Taiyo gracefully hopped, and the tongue of energy went right under her. The heat from the magic sun warmed her feet. She landed back on the ground.

She closed her eyes, and the specs this time coalesced on Victor’s side.

This game is really about how well one can sense Sun Energy, she thought. The better reading you have on the energy, the better you can dodge the tongues of flame–

Taiyo’s eyes widened as she watched Victor.

A tongue of flame far greater than the one that attacked her emerged, and Victor simply rotated his body to the side, the tongue flying straight past him.

“H–he actually dodged it!” Someone shouted.

What shocked Taiyo wasn’t his efficient way of dodging. No. Anybody could get past the first round with ease.

It was that his eyes were closed!

Was Sir Victor actually reading the sun energy? She thought. But how was that possible?

Without giving her time to think, the specs coalesced on her side of the sun. Taiyo spun her body, her long Saree unfurling in the wind. The Tongue of flame passed right under her outstretched arms.

Taiyo’s eyes fixed on Victor, his eyes were still closed.

Was it just a fluke? She thought.

Another tongue struck out at him, and he squatted down, allowing it to pass right over his head.

“Take three steps forward!” The man playing the tabla shouted.

Victor moved forwards without hesitation.

Taiyo steadied her breath, following the instructions. At this stage, two tongues of flame would attack the player. Taiyo could feel the warmth coming off the magic sun from this distance. It stood about nine steps away from the two of them.

The specs swirled around the Magic sun. There was only one way to dodge multiple sun flares. Circulate the magic blood in your body. They would attract the Sun flares in a linear motion, which made it easy to dodge past them. Only a user of sun magic could make it past this stage.

“This is where you lose, Sir Victor.” Taiyo said.

He smiled at her from across the stage. “Bring it on, Sun priestess.”

Without hesitation, Taiyo concentrated on rotating the magic blood within her body. Half of the blood in her body was already saturated with magic. Making her Rank 0.5. A Rank 1 was somebody who had entirely saturated their blood with magical energy.

The magic blood moved into her heart, flooding the tissue with sun energy. Then to her lungs, and then diffusing throughout her body, filling every tissue and fibre with a magical pulse. Her eyes began turning golden.

Normally, casting sun magic without sunlight was impossible, and would have serious consequences. It was only because of the magic sun before her…

And in no time, the specs coalesced into two places on her side of the sun.

‘Like attracts like’ her father had told her. “Magic energy moves to where it’s strongest.”

Two spiny spears of golden light shot straight towards her. One was coming from the left, and another from the right. Taiyo steadied her breathing, putting all her strength into her toes on the Sun wood stage floor.

Taiyo jumped. She threw her body backwards, doing a backflip in midair. The two spears of light missed her body by centimetres, and she gracefully landed on her feet.

Gasps came from the crowd.

“That’s it, sis!” Yuuki shouted.

“Don’t let her beat you, Victor!” Bronx also shouted.

Taiyo smiled, but without giving her a chance to breathe, the specs coalesced on her side again.

Why are they coming at me again? Her eyes widened.

Taiyo pushed her magic blood into overdrive, which agitated the sun faster. Two spears shot from her right, aiming straight for her chest.Moving fast, Taiyo bent her body backwards until her curly brown hair touched the stage beneath her, and the two spears shot right over her body, missing her.

Sweat trickled down her forehead.

I miscalculated, she thought. Did I get hit twice because I used my Sun energy and Victor didn’t?

“Take 6 steps forward!”

Sir Victor made it past the second stage, she thought. Anxiety filled her chest, and she looked at him with worry. She was supposed to beat him here and end the game, the next round might end his life!

As she stepped closer, the sweat on her forehead vaporised. At this stage, one would have to dodge five sun flares. Whoever passed this round won. If you failed to dodge even one, the rest would hit you consecutively. Dealing fatal damage to anyone who wasn’t resistant to Sun Magic.

The crowd cheered.

This was the true Sun God’s Gambit.