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

Burning

The sensation Taiyo was feeling could only be described as one thing.

She grit her teeth as she felt the sheer heat coming off the golden sun in front of her. Ten golden ropes, one for each finger along with several golden strings crept out, connecting her to the sun. Sweat vaporised instantly as it came out of her body, and she could feel her lips getting parched the more time that passed. The magic energy flowed through her, she absorbed all she could, trying to fill her body and blood stream, before it was zapped out of her into the golden ropes, swiftly flooding towards the golden sun.

A magical ball of energy that was currently the size of a house. And she was supposed to keep hold of it. Keep hold of it until it was strong enough to overcome that thing. Every muscle in her arm ached, and her heart pumped rapidly, delivering magical energy throughout her bloodstream. She looked downwards, knowing full well the sheer speed of her heart, and the hyperventilation wasn’t solely because of the magic spell.

Victor was holding off the beast king below her. Her eyes widened as it hurtled towards him. The creature, or rather monster, was a behemoth. A sun fox, supposed to be a symbol of life and beauty, currently warped and twisted in purple light and flames, two giant sinewy forelimbs growing out of its sides, and its fur, and its tendons wriggled like giant parasitic worms, bursting from the sheer quantity of magical energy held within.

Taiyo swallowed rapidly. Trying to recover some of the water her body lost, and also inadvertently from the sight in front of her.

What was before her was a monster from the banished side of the moon. The place Yiho only touched, but never graced. To make matters worse, Victor was fighting off against this monster straight from the deepest pits of despair.

Taiyo could feel her control over the magic sun weakening. Her gaze darted across the battlefield below her, and she watched Victor narrowly avoid another strike by the magic beast. Every time the monster attacked, Taiyo felt her heart skip a beat, only for it to relax slightly as the rubble cleared enough for her to verify Victor’s condition.

Her mouth felt dry, doubly from the sheer heat burning down on her, and also from the fight below.

And just at this moment.

One of the ropes tying her to the Sun snapped.

It dropped downwards. It’s heat burning down on her harsher. The sheer proximity between her and the magic sun made her feel like she was standing in front of a furnace, and though she would find sun energy comforting, this sheer level of heat made her skin feel like she needed protective gear.

Why wasn’t Victor leaving the battlefield?

Despite the heat from the sun, Taiyo felt an uneasy chill go down her spin. Her heart continued to pump rapidly, and she twisted where she sat, trying to get an eye on Victor.

“Victor!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Get out of there! I can’t hold on forever!”

“Don’t worry about me!” he shouted back. He looked back at her, and the look in his eyes was determined. “Hold on for as long as you can, I’ll keep him distracted!”

That uneasy feeling in her gut turned to dread as she felt her limbs tremble slightly. What did he mean by hold on? This wasn’t a part of the plan they agreed on!

Another rope snapped.

And at that moment, the worst thing happened.

Taiyo stopped breathing as she watched Victor slide under the sun fox. He successfully avoided the attack, dashing out from underneath it.

She half let out a breath, did he make it out safe?–

Taiyo’s eyes widened in horror as she watched him try to jump over the tail, but not reaching high enough. The tail came whipping out, hitting him straight in the leg. The blood drained from Taiyo’s face as she heard a distinct crack sound and Victor was flung sideways.

“Victor!!”

He fell to the ground, coughing, he tried to get up, but fell back down.

The beast king advanced on him. That monster, along with the countless black magic beasts formed a tide in the town square as they all circled around Victor. A vicious smile covered the sun fox’s lips, but Victor smiled back. Despite all of this, his posture was relaxed, and his eyes remained as calm and tout as always.

He looked at her.

“Drop the magic bomb!” he said. “This is your only chance!”

This was the feeling of dread turning to reality.

This is what she didnt want.

This is what he promised would not happen.

This was not supposed to happen.

“No!” Taiyo shouted. “Victor, you promised you’d come back safe!”

Tears filled her eyes.

Two more ropes snapped, and the magic sun fell closer to her. The heat immediately evaporated the tears on her face, and the very air around her felt like it was burning, each breath burning her lungs. She only had six left, and those six would not hold the weight of Yiho’s power.

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“I’m sorry Taiyo,” he said to her. His eyes looked calm, but within them, she could see something.

He wasn’t okay with this. She wasn’t okay with this. Taiyo felt the sensation like a twisting knife in her gut.

“I’m done for,” he said.

Taiyo shouted. She put all of her strength into upholding the magic energy. Her mind filled with only one thought.

This sun must not fall on Victor.

She willed everything within her, she prayed, she tried to control the magic energy, she pushed, and she resisted.

Three more ropes snapped.

“Taiyo!” Victor roared. “This is your only chance, drop the magic bomb!”

No, no no no. Taiyo shook her head in disbelief. She lifted her arms up, but they felt like they were being weighed down by countless kilograms of lead, and even as she moved them, the sun kept falling.

“You promised me you’d come back!” her voice cracked as she screamed.

The last three ropes snapped.

Three.

Two.

One.

The sun fell to the ground. Everything faded to white.

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

John Fauster awoke, his body aching, and his back leaning against broken rubble. His head pounded, and as he opened his eyes, his vision swam. Sounds entered his ears, but he couldn’t discern what they were, everything felt strange, hard to understand.

“Kitsu…”

A jolt went through him and he shook his head, Forcing himself to stand up, he looked around him. The remnants of his black bow, now snapped and destroyed lay below him. A sudden weakness filled his knees, and he dropped to the ground. He clutched the broken pieces of black wood in his hands.

Was this where his actions had finally led him?

John ignored the feelings, tossing the broken pieces of wood, and his thoughts along with them. Kitsu’s face, the terrible visage she had taken on filed his mind. He took one step forwards, clutching onto the wall as he did so. Broken sensations of rubble and dust touched his hands, and some of the sounds started to sound clearer to him.

There was sobbing, cries from children. Praying. Screaming. Shouting, and crackling.

Crackling? John thought.

He rubbed his eyes, ignoring his dust covered hands and blinked rapidly, trying to make out the scene in front of him.

He had achieved his goal.

The village of sun helm was in ruin.

The temple that once stood so proud atop the stairs was now nothing more than rubble before him. Fire burned and crackled. Yes, that was the crackling sound. Houses burned, wooden trees were charred, and at the epicentre of it all…

Was Kitsu.

John’s eyes widened, and he forced his broken body forwards. He dashed towards the large white mass on the ground. This wasn’t the strange creature that Kitsu had become, this was Kitsu.

His only companion and friend.

“Kitsu!” John shouted. He pushed his hands against its large furry body, trying to shake her awake. He put his ear on her back, searching desperately for a heartbeat. He closed his eyes, he listened, listened.

A slobbery, wet sensation touched his neck, and his heart leapt.

He turned around, and right before him, a pair of calm, beautiful eyes stared back at him.

“Kitsu!” he shouted. The muscles in his shoulders relaxed, and tensed simultaneously. A surge of emotions, happiness, relief, and most of all, love filled his body. He threw himself at her, hugging her neck.

“Kitsu,” he said. “I thought I had lost you…”

She licked him again.

Never had he felt so happy to feel that slobbery tongue ruining his neatly combed, white silken hair.

He laughed, he had done it. He had saved her.

“I did what you wanted, right!” John shouted out. “I destroyed the village like you asked me to!”

There was no response in his mind.

John frowned. Where was the voice of the stranger who was guiding them?

“Like who asked you to, John?”

John turned around, to see a girl wearing red. Her skin was brown, but looked dark like the blood in her body had turned cold. Her hair was curly and black, but currently looked brittle and full of dust, and her clothes had remnants of golden embroideries, but were tattered and ripped. The one thing about her that remained clear though, were her eyes.

He almost thought they flickered with golden light as they looked at him.

John felt a slight weakness in his limbs as she stared at him, and the skin on his body felt uncomfortable, like something was crawling over him.

“So.” John said as he stood up. “It’s you again.”

“Are you surprised I'm still alive?” she smiled at him, but her tone was unkind, and her eyes were filled with mirth. “After all this destruction you’ve caused, are you disappointed I also wasn’t killed in the aftermath?”

John felt taken aback as she said this, he clenched his hands in anger.

“What are you talking about?” John said, with every word he spoke, his voice unintentionally got louder. “I only did this because I had to!”

“Had to?” She laughed, and her laugh stung him to his core. “You had to destroy an entire village of innocent people?”

Was this really the same girl who was cowering before him in fear?

“Innocent?” Now it was John’s turn to laugh. “How are any of you innocent when–”

“From the actions of one man you destroyed an entire village!” Every word of hers cut deep, like knives. She was weaker than him, defenceless, but currently, the fury in her voice, and the look in her eyes made him feel like she was much bigger.

“You’ve taken countless people I cared for and loved away from me!” Her shoulders shook as she spoke, her eyes locked onto him, and she gnashed her teeth in his direction. “All for fucking what”

“I had to!” John shouted back at her. He tried to unleash his magical energy towards her. “Kitsu was going to die because of that bastard! This was the only way I could save her!”

She nearly took a step backwards as he released his magical energy, and blood trickled down the corner of her lips, which she didn't even bother to wipe away as she spoke, her eyes staring at him scathingly. On her face was a triumphant look, as if he had proved her point.

“Yes, kill me, John.” she said. “My life, and the lives of all these villagers.” she gestured at the destruction around her. “The lives of everyone I’ve cared about are nothing in your eyes after all!”

“You have no idea what it’s like to lose the only thing in your life that matters–”

“You’ve taken every single thing that mattered to me away!” She roared at him.

She fell to the ground, her knees hitting the hard concrete. Her eyes looked downwards, and she muttered under her breath.

“You’re going to kill me anyway,” she said. “Just do it. All I ask is you spare the children, for they had no part in this.”

She lowered her head, her black hair touching the ground.

“But just know,” she said. “Even if my soul is cast into the flames by Yiho himself, I will never forgive you.”