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

Deep in the forest in the southern hemisphere, a place where magical beasts of all shapes and sizes lived, a litter of Sun foxes were born amidst the orange overgrowth. The sun shone down through the cracks, illuminating the mother, as if the sun itself was giving her strength.

The mother panted as she sniffed her pups. Beautiful red markings adorned her silky white fur, and she licked the pups which lay in front of her, cleaning their bodies. Out of the five, four of them were stillborn.

One day, this one tiny pup that lived would become known as Kitsu.

A couple of years later,

A baby sun fox, roughly the size of a regular dog, bounded around chasing a little bird. The Juvenile’s fur was short, and her markings had yet to form around her body, leaving her fur pure white. The forests of the southern hemisphere were the perfect place for them to hide. They could prey on magical beasts and hide from external threats.

The baby had never seen another member of its species in its brief life. Except its mother, who currently trudged towards her, carrying a dead magic hare in its mouth.

The Juvenile leapt excitedly at her mother, who dropped the hare, pointing her nose at it. The Juvenile Sun fox shook her head, pouncing at her mother and trying to cling to her back.

The mother let out a breath of air that imperceptibly seemed like a sigh, but the way she looked at her child was full of warmth. She had given birth to many litters in her time, but the genetic makeup of Sun Foxes had gotten weak because of overhunting, and as their birth rates declined, most litters were born lifeless, or died shortly after birth.

They were a part of a dying species. It had been years since the mother had encountered another Sun Fox. The last one she met was the juvenile’s father. The mother nudged the food, insisting her child eat.

The Juvenile relented, deciding to eat the prey. She never went hungry, for her mother always brought her food, and the sun’s rays could sustain them to some degree. She cocked her head at her mother, questioning whether she would also partake in the meal. Her mother simply curled up, falling asleep in the meadow of grass around them. The sun’s rays shone down on the two Sun Foxes. Her mother needed time to recharge her magic after the previous hunt. She wouldn’t be up until morning.

The Juvenile continued with her meal, that was until she noticed a plume of smoke coming from somewhere in the forest. Her mother’s ears raised, and she opened her eyes, growling at the sight.

The smoke meant humans were near.

Her mother hated humans. Whenever they caught a sign of them, the mother Sun Fox would drop everything and move. Trying to avoid them as much as possible. What her mother may have suffered at the hands of these strange two-legged creatures, only she knew.

Her mother chirped quietly, urging her to finish her food. She gulped it down, and in a flash of white light, they vanished.

Four years since the birth of Kitsu

During night time, in the forest of the southern hemisphere.

A human had been watching them.

Kitsu picked up on the scent earlier during the day. She had grown roughly to the size of a large dog. Her markings were still faint. The one weakness Sun Foxes had was it took time for them to go up to Rank 1, possibly because of the lack of genetic diversity in their bloodlines. Once she became Rank 1, she’d gain beautiful red markings across her body, just like her mother’s. Resembling circles and swirls, depicting the sun they drew their power from.

Kitsu left her mother’s side, creeping out of the meadow. The human was nearby. The scent of charcoal filled her nose, and the strange human scent came along with it. Her ears perked up, listening for sounds. The moonlight shone down on her, filling the surrounding trees with a faint white glow.

The senses of a sun fox were akin to a magically enhanced dog. Their sensory abilities were outstanding, which is partly what made them so elusive.

As she crept towards the site of where the supposed human was, she stepped on something soft. He had made his camp here, and his scent filled the small area around her. It was especially strong on a black bow she spotted, and a backpack nearby.

Kitsu felt something move beneath her, and she pointed her nose down to see a pale, boyish face of a human staring back at her. His eyes were wide and his teeth chattered. His chest also heaved as she sat atop him.

His eyes darted from her face to his bow and back again.

Was this really what her mother was so afraid of?

Kitsu perked her ears, hearing movement.

Mom was coming. She’d noticed Kitsu was missing and would drag her back.

A calm yet anxious chirp came from the surrounding bushes.

Kitsu chirped back, showing she was fine, and her mother’s gigantic frame towered out of the bushes.

The human’s already bloodless face turned even paler.

Her mother, surprisingly, paid little heed to the human, only intending to intimidate him. She motioned for Kitsu to leave the place and come with her.

She got off the human, scratching an itch on her side. She laid her markings on the surrounding area and followed her mother out.

Eleven years since the birth of Kitsu

Kitsu’s mother was dead.

She stared onwards at the fallen body on the ground in front of her. The scent of death hung throughout the air like a dark cloud, and the three humans in front of her messed with the body as they stood there.

The body of her mother, the one who had protected her all her life.

Kitsu growled at the humans, finally understanding her mother’s hatred for them. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to kill them.

“Put a sock in it.” One of them approached her, a blade in his hand. The same blade he had used to kill her mother. Kitsu only growled louder as he approached, and he plunged the blade into her side. A pain like no other filled her body.

Was she going to die here as well?

John, in Sun Helm

John shuffled on his feet as he stared at the girl kneeling before him. He heard the cries of the villagers around him, and the last burning throes of the village echoed in his ears.

He had done this. This was his choice. He turned his head towards Kitsu, who cocked her head towards him in response. A warm sensation filled his heart as he stared into those big, round eyes.

I did it all for her, John thought. He tried to put a determined look on his face as he looked back down at the girl.

The girl had offered herself up. If he was going to kill her, now was his best chance.

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He pulled out the knife from his pocket, holding it towards her. His hands shook as he pointed it at her.

Why are my hands shaking now? He thought.

He looked at Kitsu, and then looked back at the girl. She stayed there, kneeling, prostrating on the ground. Her body shook slightly as she lay there.

John grimaced, turning his back to the girl.

He did not regret his choice. But Kitsu had come back to him, and the voice was gone.

“You may hate me,” he said. “But I have achieved my mission here. I do not wish to kill without reason.”

John stepped away from her, taking a few steps forwards. He heard the gravel behind him move as she raised her head to look at him. He expected her to shout, he expected to hear more scathing words, more hatred, or fury.

Instead, he heard sobbing.

Eleven years since the birth of Kitsu

Kitsu’s canid body shook in rage as the man plunged the knife deep into her abdomen. She howled as the pain shot through her body. The surrounding trees rustled as her howl sent air sweeping outwards, and her pure white coat became marred with traces of red blood.

Another scream, that of a woman came from nearby. Kitsu saw a green arrow fly out from the nearby thicket of trees and hit the female bandit in her shoulder.

The man who stabbed Kitsu clicked his tongue, dashing over to where the arrow came from.

She recognised this scent.

It was the scent of the human she had befriended.

Kitsu watched, her eyes darting between the bandits. If she did nothing, he was going to die. Just like his mother.

The man punched John in the head, knocking her to the ground.

Kitsu shook her head, she limped forwards, trying to get to the man’s body. Suddenly, Kitsu felt a warmth filling her body, and when the warmth came in, the pain seemed to withdraw. Every muscle in Kitsu’s body filled with warmth, and with that warmth came strength. Golden red markings grew across Kitsu’s body. Giving her the same appearance as her mother.

This was the power left in her mother’s body. She was dead, but still protected Kitsu.

Kitsu became a black hole, sucking in the magic energy from her surroundings. Her body grew larger, and her teeth sharper, her claws harder. Every inch of her body filled with power as she stared down the foes in front of her.

After that Kitsu fell entirely on instinct. Her body flashed, and she swiped at the man who had stabbed her, incinerating his body before he could speak.

“Stay back!” The female bandit had gotten a hold of John, and was holding a knife to her throat.

“Take your revenge,” John smiled at her, and closed his eyes.

The woman looked at Kitsu with eyes full of hatred, her teeth chattering as she stared at the giant sun fox before her.

Kitsu simply cocked her head to the side, and sent magic flames straight into the woman’s skull, incinerating her. John opened his eyes, noticing that she was now dead. He picked up his bow, killing off the last bandit as he ran away.

The warmth left Kitsu’s body, and with it, the spirit and strength of her mother. Nothing but a sinking, cold sensation remained as the previous strength dissipated, and her body shrunk back to its previous size, and the golden markings retreated.

The Bandits were dead.

And so was her mother.

Kitsu walked to the now motionless body of her mother. The magic energy was all gone from her corpse, and to the touch she felt cold.

Just like Kitsu’s heart.

She walked over to the human they had befriended. The one she tried to save. At least she had succeeded in saving him. She gently pushed her nose against his body, and the coldness inside of her warmed slightly.

He put a hand on her back, and Kitsu looked up at the man.

“I know what it’s like to lose someone,” he said. His eyes were kind, and even now, he smiled at her.

“From now on,” he said. “Your name will be Kitsu.”

Kitsu followed him, the only person she could put trust in from now on.

Twelve years since the birth of Kitsu

Something had happened to Kitsu.

She could feel urges that did not exist before. Everything in her vision was clouded by a purple haze, and all she could think about was one thing.

Revenge.

Revenge on the people who had hurt her mother.

Every single being in front of her looked like the bandits which killed her mother. And so, Kitsu destroyed, she felt like she could destroy the world if she so wished. These bandits never deserved to live anyway. She destroyed their homes, their loved ones, their families. All she could do was destroy, and so she did.

A tiny howl inside her resisted, but it did not matter.

Kitsu was not in control of her own body. She watched as it attacked, it maimed, it killed. She felt nothing, she couldn’t feel anything. It was her body after all. All she could do was watch.

Slowly, she could feel herself waking up. She became more aware of the destruction she was causing. And the purple haze was fading.

But she was still not in control.

The terrible power filled her body. Kitsu watched her body get its revenge on the man who had hurt the two of them.

And even still, she felt nothing.

Nothing until she watched herself confront an unknown man. He was not a bandit, Kitsu realised. Nor a poacher. He was just a regular man, fighting desperately against her.

Kitsu fought back, her body launched itself towards him at speeds she had never gone before. She attacked, and attacked, trying to catch him. Trying to kill him. He kept running, kept moving.

Until he messed up.

Kitsu swung her tail. She broke his leg, she was sure of it as she watched his body fly sideways. Kitsu watched her body approach the man, drool dripping from her mouth as her body prepared to eat him, just like it did the poacher.

And then, everything flashed to white. A terrifying magical energy, unlike any she had seen before, came crashing down on her. The previous purple haze enveloping her cleared away right before it hit.

After the Sun Bomb landed

Kitsu stared at the face of her companion as he turned his back towards the destruction they had caused.

“Come, Kitsu,” he said. His voice was shaky, and Kitsu noted a powerful scent of emotion coming from his body. She could tell when he was upset, but this was different.

He backed away from the village, shrugging his shoulders. Kitsu stared at his face, and in those previously kind eyes was something new.

A look that made Kitsu’s fur stand on end.

Subconsciously, she took several paces backwards, her hackles raised.

“Kitsu?” He turned to look at her. “What’s wrong buddy? It’s me, it’s John.”

His eyes were wide, and a smile covered his face.

Not like the smile he always had. His eyes darted back and forth, and the edges of his mouth tugged uncomfortably.

It was the same kind of smile that plastered the faces of bandits when they attempted to lure her away.

The expression on his face shook as she took steps backwards, and his eyes widened as she growled, telling him not to come any closer.

“Kitsu…” he said. “It’s me. What’s gotten into you?”

His eyes darted back and forth, and she growled louder.

He clenched his fists, shaking.

“Kitsu!” he said. “We don’t have time to play around here! We need to leave this village so we can–”

“So you can what, exactly?”

Kitsu turned her head to see a man with silver hair that resembled burning bright flames, and crimson eyes that as they looked at her, Kitsu found he body unable to move. She trembled, yet remained frozen in place, like she had lost all control of her body.

“You do not belong in this village,” the man said.

“Who the hell are you?!” John shouted at the man. He gathered magical energy in his fists, preparing to fight.

Kitsu wanted to call out, and wanted to tell him to stop.

Could he not see?

This man was a god. The sheer quantity of sun magic swirling in, no around his body was what froze Kitsu in place. Kitsu was a magic beast of the sun alignment, and the man was a sovereign over the power of the sun. If he commanded something, Kitsu’s own body would move whether she cared or not.

“I leave the village for an emergency summons, only to find myself ambushed by this cretin,” The man threw a purple, cloth covered object onto the ground. It rolled, until it landed between Kitsu and John.

It was a head.

John’s eyes widened as he stared at the head. Kitsu observed it was a man in a purple cloak, the skin on his face looked old, decrepit, like all the water had left and the skin was simply still attached to the skull.

“That’s–”

“So you are in league with him…”

The man’s crimson eyes narrowed as he stared at John, only John. He did not even turn his attention towards Kitsu.

“W–wait!” John said, shaking his head. “I’m not–”

A beam of light came down from the sky, Kitsu could not see the beam, but she felt it. The heat from the atmosphere travelled through her body, making every drop of blood jolt. Kitsu coughed weakly, slumping where she stood.

Blood poured out of John’s mouth, and he looked down with wide eyes at the gaping hole in his chest.

John fell to one knee, his body facing Kitsu. His eyes focused on her.

“I did it… for you…” he said.

His body fell to the ground.