The cold grey pre-dawn light of the last day found Paul standing in a narrow alleyway in Tokyo. Behind him was the Special Wands and Talismans platoon and Shoko. Behind them at the entrance to the alleyway was a short platoon or unit of two dozen ¡®specialists¡¯, broken into four fire teams, from the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force, Special Operations Group. They were on loan by direct order of his Imperial Majesty, under the somewhat nebulous cover of their divisions counter-terrorism remit.
Paul and the girls had been whisked away from Kami to Tokyo by the military helicopter that had brought the soldiers from who knew where. Paul and the soldiers had slept during the flight, but none of the girls had managed despite trying. Akio failed to cover a yawn, and without commenting one of the soldiers, a short slightly round faced woman by the name of Kai, passed her a can of coffee. Akio nodded her thanks and gave the self-heating element at the bottom a twist to activate it.
Paul gave his wind-up pocket watch a glance and nodded to himself.
¡°Ok people, lets get this show on the road. If you¡¯d like to give the orders Major?¡±
The platoon leader, Major Kaito Tanaka, nodded radioing back to the trucks that were stranded on the edges of the Golden gai district, unable to pass through the narrow lanes. Behind him the platoon hoisted their duffel bags and backpacks, half of them carrying the disassembled electric ATV¡¯s that were to be their transport once they were past the choke point of the alley, half of them carry both their packs and their otherwise burdened squad-mates packs.
Paul strode ahead, only stopping once he reached the mid point of the mist shrouded bridge and it¡¯s guardian dressed in white. Akoi stepped forward and signed to her former comrade.
{Ellie, this is my.. our, sensei, Paul Holmes, Inari¡¯s Herald. He is on urgent business and needs your help.}
Ellie bowed and signed to Akoi.
{I am honoured to meet you Holmes-sama. How can I be of assistance?}
Akio translated for Paul, signing as he spoke in reply.
¡°Inari has been taken captive by Izanami. We need to use the door in the Akuma temple to pass into Yomi and rescue her.¡±
Ellies eyes went wide, and she made a burbling sound from the open wound that was all that was left of her throat, before remembering to sign instead of trying to shout.
{Are you crazy!? You can¡¯t do that!}
¡°We can and we will. Please, we don¡¯t have much time. The diversion will be starting soon, and we need to slip in while Izanami¡¯s attention is distracted. I¡¯ve already worked out how, I just need your assistance in persuading the demon to let go.¡±
{And what if it won¡¯t cooperate?}
¡°That would be why I brought a chainsaw as well as a talisman of binding.¡±
{A chainsaw? OH! Umm¡ ok I think maybe it can be persuaded then. But¡ why do you need my help?}
Paul¡¯s expression was grim.
¡°Simple, the demon won¡¯t let the door open because if it does it¡¯s spirit will be sucked into the afterlife. I can make sure it stays this side of the door by binding it but it has to be bound to something it already has a strong connection to. Which would be you Eleanor Becks. You will have to serve as it¡¯s anchor.¡±
{What¡¯s to stop me dying and us both ending up in Yomi?}
¡°A pre-charged healing Talisman created by a Goddess, namely Kiko. You¡¯re technically not dead yet, so with a bit extra magic on top of what¡¯s keeping you alive already, you should be fine.¡±
Ellie nodded, her shoulders lifting and falling in a silent sigh.
{Well, if it works I shan¡¯t be stuck here then at least. Ok, I agree¡ even if it does mean having a demon bound to me.}
Once inside the Temple, Paul strode over to the corpse demon, standing on tiptoes to talk quietly directly into the demon¡¯s ear. At the same time the half of soldiers started reassembling the electric ATV¡¯s while the remaining half started setting up defensive fortifications ringing the doorway, facing inwards.
Ellie stood watching the inaudible conversation between the demon and Paul until the demon¡¯s eyes, all four of them, opened wide revealing bloodshot irises the size of saucers. She could sense through her connection to the demon that it was frankly terrified¡ although of what, or possibly whom, she wasn¡¯t entirely sure.
Still, it eyed Paul nervously, one eye sliding sideways to look at the chainsaw resting on the floor nearby. It licked it¡¯s lips and nodded, slowly.
Paul gestured Ellie forward.
¡°Ok, it seems we have an agreement. As I understand it, the demons spirit can¡¯t remain in it¡¯s own body, it¡¯s too far gone for that and the only thing holding it together is basically sheer force of will. So, I¡¯m going to combine both the healing rite and the binding together to seal it¡¯s spirit in your body. Not to worry though, I¡¯ve extracted a promise from it that it will remain inactive unless you invite it¡ umm .. forward, I suppose you could say, and allow it to control your body. You¡¯ll have control over when it¡¯s active. I¡¯ll draft up a contract, which you can both sign, and since that¡¯ll be part of the binding ritual, it¡¯ll have to stick to it. If that¡¯s acceptable to you?¡±
Ellie nodded, and then signed.
{I¡¯ll draft the contract please. I know how.}
¡°Fair enough, it¡¯s your body after all. Just don¡¯t forget to include a termination clause, unless you want to be immortal.¡±
Eliie shook her head, shuddering slightly.
{No thank you. I¡¯ve committed enough crimes against nature for one lifetime as it is.}
Paul nodded, and left Ellie to it, only shuddering slightly as she dipped the nib of her pen into her own blood as she wrote, standing so the demon could see over her shoulder. He checked his pocket-watch and strolled over to the commanding officer.
¡°A word in private if you would please Major. There¡¯s a small detail I¡¯d like taken care of.¡±
Major Tanaka nodded, and walked a short distance with Paul.
¡°We¡¯re cutting it a bit fine for last minute changes Holmes-san¡±
Paul shook his head.
¡°I know, but this is important. I¡¯d like you to quietly select four of your best if you would. Ones who you can be sure will follow orders exactly. Then, in the event that things do not go according to plan, I¡¯d like you to order them to do their best to make sure the girls at least get out alive. Shoko is Inari¡¯s daughter, if we cannot rescue Inari, she¡¯ll be essential later on. The three witches know more about the new magic than anyone else alive, apart from me. It¡¯s imperative they survive.¡±
The major slowly nodded.
¡°Understood sir¡ but what about your survival?¡±
Paul shook his head, looking away.
¡°I¡¯m Inari¡¯s Herald. Where she goes, I go. If she doesn¡¯t come back out of there with us, I won¡¯t be coming either. That¡¯s not sentiment, but a statement of fact. We¡¯re connected, and if her soul is lost, then I doubt I¡¯ll survive it.¡±
Paul thought to himself that he wasn¡¯t entirely lying, just bending the truth somewhat. Technically he¡¯d survive if Inari was lost, at least physically. He just had no intention of living without her unless he absolutely had to. The major nodded, then stuck out his hand. Paul took it and as they shook, the major quietly said.
¡°Then it looks like we¡¯ll have to all make it out alive Holmes-san. Because if I understand our brief, there won¡¯t be anything much to come back to if we fail.¡±
Paul¡¯s grim expressionless face was all the confirmation the major needed.
Turning back to the rest of their small infiltration force gathered around the reassembled ATV¡¯s Paul called.
¡°Alright everyone¡ no time for heroic speeches. Mount up and be ready to roll as soon as the door opens. Defensive fire teams, I somehow doubt your training covered dealing with zombies, but I¡¯m sure you know the protocol. Head-shots and double tap to be sure. Let nothing pass until we return¡ and make damn sure we¡¯re still alive even then. Ok, lets do this.¡±
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
-----------
The sun was not yet risen in Kami town, although the treetops on the hills round the town on three sides were just beginning to be gilded by the rising sun. On the forth side of the natural amphitheatre that enclosed Kami, the ocean stretched, wine dark and hushed, as if nature itself was holding it¡¯s breath in anticipation.
In the still shadowed harbour stood a massive torii gate, constructed overnight by the local tanuki clan had laboured to construct. It stood in the middle of the entrance to the harbour, spanning the central deep-water channel from one side to the other, filling two thirds of the distance from breakwater to breakwater. At fifty meters wide and twice as tall, with three quarters of that height above the water line even now at high tide, it was still just barely large enough for it¡¯s purpose.
The gate had to be that size, in order to accommodate the passage of the living Battleship Yamato.
Heavy conductive cables stretched from the nearby breakwaters that defined the deep water harbour, connecting the gate to two huge blocks of steel, almost the sum total of the remaining available specialised ¡®Damascus¡¯ steel produced in Inari¡¯s mine. Those blocks, the mana batteries, were in turn connected to two large mana generators which had been charging them up all night until they were saturated with gigawatts of power.
Out to sea a pair of frigates from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence force waited, their orders were to defend the gate while it was open. Ashore the harbour was ringed with JSDF army personnel with the same orders.
Further away the harbour walls and the beach were lined with ordinary people, despite the potential danger. The crowd stood hushed in the pre-dawn light, the only voice that could be heard was that of Kiko Kobe as she recited the necessary prayer to consecrate and activate the gate.
Just as the top of the gate shone gold with the sunrise, and Kiko¡¯s prayer concluded, a deep thrumming sound filled the air causing the fabric of reality itself to ripple in ways that were more felt than seen, as the gigawatts of stored mana discharged into the torii gate, causing the magitech ¡®circuitry¡¯ inscribed in it¡¯s fabric to glow as if filling with molten gold.
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, then the air between the pillars of the gate darkened, puckering inwards, as if a swirling film of black filled the gate pillar to pillar. Up on the bridge of the Yamato, Katsu stared at the eerie inky black whirlpool for a moment. Then with a glance at Tatsuo beside her, gave the order to cast off.
The Yamato surged forward, keeping all her guns trained on the portal to the underworld as she pointed her bow straight at it. On the foredeck, Suzuka Nakamoto, or the Goddess Suz-metal, was unable to take her eyes off the looming wall of night-black otherness. Blindly she reached out to clasp her Herald Moa Kikuchi¡¯s hand. Realising that in the face of the primeval abyss, even goddesses would be wise to be afraid.
Moa, or Moa-metal, glanced at her best friend and Goddess, and saw the unmistakable signs of fear creeping across her face. Without even thinking, she did what she always did to calm her stage fright. Moa began to sing under her breath¡
Suz-metal glanced sideways at her Herald, and smiled slightly as she recognised the opening to their song ¡°Divine Attack¡±. Joining in she lifted her voice in song, and unbidden, across the water, she heard her words being relayed by Katsumi, and played over the harbours P.A system.
¡°We approach the long night
Noisy wind is blowing
The powerful gather here
Holding the blade of heart
Oath together, shout together
Let¡¯s start this journey from here¡± ¨C (lyrics)
Onthe shore her friends, no.. her chosen family, the Hidden Kami band heard the first opening notes, picked up their instruments that they¡¯d brought with themselves in unspoken accord, and started to play.
Lifted by the music being lofted across the harbour, Suz-metal turned, smiling, and looked at the crew standing gathered behind her, both living and dead, and saw them grinning in return¡ albeit with somewhat baffled looks on the faces of those wearing the long-ago uniforms of the Imperial navy, bemused by the modern music, but understanding the spirit of it clearly enough!
She understood what their purpose was meant to be, to be a distraction, but a cold rage had been building inside her since Suzuka had heard of Inari¡¯s death. Now, in this moment, she decided that somehow she would ¡®distract¡¯ Izanami to death! Together with her best friend and Herald, they would let the hosts of unquiet spirits in Yomi know they were there and throw defiance in the face of Death herself!
------
Inari stumbled, catching herself against a rock, and paused to breath a moment. Kannon had returned with the former god of thieves Eugenides. Inari smiled at that thought, Eugenides was determinedly optimistic, and refreshingly irreverent. Under other circumstances she¡¯d consider seducing him, but now was hardly the time. She had flirted with him as he¡¯d worked at picking the locks with a scrap of bone, and thrown him into delighted dismay when he¡¯d confessed he was a lover of men, and she¡¯d replied that was hardly an obstacle, or at least, it wouldn¡¯t be once she could shape shift again.
The warrior goddess that Kannon had sent to guard over Inari while Eugenides worked, had tried hard to stifle her laughter, failing rather. The woman had introduced herself as Macha, a lilting accent to her voice that seemed familiar to Inari, although she couldn¡¯t recall why or where she¡¯d heard the like before.
Eugenides had eventually sprung her, and as she rubbed her wrists and ankles, had asked if she would take him with her, since she intended to escape Yomi somehow and evidently had done so once before. Macha had added they¡¯d need a guard, to which Eugenides had agreed, saying he was no fighter himself.
So now they were here, outside of Izanami¡¯s fortress, cowering in a niche-like pocket in the rock.
Although escaping the castle was like exchanging one prison for another. At least the vast boundless cavern that was Yomi had some light even if it was a little more than would be cast by a new moon and a sickly yellowish green hue at that. But still, it was an improvement over the Stygian blackness that filled the insides of Izanami¡¯s labyrinthian prison-like abode¡ and outside there was more room to avoid the roving gangs of hungry spirits.
Kannon had assured Inari that her memories would return. She had said the trauma of being torn asunder and having her soul¡¯s heart, her Divine pearl, devoured by Izanami was the cause of her amnesia and that it would pass as her essence knitted itself back together.
Inari wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to remember that. Yomi was a realm where the spirit was made solid, the numinous became flesh. So, what Kannon said was no metaphor. Although she wondered how, and all the other former gods and goddesses, could continue to exist in their undead state.
As she and the other three paused for breath some distance away from the collection of twisted spires and jagged black walls, Inari posed that question to Kannon, but to her surprise it was Eugenides that provided the answer.
¡°In my time and place, fair lady, it was known that the soul was made of several parts. The Ka and the Ba were commonplace and all mortals had them. The Ka was a persons bodily spirit. It was their their memories, personality and animal nature. The Ba was their soul, the gift of life itself. It survived death and was that which existed in the afterlife. But there was also a third part. The Akh, reserved for gods and kings alone. What you call the Divine Pearl.¡±
Inari nodded slowly, that sounded familiar.
¡°So, that carrion beetle ate my Akh alone then?¡±
¡°It would seem so¡ she consumes the Ba of mortal spirits, leaving them hollow shells, forever hungering, trying to fill the void inside them. Gods like us, she consumes the Akh of. It¡¯s¡ not as devastating as it is for simple mortals. We can function afterwards, once we¡¯ve healed. We don¡¯t become empty husks like mortals do, driven mad and mindless by their hunger.¡±
Inari frowned, looking around. In the distance she could see wandering ragged figures. Although they were little more than charcoal sketches blurred by distance.
¡°Should we avoid those poor souls then?¡±
¡°They shouldn¡¯t bother us. They can sense we have nothing they can consume.It¡¯s the living that needs to fear them. They would tear a living persons flesh apart trying to consume their Ba themselves, aping what the Queen of the Damned has done to them¡ and failing of course. The hungry spirits cannot consume another¡¯s Ba like she does, but that doesn¡¯t stop them trying. Offerings help abate the hunger, imbued as they are with spirit by the living, which is why they appear here. Once again, I give you my thanks for sharing yours, Oh gracious lady!¡±
Kannon added carefully, breathless due to her broken ribs.
¡°What is worse,the souls trapped here cannot reincarnate. They are trapped along with Izanami and us.¡±
Inari shook her head¡
¡°Damned indeed¡ cursed by her refusal to pass on after her death.¡±
Eugenides nodded slowly, a hint of movement in the gloom.
¡°Exactly, as I¡¯ve come to understand it over the many years I¡¯ve been trapped here. She died, but driven mad by her agony she refused to follow the cycle of death and rebirth and instead used up her own Akh to create this place. Something only one of the Primal beings could do. This place acts as a trap, drawing in those souls of the dead that still retain a degree of life or magical power. It also drains it from those it traps to feed Her. It¡¯s only those like us that she personally attends to, the process is different...more visceral, for us.¡±
Kannon sighed.
¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be¡ but I think she enjoys doing it. She¡ she has forced me to keep some awake and intact enough that they are aware of what is happening to them, while she ate their hearts. I...I¡ was too afraid, I couldn¡¯t¡ I tried to refuse but she¡ she...¡±
Kannon stopped, weeping, as Inari enfolded her in an embrace trying to offer the fallen goddess of compassion and healing some comfort. Eugenides quietly slipped away, using the excuse of scouting ahead to give them privacy, while Macha moved some distance away and stood guard, her stoic face turned outwards.
Inari murmured into Kannon¡¯s hair as she rocked the distraught fallen goddess.
¡°I swear, she will pay for what she has done. We will escape, somehow, once my memories fully return and I recall how I did it last time, and then there will an accounting!¡±
Kannon nodded, her head moving against Inari¡¯s shoulder.
¡°Thank you. I..¡±
Whatever Kannon was about to say was lost, as beneath them the ground trembled, bucking hard enough to tumble them from where they sat and send both sprawling on the ground. Kannon cried out in pain, her broken bones jarred. Inari scrambled to sit upright, trying to protect her, drawing her into her lap and cradling her against any further shocks.
After a moment a breathlessly excited Eugenides scrambled back, swaying like a sailor on an uneasy deck as the ground continued to sake, albeit less violently. Macha gave him a dirty look, but relaxed from her fighting stance as Eugenides mouthed a silent ¡®sorry¡¯ to her, apologising for startling her.
¡°Something¡¯s happened, There¡¯s a hole! I swear on Ra¡¯s name,I saw daylight for the first time in thousands of years!¡±
Realisation and shock coursed though Inari like lightning.
¡°Paul! Oh my dear Herald! It has to be him! Oh the foolishly mad, darling man! He¡¯s here to rescue me! Oh.. Oh no! OH NO!! NO!! We must get to him before Izanami does. She¡¯ll kill him and use him to trap my daughter goddesses!! Oh hurry please do, the both of you!!¡±
Eugenides quickly helped Kannon to her feet, half carrying her as he draped her arm over his shoulder, Inari taking the other. Grinning despite it all he quipped.
¡°This way! We¡¯ll go rescue your rescuers. I want to meet the man that would dare to storm the underworld in search of you Inari, and call him brother!¡±
Hanami Chp.36
Had this been a cheap action novel, Paul thought, they would¡¯ve had gone roaring into Yomi, guns blazing, ridden up to the castle and rescued Inari.
However, since this was real life, however fantastical it seemed when he stopped and thought about it, the plan was bit more circumspect. For a start, the ATV¡¯s the JSDF had provided were electric, and near silent. Which was to be expected of the Special Operations Group¡¯s latest workhorse transport. Being sneaky was something of a necessity for counter-terrorism work.
Paul lowered the light-amplification binoculars he¡¯d been using to studying the castle that squatted in the centre of the bowl-like cavern floor and nodded slowly.
¡°Well¡ it could be the prison Inari¡¯s in. The architectural style is early maniac, but it¡¯s clearly designed to keep people in, more than keep them out. Any cues Shoko?¡±
Somewhere off in darkness behind him there was quiet chuff of a silenced service pistol, indicating one of their number had spotted yet another of the goblin like creatures that had been harassing them all morning, ever since they¡¯d entered the network of vast caverns that seemed to make up Yomi.
Sitting over the majors ATV, Shoko shook her head.
¡°I am sorry Paul-san¡ I can tell how Inari feels, and if I concentrate I can sense if she¡¯s nearby¡ but I can¡¯t tell in what direction. She¡¯s somewhere in this cavern at least.¡±
Paul smiled tiredly, and reaching over ruffled Shoko¡¯s hair.
¡°That¡¯s ok little one, that at least narrows it down.¡±
Off in the distance there was another series of heavy concussive thuds as the Yamato fired a broadside causing Paul, along with everyone else, to reflexively glance in that direction.
As chance would have it, the Torii gate in Kami had forced open a portal right into the heart of Yomi, and the cavern containing Izanami¡¯s castle palace and prison. Thankfully, the cavern was vast enough that they were far enough away that the Yamato was a small star-like point of light thanks to the powerful work lights ringing it¡¯s deck, keeping most of the unquiet spirits at bay.
Paul watched as the battleship manoeuvred, improbably flying in the air, lining up for another attack run at some unseen target. Behind them, at the far edge of the cavern, sunlight streamed though the portal, along with a waterfall of seawater.
Idly Paul wondered how long it would take before the bowl shaped cavern would flood completely. Although he suspected it would be quite some time, there was a decent sized river flowing across the dry and dusty floor, and the ankle-deep beginnings of a moat forming around the castle.
Paul handed the low-light binoculars back to his driver, and nodded at the Major.
¡°Well¡ I guess we¡¯re not going to get a better chance. As much as I dislike charging in without decent intel, I think we¡¯d better go before the water cuts off access and starts to flood any dungeons that place might have.¡±
Major Tanaka nodded slowly in agreement.
¡°I concur. Scouts report there hasn¡¯t been any more skeleton soldiers emerge in last fifteen minutes, so with luck there shouldn¡¯t be too many guards to deal with. Just the handful at the entrances we¡¯ve mapped and an unknown number inside.¡±
It probably shouldn¡¯t have come as a surprise that Izanami, Goddess of Death, had a skeleton army at her command¡ but it had been, and not a pleasant one. Hence their rather cautious approach. Luckily most of the undead puppet beings had been seen matching off to meet the Yamato¡¯s approach.
Paul wasn¡¯t sure what weapons Izanami commanded, but whatever it was the Yamato was staying relatively high up near the caverns rocky ceiling. He itched to know how the fight was going for them, but they¡¯d all agreed that radio silence was best. There was no knowing if Izanami could listen in by some occult method or not. Paul hadn¡¯t even been sure if his ruse would work, but the diversion certainly appeared to be occupying all of her attention for now.
---
On the bridge of the Yamato, Katsu was in something of a quandary. The Yamato was a battleship, it was never designed to fly so Her main guns simply couldn¡¯t be angled low enough to hit targets on the ground below them. However, if they flew low enough that the lowest gun elevation could hit targets on a flat trajectory, then the hordes of hideous goblin like creatures would throw ropes and grappling hooks up at them and swarm on deck.
It had taken the combined efforts of the crew plus the JSDF volunteers to repel them the first time that happened, and she was determined not to repeat that mistake.
Katsu had tried to roll the Yamato, so the big 16 inch mains guns could be aimed¡ and discovered a problem. The gun turrets sat on massive bearings and a geared track, and technically, the only thing holding them in the vast sockets in her hulls was gravity. Which meant, if she leaned too far over, they jammed as hundreds of tons of weight all came down on one side and the rotation mechanism was unable to cope. There was even the risk if she listed more the thirty degrees to either side, that they would over balance and fall right out of her hull.
Currently the only working solution they had was to roll the Yamato, while at the same time making a tight turn at high speed, so the centrifugal force of the turn counteracted the off axis pull of gravity. A trick Katsumi had delightedly informed Katsu she¡¯d seen in a movie¡ which was not as reassuring as intended.
The only drawback to that was that Yomi was a cavern. It had walls, and at top speed there was little room for error. Katsumi had already scraped the hull against a rock outcropping, peeling back some of the deck railing and ripping a 50mm machine gun from it¡¯s mount. Much to her embarrassment.
It had been a stalemate for a brief while¡ Izanami¡¯s forces couldn¡¯t hit the Yamato with anything but arrows, which did nothing as long as no-one was looking over the side. But equally the forces aboard the Yamato couldn¡¯t depress the fixed guns enough to hit anything below them, and leaning out over the side to aim anything else was asking for trouble. The best solution was to stick their sidearms and rifles out at arms length over the side, and just ¡®spray and pray¡¯ as the commander had put it. It wasn¡¯t ideal.
Now however they faced a real threat, in the shape of heavy arbalests with yard long steel rods, and even some catapults throwing bolder sized rocks. Yamato¡¯s hull armour was heavy enough even those were unlikely to do more than dent it slightly, but the catapults could lob rocks high enough to graze the cavern¡¯s ceiling and send them plunging down onto the deck.
Katsumi had panicked the first time one had nearly hit her like that. Her armour under the mahogany planking wasn¡¯t that thick. There was a real risk of one of the boulders penetrating it and wrecking havoc inside her. She¡¯d been sunk by bombs dropped from above last time, she had no desire for a repeat, and the bolts from the arbalests would pierce her superstructure posing a risk to her crew¡ or at least the living members of it.
Katsu glanced sidelong at Tatsuo as she reached an inevitable conclusion. He would not like her answer to their problem.
¡°Tatsuo. I am going to have to do something you will not like.¡±
Tatsuo glanced at her, and sighed, nodding his understanding.
¡°You want me to remain here while you go fight on the ground.¡±
Katsu blinked, surprised he¡¯d reached the same conclusion she had. Slowly she nodded.
¡°Thank you for understanding, and not arguing. I will be alright. I¡¯ll make myself bigger and fight like that.¡±
Tatsuo grunted, and then stared out through the bridge window for moment.
¡°I don¡¯t like it. But it¡¯s the only way. Do not forget, even as big as you get, you are not invulnerable.¡±
Katsu nodded, then glanced at her Herald, Katsumi.
¡°Hoi¡ can you make your sword-self bigger to match my size?¡±
Katsumi thought for a moment, then nodded.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°I can here. It wouldn¡¯t work out in the real world, but Yomi¡¯s different. I can manifest a spirit form and it would be solid.¡±
¡°Good.¡± Katsu turned to look at the ghost of Yamato¡¯s captain, her great-grandfather.
¡°Honoured ancestor¡ I place my trust in you. The bridge is yours.¡±
The captain almost broke his stoic expression as a smile played around the corners of his mouth.
¡°Thank you grand-daughter. I will endeavour not to dishonour our family name. The Americans have a phrase that is fitting. May you ¡®give them hell¡¯. ¡±
Katsu nodded, and hurried off the bridge. Reaching the desk, she waited until the Yamato began her attack run, and as the ship leaned, she leaped, transforming mid-air so that when her feet hit the ground, she stood over forty feet tall and was shaped like a mix between her human self and something resembling Godzilla.
Her arms, legs and tail were covered in armoured scales, her spine protected by a crest of spiked plates, her fingers ending in yard long talons. She smiled, revealing shark-like serrated teeth a hand-span long.
She reached down and drew her sword, which was now scaled to match her size, and rushed towards the gathered army that was harrying the Yamato, her excitement escaping her in a drawn out battle-cry that was almost equal parts joy and blood lust.
From above the crew cheered her on.
-----
From a safe distance Inari and the other three watched as a figure leapt from the strange metal vessel, and transformed into something truly monstrous in the blink of an eye. The part-woman, part-lizard figure drew her massive sword and rushed at the army besieging the flying vessel with a blood chilling battlecry.
Macha turned to look at Inari, murmuring.
¡°Now that is a War Goddess!¡±
Inari nodded slowly¡ she didn¡¯t know for sure, but she felt that this was one of her daughter goddesses, born of of her own Divine Pearl. She gave herself a small shake, and whispered back.
¡°She is, but she¡¯s young and inexperienced. Izanami will see her and challenge her to single combat I think¡ we need to help her win.¡±
All three of the others looked at Inari in disbelief, but it was Kannon that said what they were all thinking.
¡°How can we possibly help in that fight?!¡±
Inari pointed up at the flying vessel.
¡°By helping them. We need to get aboard that¡ whatever it is. It¡¯s cannons are powerful, and if aimed at the right spot, could severely injure Izanami.¡±
Eugenides slowly nodded.
¡°She¡¯s right¡ if they can hit that dung beetles spiritual core, it would greatly weaken her.¡±
Macha nodded her agreement, as did Kannon, albeit reluctantly. Kannon stared at the vessel as it pulled out of it¡¯s turn, narrowly avoiding hitting the wall.
¡°That¡¯s true enough, but how do we get aboard it in the first place?¡±
Eugenides smiled slowly.
¡°I have an idea¡¡±
Shortly afterwards, they were all standing on a narrow ledge high above the cavern floor. Below them the giant figure of the War Goddess was rampaging through Izanami¡¯s army of undead. Across the other side of the vast cavern, the flying vessels was turning to face their way, preparing for another attack run.
Kannon stared out over the depth, gulping at the distance to the rocky floor below.
¡°This is insane! You¡¯re insane for thinking of it¡ and I must be insane for agreeing!¡±
Eugenides grinned.
¡°What¡¯s the matter? We¡¯re already dead, it¡¯s not like we can die any more!¡±
Kannon just gave him a disgusted look and shook her head. Macha glanced between them, and snorted, continuing to coil the rope and grappling hook they¡¯d found lying on the ground. With the strongest arms it was her task to throw the grappling hook.
Inari stood watching the flying vessel as it sped across the distance between them, gaining speed. Glancing down she tugged on the length of rope connecting her to the grappling hook¡¯s trailing rope, along with the others, as Macha began to spin the rope with the grappling hook at the end in a wide circle above her head, in preparation to throwing it.
¡°Are you sure this will work?¡±
Eugenides nodded.
¡°It will, it¡¯s how I got aboard Ra¡¯s solar boat and stole his sacred ruby, the Eye of Ra.¡±
Inari opened her mouth, and then thought better of asking about it, as the great vessel began it¡¯s turn, it¡¯s vast metal flank turning towards them. With a grunt Macha released the spinning rope and hook, sending it flying across the distance.
With a jolt Inari felt it catch, and the next instant they were yanked off their feet and through space, towed by the vessel. Eugenides shouted, barely audible above the sound of the wind in her ears.
¡°Climb! Lest you be dashed to pieces!¡±
Inari fumbled for the rope at her waist, and began to climb. Spinning through space, dizzy as the heavens and ground whirled around her, she caught glimpses of the others trailing like errant kites at the end of their ropes. She lost track of time, dizzied by the gyrations, her world narrowed to the rope slicked by her blood from torn fingers and palms, and the burning ache in her arms. Hand over agonising hand she climbed.
Inari was shocked when her abused fingertips brushed against cold metal, and strong hands gripped her wrists. She found herself pulled up and for a moment lay panting, sprawled across wooden planking, grateful for a world that wasn¡¯t spinning about her ears.
She glanced up, and found Eugenides and Macha laying nearby, grinning at her, while Kannon was sitting up, already checking if anyone was hurt. Around them was ring of crew members, spirits made flesh as well as living souls, but all faces she didn¡¯t recognise. Several were pointing guns at them.
Inari slowly raised her hands.
¡°We mean you no harm. I am Inari¡¡±
Inari didn¡¯t get any further as a young woman with a long sweep of silver white hair, dressed in a white uniform with a daringly short skirt shoved her way to the forefront.
¡°Inari-sama! I am so, so glad to see you!¡±
Inari sat blinking in surprise. Her face seemed familiar but she couldn¡¯t recall who she was. Then, as the young woman dropped to her knees in front of Inari and threw her arms around her, memory flooded back.
¡°Katsu.. no Katsumi! I remember you! You¡¯re Katsumi, Katsu¡¯s herald! But if you¡¯re here then¡ Oh! Oh no, no! You have to warn her! It¡¯s a trap!¡±
Katsumi leaned back, staring at Inari as Inari grabbed hold of her upper arms, staring into Katsumi¡¯s eyes intently, and she grinned.
¡°Yeah, we know¡ Paul-san figured it would be. He¡¯s known all along it was her. It¡¯s ok. He has a plan, we¡¯re going to use her trap against her. ¡±
Inari sat, staring at Katsumi, open mouthed in surprise for a moment. Then she shook her head as if to dislodge something from her ears.
¡°He.. he knew?! How? No, never mind. Of course he did. Ok, we need to help Katsu fight Izanami. She¡¯ll respond to her challenge and I know her weaknesses.¡±
¡°Fire and light, we know. Kiko found that in the records.¡±
Inari shook her head.
¡°No¡ not quite. Fire and lightning. Not light. She hates light, avoids it because of how she looks, but it won¡¯t harm her.¡±
A smile spread across Katsumi¡¯s face, a slow, satisfied, evilly gleeful grin utterly at odds with her apparent innocence.
¡°Lightning you say? ¡ Well it¡¯s just as well Suzuka is along for the ride then isn¡¯t it?!¡±
Inari¡¯s smile echoed Katsumi¡¯s.
Katsu was bored. The forces arrayed against her were barely a challenge, not as she was now. She knew she shouldn¡¯t, but she craved the excitement of battle. Risking everything, dependent on her mastery of the blade to survive. That fulfilled her in ways that nothing else could.
It was tempting to blame it on becoming a goddess of battle, but Katsu knew that wasn¡¯t true. She had always secretly desired the clarity of combat, the single focus of fighting when everything was on the line. She¡¯d time and time again taken on opponents stronger, faster, more skilled than she was¡ and beaten them through sheer willingness to fight with nothing held back, no reservation or doubts, throwing everything she had at them as if her life depended on it.
Now¡ she realised that she was utterly bored of fighting those that posed little threat to her. It wasn¡¯t combat, it was just extermination of pests. It was necessary, but it left her unsatisfied.
Suddenly sick of the tedium of dealing with Izanami¡¯s army she sheathed her sword and sensing the mana around her, reached out and twisted it to her purpose.
A third of the forces facing her fell, shattered and slashed as if some great blade had scythed through their ranks. Katsu stared at them impassively, a faint curl of disgust twisting her lips. She gestured again, and her power lashed out through them once more, felling them like ripened wheat.
Then She staggered back, reeling as a wave of miasma washed over her, reeking like the fetid air from a decaying, long sealed tomb, leaving her dizzied and sickened.
Before her a figure loomed large, shrouded in smoke-like darkness and the foul, sickly rotten stench of decay and carrion. In her hands she carried a sword like a shard of the empty void between stars.
¡°You dare challenge me in my own domain, child!¡±
Katsu stood tall, and stared the gigantic figure of Izanami in the eye.
¡°I dare old crow. I am Katsu, Goddess of Battles. Fight me!¡±
Izanami laughed! A horrid sound, bubbling with the oozing overripeness of decay, mocking her.
¡°Fight you? Why should I fight you infant? You are no challenge to me! I could just reach out and cause that mortal body of yours to wither and rot. Come back when you¡¯ve actually seen the face of war, Goddess of nothing!¡±
Katsu knew what Izanami was doing, she was trying to goad her into attacking. To control the fight by making Katsu respond to her, so she would always know what the next move would be. Katsu smiled, and tucking her thumb between forefinger and middle, made a rude gesture in Izanami¡¯s direction.
¡°You are weak, old woman. Why don¡¯t you ask your son Kagutsuchi come fight in your stead?¡±
As expected, Izanami¡¯s face contorted in rage.
¡°Don¡¯t mention that name! I have no son called that!¡±
Katsu chuckled.
¡°What¡¯s the matter? Got a case of burning crotch itch? No wonder Izangai left you for dead.¡±
Izanami screamed in fury, and threw herself at Katsu, her sword swinging in wide slash at her as she leaped.
Katsu sidestepped, drawing her own sword again and bringing it in under Izanami¡¯s sword arm to slice across her ribs.
Katsu pirouetted on her heel as Izanami lunged past her, carried by her own momentum, and then stopped. The side of her kimono already turning wet as a foul black fluid ran from where Katsu¡¯s sword had peeled back flesh.
In shock and disbelief Izanami touched her hand to her side.
¡°How? No mere mortal blade can harm me? Not here in my realm.¡±
¡°Who said my sword was only mortal? I¡¯m the Goddess of Battles, crow meat. You seriously thought I¡¯d have just an ordinary sword?¡±
Izanami squinted, peering at the sword Katsu held, then she whipped her head around to stare at the Yamato.
¡°A spirit sword! One with a living soul linking three bodies?! Impossible! It cannot be!¡±
¡°And yet it is and it¡¯ll hurt you easily enough.¡±
¡°No! Nonsense. Nothing can harm me. I am Death!¡±
Katsu chuckled.
¡°No, you¡¯re just a dead, mad kami who refuses to lay down. Now, are you going to shut up and fight, or shall I just execute you now and save us all a lot of pointless chatter?¡±
Izanami gripped her sword, a grim look on her face.
¡°Very well infant. I¡¯ll get serious, but you¡¯ll live to regret it. Briefly.¡±
¡°Bring it, bitch.¡±
Hanami Chp.37
Paul Holmes stood on the battlements of Izanami¡¯s ¡ well they were calling it a castle for now. He was staring at the Yamato through a pair of ordinary binoculars, forgoing the low-light-level amplification goggles that hung at his belt. His lips moved silently as he read the flickering of the signal lantern. After a moment he held up the small green light laser pointer, aimed it at the battleship, and with a short series of on-off flickers acknowledged the message.
He¡¯d only just lowered the binoculars when he heard footsteps behind him. He half turned, his hand already on the butt of his pistol, but paused as he recognised Major Tanaka, the platoon leader.
¡°Sir¡ search teams confirm there¡¯s no sign of Inari Okami anywhere in the building. We¡¯ve encountered a number of hostiles but none that posed any real threat. There are however a large number of former Kami prisoners. We¡¯re working to render aid. I¡¯d say we ought to get them to proper medical facilities, some of them are in very bad shape, but our medic says they¡¯re already¡ um... dead, despite being up and about.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Understood. The Yamato signalled just now. Inari apparently didn¡¯t wait around to be rescued, and has made her way aboard.¡±
Paul chuckled wearily.
¡°I should¡¯ve guessed she¡¯d do that. Oh well. We¡¯re switching to secondary objectives Major Tanaka. Lets get the prisoners out of here and as they say, fuck shit up.¡±
The Major grinned.
¡°I¡¯ve already got some men planting C4 charges on some important looking stuff. Although there¡¯s one target I¡¯d like your input on sir. One of the recon teams found this chamber with a really huge crystal in it, and whole lot of weird magic circle things.¡±
Paul nodded slowly, abstractedly.
¡°Hm, yeah. I was expecting something like. Izanami is dead, technically. She¡¯s not able to process mana into magic by herself even if she is a Goddess. She has to have some kind of focus or energy conduit, to channel it.¡±
Major Tanaka nodded.
¡°Right, and that crystal is it? But if I understand our briefing correctly, she¡¯d need a kind of battery wouldn¡¯t she? Shouldn¡¯t we make that a target as well?¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Essentially correct. But we can¡¯t attack that.¡±
The major frowned at Paul, incomprehension on his face.
¡°Why not?¡±
Paul shrugged.
¡°It¡¯s too big. Look around you Major. All this black rock Yomi is made of? It¡¯s haematite, a type of iron ore. The whole place is one vast battery! Not as efficient as the ones we have, but that doesn¡¯t matter on this scale. The whole realm is designed to drain and store ambient mana, funnelling it here through the fault lines that run everywhere. That¡¯s why this castle is so weirdly shaped I think. It¡¯s not really a castle, it¡¯s a sort of collimating lens for mana, focusing on that crystal.¡±
The majors eyes went wide as he looked round.
¡°Oh.. we¡¯re inside one of those mana generator things? Is it dangerous for us to be here?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think so. It doesn¡¯t seem to be able to leech mana from the living, only residual energy from the recently dead. I¡¯m guessing that a living aura binds the mana too tightly for the drain to work, and the Yamato¡¯s is big enough it¡¯s shielding the whole ship, ghosts included.¡±
Major Tanaka nodded, once, briefly.
¡°Understood. So if we blow that crystal, that should throw a spanner into the works.¡±
¡°Well¡ we could do that, yes. Or I could tinker with it, and see if I can reverse the polarity of the mana flow. Drain Izanami instead.¡±
¡°You can do that?¡±
¡°Maybe. It¡¯d worth taking a look anyway. Because even if we cut her off from her battery, she¡¯ll still be carrying quite a hefty residual charge herself still. Enough to cause a lot of trouble before she runs out of juice.¡±
The Major nodded.
¡°Right. Sapping Izanami sounds like a good tactical choice then if it¡¯s possible. Because it¡¯s a safe bet she¡¯s going to be a rather annoyed at us shortly either way. Lets get to work while Team Yamato are keeping her distracted.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Yeah. Katsu is holding her own against Izanami, and Su-metal is on standby in case she needs help. So we should have a few minutes. Have your men start ferrying out non-combatants out the back door while I take a look at what we¡¯ve got.¡±
The major nodded, and had a quiet word with one of the soldiers as he guided Paul to the crystal chamber.
The chamber was huge, easily the size of a small baseball stadium, it¡¯s ceiling lost in shadows, while the rest of it was lit by the purple hued glow from the towering crystal, hanging suspended by chains, mid air between five stone pillars. The floor was inscribed with multiple nested circles of some inlaid metal that glowed with a dull blood red light.
Paul whistled a low note, turning around as he took in the design and layout.
¡°Whoa.. well that¡¯s impressive.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it just Paul-san!¡±
Out from behind one of the pillars stepped Akio. Paul glanced around and as his eyes adjusted to the weird light, he saw his other two apprentices and Shoko, examining the place.
Paul grinned at Akio, not surprised she¡¯d be there.
¡°Looks like something from an old fantasy movie, one with a really big SFX budget. Been able to make any sense of it yet?¡±
Akio shook her head.
¡°Some¡ all of the power collected out there is funnelled down here. Dot thinks the castle itself is acting like a wave guide, channelling mana into this chamber.¡±
¡°That tracks with my observations¡ Yomi is one huge mana battery, or sink. Fed by residual energy from the dead.¡±
Dot walked up, and nodding at Paul added.
¡°Figured you¡¯d see that, but that ain¡¯t all. It¡¯s at saturation, or near enough. Can¡¯t even imagine how much power is stored here, but it¡¯s a load. Enough to make a whole new reality, or destroy one.¡±
Paul whistled again¡ then muttered a swear word under his breath.
Raising his voice he called out to the Major who was nearby, conferring with the sappers.
¡°Major.. tell your men to start removing that C4, carefully.¡±
The Major turned, and looking puzzled asked.
¡°Sir? I thought the plan was to blow the place if you couldn¡¯t tinker with it and reverse the flow?¡±
Both Dot and Akio winced as Paul shook his head.
¡°Yeahhh¡ slight problem with both those ideas. The battery is full, or damn near.¡±
The major¡¯s expression conveyed his lack of understanding. Paul sighed and by way of explanation asked.
¡°Major¡ what would happen if you overcharged one of the battery packs for the ATV¡¯s? Or punched a hole in it?¡±
Behind Paul Dot mimed an explosion.
Enlightenment, then concern flooded across the major¡¯s face.
¡°Right, understood¡ Sargent, you heard the man. Remove and safety the charges.¡±
¡°Yessir!¡±
As the sappers worked to remove the demolition charges, Paul made his way to near the nested circles, and studied the pattern. Tipping his head back he stared upwards into the shadows.
¡°Anyone been up there? I think I can make out an opening directly above the crystal.¡±
Chiyo raise a hand.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
¡°I took a look¡ it¡¯s a big round chamber with lots of niches in the walls. In each one there¡¯s a ¡ well, they look like crystal hearts. I didn¡¯t examine them too closely because they were warded. I think it¡¯s Izanami¡¯s trophy room, like a serial killers stash of things taken from their victims.¡±
Paul stared upwards, his brow furrowed in thought. After a moment his expression changed, and he swore slightly under his breath.
¡°I don¡¯t think those are trophies¡ at least, not only. I think what those hearts are the magical or spiritual cores taken from each kami Izanami has killed. But they¡¯re not just some grisly mementoes, they¡¯re part of this whole set up. I would guess that crystal isn¡¯t just redirecting mana, it¡¯s converting it.¡±
Paul looked over his shoulder at his three apprentices and Shoko.
¡°What we have here is analogous to a mana convertor. I thought the design looked sort of familiar. Only instead of converting electricity to mana, it¡¯s stepping up mana to divine energy, call it.. uhh.. Prana, yeah..Prana. The ¡®hearts¡¯ up there are storing that energy I would guess, and channelling it to Izanami. That¡¯s how she¡¯s still able to use her divine magic despite being dead.¡±
Akio nodded her understanding, while Dot looked upwards thoughtfully.
¡°Right¡ gotcha. So to defeat her, we need to break that link, yes?¡±
Paul nodded at Dot.
¡°Correct, problem is, this set up is like one of the early nuclear reactors. Zero safety factors built in, and only one step removed from being a bomb. We monkey around with it, without understanding how it works, and it¡¯ll end badly.¡±
There was a moments silence as they all looked at the towering faceted pillar of crystal, until Akio remarked thoughtfully.
¡°You know¡ Izanami has to have something, a crystal heart probably, to act as a receiver for all that power.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s like Nikola Tesla¡¯s idea of wireless power transmission. Hmm...but each kami has their energy frequency, so those cores would all have a different frequencies making them incompatible without it. How did she solve that I wonder? There has to be something up there that takes all this energy, and converts it to her unique... ahh, Pranic frequency. Then her own divine pearl or core, would resonate with it, even if it¡¯s dead. It¡¯s like the twin resonating coils in Tesla¡¯s wireless set up. I can¡¯t see it working any other way.¡±
Dot nodded enthusiastically.
¡°That has to be it. It explains the wards Chiyo saw, she would¡¯ve had to isolate the hearts..er, cores, otherwise the power would resonate with the original owner and power them up instead.¡±
There was a moments silence as all four of them jumped to the same conclusion. It was Paul that voiced it aloud however.
¡°If we can nullify those wards and break Izanami¡¯s link without blowing ourselves up, then all that power is going to go to the other kami instead of Izanami¡ Well done Dot!¡±
Akio nodded.
¡°Ok, how do we break her link?¡±
Paul stared upwards, and shook his head.
¡°We don¡¯t. It¡¯s safer to destroy the receiver I think. But it¡¯s going to take some careful timing, because we¡¯ll also need to interrupt the flow of energy or there¡¯s a risk of feedback from the pranic storage into the convertor once it has nowhere else to go...and I don¡¯t know if the process is bidirectional, but if it is that feedback would ground through the convertor and overload the mana battery. At which point we¡¯d be at ground zero for a new Big Bang.¡±
Dot nodded.
¡°Yup, that¡¯s what I figured too. You thinking that if the Yamato can hit Izanami plumb square in the chest with that magic nullification beam you cooked up, that¡¯ll do it?¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°It should do. If we divert the power from the convertor at the same moment, it would prevent any feedback. I hope anyway.¡±
Dot nodded thoughtfully.
¡°Yeah¡ helping create a whole new reality sounds cool¡ but only from a safe distance like. It¡¯s gonna be close, this whole thing is pretty slap-dash jerry rigged it looks. Wouldn¡¯t trust it to hold more than a minute or two without somewhere for all that power to go.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Agreed¡ order of operations then. We set it up, but hold off pulling the switch until Katsumi takes out Izanami¡¯s core. Once that¡¯s done, we flip the switch pronto and hold on tight while the other kami power up.¡±
Akio raised her hand out of school-room habit.
¡°Um.. Paul-san, what will happen to them if their hearts..um¡ divine pearls..cores? Whatever, what will happen to the kami if they¡¯re not inside them?¡±
Paul sighed, slowly shaking his head.
¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. I think they¡¯ll either grow a new one, or they¡¯ll somehow reintegrate. It ought to be survivable. Inari went through it once, I think. But we¡¯re in uncharted waters here. Worst case scenario, the kami¡¯s spiritual bodies are too damaged and can¡¯t handle the power surge. In which case...er.. Hm¡¡±
Paul paused, thinking for moment, then sighed.
¡°I wish I was a better physicist but my best guess is since they¡¯re fundamentally patterns of spiritual energy at present, somehow made solid here, then the surge of divine pranic energy could make them lose coherency and they¡¯d dissipate.¡±
Akio blinked, and then in tones of disbelief said.
¡°You mean, they¡¯d disintegrate?!¡±
¡°Sort of, yes¡ but kami are tough and I think they¡¯d pull back together eventually. Especially the ones with active worshippers still. Any forgotten ones¡ I don¡¯t know. That might be permanent. But even if that happens, and it might not, it¡¯s still a better fate than anything Izanami has planned. I still don¡¯t know for sure what her end goal is, but seeing all this¡ pretty sure it involves either remaking reality itself, or blowing it up. Either way, she¡¯s not going to need a load of empty husks of former kami lying around.¡±
Akio nodded.
¡°Right¡ even if the other kami are collateral damage, in comparison that¡¯s an acceptable loss. I understand. Chiyo, you fly up top, you can act as our signals link to Yamato. Dot and I will assist you Paul-san.¡±
Paul nodded, then raising his voice he called.
¡°Major Tanaka, we have a plan to disable Izanami and safely sabotage this¡ this God-scale mana convertor. I¡¯ll need a squad to guard our backs while we work, but if it goes right we can kill two birds with one stone and use the energy to reinstate and heal the kami prisoners, so I¡¯ll need them somewhere safe nearby as well.¡±
The major nodded.
¡°Yes sir. I don¡¯t pretend to understand any of this magic stuff, but we¡¯ll stick to doing what we do best sir.¡±
Paul grinned.
¡°Right. Keep your heads down and kick ass then.¡±
Lowering his voice as the major got busy giving orders to his men setting up perimeter defences, Paul looked at the eager but serious faces of the four young girls gathered around him. Paul sighed, they were all far too young for this level of responsibility. Not that he thought they couldn¡¯t handle it, but they shouldn¡¯t have to. Still, they were here, and they were all he had¡ and they would probably be insulted at the suggestion they step away from this now.
¡°Right, Chiyo, head topside and signal the Yamato. Tell them the plan and tell them to wait for us to signal we¡¯re ready before they shoot Izanami with the ¡®wave motion¡¯ gun. Shoko, I¡¯ll need you to act as relay between us and Chiyo, ok? Everything depends on you and how fast you can run. We can¡¯t radio through these thick stone walls, so you¡¯ll have to physically relay the message.¡±
Shoko nodded, eager now that she had a part to play.
¡°Yes Paul-san. Shoko is a helpful little fox spirit! I¡¯ll outrun the wind!¡±
¡°Good. Ok¡ lets get to work...and if the worst comes to the worst, know that I couldn¡¯t be any prouder of you all than I am right now.¡±
All four girls nodded, then stepping forward they group hugged Paul, much to his bemusement and delight!
After a moment he laughed.
¡°Alright, alright, enough hugging¡ work, now!¡±
With laughter they disentangled themselves and took off, in Chiyo¡¯s case literally. Shoko tagged along with her, easily keeping up with the winged witch.
On the bridge of the Yamato, everyone was watching the single combat between Katsu, Goddess of Battles and Izanami. So far, it seemed to be an even match. Katsu was clearly the more skilled swordswoman, but she lacked Izanami¡¯s raw power and was bleeding from several minor cuts. However, it was obvious even from this distance that the small wounds were already festering, leaving Katsu pale faced and sweating. It was obvious to all that the longer the fight went on, the more of a disadvantage Katsu would be at... yet, she was unable to force a conclusion to the fight.
The wooden railing by the window was splintering in Tatsuo¡¯s grip, as he watched in grim faced, impotent silence.
Into this eye of an emotional hurricane, the signals officer approached the Yamato¡¯s captain, and with a few quiet words handed him a slip of paper before withdrawing. The Captain scanned it quickly, and then cleared his throat to catch everyone¡¯s attention.
¡°Honoured Inari Okami, it would appear that your Herald has a plan. He has requested that we stand ready to fire the ..ahh.. ¡®wave motion¡¯ gun and target Izanami¡¯s ¡®spiritual power core¡¯ upon his signal.¡±
Katsumi grinned.
¡°Great! I finally get to use it! That¡¯ll stop Izanami! Oh¡ one question Inari-sama. Where do I aim?¡±
Inari looked thoughtfully at the combatants outside.
¡°I¡¯m ¡. not sure. It could be several places. Her heart, the hollow of her throat, or just underneath the breastbone behind her solar plexus.¡±
Katsumi sighed.
¡°Ok, that¡¯s a problem. We¡¯ll only have one shot. If she was human sized again, I could just aim for the middle of her chest and the beam would be wide enough to hit all three of those. But as it is, I don¡¯t know if I can hit all three targets at once. If I made the beam wider maybe¡ but then she¡¯d have to be closer because it would spread out, and we don¡¯t have time anyway to make alterations to it.¡±
Katsumi paused, staring off into the distance as she mentally communicated with Katsu. Then she nodded.
¡°Ok, Katsu says to do it. Captain, she¡¯s going to try and expose Izanami¡¯s core first, so we know where to aim.¡±
Suz-metal who¡¯d been standing by the open door to the bridge, out on the balcony-like flying bridge that wrapped around the towering superstructure, leaned into the room.
¡°I¡¯ll help. You said Izanami is weak against lightning, yes?¡±
Inari nodded.
¡°She is, just be careful. You are not physically strong enough for this fight.¡±
Suz-metal grinned cheekily at Inari
¡°I know
Inari sighed, shaking her head.
¡°Such a difficult daughter¡¡±
Tatsuo stepped forward, surprising them both.
¡°I will help too.¡±
Inari raised an eyebrow.
¡°
Tatsuo nodded.
¡°
Finding himself being stared at by both Goddesses, Tatsuo ducked his head slightly, then lifted his chin and stared right back.
¡°
Suz-metal grinned.
¡°Can you target where you hit her? Because if you can then I can be sure to blow holes in her where we need them.¡±
Tatsuo nodded gravely.
¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±
¡°
¡°Could you tell Katsu that I...I..¡±
Katsumi held up her hand, forestalling whatever else Tatsuo was about to say.
¡°She knows, and feels the same.¡±
Tatsuo nodded, his relief at avoiding admitting his feelings plain for everyone to see.
¡°Good¡ thank you. Tell her to focus more on her defense, not attack, and fall back. Let Izanami think she¡¯s driving her back and lure her to high ground, where we can target Izanami.¡±
Katsumi nodded.
¡°Done, Katsu says that¡¯s a good idea. She¡¯ll pretend to be weaker than she is.¡±
Tatsuo flashed a small smile.
¡°As Paul-san says, we¡¯ll let her think she has us right where we want her.¡±
Hanami Chp.38
Izanami rested for a moment, leaning on her sword. She didn¡¯t need to breath, but if she had she¡¯d be panting. The new goddess of battle was proving to be unexpectedly resilient, displaying far more raw power than any fledgling kami deserved to and swordsmanship that possibly exceeded her own. But more than that she was cooperating with the other new goddess and the mortals. Something that she¡¯d never seen any god or goddess do before.
True, she was engaging with Izanami in single combat, but only mostly alone. The others joined in in defiance of all tradition and code of conduct. In Izanami¡¯s experience, no warrior would cede one iota of the honour of fighting their enemy to another¡ and yet, even as the girl¡¯s sword sliced at her loathsome rotting flesh, she was blasted by lightning and cannon shells.
The ground around her feet was sticky with her black corrupted blood, strips of putrescent flesh hanging in tatters from her bones. Her neck had been cleaved down to the vertebra by one strike, her rib cage had been blasted open by a lightning bolt, exposing her blackened withered heart.
But still she fought. She had no choice. Even if she had no other reason, the hatred burning in her core would be reason enough. How dare they defy her! She seethed. They owed their existence to her, everything they were, she had created at the beginning! She given the universe life, and it had killed her, her own brother/husband had turned his back on her, and gone on to create more squirming, creeping life that infested the world, even making the hated mortals that mocked kami with their resemblance.
She was so close to success as well¡ just a little more power and she would have the means to end all of the detestable crawling things that infested creation, corrupting it with their mortal life, smearing their dying bodies all over everything¡ All she had to do was defeat these last remaining kami, consuming their essence, returning it to herself. Then she would have the means to end it all, and start over again.
This time she wouldn¡¯t make the mistake of creating living things. They only died and destroyed the purity of creation with their decay. She would create a pure world, one that would be unchanging, perfect, forever.
Gritting her teeth she willed her hated decayed body to move, forcing herself to fight on¡ regardless of her injuries her victory was only a matter of time. Everything died, and these impure mortal-born kami were no exception. She would cut down this annoyance, and add their strength to her own¡ perhaps she might even indulge herself and torture their comrades before consuming them whole.
Izanami shook her head. There was no time...she couldn¡¯t indulge her hatred. But she couldn¡¯t afford to flex her true power and crush this insect with magic. She had to defeat the annoying girl before her, using physical strength alone. She needed every iota of power she had for later.
Katsu fell back, once again¡ leading Izanami towards the top of a small hill. She¡¯d already slashed open her throat, ruling out that location of her ¡®core¡¯. Tatsuo had speared her chest with an iron rod, a section of left-over rebar that acted as a lightning rod for Suz-metal. The lightning had split her ribs open above her heart, revealing nothing but the pulpy black slime of decayed internal organs.
Katsu parried another blow, letting the force drive her to her knees momentarily, dissipating it as she fell backwards and rolled, springing to her feet another few precious yards towards her target. Izanami¡¯s core had to be buried behind her solar plexus, nestled against her spine and protected by her breastbone.
She had another dozen yards to go, when she put her foot on a loose stone, twisting it as it rolled away. Katsu dropped to one knee, hissing in pain. She whipped her sword up, parrying the blow that experience told her would follow...and almost fell over as it didn¡¯t come. Looking up, she saw Izanami leaning on a rock. Immediately she realised that Izanami must have lunged, trying to take advantage of the momentary opening, and simply over reached herself, almost toppling as her exhausted body failed her.
Slowly, carefully, Katsu stood.
¡°There is no honour in beating an exhausted enemy¡ take a moment to recover, I can wait.¡±
Izanami glared at her.
¡°Look to yourself fool! I¡¯m not the one who¡¯s mortal and will tire!¡±
Katsu smiled, a small tight and cold smile.
¡°You¡¯ll be truly dead long before I tire.¡±
¡°Liar! Already decay is coursing through your body, weakening you. All I have to do is endure until you die.¡±
Katsu shrugged, acting far more nonchalant than she felt.
¡°It matters not. I will end your suffering, and be healed when I return victorious.¡±
Izanami laughed, a cruel overly moist sound.
¡°Child, this is the spirit realm. Wounds sustained here are of the soul, not as easily healed as those to mere flesh.¡±
Again Katsu shrugged. It was a maxim in kendo, never let your opponent see your true feelings.
¡°I know that. It was taken into account. I¡¯ve traveled here, through dangers untold, sustained by one simple truth. You have no power over me.¡±
Izanami screamed in frustration, and charged at Katsu, who parried the flurry of clumsy attacks, giving ground step by step until they stood atop the knoll. Inside her soul, she could feel Katsumi¡¯s glee as she readied the anti-magic beam, or wave motion gun as she insisted on calling it. Now all she had to do was wait for the signal to fire, while keeping Izanami too occupied to realise what was going on¡ and avoid getting killed in the meantime.
Paul couldn¡¯t help thinking that the chamber full of crystal hearts was perhaps a little too creepy. It looked like something that belonged in a Clive Barker novel, with the rough black stone walls, dotted with carved niches containing anatomically correct crystal hearts that pulsed with an inner light in a multitude of hues.
The niches were ringed around with silvery markings that almost resembled kanji characters, although they were of no language he knew. Not that it mattered, the lines connecting them formed a circuit pattern he could understand. He sighed, studying the chambers walls that stretched upwards into darkness, until the hearts resembled twinkling stars.
¡°Well, that does present a problem¡ there has to be hundreds of them, and we need to modify them.¡±
Beside Paul Dot was also staring up into the shadows.
¡°Yup¡ ain¡¯t possible in ta time we got ta do it all by hand like. We gonna have to automate it like.¡±
Paul looked down at Dot, frowning in puzzlement.
¡°Automate? Care to explain?¡±
¡°I was thinking we could use sympathetic magic, ya see?. Create a model of the ward, change that and thus the ward. They be all alike, so do one and you do them all.¡±
Paul blinked.
¡°Okayyy¡ that¡¯s a new one on me. You can do that?¡±
¡°Aye, I can.¡±
¡°Alright, go for it lil¡¯witch. I¡¯m going to take a look at the central thingamajig and see what I have to do to it.¡±
Paul nodded in the direction of the disco-ball like collection of faceted crystals about the size of a basketball, hanging from a chain above the centre of the chamber.
Dot nodded, taking out a box of common chalk, and beginning to replicate the wards on a blank section of wall. Paul smiled slightly to himself, for all her child-like appearance, Dot was without a doubt, the smarter one of the squad. Enough that he was fairly certain that given a bit more experience he could happily turn over the development of ¡®magitech¡¯ to her and go back to being a moderately successful author and sometimes Inari¡¯s Herald.
Assuming they all survived the next few minutes that was...
Turning his attention back to the task in hand, Paul studied the crystal sphere up close...grateful for his tallness for once. Japan wasn¡¯t built for people his height, and anyone else would¡¯ve had to stand on tip-toe at least, but Paul simply stared up at the sphere that was just above his eye-line.
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Upon closer inspection he could see that it wasn¡¯t a single mass, but hundreds if not thousands of tiny prisms, all tightly slotted together and none bigger than the nail of his pinky finger. Each had their own distinct hue, although they blended altogether into a general impression of dimly flickering white light. Paul glanced back over his shoulder, wondering if each prism corresponded to a heart. He slowly nodded to himself, noticing that those hearts he could see clearly, each had a small hole, as if a splinter was missing from them.
Turning back and peering closer Paul saw that inside the sphere, right in the center, was a single distinct black ball, looking like a small obsidian marble embedded in the multicoloured gem.
Paul had no doubt that was what was converting each individual frequency of energy to Izanami¡¯s own personal wavelength. The question was, what to do about it?
For a moment Paul contemplated simply taking a hammer to the whole array, but that brute force approach was too uncertain. It could result in a catastrophic feedback and destruction of everything. Even if it would make him feel somewhat better to vent his frustration on it.
Reaching a reluctant conclusion he removed card stock and pen loaded with silver conductive ink, and started constructing a talisman. There was no shortage of power to fuel it, all he had to do was get it right first time because there would be no second chances and no time for experimentation.
Paul hoped he knew what he was doing, but he was fully aware that there was a lot he didn¡¯t know, and any unaccounted for factor could trip him up. Still, so far his instincts hadn¡¯t been wrong. With a short prayer to any deity that happened to be listening, he set to work designing what was almost certainly the most complex spell talisman he¡¯d come up with to date.
--------
Chiyo hovered the castle, keeping both Shoko and the battlefield in sight. It wasn¡¯t proving to be easy, the very nature of Yomi meant that the magic that allowed her wings to be functional and keep her aloft was more draining than usual. Coupled with that she was maintaining a spell crafted to shield her from unfriendly eyes, a necessity since she made a tempting target and high speed evasive dodging would mean taking her eyes off events.
It would have to be soon¡ she thought. Katsu had lured Izanami onto a hilltop, giving Katsumi a perfect shot. They were just waiting on the ready signal from Paul-san and Akio. On the tail of that thought she saw Shoko waving frantically. Turning Chiyo aimed the pocket laser pointer at Yamato, and sent a one word signal : Ready.
---
Katsumi saw the signal from castle immediately, and not waiting on orders from either the Captain or Katsu, she spun on her axis, a manoeuvrer impossible for any normal ship, and hesitated¡ Katsu was in the line of fire from this position.
Sounding battle stations she alerted Katsu to the danger of being hit by the edge of the beam, and warned the crew to brace. Nobody had any idea what discharging that much mana would do to the Yamato, but it was very probable it would do something!
Katsu distinctly felt the skin on her back crawling as she was aware that Katsumi was lining up to fire. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she saw the bow of the Yamato coming around, with an ominous deep purple glow flicking around the prow and the open port of the ¡®wave motion gun¡¯ as Katsumi started the firing sequence. She had, at best, a scant handful of seconds to take cover.
With a desperate lunge that surprised Izanami, she drove her sword through Izanami¡¯s lower leg, and into the ground behind her, severing it. With Izanami¡¯s pained shriek ringing in her ears, Katsu dove past her enemy, throwing herself down over the ridge of the small hill, and rolled down the slope on the far side, away from the line of fire.
---
Chiyo looked down, and saw Shoko blur as she raced off to tell Paul-san to do now whatever it was he was planning. Glancing up, she swore suddenly and flung herself towards the ground, power diving as she scrambled for cover.
What Chiyo had noticed, and had been overlooked by everyone else, focused as they were on their target, was that Izanami stood between the Yamato and the castle. If the shot from the ¡®wave motion gun¡¯ missed, or went through Izanami, it would hit them as well.
---
Shoko seemed to almost teleport into the chamber, the briefest blur of motion and squeak of sneakers on the stone floor warning of her arrival before she was there, in front of him. Before she could even draw breath Paul activated the complex pattern of talisman¡¯s underneath the disco-ball like crystal structure that transformed individual Kami¡¯s own divine power into a single unified field that resonated with Izanami¡¯s own dead Divine Pearl or spiritual core.
Paul hesitated a fraction of second, long enough to draw a single quick breath, staring at the tarot-deck like lay-out of eight white talisman cards, as the lines inked in silver upon them, and upon the floor connecting them in a circle, started to glow with a pure white light. Checking it was working. He exhaled with a single shouted word.
¡°Run!¡±
Shoko was already at the door by the time Paul had pivoted on his heels and taken the first long stride as he sprinted out of the chamber. Out of concern she glanced back over her shoulder, and saw the long shadow Paul cast as behind him the sphere turned into a miniature sun, and then seemed to explode as each individual prism shaped crystal exploded outwards, racing towards it¡¯s corresponding ¡®heart¡¯ or Divine spiritual power core for each of the multitude of gods and goddesses that Izanami had captured and turned into the equivalent of a battery for her.
Shoko stumbled, her stride arrested by the sight of the rainbow hued explosion of magic behind her. Without breaking stride, Paul swept Shoko up into his arms as he caught up, and still accelerating into a flat-out sprint, threw them both down the curving corridor that spiralled up the hollow walls of the tower containing the huge crystal chamber, as something like a great wind rushed past and through them, sending Shoko tumbling down the stairs as Paul fell and threw her clear.
------
The entire sixty five thousand ton mass of the Yamato rattled and shook from the discharge of the mana beam, as up on the bridge Katsumi screamed in agony. No-one had even considered that she would experience the energy discharge quite so viscerally. She fell to her knees, screaming, but despite feeling like molten metal was pouring through and over herself, she somehow managed to hold her aim true, through sheer will sighting the beam on Izanami¡¯s solar plexus.
The ground underneath Katsu trembled and bucked like frightening horse, as she lay half-way down on the far side of the hill. From behind her she heard Izanami scream, a sound that ended abruptly, cut off as the beam tore into her core.
Then, over her head she saw the eye-hurtingly deep indigo energy beam lance through the air, and as she followed the line of it¡¯s flight, she saw the scintillating many coloured aurora hanging above the prison-castle. As the beam struck the shifting curtains of resplendent rainbow light, they shattered, and the world turned to white in an explosion of vast unknown energies.
------
Dazed, Shoko slowly sat up, a whole catalogue of bruises making themselves known. Gingerly she felt up and down herself, but nothing seemed to be broken at least, despite the blood that trickled down her face. For a moment, she couldn¡¯t recall where she was or what had happened, but then memory came slinking back like a frightened dog¡ with a gasp she scrambled up the stairs, looking for Paul-san.
At the top, almost safely out of line of sight of the crystal chamber, Paul lay stretched out on the stone floor. Shoko made a small choked sound in the back of her throat at the sight. She couldn¡¯t tell if he was breathing or not, but his back was littered with stone shrapnel torn from the walls and sent hurtling down the corridor by the unknown energies unleashed within.
She sank to her knees by Paul¡¯s head, tentatively reaching out to brush the tumbled locks of black hair away from his face. For a moment she feared the worst, too numb for tears she stared...then with a gasp she saw the dust stir as he breathed out.
Without thinking, she flung her arms around him, pulling so his head rested on her small lap and curled around him, weeping in relief.
Shoko didn¡¯t know how long she sat there, only that she stopped when she felt Paul¡¯s hand on her cheek.
¡°Hey there little fox, why the tears?¡±
¡°Paul-san! Are you hurt! I was so afraid you were dead!¡±
¡°Nope, still alive...and my coat seems to have done it¡¯s job. I really will have to write a glowing review for those tailors. I¡¯m one big bruise all over, but no, I¡¯m not bleeding anywhere and nothing seems to be broken. Help me up, we¡¯d better see how everyone else is.¡±
¡°Yes! I hope Inari is alright! Do you think it worked and Izanami is dead?¡±
¡°I bloody hope so, because I¡¯ve no idea what we¡¯ll do if she isn¡¯t!¡±
Paul leaned on Shoko, one large hand on her small shoulder as he levered himself to his feet, wincing as he went. Shoko was surprised though as he walked towards the chamber that had contained the crystal hearts, or Divine Pearls, that were the kami¡¯s spiritual power cores. Paul paused at the entrance, surveying the wreckage.
There was no sign of any crystals, not even dust. He whistled softly as he stared at the molten edged hole in the wall. Walking over, mindful of the still glowing splatters of lava, he peered through the hole.
¡°Well¡ damn. I think the frequency cancelling mana beam went right through here! That explosion was the mana fields cancelling out, like matter and antimatter.¡±
Shoko frowned.
¡°That¡ wouldn¡¯t hurt Inari and the other kami, would it?¡±
Paul ran his fingers though his hair, dislodging a small cloud of dust.
¡°Honestly, I haven¡¯t the faintest clue¡ I mean, logically energy cannot be created nor destroyed, so even if the field frequencies cancelled out, it will have gone somewhere. But we are way outside of what I know here, and magic seems to follow it¡¯s own rules.¡±
Paul sighed, and walked over to the hole in the chamber floor, peering down through the aperture to the vast chamber below. He whistled again, a low sound of disbelief.
¡°Well I¡¯ll be¡ the mana convertor crystal is cracked. It looks burnt, the top yard of the tip is missing and it¡¯s kinda melted round the edge. I think¡ I think that explosion wasn¡¯t solely the fields cancelling out. It looks like the whole system failed, and catastrophically discharged. Although¡ we ought to be dead if it did that! Unless¡. Yeah, that must be it. The explosion of the fields cancelling out, redirected the huge mana discharge, somehow, and we only caught the fringe of it.¡±
Shoko, stared at Paul for a moment, then shook her head.
¡°Paul-san¡ I have no idea what you just said. But shouldn¡¯t you be making sure everyone else is alright?¡±
Paul grinned sheepishly.
¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right Shoko-chan¡ sorry. I wanted to make sure nothing else was going to blow up, and got carried away trying to figure out what happened.¡±
¡°Is it safe?¡±
¡°Yeah¡ I don¡¯t think there¡¯s enough juice left in the whole of Yomi to light a match. I¡¯ve no idea where all that power went, but it doesn¡¯t matter right now. Lets go see who¡¯s still with us and how everyone is doing.¡±
Shoko nodded firmly.
¡°Umhm! I want to find Inari and hug her SO HARD!¡±
Paul laughed, shaking his head,
¡°Me too kid¡ me too.¡±
Hanami Chp.39
Paul sat on a rock outside of Izanami¡¯s castle, elbows on his knees, his head hanging down low. He felt tired, more tired than he recalled being in a very long time indeed. Too tired to even look up, to tired to even think!
He still wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d won or lost. It looked like a win, but it felt like a loss.
Izanami was gone, as far as anyone knew. There wasn¡¯t a body to confirm it, but there was also no sign of her. She ought to be dead he thought, there was no way he could imagine she¡¯d survive. Yomi was depleted of mana, the bones of the undead things she¡¯d used as puppet soldiers lay scattered and inert. Even the unquiet spirits of the hungry dead had vanished.
But what turned the victory into the bitter ashes of defeat was the fact the kami were gone as well. According to the JSDF special ops soldiers guarding them, at the point where all hell had broken loose, the manifest spirits of the multitude of gods, goddesses and so on had all glowed like lightbulbs, and faded out, turning into just so many clouds of sparks before vanishing like a cheap special effect.
Everyone was asking him what this meant, and honestly, he hadn¡¯t the faintest idea. He¡¯d fallen off the edge of his mental map sometime ago and was in unknown waters. He¡¯d made up a bullshit answer on the spot, meant to reassure everyone they hadn¡¯t just killed them all permanently but honestly, he didn¡¯t know and was afraid to find out for sure.
Paul lifted his head, and peered into the distance though the sweat dampened curls of his hair. About a kilometer away the battleship Yamato lay on the ground, mostly standing keel down and somewhat level. Katsumi had managed to make a reasonable landing despite the ¡®wave motion¡¯ gun draining her almost completely of mana. Her human avatar had collapsed on the bridge and was out cold still, although at least she was still corporal. The Yamato itself was stranded for now, and it was a toss up whether Katsumi would wake up and fly her out, or Yomi would flood through the gate and they¡¯d have to sail her home, assuming they could. At least she¡¯d float and she had a minimal crew of Japanese maritime self defense personnel. Although, they might need to tow her out if Katsumi didn¡¯t wake up in time. Most of the human crew had never seen engines from that era and only had vague notion how to go about lighting her boilers, much less getting her under way.
Katsu had limped back as well, in human form and bleeding, but otherwise in better shape than one would expect given she¡¯d just gone toe-to-toe with the Goddess of Death. Suz-metal had ¡®jump started¡¯ Katsu, sharing with her remaining reserves of Prana, as Paul had decided divine magic was to be called, and Katsu was now slowly healing. Which left Suz-metal in charge by default for now, as the only conscious and semi-functional Goddess.
However¡ aside from the two living Goddesses, every other manifested spiritual being had vanished. Including the ghost crew of the Yamato, and most importantly, Inari.
According to the human bridge officers, she¡¯d appeared to be trying to say something even as she turned into a shower of golden pinpricks of light and faded away. The signals officer, a young ensign who could lip read, reported her last words were a haiku, of all things!
Fallen sakura petals
Drifting on the gentle breeze,
A new life begins.
Paul refused to give into despair, not just yet. But all he could feel right now was bone aching weariness. He wanted to believe Inari was alright, somehow, somewhere¡ but he couldn¡¯t quite bring himself to believe it. She¡¯d gone, and Paul suspected she and the rest of the Gods were finally, completely and irrevocably dead, their spirits departed for whatever happened afterwards for Divinities. Inari¡¯s final words were of no comfort either, they could be taken as the possibility of rebirth, or moving on to whatever kind of afterlife awaited a Goddess.
Even Kate seemed to have gone AWOL for the moment. There wasn¡¯t even the familiar comforting sense of her presence, like a warm hand on his shoulder.
Paul sighed and looked up, the major and his team were evacuating the building¡ although perhaps ¡®looting¡¯ was closer to the mark. There was an extensive library, although to what end Izanami had created it was anyone¡¯s guess, but it was full of ancient scrolls in proto-kanji script. Which would fascinate Kiko at least¡ Paul mentally winced as he thought of her, back at the temple, awaiting Inari¡¯s return.
He was very tempted to remain seated, to wait to see if Yomi flooded completely and just let the dark waters take him under. Sighing, he slipped off the rock to sit on the ground, his back pressed against it and head tilted back, closing his eyes. Perhaps no-one would find him here, out of sight, and with a bit of luck, everyone would assume he was with someone else until it was too late for them to come back and find him.
He was just so tired. He¡¯d done his utmost, achieved what even he¡¯d thought was impossible¡ and it hadn¡¯t been enough. Inari had been lost to him. He longed to rest, to just lie down and let go.
The irony was, in the moment of her initial loss, in the bleak dark span of time upon the train back, he¡¯d realised that he¡¯d been incredibly stupid. He couldn¡¯t think of one good reason why he¡¯d refused to admit his feelings for her and act on them. Turning her away, he¡¯d thought, was foolish and the only reason he could think he¡¯d done it was stupid stubbornness. He¡¯d made a vow to Kate, and was clinging to it despite her releasing him from it. He supposed in away it was because he was still clinging to her, refusing to believe she was dead regardless of the facts. As if moving on in his life would be acknowledging that she was truly dead.
Now Inari was lost to him as well and he had to face the fact that there was nothing else he could do. He¡¯d failed to bring her back, failed to let her know the true extent of how he felt, and failed everyone else that had been relying on him. Close didn¡¯t count.
All that was left for him to do now was to follow her into the beyond. He hoped he could at least get that right, fulfilling his final promise to her.
Paul winced slight as he heard Shoko calling his name off in the distance. She¡¯d gone hurrying ahead to the Yamato, and returned bearing the awful news. The devastated look on Shoko¡¯s normally bright and cheerful face telling him all he needed to know even before she spoke. He just couldn¡¯t cope any more, even her tears hadn¡¯t moved him. He¡¯d felt¡ nothing. Paul had mumbled some excuse even he couldn¡¯t remember now, probably one no-one believed, and walked off.
Paul sighed, and levered himself to his feet, walking further away, seeking some place to rest undiscovered until the end took him.
How long he stumbled through the black gritty dusty sand of Yomi he didn¡¯t know, only that eventually he found himself at the base of a small cliff, unable to go any further, while the in-rushing torrent of sea water formed a lake partly to one side of him. Paul frowned, something had stopped him in his tracks, rousing him from his stupor, something out of place had caught his attention despite his mood. Looking round he saw what it was. A body lying on the newly formed beach¡
Walking wearily over to the sprawled, sodden form, he saw that it was young woman. Japanese he guessed, with a tangle of long black bedraggled hair splattered out on the rocks beside her. She was dressed in tattered grey robes that may have been a silk kimono at one point and now clung to her like shroud.
Squatting down beside her, he pressed two fingers against the cold pale skin of her neck, and was surprised to feel the faintest flutter of a pulse beneath his finger tips. Paul pulled on her shoulder, rolling her onto her side, and held a finger a hairsbreadth from her pale blue lips, checking for breath.
Finding none, he acted quickly, inserting a finger into her mouth to check for debris choking her, and hoping to trigger her gag reflex so she¡¯d cough up any water in her lungs.
Getting no reaction, and finding no obvious obstruction, he rolled the woman onto her back, tilted her head back and lowering his lips onto hers, applied mouth to mouth resuscitation.
Her chest convulsed just as Paul was beginning to feel light-headed, somewhere around the fifth or sixth time he¡¯d breathed into her. Quickly he rolled her head sideways, and she vomited up a couple of lungfuls of salt water.
Watching her for moment, to make sure she was breathing by herself now, Paul sighed. He couldn¡¯t just leave her here to drown again. But it was doubtful if she¡¯d wake up just yet. He had no idea who she was, or what she was doing here. He doubted she was any of their party, not wearing that nondescript robe, but she was undoubtedly solidly alive and mortal, at least for the moment.
Shaking his head he again cursed his sense of duty. There was nothing else for it though, he¡¯d have to live a little while long and see her to safety.
Which meant signalling for the people that were probably looking for him by now, as he had no idea where he was, nor what direction the Yamato lay in. Drawing his gun he checked the clip, and pointing it straight up, fired.
The round arched up into the air like a shooting star in reverse, it¡¯s brilliant white light reflecting in the black waters of the steadily growing saltwater lake.
Thermite rounds made for fairly effective signal flares as well after all.
He fired another round after a moment, and was answered by the booming roar of the Yamoto¡¯s main guns firing a star shell, signalling he¡¯d been seen. He put another round into the air for good measure, aiming in their direction to make his reply obvious.
Holstering his gun, he glanced back at the young woman he¡¯d rescued, and found her staring at him wide-eyed. Raising his eyebrows in surprise at her speedy recovery he slowly held out his empty hands, trying to reassure her.
¡°You¡¯re safe now...I promise I won¡¯t harm you.¡±
Without thinking he¡¯d spoken in modern Japanese, and for a moment a frown creased her brow. Then her face smoothed as she replied, in unaccented English.
¡°Who are you, who commands the heavens to thunder?¡±
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¡°Paul Holmes, Herald to¡ well, former Herald to Inari Okami. I guess.¡±
¡°Former?¡±
¡°She.. she didn¡¯t make it. Who might you be and how did you end up here?¡±
The young woman frowned, a look of inward concentration creasing her brow.
¡°I¡ know not how I came to be here. I recall dying, then, I was here. Am I dead?¡±
Paul shrugged.
¡°You might have been a little bit. Your heart was still just about beating although you¡¯d stopped breathing. So I resuscitated you. No big deal. Do you remember your name?¡±
¡°Yes¡ I am Izanami no Mikoto, mother Goddess.. or I was. I seem to be mortal now.¡±
Paul stared at the woman for moment, trying to process what he¡¯d heard.
¡°You¡ you¡¯re Izanami? The Goddess Izanami?¡±¡±
¡°I am.. I was...I may be again perhaps.¡±
With a snarl Paul sprang forward, grabbing Izanami by her tattered kimono and hauling her to her feet.
¡°Damn you! Damn you to hell!!¡±
A firestorm of rage pounded through his mind, obliterating rational thought. Almost of their own volition his long fingers wrapped themselves around the slim pale column of Izanami¡¯s neck and squeezed.
Izanami struggled, clawing at his arms, trying to free herself. But she might as well have been trying to fight some industrial machine of steel and hydraulics instead of flesh and blood for all the difference it made. Her struggles rapidly grew weaker as her abused lungs ran out of oxygen, her face purpling as her eyes flew wide in shock.
Some small, rational part of Paul¡¯s mind noticed her expression. Fear, confusion, and bewilderment filled her eyes, as her lips moved in a silent plea; ¡®No. Please¡ why?¡¯ she mouthed.
Out of long habit Paul tallied the clues, despite his murderous rage and came to a conclusion¡ Izanami had no idea why he was killing her.
¡°You killed Inari!¡± he roared in her face.
With her waning strength she shook her head a scant fraction of an inch. With the last of her breath she managed to choke out a whispered denial.
¡°No..¡±
Paul stared into her rapidly dimming eyes, and read the truth there. Spitting a curse into her face he let go, pushing her away, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Izanami lay, gasping and coughing as Paul stood over her, furiously seething, struggling to regain control of himself. Fighting past his emotions he spoke in a low growl.
¡°Tell me the truth. You don¡¯t remember anything, not even being dead, or what you did. Do you?¡±
Izanami shook her head, then painfully spoke, her voice rasping.
¡°No¡ I couldn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t.. Inari is my daughter! Why would I¡?¡±
Paul walked a short distance away, and sat down bonelessly as the last of his strength left him. For a moment he said nothing, only looking up as Izanami crawled over to him, and taking his hands, looked earnestly into his face.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. For whatever pain I have caused, for whatever wrong I have done to you that would leave you like this, I am so, so sorry...but I truly don¡¯t know what you speak of.¡±
Leadenly, Paul spoke.
¡°You died. Long ago, too long to be reckoned, you died giving birth to the god of fire, burnt from within. You died in agony, and fell into death¡ but you didn¡¯t die completely. Kami don¡¯t die easily I¡¯ve been told and you had enough strength left to somehow stop yourself from passing away completely, to create this place Yomi that allowed you to remain between life and death. But you became a rotting corpse and your brother husband Izanagi called you loathsome and rejected you, returning to the mortal realm.¡±
Izanami blinked, shaking her head.
¡°I remember him, but¡ he.. rejected me?¡±
¡°Yeah¡ you didn¡¯t look your best. He freaked out, harsh words were said, you went insane and promised to kill every living thing on earth in revenge. Which is what all this was about¡ Took you a millennia or two, or seven, but you nearly succeeded. You went after the gods and goddesses first, got almost all of them too. You almost deprived the world of magic too. I¡¯d guess because that would make your plan easier or something. But you didn¡¯t reckon on one rather stubborn guy figuring out how to bring back magic, and a fox Goddess who was just crazy enough to make him her Herald. So, you killed Inari, holding her soul hostage to force me to undo my work. Which is why I¡¯m here, I was trying to rescue her.. but it all went wrong and now she¡¯s gone, poof! Into a cloud of sparkles and onto whatever comes next after life.¡±
Izanami stared into Paul¡¯s face for a moment, then shifted, sitting on her heels in front of him.
¡°There¡¯s a lot you said I can¡¯t grasp.. but I know beyond doubt that my daughter, Inari is not dead. I think she¡¯s ascended, left for the celestial realm for now, but I still feel her. Our bond is weak, but not severed.¡±
Paul raised an eyebrow, giving her a withering look of truly British skepticism.
¡°Uh-huh.. sure she is. And you are totally not saying that because I¡¯ll kill utterly and completely dead this time otherwise.¡±
¡°Then kill me if you are so sure! But I tell you, she is not! Her spirit lives, just on a higher plane of existence. Once she has gathered her strength she may return.¡±
¡°Riiight¡. Can you prove that?¡±
Izanami huffed in annoyance.
¡°Why are you being so stubborn, don¡¯t you want her to be alive?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no¡ and because false hope is more painful.¡±
Izanami said nothing for a moment, her gaze searching for something in Paul¡¯s face¡ then she sighed.
¡°I see. You¡¯ve been hurt like this before. You want to hope, but fear it would hurt even more if it proved false. I understand. But I can¡¯t prove anything to you, you have to do it for yourself.¡±
Paul glared at her.
¡°What is it with you Kami? Never a straight answer. Only riddles.¡±
Izanami¡¯s lips twisted in an approximation of a grin.
¡°Now I know you¡¯re a Herald and have spoken to Kami¡ very well. You¡¯re her Herald Holmes-san. She and you share a bond. Search your feelings for the truth, and you¡¯ll find her. Look past your fear of loss and your pain, and seek that small spark of warm connection instead.¡±
Paul rocked back, bracing himself, ignoring the sting as small rocks dug into the palms of his hands.
¡°If you¡¯re fucking with me, I¡¯ll make you wish you¡¯d stayed dead!¡±
¡°Death isn¡¯t something Kami fear¡¡±
A rictus like smile played around Paul¡¯s lips.
¡°I can think of things that are so, so much worse than death¡¡±
For a moment Izanami stared, mesmerized by the cold lifeless void that seemed to fill Paul¡¯s gaze, turning his eyes into ink-black pools. Then she shivered, looking away.
¡°I..I believe you. But I am not lying, Inari-chan lives. Look inward and find the truth. A Herald can always talk to their Kami no matter where they are.¡±
Paul¡¯s lips twisted in something that might be mistaken for a smile.
¡°So¡ search my feelings for the truth, is that it?¡±
Izanami, oblivious to the pop culture reference, nodded.
¡°It is. Your bond with her should be strong enough to even overcome that.¡±
¡°Ok, you first then¡ lets see if you can find her and get a message through to her. Then she can meet me half way.¡±
Izanami huffed, and rubbed her throat.
¡°Alright, it¡¯s a simpler matter for me too...oh! OH!¡±
Izanami¡¯s eyes flew open, widening to the point she looked like some anime character, an almost comical look of shock filling her face.
¡°What the heck now Izanami?¡±
¡°I...I seem to have many more children than I remember!¡±
Paul blinked rapidly, surprised.
¡°You what?!¡±
¡°I can feel the bonds I have with those other Kami I created...and then there are many, many more that I don¡¯t recognise! I...I can¡¯t even count how many!¡±
Paul drew in a breath, and then slowly exhaled¡ thinking furiously.
¡°Okayyy¡. Oh! I think I know what¡¯s going! Ok, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s a residual effect from your mad scheme. You¡¯d captured and killed just about every divinity you could lay your hands on, but instead of destroying them you robbed them of their spiritual core, divine pearl or whatever you want to call it. Feeding on their energy You¡¯d turned Yomi into a contraption to funnel the residual mana from the dead into a crystal, converting it to Divine energy, then used the other gods depleted cores to store the Divine power and feed it to yourself.¡±
¡°That...that¡¯s monstrous! And impossible!¡±
Paul shrugged.
¡°Apparently not, you built a kind of frequency convertor to make it work using a fragment of your own dead core, so their energy matched yours. I guess when we broke it, it didn¡¯t entirely sever the link between your spiritual core and theirs, so now you¡¯re linked to just about every god and goddess in existence.¡±
Izanami shook her head, bewildered¡
¡°I don¡¯t remember any of that¡ I can¡¯t even begin to imagine how I¡¯d do that!¡±
¡°There¡¯s a fine line between madness and genius it¡¯s said¡ and you were definitely mad. So batshit crazy you¡¯d gone through madness and carried on out the other side almost.¡±
Izanami shuddered.
¡°Perhaps it¡¯s as well I don¡¯t remember it¡¡±
¡°Yeah, perhaps, at least not consciously. Alright, getting back on track, can you talk to Inari?¡±
Izanami frowned, concentrating, then shook her head.
¡°It¡¯s.. too crowded? I can¡¯t single her out that well. I can get a general sense of her well-being, but not anything more. I think she senses me, but she¡¯s resisting. I suppose if what you say happened, she would be distrustful.¡±
¡°Yeah, just a bit...ok, let me see what I get. But I haven¡¯t done this before. Come to think of it, I¡¯m told there haven¡¯t been any living mortal Heralds before now so who knows if it¡¯ll even work.¡±
Izanami blinked.
¡°You¡¯re a mortal?¡±
Paul who had been settling into a meditative position, sitting tailor fashion, opened his eyes and looked at Izanami with a single raised eyebrow.
¡°Yes, human. Can¡¯t you tell?¡±
¡°Um. You don¡¯t feel like one¡ your aura is far too strong for a start.¡±
Paul frowned, and then shrugged, closing his eyes again as he adopted the lotus position he¡¯d learnt form Kate long ago.
¡°Well, I did get caught in the edges of a magic, anti-magic reaction, so I¡¯m probably still carrying a lingering mana charge. That¡¯s what¡¯s throwing your senses off I guess. Now hush please, I¡¯m trying to concentrate.¡±
Izanami nodded, then shook her head.
¡°It could be that¡ And don¡¯t try to force it. Relax and let your thoughts drift. Don¡¯t think, feel.¡±
¡°Easier said than done...I mean, relax? Here, now? Even if I could, I¡¯m more likely to fall asleep than anything.¡±
Izanami laughed, then winced at what that did to her throat.
¡°Well, that would work too¡ she ought to come to you in your dreams as well. But I¡¯m not certain you¡¯d believe that.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not wrong¡ Now shh!¡±
Izanami blinked, taken aback.
¡°I¡¯m the Mother Goddess of all Creation, and you just dared to shush me like a child?!¡±
¡°Yes, and if you don¡¯t stop talking you¡¯ll find out what else I¡¯ll dare to do. Now hush up, please!¡±
Izanami opened her mouth, then hesitated as Paul opened one eye to glare at her. Realising that Paul¡¯s ¡®please¡¯ had been more of a threat than a plea, and she was presently without power and thus only mortal, Izanami opted to remain silent. Satisfied he¡¯d gotten her compliance, Paul resumed attempting to meditate and contact Inari.
For long moments, nothing seemed to happen. Paul allowed his thoughts to drift, although they didn¡¯t stray far from his memories of Inari, and of his worry. Then, just as he was becoming convinced that Izanami was lying despite her apparent sincerity he felt it, a confused sense of recognition, relief and finally a pure sunburst of gladness and joy washed over him, carrying the sense of Inari¡¯s presence as real and tangible as her unique scent of fox musk and jasmine was.
Paul opened his eyes, half expecting to find her in front of him, but finding himself suddenly bereft of the warm contact again. He opened his mouth to plead, beg her to return¡ and stopped as he heard the crunch of tires upon gravel and the now familiar whine of the electric motor powering the Special Ops ATV¡¯s.
Just when he didn¡¯t want to be, he was found.
With a muttered curse under his breath at the timing, he stood up and waved at the mist shrouded figures still some distance off. Glancing at Izanami he frowned and sighed.
¡°Better let me do the talking. After everything that¡¯s happened, the others might not be so forgiving as me. It might be best if we didn¡¯t tell them who you are at first, ok?¡±
Izanami nodded, rubbing her neck where livid bruises were already forming a collar.
¡°Understood, but do you believe me now?¡±
¡°Yes. But now we need to figure out how to call her back¡ I think she¡¯s lost or something.¡±
Izanami frowned, puzzled.
¡°Lost? But she should be at home in the Celestial city!¡±
¡°You destroyed it, subsuming that realm into Yomi¡ so if she can¡¯t go there, where would she be?¡±
¡°I¡ don¡¯t know?¡±
Paul glanced down at the befuddled Izanami sitting on the ground, a cold look in his eyes.
¡°Exactly. Inari is lost somewhere out there, between realms... and so are the others I suppose. But you and I are going to fix this mess you¡¯ve made. Now shut up and follow my lead, and none of that ¡®I¡¯m a goddess¡¯ attitude any more or so help me I will prove how mortal you are by turning you over my knee and spanking you. That is assuming someone else doesn¡¯t work out who you are and put a bullet through your brain first.¡±
Izanami contritely, and without comment, tucked the remnants of her kimono around her and sat on her hands, managing to took as far from being an ancient Goddess as it was possible to get. Paul nodded, and turned to wave again at the approaching team, recognising Shoko on the lead ATV standing up in the saddle and waving at him over the Major¡¯s shoulder.
Hanami Chp.40
Paul stared at Inari¡¯s still lifeless body, shrouded in red silk, lying upon her daybed. Nothing had changed. No.. that wasn¡¯t entirely true, he had changed. He¡¯d had hope before. He¡¯d been determined to lead a rescue mission into Yomi, thinking all he had to do was defeat the Goddess of Death herself and bring Inari¡¯s spirit back.
Except, it hadn¡¯t gone to plan. Inari was gone, or at least, departed for realms unknown, and ironically Izanami was alive and mortal¡
Paul¡¯s train of thought derailed, and he turned around to stare at Izanami.
¡°Ok¡ why isn¡¯t she alive? You said her spirit had left Yomi. Why isn¡¯t she here? If you lied to me...¡±
Izanami tried, and failed, to repress a shudder at the growl in Paul¡¯s voice.
¡°No lie! You felt her presence yourself!¡±
¡°I felt something. I¡¯ve talked to Kate¡¯s ghost, but that doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s alive, or even that her shade is her spirit apparently. She¡¯s a Kowareta y¨±rei, a broken ghost. Her soul has moved on¡ Maybe what I felt was something like that¡¡±
Izanami shook her head emphatically.
¡°No, Kami don¡¯t work like that. She¡¯s.. she must be lost between realms.¡±
Paul heaved a sigh.
¡°It¡¯s just one damn thing after another¡ ok. How do we get her back then? Do we need a homing beacon or something like that?¡±
Izanami nodded, slowly, thoughtfully.
¡°Yes¡ maybe¡ that would help I think. But there needs to be a half way step, somewhere her spirit can get to from the other side, that leads to this side.¡±
Paul looked around at Inari¡¯s hall.
¡°I thought that was this place? It¡¯s half way between the real world and the celestial realm, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Izanami looked around thoughtfully, then held a finger up in the air for all the world as if she was feeling for a breeze, and then shook her head.
¡°No.. I mean yes, it¡¯s step in the right direction, but it¡¯s not far enough. It¡¯s a piece of the old Kami Realm broken off and joined to the mortal realm. A tiny bit, probably the only bit remaining, of Kami City¡ but where Inari is now, and the other gods, would be even deeper, the other side of the Realm of the Gods, Heaven as you mortals called it, if that still existed.¡±
Paul blinked in confusion.
¡°Ok¡ that made no sense whatsoever¡ but I guess you¡¯re trying to describe directions outside of normal space, right?¡±
¡°Something like that, yes. The problem is, all that¡¯s left outside the mortal realm is primal chaos. Inari and the others can¡¯t find their way though it, because it has no directions¡ there¡¯s no up or down, left or right, in or out. There¡¯s... nothing, a featureless void of pure chaos¡±
Paul pinched the bridge of his nose as the beginnings of headache made itself known.
¡°Well¡ bugger. I get it now. I¡¯ve been stranded like that out at sea in the fog once. Pretty hard to work out what way to go, if every direction looks exactly the same.¡±
¡°Exactly.¡±
Paul sighed. He¡¯d been hoping as the Yamato was towed back to harbor that he¡¯d be greeted by Inari at the dockside¡ then when that didn¡¯t happen, that Izanami would know how to wake her up.
It seemed that it was still up to him, except now he had even less of clue than he did before.
¡°Alright¡ you¡¯re a Primal Goddess. You created order out of chaos before if the myths are to be believed. How¡¯d you do it?¡±
Izanami, didn¡¯t answer. She scuffed at the tatami matting with a toe, looking clearly ill at ease. Paul looked at her, frowning.
¡°You did create the universe, didn¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Not...exactly. No.¡±
¡°Well, this is a hell of time to be admitting you lied!¡±
Izanami shook her head.
¡°We didn¡¯t lie¡ Izagmi and I did create the mortal realms...but the universe is a lot bigger than just your realm you know.¡±
Paul sighed.
¡°Ok. Metaphysics aside¡ now what the hell do I do? I can¡¯t just yell into the void ¡®let there be light¡¯ and create a half way step for Inari¡¡±
Paul stopped, staring at Izanami whose eyes had gone wide as an idea dawned on her.
¡°Ok¡ what is it?¡±
¡°Perhaps.. perhaps you could!¡±
Paul blinked, trying to process the idea, then shook his head.
¡°No, no way¡ are you kidding me?! That couldn¡¯t possibly work! I¡¯m just a guy! Not a god. The only world building I do is with words on paper¡ not literally!¡±
Izanami nodded.
¡°But you could! The abyss is pure chaos right now, primed with energy. All you need do is provide a seed and it would form around that, like a crystal growing.¡±
Paul opened his mouth to object, and then stopped, closing it again as he thought. For a long, long moment he stood, and then slowly turned to stare at the door at the far end of the hall, the one Inari had long ago said led to the City of the Gods.
¡°Tell me Izanami¡ have you ever wondered how magic works?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°You see.. mana is just energy, raw, untamed energy. Magic is what happens when you give mana structure and purpose. It¡¯s taking a little bit of chaos, and making it into order¡¡±
¡°Oh! I knew that¡ and you can do that.¡±
Paul nodded, even though Izanami hadn¡¯t really asked a question.
¡°I can, sort of. I use talisman¡¯s. They¡¯re like circuits really, or blueprints if you like. The power flows though the ink, and the talisman gives the mana a shape, imbued with purpose by my will. Manifested by my handiwork in effect.¡±
¡°But¡ no talisman could do what you intend this time, surely?¡±
Paul slowly shook his head.
¡°No, there¡¯s limits to what any physical object can survive, and the amount of raw power that¡¯s currently floating around ¡®out¡¯ there would far exceed the tolerances of anything I could make. However¡ I wasn¡¯t thinking of using a physical object, not directly.¡±
Izanami frowned.
¡°I¡ don¡¯t understand¡¡±
She paused, Paul was staring at her, a contemplative look on his face. For some unknown reason, she suddenly felt nervous.
¡°W..why are you looking at me like that?¡±
Paul smiled crookedly.
¡°Izanami¡ you agree that this ungodly mess is all your doing, even if you don¡¯t remember doing it, right?¡±
¡°Yesss¡.¡±
¡°So, making amends would be the right thing to do, don¡¯t you agree?¡±
¡°In principle, yes¡ what are you contemplating Holmes-san?¡±
Paul sighed.
¡°Nothing good¡ I think¡ Ok, you are involuntarily linked to every single deity that you gutted, because you used their spiritual power core as part of your mad scheme, linking them to yours. Which makes you ideally suited to serve as a beacon, or at least, your ¡®pearl¡¯ does.¡±
Izanami cautiously nodded.
¡°Agreed¡ but I don¡¯t have any power. I¡¯m not even sure if I even have a pearl any more.. it may have splinted and gone with each of the others.¡±
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¡°Nonetheless, you and they are linked. Yank on one end of that, and it should pull them in.¡±
¡°Yes, but again I say, you need a half way step.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°I¡¯m getting to that. Neither of us can do this alone, but together, perhaps we can pull it off. Thing is¡ as I said, I can¡¯t use a normal talisman, but what if I encoded the spell to construct.. or rather reconstruct, the Celestial realm into a spirit?¡±
Izanami stared at Paul, blinking owlishly in bewilderment as she processed the idea.
¡°You are saying you want to carve a spell into my soul?!¡±
¡°Something like that¡ I think I know how. I¡¯m fairly sure it¡¯s at least survivable. I hope so since I¡¯ll be part of it too¡ but all things considered, it¡¯s risk I¡¯m willing to take.¡±
¡°You want me to risk my life as well?!¡±
¡°Yes. Are you willing? To make amends.¡±
Izanami shook her head.
¡°No! No.. I.. I¡¯m not going to risking dying again! Not even for that. I don¡¯t remember doing the things you say I did! That was another me, one who was dead.. and mad. I¡¯m not her now! So, no! You can risk your own life¡ I¡¯ve seen the colour of your soul, you seek death. You can go and find it by yourself! Without me!¡±
Paul stared at Izanami, and then sighed.
¡°Ok¡ so much for doing it the easy way¡.¡±
¡°You¡¯d force me?! Where is your honour now Herald!¡±
Paul levelled a flat, expressionless stare at Izanami.
¡°I could point out that I would do anything to save Inari¡ but if I did what you evidently think I was about to say, Inari would kill me afterwards and I¡¯d deserve it. But no, that wasn¡¯t what I was thinking of. What I was about to suggest as a possible alternative, was transferring your linkage to me, and I would do it instead.¡±
Izanami opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right words. In end all that came out was a very small and contrite;
¡°Oh. I see.¡±
¡°However, I¡¯m not sure if transferring the link is possible. I have an idea. Something like creating a new God by dividing your Pearl... but... do you know if it¡¯s possible?¡±
Izanami slowly nodded.
¡°Yes¡ and no. If I had enough power I could indeed divide my Pearl, gifting you a small portion of it along with the links as you suggest. That would grant you the ability to do what needs to be done¡ and you might even survive it. Although you would no longer be mortal. But, it¡¯s impossible. I don¡¯t have the power in me to divide in the first place.¡±
¡°That I can fix¡ although it isn¡¯t going to be pleasant for you, it will be survivable.¡±
Izanami sighed.
¡°I still need to make amends. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes. Short of death that is.¡±
¡°Ok, good. One last roll of the dice then.. but.. Um¡ Inari and the others aren¡¯t going to come to harm any time soon, are they?¡±
¡°No. There¡¯s no time in the void at present. Why?¡±
¡°Oh good¡ because I am half dead on my feet with exhaustion, and it¡¯ll take some time to power you back up to Goddess levels. So it¡¯ll be ok if we do this thing tomorrow, after I¡¯ve rested and you¡¯ve had time to soak up some mana, right?¡±
Izanami nodded, frowning in puzzlement.
¡°Yes, resting first should be ok¡ but you said.. soak up power?¡±
¡°Yeah¡ let me show you to our onsen, while I set up something to supercharge it.¡±
¡°Supercharge¡ an onsen?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±
------
Having left Izanami soaking in the hot springs, Paul went and found Yuko and Yuri standing guard over Inari¡¯s sanctum, and ordered them to help him move the Mana convertor and some other equipment to the onsen. His plan was simple, add a lot of dust-like fillings created from the unique iron of Inari¡¯s mine to the waters of onsen, then pump that water up, though a hose and around the mana convertor exposing it to the energy field, thus creating a mana rich mineral bath.
Converting the mana to prana was something he hoped Izanami¡¯s body could do by itself now she was alive. Otherwise he¡¯d have to work out how to recreate the prana convertor using some of the unique crystal the special ops soldiers had looted from Izanami¡¯s ¡®castle¡¯ in Yomi.
At least, he thought they had, although now that he stopped to think about it he wasn¡¯t sure. Which was a problem given that Yomi was flooded now, not to mention they¡¯d sealed the gates to it behind them.
Paul shook his head. That was a problem for later¡ much later. He turned his attention back to setting up the mana convertor under an awning outside of the onsen, a necessity since high voltage and water wasn¡¯t a good mix. Yuri stood guard nearby, evidently curious about what he was doing but so far silent. Briefly he considered what, if anything, he should tell her by way of explanation¡ and came up blank. Deciding to shelve that problem as well, he focused on double checking the seals for leaks before starting the pump.
Satisfied that the iron rich water was circulating without leaks, he connected the long extension cable running from the workshop to the mana converter and powered that up. For a moment he held his breath, but nothing exploded or shorted out as the crystal and copper contraption hummed to glowing life.
Paul breathed a sign of relief, for once something actually worked as planned.
With a nod to Yuri, he ducked into the onsen and called out, careful not to look in the direction of the steaming pool.
¡°How are you?¡±
¡°Well¡ is the water supposed to tingle?¡±
¡°Yes? I think so¡ I¡¯m charging it with raw mana, if everything¡¯s working as expected your body will absorb that and convert it to divine energy¡ prana to coin a name for it. That should recharge you back up to Goddess levels.¡±
¡°I see. There were naturally occurring hot springs that used to feel like this, for the same reason I seem to recall.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°That figures. They don¡¯t exist any more, now that naturally occurring mana is a rarity, but I can see how they¡¯d be possible. Anyway, anything you need to get comfortable? I don¡¯t know how long this will take, but more than a few hours I¡¯d imagine.¡±
Izanami sighed.
¡°I am going to be a shriveled prune by the time I¡¯m done I think. Something to eat perhaps? I haven¡¯t had a meal in¡ well I don¡¯t remember how long it is and this body is still mortal.¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Now that you mention it, I shouldn¡¯t fall asleep on an empty stomach either¡ ok I¡¯ll arrange for a tray to brought to you while I get something. Ah¡ best not volunteer your name if anyone asks.¡±
¡°I know¡ people will want to kill me if they knew. Who should I say I am?¡±
Paul shrugged.
¡°Just don¡¯t. Modern Yokai have had to hide who and what they are for so long, they¡¯ve developed the custom of not exchanging names. It¡¯s doubtful anyone would ask who you are, and anyone who saw you before is unlikely to recognise you now.¡±
Izanami nodded, and sighed.
¡°It¡¯s strange, having a vast hole in my memory¡ but I don¡¯t wish to recall what I became.¡±
Paul smiled tiredly.
¡°Yeah, I get that. There¡¯s a few bits of my life I wish I could erase as well. I am not the man I once was and frankly, that version of me is better off forgotten too. But the best I can do is just try not to recall it too much.¡±
¡°You are a strange man Holmes-san.¡±
¡°People keep saying that, but really I¡¯m not though. I just do what¡¯s needed. Now try to get comfortable and I¡¯ll send some food in for you in a minute or so.¡±
¨C
Paul stared, blinking owlishly, as he stood on threshold of the kitchen. There was an albino Oni ¡ no, an ogre, making platefuls of dainty looking cakes and sandwiches.
¡°Ah¡.¡±
The ogre looked over her shoulder at him, and dusted her hands off on the starched white linen apron before bowing to him.
¡°I¡¯m Kokoro, owner and manager of the Yokai Cafe. I heard what was happening and I¡¯m here to help as best I can¡ mostly by making sure everyone is fed.¡±
¡°Oh. Right. Oh yes, Shoko-chan¡¯s mentioned you. Thank you.¡±
¡°It was the least I could do. Now, what can I get you?¡±
Paul hesitated, he had just been going to scrounge whatever he could find in the fridge and hadn¡¯t thought about what he wanted, but now he was asked¡
¡°Um¡ it¡¯s probably terribly plebeian of me to ask, but could you could you come up with a bacon and fried egg sandwich? It¡¯s been an age and..¡±
Kokoro smiled.
¡°Say no more. Comfort food it is¡ I think I saw a bottle of the brown sauce you English like to drench your food in¡¡±
¡°HP sauce? Where on earth did you find that?! I¡¯ve been looking for it ever since I arrived in Japan!¡±
¡°It was in amongst the donations¡ I suppose someone thought since you are English.¡±
Kokoro grinned as Paul sat down bonelessly, the last dregs of his strength leaving him.
¡°Never mind¡ just sit there and I¡¯ll come up with the best, greasiest, bacon and fried egg sandwich I can manage.¡±
¡°Thank you.. I¡ I know it¡¯s stupid. But I¡¯m really, really grateful for that. Oh! If it¡¯s not too much to ask, can you do a tray of something traditional and filling, and find someone to take it up to a guest in the onsen please?¡±
Kokoro nodded,
¡°Of course, Shoko-chan, would you?¡±
Paul blinked, and looked in the direction Kokoro had addressed. Ruefully he smiled.
¡°Sorry Shoko-chan, didn¡¯t see you there.¡±
¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t mind. I could¡¯ve been dancing on table and you wouldn¡¯t have seen me you¡¯re that tired Paul-san. Who¡¯s in the onsen, is it that woman you found?¡±
¡°Yeah¡ it is. And before you ask, because I know you want to, she¡¯s another victim of Izanami¡¯s madness, but don¡¯t press her, her memory is shot full of holes.¡±
Shoko nodded.
¡°Ok, I understand¡¡±
For a moment there was an awkward silence, then Paul heaved a sigh.
¡°Ok¡ addressing the elephant in the room¡ Yes, I think I know what went wrong and how to fix it.¡±
Shoko shrugged.
¡°I wasn¡¯t going to ask. I trust you.¡±
¡°Thanks, I know¡ but it¡¯s unfair to leave you in suspense. Inari and the other kami disappeared because they weren¡¯t dead. Yomi is, or was, a trap for the spirits of the dead, so when they revived it couldn¡¯t hold them any more. But, thanks to Izanami, there was nowhere else for them to go. So now they are lost in void, trapped in limbo for lack of directions. I have half an idea on how to fix that by creating a direction for them and planting a beacon. That¡¯s where the only mortal survivor of Yomi comes in¡ she has a link to the others, and can serve as that beacon.¡±
¡°Ohhhh¡ so that¡¯s what¡¯s going on!¡±
Paul nodded¡ hating himself for half-lying to Shoko, but given the appalling odds of his survival, he wasn¡¯t about to tell her that part.
¡°Yeah. Luckily for us, limbo is also timeless as well as directionless. So we have the luxury of being able to rest and recuperate before acting. Which is why Izan..ah¡ drat! Didn¡¯t mean to say that! Oh well, it¡¯s unfortunate, but she shares a name with a certain late unlamented goddess, although they¡¯re nothing alike. Anyway, she needs to recharge overnight so she¡¯s soaking in a mana bath in onsen.¡±
Shoko frowned.
¡°Are you sure¡?¡±
Paul shook his head.
¡°Don¡¯t worry¡ she¡¯s not the Goddess of Death if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. Related but¡ well one can¡¯t help one¡¯s family after all.¡±
Shoko nodded slowly.
¡°I...see¡ well. I¡¯ll attend her, if as you say she¡¯s helping bring Inami back, it¡¯s least I can do for her.¡±
¡°Thank you, and yeah, just be your helpful little fox-spirit self Shoko-chan. Sorry to impose, but if you could let everyone know what¡¯s what¡ I¡¯m dead on my feet and after I eat I¡¯m going to go fall over for a few hours, you should rest too as well actually. We¡¯ve one more hand of cards to play, and it¡¯s better to do that with a clear head tomorrow.¡±
Shoko nodded.
¡°Understood. I¡¯ll tell Kiko first, she can tell everyone else. After I take a tray of food up to the onsen. I want to see this person myself¡ not that I don¡¯t trust you Paul-san! Just¡ you¡¯re very tired.¡±
Paul smiled a small crooked smile.
¡°Yeah, I know. No offense taken, I understand. She¡¯s harmless I think, but I¡¯d feel better if you double checked as well. My brain is like cold porridge at the moment.¡±
Paul stopped as Kokoro placed a plate containing a doorstopper sandwich oozing bacon fat and yellow egg yoke in front of him. Tiredly he smiled up at her.
¡°You know¡ this is perfect! There used to be this little greasy spoon of a hole-in-wall cafe I would stop at first thing whenever I got back home from some adventure off god-knows-where, and I¡¯d always get a bacon and fried egg sandwich, just like this...it¡¯s..it¡¯s¡¡±
Paul stopped, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. He slumped to the table, shoulders shaking as finally all the pent-up and denied grief and misery came rushing back, along with the relief and exhaustion.
Dimly he was aware of small arm going around his shoulders, and a soft soothing voice telling him it would be alright, as Shoko comforted him.
And from far way¡ he felt a warmth as if of a soft fluffy tail being wrapped around him, as the scent of jasmine and fox fur filled his nose.
Hanami Chp.41
Kiko paced across the room, vaguely annoyed that her footsteps were silent as her feet hovered half an inch above the tatami matting. The sound of Shoko sliding the door open and closed behind her arrested her pacing and she turned to look at the young kitsune, taking in her flattened ears and drooping tail.
¡°How is he?¡±
Shoko sighed, shaking her head.
¡°Paul-san is physically and mentally exhausted. Emotionally, he¡¯s a wreck. As far as I can gather he thought Inari was lost to him, truly dead, after she and the others vanished.¡±
Kiko paled, one hand flying to her mouth.
¡°Oh no! With his history¡¡±
Shoko nodded. Kiko had learned of the fate of Paul¡¯s wife Kate, and his reaction to it.
¡°Yes¡ he was trying to die when he wandered off. Not earnestly, but he wasn¡¯t going to avoid it.¡±
¡°He told you that?¡±
Shoko shook her head slowly.
¡°No, you know what he¡¯s like. He¡¯s a proud man and won¡¯t admit it when he needs help. But it was obvious.¡±
Kiko sighed.
¡°We need to do something, we can¡¯t lose him! If for no other reason than because he¡¯s the best chance to get Inari back.¡±
Shoko nodded, crossing over to the table and helping herself to a drink.
¡°That¡¯s true¡ he said he knows she¡¯s not dead dead, he can feel her presence, just not living yet either. He also said that the woman he brought back is linked to her, and all the other Kami. That¡¯s part of his plan in some way.¡±
Kiko tilted her head, looking puzzled.
¡°That¡¯s.. weird. Did he say who she was and what his plan is?¡±
Shoko shrugged, and shook her head, sighing. Kiko looked downcast at her.
¡°Bother... I¡¯m sure the pressure of fixing everything is what¡¯s causing his problems but if he won¡¯t tell us anything, how can we help?¡±
Again Shoko shrugged wearily, and then jumped with a small ¡°Yip!¡± sound as a soft, English accented voice spoke behind her.
¡°I can help.¡±
A woman¡¯s figure faded into view, wearing a dark blue kimono that accented the vivid red hair that spilled in waves down one shoulder. However, she was slightly translucent and her lower half faded away completely from below the waist, leaving only a wisp of faintly blue mist to suggest legs.
¡°Who..¡±
The ghost, for it was obvious that what she was, bowed slightly.
¡°We haven¡¯t met, but I¡¯m Kate¡ or rather what¡¯s left of her.¡±
Kiko blinked at the apparition, and looked at Shoko who shrugged and nodded. Looking back at the ghost Kiko asked her.
¡°What are you doing here?¡±
¡°I go where Paul goes, we¡¯re bound. But I don¡¯t need to sleep when he does so I couldn¡¯t help hearing you talking. I want to help. He¡¯s in worse shape mentally than you realise.¡±
¡°You can tell that?¡±
Kate nodded.
¡°We¡¯re linked, I can tell what he¡¯s thinking, feeling¡ I try not to pry, but right now he needs help badly. His plan is basically a suicide mission. I¡¯ve no idea if it would work, even he thinks it¡¯s a slim chance¡ but even if it does, it¡¯ll kill him.¡±
Shoko gasped slightly.
¡°That would be bad, very, very bad¡ Inari would be grief stricken!¡±
Kiko nodded then frowned.
¡°Could she revive him if he succeeds in getting her back?¡±
Before Shoko could answer Kate interjected.
¡°I don¡¯t think there would be enough left of him. You remember why Inari said she couldn¡¯t share her power with Paul?¡±
Kiko nodded.
¡°Something about it amplifying his Sight beyond what was endurable wasn¡¯t it?¡±
Kate nodded.
¡°Yes, well, that¡¯s what he¡¯s planning on doing. Taking on a fragment of a Divine Pearl. It would destroy his mind Inari said, and there¡¯s no reason to suspect it would be any different if Izanami shared hers with him.¡±
Shoko frowned.
¡°But¡ Izanami is just a mortal, even if she does share a name with that goddess.¡±
Kate shook her head.
¡°I know what Paul said.. but Izanami is that Goddess, or she was. She doesn¡¯t remember anything after she died and went mad, so Paul thinks she shouldn¡¯t be blamed for everything that happened.¡±
Kiko and Shoko both stared at Kate for second. Then, as Shoko drew breath to shout, Kiko sighed and shook her head.
¡°I hate it, but he¡¯s right. She wasn¡¯t in her right mind. Even Kami are not immune to insanity, and you can¡¯t hold someone responsible for their actions when they¡¯re like that¡ are we sure she¡¯s ok now though?¡±
Shoko glanced uncertainly between Kiko and Kate, looking for all the world like the lost and confused child that she was, in some ways.
Kate shrugged.
¡°I don¡¯t know. Paul always was a much better judge of character than I, but he¡¯s not firing on all cylinders himself right now. She seems to be on the level though¡¡±
Shoko, having gotten over her shock, piped up.
¡°Why didn¡¯t he tell us who she was though?¡±
¡°I think he thought you¡¯d react negatively¡¡±
Kiko pulled a rueful face.
¡°Can¡¯t blame him for that. I might have under different circumstances. Very negatively indeed.¡±
¡°Me too!¡± Shoko added, nodding slowly¡ ¡°I would have tried to kill her again. I mean, she killed Inari! That¡¯s hard to forgive.¡±¡±
¡°Me three¡ She hurt Paul.¡± Kate shrugged. ¡°But I understand his thought process. By his way of thinking the present Izanami is a different person, or personality, than the one that murdered Inari and plotted to destroy all life as we know it.¡±
There was a moments shocked silence, which Shoko broke.
¡°Is that what her plan was? Mother defend us! She was insane!¡±
¡°Very! But she¡¯s sane now, and Paul has a point, she¡¯s not the same person really.¡±
Kiko shook her head, dismissing terrifying thoughts of what might have been.
¡°Ok, putting that aside. What are the specifics of Paul-san¡¯s plan, and how can we avoid him killing himself out of a misguided sense of duty or whatever it is that¡¯s driving him?¡±
Kate smiled slightly.
¡°You¡¯re not wrong on his motives¡ he thinks he screwed up so this is his way of atoning, honorable idiot that he is! Anyway, as I understand it, his crazy idea is to charge Izanami back up to goddess levels. That¡¯s why she¡¯s soaking in the pool which is supercharged with mana. Then she subdivides her ¡®core¡¯ and gives him the bit that¡¯s linked to all the other Kami, which he¡¯s thinking of using to create a sort of super talisman out of¡ that bit I don¡¯t understand but I gather it¡¯s because nothing physical could withstand the power involved.¡±
Kiko blinked, and then shook her head.
¡°Ok.. why is he doing this?¡±
¡°Oh! Yes, I forgot to explain that. Inari and the other kami are trapped in the void because it¡¯s too chaotic, there¡¯s no direction or time there. They need a sort of half-way step between the void and the mortal realm to orientate on and find their way back here with. Paul was planning on creating what he thought of as the Celestial Realm, 2.0.. because Izanami assimilated the original into Yomi.¡±
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Kiko and Shoko both stared at Kate for moment, then as one turned to stare wide-eyed at the door to the room where Paul was sleeping.
After a second Kiko quietly remarked.
¡°He really doesn¡¯t do things by halves does he?¡±
Shoko nodded.
¡°Umhm! That¡¯s crazy!¡±
Kate laughed quietly.
¡°That¡¯s Paul! He dreams big¡ but you can see why that would kill him now.¡±
Kiko nodded.
¡°If it doesn¡¯t drive him mad first, the power he¡¯d need would burn him up like a moth in a flame! Where is he thinking he¡¯ll even get it all from?¡±
Kate shrugged.
¡°Izanami said the void was seething with it. I think she means all the power that was in Yomi, plus the power Katsumi threw at her, ended up going there. Must¡¯ve burned a hole in Yomi¡¯s fabric or something, and all that raw energy leaked out that way. Might¡¯ve been why the Kami disappeared. Being just spirits even if they were physically manifested, they got sucked into the void along with it. Also explains why no-one else was though, their bodies anchored them. At least, that¡¯s what Paul thinks.¡±
Kiko shrugged.
¡°That sounds no less insane than anything else so far¡ ok, so what do we do to help?¡±
Kate sighed.
¡°I have an idea.. but I don¡¯t think anyone is going to like it. Least of all Paul.¡±
Shoko and Kiko listened to Kate as she outlined her modification to Paul¡¯s plan.
After she was done explaining Kiko stared at her for a moment, then shook her head.
¡°You and he are a matched pair. You¡¯d sacrifice yourself in his stead.¡±
Kate shrugged.
¡°It¡¯s not that big a sacrifice, I¡¯m already dead after all. I¡¯m not even a real person, ghost, spirit whatever¡ I¡¯m just the memories that the real Kate shucked off like leaving a coat behind. I haven¡¯t a soul to damage if I do this.¡±
Shoko tried to hug Kate, and ended up circling her misty waist with her arms.
¡°You sound real, and Paul¡¯s feelings for you are real, even I know that!¡±
Kate smiled sadly.
¡°I know¡ and that¡¯s why I have to go. I¡¯m holding him back. He¡¯ll never move on while I¡¯m still around. But I can¡¯t go as I am, I am literally bound to him. Without him I¡¯d just fade way. I need to do something to become independent. This way, even if it¡¯s only for brief moment, I¡¯ll be a Goddess. I think perhaps I might be able to forge my own soul, maybe even a body to go with it.¡±
Kate sighed, and seemed to stare off into the distance.
¡°Paul¡¯s told you both what happened? That¡¯s partly why I crawled out of the tent into the freezing cold. I knew it would kill me...I mean Kate knew..the real one. But.. I couldn¡¯t stand the way what was happening was robbing me of everything that made me, me! And I was afraid it wouldn¡¯t kill me, not all the way. Just leave me as a broken empty husk, or worse, still somehow aware but trapped in a paralyzed, blinded body, dependent on Paul to look after me...trapping him as well.¡±
Kate shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself as tears tumbled down her cheeks unnoticed.
¡°I couldn¡¯t do that, so I chose to face death on my own terms. To take back control over my own fate. So, you see, this is the same thing. I¡¯m taking myself back. If it destroys me, then so be. But at least Paul won¡¯t be shackled to a ghost any more.¡±
Kiko studied her for a moment, her own eyes bright with unshed tears.
¡°But¡ what if it works? What will you do then?¡±
Kate sighed.
¡°Make up an excuse, and leave. As it stands, things can¡¯t go on the way they are. It¡¯ll break my heart, it¡¯ll break his too¡ but he has Inari to recover with. And when all is said and done. I¡¯m not really Kate.¡±
Kiko nodded.
¡°You know Inari wouldn¡¯t want you to leave. She does not mind sharing.¡±
Kate nodded.
¡°I know¡ but Paul isn¡¯t like that. He can tolerate her loving other people, but he¡¯s a one and only kind of guy¡ I don¡¯t know, maybe if it all works out I¡¯ll become the new Goddess of Death, I hear there¡¯s an opening now. I can always say I¡¯m too busy..¡±
Kiko sighed, nodding.
¡°Kate-san¡ I think you would make an excellent Goddess of the Dead. Compassion is something that has been lacking from that role for a very long time.¡±
Shoko nodded, then looked at Kiko.
¡°Is there anything in the records that could help Kate-san? I want her to live too now!¡±
Kiko shrugged, looking thoughtfully over her shoulder in the direction of the inner temple.
¡°I don¡¯t know...shall we three go and see what we can find then?¡±
Shoko nodded enthusiastically.
¡°Yes! Lets wake up everyone else, and get them helping too¡± I know Rin can read the old scripts, and Mistress Arakune would be really good at climbing around in the stacks! Even Yuko and Yuri could help carrying heavy stuff!¡±
Kiko laughed, nodding.
¡°Alright then, we will all help! Go wake people up.. but not Katsu and Suzana, they need their sleep still. ¡±
Shoko giggled merrily and blurred as she ran off...
----------
Paul stirred, consciousness seeping into his head like bubbles rising though thick black mud. He was dimly aware of a warm body curled against his side. For a moment he thought of Inari, then a stab of pain in his heart reminded him that Inari was gone. Awakening fully he realised the small body pressed against him was Shoko, curled up against his side.
Carefully he moved his arm from around her, and stopped as almost instantly she was awake and looking up at him with a bright and inquisitive gaze, obviously awake and alert the moment she opened her eyes.
Paul smiled slightly.
¡°Morning, you been there all night?¡±
Shoko nodded, and sat up, stretching.
¡°Umhm! Yes. You worried us Paul-sama! I stayed at your side in case you awoke during the night.¡±
¡°Yeah, no chance of that. I was utterly done in. Listen, sorry for coming over all unnecessarily emotional last night..¡±
Shoko placed one small finger over his lips and shook her head.
¡°Don¡¯t apologize Paul-sama. We understand. Kiko said it was healthier for you that way and a natural reaction. We don¡¯t need to talk about it if you don¡¯t want to, but she does want to talk to you about other matters. After breakfast!¡±
¡°Um.. right. Ok...Oh! Has anyone checked on..umm..¡±
Shoko giggled.
¡°It¡¯s alright¡ Kiko and I know who Izanami really is.¡±
Paul stared at Shoko, processing that for a moment.
¡°Ah¡ you do? And you¡¯re ok with that? Also.. how?¡±
¡°Kate told us! She appeared after you fell asleep and filled us in. She said that you thought Izanami wasn¡¯t the same personality really now¡ and we decided to trust your judgement.¡±
¡°Okayyyy¡. I admit, I¡¯m surprised. Are you sure?¡±
Shoko nodded, then bounced to her feet.
¡°Ok! Breakfast. You stay there and I¡¯ll make it for you Paul-sama!¡±
¡°Er¡ No, I¡¯ll help. Otherwise I¡¯ll just fall asleep again, and there¡¯s too much to do today for that.¡±
Shoko frowned.
¡°As you wish.. but Kiko said you weren¡¯t to push yourself so hard any more. We¡¯ll all help you now, you¡¯ve been taking too much upon yourself she said, it¡¯s not good for you and we can¡¯t afford you collapsing because you¡¯re the only one who understands all this!¡±
Paul pulled a wry face.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t have said that I understand it all¡ but I guess she¡¯s not wrong about trying to do too much. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have crashed so hard last night. Hmm.. ok, agreed. I¡¯ll need everyone¡¯s help and that means I need to bring them up to speed. There¡¯s one last hand of cards left to play, and it¡¯ll require finesse this time, not brute force. Which means if people are to help they¡¯ll need to know what¡¯s going on in detail.¡±
Shoko nodded enthusiastically, bouncing on her toes as she did.
¡°Yes! Ok, breakfast in the kitchen hall? I can run around and tell everyone we¡¯re meeting there and we can eat and talk at the same time!¡±
Paul winced slightly.
¡°Ok, we¡¯ll do that. But I¡¯m not saying anything until I¡¯ve gotten some food and coffee inside me! Now scoot while I get dressed you fuzzy bundle of energy¡ How you and Inari can be related I just don¡¯t know! You¡¯re complete opposites in the morning! Was your father the Energiser bunny or something?¡±
Shoko ran off, laughing as she headed off to organise, leaving Paul to get changed.
By the time Paul was on his second cup of ruinously strong coffee and everyone else was scraping the remains of breakfast off their plates or bowls, Paul felt up to the task of explaining his plan.
Well, some of his plan¡ he was certain that people would object to key points so he thought he¡¯d just gloss over that and hope for the best.
¡°Ok everyone¡ if I can have your attention.¡±
Tatsuo looked up from where he was feeding Katsu, or rather, trying to, and glanced around. With a sheepish grin he leaned back. Paul shook his head at the pair of them, and then glanced over at Rin who was looking thoughtful.
¡°Alright¡ here¡¯s what¡¯s going on as far as I can figure out. We.. no, I screwed up. When the counter-frequency mana beam hit the mana field coming off the convertor that Izanami built and we monkeyed with, it blew a hole in reality. The result was like puncturing a balloon, all the mana leaked out and sucked anything spiritual based with it, meaning all the kami. Aside from you two that is, because you were incarnate and thus anchored.¡±
Katsu dipped her head in acknowledgment.
¡°Well, that explains where everything went. But it¡¯s at least partly my fault for not being more aware of what was behind Izanami.¡±
Paul shrugged.
¡°We¡¯re not here to say who¡¯s to blame. As it stands, Inari and all the other Kami are trapped in a formless void. The only way to get them out is to give it some structure, build a big Exit sign in effect. Thankfully, there¡¯s a way to do this, but it means we have to trust someone I understand everyone would probably not..¡±
Suz-metal piped up.
¡°You mean Izanami, yeah, we know. Kiko told us.¡±
Paul stared at them, taken aback.
¡°Um.. what?¡±
Katsu shrugged.
¡°You think I wouldn¡¯t recognise her, even without Kiko telling me who she was? But we all know she¡¯s cured of her insanity now, and not the same person since her memory is gone.¡±
Paul took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, tension leaking from him that he hadn¡¯t even realised was there.
¡°O-kay¡ well that saves on explanations. You¡¯re all ok with this?¡±
Kiko shook here head.
¡°Not ok¡ but we¡¯ll allow it since she¡¯s the only who can help. Kate explained what your plan was.¡±
¡°Ah¡ Kate did? All of it?¡±
¡°All. Yes.¡±
¡°Oh. Um¡ bugger. I suppose you¡¯re going to tell me not to do it, aren¡¯t you?¡±
Kiko shook her head.
¡°The plan is workable, with one change. You won¡¯t be going.¡±
¡°But, it has to be me...who else..¡±
Kate manifested before them all, floating half in and half out of the breakfast table. She glanced down and giggled.
¡°Oops, sorry everyone.¡±
Moving like mist on a morning breeze she drifted until she was no longer bisected by the ancient slab of wood. Floating next to Paul she looked at him, her face unusually serious.
¡°I¡¯ll be going in your place lover!¡±
Paul stared at her aghast for a second, then shook his head.
¡°No! No, you can¡¯t! I can¡¯t lose you as well!¡±
¡°Silly, that¡¯s the good thing about this, you won¡¯t. Look Paulie, we both know I¡¯m not really Kate. I¡¯m her memories, given shape and form by magic. I don¡¯t have a soul.. but that¡¯s the great part! If Izanami shares her core with me, it can¡¯t hurt me! If anything, I might even get a soul of my own out of this¡ I still won¡¯t be Kate, but I might be someone new instead. Someone who remembers being Kate. Either way, I stand a better chance of surviving this than you do. I¡¯m already dead after all!¡±
¡°But¡¡± Paul paused, his brain grinding to a juddering halt as he considered the idea. Closing his mouth he heaved a sigh, then spoke slowly, leadenly.
¡°Ok, I get it. I hate it, but you¡¯re not wrong. Are you sure though Kate? With this many unknowns involved it could still prove fatal. You might have your pattern irrecoverably destroyed.¡±
¡°I know Paul, but if it¡¯s a straight choice between you and me, then I choose you, even if I don¡¯t survive. You have so much more life left to live! Whereas my time is long since up. Plus if I do somehow survive, I might get lucky and wind up more ¡®real¡¯ than I am now.¡±
Paul tried to grip her shoulder, only for his fingers to close on empty air. Ruefully he glanced at them and sighed.
¡°I¡¯d say you were real enough for me.. but I understand I think. I still hate it though.¡±
¡°Let me do this Paulie, for you, and for Inari.¡±
Kate smiled sadly, as she stood facing Paul. For a moment a whole unspoken conversation passed between them as she stared into his dark eyes. Paul¡¯s shoulders sagged and he sighed, looking down at the floor in defeat.
¡°Ok..dammit. I never could say no to you. Despite my better judgement! But you had better survive this, or I¡¯ll be coming after you to haul your ghostly ass back home!¡±
Kate laughed.
¡°Well, we can¡¯t have you making a habit of it! It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve got a season ticket for Charon¡¯s ferry after all. So I guess I¡¯ll have to now!¡±
She then turned to face the rest of the room, putting on a brave face.
¡°Ok, now that¡¯s settled, what else do we need to do to prepare?¡±
Hanami Chp.42
It had been quite a good plan, Paul thought, right up to the point where it wasn¡¯t.
Izanami had emerged from the onsen, wrinkled like a pickled prune as she¡¯d predicted, from soaking in the hot springs all night. She was she¡¯d said, just barely strong enough to divide her Pearl despite the long soak in the mana super-charged waters. Kiko had examined her and agreed, although she¡¯d shook her head and murmured something about chi blockages and less than ideal mana flows.
Paul had decided, in the spirit of not taking on too much at once, to leave that problem for another day. However, it did mean they had to act fast as Izanami wouldn¡¯t retain her ¡®charge¡¯ for long. Just as if she had a worn-out battery.
It was quickest to summon Kate and perform the transfer in Inari¡¯s hall, since there was just barely enough energy to do so and no time to waste. The transfer of prana from Izanami to Kate went without a hitch, and Kate transformed from a somewhat misty looking shade, to being painfully real and alive looking.
Something must have shown in his face, Paul thought, because Kate had been down-right brisk! Especially given that there was something of a chance that she wouldn¡¯t survive what was to come. Her possibly final farewell had been a fierce hug and then she¡¯d run for the door into the Beyond. Kiko almost didn¡¯t have time to unseal and open it ahead of her.
Paul had gotten a glance of the swirling chaotic mass of light and colours that even he couldn¡¯t find words to describe, and then Kate had dived into the void head-long.
Which was when it all went sideways.
There had been a fraction of a second when Kate had just vanished, swallowed up as if she¡¯d run into thick smoke¡ and then the dizzying maelstrom of shapes and colours had lit up pure white, with an intensity that rivaled an atomic blast. Paul had thrown his hand up, and found he could see his bones though his flesh despite his eyes being closed.
There had been a moments searing pain...and then nothingness.
Now, he lay on his back, long lushly green grass ticking his ears, staring up at an impossibly blue sky, past cherry blossoms that seemed to glow with their own inner light.
He was quite certain he was dead. Finally.
Thinking about it, he mused, they¡¯d all forgotten to take into account that Kate was in fact, technically part of him. She and he were inextricably linked, bound spirit to soul. So, when she acted as a lightning rod for a universe¡¯s worth of raw energy free-floating in the void, it had grounded through him. Or at least, so he thought.
It was hardly unexpected then that it had killed him, and he¡¯d found himself, rather to his surprise, in some sort of Paradise. Or at least, that¡¯s where he surmised he was. It certainly wasn¡¯t anywhere he recognized, and it was altogether too perfect to exist in reality. There wasn¡¯t even any cicadas with their annoying sound to ruin it.
Paul yawned and stretched, finding himself for once free of any sort of pain. Even the persistent crick in his neck he¡¯d had ever since an ill-judged jump from a roof-top in Kathmandu, was gone.
He sat up and looked around. He appeared to be in a walled garden, the sight of a red tiled roof above the treetops some distance off hinted at a house nearby, and though a round gate in the white stucco wall he saw the golden shimmer of field of ripe rice, or possibly wheat. Briefly he remembered the ending of the movie Gladiator¡ and a quote from that movie;
¡®If you find yourself alone, riding in the golden fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you''re already dead!¡¯
Paul shrugged and decided not to be troubled by it all. With no real conscious decision made, Paul got up, only mildly surprised to find himself dressed in his ceremonial Heralds robes, and made his way in the direction of where he thought the house was. He wasn¡¯t hurrying, since there really didn¡¯t seem to be any point in it any more, but it wasn¡¯t long before his aimless amble led him to a gravel path and over a rustic bridge spanning a koi pond filled with fish that shone like slivers of golden sunlight. Beyond that was a single story mansion in the traditional Japanese style. The sort of place that a well-off older samurai would retire to, or some minor lord would have as his country home.
A fragrant waft of something cooking caught his attention, and he was slightly surprised to find himself hungry. Still, he supposed, he clearly could enjoy earthly delights even if he was dead, so why wouldn¡¯t he be hungry as a prelude to a good meal?
It didn¡¯t take him long to follow his nose and find the kitchen¡ although the short walk through the house seemed to indicate that there was no-one home. He wondered if perhaps this was his own personalised heaven, and thus empty of anyone else?
That thought filled him with an aching sense of loneliness, that felt like part of his soul had been hollowed out and left empty.
For a moment, as he stood on the threshold of the kitchen, he caught the familiar scent of jasmine and fox musk again¡
Sighing, hopeful, he called. ¡°Inari?¡±
In that moment he felt as if she was standing just behind him. That indefinable sixth sense of presence that had served to save his life on more than one occasion, warning him that someone was there¡
Paul turned on his heels, but saw nothing and no-one. He bit his lips, thinking. Wherever he was, it was somewhere betwixt and between, as was Inari from what he¡¯d gathered. But they were like two radio stations, overlapping but not quite on the same frequency.
Closing his eyes and focusing on his feelings for her, he called once again; ¡°Inari, Inari, In-ar-i!¡±
Again he could sense her, close enough to touch almost, Without opening his eyes he reached out and grabbed¡ and his fingers closed around cool smooth flesh, his hand closing around a slim wrist.
Desperately he pulled her to him, and found himself stumbling forward as she didn¡¯t move. He heard her gasp as he semi-fell against her and opened his eyes to behold Inari¡¯s heart shaped face with her sharply angled almost vulpine cheekbones and large golden eyes staring into his, framed by silver-gilt hair the colour of freshly threshed rice. He was somewhat surprised to find she was no more than an inch or two shorter than him as well.
She didn¡¯t look much like her physical body back in the temple, but she was unmistakably Inari, and she was warmly alive and obviously shocked as he pulled her into an embrace hard enough to leave her breathless.
¡°Oh My Herald! What have you done? How can you be here with me?¡±
Paul laughed, burying his face in her long hair that glowed as if filled with her own personal sunlight.
¡°Who the hell cares? Through dangers untold and perils unknown I¡¯ve fought my way though Death¡¯s kingdom to you! What¡¯s one last step into the afterlife in comparison? Being dead is nothing as long as we¡¯re together!¡±
Inari punched his shoulder lightly.
¡°Who told you, you were dead?¡±
Paul blinked.
¡°Um, no-one? I just sort of assumed I was. You know, got hit by what felt like a nuclear blast, then woke up in what looked like a tailor-made heaven free from all earthly pains and ills¡ sort of a big hint you know.¡±
Inari stared at him, a bemused and somewhat fondly exasperated half-smile on her lips.
¡°Paul-tan¡ do you not think I would know if you had passed away? Did it not occur to you that I would feel your death, My Herald, who¡¯s very soul is bound to me? Believe me, you live still.¡±
¡°Ah¡ good point. Honestly, no. Ok then, still alive¡ yay. Understandably a bit confused however, but in my defense it has been a tad bit hectic since you died. Haven¡¯t really had time to find my balance mentally.¡±
Inari smiled and rested her forehead against his chest.
¡°I gathered¡ I was astounded to see you earlier. In all of history, no mortal has successfully broken into Yomi and rescued a soul there, and you forced your way in with an army and rescued everyone.¡±
Paul shrugged,
¡°Well, I did have help¡ and I¡¯m not entirely sure it counts as a successful rescue. Things didn¡¯t go according to plan at the end there.¡±
¡°No, I suppose not.. still we escaped, and found ourselves here. Is everyone that was with you well?¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Yeah¡ more than ok in some cases. Um¡ look if I¡¯m not dead, does that mean you¡¯re not dead as well?¡±
¡°Of course not! I¡¯ve told you before Kami are hard to¡ mmmph!¡±
Paul silenced Inari by kissing her, relief and joy welling up him and demanding to be expressed. Initially startled, Inari responded to his emotions and pressed herself against him, ardently answering his unspoken demand.
After a long moment, they parted in a mutual need for air. Paul cradled the back of Inari¡¯s head with a hand while she rested against him.
¡°I missed you. I realised I was being incredibly stupid once I thought I had lost you.¡±
¡°Took you long enough hannii¡ and I am so very glad you are here.¡±
¡°Um.. that¡¯s a point, where is here?¡±
Inari laughed, shaking her head.
¡°Welcome to the Celestial City my Herald¡¡±
Tearing his gaze from Inari, Paul looked up..and his eyes went wide. They were standing in what seemed to be a banqueting room, in some sort of Palace. All around them people, who on second glance Paul was quite sure were other Kami, were sitting at a low traditional table, politely pretending not to see Inari and him.
¡°Oh¡ looks like I¡¯ve arrived at a bit of an awkward moment. Sorry.¡±
¡°Oh no, I¡¯d say your timing was perfect. We were meeting to discuss what had happened and how we found ourselves suddenly here once again, after being trapped in the Void. I don¡¯t suppose you know anything about that?¡±
¡°Ah...Um, yes actually. I may have had a bit to do with that.. you know, just a small part.¡±
¡°Of course darling¡ well you can come with me and tell me, and what you know.¡±
Paul swallow, hard.. ¡°Um.. isn¡¯t she like the Big Boss?¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t call her that, not to her face, but yes.¡±
¡°And if I remember correctly, she¡¯s sort of your mother, right?¡±
¡°More like Oldest Sister, but yes. She¡¯s dying to meet you, the mortal that has stolen my heart, become my Herald, and somehow resisted my advances ¡ until now.¡±
Paul nodded slowly.
¡°Yep. I¡¯m in trouble aren¡¯t I?¡±
¡°No more than usual Paul-tan..¡±
¡°Oh. Crap.¡±
Amaterasu was alone in her private town house when they found her. Inari explained that although all the major Kami had apartments in the central palace of the Celestial City, some also kept smaller private residences in the surrounding city, alongside Divas, Earth Spirits and other such minor nobility and powers. Paul was rather surprised to find out that they still existed, but apparently many of the minor Powers had escaped Izanami¡¯s attention during her hostile assimilation of the Celestial realm into Yomi, and had eked out an existence among the wreckage until everything had been restored.
Privately Paul couldn¡¯t help thinking that they¡¯d need a not-so-small army of therapists to cope with that amount of trauma, if his experiences with refugees was anything to go by. But he resolved to consider that matter later.. perhaps organising something with Kiko.
Amaterasu was a stern looking older matriarch, ageless in appearance but she definitely had an older sister vibe about her as she looked down at Paul kneeling before her.
¡°So, you¡¯re the mortal who dares to call yourself a herald and has claimed my Imoto¡¯s heart?¡±
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°In my defense, neither of those was my idea.. but yes.¡±
Inari standing next to Paul rested her hand on his shoulder.
¡°I have found that it is rather unwise to use the word ¡®dare¡¯ around my Herald, sister. There is very little he would not dare to do¡ including defeat Death and restore us all.¡±
Amaterasu pursed her lips as if biting into a sour persimmon, but reluctantly nodded.
¡°That is so...and we owe you a great deal mortal. But it is not seemly for one of such lowly status to be Herald to a first rank Goddess.¡±
Paul stiffened, fearing the worst, but he felt Inari¡¯s grip on his shoulder tighten and he held his tongue as the senior Goddess continued.
¡°However, since my little sister wouldn¡¯t listen to me and set you aside, and even if she could be made to, I have no doubt you would make war upon the Heavens in retribution, I shall resolve the matter by granting you a singular honor in recognition of your efforts in saving us all. Henceforth, you shall be promoted to the rank of Sage, the highest that a mortal may hold while alive, and will become an honorary member of the Celestial court where you may continue to serve as Court Herald.¡±
Paul blinked, and for a fraction of second considered his reply¡ deciding to go with the more temperate polite version.
¡°I give my thanks Your Divine Majesty¡ but I cannot in good faith accept such an honor.¡±
Paul¡¯s ears rang from Inari¡¯s and Amaterasu¡¯s startled ¡°What?!¡±
¡°Firstly, it wasn¡¯t entirely my efforts alone that brought about this restoration, and I cannot claim credit for the work of others. They deserve their own recognition and honours. Secondly, I must decline the honour as I intend to remain as Inari¡¯s Herald for good reason, because thirdly... ¡±
Turning to Inari, Paul shifted so he knelt on one knee, looking up at her.
¡°Inari
Inari stared in shock at Paul for moment, her whirling thoughts and conflicting emotions plain to see on her face.
¡°Oh..my.. you do understand that I can only be as I am?¡±
¡°I do, and would still love you as you are. I¡¯ve always loved you, even though I couldn¡¯t say it before now.¡±
¡°YES!
¡°NO!¡±
Paul without looking away from Inari¡¯s shining, happily tear streaked face, slowly stood up and remarked.
¡°nothing do not cross me
¡°
Inari interrupted the beginning of her sisters tirade.
¡°I believe I have mentioned the inadvisability of saying those words, sister mine¡ Paul-sama is no mere mortal, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Also if you were to set yourself against him, I am confident that you would find yourself standing alone¡ as I and every other Kami owe him a life debt, and would be standing with him.¡±
¡°But..¡±
Paul chuckled.
¡°But nothing, you said it yourself, I am no mere mortal¡ did you not just confer on me the rank of Sage?¡±
¡°Yes, but that is not the same thing¡¡±
¡°
¡° never
Paul shrugged.
¡°
Inari nodded.
¡°They are, that¡¯s one of the things that has changed. They¡¯re all here, like islands floating in the void, and there are bridges that link us all. The first few days we had visitors from every pantheon seeking answers¡¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Yeah¡ that¡¯s Kate¡¯s handiwork no doubt. She always imagined that it was something like that. We should really go see if she¡¯s survived as well. Shall we Inari?¡±
¡°
Amaterasu stomped her feet, yelling.
¡°
¡°really
¡°
¡°
For a still moment Amaterasu glared at Paul, then slithered down inside her robes a bit as she regressed until she seemed to be about eleven or twelve¡ suddenly one of the bits of trivia about her age waxing and waning like the sun made much more sense.
¡°I will not allow this marriage! A Kami, marrying a mortal? It¡¯s unthinkable! I am Amaterasu, First Goddess of the Sun. You wouldn¡¯t dare lay hands to me!¡±
Behind him, Inari covered her eyes with her palm, as Paul slowly smiled¡
¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t dare, would I? Shall we test that theory?¡±
Paul unceremoniously picked Amaterasu up under his arm and started to walk towards the nearby throne. Amaterasu gestured, evidently intending to defend herself...and nothing happened. Paul took in the look of confused dismay on her face, and smiled evilly as he sat, and placed the struggling young girl across his knees.
¡°doing!
---------
Inari¡¯s return, reincarnation into her mortal body, which ended up resembling her Goddess form now as her spirit reshaped it. Her subsequent reunion with Kiko had been both tearful, and passionate¡ and Paul had done his best to ignore it until Inari had taken his hand and pulled him into a three way embrace.
Things had progressed from there, albeit with a minor interruption from Shoko who had tackle-hugged Inari as soon as she¡¯d saw her up and about, and had to be persuaded to let her go so the adults could have some alone time together.
Paul lay on his back, thinking he could perhaps get used to this arrangement. Which was really just as well. He somehow doubted he actually had a say in the matter anyway.. and he¡¯d need Kiko¡¯s help to keep Inari happy. After all, when all was said and done he was only human, although apparently, no longer mortal.
It had turned out that somewhere along the way, somehow, he¡¯d gained immortality.
¡®I am the captain of my soul.¡¯
Paul knew then, with the slightest doubt, that Kate had been responsible for his changed mortal status. Perhaps as a parting gift to Inari as much as to him.
Considering the matter now Paul carefully rose, causing Inari to protest sleepily and curl up against Kiko instead. Paul briefly thought that he and Kiko really needed some time to figure out boundaries and sleeping arrangements¡ later though. Throwing on a robe, Paul padded barefoot out into the outer temple and went and sat on the steps.
¡°Ok, you can come out now. I know you¡¯re there Kate.¡±
Kate sat down beside Paul, passing him a can of beer, condensation just beginning to form on it, seemingly just there, solid and real, with no hint of her arrival.
¡°Congratulations Paulie.¡±
Paul clinked his can against Kate¡¯s and nodded.
¡°Thanks¡ and thanks for the wedding gift I guess. I hope there¡¯s a way to reverse it should I ever grow tired of immortality.¡±
¡°Sure, just give me a call. Although I doubt it¡¯ll be any time soon knowing you. There¡¯s a whole new realm out there to explore, full of new things¡ and Inari will keep you feeling young.¡±
¡°..and tired.. but yeah. Nice work on the Celestial Realm 2.0 by the way.¡±
Kate grinned and buffed her nails against her sleeve.
¡°What that little thing? Nah, I just threw it together.¡±
Paul chuckled, shaking his head.
After taking a long pull from his drink he asked.
¡°So¡ are you doing ok?¡±
¡°Do you mean, am I still me and not going mad? I¡¯m ok¡ being the Goddess of Death isn¡¯t so bad actually. I¡¯ve been hobnobbing with the other gods and goddesses. Turns out, I am literally the only Death Goddess still existent. Izanami was a jealous bitch and utterly destroyed any that might be seen as a rival. No coming back from what she did to them. But yeah.. I have a soul now..I¡¯m still figuring out who I am, apart from the obvious that is.¡±
¡°Figures. So, uncontested title then?¡±
Kate nodded, sending her scarlet curls tumbling. Paul frowned slightly, she seemed marginally different, like someone had turned up the color saturation on her. Her skin was paler, almost a translucent milky blue/white, even her hair was a hue that had previously only come from a bottle and her eyes outshone any emerald he¡¯d seen. But mostly, she was completely, utterly and vibrantly alive. Even just sitting there, can of beer in her hand, clad in a familiar pair of ratty blue jeans, battered hiking boots and red plaid shirt tied up to expose her midriff, he could feel the way her presence subtly bent the world around her.
Besides, she¡¯d brought a couple of cans of draft IPA beer he knew wasn¡¯t made any more. It was a small miracle, but left no doubt in his mind. Kate was fully a Goddess now.
Kate sighed.
¡°Wish it wasn¡¯t though. I¡¯m going to be so busy.¡ and that¡¯s not just me trying to avoid you and your little harem. I¡¯ve got a whole realm to sort out. Yomi is a wreck right now, thanks to you and your friends, and it¡¯s the only ¡®underworld¡¯ left, so that¡¯s all I¡¯ve got to work with. I¡¯m almost tempted to ¡®promote¡¯ Izanami back to minor deity, instead of leaving her stuck as a mortal, and put her in charge.¡±
¡°Hmm, so she¡¯s stuck as a mortal? Couldn¡¯t you create a new Land of the Dead, make her a Goddess again and put her in charge?¡±
Kate shook her head.
¡°Nope, used almost all the available energy recreating the Celestial Realm. Maybe in another thousand years or so I might have just enough to create a new realm from scratch, but for now I¡¯ve got just enough left in the tank to deal with a second-hand fixer upper, and that is it. Besides, I think it¡¯d be safer to leave her as she is, don¡¯t you?¡±
Paul nodded.
¡°Fair enough. Something tells me you¡¯ll do ok at it though¡ It sounds weird saying you¡¯ll make a great Death, but you know what I mean.¡±
Kate chuckled.
¡°That I do¡ um¡ Paul, can I ask a question?¡±
¡°Of course, what?¡±
¡°Well¡ the other kami want to know are they still needed. I mean, they were gone for a long time, and the world kept on going along just fine without them.¡±
Paul looked at her curiously, to which Kate just shrugged.
¡°I said I¡¯d been talking to the others, all of the pantheons, making sure I¡¯d got it all right for them. They wanted to know, but didn¡¯t know who to ask. So I said I¡¯d ask you. They accepted that.¡±
Paul nodded his understanding and sat for moment, staring off into the distance as he thought about it. Eventually he leaned back and sighed.
¡°Honestly¡ damned if I know really. I know in some ways humanity as whole doesn¡¯t need gods and goddesses¡ certainly not for the everyday stuff. But do we want them? Yeah, I think so.¡±
Paul had the sudden sensation of being watched, of being the focus of a great many gazes¡ as Kate quietly asked.
¡°Are you certain Paulie? I mean, many of the Kami think they should retreat to their own corner of the Celestial Realm and have nothing more to do with humans¡ but should you still need us¡?¡±
For a moment it felt as if the universe was holding it¡¯s breath, awaiting his reply. Paul leaned back, and stared up at the night sky.
¡° seecan
Paul could sense the overwhelming out pouring of joy, and happiness. Smiling he realized that as much as humanity needed the Kami, the Kami needed to be needed still, otherwise what was their purpose?
Laughing gently Paul called.
¡°I
Paul didn¡¯t need any kind of sixth sense to hear the laughter, and as the courtyard filled with the soft light of multi-hued lanterns, and tables groaning under the weight of a feast appeared as one by one, in couples and laughing groups, the gods and goddesses of all the many pantheons imagined by humanity arrived once again on Inari¡¯s mountain.
After a moment a sleepily bemused Inari, wrapped in a bedsheet, came and sat on the steps next to Paul. Paul passed her a drink without comment as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
¡°What is going on?¡±
¡°Equal parts engagement party and ¡®yay we lived¡¯ party. Hope you don¡¯t mind, I invited your family, and it seems they brought some friends...and then the rest of the Celestial Realm seems to have gatecrashed.¡±
Inari stared at the mingling deities of dozen different religions, and shrugged.
¡°Well¡ at least it¡¯s going to be interesting from now on! But you do know they¡¯re going to come to you from now on, every time they need some dispute or other settling?¡±
Paul sighed¡
¡°Drat, no I hadn¡¯t thought of that. I don¡¯t suppose you can revive your system of messenger foxes can you?¡±
From above them came a familiar voice.
¡°I can do that!¡±
Paul looked up, just in time to see Shoko plummet down from where she¡¯d been sitting on the temple¡¯s roof and catch her.
¡°Are you volunteering to run messages to every Pantheon in existence Shoko-chan?¡±
Shoko nodded enthusiastically.
¡°I am! Because Mother Inari needs another Herald, someone else besides you Paul-sama, to be helpful. And I am Shoko, the helpful little fox spirit, that¡¯s what I do!¡±
Inari laughed as Paul shook his head in wordless amusement. Then Inari addressed Shoko with a smile.
¡°Alright then junior Herald your first duty to me is to go and introduce yourself to the other Kami and after that...well, go and get some rest because there¡¯s a ton of work to do tomorrow!¡±
Shoko hugged her mother hard, beaming from ear to ear. Then turning she ran, darting from one being to another, pausing to bow and introduce herself, before running off to the next, leaving bemused but laughing gods and goddesses in her wake. Watching her Paul and Inari sat back, leaning against each other and laughed until their sides ached.