There were only three things Issun was able to recognize:
1. It was dark.
2. He couldn't see anything.
3. His back was itchy.
He grumbled as he gruffly scratched his back, trying to get a bearing on his surroundings. Everything was black. If anything there was more light when he closed his eyes than when he had them open. He also vaguely noticed he was floating. He moved to and fro a bit, but that really didn't solve much.
What the heck was going on? Was he asleep? He'd fall asleep on Ammy's back quite often, and wake up not knowing where he was or what he was doing. He pinched himself, but still didn't seem to wake up from anything. Darn, he really thought that would work, too.
He was starting to get a bit worried. Normally by now he'd know what was going on, but he was still here, floating in the middle of an empty void. Suddenly, he remembered who he was supposed to be with:
"Ammy, Ammy?" He shouted out into the middle of nothing. He couldn't believe he had forgotten to check if she was there. Normally the two were always together, and he actually wasn't quite used to her being gone. The sudden disappearance was beginning to worry him.
"Ammy, where are you, you big furball…" He muttered to himself. He looked all around him once more, floated to the left and right, but still no sign of life nor his furry friend.
"Ammy… Ammy!" He shouted once again, even though he was beginning to think it was pointless. Man, this darkness was really getting to him. He was really beginning to miss sitting on the wolf's furry back. Without her, he felt completely lost. Especially while being lost in here. He couldn't even feel anything, there was no breeze. Despite that, chills went up his small spine.
Everything just seemed so…
Dead.
He hovered on that thought for a second, but hastily brushed it aside. Thoughts like that weren't going to get him anywhere, the only thing he should be thinking was how the heck he was going to get out of here. His worry was beginning to make him furious. "Ammy, seriously, where the heck are you?! Ammy-"
A sudden brilliant, white light cut him short. He had to shut his eyes and look away. Wow, was that thing bright, whatever it was. After a few moments he could see the light begin to ebb away from behind his eyelids, and cautiously took a peek at whatever it was.
It was still bright, but not quite as much as before. If he squinted, he could see the source was a familiar lupine sight…
"Ammy, there you are! Oh, man, I was so worried… Hey furball, what are you- Gah!" He had to look away once again as there was another sudden flash.
He looked back at her sooner this time though, and quite frankly, had no idea what was going on. She was just floating there mid-air, unresponsive to anything that was going on or being said to her. He was about to yell at her again to try and free her from whatever trance was holding her, but she began to move.
The red markings that gave Amaterasu her divine status suddenly began to peel off of her fur. Its powerful red glow began to deteriorate, until it was a dull, rusty color. It floated like ribbons around her, and slowly began to fade away into the void.
The Rosary circling her wolvine form began to crack and chip away. Its golden tone faded to an unappealing shade of brown. One by one the pieces stopped their routine circle around her, and drifted behind, following the ribbons into the darkness.
The glowing hue of her fur even began to diminish. Her smooth coat became ruffled and scruffy. The poor pup looked like she had walked a thousand miles without rest.
The great sun god Amaterasu was now nothing more than a simple, white wolf.
Issun was baffled, and didn't know how to comprehend what was happening. "Ammy… What's going on..? Are you ok..?" He knew that last question was stupid since something was obviously wrong and his companion was not ok, he just didn't know how to fix this. First he finds himself coming to in the middle of what looks like space and now Ammy looks like she's losing her goddess powers and just… Bah, nothing was ok right now.
He floated towards the wolf, and observed her. Wow, she looked a lot different without her godly markings. She just looked like your average street mutt. It… It really made Issun feel sick seeing her like this. He sat on her head and began to pet her, she looked like she needed it. After a few minutes he tried to talk to her again, much more soothingly this time, "Hey, Ammy, what's wrong? What happened to you..?" He looked for any sign of stirring, but she still remained motionless. Yeah, she was knocked out.
Issun was even more worried now than when he was alone. He'd found his friend, yes, but she honestly looked like she was about to die, and he didn't know what he'd do if he had to hang out in this void for all eternity with Ammy's corpse. Wow, just the thought of her really being gone and him being all alone here made him shudder. He really wish he had water or some food or just something to give her, but he didn't. All he could really do is just keep petting her and hope some answers would start arriving pretty soon…
Another small speck of light began to glow in the distance. He would gladly accept that as a form of an answer. Another spot of white appeared, and another, then another. Soon splotches of light began to form everywhere he could look, like a paint brush was just dotting away on a dark, empty canvas. Streaks of dark purple and blue were painted behind all the dots.
Man, it was actually really beautiful. It looked like a starry night sky, the kind where you could perfectly see the wispy galaxy and the trillions of stars that belonged in it. Except him and Ammy were actually floating in the middle of it! He really wished she wasn't in such a down condition, she'd probably actually really enjoy this sight.
Issun could feel an actual breeze began to pick up. It was nice to feel actual weather again, but man, it was some kinda cold. He hunkered down into Ammy's thick fur for warmth. The view of the galaxy being painted before his eyes was so worth it though.
After what seems like the entire universe being recreated, another point of light materialized directly in front of them. Except this light gradually grew in volume, and appeared to be getting closer and closer… No, wait. Issun squinted his eyes and could see the small speck of white wasn't getting near them, but something golden was…
What looked like a path of gold dust was reaching out towards them. Its arms stretched across the stars reaching out for the pair, as if inviting them to travel down it to see what laid beyond. The path now forming around Issun felt warm, and… Comforting. Heh, this whole place now reminded him of Ammy. She could be such a goofball at times, but she was the "Sun God, Mother to All" after all, and could be so warm and motherly. Just like this place was feeling now…
Y'know, this path was actually looking pretty tempting. He didn't want to leave Ammy behind, especially when she was in this condition, but his curiosity was slowly winning over his better judgement. He'd just go look down this path really quick to see what the heck was down there. It might even have some answers to where they were actually at, and might even be an exit out of there. And with Ammy knocked out cold, she wouldn't be going anywhere, or offering any help, any time soon.
He floated along the path for a ways, constantly checking behind him every few seconds to make sure Ammy was still ok. After a bit though, he stopped checking altogether and just floated along, carefree. Heh, he didn't know why but he just felt so happy. Everything around him now was just so beautiful, and he didn't have anything in the world to worry about. He was just so at peace, he could just stay here forever and he wouldn't mind…
As Issun got closer to the source of the light though, something broke him out of his trance. Streaks of silver began to swirl around him. They were ice cold, and chilled him to the bone, which immediately snapped him back to his conscious. It didn't feel like they belonged here. It was almost like it was warning him not to go further… Either that, or it was saying HE didn't belong here.
Taking heed to that warning, he was about to head back, but then he noticed something in the center of the source of the light. It hurt his eyes looking directly at it, but if he squinted he could see it was… The Celestial Brush..? Yeah, it was. The Celestial Brush was there. It had painted the galaxies surrounding them, and the golden path that it apparently wanted them to follow.
Wow, man, he was starting to get really creeped out by all this. He quickly flew back to where Ammy was, to make sure she was still ok. When he got back he was relieved to find she was beginning to stir and move around. When she looked like she was wide awake and alert, he gave her a full report,
"Hey, Ammy, I have no idea where we are, but we definitely ain't in Nippon, and I have a feeling we need to get out of here as soon as possible. Seriously, this place is-" Issun noticed the wolf's attention was drifting off of him and to the galaxies surrounding them, "Yeah the stars and everything do look pretty but seriously, furball, this place is creeping me out and I just have a feeling we aren't supposed to be here. You were knocked out and your markings and instruments broke off and disappeared, which to me doesn't seem like a good sign at all. Since you're the sun god and all you might know a little bit about where we are and stuff, but just, gah, I don't know what the heck is going on, but we really need to get out of here-"
Amaterasu had stopped paying attention to the blubbering green sprite, and her attention was now caught on that pretty white light in the distance. That golden path leading towards it sure felt soothing, and took no effort to float down. With each second that passed, the aches and pains in her body began to melt away into the stars. She'd never felt this rejuvenated in a long, long time. She really wouldn't mind staying here forever.
Issun watched as his furry friend blatantly ignored him and instead headed for the Celestial Brush like he had done mere moments before. He turned red from agitation that he was genuinely upset and worried about her, but she just went on by not giving a care. Once it started setting in his mind where exactly she was heading, he threw all his anger to the stars and chased after her.
"Ammy, furball, you dolt, stop! I said STOP!" He was turning red again. He flew in front of her and kept yelling until she finally broke out of her trance and stopped, staring straight at him. "Finally, took you long enough, you stupid furball!" He was mainly calling her names now just because of how worried he was. That and they were close enough to feel the silver winds again, which were sending uncomfortable chills up and down his spine once again.
"Alright, Ammy, I know it's the Celestial Brush, but I don't think it's leading us anywhere good. We need to turn around and try to find a way out of this place right now. Or at least, a way out that isn't at the end of this path. These winds are telling me there is nothing good of what lies beyond the brush. C'mon, I know you're probably still tired and hurt from whatever happened, but floating around this place shouldn't be too hard."
Issun floated down the path, in the direction opposite of the brush. The path still did feel nice to float on, so he planned that they'd stick to this road for as long as it went, then venture off and check out the stars surrounding them. Hey, maybe one of the brush god's constellations were somewhere here. "Hey, Ammy, you think the brush gods might be in one of those constellations? If we find one you could try talking to them and see if they can get us outta here." That idea was starting to make him really hopeful they'd find a way out, heck, now he was sure it would be no time before they got back to Nippon.
That is, until he glanced briefly over his shoulder to make sure Ammy was following him, only to find she was still floating in the same spot as last time. Oh man, he was really starting to lose it now. He was about to call out to her and tell her to get away from the brush and follow him already, but the sudden idea that she might be hurt worse than he thought made him think differently. He rushed back over to her, "Hey, Ammy, you feelin' alright? You ready to explore around a bit yet, or you wanna rest for a while, or what..?" He petted her again, even though it probably didn't do much to help, but still.
The wolf turned her head around to look at him with her sad, droopy eyes. Wow, she looked depressed. "Aww, c'mon Ammy, don't be so down. We'll get outta here soon!" Issun shortly realized he was getting the wrong message though. He had never seen her with that expression before. I mean, even when they were going through pretty tough times, it was like she always had that happy grin going on. But she wasn't now. Just like he suspected, something much more serious was going on.
Especially for the fact that Ammy looked like she was…
Was…
Disappearing?!
"A-Ammy, you're see-through! What the heck is going on?!" Issun could see the golden path through the wolf's white fur, making it appear as a creamy color. He reached out for her, and he could still touch her fur, but still, she was slowly fading away and he couldn't do anything about it.
"G-Get off the path, maybe that'll stop it!" Ammy wouldn't budge. He pushed against her in desperation, trying with all his might to get her off the road, but it was useless. That stupid furball just wouldn't listen to him. "Augh, Ammy, why won't you just listen to anything I say?! I'm trying to help you while you're fading away into absolutely nothing but you're acting like you just want to die and… And…"
Amaterasu was still staring directly at Issun. He could see the wisdom inside her eyes, and he knew that she knew what she was doing. He had a feeling that she really knew, and knows, what's been going on all along. Judging by her pitiful expression, it looked like that she really didn't /want/ to tell him what was really happening. But man, she really did look like she was pitying him.
Wait a second…
A sudden thought froze Issun in place. He had never in his life felt such sharp, sudden fear as he did at that moment. Just the idea of it horrified him, and couldn't deny that he was too scared to do it, but… He had to check… Slowly, painfully, he opened his palm. He raised his hand in front of his face. At first he looked away, but, after mustering up the courage, he took a peek…
"No… N-No, It, it can't be…" He dumbfoundedly stared at his hand. Through his clear hand, he could see Ammy looking back at him, still with her sorrowful expression. She came forward and laid her nose on his head as a comforting gesture. He hastily backed away though, still unbelieving. "No, Ammy, there's no way… Just, it's just wherever we're at, wherever the heck this place is at it's making us look see through and stuff, and, and as soon as we get back to Nippon we'll be back to normal… There's just, no way…"
The wolf just simply looked at him. Issun looked into her eyes once more, and this time, a sudden memory was called forth to him.
It seemed like it had happened so long ago, but, he knew this memory was recent. Yes, he was sure of it, it felt like this had happened not too long ago. Ammy and him were traveling, she was so injured after that demon gate, and man, he hadn't been feeling that great himself either. They'd used up pretty much everything they had on them, and were creeping along underneath the foliage, trying to get to a safe place to rest.
Then that one demon scroll appeared. Oh, man, that was a powerful demon scroll. Still, it wasn't anything that furball couldn't tackle on headfirst like she always does. Except… She was so weak, and he was too… Thinking back, he doesn't really remember what happened. He knows they were sent into a battle but everything after that gets so fuzzy…
And now they're here…
"No… No, no, no, no… No-no-no-no-no…" Issun began to lose it. He was shaking, and couldn't control himself. He'd always told himself he'd be accepting of it whenever it happened, but just, now that they were here, and it all happened so suddenly… There were still so many things to do, they had so many things left unfinished, it just couldn't be over yet… It couldn't…
Amaterasu nuzzled the poor, crying Issun with her nose to try and comfort him. He felt so, so stupid for letting his emotions get him, but, he just couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. They couldn't really be…
Dead.
After a good, long episode of crying, he finally decided that he could speak. Or, he thought he could, but he stuttered and just broke down crying even more, with the sun god still there to comfort him. After a while, he tried again, "A-Ammy, we can't really be… Just…" Heh, now that he was actually able to speak, he really didn't know what to say.
The wolf playfully licked Issun's face to try and cheer him up, which made him laugh a little. Laughing only made him start to cry again, though, and tears once again slid down his small face. He toughened up this time and brushed them away. Though, doing so couldn't wipe the sorrow away.
"Ammy… What are we going to do..? We didn't collect all the brush techniques, and… There are still so many people down there who need us…" Nippon was still overrun with darkness. They had battled and conquered a great portion of it, but, they didn't defeat it all. The darkness would regroup and take over again. And, there were so many things left unfinished… He still had bad blood between people that should've been fixed…
The sun god knew what was running through the poor poncle's head. She understood how everyone down there was still in danger. And she knew, even more than Issun did himself, how much it hurts for him to suddenly die like this. Life is such a beautiful gift, and she had enjoyed the days she was down there so much. Issun still had so much he was supposed to learn… But now, they both had that gift taken away from them…
"Heh, well, what's done is done, eh furball?" She looked up at Issun, only to watch him bounce up to his regular perch atop her head. "We're here, so, might as well stop being glum and take our last stroll with pride. I ain't going out a crying baby!" Even though, despite his words, tears were starting to well up in his eyes again.
The wolf knew that Issun had matured so much though, especially so in these recent moments. It was ok to cry, she herself honestly felt like crying too. No, not for herself, but for Issun, and for all those down in Nippon without a hero nor hope in sight…
"Hey Ammy, c'mon, we don't want to arrive like a bunch of blubbering idiots, right? We have to do it in style!" His words of encouragement did the trick for both of them. Ammy raised her head, and without warning, suddenly took off running. Issun had to hold on to not suddenly be thrown off, but he laughed as his tears were blown away by the wind.
The wolf even cried a few tears herself. These tears will rain down upon all the lands of Nippon as cherry petals, signaling the world a goodbye as the darkness shall close in. A farewell from Issun, a so long from all the Celestials, and a deep "I'm sorry." from the sun god. All will see the cherry petals, and the last any would feel will be the warmth and love from the mother to all as everything everyone had ever known falls dark.
Okami Amaterasu, now a simple, white mutt, races along a path of gold dust painted for her by her own Celestial Brush. She's throwing everything away to be found somewhere in the stars. And among those stars, both the wolf and the poncle can see the constellations of all the brush gods, of those they had met and those they were supposed to find.
The two have come so far together in their journey, and both have changed so much since that first fateful encounter. Maybe for better, maybe for worse, but now, both of their stories are about to draw to a close.
Neither will achieve immortality, but both will earn a place of peace to rest for all eternity.
The golden path will lead them to a haven in the Celestial Plains.
The golden path will lead her home.