With a start, Amaterasu woke.
It had been the same dream she had seen each night for the past 500 years. A dream of the past, a life of peace on the Celestial Plain, with the one she loved more than anything in this world. A dream of days when everything was right with the world, when no evil existed to threaten the lands below. A dream of days when the Sun Goddess could live life content, without need of worry.
A dream that always became the same nightmare. A memory of burning buildings, of the dying screams of the mortals around her. And in the center, a glowing sphere that radiated pure evil. Yami, the lord of darkness, the one Amaterasu had thought she had destroyed a millenium ago, had been lying in wait for those thousand years. Building his power while the faith in the gods dwindled, waiting patiently for the day when he was strong enough to return to the mortal world and smother the world with his darkness again.
When she first fought Yami on the Ark of Yamato, Amaterasu had barely come out victorious, succeeding only by the timely aid of her Celestial Envoy, Issun. But this time, she had not been as strong. A thousand years of peace led the mortals below to all but forget the old gods as civilizations rose and fell, as society came to care more for inventions of electricity and metal over the natural beauty the gods so tenderly cared for. And as their faith dwindled, so too did the gods' power. Amaterasu no longer had a Celestial Envoy to spread her praises. Compared to the restored Yami, the Sun Goddess was weak and alone.
Well, not entirely alone. As the end of all things drew near, there was one who never left her side. The prophet Waka, last known survivor of the Moon Tribe, the only one who Amaterasu loved more than the forests and flowers themselves. He knew as well as she did that neither of them could hope to stop the Dark Lord reborn, knew that the only outcome was both of their deaths. But he stood with her anyway, just like he had many years ago against Orochi on the Celestial Plain, for neither was willing to leave the other to their grim fate.
Despite the odds against them, they did not go without a fight. The battle seemed to go on for an eternity as Amaterasu and Waka traded blows with their greatest enemy. But with each blow, the pair felt their strength waning, while Yami showed no signs of weariness. Soon, the Sun Goddess found herself lying on the ground, bruised and bleeding. She attempted to get up, to snarl at the dark sphere, to strike one last blow on the abominable creature, but her strength had left her. She saw her beloved next to her, in no better shape, trying to use his remaining sword to support him as he pulled himself up, with no success. Above them, Yami floated, silently gloating, knowing that the sun would soon be extinguished forever. A dark glow came as he charged what would be the final blow.
Amaterasu knew she would not survive such an attack. Yami would drain her of her divinity, break her powers as he had a thousand years ago. But this time, there was no Issun to give her strength. She would lose her godhood, and her mortal body would break and perish from the dark power against her. There would be no reincarnation this time. She would die, and Yami would see his world of darkness a reality.
Silently, the wolf-goddess turned her head to look at her companion. Oh, how she wished she was still in her human form, so that she might spend her last moments in the arms of the one she loved! "Ma chérie..." he whispered to her, staring back, "There is another door."
Amaterasu knew of her beloved's prophetic abilities. He could see all the doors, past, present, and future, and, at times, could see the possibilities lying behind those doors. But she knew not what he could see in this situation. Neither of them could barely move, and even if they could, they did not have to strength to run, let alone fight.
"There is another door," he repeated to her, as if he hadn't quite believed it himself. Then the doubt in his eyes was gone, replaced by fierce determination. "Je suis désolé. There is no other way." Slowly, Waka managed to pull himself up. Raising his katana, he slashed a complex pattern through the air, then leapt towards their foe. But he did not attack. Instead, he stopped just in front of the dark sphere, seeming to float for a moment. He looked back at the goddess, who was desperately trying to get up, trying to do anything to save her beloved from the doom she knew awaited him.
"Je t'aime, ma chérie."
And then, Waka's sword cut through the air, slicing through the fabric of time and space. Yami howled in rage as the wormhole drew him in, and redoubled his efforts, determined to at least kill the one who was about to ruin his plans for a world of darkness once again. In that moment, Amaterasu would have given anything to be able to speak, to tell Waka that she loved him as well, that she would miss him for the rest of eternity. But even if she had the strength to return to human form, she did not have the time. All she could do was let out a lonely howl as prophet and dark lord vanished into the darkness of the portal, as a blinding flash of light appeared as Yami unleashed his attack. She heard Waka's dying scream as the attack hit its mark.
And then, the portal was gone.
Amaterasu no longer had the strength to resist. Waka had managed to imprison Yami, lost somewhere in time and space, and in doing so, saved her divinity, but the battle beforehand had taken too much of her, and she no longer had the will to fight fate. The goddess felt her spirit leave her mortal shell, felt the Brush Gods leave her to take refuge in the stars above. She knew she would not die. Her mortal form would turn to stone for a century as her spirit recovered its strength. But it did not matter.
As the wolf became encased in stone, a single tear dropped from the Sun Goddess's eyes. Yes, she would return. But she would be alone.
Forever.
End of Chapter 1
Well, that was a bit of a depressing introduction! I had originally planned for this chapter to be less about Ammy and Waka's fight against Yami and more about Ammy reminiscing about her life on the Celestial Plain, but it was just so much more cruel to start off this way. Plus, an event that takes away eternal love and happiness for our favorite wolf goddess deserves more than just a couple of paragraphs.
Things should brighten up for the sun goddess in later chapters, but still, I can't help but feel bad for Ammy. To live an eternity knowing the one you love is lost forever... Immortality truly can be a curse, I suppose.
Constructive feedback is always appreciated :)
French translations for those of you who are too lazy to use Google:
ma chérie = my dear
je suis désolé = I'm sorry
je t'aime = I love you