Darkness. Agony. Despair.
Amaterasu had lost the fight. She had lost…
And all of Nippon had fallen to its darkness.
At least, that was what he'd been told. Ushiwaka couldn't confirm it himself, trapped as he was in this dark chamber with only the faintly glowing glyphs of his dead people to illuminate the soft bed he lay upon. There were no windows in the room, and he could feel the heaviness of the chains cuffed to all four of his limbs weighing him down.
Right now, he would give anything for even the slightest glimpse of freedom. Anything to escape this hell he'd found himself in, even if only for a second.
But then, perhaps it was better this way. Did he really want to see what Nippon had become?
Just forget, my pretty little sinner. You're mine. You've always been mine. A cold metallic claw traced its way down his spine. Ushiwaka shivered, but did nothing. So forget all about that pretense of freedom the goddess used to corrupt you with her light.
The voice softened, and the claw began to smooth his hair, careful to avoid touching him with its sharp edges. He tensed.
There was a sigh.
An explosion of darkness, blotting out everything else.
Ushiwaka shut his eyes in pain. It was becoming harder, so much harder when the creature took that form.
At first, that form had just made it easier to hate. As time went by, however, the prophet grew starved for human contact, speech, a touch, anything. Over the past few months— or perhaps they were simply days; it was impossible to tell in this place— it had become increasingly difficult to not just give in, to not accept the creature's advances, if only so he could have some sort of contact.
"Ushiwaka." That soft, deceptively gentle voice. He had seen what it did to its servants… And to Amaterasu.
A metallic hand, human-sized this time, cupping his chin and tilting his head up gently. Again, the prophet didn't resist— what was the point? There was…nothing…left. "Look at me…"
He couldn't. If he looked now… He would break.
He was already broken.
Slowly, Ushiwaka opened his eyes to be faced with himself. Pain reflected in the eyes of the other— Ushiwaka supposed it was his own. The fingers stroked his cheek gently, and Ushiwaka leaned into the touch. It wasn't human, wasn't even close… But it was something.
"Shhhhh… You're okay… No one can hurt you now. You are truly free…" The other hand went up to stroke his hair, and Ushiwaka closed his eyes in some twisted form of content.
He was tired. So tired of everything…
Perhaps… He should just…
"Scattered flower petals
colored the town
But the wind told us
That this would be the last time"
Ushiwaka's eyes flew open. That was…that was Amaterasu's song. Ever since they had first met, she had sung that song to comfort him. When he'd asked one day, laying with her in the sun-soaked field of the Celestial Plain, she'd simply laughed that confident laugh of hers and told him that she'd known it forever, just so she could sing it to him one day. "To show you you're gonna be safe from now on," she'd said. She'd begun to play with his hair, lazily twining it between her fingers. "Whenever you're sad, whenever you feel alone, this song will be there to protect you. I'll protect you." She'd smirked. "You know what? You'd look good in braids."
Ushiwaka had felt a blush rise on his face. "Ma cherie!"
The goddess' laughter had echoed throughout the Plains.
He missed her laugh.
"The moon that crossed the sky then
shone down to say
That the seasons always change
So there's no need to worry"
A single tear slid down his cheek. "Kill me."
The singing stopped, and the hands froze along with it.
"Please. Do it." Ushiwaka let out a harsh, crazed laugh. The song had pushed him over the edge. Amaterasu's song. It knew Amaterasu's song. Suddenly, everything was so funny…
Its hands began to shake, most likely in anger. Ushiwaka continued to giggle, unable to stop the peals of laughter from escaping him. Yes, that's it. Just like that…
Ushiwaka felt grim satisfaction in knowing that he had beaten the creature at least once: It would kill him. It would kill him, and it would never have him…
It was going to foil its own plans.
It was hilarious.
The hands removed themselves. Seconds later, Ushiwaka opened his eyes to be faced with the creature's back. Its hands continued to shake, and Ushiwaka saw that its shoulders were shaking as well. Slowly, his laughter began to die down.
Not today, then…
"It seems you still need more time." The voice was cool, nothing like the cruelly gentle, soft words of before.
It stormed out of the chamber. The door swung shut with a loud bang.
It was only once Ushiwaka knew the creature was gone that he allowed himself to cry.