Heh, they just keep coming one after another! 8D For this chapter, I decided to use the third person since Ammy's not in it. Sorry if it's a bit short! Please rate and review! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Hope
Waka and Issun stood in stifling silence. Sorrow weighed heavily on their hearts. Neither could believe the heartbreaking tragedy that just took place before their eyes. Amaterasu was dead. Her body was now nothing more than hard, cold stone.
Both of them now turned away, unable to bear the sight of her granite corpse. All hope seemed lost, leaving nothing but despair and grief behind.
Just then, someone they least expected visited Issun and Waka. It was Sakuya, the beautiful tree sprite residing in the guardian tree Konohana. With her divine powers, she protected Kamiki Village from evil spirits.
Sakuya looked over at Amaterasu's stone-cold body. She seemed to be examining the body briefly before saying something that restored a glimmer of hope.
"Amaterasu . . . is not dead," she said calmly. "She is merely in deep slumber, recovering her strength."
Issun was ecstatic at these news, and Waka himself nearly jumped in joy. A single thought flashed through both their minds. Issun was the first to voice this thought.
"If Ammy's not really dead, then . . . then you could revive her! Right, Sakuya? Like you did the last time!" When Orochi returned, Sakuya had performed the ancient ritual of revival to awaken Amaterasu. Their hopes slightly faded again as she sadly shook her head.
"No . . . I'm afraid I cannot perform that ritual quite yet," she replied soberly. Now it was Waka's turn to express his thoughts.
"Why can you not? If you did it once, surely you could do it again."
"I am sorry. I have not made myself clear. I cannot do it at this moment because it is not yet the right time."
"The right time . . . ?" Now he and Issun were both curious. They listened intently to what Sakuya had to say next.
"As of right now, Nippon is not in any immediate danger. It would be pointless to summon her now. Also, Amaterasu needs to recover her strength above anything else."
Issun spoke up now. "Recover her strength? For what exactly would she need to do that for?"
"Perhaps I can answer that, my little bouncing friend," Waka intervened. His answer came in a prophecy of the future. "I foresee a dark entity, exponentially more powerful than all before it. Amaterasu will need all the strength she can muster to fight this new enemy."
"Okay, but the real question is when will the 'right time' be?" Issun asked.
"That I do not know. But it will be clear when that time comes." That was all Waka said on the subject, and then there was nothing left to do but to wait for that time.
So wait they did, for the next twenty years . . .