Barbaric Sentience
The sun had begun to set by the time they reached Shinshu Field. It had taken longer than she had expected to pass through the forest of Agata, but then, whenever Lika had fantasised about travelling across the Sea of Nippon, she had never factored in the small red imp dragging her along by a chain.
The Agata forest was so different from the forests that she knew, from the dark mass of Yoshpet and the images of Catcall forest. It was heavily shaded, swampy, the trees tall but leafless and the water clear and deep.
Whenever a human passed, be it a man, a woman or on one memorable occasion a strange, familiar looking man and his dog, they ducked, hiding in the rich foliage of the forest. Demons, however, were another matter.
There seemed to only be imps in this region, and instead of posing any threat, greeted the duo with the flurry of music, pipes, drums and samisens wheedling bizarre folk renditions that Lika had only ever heard from stories. They smiled at them, joked with the red imp and laughed bemusedly at Lika, occasionally offering a demon fang or a small pile of yen.
When Lika had asked what it was for, the imp had simply answered that it was a tribute to 'the Master'.
She shuddered to imagine, to so much as think to what this 'Master' was like, that controlled the imps and bent demons to his whim.
But the images crept into her mind anyway as she clambered over the rocky ledge and into the widening vista of Shinshu Field. Images of the black imp, only bigger, or a Namahage Shogun with fangs like glaives, or maybe an ogre that scattered thunder from its hooves...
The imp broke through her reverie. "Welcome. To my home at least." He gave a wry grin.
"This isn't where the Master lives?" She tried to conceal her surprise. This place was humongous, spread into a wide, leafy plain. Bigger than Wep'Keer, yet green and vibrant, a small dojo beside a mermaid spring, a set of pottery kilns by a cavern on the far side, and then, she noticed, dominating the centre of the plain, a Guardian Sapling.
It was bigger than Kamui's, bursting into fresh pink blossom as if it were the onset of spring and swaying gently in the breeze. This wasn't like she'd imagined it, it was better.
The imp chuckled at her question. "No. He has a throne room for himself."
His answer made her blood run cold. A throne room. She had been in a throne room once, a long time ago. And this plain... It seemed so familiar now, as the imp lead her across. Yes, she knew this place; she'd seen it before, but where?
The imp tugged at her leash softly, annoyed at her sudden stop. She turned to him, panic blossoming inside her.
"Where are we going?"
He blinked, as if surprised by her sudden outburst. "The Moon Cave."
By the Gods.
Her heart rose, nestling in her throat. Memories flooded back to her, her memories and those of every myth she'd ever read about the south, of every legend she'd ever heard from across the Sea of Nippon.
Orochi, Orochi lived in the Moon Cave. He was the Master of the imps, he was the one who had devoured 99 maidens before he had been vanquished by Nagi and a white wolf the legends had referred to as Shiranui. And then he had been killed again, 100 years later, by Amaterasu and the descendant of Nagi, Susano.
He couldn't be alive, let alone be the Master of the imps.
The imp tugged at the chain, his irritation spreading. She felt herself jerk, and she instinctively stumbled forward beside him.
They reached a hill, and a large blue torii gate. Her spirits sank, all hope she had left was shattered. There was only one thing at the bottom of this hill. The Moon Cave.
She tried to run, jerking her head back on the chain. It worked. The chain slipped out of the imps hands, and she started off at a sprint.
She had to get out of there.
Suddenly, it hit her mind like a vice. The voice. It was louder this time, stronger and clearer, forceful, pressing into her thoughts.
'I will not have you run away from me.'
Her limbs stuttered, and failed her. She tried to force them to move, to push her forward, but they seemed to judder to a halt of their accord, to falter and slide away from beneath her. She hit the floor with a sharp smack.
The imp soon caught up with her, seizing her by the chain and pulling her sharply to her feet. He was more than angry, he was practically livid.
"No one escapes Baikokudo!" He snarled, drawing his samisen sharply underneath her chin. The jagged edge nicked at her neck. She winced as it drew a thin line of blood.
The imp froze. She could see him stiffen with terror. He paled, and then nodded slowly.
"The Master wants you back in one piece."
The remainder of the journey was silent. She could feel the waves of the imp's resentment radiating off of him. She hoped that her own resentment answered him. If she had had her way, she would be in Kamiki by now, safe, away from the God-forsaken cave. And if he had had his way, she would be dead, her blood watering the field of Shinshu.
But neither had their way, Orochi only had his.
They had entered the cave alone. The imp Baikokudo muttered some incantation and hastily pushed her through, before repeating the same for himself.
She soon found out why. The cave was sealed, impenetrable. She rested a single hand on it, and felt demon souls spark, straining from their bindings to leap to her hand. Baikokudo noticed her fascination, and gave a dark, humourless laugh.
"That's what the Master does to those who betray his service."
She tried to swallow her panic.
Betrayal had never played heavily on her mind as an option, but now, she shunned it. Spending her life at the foot of Ezofuji was one thing, but spending it as a gate was worse.
Not that, she supposed, she had much of a life left.
She would become his 100th sacrifice, and, according to folklore, he would become a God in his own right. A shudder of aversion passed through her. She would help the demon become a deity, as the prophecy had foretold.
Baikokudo gave her a shove forward, and then sprung down a gaping hole that split the staircase in two. That certainly hadn't been there last time.
Running was not an option, neither was betraying him. She couldn't fight him, nor appease him. So as the imp raised a rope for her to climb down, she had little alternative but to lower herself into the abyss.
