9. Death
Gods do not die when they are defeated in battle; their spirits endure, prevailing as the mortals believe in them, and disappear only when no one needs them, no one believes in their strength, when no one wants them, when no one prays. The closest to a true death a god could feel would be banishment, when the spirit was sealed in a place so dark and separate that it would take more than eons to reform, and even then, that was only performed by the strongest of deities.
Tonight, the mortal body the sun goddess occupied had failed her. The natural cycle of balance had not been on her side today. Darkness, no matter how brilliant the light, would always rise up. That was the natural order, and today, darkness won. Her clothes were dirtied and bloody in multiple places. Her abdomen had been slashed at and bitten so many times during the battle it was impossible to identify one fatal wound.
Amaterasu opened her lips to breathe, to gasp for air, and instead found the bright blood slowly leak from her lips. This body was dying, and Amaterasu was with it until she could regenerate again, to fight this evil again. Today, she could not save her people. Tomorrow could be too late.
Yami be damned, she needed to protect Nippon.
The sun goddess let out a heavy sigh, the blood now a steady stream from the corners of her lips on both sides. The femme let out a little noise, hands clasping the rosary beads that had served her for so well, before going slack.
