All was pitch black. The realism of life was utterly blurred. All Sesshomaru could feel was sand dragging below his feet, the hilt of his signature sword held tightly in his hand, and the agonizing pain of freshly inflicted wounds. The repugnant yowls of the olgoi-khorkhoi could be heard echoing through its underground burrow, as its life slowly waned from the sword embedded within its flesh.
Using what energy he had left, Sesshomaru withdrew his Bakusaiga from the beast's cut throat, and pulled back from the hideous tentacles that were scrabbling at his torn kimono. The dog demon continued to slide down the lightless underground passageway of sand, as if he was being pulled by an unseen force.
Then, everything fell silent. Sesshomaru opened his eyes and staggered to his feet. The environment around him was an open space, although still clearly underground. Right beside him stood what looked like a colossal pillar, holding up the sand above his head. The dog demon approached it, and brushed away a layer of sand covering the abandoned column. It was a steady one of stone, but so enclosed in dust and sand that it must have been forgotten and untouched for many, many years.
Sesshomaru saw that there were words scratched into the stone, so quickly cleared all the sand off the pillar. His vision was blurred and hazy, but he could just see that it was a poem.
Once the heart of the silk road,
Catering to the west and east,
An evil deed made it erode,
A deed by one of the least,
So with this curse you are bestowed:
Be ensnared within a hideous beast,
To forever guard this abode.
"So this is the truth," The dog demon said to himself, half amused, "The worm was a person who performed a terrible deed. His soul was cursed to be trapped inside the ugly beast, and the beast was made guard of what the wretched man once destroyed."
Sesshomaru turned around, and stared into the misty world in front of him. Shrouded in the sand and dust, but clearly distinguishable, was a long lost civilization. Buried underground were the remains of what was once a bustling town of trade. The houses, pillars, and even the wheelbarrows were lifelessly covered in dirt. A few holes on the surface let the morning light shine over the eerie ruins. It was a great discovery, but it would also sadden almost everyone to see what was once a populous colony, but is now no more than abandoned rubble.
In front of the derelict town lay the carcass of the olgoi-khorkhoi whom Sesshomaru had just slain. The fallen beast was lifeless, and its hard, silicate armor glowed red under the speck of sunlight shining from the surface.
For one moment, Sesshomaru felt happy for the soul of the unknown man who was once trapped inside the horrible monster. By slaying the beast, he had freed the poor soul from the curse. As Sesshomaru looked on, he saw a bright blue ball of light exit the body of the dead worm, and gracefully float on to the netherworld.
"Rest in peace," The dog demon sub-consciously muttered.
Jaken was still standing on the sand and screaming his lord's name into the tunnel's opening. The impish servant finally sighed, coughing from too much yelling. He stopped calling and started sobbing instead.
Suddenly, the ground beside Jaken burst open, sending big rocks flying. One rock hit Jaken square in the forehead, making him yelp in disapproval.
Sesshomaru broke out of the sand, dragging with him the body of the olgoi-khorkhoi. As he reached the surface, the dog demon dumped the slain worm upon the rocky ground, before falling to his knees, exhausted and bleeding profoundly.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken cried, running to his lord, "Are you alright? Sesshomaru-sama!"
The injured yokai was past saying anything. He kneeled unmoving, panting heavily, while his servant worriedly called out his name over and over.
Just as he was overcome by agony, Sesshomaru felt a cold tinge upon his skin. Jaken, too, felt it, and they both gazed up at the steel-coloured sky. Falling around the master and servant were pure white and otherwise beautiful flakes of snow. They were the first snow of the coming winter, and silently drifted around the lonely desert, softening the landscape to no end.
It was as if they were purposefully sent to comfort the wounded warrior, as they descended around Sesshomaru. It made him feel so at peace, just like the soothing flute music played by the one woman in all the world whom he truly loved.
A thin blanket of pure white enveloped the sand dunes, turning the barren desert into a clean snowfield.
Jaken did not know what to say to his lord, so for once remained silent, as the fallen snow was dyed scarlet by the dog demon's blood. Jaken, not able to bear looking at his lord in such pain, went instead to stare at the killed beast. Even in death, the stench was horrible. Jaken tried to warm the air using his flamethrower-staff, but without much success.
At nightfall, the large Mongolian camp was quiet. The civilians had retired into their tents to escape the cold that arrived with the first snow of the coming winter. Several guards were on sentry duty, defending the nomadic town against possible night raids. Then, unexpectedly, the guards screwed up their noses at a terrible stink.
As they stared out at the outskirts, a victorious warrior emerged from the darkness, dragging behind him a hideous, smelly beast. The guards jumped back and went pale with fear when they saw that the dead beast was none other than the eternally feared olgoi-khorkhoi. They gave way for the great dog demon, who barged past them and hauled the corpse straight to the Khan's tent.
The Khan, of course, immediately appeared from the door of his tent, and set his eyes upon the foretold warrior. Sesshomaru stood motionless beside the carcass, his blood-splattered kimono glowing under the candlelight. By then, the entire town of people had crowded around the Khan's tent to gawk at the beast that they had so feared, and the hero who had slain it. Someone clapped, and in no time the entire town was cheering at the top of their voices.
The Khan was about to welcome Sesshomaru, when the dog demon unexpectedly collapsed onto his knees in the dirt. Of course, flesh wounds and demon acid could never overcome a demon as powerful as Sesshomaru. But he who has an extremely sensitive nose had been around a beast that stank of living hell for the entire long day. Finally, the stink had pushed him over the edge. The dog demon saw the world before him blacken, and disappear.
Jaken's Diary ~~26th September 1502~~
It's late at night, and Sesshomaru-sama has still not regained consciousness. The Khan insisted on getting his weirdly-dressed doctors to treat my lord.
I wish they knew that human medicine has no effect on him! I wish they knew that it's the intolerable smell, and not his wounds, that needs attention! And I wish they would let him be, and stop fiddling with his mokomoko! If Sesshomaru-sama was awake then they'd get it for poking his tail like that, even if they were just cleaning the blood and dirt off it.
Jaken the great servant is so worried! Sesshomaru-sama...Oh, wait! He just woke up! I knew everything was going to be okay!
Sesshomaru sat up on the soft rug of animal fur he had been laying upon, and looked down at his loyal green servant, who was standing beside him with puppy dog eyes. Sesshomaru was having a surprisingly fast recovery from stench overload.
"Sesshomaru-sama, are you alright?" Jaken sobbed, before blowing his nose on the rug.
"Fine..." The dog demon replied as if he hadn't just fainted. He stared at the weird Mongolian clothes he was wearing and asked his servant, "Jaken...where is my kimono?"
"Ah, the Khan insisted on washing the blood off it," Jaken stammered, half expecting his lord to get mad, "I told them not to, but they wouldn't listen to me."
Jaken turned and pointed to a pile of cleaned and neatly folded clothes laying on the floor on the other side of the room.
Just then, the Khan and his interpreter entered the tent. Both looked undeniably pleased, as they greeted the triumphant dog demon. Sesshomaru was hardly delighted though, mostly at the thought of passing out in front of a crowd of humans and then being dragged into a tent and undressed without his permission.
The Khan and the interpreter both sat down beside the rug with Jaken. After staring wordlessly at Sesshomaru for a moment, the Khan finally spoke, "You truly are the warrior the shaman foresaw. For slaying the olgoi-khorkhoi, I would like to express to you the immeasurable gratitude of myself and my people. Once you have recovered, you shall receive the shaman's gift. For now, please rest here, and if you need anything then do not hesitate to ask."
With that, the Khan left the dog demon in peace, but the interpreter stayed behind.
"The great Khan has ordered me to stay with you in case you should request anything," The by now familiar interpreter explained.
"I don't need anything..."
"Well, uh, that's okay," The interpreter mumbled at this unexpected reply, "And my lord has also asked me to tell you this. During winter, the harsh mountainous lands of Mongolia become extremely difficult to travel through. So the Khan would like to invite you to stay in our town until Spring, to express his gratitude."
Sesshomaru showed an expression of discontent to the interpreter, who backed away slightly, realizing that this warrior was not all heroicness. The dog demon got up from the rug, before ordering the interpreter to leave the tent. The unfortunate man quickly did as he was told. Once he had left, the displeased dog demon walked across the room and changed back into his normal clothes.