Chapter 5 – Dies Irae
A/N: Trigger Warning: Gore and violence throughout the chapter
The song for this chapter is:
Dies Irae ft Black Prez by Apashe
I added the original requiem by Vivaldi as well in case you were interested.
You can find the playlist on Spotify under the same name as the fic. I'll be updating the playlist as the chapters progress.
~oOo~
The storm was raging outside of the cave, heavy droplets of water splashing indiscriminately at the cave entrance.
After chasing Kagome's dazed form through the forest, down the cliffside trail, and into a cave set above the sea, Miroku wasn't prepared for the sight ahead of him. Shadows had been convulsing against the walls in a series of unnerving movements, a supernatural wind blew around Kagome's form, and between them – an umber brown barrier appeared, preventing the monk from stopping her. No number of sacred sutras or pounding on the barrier got him any closer to his friend. Miroku watched on in abject horror as she bent down to touch a red jewel at her feet which seemed to be the cause of all this chaos.
"Kagome! Don't touch it!" he cried, continuing to pound on the barrier.
Ignoring his pleas, she reached for the pulsing red jewel, touching it gently with reverent fingertips – and disappeared entirely.
One moment, utter pandemonium. The next, Miroku was standing in a dark cave alone with only the familiar glow of Kagome's lantern and the small red jewel mocking him from the floor. No barrier, no shadows or wind, no trusted companion. It was like the whole scene never existed in the first place.
Miroku was in shock.
He slowly bent to pick up his discarded staff and walked carefully to the spot where Kagome was just an instant before. He couldn't sense her aura anywhere. Miroku knelt to examine the jewel without touching it, it appeared to be a ruby chrysalis. It no longer pulsed alluringly, it just looked like an ordinary gem, an intricately carved one, but normal nevertheless.
Standing, Miroku began to pace the narrow cave, contemplating his next move.
He was hesitant to leave the ruby chrysalis on the cave floor, but was loathe to touch it in case it whisked him away to wherever Kagome had disappeared to, leaving Inuyasha clueless as to their whereabouts. That led to the next question – did it actually teleport her to a different destination entirely? Or had she been sucked into the jewel itself? And for what purpose? Was someone coming back for the jewel? He needed to get to Inuyasha and try to figure out their next course of action.
Before he could come to any decision, he sensed an immense surge of power. Glancing across the cave, the ruby began to throb wildly like a beating heart, crimson light filled the cave once more. Miroku backed away from the gem, taking a defensive stance with his staff.
There was a burst of oppressive black power and the space in front of the jewel became hazy. Both the gem and the black power pulsed in time, two synchronized heartbeats complimenting one another, and with a resounding crack the ruby began to split down the center. Water wept from the fragments, the red light causing it to look like dark blood oozing from a wound. The haze began to shift into a murky silhouette and the seeping water escalated until water sprayed out in all directions, causing the cracks in the gem to spiderweb further.
The throbbing increased its pace, giving prelude to something big that was about to transpire. The shadowy silhouette began to take the shape of a person, then a woman, then of Kagome laying on her side, hands clutched tightly to her chest. She faded in and out of existence as if unsure whether she wanted to fully materialize or not.
There was a crash of thunder from the raging sea behind the monk and then another crack as the seeping gem shattered entirely, only to crumble to dust on the saturated floor as Kagome's form steadied into this plane of reality. The cave went dark once more, Kagome's heroic lantern fighting valiantly against the oppressive aura and darkness which threatened to blind the cave's inhabitants.
Miroku stepped hesitantly towards his friend, he could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed shallowly – she seemed to be unconscious. The miko's disappearance had perhaps been four, maybe five, minutes – tops. Her unexpected reappearance made the monk vigilant, there was some type of evil at work here and until it made itself known he didn't want to let his guard down.
Setting his frayed nerves at ease, he rushed to Kagome's side and checked her for injuries. She appeared to be soaking wet, raven tresses in a tangled high ponytail, clothes waterlogged, droplets of water hanging from her closed lashes creating wet trails down her cheeks – but overall, she seemed to be ok, apart from not being awake.
He felt a sense of relief at seeing no visible injuries and shifted her to her back, then shook her shoulders gently, "Kagome, can you hear me?" He received no response at his low inquiry.
Miroku took note that she seemed to be holding something and gently went to pry her fingers apart, but as soon as he spied a swirling lavender pearl clutched tightly in her fist, Kagome awoke with gasp, cerulean eyes flashing.
"Shinkai! No!" she cried out, blinking rapidly. What Miroku had thought to be water on her face turned out to be tears. They streamed freely from her puffy eyes as she began to cry in earnest.
"Kagome, are you alright? You disappeared when you touched the jewel, you've only been gone for a few minutes. What happened?"
"Miroku?" she only now seemed to recognize he was there with her.
Without warning there was a pulse of youki which seemed to come from Kagome's curled fingers. She opened her hands and watched as the lavender pearl pulsed eagerly, purple strands of youki bursting outward and began to envelop her body within its power. Her pink reiki responded immediately causing the two opposing powers to riot.
Miroku scrambled backward to avoid the collision of power which began to sizzle and tangle with one another, worriedly he called, "Kagome, what's happening?!"
"I don't know! My power feels like it's out of control!"
She tried to sit up but the force of the auras battling for dominance was too much for her to withstand. Pink and purple auras twisted and clashed around each other wildly. They were fire and water, opposites in every way, burning and drowning one another recklessly in an electric display which caused the hairs on Miroku's neck to raise in warning, something was very wrong.
Violent energies crackled and sparked wherever they touched.
Kagome tried to focus on getting her own powers under control and subduing Shinkai's youki back into the jewel. She pictured her pink energy coaxing the purple power back into its tranquil state within the pearl, luring it cautiously back to its vault like one would an unpredictable wild animal. Sweat beaded on her brow with the effort. The youki fought viciously, a shark attacking unsuspecting prey in too deep waters – it thrashed and used its superior strength to outmuscle her own woefully untrained reiki.
Under no circumstance did she want to accidentally purify the pearl which contained all that was left of the Ningyo queen. But the purple youki was unrelenting and she was starting to wilt from the effort of trying to wrangle her reiki to prevent purification, while also attempting to subdue the demonic energy back into its cage.
Kagome didn't understand what was happening. Everything felt so out of control and she could feel her spiritual energy draining rapidly from her very soul, slowly tapping into her life force causing her to grunt with pain. With a surge of startling power, the youki stabbed through her reiki which left Kagome gasping as it needled its way into her soul, overwhelming and consuming the spiritual energies it found there. It was a barracuda eating the inhabitants of a sheltered estuary in hopes of creating a safe new home for itself
The pink reiki spluttered helplessly, like a light switch being turned rapidly on and off.
Kagome pushed aside her growing panic and tried to focus once more, this time instead of forcing the youki back into the pearl she whispered her acceptance with every fiber of her being, begging her reiki to share the space with its opposite. Kagome could feel her reiki steady itself before begrudgingly accepting the intrusion and – much to her surprise, the two energies meshed seamlessly around her in a whirlpool of colors. Pink spiritual energy laced beautifully with lavender demonic power, an ever-changing gradient between the two shifting auras creating a dream-like landscape throughout the cave. It was like looking at gentle pink rays of sunlight beneath tumultuous purple waves, ever shifting and casting murky beams around the space. Miroku watched on with morbid curiosity, not knowing what to do, as the combined energies began to retreat fully into Kagome's chest.
That's when she started to scream.
Kagome felt like she was being burned alive, or maybe she was drowning again, either way she was suddenly thrown into a fit of unending agony which coursed through her entire being. All thought left her as cortisol flooded her system – fight or flight reflex in full effect and settled firmly on flight. The combined auras had fully submerged within her, lighting her body from the inside out like a lighthouse.
At this point, Miroku couldn't stand by any longer; he rushed forward to try to help any way he could, only to be thrown across the cave by the pink and purple power which cascaded from around her unceasingly. Kagome, continuing to scream in agony, rolled to her side, facing the rear of the cave, her soaked back towards Miroku.
He sat up, wiping the blood from his eyes from a cut he received on his forehead, and then he watched the unimaginable occur.
Two bulging lumps had formed on Kagome's back distending her blue long-sleeve shirt. She writhed on the ground, attempting to arch her body away from the increasing pain between her shoulder blades. With a sickening squelch of flesh being rent, dreadful black talons began to force their way through her back. They pushed from her body steadily, followed closely by bone and membrane covered in gore; until finally, two enormous batlike wings lay limp between her shoulders – the membranes dark violet in color while a delicate smattering of lavender colored scales covered the bone. The wings shuttered before extending themselves fully, splattering blood and pieces of skin around the cave, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
Kagome moaned horribly, every nerve ending set ablaze under the onslaught of her transformation. She had never been in so much pain before and began to shake uncontrollably from the magnitude of it. Kagome squeezed her cerulean eyes shut, tears trailing from between her closed lids to mingle with the sea water pooled on the floor from the shattered jewel.
'How have I not run out of tears yet?' she thought bleakly.
Bones crunched and extended as long toned legs fused together in a nauseating display before transforming entirely into a gorgeously flowing koi fish tail, tail fin an iridescent violet trailing to gossamer strands. Blunt human nails lengthened to deadly black claws, rounded human ears gained an elfin point, fangs elongated, blue eyes gained a snake-like pupil and shifted between cerulean and crimson, while lavender scales began to appear across Kagome's body. Her already beautiful face gained an unnatural ethereal beauty to it before shifting grotesquely into monstrous features, then back again.
Kagome's body was at war with itself, skipping and shifting between multiple forms like a broken record, until it became a menagerie of Kagome and youkai traits. A collage of priestess and siren attributes fused flawlessly into one young woman.
Her combined auras continued to light the cave and Kagome torturously shifted to her back once more, newly formed wings bending uncomfortably beneath her, tail shimmering back and forth between being bipedal and caudal, before settling uncertainly back to legs.
She tried to call to Miroku who sat several feet away, for anyone, to help her through this nightmare, but the words died before they left her lips. She felt like she was going mad, she wasn't even registering her own screams at this point, while the pressure on her sternum continued to increase until she wanted to die herself – like her words before her, just to end this excruciating state she was in.
She tore at her chest to try to lessen the pain, only to rip the top of her shirt with newly formed claws. This gave sight to a lustrous black jewel emerging from her sternum between her collarbones. It forced its way through her skin, much in the same way that her wings did, only to remain partially nestled within her flesh, lavender scales framing the dark extrusion prettily.
It too joined its voice to the melody of power which was already weaving its way harmoniously throughout the cave from Kagome's being; its dissonant tones corrupting the chords as it flitted throughout the hymn, like a despairing requiem steadily reaching a crescendo. Black, purple, and pink created an orchestral ouroboros of energy, a sonorous serpent which accosted the senses, each note consuming one another endlessly; tainting, fighting, healing, tainting, fighting, healing – only to be tainted again, in an endless refrain of powerful madness. Once the song reached its peak, and Kagome couldn't take any more pressure from the obstruction in her chest, the aria of power began its diminuendo, slowly and quietly slipping its way back into Kagome's trembling form.
All was still.
Miroku didn't know what to make of the situation, nothing made sense. The sika youki attack, the jewel, Kagome's disappearance, reappearance, and transformation. Then a horrible thought crept into Miroku's mind:
'Is that even Kagome anymore?' his eyes went wide.
He crept toward her prone form on hands and knees, she was still visibly trembling, and called to her quietly, "Kagome?"
Her body stilled and she opened her eyes, which continued to shift from red to blue. Her expression shifted unsettlingly with it, from manic glee to terrible despair – Thalia and Melpomene* disconcertingly personified on her alluring face, until piercing red eyes and a fang filled smile firmly set-in place.
She sat up and shifted her crimson gaze to the monk who had frozen in fear like a deer caught in headlights, dangerous wings opened to their full extent behind her in an alarming flourish which drove goosebumps to rise across the monk's arms.
"Miroku," she intoned sadly, her amused face not matching her voice, "I'm so hungry."
He went completely still as the two watched each other from across the cave; him fearfully, her rabidly. They were mouse and snake, deer and wolf, minnow and shark.
Miroku put on a practiced easy smile which masked his own growing anxiety, he still wasn't sure if this was his Kagome or if someone else had possessed her body. His senses were ringing alarm bells of the danger before him and he needed to shift her piercing stare to a different target.
"That's an easy fix my friend," he said casually, "Why don't we head back to camp and get you something to eat? I'm sure Inuyasha will be there and we can – "
Kagome had teleported to her own hands and knees in front of him in a blink of an eye, this new form granting her impressive youkai speed, head tilted to the side questioningly. If it weren't for the obvious danger she posed, Miroku may have thought the situation funny; both of them on hands and knees facing each other like two tom cats in an ally.
"I don't want to go back to camp, I'm hungry now," her smile was a terrible slash across her face as she reached out a clawed hand to cup Miroku's cheek, running a thumb along its plane affectionately. Then she leaned in and licked up a trail of blood which had partially dried on his opposite cheek from when he was tossed through the cave by her power surge.
His heart raced so loudly he was sure that she could hear it, the thought was affirmed when she pulled back to look at his chest, and tilted her head in the opposite direction.
"Are you afraid?" she whispered coyly; pupils blown wide as she scented his sickly-sweet fear in the air.
Miroku swallowed thickly, suppressing a shudder, "Not at all."
Her already huge smile widened further, showing all her newly pointed teeth, "You should be."
The thumb which had continued to stroke his cheek angled in sharply and tore through the skin and muscle so viciously that Kagome could see his teeth. The fresh blood seemed to spur her on and before Miroku could cry out with the shock of it – he was on his back with her straddling him. She was a beast who needed to slack her thirst, her eyes greedily drank in the terrified sight of the man, who was her friend, beneath her.
He let out a strangled cry as she pinned down his hands and bit ferociously into his shoulder, pulling out a mouthful of flesh, blood dribbling down her chin. The pain was excruciating and his vision blacked out momentarily.
She let the chunk of meat slide from her mouth, "Are you afraid now?" she asked with more nonchalance than any person with a previous mouthful of human flesh had a right to be.
He whimpered, tears streaming openly from his eyes. He couldn't let things end this way, he needed to get away from Kagome, he needed to return to Sango and their unborn child.
"Kagome," he pleaded, "I know you're in there. You need to fight this! Think of Sango and Shippo and what it would do to them if we didn't come home. Think of Inuyasha!"
A memory came to her of her time in the jewel, drowning beneath the grey waves, and Inuyasha's voice mimicking the same phrase:
'Kagome,' he said, 'You have to fight. You're giving up too easy, wench.'
Kagome's eyes shifted gradually to blue, her face a mask of sadness and shame, "Miroku, I – I can't seem to stop," tears matched his own, "You have to get away from me! Hurry!" she released his hands and he scrabbled out from under her, his shoulder and cheek bleeding openly into his robes.
"Tell them that – that I love them and I'm sorry!" she sobbed; face held in her hands. Kagome was an angel of despair, a grieving statue carved out of the gloom which surrounded her, wings drooped heavily as sobs wracked her delicate frame.
Miroku was almost out of the cave when he heard her, he turned woozily, the blood loss starting to affect his balance, "I will. We'll come back for you, just – " he steadied himself against the cave wall, "just stay strong. Inuyasha will know what to do."
Kagome stopped crying and lifted her face her red eyes held a ghoulish gleam. Miroku cursed, he should have left as quickly as he could and not looked back until he was safe.
"Come back Miroku," a melodic tone had entered her voice as she gave the command and to Miroku's disbelief, he found he could not control his body from walking shakily back to stand in front of her.
"Give me your hand," she sang sweetly.
He did as he was bid, presenting her his right hand which had previously held his cursed wind tunnel, "Kagome, please! Come back! Fight!"
She gripped his fingers – and snapped them backward to his wrist, breaking all the digits with a crack.
Miroku screamed.
"Devour." she purred and Miroku watched as a portion of his dark blue aura manifested and fed itself to the black jewel in her sternum.
She licked her lips and looked sadly at Miroku, red eyes met violet, "Not enough."
Kagome gripped the offered hand tightly once more, broken bones grinding in her grasp causing him to whimper, and with little effort wrenched the arm from its socket, she threw it casually behind her.
Miroku bellowed in pain as he watched the limb detach and fly across the cave. How many times during their time fighting Naraku had he thought about removing the cursed appendage, only to have it ripped from his body so effortlessly once the curse was gone. Even through the shock and the pain, the irony was not lost to him.
"Devour!"
A much larger piece of blue aura was ingested by the black jewel. Kagome hissed, eyes flashing and fangs bared, "More!"
The bloodlust had her now, unleashing her voracious hunger encouraged by the jewel lodged in her chest. She lunged at Miroku, causing him to crash backward. With his remaining arm, he began to claw at her face, her arms, anything he could reach; his already diminished strength fleeing from him every second that he battled on.
'Sango! My love, I can't leave you, not like this.'
He fought until Kagome sang her next command, "Don't move."
Miroku froze then began to scream in defiance.
He screamed at the pain that his friend was inflicting on him, at the lack of control he had over his body, at the fates for finally letting him be happy before ripping it away, at the unfairness of it all. What had it been all for? The years of fighting, the blood, sweat, and tears that they'd all produced to rid the land of evil, the near misses and close calls that they'd all been through only to have the woman who he loved like a sister end him in such a terrible manner.
And he knew, deep down, he knew this was the end; between the insanity that cradled Kagome's mind like a long-lost lover and the blood loss, there was no saving him. He could only hope that she wouldn't draw out the torture.
"Please," he gasped as Kagome sunk a clawed hand into the soft part of his stomach, smiling cheerily all the while, pink entrails bulged from the wound.
Eyes sliding closed as he recited the plea like a mantra, over and over again as she continued her mutilation of him, "Please, please," he murmured, she slashed his other cheek to make a matching set of gashes.
Time seemed to slip away into the void.
He thought of his wife and his friends who would mourn him, of the bitter rage Sango would feel once she learned what happened to him.
Of the child he would never meet.
"Please."
"Devour!" she was panting heavily now with the insatiable need that had lodged itself firmly within her throat, "More! Devour!"
The black jewel gleamed pleasantly in the lantern light, splattered with tiny flecks of the monk's blood, as more dark blue aura flowed into it; the madness continued to control her actions.
"Please…San – go…" he let out a rattling breath from blood filled lungs.
"Devour!"
No dark blue aura manifested.
Miroku stared with glassy eyes at the ceiling.
Kagome tossed her head back and screeched her rage into the atmosphere, the shrieking sound of it echoed violently off the cave walls; the sound colliding upon itself to create a wailing cacophony that only fed her anger more.
A voice broke through her mindless rage and stilled her momentarily, "Kagome?"
Inuyasha stood defensively at the mouth of the cave, a transformed Tessaiga tight in his shaking grip, shock and rage waring for dominion over his features.
Red eyes turned back to blue and a broken wail left her lips and she crumbled next to Miroku's dissected body.
"Fuck! Talk to me Kagome! What the fuck is going on?" he was desperately trying to keep his demon under control and his own aura pulsed wildly. The smell of blood and fear of his pack mates triggering his instincts.
Kagome continued to sob uncontrollably, wings shuddering with every breath, as she mourned, "Oh, Kami no!"
"Say something damnit! Anything!" his voice was choked with the implication of the scene before him, "Please, tell me this wasn't you, that this is all some type of misunderstanding."
After coming to the edge of the cliff and smelling Miroku's blood in the wind, he followed the scent to the cave entrance. Inuyasha was stunned when he came across a shrieking demoness which looked vaguely like Kagome, covered in his friend's blood; the corpse beneath her mutilated beyond his understanding. If it wasn't for his keen nose, he wouldn't have recognized either of his best friends.
Nothing made sense.
Kagome's light camellia scent was somehow tinged with salt and ozone that had nothing to do with the storm outside. She smelt like a fragile hurricane, somehow both delicate and dangerous to his sensitive nose. He needed her to tell him what happened, and at this point, just to keep his own sanity, he would have believed anything she told him. His demonic powers were beginning to spiral out of control, as his brain struggled to comprehend what his nose already knew to be truth.
Reiki and demonic power seemed to dance beneath her scales as she tried to get control of herself. She needed to get Inuyasha out of there before she committed another terrible act, the guilt was already consuming her alive, as she stared at her blood-soaked claws.
She stilled and Inuyasha gripped his sword tighter still, knuckles white, ears flat to his head. When she lifted her ethereal face, he watched in fascinated trepidation as blue eyes shifted to red, much like his own eyes did when his demonic power had full control.
Gold met red which shifted back to blue, and she took a gasping breath, "I – I killed him, Inu – Inuyasha," she sobbed, "I can't control myself, please run!"
Her words were like a punch in the gut. Inuyasha knew it to be true but hearing her say it out loud added a definitive reality to the situation which he wasn't prepared for, "I'm not going anywhere until we figure this out!"
"Damnit! For once would you listen to me!" she screamed, "There's no time to explain, just go!"
Inuyasha growled menacingly and ground his teeth, he couldn't just leave Kagome in the state she was in, especially after she had just murdered Miroku in cold blood. But the situation was more than he was capable of dealing with. He wanted to both protect her from herself and kill her for what she'd done to his pack, the two instincts raged within him making him indecisive.
Kagome cried harder. Of course he wouldn't listen to her, he never did, everything always took so much convincing and effort on her part. She could feel her sanity starting to slip as thoughts of devouring his substantial aura slithered incessantly.
'All that power and rage, he'd feed me for some time if I can manage to keep this one alive,' the thought hissed relentlessly causing her eyes to flash red, 'No, what am I thinking?! I have to get him away.'
She quickly came up with plan.
If he wouldn't leave, she would. She had already killed one friend this night, the black mark of the deed festered within her soul. The element of surprise was on her side, Inuyasha had no idea what she was capable of.
Using her new found speed and power she careened passed the hanyou who, at recognizing what was happening, dropped his sword and lost control of his demon. Eyes bled red, jagged purple stripes graced his cheeks, fangs and claws elongated into deadly points, as he sprang for Kagome. She dodged him and threw herself out of the cave and into the waiting sea below.
Unfamiliar instincts took control and she flared her wings wide, catching an updraft, which propelled her up into the storm. Kagome looked at the cave opening, Inuyasha had completely lost his composure at her narrow escape, his demon in full control. Rage and grief contorted his face and he howled his displeasure into the squall which answered in kind with a booming clap of thunder. The haunting tune shook Kagome to her core, but with the madness slowly sinking its claws back into her mind, she had no choice but turn in the opposite direction and abandon her friend.
Anguish and the surging tempest the only companions left to her as she flew along the cliffside and out to sea.
~oOo~
Inuyasha growled deep in his throat and paced the narrow cave like a caged beast, his demon wanting to destroy everything, to hunt down his friend and demand answers to the carnage he was unable to prevent. He threw his head back and howled once more, instincts demanding his pain at the loss of his packmates be heard. Internally, Inuyasha desperately fought to control himself, he needed to think and this form didn't allow for that, it was too primal and relied too much on instinct. He forced his body to reach for Tessaiga's hilt and held the sword close, snarling all the while. The blade pulsed soothingly and compelled the beast back into a restless slumber, giving Inuyasha total control of his body once more.
He sheathed the sword and fell defeatedly to his knees, the adrenaline the situation had called for waning, giving him a renewed awareness to the wound across his chest and in his heart.
'Kagome, what the fuck happened here? If only I wouldn't have wasted time on that damn deer, maybe I could have prevented all of this.' A cloak of self-loathing settled itself firmly around his shoulders only to be joined by a noose of grief which already threatened to choke him where he knelt; his body slumped forward under the weight of it all.
Tears streaked down his nose to drip on the cavern floor, 'What am I going to tell Sango and the kid…'
As Alpha of his pack, it was his responsibility to protect everyone and he had failed miserably. Now he had the unbearable task of returning to his friends and informing them of their friend's untimely demise.
He risked a glance at Miroku's body, nausea flooding him at the desecration.
There was no way he could return him to Edo in his condition, the mutilation was too great. Instead, he reached carefully for the prayer beads that Inuyasha knew Miroku kept on him, even after the wind tunnel had sealed. Many times, during their fight against Naraku, Inuyasha had watched over a shared campfire as the monk unconsciously rubbed the beads which sealed his curse, lost deep in thought. After the tunnel disappeared, the beads were kept and worn around his neck, under his robes. A constant reminder of all that he had fought for and all that he had lost along the way.
Inuyasha gently removed the beads from around Miroku's neck and placed them in the sleeves of his haori.
He then left the cave to dig a grave overlooking the sea.
~oOo~
Once the cave was empty, an owl moth camouflaged in the upper recesses of the cavern fluttered guardedly. Its furred antenna shifting as it scuttled down from its hiding place and took in its surroundings. The eye-shaped spots on its wings momentarily glowed orange and seemed to blink within the gloom. It flew once around the entirety of the cave before settling itself back into its corner and becoming still once more.
~oOo~
Far to the North in the foothills of Mt. Upepesanke, a small traditional-looking mansion stood prominently on the shore of a massive lake. In the dead of winter, snow and ice would freeze the area, encapsulating the lake in its white expanse turning clear waters into layers of thick ice, until spring came to melt away the cold and burgeon forth new life. Now, in the middle of summer, the lake reflected the mountain and the surrounding forest like a mirror, replicating the environment perfectly to create a tranquil twin of the landscape.
The mansion wasn't large by any means, but it was well crafted and boasted of wealth from every angle. A small workshop was nestled in the back, here the Demon Jeweler – Azamuku, created his finery and practiced his skills. Shelves lined the space full of tools and special herbs, potions and magical artifacts, bones and steel. Crystals and gems of all shapes, colors, and sizes were organized sensibly in ornate boxes and stacked with great care. Large glowing crystals floated causally through the air, orbiting around their master to shine light as he worked.
In the center of the room sprawled a great work bench, scattered with bits and pieces of the Jewelers latest project. Said Jeweler leaned casually back against its polished wooden side, orange eyes glowing, furred wings twitching restlessly, dripping sea water and rain onto the floor, as he took in the scene in the cave nearly a thousand miles away.
An opal ring on his right hand let him teleport home once he made his escape earlier in the evening. Dozens of similar gems were hidden throughout the land and acted as beacons for his magic to work through. It had taken years of perfecting the magic and physically traveling to the location that he would want to get to in the future, before his network was complete.
'Well, this certainly puts a snag in things,' he lamented, turning to his project and idly organizing his already neat tools, 'My luck didn't last long, it seems I'll have to redirect the situation to my advantage.'
He picked up a human molar and ran a finger over the grooves in thought, 'I'm certain Ikuchi is behind this set back, damn monster probably couldn't resist the temptation of leaving things well enough alone. He must not have believed that I would actually free him.' Azamuku scoffed and placed the tooth back on the bench, a contingency plan already forming in his mind.
He ran a clawed hand through short teal hair, pushing the shaggy drenched locks away from his forehead, then he turned a small ring in the shape of tangled antlers on his pinky finger clockwise three times.
On the third rotation, the ring shone green and his servants voice could be heard, "Milord, the half-breed was kept at bay long enough for the miko to go into the ruby. My barrier dispersed once she entered. Shall I begin the next phase?"
Azamuku sighed heavily, "There's been a change in plan. The miko somehow escaped the jewel and has absorbed the youki I stole away from Shinkai."
Kakumaru was silent for a moment as the improbability of the situation sunk in, "Ikuchi's doing?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"Should I go retrieve the ruby?"
Another sigh, "There's no need, it shattered when she made her way back. It seems that Ikuchi has decided to renege on our agreement and instead gave the miko his power," he gazed out the window into the night, orange eyes ablaze, "I witnessed the stone emerge from her chest and with no one to guide her, the madness set in quickly."
"What are my orders, Milord?"
Azamuku clenched his fists, "Simple, lead her west," he thought a moment more, "And ensure she doesn't make too much of a glutton of herself, we want her hungry."
"Yes milord, your will be done."
Azamuku turned the ring once counterclockwise and clenched his hands, claws digging bloody trenches into his palms, knuckles white. With a powerful swing of his arms, he slammed his fists down onto the massive wooden bench, which gave a satisfying crack as it split down the middle, sending tools and materials flying haphazardly through the air.
He panted heavily, wings rustling with frustration, eyes wild. He stormed across the work shop, ripped the door off its hinges, then huffed off towards the mansion, the cool night air only mildly calming his ire.
By the time the sun peeked hesitantly over the mountain tops, his work shop would have put itself back to rights; the enchantments buried deep within its bones activating to keep the space clean and organized – just the way the Demon Jeweler expected all things.
~oOo~
A/N: Fun Fact: Thalia and Melpomene are the muses of comedy and tragedy in Greek mythology which are typically represented in modern times by the smiling and crying theater masks.