DISCLAIMER:  Fushigi Yuugi and all its respective characters belong to someone who is not, in fact, me, and the musical accompaniment, likewise, is not mine.  Which is...good, probably, since that would mean I'd be long dead by now. --;;

SUMMARY:  The mikos have failed to arrive, and the world is in chaos, leaving the Creator no choice but to wipe the world clean and begin again—but, it will mean destroying everyone and everything.  Can the dragon god and the Suzaku seishi save it before it's too late?

NOTES:  First of all, YET ANOTHER STORY by PURPLE MOUSE has been updated!!!  It didn't show up on the main page for some reason—she angered the ff.net gods, apparently—and, as such, not many of the readers seem to be aware that it HAS, indeed, been updated.  *nod*  So...go and read it!!  Now!! 

...waitwait, not RIGHT now.  --;;  Read this first. ^_~.

Second of all, this is intended to be a SERIES.  World's End  is the title of the series, and "Descent" is the title of this particular fic.  There will be more fics after this one, then, y'see.  *nod*  Anyway.  I shall silence myself, now, and allow you to read.  *magnanimous bow*

World's End:  Book One

DESCENT

Prologue:  Departure of the Dragon God

Accompaniment:  "Fantasia in D Minor," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

~*~

The old woman's voice boomed through the darkness, stronger and louder than the most violent crack of thunder, yet as gentle as a mother's caress. 

"Much as I regret to make this decision," she began, eyes flickering to each of her listeners in turn, "it seems there is no other choice.  The countries are at war, destroying innocent and guilty alike, and with neither the Seiryuu nor Suzaku no Miko answering to our summons, it seems as if there will be no salvation for the conflict."

She paused, then, folding age-wrinkled hands before her chest, and waited.

The chamber--if it could be called that--was broad and limitless, stretching out into the infinities and bathed in nothing but darkness.  Yet, there was light, silver and as pale as starlight, that seemed to float over the chamber's inhabitants of its own free will, whispering off the shoulders of the gods at some moments, circling them others, and often flickering onto the broad, ancient face of the Creator when it tired of that. 

The four gods themselves were arrayed in a respectful diamond in the center of the darkness, each currently in his human form so as to make communication simpler.  They sat crosslegged on the chamber "floor," facing the Creator with placid faces and calm, attentive eyes.  It was a long moment before any spoke.

"What are You saying?" Seiryuu asked at last, his voice low and slithering, the sound mildly startling after the voice of the Creator.  "We can do nothing without the Mikos.  They are the gateways between gods and mortals, after all.  Without them, we can do nothing but watch."

Genbu closed his eyes, a line of anguish streaking through his smooth brow.  "There is something we can do," he whispered.  "Even if we cannot intercede in the lives of the mortals without our mikos, we can alter the land around them."

Seiryuu, seated at the head of the diamond, spun to face the quietest of his brothers.  "That is ridiculous," he spat.  "What would altering the earth around them accomplish?  Certainly, we could create a wall between the countries, but what would that solve?  Nothing at all.  There would be wars among the people trapped within those walls, and no way of fleeing into other countries to s--"

The dragon god halted, startled, as a gentle hand touched his arm; he turned to find Suzaku gripping his bicep, the phoenix's crimson eyes flickering with bright, sorrowful flame.  "Brother," he murmured, "be still.  You're mistaken.  That is not what She intends."

Seiryuu turned back to the Creator, his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed tightly together, and glared.  "Then, what?  What do you intend?  I'm obviously not as quick of mind as my brothers, as I truly have no idea as to what you intend."

The Creator bowed her head, a touch of sadness trickling into her expression.  "Seiryuu," she said quietly, "despite your temper, you have always been the gentlest and most innocent of my children."  Her hands clasped more tightly together.  "Very well.  I will explain."  Seeming to steel herself against what she was about to say, the Creator spent a moment in meditation, then lifted her head, stared into the eyes of her children gods.  When she spoke, it was in a voice that barely lifted beyond a murmur, but which echoed in the ears of all four as if she had been shouting.

"The world," she began slowly, "has reached a state where it is beyond redemption.  The final mikos have not been found, and may never be found, as they were summoned almost a full year ago and still have not arrived, and thus we can no longer rely on the hope of intervening in the lives of the mortals in that way.  Things have simply gone too far.  Evil abounds in the world, seeping even into the ranks of the shichiseishi themselves, and as the Guardians of this world, it is our duty to keep this from descending any further.  These souls were not created to live in misery, but to grow and work and learn to live with one another, and although certainly a number would be led to evil, the good would always outweigh the bad, and the world would continue.  This was the pact that was made with the first mortals, long ago--the good must always outweigh the bad, and there must always be the shine of hope on the horizon, for life to continue."

She trailed off, her voice going even softer.

"But the pact has been broken.  Evil abounds in the world, far outweighing the good at heart, and without the Mikos, I fear that things will only grow worse.  The one who calls himself Tenkou has gone far in the corruption of the world, but it is not only he who causes it.  The souls themselves have been tainted, many beyond redemption, I fear, even into their next lives.  So, we are left with but one choice."

Seiryuu suddenly sat up a little straighter; his eyes were wide, his lips slightly parted as if he were trying to speak but failing.  Sensing his brother's shock, Suzaku stretched out to him, placed a firm hand on the other's shoulder; Byakko, on Seiryuu's left, gripped the dragon's other arm. 

The Creator nodded slowly, sadly.  "Yes.  It has come to this.  We must cleanse the world of this evil in the only way possible, and begin anew.  It is the only way."

Despite the calming hands holding him, Seiryuu leaped to his feet, his entire body trembling with rage.  "YOU CANNOT DO THIS!" he shrieked, lunging as if to strike the Creator who sat calmly before him.  "It will mean destroying EVERYTHING and EVERYONE!  You can't!"

"Seiryuu," the Creator said gently, "be still.  It will be painful, yes, but it is the only way.  The evil has tainted every life, and every soul.  They live in misery, Seiryuu.  Who are you to keep them in that misery when there is hope of relief?"

The dragon god stared at her for a long time before speaking, anguished tears welling in his eyes.  His brother gods stood behind him, Genbu with palms pressed to his back, Suzaku and Byakko gripping his shoulders.  Despite these comforting touches, however, Seiryuu was inconsolable, hanging his head as the very human tears trickled over his cheeks.

"How will it be done?" he whispered.

She did not blink or otherwise alter her facial expression; her voice, however, spoke of a deep and abiding sorrow.  "A great flood.  It is the simplest, and the...gentlest.  It will reach above even the highest tops of the mountains, and cleanse the world of all evil."  Her words sank noticeably.  "None will be spared."

Seiryuu turned his face away.  "But, they are our children," he managed, his usually-booming voice little more than a whisper now.  "Lifetime after lifetime, we've watched them grow, learn...  How can we destroy them--all of them--and start over?  It isn't fair."

Suzaku sighed.  "You are being selfish, Brother."

"Maybe I am.  But..."  The dragon god shook his head, sending tiny drops of moisture floating off into the darkness.  "But, do you honestly believe that they want this?"

"They do not know what they want, Brother."

"They know that they don't want to die!  To be...wiped out of existence, as if they never existed at all!"  Seiryuu took a long, jarring step forward, breaking free of the comforting hands of his brothers, and stood straight-backed before the Creator, staring into her unwavering gaze with defiance and anger.  "Taiitsukun!" he shouted, causing a flicker of surprise to streak into her eyes at the use of her human title.  "There must be another way!"

"Brother," said Byakko, sliding forward, "there is no other way.  Weren't you listening?"

Seiryuu didn't even glance backwards.  "No.  I don't believe that.  There is another way.  There must be.  It cannot have come to this."

Taiitsukun's voice was soft.  "And if it has?"

The dragon god's head dropped, an anguished shudder working its way through his body until it seemed he would fall to his knees in the darkness.  "Then I want no part of what is to come."

Suzaku, Genbu, and Byakko exchanged worried glances; it was the phoenix god, at last, who strode to their wayward brother's side and spoke.  "Seiryuu," he said quietly, "you have to be a part of it.  If you're not..."  He shook his head.  "You'll be sent to the earth, become a mortal--Kutou will have no god!  You'll be swallowed into oblivion with the mortals!  You're not thinking clearly."

Seiryuu stared straight ahead, eyes sightless and glazed, and, slowly, shook his head.  "No," he whispered.  "No, I am thinking clearly.  I..."  He turned, stared at his brother gods with a look of awe on his features.  "I'm not going to help you.  I'm...I'm going to be destroyed with them."

"Enough of this!" Byakko exclaimed angrily.  "Taiitsukun, tell him that he cannot do this."

The Creator's gaze remained levelly on the dragon god.  "Seiryuu," she said quietly, "you would do this, for your children? You would let yourself be destroyed with them, lose all your powers as god?"

There wasn't even a second of hesitation.  "Yes," he answered firmly.  "I would."

Taiitskun nodded.  "Very well," she said.  She raised a hand, then, and before any of the gods could protest or say so much as a word, a blue halo had formed around Seiryuu's body, and he was being lifted up into the air above them, where he came to a slow halt and floated.  Taiitsukun's eyes drifted closed; the hand that seemed to be holding Seiryuu into place dipped into a small circle, sending the dragon god rotating onto his back in the air.  The old woman's other hand, then, lifted straight up above her head, and--moving very slowly, her face tense in concentration--began the descent towards the other hand, which had turned to face its approaching counterpart, palm towards it. 

Suzaku lunged forward, eyes going wide.  "NO!" he shrieked.

But, just as he was about to reach her, the woman's palms pressed into one another, and suddenly there was a brilliant flash of blue light.  It arced out from her chest in a ball of light and energy, sending Suzaku soaring backwards into the arms of his two remaining brothers; after the initial leap, the ball began to travel at a more casual pace, floating upwards towards the prone form of the dragon god as gently as a soap bubble.  Then, just as it was about to reach him, the ball flattened and expanded, a narrow hole forming at the top of it, and even as Suzaku screamed, it washed over Seiryuu's body like a rush of water, and swallowed him into itself.

Seiryuu lay silent beneath the flood of blue light, still as death, eyes lightly closed.  Carefully, Taiitsukun lowered her hands, and the dragon god drifted to the "floor" of the chamber, the light fading as he fell.  By the time his body touched against the solidity of the darkened ground, the light was gone, and so, seemingly, was the god.  He lay limp at Taiitsukun's feet, unmoving, and did not move even when his brothers ran to his side and gripped his arms, shook him as if to wake him...

"Why?" Suzaku demanded after a few moments had passed, glaring up at the Creator with tears in his eyes.  "Why did you do this?  He didn't mean it!"

Taiitsukun closed her eyes.  "He did mean it, Suzaku.  He meant it as truly as Seiryuu has ever meant anything, and you are well aware that even I cannot deny what a god truly, truly wishes to come true."

Byakko leaped to his feet.  "Well, then, I wish for Seiryuu to be returned to us!"

Before Taiitsukun could reply, however, Genbu had risen and moved to his brother's side, shaken his head slowly.  "But, it is not what Seiryuu wants," he murmured, turning to stare down at their motionless brother.  "Look at him, Byakko.  He is at peace.  Have you ever seen him so before?"

Taiitsukun floated forward, hands pressed together in front of her again, and slowly lowered herself so she sat just beside Seiryuu.  Her aged hands reached out to press against the dragon god's chest, and when she touched him, his lips parted in a sudden surge of breath.  Real breath, his brother gods noted.  Human, mortal breath.

"Don't fear," Taiitsukun whispered, bringing one hand up to caress Seiryuu's forehead.  "Your brother is not lost, yet, despite what you may think.  There is a way to save the world, and to prevent this destruction."

The three gods stared at each other in silence for a moment, then rounded on the Creator with matching glares on their faces. 

"What?" Byakko growled. 

Genbu, meanwhile, gave an exasperated sigh.  "You didn't think to tell us this before?"

Taiitsukun drew her hands back to their prayer-like position before her chest, then floated upwards so she was at eye level with the three remaining gods.  "It was not possible before.  But now, with Seiryuu giving himself into the mortal world, it is possible."

Suzaku's face was solemn.  "What is it?  What can be done?"

"Seiryuu," Taiitsukun rumbled, "must travel into the Other World and find the remaining Miko."

There was a long pause, another quick exchange of glances.

"He will do this," Taiitsukun continued, sensing their unasked questions, "through the use of a Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, which only one with the knowledge of a god is capable of utilizing for such a quest.  He will need, however, the cooperation of the seven seishi of whichever Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho he uses, and must take them with him into the other world, or he will have no way of returning with the Miko once she is found."

Genbu studied the Creator silently for a moment, then nodded, as if a number of pieces had just fallen together to his satisfaction.  "Of course," he said.  "Without the seven seishi, and with Seiryuu just a mortal with godly knowledge, he would be unable to create enough energy alone to travel to the other world.  But..."  He frowned.  "Which Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho would he use?"

Byakko lifted an eyebrow.  "His own would be logical."

"Logical, yes," Genbu admitted, "but not possible.  Seiryuu is no longer a god.  Without him, the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho given to his shichiseishi is nothing but a scroll.  His shichiseishi, in fact, are nothing but ordinary mortals, now.  No.  He must use one of ours, and utilize the shichiseishi of whomever's he uses."

"I will volunteer my seishi," Byakko rumbled.  "They--"

"Are growing old," Genbu interjected.  "And besides, their miko has come and gone.  No.  No, it can't be either of us, Byakko.  It must be Suzaku."

The phoenix god drew himself to his full height, the flames that forever lingered in his eyes flickering as he spoke.  "Yes," he agreed quietly.  "Without Seiryuu, there is only Suzaku no Miko to be found.  With the Suzaku no shichiseishi accompanying him, Seiryuu would have a better chance of finding her.  The Other World is, after all, a large place.  And much more complicated than this world."

"Then it is decided, "Taiitsukun announced grandly.  "Seiryuu-Seikun, Former Dragon God of Kutou, will be sent into Konan to gather the shichiseishi and travel with them into the Other World.  There, he will find Suzaku no Miko, return her to Konan, and make the three wishes that can save this world from oblivion."

"And, if he fails," Genbu murmured, bowing his head to stare down at his motionless, mortal brother, "even the will of the gods won't save him, or this world."

Taiitsukun regarded them solemnly.  "Hope, then," she whispered, "that he succeeds."

~*~