Chapter 17 : Amaterasu's Trial
"They both have strong ideals... but what of their wills?" Amaterasu asked Solstice."They are also very strong willed," Solstice replied.
"Yuan, that is your name, correct?" Amaterasu said to Yuan.
"Yes... I'm a little confused; what's happening here, Solstice?" Yuan asked.
"Amaterasu, servant of the light spirit Luna, is the mother of the Unicorn," Solstice explained. "She wishes to bestow upon you the right to use her magic."
"Only if they can prove that they have the will to protect each other," Amaterasu said.
"We're going to fight you?" Martel asked.
"Only, Yuan and Martel. If they can defeat my light, I will lend them my power," she answered. "Solstice, interfere and I will ensure that you suffer."
"I understand, master," Solstice replied.
"It has been long since you called me that, student," Amaterasu said, floating over the river.
"Ready, Yuan?" Martel clutched her staff tightly.
"Ready." Yuan's connected his double blade together and cast off his cloak. Both of them removed their bug net hats.
"Go!" Amaterasu shouted, as two swords of light appeared in her hand. "Light... Photon!"
"Light... Photon!" Martel countered. Four rings, two from Amaterasu and the other two from Martel, materialized between them and collapsed. Next, a burst of light exploded as both attacks canceled.
"Raven!" Yuan held his palm out as a ball of lightning formed in front of him. Out of that sphere came three dark beams, striking Amaterasu in the heart and hands.
"Isis' Protection!" Amaterasu said. Her body absorbed the darkness, infusing its energy into her swords. "Here I come, Yuan." Yuan instantly held his double blade in a defensive stance. Flying faster than he could see, Amaterasu danced from right to left and back again, evading all of his attempts to swipe at her. Meanwhile, blasts of light streaked through the air from the tip of Martel's staff. "Diviner!"
"Yuan!" Martel cried. At close range, Amaterasu pelted Yuan with a thousand thrusts of her sword, all within the span of a few seconds.
"I'm all right," Yuan said. His face and arms were bruised and cut from Amaterasu's attack.
"I know you have it within you," Amaterasu said to Yuan. Her figure flashed and reappeared in front of Martel.
"Get away from her!" Yuan shouted. Amaterasu saw that he was charging up another Raven attack. "Spirit of Darkness!"
"Isis' Protection." She crossed both her swords over her body.
"Yuan, she's only going to absorb it," Martel said.
"I know, but I've never tried this powerful of a Raven spell before," Yuan replied. The sphere of lightning grew larger and larger, until it exploded into seven black arcs. "Fearful Raven!"
"Advanced Shadow Magic!" Amaterasu said, taken completely off guard. She absorbed the first beam, but it immediately turned both her swords black. They exploded into shards of light, for Amaterasu had taken in too much magic. When the remaining six touched her, they pulled out most of Amaterasu's mana.
"Now's our chance, time your light attack with mine!" Yuan instructed. "I call upon you from the land of the dead to strike my enemy down with dark thunder..."
"Rays of light, cleanse this battlefield..."
"Indignation!"
"Ray!"
A giant blue magic seal appeared under Amaterasu as a pair of lights spiraled to the sky above her. Meanwhile beams of light rained like meteors. Down came a blinding flash of lightning, hitting Amaterasu with the most powerful magic Yuan could muster.
"Prism Stars!" Martel and Yuan called together. A hundred sparks of light formed around Amaterasu and one by one shot through her.
"She's defeated," Solstice said.
"You were right, Solstice," Amaterasu said. As a spirit, she did not incur any injuries from the bout. Amaterasu floated over to Yuan and put her hand on his forehead. "Roots of creation... the breath of life... Revitalize..." Yuan's cuts instantly healed from her incredible light magic.
"Are we to make a vow so we can summon you?" Martel asked.
"I am not a full fledged spirit like Luna, and I cannot be summoned. However, I ask that you two make a vow to each other, which will serve as the basis for my power," Amaterasu said.
"Um... to each other?" Yuan said.
"Yes, the only way two people can achieve victory over my light is if they care enough for each other that they are willing to give their own life up... true love," Amaterasu responded.
"All right then... I swear true love to the one I will always stand with... Martel!" Yuan declared.
"And I will never turn back from our dreams of a new world as long as Yuan is with me," Martel said.
"Yuan, take this ring, and Martel, this bracelet," Amaterasu said. "The sword of light's fury, the Blade of Osiris, is contained in that ring. Martel, you now have the shield that guards life, Isis' Protection."
"Thank you, Amaterasu," Yuan said.
"Yes. We will treasure these mementos always," Martel added.
"Yuan, give this to Mithos, a key that lets him into the tower of the thunder spirit Volt," Amaterasu said. "A word in private, Solstice." After placing a silver key with the blade shaped like a bolt of lightning, she and Solstice headed into the jungles and left Yuan and Martel by the waterfall.
"You have seen the coming darkness also, didn't you?" Solstice said.
"Yes, what we have done may have set into motion a series of events that impacts lives thousands of years into the future," Amaterasu said. "My perception of the future is dimming. A dark dawn is coming to this world."
"What do you intend to do?" asked Solstice.
"Entrust the rest of my mana into the seeds of the future. I will raise little Keiko Fujibayashi to be a great summoner and the leader of her village." Amaterasu replied. "I will see you again, Solstice. I am glad that I was able to pass on my gift to Yuan and Martel."