I worship exclusively at the altar of Keiichi/Mion, but why should that stop me from doing other stuff. Just because I'm not all for a ship doesn't mean I can't create good content for it, right? Ended up being more about Mion than anything, but whatever. I can always try again later.

June 14th, 2020

Flames danced and roared through the temple, but Mion Sonozaki was not afraid. Why should she be? This was what she had been raised for.

All around were the sacred treasures of the temple, things other people might scorn as junk and trash, reverently placed on pillars of the finest white marble. Every holy treasure was wrapped and enveloped in an everlasting flame that shifted, roiled, flickered, and danced, casting a dazzling array of light and shadow over the inner sanctum where she knelt. But lo, and this was the miracle of it, none of these treasures were harmed, and stood protected and preserved in the fire, rather than destroyed.

Such was the power of the holy flame.

As one, the fires roared and flared like pitch-soaked torches, pillars of fire shooting up to lick the carved ceiling, and Mion lowered her head, her long tail of bright green hair falling over one bare shoulder.

"All hail the glory and the goddess, Preserver of Holy Relics, Mother of the Conquering Fire." she intoned. "All hail the White-Hot Flame, the Eternal Blaze, the heart of stars. All hail that which we deem Rena Ryugu."

As always, even the mere speaking of her Lady's name felt like honey in her mouth, and Mion's solemn expression shifted upwards into a slight smile.

Power slammed outwards through the temple sanctum, but Mion was not afraid. Why should she be? This was her goddess.

"Rise and look upon me, Mion."

Reverently, Mion did so, sliding to her feet with all the grace her training could summon, her lithe body moving with a fluidity that bordered on supernatural. Her white gown rustled around her, and a stranger might be mistaken in thinking Mion was a goddess, for the simplicity of the garment she wore and the beauty of her form, her elegant face and generous curves making her appear as flawless as a diamond.

But all those blasphemer's thoughts would be blown away as they saw the true goddess resting atop the dais Mion had knelt before, and they would have fallen to their knees in sheer awe, before the impure of them was burned away before the glory and radiance of the White-Hot Flame.

Hair like molten copper spilled across delicate shoulders, and blue eyes bright and piercing as a star gleamed at Mion from a face so heartbreakingly perfect it made mortals weep to behold. Flames caressed the goddess's body like a dress, rising and falling over her throat in an ever-shifting collar to the garment she wore, licks of purple and blue and red flaring as the temperature changed.

"My lady." Mion breathed in reverence.

Rena smiled a sly, beautiful smile.

"Come now, Mion. Call me Rena when we are alone."

Mion Sonozaki was the most blessed of the temple guard. How could any doubt it, when she wore the blazing coronet of the goddess's favor for all to see? She was the swiftest, the strongest, the most cunning, and the blazing heat of her fire was a reflection of the true glory of their Lady's, and nothing less. Her sword moved like a snake in the wind, sliding through armor and bone like it was paper, and her magic was strong and hungry, burning through countless lesser foes who sought to summon or challenge their Lady and bend her fearsome powers to their own ends. None could approach the inner sanctum save by Mion Sonozaki's will, and her will was that none deserved to speak with the goddess without proving themselves upon Her revenue.

She was a legend that nearly matched the goddess, for all who sought their temple upon the slopes spoke of a warrior beyond measure, a green-haired woman clad in a simple white tunic that scorned the arrows and blades of her foes, a woman with a deadly sword in her hand that slew a hundred foes upon the mountainside, a woman beautiful as a flower and deadlier than poison.

And generals and warlords and mages feared this woman and the havoc she could wreak, though Mion stood by her duty and guarded the temple and its monastery with a zeal secondary only to what she very properly accorded her goddess.

But like all things, legends must come to an end.

It ended on a snowy night, a night where the falling snow glowed red with the desperate blasting of flames and the blood from defenders and assailants alike, a night when armored foes littered the mountainside three deep and Mion and her fellows were driven back step by desperate step, towards their temple.

It was a night when the mountain seemed to shake with the roar of Mion's defiance, and water gushed and steamed around her and the ragged phalanx on the slopes as they summoned their flames, melting vast swaths of snow and pushing the invaders back through the sheer weight of the avalanche –or would it be flood?– that tumbled down the slope.

But it was not enough.

The invaders were blind as steam billowed and frothed around them, and bolt after bolt of flame and arrows struck to deadly effect, but still they pressed onwards, and one by one Mion's sisters and brothers fell, sullying the holy temple steps with their blood.

Until, at last, it was just Mion and one other, only one: her twin sister Shion, who threw the doors shut and barricaded them with magic, shutting out the fallen bodies of their comrades and the clanking ranks of invaders.

"Sister," she gasped. "Flee with our Lady. Take her and her power and go! I look enough like you to cause our enemies to halt, for a time. Take that time and flee!"

And Mion hesitated, but then her stance firmed and the flaming coronet of the champion blazed to life, dancing along her brow.

"How could I call myself a worthy servant to my Lady if I turned and left you here to die?" she asked, and her voice rose to a roar of defiance. "Hear me, foes of the Eternal Blaze! I carry the love of the White-Hot Flame in my flesh! I have been touched by the very fires of creation, and I vow on those fires that you shall not defile our temple any further!"

And she pushed through the doors, and flames danced along the ground as the snow liquified once more, and Mion Sonozaki brought forth her sword as the army charged.

Long did they fight, and many were the foes that fell before her, for Mion Sonozaki held the blessing and favor of her goddess, and her flesh had been touched by the fires of creation. She saw an army before her, an army which had slew all of her companions but one, but Mion was not afraid. Why should she be?

This was her purpose.

She laughed as blood flew from her blade and fires raged and billowed around her, cutting down soldier after soldier as the white heat of her charge began to slowly melt and liquify the very rock upon which they stood. Mion Sonozaki fought for her family, she fought for her goddess, she fought for her love: the only love she had ever known, the gentle heat and blazing passion of a goddess with a heart kind as summer, and desire as fierce as the desert. She fought for Rena Ryugu, whose kiss tasted like lightning and whose touch felt like the sun, who had given Mion everything she had ever been and pushed her to become better than she ever was.

Mion Sonozaki died on the mountain slope that night, and the Avenging Flame was born.

Even to this day, the mountain which houses the temple for the Two Flames is scorched and barren down to the rock, and is guarded by a green-haired woman alone, but with powerful magic.

12.03 PM, USA Central Time