Chapter 8: Story time! Oh yeah, and a small surprise! (Please keep in mind, if you kill the author, you don't get the rest of the story)
Chuuya dreamed of stars.
The stars had always held a place in his heart, a terrible longing that didn't seem to be his -Arahabaki- that made him stay up late at night, watching the skies above in its magnificent glory. But here, in his dream, they weren't hanging far away on a backdrop of inky blackness. They were close, so close that he could feel the blistering heat that emanated from them, so strong that it should have reduced him to ash.
Yet he floated there in the void, free like the stars in the sky around him, captivated by the celestial giants that threatened to overwhelm him. (He was tempted to do so. After all, weren't they all made of stardust?) A red glow to his left caught his attention, and he turned, narrowing his eyes at the glowing silhouette that threatened to swallow up the beautiful sight around him.
"What do you want, Arahabaki?" The being ignored him at first, red eyes taking in the sights. Chuuya couldn't fault them for that, really. It was a breath-taking sight, but the threat of the god in front of him overpowered any appreciation that he had for the stars now. "Oi, dipshit, answer me! Weeks ago, you're taunting me with that alter ego creature that always pops up whenever I'm alone, and now, you ignore me as if you-"
"Shut up." Arahabaki's eyes were on his now, red boring into blue. Chuuya paused in his tirade, caught off guard by the tinge of – Nervousness? Trepidation? Fear? – in the god's voice. They floated over to him, effortlessly traversing the space between them to loom threateningly in front of him.
"There's another god nearby, and I will not have you accidentally making an enemy out of them." A clawed hand twisted in the air, betraying the undertones of nervousness stemming from the god. "Not with the amount of power I can sense in the air." The words floored him, making his mouth drop open in surprise. "Another god?"
Arahabaki nodded, his smoky form dissolving into dark clouds that flickered with red lightning before a face reformed. "If I'm right, and the god is who I think it is, then you better be on your best behaviour, human." The god hesitated, then expanded the clouds. "Are you familiar with the creation of the world?" Chuuya shook his head, and Arahabaki sighed. "I will have to teach you, then, if you are to understand the severity of our situation." Pictures started forming in the clouds, and Chuuya was curious enough to drift closer, examining them. He saw flashes of people?animals?gods? moving around, before it all faded into uniform white. It was blinding.
"When the universe was first born from the void, the first gods, Kunitokotachi and Amenominakanushi summoned two divine beings into existence, the male Izanagi and the female Izanami, and charged them with creating the first land." Two humanoid forms appeared, one dressed in a black hakama and other in a white kimono. "After bearing two devils, the ōyashima (the great eight islands), six more islands and many deities, Izanami died giving birth to Kagutsuchi (the incarnation of fire), and went to Yomi, the shadowy land of the dead." The kimono-clad figure disappeared, and a faint outline appeared in a far corner.
"Enraged, Izanagi slew the newborn child and went to Yomi to search for Izanami. Upon reaching Yomi, Izanagi could not see her, for the shadows hid her appearance, but her powers were great even in death, and he recognized her aura. Desperate, he implored her to return with him to the surface world, asking the leader of the underworld to allow Izanami to leave. Upon gaining permission, the couple joyfully left, Izanami holding on to Izanagi's arm." The scenes shifted to show the events progressing, the two figures reunited and moving slowly to what looked like an exit.
"But as they approached the entrance to the living world, the light from the surface shone upon Izanami, and Izanagi reeled back as he saw his wife's rotten form. Fear swallowed him, and he threw Izanami from himself, running for the surface. Shrieking and indignant, Izanami followed, calling forth Raijin, the God of Lightning, and Arahabaki, the God of Calamity, to aid her." Chuuya perked up at this, staring at the red outline of the quadrupedal black beast that appeared alongside a humanoid wreathed in sparks of lightning. The two beings raced ahead of the female god, chasing Izanagi.
"As Izanagi reached the surface, he turned to push a boulder into the mouth of the entrance, intending to entrap his wife within Yomi. I stopped him." Here, Arahabaki looked prideful, showing off the scene where the black beast breathed out a black hole that swallowed the boulder. Chuuya couldn't suppress a snort, and he ignored the scathing glare he received in return. "Then what?"
"Then," Arahabaki sighed, looking morose, "Izanami's children betrayed her." Several figures appeared, each flinging out their hands in an obvious use of power. "Before I could do anything else, I was sealed away into the vessel that those dratted scientists found a millennia later. Raijin was banished to the stars, left to die in the abyss."
Arahabaki paused for a moment, then foraged on. "I am unsure of the exact details after this, but from what I could sense, seven of the ōyashima came to their father's aid, restraining Izanami when she reached the surface. A knife, fashioned from the bones of Tsushima, the only ōyashima loyal to his mother, was used to sever the goddess' head from her body."
There was a long pause then, and Chuuya looked back at Arahabaki. The god seemed contemplative, the smoke swirling aimlessly. "Oi, dipshit. Not to interrupt story time, but what does all this have to do with the god that you can feel now?"
Arahabaki stared at him like he was an idiot. Chuuya had a sudden flashback to a certain bandage-waster's stare. He shook it away as the god answered. "The god I can feel now is Izanami, of course."
"Huh? But I thought you said she was killed?" Chuuya questioned. Arahabaki reformed into a humanoid form, shaking his head. "Didn't you hear a single word I said just now? Izanami was strong even in death, strong enough that Izanagi could sense her presence in Yomi. If my guess is right, Izanami is somewhere near our vicinity. But there is something strange about her presence."
"I think, what Izanagi and the seven ōyashima did to Izanami after they cut her head off, was to turn her into the Book." Chuuya sucked in a surprised breath, and Arahabaki nodded grimly. "Through you, I've heard about this Book as well, and it sounds suspicious that any inanimate object could have enough power to manipulate reality the way the Book can. And with you being captured and all," Arahabaki ignored Chuuya's irritated huff, "I'm betting on my existence that some scientists are trying to replicate what happened with you and me. They're trying to put Izanami into a vessel."
Chuuya stared. And stared some more. "But that was just a fluke, wasn't it? Rimbaud was the one who broke your seal, and I just happened to be the 'safety device' that trapped your consciousness with mine. There isn't any science behind this, and even if they succeeded, what are the chances Izanami won't decide to destroy them all at once?"
Arahabaki shrugged. "I do not claim to understand the reasoning behind humans and their actions. I'm as stumped as you are, but I suppose they might have some plan to restrain both Izanami and us in whatever facility they have. Anyway, if you're to meet with Izanami anytime soon, I'll need to teach you the proper ways to address her..."
Consciousness came in increments. He felt the bite of handcuffs first, followed by a cold stone floor. A prison cell, then, he concluded. After listening for guards and hearing none, he opened his eyes and sat up, careful not to exacerbate his throbbing head.
Chuuya took in the cell that he was in. It was a small room, just four walls and a small window near the bottom of one wall for food and water, with no indication of how to get in or out. He huffed, pulling on the chains tying him to the floor and testing their strength. Frowning at the lack of give, he looked around, freezing as he saw a girl chained up in the other corner. Who seemed to be equally as surprised as he was to see him there.
Bright blue eyes stared into his, set in a pale face framed by strikingly similar copper-red hair. The girl opened her mouth and closed it, taking in his face with an intensity that he shivered from. Then she spoke and bowled him over with the revelation that her question brought.
"Nii-san?"