BEHOLD! SUDDEN UPDATE!
Chapter Three: The Past Follows
December 19, 1744, Chiba, Japan
The woman's eyes widened as she gazed upon a rustic wooden house. It was a small, cozy looking home near the beaches of Chiba. Though it would be more appealing if the crashing of waves if she hadn't been trudging through the snow for the past few days. It was a two story house, it wasn't very impressive looking. Oddly enough there were a few wooden carvings of what she assumed were various Buddhas' in different sizes, shape and looks all around the house.
"This…is this really it?" she asked in utter bafflement as she looked at the house.
The woman's name was Tsukihime. She and her sister were river kitsune and lived in a small village. Or at least they used to until their home was assaulted by a raiding party of yōkai led by an upstart named Nurarihyon. Their clan was targeted by them to grow their fame and to gather followers. After their defeat, they were all offered a place among his growing army, but Tsukihime refused, took her sister, and left. Now they had been working as mercenaries for the past thirty or so years.
She didn't mind the work. In fact, she enjoyed it. Tsukihime loved fighting, testing her skill, fighting strong opponents who could test her… she lived for that kind of thing.
But it was her poor fortune that she encountered Nurarihyon once again, years later. And with her growing reputation as a mercenary, he had a job for her. Someone he needed out of the way. Some not-so-subtle threats on her sister's life, and she had no choice but to take care of this chore.
She didn't know why she was the one that had to do it. His army had grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Could've gotten some other idiot to do it. But she did notice the alarming amount of injured yōkai at their camp.
Her target? The human living in this small little hovel. She didn't know why Nurarihyon wanted him dead so badly, but she needed the money. She and her sister could only endure the cold for so long.
She hid her sword and snuck up to the building, her kitsune features hidden with illusions. The plan was simple: knock on their door, pass herself off as a simple traveler needing a place to stay for the night, butter him up with her femine wiles for a bit to make sure he was off guard, split his throat before he knew what was happening, and be done.
"Oi!" Tsukihime jumped as a loud voice came from inside the building. "I know you're there. You're shit at stealth. Absolutely no idea how to move quietly in the snow." The voice was male, sounded like he was in his mid to late twenties… and was very disappointed in her.
What the…!? How!? There were no windows on the side of the house she was approaching.
"You're a yōkai, aren't you?" The man asked rhetorically. "Have to be. The humans already forgot what I looked like after a few decades of hiding."
Then Tsukihime noticed it. The voice wasn't coming from the building, it was coming from everywhere! She drew her katana; the information was wrong, this wasn't a normal human.
"Not a bad sword, good craftsmanship. But there's nothing more I hate than a good sword being used wrong, just look at that stance!" the man ridiculed, "And really, showing that amount of skin in weather like this? Either you just really like to flaunt what you got or you're broke as dirt."
Tsukihime felt her eye twitch as this bastard ran his mouth. She'd been a mercenary for thirty Inari-damned years! A professional killer, and a damn good one too. She made a name for herself doing this. Work was just… slow recently.
"You're a rookie, through and through." She could almost see the man shaking his head. "After all..." the voice whispered right into her ear. "You still haven't realized that I'm right behind you."
Tsukihime's eyes widened as she swung her sword in the direction of the voice.
Sparks flew as swords clashed. Though, to her surprise, the force of the opposing blow threw her off balance. She was sent backpeedling until her back hit a tree. Snow fell from the tree and on her head, obscuring her vision.
"So, what do I have the pleasure of cutting down today?"
Tsukihime quickly wiped the snow out of her eyes, just in time to see the sword about to spit her head in two. She raised her blade just in time, the impact causing a shockwave that sent snow flying everywhere. Her knees buckled under the force as she finally got a good look at her target, their swords locking.
A young, handsome man in his mid-twenties. Shoulder-length black hair tied into a ponytail. A single amber eyes stared at her, the left side of his face wrapped in bandages. His left arm hung from a sling, also wrapped up. He dressed like a peasant, wore a red and black outfit that was ripped and worn out to the point that he was practically wearing rags that were stitched together.
The man was human. A human was pushing her back. A kitsune, sure, she was a two-tails, but her blade had cut down far more powerful things than a mere human. This was insane!
He smiled condescendingly. "You're certainly not a yuki-onna, the cold is actually getting to you." He tilted his head. "Kitsune? You're more than pretty enough to be one."
Tsukihime grit her teeth. "Your deduction skills aren't half bad, and thank you for the compliment..." she gathered her strength, dispelling her illusion, and pushed him back. "But don't think flattery will let you live today!"
The man blinked as he looked at her tails. "Really? Really!?"
"What?" Tsukihime frowned.
"They sent two-tails to try and kill me?" He laughed loudly before shaking his head. "Alright, alright, I guess I'm up for a warm-up to start the day."
"Warm-up!?" She shouted, insulted.
He rested his sword on his shoulder, a cooky, relaxed expression on his face. "I've killed four-tailed, and six-tailed kitsune before," he yawned, "A shame really. My mother said I was blessed by Inari when I was born." He waved her off before walking away. "Go home kid, you'll live longer that way."
Tsukihime stood there, stunned. This human surprised her, pushed her back once, made some ridiculous, idiotic claims, and disrespected her of all people.
This would not stand!
Gathering her youki, she manipulated the snow to create two floating blades of ice. This was an art she invented while playing in the snow with her sister that evolved into something she could use in combat, Kitsune Art: Frostbite Edge. Manipulating ice cost far more youki than she liked, but considering that there were no sources of fresh water near the beach, she'd have to make due. She shot one right at his head as she charged, the other blade following her. The man tilted his head, dodging the first blade by a hair.
"Die!" She cried as she swung her blade.
The man just sighed as he kicked back, just barely avoiding her sword. The ice sword shot at his leg, but the man deflected it, sending the construct spinning into the air.
"Neat trick." He complimented as the first ice sword flew past his head, just missing him. "More creative than most other kitsune."
The two ice blades came at him relentlessly, following her will. But every time, he blocked and parried with practiced ease. An intrigued expression on his face as he countered whatever plan of attack she tried next. His one eye and arm didn't seem to cripple his fighting skills in the least. With a swing of blade, the ice constructs were shattered into pieces. He rushed her with speeds beyond anything she knew a human to be capable of forcing her to block his sudden strike.
Locking blades again, he leaned in, his single eye looked at her with irritation. "You really need to learn how to take a hint."
Tsukihime was about to say something before he twisted his blade, forcing hers to move with his. With a flick of his wrist, her sword was sent flying through the air. She let out a cry of pain as his knee embedded itself into her stomach, driving the air from her lungs.
She stumbled back before dropping to her knees, holding her stomach, struggling to regain her breath. That hurt like hell. The glint of metal reached her eyes as she realized that his sword was in her face. The sword phased through her head as if she wasn't there. Tsukihime phased out of existence as if she was a mirage.
The man scowled. "Tch. Hate illusions."
Behind a tree, Tsukihime held her still-sore stomach. That was too close.
This was no ordinary human. That one blow alone shattered any thoughts of this being an easy encounter. Just who the hell was this guy? Though it wasn't her style, she'd have to rely more on her illusions for this opponent. He was still human, as such, he had no youki, he'd need to harm himself to break out of her illusions.
Out of the trees came a storm of ice blades from all directions, all aiming to turn the man into a pincushion. But he made no effort to evade, he just stood there, his eyes closed. Every blade that reached him phased harmlessly through his body. Then… his eyes snapped open and he swung his blade. A loud clang rang through the woods as a single ice sword was sent spiraling through the air, impaling a tree.
"I told you already, I've dealt with much stronger of your kind." The man belittled. "What do you think you're accomplishing by coming here?" He asked. "To challenge yourself? That century year old bounty the Yōkai Saints have on me?"
Tsukihime let him talk as she used her illusions to make herself invisible to him. She began to sneak up on him while his attention was on the tree he believed she was hiding behind.
"No," he shook his head, "You really are clueless. Someone put you up to this. Either they want you dead… or they're trying to confirm my existence?" He let out a laugh. "Someone threw you into a suicide mission and you don't even know it!"
Tsukihime positioned her blade at his heart, making a secondary illusion right behind him with its sword aiming for his spine. He'd mistake the one behind him as the real threat and be dead before he knew what was happening.
"But my real question is..." The sling and bandages around his left arm unraveled and a prosthetic arm that lashed out and grabbed her blade. "Why didn't you listen when I said you can't move quietly through the snow?"
Tsukihime's eyes widened.
He shouldn't be able to see her! She knew damn well he couldn't. He didn't have youki to break her illusions, so how in Inari did he know where her sword was!?
He pulled on the sword, sending her stumbling towards him, and headbutted her right in the nose. She yelled in pain as she let go of her sword on reflex, both hands shooting up to her nose. The man's prosthetic arm lashed out again, grabbing her by the neck slamming her against a tree, knocking the wind out of her. He tightened his grip and raised her off the ground, her back scrapped roughly against the bark.
"You kitsune always use cheap magic tricks to hide," he smiled cruelly, "But you fail to make yourselves truly invisible. To a shinobi like myself, it's quite insulting seeing my profession being mocked like that."
Tsukihime tried to pry his artificial limb off, but it wouldn't budge. It was made of wood, bone, some metal, and thick string, yet it wouldn't budge under her strength even when she used Reinforcement with her youki.
"Who… are… you!?" She struggled to get the words out under his vice grip.
The man snorted. "You really have no idea what's going on, do you?" He reached for the bandages on his face, "How did that little folk song about me again…?" He ripped them off, showing the red and black flame-like markings on the side of his face, his left eye glowing red with bloodlust and malice, the sclera turned black. "Fields of bodies, mountains of dead. Down Dragonspring river, our country bled." He positioned his sword to stab her right through the head. "A fiery god, demon wolf in red."
Tsukihime raised her legs back and kicked him off of her. The man fell several meters away. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest, but at the same time, her blood turned ice cold in fear. She knew who this was. Anyone, human or yōkai around the last century and a half knew who he was!
She quickly grabbed her sword, pointing it at the man as she watched as he got up, laughing as he did.
"So, the little fox still has some fight in her." He grinned. "You have more guts than most of your kind."
The man who single handedly ended the golden land of Ashina. During the Amrita incident, many resurrected legendary yōkai were cut down by his blade, including Yamata no Orochi himself. Most infamous of all, he killed one of the Kyūbi, a nine-tails; the Kyūbi of the Void. It was said that their battle lasted but only a minute. That the Kyūbi threw an inferno of Void upon him… and he walked through it, completely unaffected as he cut him down as easily as a common human peasant.
Tsukihime felt his killing intent spike as he flicked his prosthetic arm, and the handle of an axe swung into his hand, the edge of the blade was covered in an odd light blue and purple substance. As he stalked towards her, blue and purple flames engulfed the weapon. Not just any flames… divine flames.
It… It couldn't be! He hadn't been seen in over fourty years, he should be dead!
"Y-You're Shura!" Tsukihime choked out.
Little was known about him aside from the bodies he left in his wake from both humanity and the supernatural. And his name alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of humans and yōkai alike.
No one knew where Shura came from, he started wandering from battlefield to battlefield, fighting and killing. Some say he was a vengeful spirit from the mythical land of Ashina, others say he was a remnant of the abominable Amrita that cursed the land years ago. The most outlandish of all claimed that he was an immortal human, bound to walk the Earth for eternity.
"The girl finally figured it out!" Shura yelled in glee as he swung the axe covered in the power of the divine.
Tsukihime rolled out of the way as he cut through the tree behind her in a single swing. She made a mad dash towards her sword, and got to it just in time to block a swing of his flaming axe. Sparks showered everywhere on contact. She was prepared for the force of the bow… but not the explosion of divine fire after that.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" she screamed as she was sent flying, bouncing a few times across the ground before hitting her head harshly against a tree.
The bark practically exploded on impact, as did a good portion of the trunk of the tree. It was only due to some timely application of Reinforcement that she survived that with minimal injuries. She forced herself to her feet with the help of her sword. She almost fell right back down as her abused sword snapped in two.
Tsukihime looked at her weapon, her mouth slightly agape. "Shit..."
"Shit outta luck, yeah." She stiffened as his shadow loomed over her.
She gasped as a damp cloth was shoved into her face. Her eyes grew heavy as she realized it was laced with a drug. As darkness consumed her, she heard Shura say one last thing.
"Good ol' chloroform!" Shura said cheerfully. "Good thing the FBI isn't around to put me on a list just yet."
[-]
Tsukihime blinked as she woke up. The first thing she noticed was that she was warm. The next thing was that she was tied up by ropes covered in seals that restricted her youki. She was as helpless as a human being now.
She looked around, realizing that she must be inside Shura's cabin. Rather odd, carvings of various Buddhas with angry faces littered the room. There was a worktable with some tools, some swords hanging around, kunais, a few bags of black powder, and other weaponry. The chimney seemed to be burning a few new looking logs… so he was still near.
"Good, you're awake." Her heart all but jumped into her throat at the sound of the voice.
She turned to see the man - no monster - walk towards her, his footsteps nearly silent. In his hands was a large steaming pot of… something. He put the pot on the worktable before he knelt down in front of her, his eyes boring into her soul.
"I have some questions for you, Foxy. Answer them in a fashion I find satisfactory, and I'll let you go free in one piece. How's that sound?" He smiled in a way that wasn't very reassuring.
Tsukihime gulped. "How do I know you won't just kill me anyway?"
His expression died, and his voice turned completely monotone. "You don't." His carefree expression returned. "You're not in a position to make any kind of demands. I don't care what clan you're from, and I don't care how powerful your allies are. I want to know who sent you. You have a minute to answer before I just kill you and go find out for myself."
"Nurarihyon sent me," Tsukihime answered almost immediately, no skin off her back if the Shura wanted him dead. "He didn't tell me who you were, just that you were a human giving him some trouble!"
Shura sighed. "That asshole again, eh?" He shook his head. "He's been trying to kill me the past few months. Thought I finally got it through his thick skull that I don't die easily."
Her eyes widened. "He knows you're Shura!?"
She thought that this whole job was just a case of mistaken identity gone incredibly wrong. Why would he do something so stupid as to incure the wrath of the Shura? Ever since the fall of the most powerful Void clan and their Kyūbi sixty years ago, he became the most feared man on the planet. If the power of oblivion itself couldn't fell the Shura, what hope did Nurarihyon?
"For fame mostly, he thinks his army will be big enough to finally kill me." He snorted. "I already killed one third of his army and he still wants the smoke?"
He did what…?
B-But most of the army was… There were so many of them when she got to the camp! Wait… the injured… Just how many yōkai did he gather to kill Shura?
"Now, who are you exactly?" He stroked the small stubble on his chin.
"Tsukihime," she answered softly, "I'm a mercenary."
He grabbed a ladle and two bowls and started filling them with the stew from the pot. "Tsukihime..." His eyebrows shot up. "The Kitsune Swordswoman, Blood Moon Princess?"
She binked, surprised that the infamous Shura would even know of her. "Yes..."
He looked at her in disappointment. "Buddha help me, your swordsmanship is awful..." Tsukihime bristed at the insult, but kept quiet. "I mean, I could see how swordsmanship would throw off most other yōkai since it's not expected for a kitsune to use it but… wow." He shook his head. "Why'd you take the job?"
Tsukihime hesitated. "My sister..."
"Oh?"
"Nurarihyon threatened her life if I didn't kill you." She explained. "He also promised a large sum of money for your death."
"I see." Was all he said. "Since you've been so forthcoming, I'm going to untie you. But if you try to attack me the moment I let you go, then I will kill you, no hesitation. Am I understood?"
Tsukihime nodded silently.
Shura walked behind her, and soon enough she felt the ropes slacken and fall to the wooden floor. Her ability to manipulate her youki returned. She could rip him to shred with her hands alone… but she thought better of that since he was able to so easily overpower her earlier. He walked back to his previous position and sat down, handed her the second bowl, the substance inside still steaming.
"It's beef and vegetable stew," he brought the bowl up to his lips and took several big gulps, "Careful, it's hot."
Tsukihime was about to refuse to eat, but just then her stomach rumbled rather loudly. She hadn't had a decent meal in days.
Shura smirked as she raised the bowl to her mouth and slowly slipped the stew. It was good. Warmth spread through her body almost like a fire. It felt comforting, the tension evaporated from her aching muscles. It felt like home.
"My cooking ain't that bad, is it?" Shura gave her a wry smile.
Tsukihime blinked, before trying to hurriedly wave off his concern, much to his amusement. "N-No it's not that I just..." the expression on her face fell again, "I miss home."
Decades of just drifting through Japan had taken its toll on her, it was probably even more worse on her sister. While she loved fighting this kind of life was hard. She had to go where the work was and that meant putting her dear sister in danger, and she had never been in more danger than she was now. Things were easy before all of this, but she'd pull through. She always did.
Shura nodded to himself. "I know that feeling, at least a little bit," he sympathized, "I had a master when I was younger, his name was Kuro. I was assigned as his retainer when he was just a child," he laughed, "Imagine that, the big bad Shura getting bossed around by a child!"
Tsukihime let her guard down slightly and hid her smile under the bowl as she ate more of the stew. That certainly was an amusing thought, especially after he so badly humiliated her earlier. She was going to hold that grudge for a loooong time.
"He was a good kid, and grew up to be a wise man. Where he went was home to me. He was all I had left really, he was family," Tsukihime could hear the respect for this Kuro in his voice, "He died around seventy years ago. The life he lived wasn't grand, but it was ours, and we made due. And that smile on his face as he held my hand when he passed away, surrounded by friends and family..." he smiled somberly as he looked into the fire of the chimney, "I won't ever forget that. Spent the following decades roaming the country, but it's… difficult."
The longing, the hurt, the pain in his eyes and voice…
"Just… what are you?" Tsukihime asked.
He humed, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Everyone knows me as Shura. Isshin Ashina nicknamed me Sekiro. The codename I was given when I became a fully fledged shinobi was Wolf. I am but a mere drifter unbefitting of such names and titles," he gave her a coy smile, "I'm Rokurou, a human with immortality."
Tsukihime widened. "Immortality? That's impossible!"
Shura - no - Rokurou snorted. "And yet here I am, still alive after nearly two centuries, still human to the very marrow of my bones."
The conversation grew quiet after that. They both ate in silence, but Tsukihime toko seconds… and thirds… and fourths… She was hungry, okay!
After they finished eating, Rokurou stood up and sat at his worktable, using his tools to fiddle with his prosthetic arm. He put shurikens in a special compartment in the arm, replaced a whole finger, and began inspecting various weaponry like his axe, an odd spear, and this rusted wakizashi that gave her a very ominous feeling.
"So, tell me, what's your sister's name?" Rokurou asked suddenly. "What does she look like?"
Tsukihime didn't understand why he'd ask something like that, but brushed it off. "Kirihime. She looks like me, but with shorter hair."
Rokurou nodded. "Got it."
He grabbed the odachi with the red sheath off the wall. "I'm heading out for a while, I'll be back by dawn," he strapped the blade to his back, "Get some rest, you're still healing from our little scuffle. But I'm sure a river kitsune like yourself can do a better job of healing with your Water Arts."
Tsukihime gave him a dry look, to which he returned a cheeky grin before walking out the door. She sighed as she was finally left alone, looking at the black odachi on the wall. There was a lot of weaponry in the cabin, a good amount of food, maybe even some money if she looked hard enough. She could just rob him blind and be back to sneak her sister out of the camp before the week was over if she hurried.
...But as much as she wanted to knock him down a few pegs, she'd rather not have the Shura himself hunting her down.
So, she waited, feeling drowsy from the large meal; and eventually she fell asleep. For some odd reason, she heard the distant roll of thunder.
[-]
Tsukihime woke up to the sound of the door being opened and two voices.
"How did you do that!?" One voice said, her mind was still hazy, but it sounded familiar "One moment we were at the camp, the next, we're here!"
"Elementary, my dear kitsune," Rokurou's voice answered smugly, "You merely underestimate the power of Buddha!"
"But all the Buddha here have angry faces!"
"Listen..." Rokurou's tone turned dejected. "I'm trying okay. It's been over a century and I still can only make an angry Buddha."
"That's a lot of angry Buddha..."
Tsukihime blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she sat up. "Kirihime?"
Kirihime's eyes lit up like stars. "Sister!"
"Oof!" Tsukihime was tackled to the floor by a black haired missile in the form of her sister.
"I missed you so much!"
"H-Huh!? How!?"
"That'd be my handiwork." Rokurou announced, he was covered in blood. "To put a long story short: It took a bit of effort, but Nurarihyon won't be bothering anyone with his ambitions anymore."
"Inari-blessed! What did you do!?"
Rokurou smiled. "Just had a bit of a friendly chat… yeah, something like that." He began gathering his things in the cabin. "Anyway, I'm going to leave the mainland today. You can keep the cabin if you want."
"Leaving the mainland?"
"Yeah, I think I'll head to Tsushima. Spend a few decades being a fisherman or something."
She wrapped her arms around her sister, still nuzzling into her stomach. "You're an odd man, you know that?"
He waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, the old man has some quirks to him." He walked to his work table and took a few scrolls, kneeling down before her and her sister, he handed her the scrolls. "Take these, they're lessons on swordsmanship and shinobi tactics. You'll need them if you want to actually be good at your profession."
She glared at him. "Oi."
Rokurou just smirked. "Maa, maa, I'm just saying it how it is." He walked out the door giving them a two finger wave. "Have a nice life you two."
"H-Hold on!" Tsukihime yelled, escaping her sister's grasp.
It was no use though, by the time she'd gotten to the door he'd disappeared without a trace. Just as suddenly as he'd entered her life, he left.
It was only a week later did she receive news that Nurarihyon the Diplomat, and his entire army had been slaughtered. Not one of them survived whoever attacked them.
She wouldn't meet Rokurou again until twenty years later in Tsushima.
[-]
April 24, 2016, Florida, America
Two months after Lilian reunited with Kevin.
The woman sighed as she parked her purple mustang into the parking lot of a grocery market. She wasn't here to buy anything, she needed a minute to think.
It had been two months since her charge, Lilian Pnévma, had run away from home. She'd spent nearly every waking moment looking for her, but now the stress was just getting too much for her to handle.
It had been over a century and a half since her first and only mate, Rokurou died. It hit both her and her sister hard, to see the man they loved, the immortal who came back from any injury no matter how intense, just bleed out and expired in their arms.
They buried him next to the grave of his former master, Kuro. After that they went about making sure his powerful artifacts and weapons couldn't be abused or misused by others. Kirihime safeguarded the Shinobi Prosthetic and its many tools. The Dragon Ninja of the Hayabusa Clan, Rokurou's long-time allies, were tasked with protecting the Black Mortal Blade.
Tsukihime, now known as Kotohime after the monarch of the Pnévma clan, Delphine Pnévma (one of the Kyūbi), had taken in her and her sister? She carried his sword, Kusabimaru, and the weapon that had slayed her beloved… the Red Mortal Blade. It was a reminder to herself, that she was the reason he was dead. That it was her fault. It was her eternal punishment to carry this blade.
Rokurou taught her many things, from the Ashina sword style to the ways of a shinobi. Especially with how to blend in and keep up with the times. As much as she disliked it, she couldn't keep wearing her kimonos no matter how much she preferred them. And she had to keep up with how technology worked, it was really the only reason why she got the car. The car was nice… she guessed. She loathed the phones though, the damned things just kept getting more and more complicated every year.
Ding!
Speaking of her phone.
She reached into her pocket to pull out her smartphone. She had gotten a text from her longtime friend, Kiara, an Inu she, Kirihime, and Rokurou met in Los Angeles shortly before his death. She struck it big as the founder and CEO of an international fitness chain called Mad Dawg Fitness.
...Rokurou would have had some choice words for that name.
Kiara: Get to Phoenix Arizona now!
Kotohime: Why, what happened?
Kiara: Well, your charge and her mate beat up my little brother.
Her eyes widened. "She's in Arizona!?" She paused. "She has a mate now!?"
Kiara: And you'll never guess who her mate is. An old friend of ours.
Kotohime: Who?
Kiara: To put a long story short, the afterlife, Hell, or whatever finally got sick of him and threw his ass back to the living.
Kotohime: I don't follow.
Kiara: Rokurou is back from the dead.
Kotohime's phone slipped from her fingers. She sat there in her car, shocked to her core. The words repeated in her mind over and over again.
He's alive.
He's alive.
He's alive.
He's alive.
He's alive.
He's alive.
Rokurou is alive!
Kotohime slammed her foot on the gas pedal and sped out of the parking lot. She ignored the constant beeping of texts and calls coming from Kiara as she focused on driving to Arizona.
If Kiara was lying about this, century of friendship or not, there would be hell to pay.
Chapter End
As you can see, this chapter is about Rokurou/Kevin's first wife/mate. The ending is actually a flash forward two months after the last chapter. The following chapters will show the nonsense that leads up to this and the first Champion of Light the Radiance sends to deal with Kevin.