AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'll give a heads-up right now that there's a bit of aNaNkOs tExT in this chapter, but it's fairly scarce in this chapter and doesn't persist into the next chapter at all. On that note, however, the track "Fantastic Feast" is considerably appropriate for the first half of this segment. Anyways, The next chapter might be a little delayed due to NaNoWriMo, but if I can't post it on Thursday, I'll try to at least get it up on Monday. Anyways... it's time to meet Kamui again!
Happy Reading!
CHAPTER 39: The Inexorable Night
Sing with me a song of Dusk and Control...
Tracking Kamui was not nearly as difficult as they thought it would be. Even amongst the ruins of Valla, there were still clear signs of a rampage that led to a clearing. In the middle of it was a large, black and grey dragon. These dragon forms that Corrin and Kamui took did not seem to normally have visible eyes, but there were two red spots on either side of its face that glowed as if with those same possessed eyes that now affected 7 of the 8 royals of Hoshido and Nohr. Incidentally, and to everyone's surprise, the dragon morphed back into a humanoid; and less surprisingly, Kamui's eyes still glowed red.
"i hAvE bEeN wAiTiNg FoR yOu, dEaR bRoThEr…" she called out, brandishing her sword threateningly, "dO yOu tRuLy ThInK yOu cAn sToP tHe dUsK dRaGoN aT hEr MiGhTiEsT?!"
"Kamui!" Corrin barked, "Snap out of it! This is not you, and you KNOW this is not you!"
"iS tHiS tRuLy nOt WhO i aM?" Kamui riposted, her back arching and her head leaned back at a nearly inhuman angle as she took a lopsided but dangerous stance, "i HaVe MeReLy rEtUrNeD tO My fAtHeR iN vAlLa. I fIgHt fOr HiM aNd ThE eXalTeD oNe, aNd iN rEtUrN ThEy GrAnT mE StReNgTh. yOu ArE nO mAtCh FoR tHe NiGhT, DaWn DrAgOn!"
"That sounds more like the Kamui I knew," Corrin muttered, "Kamui, I know you're in there, and we're going to break you free. Hang in there!"
"cOmE aT mE!" Kamui warned, "DeMoNsTrAtE yOuR iNfErIoR sTrEnGtH AnD wIlL By cRaShInG aGaInSt mE lIkE wAtEr aGaInSt rOcK, bEfOrE ReAlIzInG yOuR gRaNd MiStAkE!"
"Corrin!" Azura warned, "There's no way you're going to be able to take her down on your own. I… I hate to have to ask this from you, but I need you and your companions to protect me. If I can sing my Song of Liberation without interruptions I will be able to free her from this curse that grips her, and then she should be back to normal."
"I take it there's a catch." Corrin frowned.
"The catch is that if her strength is not whittled down enough she will be able to fight it, and judging by her current state she looks ready to kill."
"I will keep you safe, Lady Azura" Gunter offered, "my shield is large and my armor is thick. My steed is not nearly as old I am, and can likely outmaneuver Lady Kamui even at her angriest."
"The rest of us should go all in on her then," Zenzi suggested, "I've seen Kamui's scars. I-I don't think she's bluffing about her strength at all."
"nO mOrE wOrDs!" Kamui roared like a dragon before charging, "StAnD uP aNd FiGhT!"
Roku and Zenzi wasted no time in taking their usual three-point formation with Corrin as they charged at Kamui. Jakob and Felicia stayed a little farther back to harass her with daggers and throwing knives, while Gunter and Azura circled around, staying out of the Dusk Dragon's reach.
Despite the 5-on-1 onslaught, Kamui actually had the upper hand, presumably because of her augmented strength and power. She was made even more terrifying by the fact that she periodically morphed back into a dragon and then back into a woman, and there was no pattern to her intervals. Her dragon form was slower but much more resilient; while her humanoid form could not take as many hits, but she was terrifyingly fast, even for lightning speedsters like Roku and Zenzi. The only thing that slowed her was Azura's song, but it was clear that she (or whatever was possessing her) was trying fiercely to resist it. Corrin morphed into a dragon as well to keep Kamui occupied, while Jakob, Felicia, Roku, and Zenzi all dashed in and out with little pricks and lacerations to slow the Dusk Dragon down. Kamui lashed out, slicing Zenzi across the chest before jabbing Jakob in the back of the head with a swift and powerful kick that concussed him and knocked him unconscious. Only Felicia managed to evade getting hit, while Roku took a blast of water ejected from Kamui's mouth that threw him several meters back. Corrin stayed right in her face though and attacked her while she focused on his friends. The two dragons began mauling each other in an odd sort of way, but while Kamui's strikes were vicious and erratic, Corrin's strikes were acute and very precise. These efforts weakened Kamui to the point where she was forced back into her humanoid form, whist Corrin retained his dragon form and struck her hard enough to disarm her. Kamui fell onto her back and Corrin pinned her there while his retainers gathered around. With Kamui too weak to resist, Azura broke into the full song she needed to sing to snap Kamui out of her curse.
"You are the grey ocean waves…"
"KyAaAaAaAaAuUgGhHh!" Kamui bellowed as if being tortured, "fAtHeR… eXaLtEd OnE… PrOtEcT yOuR lOyAl cHiLd fRoM ThIs bEwItChMeNt!"
However, as Azura finished her song, Kamui stopped thrashing and struggling, and instead began gasping for breath as her eyes faded back to their normal color. Corrin slowly morphed back into his humanoid form as he scooped Kamui into his arms. She was certainly worse for wear, being roughed up even worse than Zenzi.
"What… happened?" Kamui groaned, clutching her forehead.
"You were possessed," Corrin explained, "and you said something about Anankos being your father, and something about an "Exalted One"..."
"Corrin, holy shit, that reminds me!" Kamui explained, "I've got a bunch of stuff to talk to you about… but I need rest… and it looks like that pink-haired woman needs help too."
She stood up and looked around. Almost immediately, despite his injuries, Jakob was at her side, much to her delight (which also meant he had regained consciousness).
"Jakob!" she put her arms around him, ignoring her wounds.
"Milady!" Jakob actually smiled, "it is a pleasure to see that you are alive and well… or at least alive. I came searching for you the moment I heard the news in Hoshido."
"I expected nothing less," Kamui quipped, smiling as Felicia showed up as well.
"L-Lady Kamui!" she exclaimed, "Are you okay?"
"Never been better," She shrugged, "but hey, why don't you help heal Zenzi?"
"Right then!" Felicia nodded and got to work mending Zenzi's wounds, and then tended to Roku before seeing who else needed assistance. Jakob was able to use his own staff on himself after he had tended to most of Kamui's wounds, and because of the evasive maneuvers they had taken, both Gunter and Azura were unhurt. After everyone was accounted for, Corrin, Zenzi, and Roku helped bring Jakob, Gunter, and even Kamui up to date on what was going on.
"Well…" Kamui gave a long drawn-out sigh after she heard the whole story, "the good news is that I know of a place where we can actually lay low without having to stay in this gods-forsaken dungheap or have to camp-out in the shithole known as the Bottomless Canyon."
"Your chance to leave has passed, trespasser." A firm voice interrupted them. The group spun around to find themselves face to face with a Vallite mage flanked by two rather regal looking women. All three were shrouded in wispy purple flames.
"Says who?" Kamui challenged, brandishing her sword.
"Kamui!" Corrin called out, resisting the urge to slap his forehead.
"Says the will of Anankos and the Exalted One," the woman replied as she waved her arms, surrounding Corrin's little army with a magical barrier.
"I met Anankos while he possessed me just now," Kamui riposted, "and lemme tell you—shittiest father ever. He makes Garon look like dad of the year."
Kamui's smacktalk was not met with a verbal response, but the woman to the mage's right shot an electrical arrow at Kamui that knocked her clean off her feet. As Corrin was trying to formulate a strategy regarding what to do next, the barrier suddenly shattered when a blue-glowing arrow whizzed out from nowhere and penetrated both sides of the barrier, dissipating it.
"Get out while you can!" the archer warned, and Corrin recognized it as Chel.
"You dare defy the Exalted One, insolent child?" the mage threatened.
"I can and I will." Chel stood her ground, "And so will my friends. These men and women will not fall into your hands today, monster!"
"Chel!?" Corrin exclaimed,
"RUN!" Chel bellowed, "RUN OR WE ALL DIE!"
Kamui pulled Corrin away, because it was clear that he was hesitating. Chel kept the three Vallites occupied while Corrin's group retreated, and Azura helped them escape Valla.
"You wanted to stop and help her, didn't you?" Kamui sighed.
"She saved us—multiple times, back there," Corrin clarified, "and while we were running from you during your rampage on the plains, Sakura did something similar. Is it wrong for me to want to help those who may not survive without it?"
"Sakura's a powerful woman, Corrin," Kamui explained, "I think she might have a much greater sway in the war than you're giving her credit for."
"Even if that is true, I don't want to subject her to that," Corrin asserted, "She wants to help people; not hurt them. I don't want to put her through any more of that than is absolutely necessary."
"Hey, you're the brains of this operation, brother." Kamui shrugged, "Tell me who to point my sword at and I'll take your word for it."
"You would really trust me that soon?" Corrin looked surprised.
"My mind wasn't my own," Kamui indicated, "And I see that my retainers have trusted you this far without trying to defect to me right away."
"Of course, milady," Jakob pointed out ,"you do realize that we are ready to do so at a moment's notice should you disagree with the path your brother has chosen." He seemed either oblivious to the seething looks Roku and Zenzi both shot him, or simply noticed and chose not to care.
"That won't be necessary," Kamui chortled, "but I want to know your plan of action."
"We've got a lot we need to discuss," Corrin pointed out, right as a bolt of lightning struck not too far in the distance, "but judging by the looks of everyone here, doing so in a place safer and quieter than this would be appreciated."
"Oh right!" Kamui laughed, before pulling out a charm. "Good to know I didn't lose this when I was possessed. Now let's see…"
She brought the odd charm to her mouth and blew into it almost like a whistle. Almost as if it were a summoning of sorts (Azura had a very shrewd theory that it was), Lilith appeared in front of Kamui, still in her fish-like form.
"Am I beckoned, Lady Kamui?" she chirped.
Gunter, Jakob and Felicia all immediately popped questions about Lilith, and Kamui shook her head. "Corrin's right," she pointed out, "let's get somewhere less shitty than this place—you know, like literally just about anywhere short of maybe where we just were. Lilith?"
"Right way, milady!" Lillith cooed. Suddenly all eight of them as well as Lilith were transported via a flash of light, and appeared in front of a vast open field in the shadow of a magnificent Hoshidan castle.
"Welcome one, welcome all, to Fort Kamui!" Kamui beamed, a little playful pride showing in her eyes, "except Lilith, to whom I say 'welcome back, and thank you', instead."
"Always a pleasure, Kamui dear." Lillith cooed.
"Now," Kamui turned to Corrin, putting her hands on his shoulders. "We need to talk."
"That we do," Corrin agreed, "I've got a lot to ask, and a lot to tell."
"Then let's make ourselves at home," Kamui motioned towards the magnificent castle overlooking the vast plains and fields of 'Fort Kamui'. "We can have our discussions in my newly built castle rather than on some rickety bridge in the middle of buttcrack nowhere."
"Heh," Corrin chuckled as Kamui led him to the castle, "Lead on then."
AFTERTHOUGHTS: Kamui joins Corrin's army. Obviously that means we'll be seeing more of her, but if the next chapter or two are anything to go off of, I think that Corrin is now fully in the primary focus and so we'll keep seeing a lot of him in the meantime too, especially as the fighting continues. Also on that note, while many players give their avatar the same birthday as their own, I did not do so. There's no real significance to 19 July to me other than just being an arbitrary date chosen to be Corrin and Kamui's birthday. Just a little fun fact for the day.
CHARACTERS RECRUITED:
Kamui: A princess raised in Nohr after being abducted from Hoshido as a child, and growing up there has shaped her into a rather strong and talented warrior. The Dusk Dragon Incarnate, she can change into a dragon and wield the sacred Dusk Yato. A sharp-witted realist, she is slow to make friends, but is in it for life to those who befriend her. Familial bonds are central in her life, and she vehemently defends them without fail. The one with the most scars. Born on 19 July (Age 20)
Classes: Berserker/Nohr Noble