Greetings fellow readers and writers! I will admit that this is a different chapter to the way I usually write, at least in my eyes, but it is surprisingly vital to the story. The tale of a forced goddess, a sacrifice reward and an isolation that made her treasured beyond others, the one who is told of will have an impact untold... if you remember earlier in the story, I made hints to it, so anyway, let's go!
Super hero time!
Shuujin: Issei, make sure not to go too crazy out there! The voices in your head are just that!
Issei: But they're not... they're people and I see everything. I am them, I know their lives as if they are my own.
Shuujin: Hey, don't be like that. You're meant to be the optimist and I'm the serious one!
Issei: I am them and they are I. We share our lives... why?
S + I: Break the chains! Phone up the future!
Issei was asleep.
Or at least he thought he was asleep. After all, how many other scenarios could you imagine that would place you in the endless expanse of a barren wasteland, not a single spot of life that wasn't wilting, dying or already dead, much to Issei's confusion? That sort of broken place was immediately explained by how a simple glance to the sky revealed the ten suns scorching the ground beneath the boy's feet, only Issei left unaffected by the great glare of the combined stars.
"But that should be impossible!" Issei called out to himself, shielding his eyes from the blinding light of the ten suns. How there was even anything still alive in such horrid conditions was completely beyond the boy as he looked around for any sort of reprieve, the trees wilting to such an extent that they could no longer be called protection.
"Indeed, but I shall do it none the less!" a boisterous voice answered, a black haired man dressed in simple cloth stepping towards him, any worries or suspicions about the vast difference in attire completely ignored as the man hefted the quiver upon his back, pulling one of the contained arrows to notch in a basic bow. "To be fair, you were not one of the first to question me, but it is an act that must be done and if it must be done by me, then so be it."
"Wait, what?" Issei immediately questioned, the man's incredibly strange aim lowered gently as he turned to Issei in confusion before the bright smile that graced a lightly tanned face returned, his arms held out wide as a small skip entered his feet.
"Ah, my apologies dear friend! From the way you reacted, I had thought that you already knew of my duty!" the man apologised, the held out arms folding into a small bow, elegant and humble in equal parts. "My name is Houyi, an archer beyond archers. Those accursed suns which scorch the crops and wilt the people, we have no need for any more than one! Thus, I shall bring them down with my arrows, so that we may live a better life where we can truly prosper! Now stand back; I fear that this may be more dangerous than any could believe."
Before Issei could even question the man, Houyi, his bow was raised to the sky, the first of ten unfortunately caught within his sight before the little projectile was sent flying. How Issei wanted to object, to tell the poor heat crazed man that there was no way such a measly arrow of wood (how did such a thing exist without burning away like any of the other smouldering objects that had once denoted a tree? ) could ever hope to survive to reach a sun, let alone pierce it and pull it down, but the harsh explosion that came silenced any protests, his arm immediately going to shield his face as the first sun was shot down.
The others were just as quick to fall, the archer easily bringing down the great celestial beings that stood in the sky like little more than flaming targets, each of his arrows flying straight and sure to bring down their desired target. Issei only let his hand move when the ninth explosion had run its course, an immediate sigh escaping him as the temperatures of the boy's body returned to normal; now, there was but one sun left in the sky, a heroic cheer escaping Houyi.
"Finally! Now that was a task even a child could do! I swear, if I were to give you my bow now, it would be but one arrow before that final sun meets its match!" the tanned archer declared, the brightest of grins replacing the burning light of the eight suns he felled, a pat on the back bringing Issei out of his stunned stupor. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that you will have to find your own target; to get rid of this sun would be to plunge ourselves into darkness and frost untold."
"But… how did…?" there wasn't even words for him to find, another chuckle escaping Houyi as he turned away, his hand held in farewell as he walked to a place Issei knew not, the world suddenly shrouding itself in white before Issei could properly register it.
"As long as my shot remains sure and straight, there is no target an arrow cannot beat. Remember that. For now though, farewell; I hear that the emperor has a reward for me!"
And then the world became white.
Issei was asleep.
Or at least, he thought he was asleep. After all, how many other scenarios could you imagine that would place you in a completely unfamiliar home where Houyi and an ethereally beautiful woman embraced with untold love that was greater than any Issei could imagine? Before long however, the embrace was pulled apart, Houyi placing a small bottle within a drawer as he bid farewell, tomorrow's dinner waiting to fall at his arrows, leaving the woman all alone for the night.
The long black hair upon her back managed to glow in the moonlight, highlighting pale skin far different to that of the tanned Houyi. A grand kimono of crimsons, golds and greens decorated her body with intricate patterns, what must've appeared as incredibly gaudy upon another only serving to further the image of beauty on this lone lady.
"Ah, I must apologise. I wasn't expecting a visitor on this night." A lilting tone entered Issei's ears, the boy turning with a small gasp to where a long sleeved hand gently covered red lips, a giggle escaping the woman. "Oh my, I apologise if I pulled you out of your thoughts. It is a beautiful night tonight after all."
"No, it's fine… Where am I?" Issei couldn't help the wince that escaped at that, the question so incredibly blunt that had it been any other situation, perhaps it would've ended a lot differently, but instead the woman merely giggled once more, a bow given to the boy that was returned awkwardly.
"This is where my husband Houyi and I reside. Are you not one of his pupils?" the woman questioned, a small gaps escaping her before Issei could even think of answering. "Ah, where are my manners!? I am Chang'e. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"My name's Issei, but I'm not one of your husband's pupils… I've met him before though." He thought he did at least. If that wasn't a dream, or if this was merely continuing on from before, then maybe he did. "Where has he gone?"
"Oh, he's simply gone hunting. You can't keep an archer away from his bow no matter what it seems." Chang'e answered, looking to the still open door. "Even when he has a whole school of pupils willing to do anything for his tutelage, there will always be the desire to simply go out and hunt. It's in his blood."
What the woman didn't notice however was the shadow figure that moved behind her, a startled warning escaping Issei as he pulled her out of the way with all of his might, a strange wicked dagger flowing through the space he had prior held. It didn't stop there though, Issei dodging left and right eagerly to avoid the cold steel that threatened to cut through his very bones, Chang'e backed up against the drawers in abstract horror.
"Fengmeng? What are you doing!?" she cried, the face revealed as a youthful young man of brown hair, eyes of a similar shade burning with an intense hatred as the knife continued to flash back and forth in an attempt to strike down the woman's defender.
"I hear that Houyi managed to get some sort of elixir of immortality from the emperor himself! Was it not me who thought to do such a thing as to shoot down the suns? Was it not me who offered my arrows, only for Houyi to claim me insufficient for such an act!?" the man roared, his dagger finally managing to meet Issei's skin, the boy's eyes opening wide as the steel fell through his flesh as if it was air, no wound left behind just like he was ghost, though it went unnoticed. "I deserve that elixir far more than he does! My arrows fly the same as his, they hit just as many centres and yet nobody will call me his equal! Tell me the equality in that!"
The strikes came ever swifter, Issei struggling to hold him back from reaching the woman, a second spent to look back Chang'e allowing him a glance at the sad, if understanding look. Before the boy could question, the drawer opening silenced the room, the small bottle in the woman's hand causing a low chuckle to escape Fengmeng.
"No, don't do it Chang'e! There's no reason when Houyi shot down the suns!" Issei exclaimed, grabbing the arm that threatened to carve out his stomach, he woman giving a low nod as she held up the bottle.
"The elixir of immortality… the only reason Houyi has yet to drink it is that he was unwilling to do it while there wasn't a chance for his wife to join him…" Chang'e hummed, a scoff escaping Fengmeng as the black haired woman continued. "Can you imagine just how joyous such a sentiment made me? That my husband was willing to forsake immortality in order to stay with me on the mortal realm?"
"It made him a fool! Such an idiot doesn't deserve immortality in the first place!" Fengmeng dismissed, struggling to return the dagger to his own grip as Issei's iron fist forced his hand open, the weapon falling to the ground. The light giggle from before, the harmonious noise that had Issei confused, escaped into the silent night as Chang'e closed her eyes several names whispered under her breath as Fengmeng suddenly began to struggle even harder, realising it but seconds before Issei did.
"You can't do that! What about Houyi!? You would abandon the one who specifically abandoned the elixir for you!?" Fengmeng growled, but the brown haired man was too late, the mythical liquid flowing down the woman's throat as she fled out of the door, her final words flowing through the night as her running suddenly had her ascend to the heavens. The moon's light began to glow brighter, filling the edges of his vision as Fengmeng threw him off, cursing his failure as he looked to the emptied bottle on the ground.
"Issei… please apologise to my husband. Tell him what a fool his wife has been and make sure he knows… I will never stop loving him no matter what. Upon the moon, I shall wait forever more for the day that I can see him once again, no matter what world he resides in. Issei… thank you for defending me."
And then the world became white.
Issei was asleep.
Or at least, he thought he was. After all, how many other scenarios could you imagine that would have you pushing your way through a forest to where a group of animals happily played without a second care in the world, darting between tress and basking in the sunlight that burst through? There were no limits to the animals that flocked through the forest, different creatures of all shapes and sizes flocking between the leaves and prancing their way through the grass.
Issei was suddenly made to pull his eyes down where the first nudging of a nose against his leg was felt, meeting the bright orbs of a small white rabbit looking up to him in curiosity. A moment's deliberation had Issei reaching down with a gentle hand, the brunette moving carefully so as not to startle the fragile little creature as he began to stroke the fur without protest.
"Are you here to join in with our playing?" the rabbit questioned and because this was all clearly such a dream, Issei finally let all sense of confusion drift to the wind, nodding his head silently as the white rabbit preened under his attention. "Yay! We don't get many people who will stop to join our playing! Try to catch me!"
And the rabbit was off, the spry little creature eagerly dashing off between the leaves before Issei even had a chance to stop it.
"How on earth am I meant to catch you when you're running this fast!?" Issei gasped as his feet struggled to keep up with his mind's demand, the distance between him and his target growing by the second. It was as if the other animals of the forest had decided to merely laugh at his failures, a monkey easily keeping his pace as it soared along the tree tops.
"Come on now! You just need to use your talents!" the black haired monkey cheered, swinging eagerly from branch to branch before it suddenly accelerated beyond all measure, truly at home at the heights he ruled. Another came to take his place, this time a small red fox choosing to come his way darting around the various trees and plants that threatened to trip up Issei as he madly dashed.
"After all, under normal circumstances, there would be no way for us to catch the rabbit." The fox spoke, her tail wagging as she began her crazy manoeuvre around. "The monkey will take to the skies and swing faster than any other. I will slide around and force him into a dead end like no other. What will you do that none other can do?" and suddenly, the fox was gone.
And in that moment, it suddenly became clear to Issei that all of the animals were trying their own thing in order to keep up with the rabbit, the moose bashing its way through the various obstacles that fell into its path and the crow taking to the skies as it flew easily between the different branches.
"But what can I do?" Issei futilely questioned, looking to his hands when a thought suddenly hit him; the phone! He had yet to use the phone and now was the perfect chance to do so!
CALL!
ZERO – ErRoR!
CALL TO ARMS!
CALL!
NUMBER FOUR – DEMON!
CALL TO ARMOUR!
And so he found himself dressed in a dark suit better belonging to the medieval times, golden gloves covering his hands with metal as great ruffles led to the dark navy fabric that made up the suit. He let a hand grab one of the cards that appeared before him, the ace upon it being absorbed by his body before his enhanced speed sent him shooting forward, the rabbit caught giggling in no time.
"Yay, you found me!" the rabbit cheered, the clothes disappearing from his body just in time for the haggard traveller to meet them upon the road, the thin man looking more than starved as the monkey and the fox caught up to them.
"Sir! You're injured!" Issei suddenly realised, helping the man to the grass where by placing the bag under the traveller's head, there was a rest for him. Turning to the anima's he had but one request for them as he moved to take the thin man's axe, hacking away at a small tree. "Can you get us some food? I can start a fire, I think."
And so they were off without question, Issei managing to find the small flint with which to light the small fire he had created, the blaze burning as he pulled out the various supplies he would need to feed the starved traveller. He clearly had seen better days as he walked, looking to Issei with weary eyes, sunken and dimmed of their light.
"Thank you… it has been days since I ate…" the man muttered, looking to the fire as the fox returned, placing numerous berries at the man's head who graciously took them for his own.
"They were all I could get, but it is enough." The fox declared. Then arrived the monkey, waddling along as his hands were filled with fruits and meats, the fire quickly having them ready to the man to eat with a smile.
"That was all I could get, but it is enough." And indeed the man was happy as Issei gave a sigh. He wasn't exactly the best cook, but he did what he could. The rabbit was the last to arrive, dejected as he looked to his empty paws and the cooking fire, the last of the meat filing to cook as the fires started to burn out, a sudden idea coming to its head.
"I was unable to find any food, but this will be enough." And before Issei could stop it, the rabbit leapt into the flames, the fires burning brighter than ever before as the food was cooked in no time at all. The traveller, whipping of his cloak, looked to the fires, a ghost of the rabbit remaining as in a flash of light, a rotund man garbed in golds and purple appeared before them, Issei falling into a combat stance before he heard the man's hearty chuckle.
"At ease boy. I must apologise for tricking you, but it appears that my efforts weren't without fruit!" the man exclaimed, Issei giving him an appalled look.
"That rabbit just died for you and you say it was just a trick!?" he yelled, the man nodding solemnly.
Yes, but his sacrifice is not in vain. I commend you rabbit for your actions and thus, may you ascend to the moon, living your life in luxury!" the man declared and before Issei knew it, the rabbit began to float up with a smile on his face, the other animals bowing in reverence.
"Who is this guy?" Issei whispered to the fox beside him, a completely shocked look appearing upon her face.
"Do you really not know who he is?" she replied, Issei unable to answer properly as his world began to become lighter and lighter by the second. "That was the jade emperor!"
And then the world became white.
Well then, wasn't that a nice little jaunt through a chinese tale. But what could it mean? I will say this, there will be one in the group who knows what it's about, but can you guess who the person in question is? Maybe it's a little more obvious than I hope it is... but it's also quite hard in some way.
1 - Dragon (Ophis: scale slicer)
2 - Kitsune (Kunou: Kit o' nine tails)
3 - Technomancer (Starway Rider: .EXE(but!)cuter)
4 - Demon (Onihime: Royal straight crush)
5 - ?
6 - ?
7 - ?
8 - ?
9 - ?
0 - ErRoR (woman: ErRoR)
Super hero time! See you next time!