A/N: Nearly retired with the site breaking, but I'm still here...for now.
That said, a Warning. This chapter goes hard. Its...well, its probably one of the more ambitions things I've written.
We'll see if folks enjoy it. If they do, great! Weekly update, much like Shed no Grace on Me might be getting. If not, it'll be updated later.
RWBY updates are also being prepared (Whistle of Death, Far From Home, Father of Remnant, To be Worthy, Book By its Cover) But they need more time, as it were.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a one.
They're tributes to legends far greater than I.
"You made her cry. You know what comes next...
...or do you?"
~?
Thy Sun
The Sun clashed with the Moon...and the former triumphed.
Ranni lurched backward with a yelp, eyes wide as Naruto shattered her spell like so much glass and stalked her way. The sudden shock left her reeling. He made it seem easy. All too easy. She had known of course, known all along how strong her dear consort was,;how dauntless, how indomitable, quick and agile he could be when he wished to exert himself. He'd shown her time and again.
But it was one thing to watch, another to see, and something else altogether to feel.
She was certainly feeling it now.
"Ack?!"
Fresh breath burst from her lungs as as open palm blasted her in the stomach, knocking the wind clean out of her. Momentum took her in its teeth a moment later and ripped her from her feet; launching her down the hall in a mad tangle of arms and legs. Had he so desired, he could have torn her clean in half. That he didn't was as much a testament to his skill as restraint. It galled her to realize the gap between the two of them even now; she was all but a goddess in her current form and yet despite that, she could clearly see that he was handling her with kid gloves.
That burned even more.
A door opened behind her.
"Ranni?" Mother poked her head out. "What's going on out there-ah. I see. You're having your first fight. I'll leave you to, it then. Do try and give me some grandchildren by the end of it, won't you?"
"MOTHER!"
The door clicked shut, leaving her to her fate.
Naruto's voice called out to her as he strode forward. "Gonna let me help you now?"
"Never!
Ranni righted herself, slapped one of her four hands on the ground and rendered the floor a sea of mana, all of which she hurled it all his way in a blazing beam of comet. With the second she cast a mist spell to obscure his vision, the third brought the ceiling down on his head and finally a binding spell to restrain him where she knew he'd surely emerge from the rubble. Four simultaneous attacks at once, forcing him to split his attention amongst them.
She may as well have flicked raindrops at him for all the good it did her.
He walked right through it all, even let her restraining spell hit him and bind his arms to his sides, he didn't once slow his stride. A low growl built in the back of his throat as he bared his teeth at her. His eyes blazed gold and his hair set itself alight, his arms flexed, and those bands of light snapped like so much rusted iron.
"Had enough yet?
Her temper sparked and she blasted him away in a torrent of astral light. "You don't understand!"
"Then make me!" He caught her spell with one hand and waded forward, warding an arm before his face. It was enough to slow him, if only just...
.
..
...Or not.
A golden flash of light heralded sudden movement and then he was upon her, over her, no, under her, sweeping her up into his arms. Her face burned. Ah. So this was the legendary "princess carry" Blaidd had been on about. T'was a different thing indeed being awake to experience it. Under any other circumstance she might have enjoyed it. Now?
Her unsealed eye widened. "Unhand me at once!"
"Not until you calm down!"
Calm?! How could she possibly be calm?! Her thoughts were a horde of dark hands, her bloody pat dragging her down until her confidence was at her ankles. Every second she lingered was another Godwyn languished as that thing, that abomination, that vengeful wraith that wanted to take the world and destroy her utterly. She had to deal with him, she must, and she must do it alone.
Panic gave her strength and she bucked, kicking her way free. "I cannot lose you, too!"
"You won't!"
She would. She absolutely would. She always lost everything.
And so it was that she gathered up her mana and struck again. Another spell blasted him with her dark moon.
He strode through her spellfire, never once missing a step despite the frost creeping up his limbs. His left hand caught one of hers, and her right hand his. She still had two arms by which to cast, but those were very much distracted when he dipped his head down and kissed her.
Her brain fizzled for a moment until she rallied and drew back. "You cannot simply-
Another kiss. Her will faltered. She felt his lips smile against hers. "Can't what?"
A third kiss. Her blood burned. "You are...distracting me...
He hummed happily. "Am I? Is it working?"
It was.
Deliciously so.
Desire began to dull her panic. Maybe...maybe she was overreacting.
Her body burned for his, maddeningly distracted. She found two of her hands shifting to his hips; the other two she tugged free and linked behind his head. Any other day she would've jumped him, locked her legs around his waist, then demanded he push her up against the nearest wall and ravage her until she was satisfied.
Godwyn's words soured even that happy thought. Damn him.
"You do not understand." she pressed her head to his chest, hiding beneath her hat. "The thing's I've done...I've killed my own kin. I cannot be forgiven."
"Tell me and I'll listen." when she made to protest, shifted his grip to her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "I swore I'd help you and that hasn't changed! It never going to change, you hear me? No matter what you do or say. I'm here.
His words pierced her hear, sharper than any blade.
Ranni sniffled and immediately cursed herself for it. She wouldn't weep. She mustn't cry, no she refused to cry. She was Ranni the Witch, and she was made of sterner stuff than this. She had a heart of steel and she was absolutely not going to start bawling her eyes out in a moment of weakness, no matter how much she might want to-
Warm arms closed around her. Not to hurt or to harm, both of which would have been well within Naruto's right, but only to hold her close. He tucked her head into his chest and didn't say a word, only offered the simple warmth and comfort of one soul comforting another. It was too much for her tattered heart to bear. Her eyes began to sting. She served the Moon and the Stars, yes, but he really was the Sun, wasn't he? Her sun. Bright and cheery and indomitable, ever shining bright, refusing to be broken.
She warbled once and broke. "Damn you!"
All semblance of control abandoned her at last as she bawled into his chest. She wept and wailed, clinging to him with all four hands. Her tongue betrayed her and the words flowed forth. "I killed him. No, I did worse than kill Godeyn. I slew his soul but his flesh remained. In doing he's become a monster, an abomination, something beyond life and death...and now he's coming for me."
He patted her head. "Anything can die.
"Not him. Do you see now?" she looked up at him, good eye glistening. "You shouldn't love me. I'm a foul and rotten witch, I caused this, I did all this, its all my fault." her breath hitched in her throat and she looked away, ashamed. "I even made a dark deal with that monster Mohg in exchange for the whereabouts of the Two Fingers I seek to slay. I've since decided to renege on that bargain, but-
Naruto pressed a finger to her lips and tilted his head. "And this changes my feelings how, exactly?"
She sputtered indignantly, aghast at his stubbornness. "I'm a monster!"
His expression didn't waver. "Even so, that doesn't change things."
Of all the...! Ranni growled at him. "But why?!"
Another kiss, long and lingering. She found herself melting into it.
And then he shattered her with four little words.
"Because I love you."
She loved him too, blast it all. She knew she couldn't live without him. She wanted to have lots of little blue children with him. Oh gods, it broke her even more. She hadn't thought she had anymore tears left in her after that last outburst. How wrong she was. She cried as she hadn't since she was a little girl, since father had first left mother, since everything fell apart. And still Naruto held her. Her was her sun, the life in her life and she couldn't bear to lose him as she'd lost so many others. She cried until her new body finally failed her, until her tears ran dry, until her sorrow slipped through her many fingers.
Naruto held her close until she finally cried herself to sleep.
(.0.0.0.)
"Out cold, is she?"
Naruto eased the door shut behind him.
Blaidd was waiting in the hall, face carved from stone.
"She is."
"Good." the shadow bobbed his head. "If anyone deserves their rest, its her. The whole castle heard your fight. Radahn and Rykard would've come running if it weren't for Rennala...?" he trailed off in a question, seeing his own expression. "That's a frightful look you've got there, friend. What're you going to do?"
He told him.
The half-wolf sighed. "Naruto, no."
"Naruto, yes." He marched past, forcing the wolven shadow to hasten after him or be left behind. "I left Ranni a note, and that bastard made her cry. Nobody makes my wife cry."
He received a lupine grin in return. "Wife, is she? I wasn't aware the two of you had exchanged vows."
Heat speared through his face, sharp and embarrassing. "...it was a slip of the tongue. I have no idea what you mean."
"Hmhmmhmm." Blaid hummed, not believing him for a moment. "You're sure you can do this, then? This seems a grand task, even for you."
Naruto smiled at him. It was not a nice smile. "You underestimate my power."
...how long have you been waiting to use that line?"
"Awhile, alright?! Let me have this!"
(.0.0.0.)
Death.
He was death.
The destroyer of worlds.
Once upon a time, Godwyn had despaired of such a title, of what he had become. Shortly after his own "death" in fact. But although his soul had surely perished his body lived on, and flesh held a life of its own. The Black Knives had done their work well, as has Ranni, his treacherous half-sister. No doubt they'd meant for him to die and be forgotten. And yet by some dint of dark luck he had lingered on, even in this twisted, corrupted form. It had been..difficult, at first. How he had screamed trapped in this prison, how he had wailed in the silence, with none but the roots of the Erdtreee to hear!
But in silence came understanding.
And in understanding, he sought vengeance.
This world and the next, and all that came after, all would be his.
He had spent many years weaving his way into the Lands Between, expanding his influence wherever he could. In time, he had gathered followed. Not many, but enough to serve his purposes. Death had only made him all the stronger. When the time came he would rise again as the prince of this world. Fia and Fortissax would protect him until the moment of his ascension, a moment fast approaching. Perhaps he would even wear Ranni's new body as his own once he arose. It was the least that harlot deserved.
After all, this rotten vessel was only a stopgap, something meant to fall apart before he took his rightful place as Elden LORD-
Thump.
What was that?
Thump. Thump.
Such a strange noise.
Thump. Thump. THUMP!
Godwyn looked up at the earthen ceiling above with a swollen eye. The noise had ceased. Strange. Perhaps he had been mistaken. Such tremors were commonplace nowadays in any case. Doubtless it was merely another Ulcerated Tree spirits spirit burrowing high above. Still, it would not do for the cavern to collapse on him. He was vulnerable in his current state, nearly immobile due to his sheer bloated size. Even if he weren't, his legs had long since fused into fins, so he could hardly stand now, could he.
Yet another thing to look forward to once he shattered Ranni's spirit and claimed her body-
The world above him shattered as a screaming monstrosity came barreling through, shattering the roots of the Erdtree as it went. A giant fox screamed down at him from the ceiling, all gilded black and gold, nine tails lashing wildly as it howled its fury. He had less than an instant to comprehend it, then it was done burrowing and free to crash down before him.
And in its glowing chest stood a man.
Golden claws latched onto his misshapen shoulders and held tight.
"You must be Godwyn!" He yanked him closer. "I've heard awful things about you. Lets have a chat."
Ah. So her consort had hunted him down earlier than expected. No matter. "Who are you to come into my home?"
"Lets answer your question with another question." Her consort glared at him. "Were you the voice in my head, earlier? The one that tried to turn me against Ranni?"
Godwyn blinked a bloated eye. "No...?"
He had focused firmly on his so-called sister, seeking to break her, and no other.
"Huh." that drew a scrowl from his attacker. "Guess that's still a mystery for another day."
"Nevertheless, your mistress is evil." he could still salvage this. "She keeps secrets from you, terrible things you know naught of. Join me. Serve me and I can promise you entire worlds-
"Nope."
Godwyn reared back. "I beg your pardon?!"
"Means no." Naruto smacked his lips, producing an audible pop. "She already told me everything. You say she's evil? Maybe so. Then I guess that makes me evil too." a cheshire grin was his reward. "I love her. You hurt her, heck, you want to keep hurting her, you don't even want to give her a chance to change. There's only on way this ends, and it ain't gonna be with words.
...so be it."
A dark shadow fell over him. The corrupted Fortissax landed on his back a heartbeat later, scales ruined by death, but still serving him despite it. Godwyn hoped he would at least distract the fox. No such luck. The golden beast looked away from him, true, but its grip never once wavered on him.
Something rumbled deep in its chest as it snarled back at the undead lichdragon. It wasn't the boy's voice. "Go away, lizard."
Nine taut tails snapped out and caught Fortissax, tearing him away and bringing him close. Too close. Kurama reared back, caught the dragon's neck in those mighty jaws, and twisted his entire body savagely side to side, sawing at what remained of his skull with vicious dispatch.
Off came the head of Fortissax.
His body wad discarded in summary fashion, left to slump at their feet. Almost immediately, it began to crumble, death staved off too long.
Fia cried out in base horro underfoot, but didn't even have a chance to cast an incantation. A giant golden claw smashed down on her and she was no more.
All this transpired in an instant, his two dearest allies slain like so much chaff.
"Fiend...!"
"You think you're the final act, but you ain't." Those clawed hands seized hold of Godwyn's skull, biting into his fly-smothered flesh. "You're not even close. No, that's gonna be her old man and the bitch-of-a-queen who started this mess in the first place. I've got a few words for Radagon." He raised his fists. "They're called left and right. As for you...
Those giant golden hands shifted on him, locking around his distended waist.
Panic bloomed in Godywn's chest, the first spark of fear he'd felt since the Night of the Black Knives. "You cannot kill me."
Laughter filled the cavern. "Who said anything about killing you? I won't be doing any of that. Something else will."
Godwyn snarled and cast a curse on him, blasting him with a black miasma of corrupted spirits.
Kurama's golden face burst through them with a sneer. "That tickled."
No...!"
"Little prince," the fox leaned forward, jaws gaping wide. "I've met the God of Death himself. You're nothing compared to him. You're not even a pale shade."
"You won't forgive Ranni." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, safe and secure within the beast's chest. "That's justified. I get that. But I can't let you hurt her. And so! I'm stopping you."
Both man and beast leaped upward, tearing Godwyn's bulbous body free from the roots as they went. The world lurched painfully. Sunlight stung at his misshapen face and the Prince of Death raised a trembling bony arm to ward it off. Horror gave way to realization, then awe, followed by awe again as he recognized his surroundings. His captor had smashed his way to the surface, tearing a massive hole in Limgrave as he went. That should not be be possible. Monster. What in blazes was he? No mere consort was this. Only a god or a demigod could possibly inflict such wanton destruction.
Was he also a...oh. Maybe he was.
And IF he was...oh, dear.
"I've blundered."
He clawed at him furiously, ripping at Kurama's back to strike the blond within. No avail. He took the attack with barely a grunt.
Naruto raised a hand, hoisting him up. "This world is too dark and too ugly with you in it. Go away, Godwyn."
Kurama whirled and flung him into the air. Not sideways, but upward, into the very clouds.
Godwyn realized his intent a moment later.
Fool! Did he really think he could throw him into space?! He would return! Devour the Outer Gods beyond the stars and come for vengeance, then wreak a bloody havoc-
Hold on.
"Why do I see a light...?
A feral roar rattled the world below him. "WALK TOWARDS IT!"
The words were still reverberating in Godwyn's ears when a massive sphere of dark energy struck him in the rancid chest and propelled him higher into the sky. If there had been pain before, this was agony. He could not push it away, could not retaliate; it took all his strength just to hold it back. Events progressed rapidly after that. All around him, the world went warm, then cold, now warm again as he broke through the atmosphere. He could scarcely see past the scalding black sphere that struck him, but he could see the world -the planet!- shrinking rapidly into the distance as he fell into the uncaring void of space.
All the while he seethed. This was not the end. He refused to let this be the end...
.
..
...why did he feel warm again?
Godwyn could not turn his head as such, but he could still feel. And it was growing terribly hot.
That made little sense. Space was mean to be cold. The stars themselves were distant and held no warmth so why...?"
An eye swiveled, boiling in the darkness of the stars. And through his bleary, bleeding vision, he saw.
The Sun itself loomed large behind him, growing larger with each passing moment, standing in silent judgement. The massive attack pressing against his chest hadn't detonated yet, oh no; it only kept pushing him further and further until...oh. That foxy bastard. So that was his intention...!
No! I am Godwyn the Golden! Princ eof death! I cannot be killed!
But the Sun was a force unto itself, a god all its own. It judged all, great and small. And he was hurtling toward it, with nothing to stop him, and no way to stop himself. Already it dominated his vision, swelling before him with searing promise. His life flashed before his eyes in an instant. There was nothing he could do, say, or even offer in his defense. Soon enough, he could barely think at all, for the very flesh sloughed from his bones. All he knew was heat. Pain. Suffering. Torment...!
His last thoughts were of honeyed rays of gold.
Godwyn's vision burst into light.
Fire consumed him.
(.0.0.0.)
Naruto squinted up into the blazing orb in the sky and lowered his hands with a heavy sigh. It was a satisfied one all the same.
His eyes stung and his chest heaved. Blood dribbled from his back where Godwyn had clawed at him...but he'd done it.
"There. See how he likes that...
It had taken more chakra than he would've liked to blast Godwyn away, and more still to make certain the Bijudama pushed rather than exploded. But at least the threat was dealt with. After all, Godwyn was only Prince of Death here in the Lands Between, on this world. It stood to reason then that he wouldn't be if he wasn't on said world. It was a gamble alright, a risky one, but it was the only thing he could think of. He couldn't wait to see the look on Ranni's face when he got back.
He felt the moment the Prince of Death expired.
Nothing could stand against the sun.
Not even him.
Satisfied, he dropped his chakra cloak and alighted nimbly upon the ground. That really had taken a lot out of him. Wasn't every day ya grappled with a dead demigod, ya know?
Something slapped his back. He sighed. "C'mon, Blaidd. Did you really follow me...?
His vision lurched to one side. Huh? That wasn't right.
Naruto looked down. Frowned mnow.
There was a trident in his chest.
Three awful spikes jutted through his lungs and heart to skewer him, through and threw. His eyes widened as he touched a trembling hand to one of the metal protrusions. How...? Had someone attacked him from behind when he wasn't looking? He hadn't even sensed the attack coming. There wasn't even a single spark of ill intent, so who...?
Low laughter rumbled behind him.
"You have my thanks," a rough voice intoned at his flank. "He would have been quite the nuisance to my...dynasty."
Naruto looked back, not quite comprehending
A massive weapon had indeed struck his back. He knew that already. What came next utterly baffled him. Clutched in gnarled fingers attached to arm even now emerging from a pool of blood at his feet, the rest of his owner even now emerged as he looked on. A twisted horned man clad in ornate robes of dark blue rimmed with gold and red, he was as ghastly as hideous. One of those horns had even worked its way into an eye, leaving a single gold iris to stare back at him balefully.
"I really must thank Godwyn." his attacker tittered merrily. "How kind of him to wound you and make this easier for me...
What the hell...?"
"Why? You of all people ask me that?" his would-be killer leered down at him, fangs twisted in a sneer. "You and your witch could have been a part of something greater. Something grand. Instead she chose to betray me. To use me. This is how I repay betrayal." He twisted the trident in chest. "I would have left you be, but now you shall suffer for the betrayal of your mistress."
He coughed blood. "Buddy, I don't even know who you are...
"You don't?" That lone eye stared back at him within at that wizened horned face. "We've never met, but you may know me as...Mohg. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
"Can't...say...the same...
The Omen tutted at him. "You may be powerful, but you are bound by blood, just like any living thing. And in blood the Formless Mother reigns supreme."
Naruto raised a trembling hand. A rasenshuriken sparked in it.
Mohg tutted. "I think not!"
His blood boiled in his veins, shattering his concentration. The jutsu guttered out harmlessly in his grasp.
"Worry not, your allies will join you soon enough, once your witch has given me that which is rightfully mine." a raspy chuckle pervaded the air between them. "How furious she will be once she learns the baleful shadows ambushed her beloved." his voice lowered to a throaty whispers. "She will tear everything apart, just as planned. Her rage toward the Fingers will reach new heights and as we both know, anger makes one...sloppy."
Ranni! Had to do something. Had to warn her...!
His hand snapped up. A golden flare of light shot into the sky. Please, let someone see it...!
Mohg scoffed, observing the firework lazily. "And what, pray tell, did you hope to accomplish with that?"
Naruto tried to speak, but for the first time in years his voice failed him. Blood bubbled up between his lips as he laughed.
"Just hold on!" Kurama sounded downright frantic, which only frightened him all the more. "I can fix this! I know I can! Just give me a little time!"
Mohg didn't. "Long live the King."
With another awful cackle, the Omen panted a hand between his shoulder blades and shoved him forward, tearing out the trident as he went, leaving three terrible tears behind in his torso. Pain gave him strength, if only for a moment. He swung backward blindly as he fell and and smashed a fist into the monster's face; driving clenched knuckles against the horn thrust through Mohg's eye.
An awful sickening squelch reached his ears.
And with it, the power binding his blood fell away for a moment. It was enough.
"Fool!" Morgott's brother recoiled, clutching at his bloody face. "This changes nothing! Fall and die!"
Screaming, the Omen lunged forward and backhanded him with his trident, causing him to tumble backward at the edge of the crater he'd created earlier. He teetered at the edge for a moment, tried to hold on, lost his balance, then fell into the very hole he'd torn from the earth. Gravity sank its claws into him as it would any other.
Down he went.
Wind lashed at his face, stinging his eyes. So tired. Had to keep his eyes open. If he fell asleep here, he might not wake up again. Mustn't pass out...mustn't...so sleepy. The earth rushed up to greet him like an old friend. It seemed so close now...so very close...
Consciousness finally slipped through his faltering fingers.
Naruto's control slipped and his mind faltered.
Darkness swam in.
A/N: Scene.
Oh, dear. Ranni's going to lose it.
Well? What say you? Hope you're enjoying this, so by all means, lemme know!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this little tale. Sad to say, but if folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, I'll love the drive to continue it! I'm working two jobs during the holidays so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
NO PREVIEWS THIS TIME.
...alright, don't make that face. You get one. Just one!
God of War references are obvious and intentional. Best brace yourselves, its RAW.
(Preview)
"I will rain down every agony upon them." her hands, all four of them, clenched into fists at her sides as she stared at his still body,. Her words were not just for him but for those that had done this to him. "Every violation imaginable upon ye. Every pain. Every torment. Those who hurt you will know agony glimpsed only in myth, horror seen only in nightmares. I will parade their broken bodies from ever corner of the world and make their souls pray for death! THAT IS MY PROMISE TO YOU!"
She trembled and knelt before him.
"Just...please. Hold on. Live." she laid the Dark Moon Greatsword atop his chest, and slipped a ring onto his finger. "Rest and recover and I swear to thee I will give you all that I am and more...I will say the words I should have said so long ago."
Her hands curled around his, pale and cold.
...please. Stay with me."
Hope this chapter kept you on the edge of your seat!
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back~! Have a great day~!
R&R~!