Chapter 125

In a way, I almost felt bad. All this time, I'd been pushing Raphtalia to grow into her role. I'd given her training, guided others around her and I to fill the gaps and ease the burden she had to carry with this whole Empress thing.

And then taken my hands off. I'd left her with every advantage I could, except me actually being there...

But now, here I was, a little fox just outside the Old Capital, thinking about how to get in. From where I was sitting, on a little spike of rock just high enough to let me see over the wall, yet no where near close enough to let me jump over it, I could see the people inside getting ready. They knew we were coming, but... I wasn't sure if they were getting ready to fight, or leave.

The civilians were almost all hiding in their homes, but that was expected. If I knew there was an army just over there who had spent the last week slowly taking over the island, I'd be keeping my family safe too. The soldiers however... Ever since the sun had come up, multiple patrols had left, but not returned. I considered tracking one of them, just because, since I could think of any number of things they could be doing, and only 'surrendering' ended up being good for our cause.

But no. My goal was about a kilometre in front of me, past four high walls, in the middle of a nice Imperial Edo styled castle. I could feel the energy of the island converging there, almost pulling me towards it. It kind of reminded me of Kyoto, and the nice sakura tree from Yasaka's Shrine. Maybe I could bring a cutting of this one home with me, and have two considerate sakura trees in my back yard?

Eh... maybe not. This one glowed all the time.

Speaking of feelings though... I wasn't sure how to feel about the dozen or so Spirit Fox monsters looking up at me from the ground. The Shield's helpful little grey (red I couldn't see) arrow pointed down at each one as they silently looked up at me and just... sat like good foxes.

No noise, no teeth... nah, couldn't be. But if I wanted in without being seen...

As I descended from my perch, I grew my form a little so the Shield was less an umbrella on my back and able to fit the crest of my chest. This put me at a little over half again the size of the other foxes. But still. No growls, no show of teeth, no noise at all really. Just... expectation.

So, I gave a meaningful look at the wall...

It had taken maybe ten minutes for one of the Spirit Foxes to lead us to a shaded spot near a watch tower. Ironically, it wasn't really able to watch under itself, and a few minutes after that, we had all dug and expanded on a bunch of little tunnels under the wall itself.

Then the chaos began.

We spilled out from under house porches, from inside someone's root cellar, from a crack in the wall no one had bothered fixing, and even under a loose flagstone, and started raiding the place for anything that was edible and not nailed down.

The civilians panicked as we overturned tables and carts. Nipped at pant legs and ran away with dropped food. Ducked between the legs of the guards or tackled the backs of their legs. Picked up fallen spears to play tug of war with each other to draw attention, while others of the skulk could raid some poor civilian's kitchen.

Then they were gone. Back under houses, through gaps in the wall, back under the flagstone, and stealing away with that last rice ball on the counter...

Of course, while they all did that (except the rice ball, it was delicious), I had done none of those things except make my way towards the tree. Under crawl spaces, through vacant homes, down an alleyway just wide enough to let the Shield through edgewise, a pause to let some guards run by, slipping through a door someone forgot to close, a moment's pause to steal that rice ball, and finally out a window...

And onto a forest path behind the actual castle.

I had to stop and catch my breath as the feeling of... it wasn't familiar not in a normal sense. But it was nostalgic. Like looking up the steps of the Kuoh Shrine. A sense I was walking towards something else, something sacred.

The path ahead was marked by faded white stones and bracketed on either side by mossy sakura lumina trees. To one side of the path, an old, gently flowing stream wove its way around the tree trunks, the stream bed artificial, but with a timeless quality that spoke of careful planning. I was getting closer to my goal... I could feel the energy of the entire island converging ahead. But even with all that power flowing under me, and the turmoil the civil war was causing... It felt almost like Kyoto. Not including the little buzz of disharmony our efforts caused when saving Yasaka.

I continued up the path, the forest swallowing the sound of the alarm bells from my little invasion. I felt something in my heart. I couldn't really put a pin on exactly what it was either. It all felt so familiar, so nostalgic, so... personal.

But it fell just shy of the mark.

It was so very close. But it just wasn't... right. An near perfect imitation that would never be filled with what it was made for. Everything was here. The careful cultivation. The spiritual balance. Decades, maybe centuries of dedication. The 'mortal power' was all here. Even the people of this world were able to use their spirit, and magic, Mana and Ki.

But... it would never be divine.

Frustration. That's what I was feeling. A low key exasperation at what this world just didn't have. And as I was now, even I couldn't give it what the people so obviously believed in. The tiny spark of divine nature I had wasn't only just enough to keep me immune to fire and feel the barest brush of Hestia's hand during a Wave.

Sighing a tiny fox sigh, I continued up the path.

It wasn't long before the forest around me had done its best to recreate that feeling of 'otherworldly' separation. The river, the barest hint of wind through the leaves, and the mildly ethereal glow from the trees made it seem like its own little reality. It was there where I found the platform. Behind it, the stream flowed up to it from between a pair of tree trunks, diverged around it, flowed under a little bridge hardly worth the name, and to the side of the path I'd been following.

I stopped at the 'bridge' and looked at the platform. Pure white, pure black. The symbol of Yin and Yang. It lacked the 'eyes', but it was undoubtedly the exact same. Under my feet, originating from the same root system, the clearing rested in the bowl of a single Sakura Lumina tree that branched upwards with many thick trunks of pink veined wood. The entire island's energy converged here. Or rather, on that little platform a couple metres ahead of me.

"Ware, Kitsune. You should not be here."

Across the platform, stepping out of nothingness where the little stream emerged, walked a tall man. Wearing armour that matched the 'royal pink' of the trees and styled almost exactly like an Edo Samurai, he had the pace and poise of a warrior. He also had a raccon tail and little round ears on his head.

But no face. The eyes were shadowed under his brown hair, his mouth was missing and there was more of a... suggestion of a nose.

"You cannot fool me with your innocent seeming form." He said, a long spear appearing in his hand, a katana materializing at his hip, wakazashi too.

So I transformed. The little red ribbon changing into my edited house robe that I'd made in Kizuna's world, the Shield still covering my chest until I moved it around to rest on my back. "I am Kodori Haruhime. I have no quarrel with you, Spirit."

"You are here to pervert the purpose of this place. To steal its power." He said, stopping a few paces away, planting the butt of his spear into the ground. "I will not let you. I will seal you away like all the other monsters."

I frowned, my horns itching at the insult. "I am no monster. I am not of this world, and I want to return home." I gave my inventory crystal a nudge, taking out and putting on my gauntlets one at a time. "You do well to keep your purpose, soul, but if you get in my way I will put you to rest."

"Your armour of base metal will avail you not, spawn of Tulina. I will seal you like I did her, and hope you repent your evil ways."

"Is that her name?" I smiled, raising my guard, "You will not listen, so I will speak with my fists."

And he attacked.

He went from standing still to a charge with almost none of the motions a normal being would take. His body flowed like mist from one stance to the next, and I only enough time to throw myself aside and roll back to my feet.

I had just enough time to get my feet settled on the nice gravelly path, when he flowed from his charge's follow through, to sweeping the bladed end of his spear towards my throat. Again, I backed up, feeling, more than seeing, the attack coming.

A rapid series of thrusts, his body simply appearing, attacking, slipping sideways, and attacking again. I could feel the power of each strike pulling at the air around the point of his spear! It was so focused! But it wasn't... material.

"You are right to fear my blade, monster!" He said as I bend backwards to avoid the back of his spear, straitened, lifted my foot to avoid the bladed and aimed for my shin, then slipped sideways to dodge an upwards arc from the blunt end.

Each attack pulled at the energy of the grove, the air, the ground... I could feel the proximity of his weapon like static over my skin. This was Hengen Muso. Or rather, its purest expression. He wasn't manipulating Ki, he was Ki.

Huh... I was fighting a dead Jedi?

"What amuses you, Monster?" He asked as I jumped backwards to evade another thrust, "Nothing to say? Will you not attack? Are you such a coward that you can do nothing but run?"

Unlike Rishia and Atla, I didn't have much practise with Hengen Muso. I had the sense for it, sure. Long before ever coming here, certainly! But this was the first enemy I'd faced where it was the only means of attack.

"Unlike you." I started, pausing to take in a little more air as I ducked under another decapitating sweep of the spear's blade, "I need to breathe."

And when he attacked next, I let out that breath and swept the edge of my hand against the shaft of the spear. I felt a weird tingling numbness along my little finger, but the end of the spear itself detonated into ghostly sparkles. Even with the loss of a third of his weapon, he still tried to bean me with the blunt end.

I made a fist with my numbed hand, the feeling creeping back in as I curled my fingers tightly. "And you were so kind to give me a lesson." It was more or less the same attack I used on old lady Ragnarok. "You are skilled, spirit. But you will not beat me with that level of skill."

"A single strike and you think yourself superior?" He laughed, the expression a little odd to see since he lacked a mouth, but still tilted his head back. "I had hoped not to profane this place with bloodshed, yet it seems I must."

He discarded the ghostly remains of his spear, the weapon fading into mist, and drew the long and short blades at his hips.

I shook my head, "Ancestor of the Heavenly Empress." I said, making him flinch just a little, just enough to notice, "Soon, your descendant will come here, and claim her birthright. If you do not stop, right now, you will no longer be able to watch over her."

"I cannot! If I relent you will foul this place-"

I took the Shield off my back and presented it, "I am not from this world. I was summoned here to stop the waves. But I am an unwilling participant! I want to go home!" I felt myself getting angry, frustration clawing at my calm, "I have anchored eight trees, beacons of energy both spiritual and physical. This will be the ninth."

His form until now had been half there, misty, indistinct, an outline of a person made of sand. But that stopped as he 'looked' at me. "This is why we founded Q'ten Lo. To stop the misuse of the Spirit Implements."

I could feel the energy of the grove thicken. The nexus of energy taking on a certain spiritual gravity.

"Thank you for the lesson. But you weren't listening." I moved over a couple of steps, put the Shield back on my back and got my hands up, feeling my own flow of Ki shifting to my extremities, "I am Kodori Haruhime. And I will go home."

"NO!" He screamed.

Too late to stop my from bringing my fist straight down, splitting the Yin-Yang platform in half.

(Raphtalia)

Raluva, in that respectful roundabout way politicians used to avoid insulting people while telling them what they should be doing, said Raphtalia should give a speech before the taking of the old capital.

And Raphtalia, while young, understood the weight a voice of experience carried. So, with the three heroes behind her, the new and old Water Dragon Miko, and a pair of dragons blessed by the Water Dragon, she attempted a rousing speech.

She kept her worries buried. Using Kodori as an example, someone who exuded confidence until all but the most trusted eyes were on her. She spoke of reform, spoke of salvation, spoke of fixing a government corrupted by greed and ignorance, and lastly, spoke of returning to their homes, their loved ones, their hot meal, or whatever motivated them to use their strength on behalf of those weaker than them.

She didn't speak of her missing friends, the recent reports of settlements they'd liberated being attacked behind their backs, or the Shield Hero wandering off.

Oh, and certainly not the weird magic portals that may or may not teleport them into the middle of the ocean someplace if they didn't work.

Anyone with experience would have called her speech awkward and sub-par. But the people of Q'ten Lo were cheering all the same as the first set of scout teams marched through the portals, the nearby Sakura Lumina trees flickering like faulty light bulbs for a moment.

"How long is the trip between portals?" Raphtalia asked SITA.

"About..." SITA paused, then pointed to a sun-bright signal arrow off in the distance. "That long." She smiled brightly, "Count to ten, and the next set of doorways will be ready." She motioned to the Sakura trees that were quickly regaining their usual brightness.

Raphtalia nodded, taking those ten seconds to reflect on 'what next'. In her usual style, she wanted to be first through the gate, but everyone with any kind of authority (under normal circumstances, talking 'up' to authority in Q'ten Lo could be punished) insisted she at least let the scouts through first, just to make sure they weren't about to walk into an ambush.

"Hey sis?" Sadeena distracted Raphtalia from her little moment, the etched lines of the portal slowly lighting up, "Why were you even out in the first place?"

Shildina, who had Kotetsu around her neck like some kind of scarf, drifted back from 'rubbing cheeks with the adorable critter' and focused her eyes on Sadeena, "Oh... um... I was supposed to get to the old capital... um..."

The complex set of weird geometric lines on the stone wall reached optimal brightness, then vanished entirely to reveal a swirling 'door' of light.

"Oh! I remember! I was supposed to wait for you, and fight you... for some reason? I got distracted." Shildina tapped the side of her head with her knuckles and a quiet 'heehee.'.

Raphtalia smiled at the reunited siblings antics, but then stepped forward into the portal.

(Aerial view over the Old Capital.)

Less than 500 troops arrived at the Old Capital. But when they did, they arrived all at once. With only the single signal arrow as warning, the soldiers holding the Old Capital found themselves surrounded on three sides. Archers led by Itsuki were already in the perfect place for bombardment. Filolial cavalry with Motoyasu at the fore were just waiting for the signal to charge the gates. Ren and the foot soldiers were already hacking down bamboo stalks for the support teams so they could make ladders for the walls.

Inside, still reeling from the sudden spirit fox invasion, the soldiers were hardly able to react to the signal arrow, let alone comprehend what had just suddenly appeared on the other side of their walls.

And in a single moment of panic, one of those soldiers broke the information suppression edict, and yelled out, "It's the Empress! She's arrived!"

His commander turned on the loudmouth and executed him where he stood. "False Empress." He shouted at the dying soldier.

Only to slain by another of his soldiers as the civilians started to cheer.

All at once, the Old Capital suffered through its own little civil war. Soldiers who hated the corruption they saw and could do nothing about, or soldiers who didn't want to face a mob of angry pitchforks, slew their fellows who still followed the False Emperor. Civilians helped as well, cornering and cutting down soldiers who had oppressed them for far too long.

And outside, Raphtalia rode Tetsu forward (stopping just out of bow range), all the while wondering what all the noise was.

No one appeared on the wall to challenge her. No one rode out to meet them. For about twenty very tense minutes, everyone waited with weapons at the ready as something happened inside the Old Capital.

Then, "Something's coming!" Someone shouted as a small round object sailed over the wall towards them, and rolled to a stop about a hundred metres away from the (eagerly waiting to punch someone's butt) dragon Raphtalia was riding.

Then from the top of the wall, a soldier in bloodied armour and without a helmet raised a spear with white shirt tied to it, while another soldier cut the rope holding the banner of the False Emperor on display over the front gate.

As the banner flopped to the ground, the soldier holding the hastily made flag shouted, "We surrender!" He waved the flag frantically, turning his head to yell at someone, "Open the gate!"

(Raphtalia)

She nudged Tetsu closer to the little round object, still a bit wary of some kind of trick. But Tetsu broke the tension by saying, "Ooooo that guy is super dead."

It was a severed head. Aside from the look of surprise and panic frozen into his features, he was wearing the face paint common to the 'high nobility'. "Kick that aside." She told Tetsu. After an (inappropriately) cheerful 'ey!' Raphtalia looked over her shoulder, "Signal Itsuki to be ready." Then louder, "The city is ours! Forward!"

(Kodori)

The ghost guardian was frozen in place a pace away from me, his two swords locked in position a hand span away from crossing at my throat. "How...?" He gasped as I looked at him, my hand still wrist deep in the dirt under the nice Yin-Yang platform.

I say 'looked' at him, but... he was just a blurry object on the foreground of my vision, as I 'saw' the dragon veins of the Island, and almost nothing else. "Hush. I'm making sure your descendant doesn't die in a magical accident." It was like I was back in Kuoh, looking over my 'territory', the world lit by nothing but glowing lines on a black canvas.

"You fiend... keep her from your thoughts!" He struggled, but with each moment I was easing into my task, exerting more and more of my influence.

"Her name is Raphtalia." I said quietly, "A young girl whom I helped survive slavery, a deadly illness, several waves..." I sighed, it was like talking to a recording. "You keep calling me monster, but you have no idea..." I felt the portals activate, the feeling like fire through the veins of my arm, "Your island is a toxic dumping ground for monsters too powerful for the people to handle out of hand. Monsters she and I have been killing."

That seemed to changed the recording somewhat, "That task was given to us by the Gods! It was the duty of me and my bloodline to-"

"There are no gods." I cut him off, the trees around me pulsing red exactly once before resuming their gentle pink glow. "But you surprise me. You know you are dead."

The army finished moving through the portals, the sympathetic fire in my blood easing as the strain on the dragon veins ebbed. And I realized something, "Huh... It's almost like an infinity circuit..."

The spirit didn't seem to hear my mumbled words, but did respond, "Death is no obstacle for the truly dutiful! Release me so I can end your-"

"Like a ROM construct..." I sighed, "Oh... what's this? Hmm..."

"Do not ignore me!"

"Listen to me, Spirit." I said, my eyes blind to normal light looking far far past him, "And take comfort in my words."

"I will not-"

"Silence. And. Listen." I said, using the One language, the outlines of energy from all the trees around me changing from pink to (Hestia's Ribbons) blue for a heartbeat. "Raphtalia and I have promised the people of this island, to protect them from the monsters you and your bloodline have sealed away. We will kill these cursed monsters, we will purify them, and they will never bother anyone again."

The outline of the ghost in front of me wavered like dust in the wind, "Impossible. Those monsters can only be subdued and sealed away."

"I do not blame you for thinking that." I said, the ghost shifting again to a more confrontational colour, "Listen." I repeated, "You did your best with what you had. But now, your descendant and I are finishing your work. I am Kitsune, yes. But from another world, where it is my job to kill monsters."

Again his 'recording' changed, and I felt actual... pity... from his words. "Even as you become one yourself?"

"My goal is to return home. To my wife. My Children. My family. This?" I used my free hand to motion to my horns, "Is just another tool to do so." A tool that was getting itchy, getting pity from a dead man... "When Raphtalia comes here, show yourself. Tell her you are proud of her. Of all the things I have been for her, I am not her true family."

"Is she simply another tool to you then?"

"I take good care of my tools." I 'looked' over the ocean towards the glowing dots in the distance, my other trees, the hourglasses, and even further past vast 'dead' zones, to Kizuna's world and even the Hearth. "Spirit, do you congratulate your descendant? Or do I destroy you? I have things to do."

Slowly, my vision cleared and the glowing 'outline' of the ghost resolved into the 'smoke filled outline' I had been fighting. All around me, the grove of the single multi trunk Sakura tree glowed with the same gentle pink as before. And still, his blades were poised to cut my head off.

"I've done what I needed to do. Have I corrupted this place? Tainted it?" I looked at him, wiggling stiff fingers in the dirt to make ready to stand.

"I will witness her claiming her birthright." He said, "But I will be watching."

And he vanished, the trees around me getting a tiny bit brighter for a moment.

With a sigh, I stood. "Huh... that's some tough stone." I mumbled, looking at my scraped gauntlet and the stone Yin-Yang platform. My punch had hardly scuffed the stone, and instead shifted them apart as my hand wedged itself through the two separate pieces. "Now..." I took the Shield off my back and summoned a bit of paper and quill.

(Raphtalia)

Of course the people celebrated. The people, despite the information suppression of the Emperor's puppet master, 'the people' had heard of her, and what she was doing. Heavy taxation, restricted trade, authoritarian and brutal guards who justified their actions with 'keeping the peace' and 'protecting without killing monsters'... The civilians were just waiting for something better to show up and fix things.

So, with her own troops keeping watch over the soldiers who had defected to her side the instant she showed up, and Itsuki's teams keeping watch on the walls of the old capital, Raphtalia rode atop Tetsu towards the castle, and the ritual site.

Tetsu of course was loving the attention. Sure, it wasn't directed at her, just in her direction. And yes, many of 'the people' were willing to give her a pat on the head for luck, even as Ren and Motoyasu acted as crowd control.

"You know." Ren commented, giving someone a nod so they could pat Tetsu, "This feels pretty good."

Motoyasu waited until that civilian had returned to the line of onlookers, and allowed someone else to approach. "I wasn't really looking forward to fighting people either."

"No no. This." Ren motioned to the people, "It feels far more honest. Never... I dunno... noticed how fake it was in Melromarc."

"Oh that. Yeah." Motoyasu laughed, "Almost there kiddo." He looked up to Raphtalia.

The smile on her face was getting into 'plastic' territory, but she glanced down at him and nodded, "Let's get it done then."

The two heroes nodded, "Alright! That's enough!" Motoyasu called out, "She'll be back soon!"

He and Ren moved to behind Tetsu as the big dragon and her rider walked through the castle's double doors. The people, happy as they were, were still respectful and moved back and around content to watch and cheer without trying for 'one last try' to get close to their Empress (or the exceptionally lucky dragon).

Inside, Raluva's son and one of his party closed the big doors and took up 'guard detail' for her. It was redundant, as he and a few others had made sure the place was secure while Raphtalia paraded around for a little while. "Empress." He said, "My father, several of the town leaders, and the Water Dragon Miko await you past the inner doors."

Raphtalia smiled, glad that 'the people' no longer called her best friend 'false' or 'exiled'. "I suppose the ease we had taking this place means I don't need to clean up much." She sighed. "Tetsu?" She dismounted, taking a moment to dust off her rear in the most commoner fashion.

"I wanted to fight something..." Tetsu pouted, "But I suppose this means I get to eat sooner!"

Raphtalia laughed, giving Tetsu's big forehead a pat, "Change so we can at least walk together." Her hand remained in place while Tetsu reverted to her child form.

And so two of the samurai soldiers opened the inner doors to the forest sanctuary, and she spotted the people waiting for her. "Suppose she wouldn't wait, would she..." She mumbled to herself while the two of them walked forward.

"Heavenly Empress." Raluva started, bowing his head respectfully, "Once you have undergone the ritual, Heaven and Earth will know you to be the true ruler of Q'ten Lo." He stood aside.

And as she did in battle, she led the procession forward. Along the path, through the magnificent grove of mossy trees, transitioning into the carefully cultivated illusion of entering another realm. Her senses and aptitude for illusion magic told her it was 'real'. But even so it still felt otherworldly. Sound from outside faded, the people cheering softened and vanished, and soon it was only the wind, water, and their footsteps.

At last, they came to the platform. The Yin-Yang stones encircled by the small stream rested innocently, yet reverently in the middle of the nest of softly glowing sakura lumina trees.

"There was a battle here." Raphtalia broke the silence, stopping at the edge of the clearing and looking side to side. Scuff marks in the carefully raked gravel path. A small depression where someone had rolled. A small spot of freshly overturned earth.

And a small bit of paper under a rock, right in front of the Yin-Yang platform.

"Someone has desecrated the ritual site!" Raluva lamented, "I hope the spirits are not angry at this intrusion!"

"No." Said a voice, though only Raphtalia seemed to hear it. "Congratulations." Tired, but distinctly male, the voice felt familiar, friendly... But she couldn't place it. The voice didn't speak again, but she felt a gentle push against her back.

"It will be fine." Raphtalia said, walking forward and picking up the paper. "Going to deal with politics and a problem from Siltvelt. Congratulations. There is a dragon hourglass, but you have to turn off the barrier." And it was signed with a little fox curled around a cup.

"There's an hourglass?" Raphtalia asked out loud.

"Well yeah." Sadeena said, pointing past the platform to where the little stream emerged from the tree line, "Just over there. With the barrier it's only used for level resets really..." Raphtalia could tell there was a story there, but resolved to ask later.

Raphtalia sighed, "Kodori has moved on ahead. Lord Raluva? What is involved?"

"One of your esteemed ancestry only needs to stand upon the platform and accept the power that is your birthright." He replied.

NOTES!

And now, the rails are breaking off as the party splits again...

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

aKAQg4bnYu for the discord! As well as ways to support me!

And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.

And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!