how are you enjoying our story so far?
i hope you're enjoying it. there's nothing more important
than telling stories. the written word makes our ideas, and by extension, ourselves, immortal.
that's right... so long as this story exists, i can return. so long as one person is taken by these tales...
... there's a chance.
![[Image: Untitled-1.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/856289662398496819/965132674874355712/Untitled-1.png)
"Silent Neighbor"
![[Image: to_be_continued_text.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/856289662398496819/965140574774644786/to_be_continued_text.png)
i hope you're enjoying it. there's nothing more important
than telling stories. the written word makes our ideas, and by extension, ourselves, immortal.
that's right... so long as this story exists, i can return. so long as one person is taken by these tales...
... there's a chance.
"Silent Neighbor"
As her back uncomfortably nestles against the shattered brick that keeps sewage and spring-water apart, the Black Fox, formerly known as Xhu Lam, looks outwards. Her nails have grown to a disgusting length. Her hair drapes over her face. Her eyes have become numbed in the darkness, and the tail she was once so ashamed of has been ruined by days, months, or years of contact with feces and gunk. Her eyes stare out to what appears to be a small flame- burning a bright red. She stares at it, unsure if she had accidentally manifested the flame. And yet, as she attempts to muffle it, it does not respond. A voice echoes telepathically back to her, reaching into the far corners of her mind.
"How sad... the Black Fox has been robbed of it's freedom."
Xhu can not respond. It had been ages since she had opened her mouth. Chapped, dry lips are opened in an attempt speak. Nothing escapes her, though.
"Oh, you poor thing... don't worry. I will make you whole again."
The heat that radiated off of this flame... she knew it all-too-well. She could never forget the primordial, never-ending furnace that she had been blamed for. The blame had lied squarely on this spirit. The old crone who had warned her family about her, and then proceeded to make the prophecy come true... it was all the responsibility of this spirit. If she wasn't so malnourished- so incapable of manifesting the tiniest bit of mana- she would strike out immediately- but she can't. The girl can do nothing sob dryly- tears not running down her face as her body desperately attempts to preserve moisture.
"Why? Why did you do it?"
Xhu murmurs quietly.
"So that I could seek you out yet again, my body.
My reincarnation in this era. For years, I have wandered Eternia, longing, waiting, for a chance to be made whole again.
I have seen wars. I have seen famine. I have seen extinction. The knowledge I can give you... the power I can give you- it is beyond recompense.
All I need is for you to return to the source... to acknowledge and live by the terms I have promised.
I am going to make you a Goddess."
Was there any other choice? Did she have an alternative besides interacting with this spirit?
"You do," the spirit says, reading her mind.
"You can continue this life, patiently waiting for a love that will never come- a knight that does not exist.
Or... you can take what's rightfully yours, and stand beside me in the realm of Heaven."
Perhaps it was the trauma that made her choose. Perhaps it was the wrath that had built up inside of her. Maybe she was just tired of serving as a doorstopper for grime and muck. But on that night, illuminated by the full moon, a pillar of fire shoots into the sky, adorned with Occult magic. It's greater and larger than any that have come before. The nearby village believes that it may be the work of a divine spirit, or even an Oni. And, yet, there is no such thing present when they arrive. All they find are three children, who claim that they saw a monster- a creature that flew out of the well in a surge of fire. The Illuminated dispatch their exorcists and priests upon hearing that the work was situated in the banishing place of the Black Fox. As they arrive, they survey the land. The well had been decimated, and scorch marks danced along once fertile farmland.
A scorch mark that looked strikingly like a fox...
...
Within the night sky, the Black Fox takes off, adorned with nine beautiful tails that flutter and dance in the night. Magic like she had never known allowed her to leap long fields in a single bound, dance amidst the stars, and even hide her presence entirely. It was amazing- spectacular. As she relished in her abilities and new-found freedom, her attention turns back towards the flame that sits on her shoulder. There's no distrust anymore- as they are now one. She asks a simple question.
"What should we call ourselves? A Goddess needs a proper name."
... there's a brief silence before the Black Fox nods to herself.
"Yes, you're right. From this day forth, Xhu Lam no longer exists.
There is only... 伊弉冉尊."
"How sad... the Black Fox has been robbed of it's freedom."
Xhu can not respond. It had been ages since she had opened her mouth. Chapped, dry lips are opened in an attempt speak. Nothing escapes her, though.
"Oh, you poor thing... don't worry. I will make you whole again."
The heat that radiated off of this flame... she knew it all-too-well. She could never forget the primordial, never-ending furnace that she had been blamed for. The blame had lied squarely on this spirit. The old crone who had warned her family about her, and then proceeded to make the prophecy come true... it was all the responsibility of this spirit. If she wasn't so malnourished- so incapable of manifesting the tiniest bit of mana- she would strike out immediately- but she can't. The girl can do nothing sob dryly- tears not running down her face as her body desperately attempts to preserve moisture.
"Why? Why did you do it?"
Xhu murmurs quietly.
"So that I could seek you out yet again, my body.
My reincarnation in this era. For years, I have wandered Eternia, longing, waiting, for a chance to be made whole again.
I have seen wars. I have seen famine. I have seen extinction. The knowledge I can give you... the power I can give you- it is beyond recompense.
All I need is for you to return to the source... to acknowledge and live by the terms I have promised.
I am going to make you a Goddess."
Was there any other choice? Did she have an alternative besides interacting with this spirit?
"You do," the spirit says, reading her mind.
"You can continue this life, patiently waiting for a love that will never come- a knight that does not exist.
Or... you can take what's rightfully yours, and stand beside me in the realm of Heaven."
Perhaps it was the trauma that made her choose. Perhaps it was the wrath that had built up inside of her. Maybe she was just tired of serving as a doorstopper for grime and muck. But on that night, illuminated by the full moon, a pillar of fire shoots into the sky, adorned with Occult magic. It's greater and larger than any that have come before. The nearby village believes that it may be the work of a divine spirit, or even an Oni. And, yet, there is no such thing present when they arrive. All they find are three children, who claim that they saw a monster- a creature that flew out of the well in a surge of fire. The Illuminated dispatch their exorcists and priests upon hearing that the work was situated in the banishing place of the Black Fox. As they arrive, they survey the land. The well had been decimated, and scorch marks danced along once fertile farmland.
A scorch mark that looked strikingly like a fox...
...
Within the night sky, the Black Fox takes off, adorned with nine beautiful tails that flutter and dance in the night. Magic like she had never known allowed her to leap long fields in a single bound, dance amidst the stars, and even hide her presence entirely. It was amazing- spectacular. As she relished in her abilities and new-found freedom, her attention turns back towards the flame that sits on her shoulder. There's no distrust anymore- as they are now one. She asks a simple question.
"What should we call ourselves? A Goddess needs a proper name."
... there's a brief silence before the Black Fox nods to herself.
"Yes, you're right. From this day forth, Xhu Lam no longer exists.
There is only... 伊弉冉尊."
...thus marks the birth of the second-ever Nine-Tailed Kitsune in existence.
that's right! isn't that amazing? both of the twins awakened to their power, becoming more than they were.
... i wonder, did they ever reunite? if they did, what would they say together? or is her grudge so great that there was nothing to say?
well, don't fret. because we have 2 more eras to journey through. and soon- very soon- you will find the answer you're looking for...
that's right! isn't that amazing? both of the twins awakened to their power, becoming more than they were.
... i wonder, did they ever reunite? if they did, what would they say together? or is her grudge so great that there was nothing to say?
well, don't fret. because we have 2 more eras to journey through. and soon- very soon- you will find the answer you're looking for...