Ken Rahaim
Chieftain
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2011
- Messages
- 6
Outstanding work.
I continue to enjoy this story month after month! Thanks for your continued work on it!
-
We are currently performing site maintenance, parts of civfanatics are currently offline, but will come back online in the coming days (this includes any time you see the message "account suspended"). For more updates please see here.
The Celestial Bureaucracy
- Thread starter Tomorrow's Dawn
- Start date
I continue to enjoy this story month after month! Thanks for your continued work on it!
Tomorrow's Dawn
Heroes Never Die
Welcome, fashi.
If you are reading this, then this is likely the first time you have opened the Strange Tales of Liaozhai, our collective repository.
As a new Agent and Fashi of the Celestial Bureaucracy, and as Class C personnel, you are allowed access to all reports and documents with the "Class C approved" marker.
Our of our primary goals in this world, as you may already be aware of, is the complete extermination of abominations who bear the taint.
All human beings on this planet possess a miniscule amount of this taint, but only a few can manifest the signs.
It is because you yourself possessed bountiful quantities of it, either by descent from the old gods or by
product of natural buildup from the environment that you were chosen to become a part of our shadow fraternity.
You were chosen because your body unknowingly struck a balance, possessing just enough to become a vessel for greater potential
and just short of the quantities needed to mutate into an abomination to be purged from the world.
It is your duty, henceforth to seek and destroy such beings, for they prey on humanity and there is none other capable than ourselves able to safeguard them from their predations.
Herein, are five reports of entire populations of tainted creatures that our organization has culled from the earth.
A number of these are written summations, or select memories that Fu Xi and Hera have deemed suitable for assisting you in learning what is expected of you.
The Dokkaebi
The Dokkaebi were our first obstacle towards our early goal of securing the geopolitical hegemony of the mortal Chinese Empire.
Standing no taller than one meter, the Dokkaebi were a species of goblin that covered a range from the Corean peninsula to some of the southern regions of Manchuria.
Their taint manifested in several forms dangerous to the integrity of reality.
The goblins wore a characteristic hat that was identified to be the source of their ability to sheathe themselves in a cloak of invisibility.
Initial scouting operations were often thwarted by this specific defensive capability.
Secondly, the Dokkaebi possessed limited conjuration capabilities.
They were limited in the sense that a Dokkaebi could procure any terrestrial object that it wished into its possession, but it would be drawn from a terrestrial source.
It was eventually discovered that the Dokkaebi were predisposed to act as arbiters of morality.
Often punishing or rewarding ordinary Corean civilians at whim based on their deeds.
With this knowledge in hand, Hera developed and authorized Operation Parable to go into effect.
A number of Agents were sent into Corea and tasked with blending in and assimilating into the native population.
They were to distinguish themselves by performing perfidious acts in public or benevolent deeds for the good of the community.
This was to lure out the Dokkaebi by their nature.
When the goblins revealed themselves to our operatives, the Agents were tasked either to
feign remorse for their deeds or befriend them depending on their assignment; either way, the objective was to gain their trust.
Once achieved, each Agent revealed their greatest fear to the Dokkaebi.
They were required to name silver as their greatest fear.
In turn, the goblins revealed their greatest fear in kind; blood.
With that knowledge in hand, each Agent splattered blood across their dwellings and baited
the Dokkaebi into attacking them with silver.
<Footnote: As we discovered later, the mass extermination of the Dokkaebi coincided with the a period of
deflation in the Arab and Turkish economies; the Dokkaebi had seemingly conjured their silver from their treasuries>
A majority of the goblins took the bait, and our Agents weaved their spellwork against them, taking them by surprise.
The collected silver was recovered and from then on, we proceeded to inject the Corean economy with the conjured silver to destabilize the Shin court via market inflation.
The unrest that resulted from rapidly rising food prices combined with the
blights that fell upon the fields of Corea, further exacerbated the chaos in the kingdom.
Our Agents back home seeded information on the weakened Shin state to the Xia court, still tense and ready for war after the conquest of the Yue peoples on the eastern seaboard of China.
With our subtle suggestions, war was soon declared at the slightest of provocation and the Corean peninsula was overrun.
Within a few years, the barrier was raised around the land, purging surviving Dokkaebi within and ensuring no further supernatural penetration into Corea other than our own.
Thus ended the Dokkaebi.
While methods pertaining to each individual threat may differ, the basic principles remain the same.
As a newborn Class C operative, it is imperative to the success of our collective endeavors that you follow these guidelines to the letter:
1. Scouting the native USB (Unidentified Supernatural Being) population and discerning their capabilities.
Report back all details as necessary. Do not engage in overt hostilities until Fu Xi or Hera ascertain that it is necessary to proceed onto the next stage.
2. Complete extermination of the local abomination population and/or in the event it proves difficult,
keeping them at bay before Class S personnel can carry out the cleansing procedure.
3. Simultaneously, we are to undermine the internal stability of the mortal government that presides over the designated area.
4. This is the pushing stage. By any means necessary without alerting the mortals to our presence,
we are to encourage the mortal Chinese government to take advantage of their neighbors' instability.
Ordinarily, we can rely on human greed and avarice to take its course, but different situations call for different measures, detailed in a separate attachment to this document.
5. Once mortal Chinese forces have secured the region in question, Class S personnel will begin carrying out the cleansing procedure and raise the barrier.
In the event that the outline proves to be ineffective, Agents are advised to standby and wait for a new directive from Fu Xi or Hera.
If you are reading this, then this is likely the first time you have opened the Strange Tales of Liaozhai, our collective repository.
As a new Agent and Fashi of the Celestial Bureaucracy, and as Class C personnel, you are allowed access to all reports and documents with the "Class C approved" marker.
Our of our primary goals in this world, as you may already be aware of, is the complete extermination of abominations who bear the taint.
All human beings on this planet possess a miniscule amount of this taint, but only a few can manifest the signs.
It is because you yourself possessed bountiful quantities of it, either by descent from the old gods or by
product of natural buildup from the environment that you were chosen to become a part of our shadow fraternity.
You were chosen because your body unknowingly struck a balance, possessing just enough to become a vessel for greater potential
and just short of the quantities needed to mutate into an abomination to be purged from the world.
It is your duty, henceforth to seek and destroy such beings, for they prey on humanity and there is none other capable than ourselves able to safeguard them from their predations.
Herein, are five reports of entire populations of tainted creatures that our organization has culled from the earth.
A number of these are written summations, or select memories that Fu Xi and Hera have deemed suitable for assisting you in learning what is expected of you.
The Dokkaebi
The Dokkaebi were our first obstacle towards our early goal of securing the geopolitical hegemony of the mortal Chinese Empire.
Standing no taller than one meter, the Dokkaebi were a species of goblin that covered a range from the Corean peninsula to some of the southern regions of Manchuria.
Their taint manifested in several forms dangerous to the integrity of reality.
The goblins wore a characteristic hat that was identified to be the source of their ability to sheathe themselves in a cloak of invisibility.
Initial scouting operations were often thwarted by this specific defensive capability.
Secondly, the Dokkaebi possessed limited conjuration capabilities.
They were limited in the sense that a Dokkaebi could procure any terrestrial object that it wished into its possession, but it would be drawn from a terrestrial source.
It was eventually discovered that the Dokkaebi were predisposed to act as arbiters of morality.
Often punishing or rewarding ordinary Corean civilians at whim based on their deeds.
With this knowledge in hand, Hera developed and authorized Operation Parable to go into effect.
A number of Agents were sent into Corea and tasked with blending in and assimilating into the native population.
They were to distinguish themselves by performing perfidious acts in public or benevolent deeds for the good of the community.
This was to lure out the Dokkaebi by their nature.
When the goblins revealed themselves to our operatives, the Agents were tasked either to
feign remorse for their deeds or befriend them depending on their assignment; either way, the objective was to gain their trust.
Once achieved, each Agent revealed their greatest fear to the Dokkaebi.
They were required to name silver as their greatest fear.
In turn, the goblins revealed their greatest fear in kind; blood.
With that knowledge in hand, each Agent splattered blood across their dwellings and baited
the Dokkaebi into attacking them with silver.
<Footnote: As we discovered later, the mass extermination of the Dokkaebi coincided with the a period of
deflation in the Arab and Turkish economies; the Dokkaebi had seemingly conjured their silver from their treasuries>
A majority of the goblins took the bait, and our Agents weaved their spellwork against them, taking them by surprise.
The collected silver was recovered and from then on, we proceeded to inject the Corean economy with the conjured silver to destabilize the Shin court via market inflation.
The unrest that resulted from rapidly rising food prices combined with the
blights that fell upon the fields of Corea, further exacerbated the chaos in the kingdom.
Our Agents back home seeded information on the weakened Shin state to the Xia court, still tense and ready for war after the conquest of the Yue peoples on the eastern seaboard of China.
With our subtle suggestions, war was soon declared at the slightest of provocation and the Corean peninsula was overrun.
Within a few years, the barrier was raised around the land, purging surviving Dokkaebi within and ensuring no further supernatural penetration into Corea other than our own.
Thus ended the Dokkaebi.
While methods pertaining to each individual threat may differ, the basic principles remain the same.
As a newborn Class C operative, it is imperative to the success of our collective endeavors that you follow these guidelines to the letter:
1. Scouting the native USB (Unidentified Supernatural Being) population and discerning their capabilities.
Report back all details as necessary. Do not engage in overt hostilities until Fu Xi or Hera ascertain that it is necessary to proceed onto the next stage.
2. Complete extermination of the local abomination population and/or in the event it proves difficult,
keeping them at bay before Class S personnel can carry out the cleansing procedure.
3. Simultaneously, we are to undermine the internal stability of the mortal government that presides over the designated area.
4. This is the pushing stage. By any means necessary without alerting the mortals to our presence,
we are to encourage the mortal Chinese government to take advantage of their neighbors' instability.
Ordinarily, we can rely on human greed and avarice to take its course, but different situations call for different measures, detailed in a separate attachment to this document.
5. Once mortal Chinese forces have secured the region in question, Class S personnel will begin carrying out the cleansing procedure and raise the barrier.
In the event that the outline proves to be ineffective, Agents are advised to standby and wait for a new directive from Fu Xi or Hera.
Tomorrow's Dawn
Heroes Never Die
I apologize for the long delay.
I'm moving so it's been a little difficult for me to get any writing done
alongside my other obligations, but I'll try to get some chapters out.
They'll be pretty crazy, at least, in my mind, I think they are.
I'm moving so it's been a little difficult for me to get any writing done
alongside my other obligations, but I'll try to get some chapters out.
They'll be pretty crazy, at least, in my mind, I think they are.
strijder20
Wallowing in irony
No problem.
And I love chaotic writing
And I love chaotic writing
Daedwartin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,785
So, how much more time til the SCP Foundation decides its time to investigate your departments. Or maybe, they have already infiltrated Class C (or whatever it's called)?...
I'm being silly I know... Actaully, that would sound like a nice plot driver for that department. SCP would be capable of things they don't even come close to understanding.
I'm being silly I know... Actaully, that would sound like a nice plot driver for that department. SCP would be capable of things they don't even come close to understanding.
MTB4884
Emperor
Great update! I hope your move goes well (I know from experience how aggravating moving can be) and I'm looking forward to reading more of the story.
Tomorrow's Dawn
Heroes Never Die
Writer's Aside: Get ready for a blast from the past.
This is one of the updates I couldn't write in the beginning for story reasons.
-FOR CLASS S PERSONNEL EYES ONLY-
This file has been partially reconstructed from recovered genetic information (post-mortem) from one of the subjects detailed within.
The Yokai
It began with the faintest crackle, and then it ended with the loudest of cracks. Kohaku turned and bolted towards the sound of the ice breaking.
She caught the Prince's hand before it went completely under, and with great effort, was able to pull him out of the frigid depths.
Quickly, she threw the tigerskin cloak over him before the cold could sap away anymore of his strength.
"Heh, I was afraid of this," he shivered. "That I'd become a liability,"
"No. This is my fault. It was a mistake to take the quick route across the frozen river."
Slinging his arm around her shoulder, she carried the both of them off the ice and onto the snowy riverbank.
Her eyes scanned the perimeter like a hawk searching for prey. It was hard to see in the blizzard, but if anyone could spot it, it was her.
"I see a cave over there. Hang in there, we're almost there,"
The Prince endured his suffering a little longer, his entire body ravaged by the relentless cold, before they finally reached the mouth of the cavern.
Kohaku set him down by the cave wall, still bundled in the tigerskin and hurried to make a fire.
His breathing became more regular as the heat of the flame warmed him, but he was still shivering.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. For I must cross this boundary so that you may continue to live."
She removed his armor and proceeded to strip him of his wet, dripping robes, setting them aside to be dried later.
Kneeling over his exposed figure, she undid his topknot, letting his long hair fall over his shoulders.
The tigerskin was thrown back onto him, and Kohaku seated herself across on the other side of the fire to muse about what should be done now that they were behind schedule.
But her thoughts began to float into other realms as she stared at the resting Prince; his breathing thankfully becoming more regular.
She could sidle under the tigerskin and warm him with her own body.
He was sleeping and he would probably never know it.
That would be terribly improper though. She quickly turned herself away from such fantasies.
Besides, she doubted the Prince would want to touch an untouchable such as her.
She was starting to feel weary herself, and contented herself to drift into slumber;
drifting away into the world of fantasies.
When Kohaku awoke, she checked the Prince's condition, only to find that he had only slightly improved.
This wasn't good. They were still behind enemy lines and she had limited resources to work with.
She had to nurse him back into good health quickly, or else they would likely be discovered.
Rummaging through the supplies, they appeared to be short of remedies. No more wood. That would need to go on the list as well.
Kohaku had no choice but to abandon the Prince, at least momentarily, to fetch some much-needed supplies.
The stalwart infiltrator picked up the Prince's axe and slung over her shoulder before heading out.
"I'll be back soon."
Kohaku was left to her own thoughts as she wandered the eternal winter, bundle of sticks slung over her back,
treading across the snow in search of the herbs that she needed to help reduce his pain.
"It could never happen. Why am I letting my imagination fly away with all of these ideas?" she thought to herself as she dug away at the vegetation.
A snap of a twig broke her chain of thought. An armed man wearing a sakkat had trespassed on her territory, inadvertently revealing himself to her.
The assassins continued to hound them!
Drawing an arrow to her hand, the man instantly dove for cover as she loosed her arrow, bounding off the surface of a rock as it missed.
The terrible sound of a blade emerging from its scabbard resounded through the blizzard as he darted her way from rock to rock, dodging her shots with impunity.
Kohaku stood on edge as she primed three arrows for a scattershot. She would have to be patient with this one.
Her hawk-like eyes darted about, watching as her opponent dashed from cover to cover.
And then her fingers twitched. Now! Her opponent was caught off guard by the flurry of arrows flying his way, grazing past the first two, but struck by the third.
The arrow skimmed through his robe, tearing off part of the outer fold and revealing an ornate scarlet patch underneath.
She recognized the insignia; it was one that only members of the Empress Hong Mei's secret service bore.
"You're a secret service member!" Kohaku exclaimed, which caused him to pause.
She revealed to him the embroidery on the inside of her sleeve. It was the same scarlet insignia that he bore.
"Then I see this little duel was unfounded." the man sheathed his jian.
"What are you doing here so far behind enemy lines?"
"I have the-" Kohaku started, before her ears piqued up at the sound of new arrivals.
"-It would seem that our fight drew some attention."
Over by the ridge, stood five men, garbed in robes of white, the color of death and mourning.
The leader pushed up his blade by the twitch of the thumb, signaling his hostile intent.
All five took to the air and crashed down the slope with all the extremity of a raging avalanche, ready to close the gap between them and their prey in a matter of seconds.
Kohaku, raised her bow and let loose an arrow whistling through the icy air,
but it was cut in two as her target cleaved through as if it were nothing.
"Damn," she growled. She had tried that before and she knew better.
"What are they?" the other agent inquired as he drew his own jian again.
"Swordsmen in the pay of the Yamato." she said as she fired another arrow, to no avail.
Seeing how futile it was, she retreated as quickly as she could to higher ground.
One of the swordsmen, having already closed the gap, descended upon the secret service agent,
coming at him with a hard slash meant to sever his torso from his body.
The agent swerved underneath the horizontal slash coming his way, arching his back and balancing himself on one foot.
Touching down on his palms, he flipped backwards and smashed his opponent's chin with the tip of his foot.
WHOOOOOSSSHHHH!
In that one critical window of opportunity, an arrow pierced straight through the man's neck as he staggered backwards from the flip kick.
Emboldened by the reversal in momentum, the secret service agent rushed forward to deny his opponents the good ground.
He clashed with one of the men, and plunged an arrow through his opponents' eye with the free hand.
Kohaku covered her ally with a volley of relentless fire while he took the opportunity to sheath his jian and draw his own shortbow.
With one sharp motion, he yanked out the arrow from the man's eye, ripping out a cluster of brain cells as he did so.
Two more blades came his way, forcing him to think fast on his feet.
The agent primed his arrow as he rolled underneath, unleashing the missile at a difficult angle against the man lunging his way.
The arrow hit him straight in the heart, sending a lifeless body hurtling down the slope.
From out of the brush came two more arrows, planting themselves firmly into the backs of the remaining swordsmen, putting an end to the skirmish.
"Come! We need to make sure the Prince is safe!" she shouted as came into view.
"Give me one moment. I won't be too far behind," he said.
Kohaku's new comrade kneeled down beside one of their corpses and laid a finger in the swordsman's wound.
The blood was hot and red. He paused for a moment just to be sure.
The red soon turned to black. It was best if she was not privvy to this.
Wiping his glove clean, he soon caught up to Kohaku as they trekked back to her shelter.
When they arrived, the two of them wasted no time in tossing the wood into the fire pit.
Some melted snow was set to boil over the fire as Kohaku brushed a hand onto the Prince's forehead.
"How is his condition?" the agent asked as he eyed the shivering Prince.
"He has a high fever," she replied as she began to mash up the roots with a mortar and pestle.
"We've been delayed for a day. And I'm afraid to stay for any longer than three days as we've been hunted throughout our journey.
Perhaps you could accompany us back to the Chinese zone of control."
"As much as I would like to, I cannot assist you." her comrade responded.
"I am on a mission to penetrate the interior of the Yamato line. I'm on a strict deadline and I just need a place to rest, if only for a moment."
"I see. Make yourself useful then," Kohaku stated. "Can you prepare some congee? I need to feed him something before I administer the remedy."
"Of course, I haven't eaten in some time myself."
The man presided over the congee while Kohaku added hot water to the herbal mash she had prepared.
She was really putting a lot of herself into it, as he could see and the agent, though mostly keeping to himself,
could recognize that there was more than just her duty to the Empress at work.
The look of concern that she wore on her face was telling.
"The congee's done," he announced as he topped the porridge off with some vegetables and dried fish.
Kohaku tasked herself with feeding the Prince as he leaned half-conscious against the cavern wall.
"I forgot to save some wood to craft some spare arrows. I used it all for the fire. That will mean the next morning will be marred by even more delays,"
Kohaku mused as she spooned the medicine into the Prince's mouth. She turned to find her comrade offering her one of his.
"It's not much," he said, holding out one arrow from his quiver. "But I can spare one."
"These arrows are ivory! The make is unmistakably well-crafted." she proclaimed as she took it in her hand. "Are you certain you wish to pass this under my possession?"
"Yes." her comrade responded. "I just have to make sure I don't lose any more by war's end."
He paused.
"It will be in good hands."
Kohaku caught a terse smile form underneath his sakkat before the man got up and gathered his belongings.
"Thank you for sharing your shelter with me. I must go now, lest I miss my deadline."
"Very well then. I hope your mission proceeds smoothly." she said her farewell.
"I hope so too." he responded.
Kohaku watched him go for awhile before returning her attentions to the beleaguered Prince, and the night passed without disturbance.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Kohaku addressed the Prince.
When the Prince found that he had no clothes, he looked around before he found Kohaku standing over him with his robes in hand.
"Ah. Thank you. How long was I out?" he asked, sneezing from the cold.
"Two days. You might still feel some of the effects, but the medicine I procured should help. And it looks like you might be well enough to walk again."
"That's good. I also have a question, if you don't mind."
"You may ask me anything, Your Highness,"
"So are you usually so talkative when I'm not completely conscious?" the Prince chuckled.
"Pardon?" Kohaku piqued her head.
"You were talking to yourself for about an hour. I thought for a moment that you had somehow gotten sick yourself," the Prince said as he stood up to do his robes.
"Your Highness, I'm not sure I understand. I encountered another agent in the field and brought him here with us into the shelter. He left just the night before."
"What are you talking about? There was no one else here but you and I," the Prince said.
Kohaku's confusion began to sink in when she instinctively headed for her sack of belongings to make certain that she hadn't imagined the entire episode.
The ivory arrow was still there, confirming her curious encounter from the other day.
Surely... she hadn't imagined it, had she?
Every fiber of his being could feel the taint, calling out to his body. It was here, if not anywhere else.
He reached out and touched the waterfall, and the sensation on his fingertips indicated that he was right.
Chanting the incantations, he laid down his world-tether and allowed himself to fall through, emerging out into a completely different world.
He fell into an abandoned train station. High in the sky was a blood red sun, the sole light in all of this surreal and saddening place.
"The next stop is Takama-ga-hara. The next stop is Takama-ga-hara. Please have your access card ready for inspection if you wish to depart on the next stop.
Thank you for your continued..." echoed a voice from the speakers, addressing no one in particular.
No train would ever come in this desolate wasteland. The agent quickly exited the station and stepped into the concrete jungle;
the world he entered abundance of ruin. But he wasn't alone.
A pair of white-garbed swordsmen greeted him at the intersection.
"I see you, Lucifer." a dissonant voice permeated the air.
"I wonder, how exactly did you manage to stumble onto my heavenly realm?"
"It's only because of your predictability, Amaterasu-no-Mikoto." Lucifer replied.
Or should I call you Sariel?"
The white-garbed swordsmen burst out of their skins, revealing their true forms.
Red-faced oni stared him down, intent on grinding the Lightbringer into paste.
From the seemingly dead city itself came a legion of ordinary businessmen and businesswomen,
each one morphing into a new yokai, each more grotesque than the last, all hungry for the ichor-laden flesh of the devil.
High in the sky, massive whirling clouds of centipede-like creatures and tengu circled above, almost blotting out the glory of their mother sun.
"Bring me his head!" the order was issued forth.
The Lightbringer steeled himself. "I survived the Flood. I will survive you."
Lucifer drew his blade and severed the first oni from his torso as he dove straight into the storm.
Even as they tore away his body with incredible ferocity, he stood firm and retaliated, blow after blow, drowning the streets in the blood of abominations.
No amount of agony would fell him, so long as the goal was in sight. If he failed here, then he could never help lay the foundations for his grandmaster plan.
And if he failed, he would've dishonored her. The Lightbringer fought on, carving away at the teeming masses until the yokai hordes gave him his space in apprehension.
"Not so weak and pathetic as I remember." the disembodied voice reverberated.
From the center of the sun came a focused ray of light, obliterating entire buildings in its wake, apathetic at the prospect of disintegrating her own children.
Nothing emerged from the titanic columns of smoke for hours, as swarms of squirming yokai hovered over the impact zone.
As the dust settled, a single solemn figure could be seen in the midst, completely unscathed.
"Your light cannot compare to mine, Amaterasu."
Lucifer proclaimed, shimmering with the morning glory.
"I never asked for this. It was all of you who branded me with this cursed name.
Perhaps now, you will rightfully regret the consequences."
He procured the arrows from his quiver and released them into the air, where they flew around him in a floating circle.
From the center of the formation came a single ebony arrow, conjured from seemingly nothing. Lucifer took the arrow in hand.
"I once had a colleague. I think you might remember him.
His name was Houyi and he was a peerless marksman with no equal.
When the ten sun-birds were loosed upon the world, scorching the land and boiling the oceans,
it was Houyi who rose to the challenge and saved the planet from incineration with his sun-slaying arrows.
He stayed his hand against the tenth sun, for the world would have been shrouded in perpetual darkness without it.
Fortunately, I had the foresight to take the tenth Sun-Slayer into my possession."
"I saved it for you, Sun Goddess."
He took aim, his target flaring in all directions with shock and rage.
"I am not as skilled as Houyi. But today, the last Sun-Slayer will find its mark."
An unfathomable force erupted as Lucifer let loose the bow-string, completely obliterating the teeming mass of yokai hurtling his way.
High in the sky, the sun rapidly dove for the cover of the horizon, trying to escape the incoming missile, but found herself struck square in the heart.
The sun soon came hurtling down into the city, instantly disintegrating the massive yokai swarms into nothingness.
The Lightbringer calmly walked towards the massive crater that Amaterasu's fall had created and gazed upon her blackened, shriveled form.
Lucifer thought for a moment that she resembled her mother, but set aside such thoughts.
That would have been insulting towards Izanami. And he meant no disrespect to her as he looked contemptuously on her daughter.
Amaterasu looked up to face the victorious Lightbringer to curse him in her final moments.
"At least I walked away tasting happiness. You lost everything." she gurgled. Ancient, black blood welled from her mouth and spilled down the sides of her face.
"I lost everything except my dignity. That's more than you can say."
"Go to Hell." the goddess cursed him with her last breath.
When he felt that she had passed, he knelt over her and drew the ichor from her body.
A snowflake landed on the tip of Lucifer's nose as he rose to his feet.
He gazed upward and saw that the sky was now enveloped in darkness.
His was the only light that illuminated this sad, dead realm.
The sun had set, never to rise again.
This is one of the updates I couldn't write in the beginning for story reasons.
-FOR CLASS S PERSONNEL EYES ONLY-
This file has been partially reconstructed from recovered genetic information (post-mortem) from one of the subjects detailed within.
The Yokai
It began with the faintest crackle, and then it ended with the loudest of cracks. Kohaku turned and bolted towards the sound of the ice breaking.
She caught the Prince's hand before it went completely under, and with great effort, was able to pull him out of the frigid depths.
Quickly, she threw the tigerskin cloak over him before the cold could sap away anymore of his strength.
"Heh, I was afraid of this," he shivered. "That I'd become a liability,"
"No. This is my fault. It was a mistake to take the quick route across the frozen river."
Slinging his arm around her shoulder, she carried the both of them off the ice and onto the snowy riverbank.
Her eyes scanned the perimeter like a hawk searching for prey. It was hard to see in the blizzard, but if anyone could spot it, it was her.
"I see a cave over there. Hang in there, we're almost there,"
The Prince endured his suffering a little longer, his entire body ravaged by the relentless cold, before they finally reached the mouth of the cavern.
Kohaku set him down by the cave wall, still bundled in the tigerskin and hurried to make a fire.
His breathing became more regular as the heat of the flame warmed him, but he was still shivering.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. For I must cross this boundary so that you may continue to live."
She removed his armor and proceeded to strip him of his wet, dripping robes, setting them aside to be dried later.
Kneeling over his exposed figure, she undid his topknot, letting his long hair fall over his shoulders.
The tigerskin was thrown back onto him, and Kohaku seated herself across on the other side of the fire to muse about what should be done now that they were behind schedule.
But her thoughts began to float into other realms as she stared at the resting Prince; his breathing thankfully becoming more regular.
She could sidle under the tigerskin and warm him with her own body.
He was sleeping and he would probably never know it.
That would be terribly improper though. She quickly turned herself away from such fantasies.
Besides, she doubted the Prince would want to touch an untouchable such as her.
She was starting to feel weary herself, and contented herself to drift into slumber;
drifting away into the world of fantasies.
When Kohaku awoke, she checked the Prince's condition, only to find that he had only slightly improved.
This wasn't good. They were still behind enemy lines and she had limited resources to work with.
She had to nurse him back into good health quickly, or else they would likely be discovered.
Rummaging through the supplies, they appeared to be short of remedies. No more wood. That would need to go on the list as well.
Kohaku had no choice but to abandon the Prince, at least momentarily, to fetch some much-needed supplies.
The stalwart infiltrator picked up the Prince's axe and slung over her shoulder before heading out.
"I'll be back soon."
Kohaku was left to her own thoughts as she wandered the eternal winter, bundle of sticks slung over her back,
treading across the snow in search of the herbs that she needed to help reduce his pain.
"It could never happen. Why am I letting my imagination fly away with all of these ideas?" she thought to herself as she dug away at the vegetation.
A snap of a twig broke her chain of thought. An armed man wearing a sakkat had trespassed on her territory, inadvertently revealing himself to her.
The assassins continued to hound them!
Drawing an arrow to her hand, the man instantly dove for cover as she loosed her arrow, bounding off the surface of a rock as it missed.
The terrible sound of a blade emerging from its scabbard resounded through the blizzard as he darted her way from rock to rock, dodging her shots with impunity.
Kohaku stood on edge as she primed three arrows for a scattershot. She would have to be patient with this one.
Her hawk-like eyes darted about, watching as her opponent dashed from cover to cover.
And then her fingers twitched. Now! Her opponent was caught off guard by the flurry of arrows flying his way, grazing past the first two, but struck by the third.
The arrow skimmed through his robe, tearing off part of the outer fold and revealing an ornate scarlet patch underneath.
She recognized the insignia; it was one that only members of the Empress Hong Mei's secret service bore.
"You're a secret service member!" Kohaku exclaimed, which caused him to pause.
She revealed to him the embroidery on the inside of her sleeve. It was the same scarlet insignia that he bore.
"Then I see this little duel was unfounded." the man sheathed his jian.
"What are you doing here so far behind enemy lines?"
"I have the-" Kohaku started, before her ears piqued up at the sound of new arrivals.
"-It would seem that our fight drew some attention."
Over by the ridge, stood five men, garbed in robes of white, the color of death and mourning.
The leader pushed up his blade by the twitch of the thumb, signaling his hostile intent.
All five took to the air and crashed down the slope with all the extremity of a raging avalanche, ready to close the gap between them and their prey in a matter of seconds.
Kohaku, raised her bow and let loose an arrow whistling through the icy air,
but it was cut in two as her target cleaved through as if it were nothing.
"Damn," she growled. She had tried that before and she knew better.
"What are they?" the other agent inquired as he drew his own jian again.
"Swordsmen in the pay of the Yamato." she said as she fired another arrow, to no avail.
Seeing how futile it was, she retreated as quickly as she could to higher ground.
One of the swordsmen, having already closed the gap, descended upon the secret service agent,
coming at him with a hard slash meant to sever his torso from his body.
The agent swerved underneath the horizontal slash coming his way, arching his back and balancing himself on one foot.
Touching down on his palms, he flipped backwards and smashed his opponent's chin with the tip of his foot.
WHOOOOOSSSHHHH!
In that one critical window of opportunity, an arrow pierced straight through the man's neck as he staggered backwards from the flip kick.
Emboldened by the reversal in momentum, the secret service agent rushed forward to deny his opponents the good ground.
He clashed with one of the men, and plunged an arrow through his opponents' eye with the free hand.
Kohaku covered her ally with a volley of relentless fire while he took the opportunity to sheath his jian and draw his own shortbow.
With one sharp motion, he yanked out the arrow from the man's eye, ripping out a cluster of brain cells as he did so.
Two more blades came his way, forcing him to think fast on his feet.
The agent primed his arrow as he rolled underneath, unleashing the missile at a difficult angle against the man lunging his way.
The arrow hit him straight in the heart, sending a lifeless body hurtling down the slope.
From out of the brush came two more arrows, planting themselves firmly into the backs of the remaining swordsmen, putting an end to the skirmish.
"Come! We need to make sure the Prince is safe!" she shouted as came into view.
"Give me one moment. I won't be too far behind," he said.
Kohaku's new comrade kneeled down beside one of their corpses and laid a finger in the swordsman's wound.
The blood was hot and red. He paused for a moment just to be sure.
The red soon turned to black. It was best if she was not privvy to this.
Wiping his glove clean, he soon caught up to Kohaku as they trekked back to her shelter.
When they arrived, the two of them wasted no time in tossing the wood into the fire pit.
Some melted snow was set to boil over the fire as Kohaku brushed a hand onto the Prince's forehead.
"How is his condition?" the agent asked as he eyed the shivering Prince.
"He has a high fever," she replied as she began to mash up the roots with a mortar and pestle.
"We've been delayed for a day. And I'm afraid to stay for any longer than three days as we've been hunted throughout our journey.
Perhaps you could accompany us back to the Chinese zone of control."
"As much as I would like to, I cannot assist you." her comrade responded.
"I am on a mission to penetrate the interior of the Yamato line. I'm on a strict deadline and I just need a place to rest, if only for a moment."
"I see. Make yourself useful then," Kohaku stated. "Can you prepare some congee? I need to feed him something before I administer the remedy."
"Of course, I haven't eaten in some time myself."
The man presided over the congee while Kohaku added hot water to the herbal mash she had prepared.
She was really putting a lot of herself into it, as he could see and the agent, though mostly keeping to himself,
could recognize that there was more than just her duty to the Empress at work.
The look of concern that she wore on her face was telling.
"The congee's done," he announced as he topped the porridge off with some vegetables and dried fish.
Kohaku tasked herself with feeding the Prince as he leaned half-conscious against the cavern wall.
"I forgot to save some wood to craft some spare arrows. I used it all for the fire. That will mean the next morning will be marred by even more delays,"
Kohaku mused as she spooned the medicine into the Prince's mouth. She turned to find her comrade offering her one of his.
"It's not much," he said, holding out one arrow from his quiver. "But I can spare one."
"These arrows are ivory! The make is unmistakably well-crafted." she proclaimed as she took it in her hand. "Are you certain you wish to pass this under my possession?"
"Yes." her comrade responded. "I just have to make sure I don't lose any more by war's end."
He paused.
"It will be in good hands."
Kohaku caught a terse smile form underneath his sakkat before the man got up and gathered his belongings.
"Thank you for sharing your shelter with me. I must go now, lest I miss my deadline."
"Very well then. I hope your mission proceeds smoothly." she said her farewell.
"I hope so too." he responded.
Kohaku watched him go for awhile before returning her attentions to the beleaguered Prince, and the night passed without disturbance.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Kohaku addressed the Prince.
When the Prince found that he had no clothes, he looked around before he found Kohaku standing over him with his robes in hand.
"Ah. Thank you. How long was I out?" he asked, sneezing from the cold.
"Two days. You might still feel some of the effects, but the medicine I procured should help. And it looks like you might be well enough to walk again."
"That's good. I also have a question, if you don't mind."
"You may ask me anything, Your Highness,"
"So are you usually so talkative when I'm not completely conscious?" the Prince chuckled.
"Pardon?" Kohaku piqued her head.
"You were talking to yourself for about an hour. I thought for a moment that you had somehow gotten sick yourself," the Prince said as he stood up to do his robes.
"Your Highness, I'm not sure I understand. I encountered another agent in the field and brought him here with us into the shelter. He left just the night before."
"What are you talking about? There was no one else here but you and I," the Prince said.
Kohaku's confusion began to sink in when she instinctively headed for her sack of belongings to make certain that she hadn't imagined the entire episode.
The ivory arrow was still there, confirming her curious encounter from the other day.
Surely... she hadn't imagined it, had she?
Every fiber of his being could feel the taint, calling out to his body. It was here, if not anywhere else.
He reached out and touched the waterfall, and the sensation on his fingertips indicated that he was right.
Chanting the incantations, he laid down his world-tether and allowed himself to fall through, emerging out into a completely different world.
He fell into an abandoned train station. High in the sky was a blood red sun, the sole light in all of this surreal and saddening place.
"The next stop is Takama-ga-hara. The next stop is Takama-ga-hara. Please have your access card ready for inspection if you wish to depart on the next stop.
Thank you for your continued..." echoed a voice from the speakers, addressing no one in particular.
No train would ever come in this desolate wasteland. The agent quickly exited the station and stepped into the concrete jungle;
the world he entered abundance of ruin. But he wasn't alone.
A pair of white-garbed swordsmen greeted him at the intersection.
"I see you, Lucifer." a dissonant voice permeated the air.
"I wonder, how exactly did you manage to stumble onto my heavenly realm?"
"It's only because of your predictability, Amaterasu-no-Mikoto." Lucifer replied.
Or should I call you Sariel?"
The white-garbed swordsmen burst out of their skins, revealing their true forms.
Red-faced oni stared him down, intent on grinding the Lightbringer into paste.
From the seemingly dead city itself came a legion of ordinary businessmen and businesswomen,
each one morphing into a new yokai, each more grotesque than the last, all hungry for the ichor-laden flesh of the devil.
High in the sky, massive whirling clouds of centipede-like creatures and tengu circled above, almost blotting out the glory of their mother sun.
"Bring me his head!" the order was issued forth.
The Lightbringer steeled himself. "I survived the Flood. I will survive you."
Lucifer drew his blade and severed the first oni from his torso as he dove straight into the storm.
Even as they tore away his body with incredible ferocity, he stood firm and retaliated, blow after blow, drowning the streets in the blood of abominations.
No amount of agony would fell him, so long as the goal was in sight. If he failed here, then he could never help lay the foundations for his grandmaster plan.
And if he failed, he would've dishonored her. The Lightbringer fought on, carving away at the teeming masses until the yokai hordes gave him his space in apprehension.
"Not so weak and pathetic as I remember." the disembodied voice reverberated.
From the center of the sun came a focused ray of light, obliterating entire buildings in its wake, apathetic at the prospect of disintegrating her own children.
Nothing emerged from the titanic columns of smoke for hours, as swarms of squirming yokai hovered over the impact zone.
As the dust settled, a single solemn figure could be seen in the midst, completely unscathed.
"Your light cannot compare to mine, Amaterasu."
Lucifer proclaimed, shimmering with the morning glory.
"I never asked for this. It was all of you who branded me with this cursed name.
Perhaps now, you will rightfully regret the consequences."
He procured the arrows from his quiver and released them into the air, where they flew around him in a floating circle.
From the center of the formation came a single ebony arrow, conjured from seemingly nothing. Lucifer took the arrow in hand.
"I once had a colleague. I think you might remember him.
His name was Houyi and he was a peerless marksman with no equal.
When the ten sun-birds were loosed upon the world, scorching the land and boiling the oceans,
it was Houyi who rose to the challenge and saved the planet from incineration with his sun-slaying arrows.
He stayed his hand against the tenth sun, for the world would have been shrouded in perpetual darkness without it.
Fortunately, I had the foresight to take the tenth Sun-Slayer into my possession."
"I saved it for you, Sun Goddess."
He took aim, his target flaring in all directions with shock and rage.
"I am not as skilled as Houyi. But today, the last Sun-Slayer will find its mark."
An unfathomable force erupted as Lucifer let loose the bow-string, completely obliterating the teeming mass of yokai hurtling his way.
High in the sky, the sun rapidly dove for the cover of the horizon, trying to escape the incoming missile, but found herself struck square in the heart.
The sun soon came hurtling down into the city, instantly disintegrating the massive yokai swarms into nothingness.
The Lightbringer calmly walked towards the massive crater that Amaterasu's fall had created and gazed upon her blackened, shriveled form.
Lucifer thought for a moment that she resembled her mother, but set aside such thoughts.
That would have been insulting towards Izanami. And he meant no disrespect to her as he looked contemptuously on her daughter.
Amaterasu looked up to face the victorious Lightbringer to curse him in her final moments.
"At least I walked away tasting happiness. You lost everything." she gurgled. Ancient, black blood welled from her mouth and spilled down the sides of her face.
"I lost everything except my dignity. That's more than you can say."
"Go to Hell." the goddess cursed him with her last breath.
When he felt that she had passed, he knelt over her and drew the ichor from her body.
A snowflake landed on the tip of Lucifer's nose as he rose to his feet.
He gazed upward and saw that the sky was now enveloped in darkness.
His was the only light that illuminated this sad, dead realm.
The sun had set, never to rise again.
Daedwartin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,785
Sounds like the city was nuked.
1: the city was destroyed by the "Sun". Well, nukes burst forth with the radiance of a thousand suns they go off.
2:snowflakes. Nukes also are known for causing the temperature in the area to DROP. Solo times drastically. It just dropped enough here for it to snow.
3: it wiped out the city. A large enough nuke can do this.
4: a crater was left. ONLY VERY LARGE releases of energy can leave craters that big this includes meteor impacts and very high yield nukes. Also if it was the sun, it would have destroyed the earth. By melting it. Along with another planets that orbits ended up shifting the wrong way as a result. And the sun wouldnt even notice that all occurring.
The sun never rising again: a extremely severe nuclear winter.
1: the city was destroyed by the "Sun". Well, nukes burst forth with the radiance of a thousand suns they go off.
2:snowflakes. Nukes also are known for causing the temperature in the area to DROP. Solo times drastically. It just dropped enough here for it to snow.
3: it wiped out the city. A large enough nuke can do this.
4: a crater was left. ONLY VERY LARGE releases of energy can leave craters that big this includes meteor impacts and very high yield nukes. Also if it was the sun, it would have destroyed the earth. By melting it. Along with another planets that orbits ended up shifting the wrong way as a result. And the sun wouldnt even notice that all occurring.
The sun never rising again: a extremely severe nuclear winter.
mayor
Heart & Mind
I am very glad you didn't stop with the story during my absence, Dawn. Truly, a great story. I also very much like the cross-over concept.
But, since I remember you saying that you like it when people not just praise your work but also give you criticism. I will give you the only point of criticism I have.
You forgot the "Y", shame on you!
But, since I remember you saying that you like it when people not just praise your work but also give you criticism. I will give you the only point of criticism I have.
You forgot the "Y", shame on you!
Tomorrow's Dawn
Heroes Never Die
Ah, thank you, mayor.
Spellcheck doesn't always check everything.
Also:
You are reading into it way too figuratively
I'm being abstract here, but abstract in a way like the Ramayana or the Investiture of the Gods.
Spellcheck doesn't always check everything.
Also:
You are reading into it way too figuratively
I'm being abstract here, but abstract in a way like the Ramayana or the Investiture of the Gods.
Bair_the_Normal
転輪聖王
Oh God. That last update felt so familiar! 'Twas great! The legend of Houyi, the one who shot down 9 suns, correct? One minor pet peeve that I have, though, is that "Yokai" should be either "Youkai" (my preferred) or "Yōkai". Either way.
Tomorrow's Dawn
Heroes Never Die
I know (If you check a very early chapter, I wrote it with the accent mark), I was just a little lazy
I think I would go crazy though if I accented everything in this story properly (ESPECIALLY the Pinyin).
Anyways, here is the latest update. (Don't kill me NinjaCow
)The Kesha
The moment the stranger's boots touched down in the town, all eyes fell onto him.
Women and children peeked shyly at him from behind the corners while men stopped sharpening their tools to stare.
In fact, the whole village had gone silent and it wasn't until the tribal chieftain approached him that the silence was broken.
"G'day! Can I help ya, straenga?" a young man with a head of curly brown hair addressed him in English.
"I'm just passing through. If you don't mind, I just want to rest here for awhile." the stranger responded in the same tongue.
"Yuuz one-a-dem outlanders, areen't ya?" the chieftain studied him carefully.
It was true that the stranger stood out,
draped completely in semi-armoured black robes, his eyes obscured by the large conical hat that he wore atop his head.
The predominately blonde and brunette natives here bore varying shades of pinkish-golden skin,
and tended to wear very little, if anything at all, further highlighting the difference.
"I'm not here to bother you, if that's what you're implying,"
"Ohh no, we weer hopin' you came to teach us 'bout the shen like the last few outlanders that came by,"
The stranger only now noticed that some of the huts were adorned with crude drawings of Nezha and Guan Yu.
"That's ahright, though." he said as they walked along. The stranger took off his hat for a moment,
exposing a head of bunned up black hair and a rugged, sweating face.
"You look parched, mate." the chieftain commented as he caught sight of his guest.
"Oi." he called over a young child. "Bring some squash fer the visitor."
The little boy ran over to a half-buried chest and opened the lid, drawing a bottle filled with bright red drink,
condensation already dripping from its sides as it became exposed to the desert heat.
He thanked his host for the cold drink as he took a seat by the oasis, where a number of villagers were drawing water from.
"Wot brings you t'dese parts?" the chief asked him.
"I'm mapping out the interior of the continent."
"I'd best not venture out inna the outback if I weer you," the chieftain warned, wearing consternation on his face.
"And why's that?" the warning perked his eyebrow.
"Cos out there, nobody can geerd ya from the haunts," he gazed sternly out towards the Outback.
"Here, in the Periphery, we least got one shaman. Out there, it don't got the wards." his gaze narrowed.
"I'm still going out there. I just want to know if there are any other settlements in the interior that I can stop at as I go on my way,"
"Tellin' you, mate. Don't go inna the Outback. Nothin' but death waitin' for you there."
He paused for one second before continuing.
"But iff'ya dead-set on goin'... Well, there is one place out dere. It's about three days from here. But those people areen't the friendliest, I say."
"I'll manage, I'd just like to trade for supplies here. I'll pay in silver."
"Right this way, then." the chieftain responded as he led him to the warehouse.
Once their business was concluded, the stranger was ready to venture into the Outback.
The chieftain and his people sent the stranger off with the traditional village farewell, "Now you're just somebody that I used to know,"
The traveler thanked the chieftain for his hospitality and went along on his way, the whole village staring at him as he left.
Upon reaching the Outback settlement, it didn't take very long for the stranger to marvel at the difference between this one and the village he had stopped at before.
Unlike the ones he had met three days before, none of the natives came to greet him. They all seemingly shuffled about on their business, as if he wasn't even here.
As he made eye contact with a few, they turned away their faces, as if he were some kind of diseased beast.
Was anyone going to talk to him? The chief from the previous village was right.
This village wasn't very hospitable at all.
He made his way towards the desert well, where there was a blonde woman drawing water into a jug.
"Excuse me, miss," he tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a second, please?"
To his surprise, this one actually turned around to talked to him.
"Yes? Can I help you?" she asked.
"Finally," he thought to himself as he opened his mouth to speak.
"I was wondering if there was any place to stay in this village. I've tried to ask around here but nobody seems to want to talk to me."
She balanced the jug over her head and looked him in the eye.
"Did they shun you? You have to forgive my neighbors. We don't get too many outsiders here in our little village.
I'm afraid that there isn't a tavern here either. You're welcome to stay with me though. I'll enjoy the company."
"I'd like that. Where do you live?" he said as he took off his hat.
"Up top on that dune," the native pointed as she led the way.
They made some small talk along the way as they hiked up the sand dune. As he turned his head over his shoulder, he realized the woman's hut overlooked all the others.
Usually, that indicated status. Perhaps she was the local chieftain's daughter?
"You can set your belongings by the door. I'll move them elsewhere later, but go ahead and make yourself comfortable," she instructed.
"Do you live here by yourself?" he asked her, admiring an ornate piece of tribal pottery.
"Yes. It's a little lonely, but I have everything I need here."
"You're not married?"
"No. I'm well past sixteen, so I'm afraid I'll spend the rest of my days as an old maid."
"With legs like that? Get out of here." he flirted unabashedly.
"Why don't you go take a dust bath while I prepare dinner?" she suggested, hiding a blush.
The explorer pored over his maps before he undressed himself.
The only regions known to the Empire in Oceania were the eastern ones, which un-coincidentally were much more suitable for human habitation.
It was a no-brainer. Going westward, there didn't seem to be anything but vast stretches of desert.
Well, he'd just stay here for the night and get started on braving the Outback in the morning.
Although, his comely hostess might be a good reason to stay for more than one day.
His thoughts were interrupted by the one who occupied his thoughts, as her voice called him to dinner.
He soon left the bath and headed back into the hut to join her for dinner.
She promptly set down a plate of bangers and mash before him and took the seat across the table from him.
"This is incredible. I had no idea sausages could have this kind of texture and consistency," he remarked, as he started to chew.
A good, home-cooked meal was just what he needed to warm his belly.
Oceanian food was extremely hearty, compared to the southern-style Imperial cuisine he was accustomed to, but it was good all the same.
In fact, it was so good, he even asked for seconds, making the chef beam a little bit with pride.
He watched her hips sway from side to side as she left with the plates when they finished.
For a moment, there was nothing else he could think about at the moment aside from how much he wanted to take her to bed.
"Make yourself comfortable in your room." she smiled at him. "If you need me, I'll be taking a dustbath."
He was in the middle of his book when he caught sight of it.
Facing out the window, he spied his hostess bathing herself in the dust bath rather sensuously.
She caught him staring at her but didn't seem to mind his covetous gaze.
If that wasn't an open invitation, he didn't know what was. The explorer set aside the booklet and walked outside to where she was bathing and tried to steal a kiss from her.
But she shied away her face, spurning him.
"I'm sorry, was that improper of me?"
Or so it appeared.
"Wait for me at midnight." she said as she held his hands.
"I'd love to return your affections, but I just won't be ready until midnight. Can you wait for me till then? I want some time to get ready."
"Weird..." he thought to himself. Was it some kind of tribal custom?
He was glad that she didn't turn him down but it just struck him as peculiar that he was being asked to wait.
Either way, he retired to his guest room and returned to his book.
If the robes back home saw him now, they'd probably berate him for not staying professional on the job.
It wasn't his fault, he liked to say. His namesake played a large part in his wolfish behavior and it wasn't like he had control over that. Or so he would justify.
Some time passed and the explorer began to feel a little strange.
The blood inside of him was starting to rage and boil as it coursed through his veins. What was going on? His head began to spin as his sight blurred, causing him to fall over.
As he tried to reach for his bed, his legs gave out and he slammed his side into a cabinet.
The explorer soon vomited across the floor. Why? Why was he feeling so woozy?
His vision began to clear as his eyes focused on the corroded sausages he had expelled from his stomach.
The man nearly threw up again as he could see tiny maggots squirming out of the little chunks of meat and fat.
What the hell did she put in him?
"You're a strange one." he heard the hostess call out. "Normally, they do their work and you get jelly-legs. But you're still fighting."
"What- what did you do to me?" he croaked before dribbling more maggots out of his mouth.
"I wasn't lying when I said I'd love to return your affections.
They were supposed to make you comfortable. When I mate, I tend to get a little rough."
Her hands rose to her face and a layer of skin soon fell onto the sandy floor to his horror,
and as he looked upwards, the long blonde hair began to part like the desert sands, revealing the face of an unspeakable horror.
He bolted. Even as he felt the claws scrape across the back of his robes, he tumbled over the windowsill and onto the dune below, stumbling back onto his feet and barreling down towards the village.
Skidding down the slope and hurtling over a fence and past chicken coop, the explorer locked into place outside the backdoor of the hut before him.
"Let me in!!!" he pounded furiously on the door. "LET ME IN!!!"
The explorer dared not look over his shoulder for fear of gazing upon the witch's visage.
"OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!!!" he began kicking it in desperation.
As he pounded relentlessly against the door, he knew very well that at this point in time, the threat of capture was high.
Compromising the Bureau was unthinkable. The Agent quickly popped a pill from his satchel and swallowed it.
At that moment, he felt a number of razor-sharp claws hook into his shoulders and drag him away from the door, kicking and screaming.
He tried to yank away the claws but they remained imbedded in his shoulders, pulling him up the slope and back into the witch's hut.
Eventually, he ceased struggling and let her drag him across the floor like an animal.
There was nothing he could do to release himself from her grip.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Went the sound of his body as he was dragged down into the basement.
There were dozens of skeletons, and the smell of human rot pervaded the musty air.
She looked down at her unwitting prey, and then hoisted him onto a chair, tying him up with rope.
Methodically, the witch straddled him and bared her razor-sharp teeth.
He could not open his mouth to scream, for her mouth was already clamped onto his;
kissing it and eating it at the same time.
And she had the whole night ahead of her to savor his flavour.
It had been a week since the outlander arrived and was lured successfully into the Kesha's hut.
A young teenager stared down into the abyss that was the Kesha's basement, with naught but a single lantern in hand to light the way.
Whistling Raven was terrified. After the Kesha was confirmed to have fallen into her hibernation,
the village elders had chosen him to tend to her egg sacs and drain the blood from the basement while the Kesha slept.
If he mishandled a single egg, he would surely be marked for mating duty and consumption in the next year.
With great trepidation, he carefully made his way down the stairs; sticky blood covered nearly every surface and the stench quickly overwhelmed his nostrils.
The young man could barely suppress a yelp as he couldn't believe what he was seeing before him.
A naked, black-haired man sat intact in the mating chair, looking him dead in the eye.
"'Ow did you survive?!" Whistling Raven gasped.
"My body restores itself perpetually. But I stay out cold for an time equivalent to the severity of my injuries as a cost.
If that answers your question, then stop wasting my time and come free me."
Whistling Raven was frozen in confusion and fear. No one had ever endured the Kesha's cannibalistic mating session before and survived.
"Do it NOW." the Kesha's prisoner snarled.
The young man quickly did as he was told and untied the outlander.
Getting up on his feet, it took the Agent a moment to re-orient himself.
It was good that he took the blood-changer pill when he did and not a moment too soon.
If his blood had appeared black, and not red when it did,
he would never have been left alone to regenerate all the flesh she had eaten off of him.
Now this was fortuitous. He held the element of surprise.
"Lead me to my possessions." he said weakly. Grasping for support, his knees buckled until Whistling Raven helped him up.
"If you even try to stab me in the back, I swear I will end you." he threatened.
They silently maneuvered into the trophy room, where the Kesha kept the trinkets and satchels of past victims and mates, stocked neatly along the walls and cabinets.
Hurriedly, the Agent donned his armoured robes and took his sword in hand, ready to take vengeance.
Being eaten alive was likely an experience he would never, ever forget.
Without a word, Whistling Raven led him to the Kesha's nesting chamber, but dared not take another step.
"Is this it?" he growled softly.
"Aye. Here lies the Kesha," Whistling Raven whimpered.
"Go back to the village. Tell everyone that when I come out, the Kesha will be dead." he said as he stepped into the chamber and shut the door behind him.
The first thing that entered his view when he turned around were the giant clusters of egg sacs.
Pulsing, and filled with bright, yellow amniotic fluids, it gave the chamber the appearance of an alien lair.
Within the egg sacs, swam dozens of spider-like larvae with human heads.
Most disturbingly of all, some of them slightly resembled him...
The Agent ignored them for the moment and waded through the thick webbing until he reached the center.
There she was. Resting atop her lofty bed, wearing her false face as she slept contently.
Yes. There were certainly wards around the vicinity. But these were hedge magicks.
And hedge magicks like these were always rudimentary in nature.
He began to mutter the sutras under his breath, as to not wake the sleeping witch.
Layer after layer of wards were stripped from the perimeter of the Kesha's bed until there was nothing left to protect her.
Sword raised high above his head, the blade came hurtling down, plunging itself deeply into the heart of the beast.
The Kesha loosed a blood-curdling scream as she woke from her slumber, yelping at the surprise of being attacked in her sleep.
He twisted his sword out of the witch and severed her head from her neck with one swift blow, reverting the false face into the monstrosity he had witnessed before.
The blood that emerged was black. Black like his own blood. He deigned to take some samples before he procured his lighter.
Standing victorious, he took hold of the severed head before setting the room on fire and laying waste to her unborn brood of abominations.
He never turned back as he moved out to door, to be greeted by a throng of frightened tribals, looking up towards him atop the sand dune.
"So does anyone here have anything to say about this?! Hmmm?" he yelled as he held up the Kesha's head for all to see.
An aura of rage seemed to surround him as he gazed down towards the villagers in contempt.
It seemed like he was ready to lash out at them at any time.
An old woman shambled out through a reed hut door, supported by two grown men.
"I will speak to you, outlander. What is it you wish to know?"
"I have some questions. And I'd better get answers if you all knew what was good for you.
I've heard that thing I disposed of is called a Kesha. What is it and how long has it been here?"
"The Kesha's been heer as long as anyone can remember. Eeven when I was but a young girl.
E'ery year, around this time of year, at the zenith of the sun, she claims a youhn' man from the outside world to feed from and breed with.
S'ometimes, she'll cocoon them and save them for later if they arrive at the wrong time.
If noo one comes, she takes a man of breedin' age from the village as her owwn. We send out kinsmen to other villages to trick travelers into comin' here.
That's all I can tell you about her...I swear."
"So there are more Keshas? I saw the eggs."
"I... don't know. That's the truth."
"I have a right mind to burn your entire village to the ground right now."
"Please, don't! We're just as much victims as you are. This village has been under the yoke of that monster fer generations! We never had a choice!" the old woman trembled.
"You could have stood up to her. Instead, you all chose to remain meek and servile like cowards."
"We weer tryin' to safeguard our oown sons," a single tear escaped the elder's bright, weathered eyes.
"Please. If it'll make it up to you, we'll give you anything you want from this village! What little silver we have, livestock, slaves, anything!"
"Let's see what you have to offer." he responded.
Agent Lu Yan reporting,
In my travels, I have encountered an USB that the locals know as the Kesha.
Engagement was inevitable and I was captured and incapacitated for a week before I escaped and terminated the USB.
They appear to possess knowledge of the occult, although they are not overtly strong, and do not appear to compare to our own capabilities.
Their real strengths appear to lie in their interchangeable appearances, which seem almost designed to both attract and repel prey based on the circumstances.
Their prey, nominally healthy, young adult males, serve as both a food source and the source of fertilization for their eggs.
Judging by the way they reproduce, I am led to believe that the entire Outback is infested with Keshas.
There remains a possibility that the more urban regions of the Kingdom of Oceania such as Sydney or Perth may be infested too, though I have no reason to suspect that it is the case.
I am also reporting that I've brought back seven natives with me, four female and three male.
After running some blood tests amongst the native population, I have confirmed that the Oceanian natives share lines of common descent with the Avalonese.
There is quite a bit of genetic drift but it's definitely there and R&D can double-check for me if I'm not to be believed.
As soon as I make landfall in the Core, I'll send the ones who survive the trip to the Communes to get started on breeding the next batch of Aozhou infiltrators.
I hear the Elohim are on the lookout now for the Saxon Agents we've been raising and deploying into Aozhou.
In due time, perhaps the Oceanians can throw them for a loop.
Glory to Nü Wa.
Spoiler :
hoplitejoe
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*sigh*
I should really catch up on this. But from skimming some of the dialouge, I can tell I am going to be deeply offended, mate.
I should really catch up on this. But from skimming some of the dialouge, I can tell I am going to be deeply offended, mate.
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