A shiver ran down my back as the start of the duel was announced. For hours I had been watching the so-called raid happening, even going so far as to give it most of my attention, but with each single encounter and accident a part of my worldview was shattering, leaving me utterly baffled.
I couldn’t explain just why the men and women were this outmatched by Kiomi’s monsters. Sure, they had made mistakes, grave ones even, but that by no means explained three-fourths of them being defeated in the very first room of her dungeon. If it wasn’t for Kiomi preparing that easily obtainable blessing for them, who knew what they would think about her!?
Naturally, it wasn’t Kiomi herself handing out those blessings, as she was by no means strong enough to do so in her current state. I was much rather letting her choose just how I would reward those she found worthy. But for her to give them the simple task of leaving an offering and praying to me was rather unexpected, to say the least. It had made me chuckle when it happened, that was until I realized just what this meant for me.
Upholding this promise of mine would surely end up exhausting me and my powers, as I had few mortals backing me up with their prayers and belief, and I could only consider myself lucky that I had purposefully changed the blessing by allowing it to siphon the wearer’s strength to fuel the changes in their bodies. I still needed to heal them and mark them as one of my kin, but I considered that a small price to pay and certainly worth the investment.
Marking them as my kin had been a hard decision to make, as doing so easily tore my heart into two. One half of me was bleeding to see a new family grow right in front of my eyes and to see all my children wander on Apira once again, thus filling the world with color and wonderful stories they would eagerly tell me about, the other half knew perfectly well that I was simply forcing these feelings and wishes onto those unsuspecting men and women, cutting short their bloodlines just so my own can be reborn again.
Although I considered her my daughter and loved her with my whole being, Kiomi knew nothing about these plans of mine, nor did she know about any of my secrets. I was simply too afraid to reveal this selfish side to her, fearing that she might see me in a different light after finding out about it. And as for my secrets? Revealing them would simply tear open the wounds I had spent millennia to heal! So I hid both my ugly side and my scars, and I would continue to hide them, maybe forever.
I sighed as the two duelists began attacking each other. Kiomi’s fox summoned exploding shards of black glass to assault her opponent with, while the man in question answered by igniting his sword with holy fire. Seeing the one-sided onslaught that soon followed, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the man. He was easily the strongest among his peers, it seemed, but he couldn’t compare to anything I heard and knew of.
There were many things you could talk about in your prayers, and while many simply thanked me for their blessings, their lives, and various other things I had done for them, some of my children had made it their personal duty to tell me about all of the adventures they had, going into detail about monsters they had faced, traps they had encountered and valuable artifacts that had found. Compared to the countless stories I had heard over thousands of years, Kiomi’s dungeon seemed to be on the weaker side still. Even if the monsters were a little bit more clever and stronger thanks to us two binding as deity and chosen dungeon, that still didn’t explain such a high death toll.
Just as I was contemplating the possible flaw in my memory, the duel became a little more heated as the paladin commander tried to ignite Kiomi’s fox with holy fire, a move an experienced adventurer would never make. For one this attack used a lot of mana and left one’s body exhausted, but it would also do little against blessed monsters. Sure, it was devastating against undead and somewhat effective against most other monsters, but the man clearly didn’t know what he was dealing with.
Thanks to my mark, not only Kiomi herself, but every single living thing in her dungeon carried some of my mana in them. Plants with this mark were effective ingredients in alchemy and brewing while also producing healthier and tastier fruits, while monsters received boons in every single aspect one might think of other than changing their sizes and shape. Any experienced adventurer would surely notice the differences between regular monsters and plants and those found in dungeons, and even more so when it was a chosen dungeon. As for paladins? Men of faith? They should surely know!
Sadly, my worldview was once again shattered, as the man tried the very same attack not only once, but twice. Even when the monster just shrugged the flames off, being almost entirely invulnerable to them, the paladin simply tried again.
Still, even though he wasn’t knowledgeable about the dungeon, I couldn’t help but applaud him for standing even after two of these exhausting attacks. It wasn’t even him giving up after these attempts, but rather his sword breaking, leaving him entirely vulnerable and open to the fox’s attacks.
A series of explosions and two flashes of white marked the end of the fight, indicating it was time for me to do my part. Not wasting any time, I summoned the two marked men with a wave of my hand, before healing their fatal wounds simply by wishing them to be gone. Before my eyes, black shards of glass that had been lodged deep into their flesh were soon hovering in the air, to then evaporate into nothingness. The nasty wounds they had caused quickly closed, leaving behind new, scarless skin that looked like it had never received any damage, save for the traces of blood that could be found almost everywhere. Shrugging my shoulders, I went to fix several other, much older wounds and ailments the men had gathered in their lives, before pressing a finger against their forehead, forcing the soul back into their bodies. Soon enough, the two of them were once again breathing, indicating that my work was almost done. Snapping my fingers, I summoned a holy flame to envelope their bodies and cleanse them from all the filth and blood they had collected during their visit to Kiomi’s dungeon. When the fire soon burned out, the two men looked perfectly healthy and freshly bathed, causing me to smile.
With a much happier mood and wagging tails, I began taking care of their modesty by summoning clothes out of thin air using holy magic. Doing so was putting somewhat of a toll on my already dwindling mana reserves, but it wouldn’t do to simply toss nude men at Kiomi. Then there was the added benefit that using my method would make the clothes much more resistant to wear and tear, while also reminding their wearers that it hadn’t been that bad of an idea to dedicate a prayer to me. Also, it was quite fun, not that I would ever tell anyone.
This time, I went with a long tunic for the paladin’s leader, choosing a creme-white as the main color. On its chest, I created a large, big-eyed version of his last opponent, before adding both a golden crown on its head and two words, ‘Second Place’, under the fox’s paws. It was questionable whether the man would be able to translate the message, as it likely had been thousands of years since my children had last used it, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of him finding out several years down the line.
As for the old mage, his knowledge of artifacts had both surprised and impressed me, so I decided to reward him with a brand-new, deep purple robe that had dozens of pockets he would be able to store all those tools in. Sure, I could have played a prank on him as well, but given that he had been an innocent bystander who simply got hit by a stray attack, I let him off with a big family of elemental foxes on the back of his robe.
With this work done, I sent the two of them on their way so I could instead watch Kiomi a little more. My daughter had already removed the makeshift arena by this time and was currently helping the surviving members of the raid to gather the belongings of their friends and comrades. Luckily enough, they managed to scavenge all important items, before making their way back to the prayer hall where their raid leader was already waking up.
Kiomi herself made her way back to the core room, accompanied only by Marisa. Once there she waited about half an hour for the raid to finally leave the dungeon, only to then suddenly collapse to the ground in exhaustion. It was obvious this whole ordeal had been taking a toll on her, even without her being involved in any of the fighting.
My tails dropped to the floor as I thought about a way to make her cheer up again. But without her praying, there was only so much I could do. Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to send her a tiny burst of holy magic, just enough to make her feel warm and comfortable all over.
It couldn’t have worked better. Within seconds, Kiomi’s tail was already wagging, and soon enough, she stood up with a smile, seemingly having found the energy to continue with her day. I couldn’t help but giggle as she made her way over to her core, likely planning on using it to make things a little easier for her. The crystal ball in question didn’t actually do a thing to boost her imagination, but Kiomi seemed to believe so, and that was all that counted.
“So cute~”
Soon, Kiomi was already leading Marisa into the network of tunnels, before making her way to the slope room, where she promptly built three more caverns, every single one lightened up by a blue sky and connected to both each other and the core room by tunnels. Once again she protected the passages with two fox statues each and a thick mithril door that could only be opened from the core room’s side.
“I should teach her how to make enchanted doors… and keys and puzzles, while I am at it.”
A quick check on my remaining mana revealed that it wasn’t meant to be, at least not for today. Creating divine quests was quite tasking on a deity, and much more so when it was one that lacked faith, which certainly included me. And with how many quests Kiomi already had, it could probably wait for a little while longer.
Sighing, I instead watched the two make their way back to the core room, where they gathered the artifact orbs I had given to Kiomi. Soon, they were already on their way to the Vulpine Circle, prompting me to do my own preparations.
I couldn’t help but hum a tune as I walked over to the curtains that separated my tiny home, which was barely more than a roof supported by marble pillars, from the rest of my realm. Pushing the white, light fabric aside, I was immediately greeted by a bright sunlight that illuminated a flower-filled, slightly hilly meadow that seemed almost endless in size. A few trees could be seen here and there, inviting me to take a long rest in their shadows, but my eyes were already glued to my children, who were roaming about everywhere surrounding me.
Right now, they were little more than will-o’-wisps; soft, roundish balls with fox ears and tails that lacked character and agenda, all of them simply hovering around seemingly for all eternity, but millennia ago every single one of them had led a real life, with their own challenges and dreams. Their souls were still intact despite their appearances, as I had somehow managed to save almost all of them from a fate worse than death, but that meant nothing if I couldn’t give them a second chance.
Sighing, I made my way a few dozen steps away from my home, before looking around for a soul that could be of help to Kiomi. There were so many to choose from, hundreds of thousands, millions even, but she needed someone capable right now, someone who knew exactly what a proper dungeon looked like.
By now, Kiomi was already approaching the Vulpine Circle. She called her Liri Fox down the mountain’s slope, before carrying the precious bundle of joy in her arms. Soon enough, she had placed it down on one of the nine pedestals and petted it all over, before instructing Marisa to place the Tear of the Fox Goddess and the Opal Orb each on their own pedestals. Only when she had done so did she stand up to walk over to a pedestal on her own. She went on her knees, closed her eyes, and started the ritual.
Panic took hold of me as my time was running out. I needed to find a good teacher and friend for her, now! My eyes darted from one soul to another, exploring their names and histories, but although they all had many stories to tell, they weren’t exactly who I was looking for.
Soon, the Opal Orb began emitting a red mist, indicating that the result of the ritual, if successful, would be a four-tailed fox of pure fire.
“Fire… fire…”
I soon began shouting names, hoping they would somehow answer, but obviously, there was no such thing. The souls were slowly hovering over the meadow like tiny clouds, not a single one of them bothered by my words and calls. Instead, I found myself panicking even more, not wanting to waste this chance.
Then, suddenly, something seemed to pull me over to one of the trees. Under its shadow, a single soul was minding its own business, seemingly sniffing at a flower, although that couldn’t possibly be true given their lack of character. Still, I soon found myself running over to the little soul, lifting it up, and staring deep into its memories.
“Myra!”
I immediately fell to my knees, hugging her close. She was one of the girls who had always told me about her many hobbies, mainly crafting and blacksmithing, but she also had a sheer endless number of adventures to tell about, such as her defeating an earth wyvern, meeting another god’s champion or clearing dungeons together with her friends. She was perfect!
Without hesitation, I sent her over to Kiomi with a flash of holy magic, hoping for the best. The soul appeared within the Vulpine Circle, but nowhere near its center, where it was needed right now. A tear rolled down my face as Myra's soul suddenly turned towards the spinning ball of magic that was gathering in the middle of the ritual. Soon, the soul began moving, slowly, then ever so slightly faster, and soon, it was simply sucked in by the torrent of mana and magic.
The next few seconds felt like an eternity. But just as I was about to give up hope, thinking I had wasted the chance to give her a new life, the round shape of magic slowly began growing legs, arms, a head, and four long tails. Before long, Myra dropped to the ground, where she lay for a few seconds, seemingly lifeless. It was only then that coughs could be heard and her white-tipped tails began waving. The newly reborn foxkin soon rolled on her back and blew her blue hair out of her face before staring at the artificial sky above her, her azure eyes watching the clouds pass by.
“I’m alive,” was the only thing she said.
A shiver ran down my back as the start of the duel was announced. For hours I had been watching the so-called raid happening, even going so far as to give it most of my attention, but with each single encounter and accident a part of my worldview was shattering, leaving me utterly baffled.
I couldn’t explain just why the men and women were this outmatched by Kiomi’s monsters. Sure, they had made mistakes, grave ones even, but that by no means explained three-fourths of them being defeated in the very first room of her dungeon. If it wasn’t for Kiomi preparing that easily obtainable blessing for them, who knew what they would think about her!?
Naturally, it wasn’t Kiomi herself handing out those blessings, as she was by no means strong enough to do so in her current state. I was much rather letting her choose just how I would reward those she found worthy. But for her to give them the simple task of leaving an offering and praying to me was rather unexpected, to say the least. It had made me chuckle when it happened, that was until I realized just what this meant for me.
Upholding this promise of mine would surely end up exhausting me and my powers, as I had few mortals backing me up with their prayers and belief, and I could only consider myself lucky that I had purposefully changed the blessing by allowing it to siphon the wearer’s strength to fuel the changes in their bodies. I still needed to heal them and mark them as one of my kin, but I considered that a small price to pay and certainly worth the investment.
Marking them as my kin had been a hard decision to make, as doing so easily tore my heart into two. One half of me was bleeding to see a new family grow right in front of my eyes and to see all my children wander on Apira once again, thus filling the world with color and wonderful stories they would eagerly tell me about, the other half knew perfectly well that I was simply forcing these feelings and wishes onto those unsuspecting men and women, cutting short their bloodlines just so my own can be reborn again.
Although I considered her my daughter and loved her with my whole being, Kiomi knew nothing about these plans of mine, nor did she know about any of my secrets. I was simply too afraid to reveal this selfish side to her, fearing that she might see me in a different light after finding out about it. And as for my secrets? Revealing them would simply tear open the wounds I had spent millennia to heal! So I hid both my ugly side and my scars, and I would continue to hide them, maybe forever.
I sighed as the two duelists began attacking each other. Kiomi’s fox summoned exploding shards of black glass to assault her opponent with, while the man in question answered by igniting his sword with holy fire. Seeing the one-sided onslaught that soon followed, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the man. He was easily the strongest among his peers, it seemed, but he couldn’t compare to anything I heard and knew of.
There were many things you could talk about in your prayers, and while many simply thanked me for their blessings, their lives, and various other things I had done for them, some of my children had made it their personal duty to tell me about all of the adventures they had, going into detail about monsters they had faced, traps they had encountered and valuable artifacts that had found. Compared to the countless stories I had heard over thousands of years, Kiomi’s dungeon seemed to be on the weaker side still. Even if the monsters were a little bit more clever and stronger thanks to us two binding as deity and chosen dungeon, that still didn’t explain such a high death toll.
Just as I was contemplating the possible flaw in my memory, the duel became a little more heated as the paladin commander tried to ignite Kiomi’s fox with holy fire, a move an experienced adventurer would never make. For one this attack used a lot of mana and left one’s body exhausted, but it would also do little against blessed monsters. Sure, it was devastating against undead and somewhat effective against most other monsters, but the man clearly didn’t know what he was dealing with.
Thanks to my mark, not only Kiomi herself, but every single living thing in her dungeon carried some of my mana in them. Plants with this mark were effective ingredients in alchemy and brewing while also producing healthier and tastier fruits, while monsters received boons in every single aspect one might think of other than changing their sizes and shape. Any experienced adventurer would surely notice the differences between regular monsters and plants and those found in dungeons, and even more so when it was a chosen dungeon. As for paladins? Men of faith? They should surely know!
Sadly, my worldview was once again shattered, as the man tried the very same attack not only once, but twice. Even when the monster just shrugged the flames off, being almost entirely invulnerable to them, the paladin simply tried again.
Still, even though he wasn’t knowledgeable about the dungeon, I couldn’t help but applaud him for standing even after two of these exhausting attacks. It wasn’t even him giving up after these attempts, but rather his sword breaking, leaving him entirely vulnerable and open to the fox’s attacks.
A series of explosions and two flashes of white marked the end of the fight, indicating it was time for me to do my part. Not wasting any time, I summoned the two marked men with a wave of my hand, before healing their fatal wounds simply by wishing them to be gone. Before my eyes, black shards of glass that had been lodged deep into their flesh were soon hovering in the air, to then evaporate into nothingness. The nasty wounds they had caused quickly closed, leaving behind new, scarless skin that looked like it had never received any damage, save for the traces of blood that could be found almost everywhere. Shrugging my shoulders, I went to fix several other, much older wounds and ailments the men had gathered in their lives, before pressing a finger against their forehead, forcing the soul back into their bodies. Soon enough, the two of them were once again breathing, indicating that my work was almost done. Snapping my fingers, I summoned a holy flame to envelope their bodies and cleanse them from all the filth and blood they had collected during their visit to Kiomi’s dungeon. When the fire soon burned out, the two men looked perfectly healthy and freshly bathed, causing me to smile.
With a much happier mood and wagging tails, I began taking care of their modesty by summoning clothes out of thin air using holy magic. Doing so was putting somewhat of a toll on my already dwindling mana reserves, but it wouldn’t do to simply toss nude men at Kiomi. Then there was the added benefit that using my method would make the clothes much more resistant to wear and tear, while also reminding their wearers that it hadn’t been that bad of an idea to dedicate a prayer to me. Also, it was quite fun, not that I would ever tell anyone.
This time, I went with a long tunic for the paladin’s leader, choosing a creme-white as the main color. On its chest, I created a large, big-eyed version of his last opponent, before adding both a golden crown on its head and two words, ‘Second Place’, under the fox’s paws. It was questionable whether the man would be able to translate the message, as it likely had been thousands of years since my children had last used it, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of him finding out several years down the line.
As for the old mage, his knowledge of artifacts had both surprised and impressed me, so I decided to reward him with a brand-new, deep purple robe that had dozens of pockets he would be able to store all those tools in. Sure, I could have played a prank on him as well, but given that he had been an innocent bystander who simply got hit by a stray attack, I let him off with a big family of elemental foxes on the back of his robe.
With this work done, I sent the two of them on their way so I could instead watch Kiomi a little more. My daughter had already removed the makeshift arena by this time and was currently helping the surviving members of the raid to gather the belongings of their friends and comrades. Luckily enough, they managed to scavenge all important items, before making their way back to the prayer hall where their raid leader was already waking up.
Kiomi herself made her way back to the core room, accompanied only by Marisa. Once there she waited about half an hour for the raid to finally leave the dungeon, only to then suddenly collapse to the ground in exhaustion. It was obvious this whole ordeal had been taking a toll on her, even without her being involved in any of the fighting.
My tails dropped to the floor as I thought about a way to make her cheer up again. But without her praying, there was only so much I could do. Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to send her a tiny burst of holy magic, just enough to make her feel warm and comfortable all over.
It couldn’t have worked better. Within seconds, Kiomi’s tail was already wagging, and soon enough, she stood up with a smile, seemingly having found the energy to continue with her day. I couldn’t help but giggle as she made her way over to her core, likely planning on using it to make things a little easier for her. The crystal ball in question didn’t actually do a thing to boost her imagination, but Kiomi seemed to believe so, and that was all that counted.
“So cute~”
Soon, Kiomi was already leading Marisa into the network of tunnels, before making her way to the slope room, where she promptly built three more caverns, every single one lightened up by a blue sky and connected to both each other and the core room by tunnels. Once again she protected the passages with two fox statues each and a thick mithril door that could only be opened from the core room’s side.
“I should teach her how to make enchanted doors… and keys and puzzles, while I am at it.”
A quick check on my remaining mana revealed that it wasn’t meant to be, at least not for today. Creating divine quests was quite tasking on a deity, and much more so when it was one that lacked faith, which certainly included me. And with how many quests Kiomi already had, it could probably wait for a little while longer.
Sighing, I instead watched the two make their way back to the core room, where they gathered the artifact orbs I had given to Kiomi. Soon, they were already on their way to the Vulpine Circle, prompting me to do my own preparations.
I couldn’t help but hum a tune as I walked over to the curtains that separated my tiny home, which was barely more than a roof supported by marble pillars, from the rest of my realm. Pushing the white, light fabric aside, I was immediately greeted by a bright sunlight that illuminated a flower-filled, slightly hilly meadow that seemed almost endless in size. A few trees could be seen here and there, inviting me to take a long rest in their shadows, but my eyes were already glued to my children, who were roaming about everywhere surrounding me.
Right now, they were little more than will-o’-wisps; soft, roundish balls with fox ears and tails that lacked character and agenda, all of them simply hovering around seemingly for all eternity, but millennia ago every single one of them had led a real life, with their own challenges and dreams. Their souls were still intact despite their appearances, as I had somehow managed to save almost all of them from a fate worse than death, but that meant nothing if I couldn’t give them a second chance.
Sighing, I made my way a few dozen steps away from my home, before looking around for a soul that could be of help to Kiomi. There were so many to choose from, hundreds of thousands, millions even, but she needed someone capable right now, someone who knew exactly what a proper dungeon looked like.
By now, Kiomi was already approaching the Vulpine Circle. She called her Liri Fox down the mountain’s slope, before carrying the precious bundle of joy in her arms. Soon enough, she had placed it down on one of the nine pedestals and petted it all over, before instructing Marisa to place the Tear of the Fox Goddess and the Opal Orb each on their own pedestals. Only when she had done so did she stand up to walk over to a pedestal on her own. She went on her knees, closed her eyes, and started the ritual.
Panic took hold of me as my time was running out. I needed to find a good teacher and friend for her, now! My eyes darted from one soul to another, exploring their names and histories, but although they all had many stories to tell, they weren’t exactly who I was looking for.
Soon, the Opal Orb began emitting a red mist, indicating that the result of the ritual, if successful, would be a four-tailed fox of pure fire.
“Fire… fire…”
I soon began shouting names, hoping they would somehow answer, but obviously, there was no such thing. The souls were slowly hovering over the meadow like tiny clouds, not a single one of them bothered by my words and calls. Instead, I found myself panicking even more, not wanting to waste this chance.
Then, suddenly, something seemed to pull me over to one of the trees. Under its shadow, a single soul was minding its own business, seemingly sniffing at a flower, although that couldn’t possibly be true given their lack of character. Still, I soon found myself running over to the little soul, lifting it up, and staring deep into its memories.
“Myra!”
I immediately fell to my knees, hugging her close. She was one of the girls who had always told me about her many hobbies, mainly crafting and blacksmithing, but she also had a sheer endless number of adventures to tell about, such as her defeating an earth wyvern, meeting another god’s champion or clearing dungeons together with her friends. She was perfect!
Without hesitation, I sent her over to Kiomi with a flash of holy magic, hoping for the best. The soul appeared within the Vulpine Circle, but nowhere near its center, where it was needed right now. A tear rolled down my face as Myra's soul suddenly turned towards the spinning ball of magic that was gathering in the middle of the ritual. Soon, the soul began moving, slowly, then ever so slightly faster, and soon, it was simply sucked in by the torrent of mana and magic.
The next few seconds felt like an eternity. But just as I was about to give up hope, thinking I had wasted the chance to give her a new life, the round shape of magic slowly began growing legs, arms, a head, and four long tails. Before long, Myra dropped to the ground, where she lay for a few seconds, seemingly lifeless. It was only then that coughs could be heard and her white-tipped tails began waving. The newly reborn foxkin soon rolled on her back and blew her blue hair out of her face before staring at the artificial sky above her, her azure eyes watching the clouds pass by.
“I’m alive,” was the only thing she said.
