Chapter Text
5000 Years prior to Conception
Extragalactic Galaxy Academy (Former Jurai Imperial Academy)
Artificial Life Sector 3.1, Private Lab
"Hello." A pale face framed with bright red, spiky hair was the first thing she saw as she opened her eyes. "Do you understand me?"
She stared.
Red lips pursed, as green, calculating eyes narrowed, observing her closely. "May I have your hand?" The stranger asked and held out her own as if in offering, the palm facing upwards in request.
She stared.
The pursed lips twisted into the hint of a frown, and the stranger pulled back, glancing over a colorful, robed shoulder in favor of a series of illuminated virtual displays. "Brain patterns normal…senses in the green, no red anywhere on the graphs…" She trailed off, a nail drumming a beat against a clothed elbow. "Is it the gems? But those are supposed to enhance neural activity, not limit it…" The stranger gripped her chin, humming to herself. "I thought the addition of my ova would help stabilize the use of the gems, but could it cause a reverse effect with the incorporation of Masu?" She sighed, planting her hands on her hips, a foot drumming in thought. "I could try the link." She murmured. "But without any idea of how well she comprehends me, I'm liable to damage her mind trying to communicate mentally. It'd allow me to understand what might be wrong, but…" She trailed off, looking back at her.
She stared.
"Could the Masu still be…?" A fresh light dawned in her eyes, and with sudden enthusiasm, the stranger scurried back to her in a rush.
"Let's try it. By the Laws of Physics, I hope not, but who can say? Ah…life finds a way."
She sighed, then stood a little taller. "Stand." She directed.
Obediently, she stood, staring directly ahead and finding herself eye level with the stranger 's chin.
A grunt that sounded closer to a growl. "Look at my eyes."
She tilted her head, meeting the inquisitive green eyes that seemed to take in every action she did.
"Hold out your left hand in front of me, palm up."
She did as instructed, following the woman 's green eyes as she'd been commanded and feeling a hand grasp her own. When the woman bowed her head to look at the hand, she dipped as well, and caught a startled look from the stranger as she once more found the woman's green eyes, maintaining her gaze as she'd been instructed.
The woman paused. "…Stop looking me in the eyes and stand tall and still."
She dropped her gaze and stood straight, staring ahead.
Two fingers checked the pulse in her raised hand, and from her peripheral vision, she caught the woman's shoulders rise and fall as she heaved a sigh. "Still too much Masu in the formula." She grumbled and released the outstretched hand in favor of pulling at her hair. "Bah, I decreased it by half this time! To account for my own genetic material, and it's still too much? But if I try to decrease it less than fifty percent, the body will become too unstable because of the lack of genetic material! I'd have to find something else to supplement the missing percentage." She groaned. "I only had that one ova too…even with all my expertise in science, there's still a ninety-seven percent failure rate at extracting my personal egg and having it maintain the genetic code necessary for procreation. Almost as soon as it leaves my body, it begins to decay, even incorporating reproduction equipment used to save entire races from extinction!"
She turned away, snarling and stomping, her rant continuing. "I had this one, one chance, and it was still fucked up! How? How? I emulated the test in a lesser species of rodent to a 'T' minus the gems, and the resulting creature showed ample levels of both intellect and independence from its peers! What changed? Why did it happen this time?!"
Frustrated, the stranger plopped down into a hovering seat, folding her legs beneath her as she turned to observe her, a chin propped up in one hand that drummed its fingers against its cheek. "I'm not willing to write this off as a failure yet." She muttered. "There's a way around this, I know it. I just…need to discover an effective way to communicate with you. I used a piece of me to make you —that essentially makes you my daughter, though it's a little hard to look at it that way when a blank slate is compared to little ol' me…" She sighed, unfolding her legs and leaning back in her seat. "I wonder if I can tweak your neural pathways a bit. The Masu seems to have a stronger grasp on your logical side than I had predicted, and it doesn't look like you're capable of much independent thought right now…"
She snapped her fingers. "Wait. That's just stupid enough to be genius."
She stared.
A large smile on her face, the stranger hopped off the hovering seat, returning to her with a fresh level of manic glee. "I have a new order for you." She said. "One you will follow for the rest of your existence and beyond, if such metaphysical nonsense as reincarnation exists. This order supersedes all other commands you will receive from this point out, and stands above any and all wills greater than your own will or greater than- or opposed to-my will."
"By my command, you are from here and forever more to hold independent thought using reasoning and critical thinking, using the observed information to communicate with intent to all creatures bearing the creative spark of life and intellect within them. You will experience emotions as those around you do, and learn through keen observation and rational from your peers and your betters." She paused, humming to herself. "You will find anything you do not understand a curiosity, and will seek answers through logic and science, hypothesis and theory, and attempt to better strengthen your understanding of the cosmos through question and experimentation."
The stranger crossed her arms and waited.
She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice, then rubbed her eyes, massaging her brow with one hand as she grimaced. Above her, a slow smile began to spread across the stranger 's face, yet she held her silence, observing her with eyes that seemed to glow in the poor illumination of the room.
She looked around, hand dropping to her side, observing the space with a level of inquisitiveness that had not existed a moment prior. Something caught her gaze, and gold eyes followed it as she craned her head to follow it, only to find something equally fascinating to focus on.
The stranger followed her gaze, and some of the enthusiasm fell to consternation.
There was nothing around them that should have so captured her attention.
The stranger cleared her throat, and she whirled to face her, less frightened and more curious about the source of the sound. Gold met green, and the stranger smiled once more. "Hello," She tried again. "Do you understand me?"
She stared, blinking with the slow leisure of a trusting cat before nodding, something behind the stranger already capturing her attention.
"Do you see something interesting?"
She pointed.
The stranger turned to examine the item of interest, tilting her head in confusion as she saw nothing but empty space leading to an unadorned wall behind her. The redhead looked back at her. "I…don't believe I follow." She said, "Do you see something?"
The hand didn 't drop.
She nodded.
"…What do you see?"
An alarm from one of the displays screamed, and the stranger whipped to face it, watching as the normal green heart rate began to spike, dropping into red with such speed that for a second she thought the machine had malfunctioned.
The stranger looked back to her. The hand hadn't dropped, was trembling now, and she was panting, wheezing, dying, staring at the cthonic entity that filled the room with its presence in horror, a newborn unable to express the words necessary to describe the terrible beast before her. A piece of her-the Masu, the Gems, or some part of her that might have been labeled 'divine' began to scream, and with it a primitive genetic knowledge came to her.
Teeth. She thought. It has so many teeth.
I'm scared. It's going to devour me. I'm scared.
The creature unfurled before her, eyes the dead white of a corpse finding hers.
I'm scared.
She could hear its voice, a primordial rumble akin to the hollow warble of the Universe itself, drowning out the stranger 's words.
I'm scared.
I'm scared.
I'm-
Labyrinth of Amala
Kagatsuchi: Masked
Location Masked
"Well what an unexpected delight." Hild murmured, regarding the Rogue Goddess with a slow, contemplative smile, lips parting to reveal pristine, white teeth. "And to think I was beginning to doubt your aptitude, Child. You certainly fail to disappoint."
The woman in question rested on the floor of the temporary headquarters that had been established prior to Conception; a pocket-dimension within a pocket-dimension within a massive Expanse; no risks were taken to ensure the Daimakaicho remained undiscovered. One of her power was not allowed an active role in the Conception of Universes such as this, after all.
However rules were designed to be bent, and Hild was quite the artisan in that department.
The six-winged Devil's willingness to assist her did not hurt either. It had taken a Contract between them both: the Chousin Daughter's familiar and a promised level of cordial mentorship for the child herself, the Contract read and revised no less than thirteen times between them before either party was satisfied had left her an inkling of respect for the creature in turn. Few Niflheimian demons were willing to commit that much time to their own contracts, let alone revise them with a client, and the Silver-Haired Demon appreciated a client who wasn't afraid to meet her word-for-word.
Now he had The Boy for his plaything; another Hitoshura to mold into a True Demon standing against the Heavens and all their domains, and though the armistice between the Heavens and Hells remained strong and, dare she say, beneficial to Niflheim, The Daimakaicho would not complain to another Ultimate Destruction Program that could be thrown at Asgard and its many planes of existence. Something to occupy her daughter once this mess of a Conception was dealt with. A wonderful…growing opportunity.
Hild, observing the Tengu Student before her, had her own 'pet project' to contend with, one that even that bastard of an ex would agree took priority over any new UDP creation.
"Well, let's have a look at you, Child." The woman murmured, and with a flick of her wrist, the unconscious woman's body rose, dangling like a marionette before she pointed to a plush, leather lounge couch the color of fresh spilt blood. The body flew to the object, where the woman dropped bonelessly onto the leather without so much as a grunt.
The Daimakaicho floated over, lips pursed as a familiar scent caught her nose, giving her pause.
The woman smiled. "And here I find you already acquainted with my dearest daughter and my best field agent!" She exclaimed, "My, you are just full of surprises, aren't you Sweetling?"
The Chousin Daughter, her face masked by a black veil that reeked of crow, remained silent.
The woman chuckled, "Aah, but you did meet your match with that Divine Death…even I know better than to pick an unnecessary fight with them. The rules those of the living planes abide by don't apply to them and their rulebook is kept locked away in the Underworld. They don't fight fair, even by my standards. No wonder you got your head caved in."
The woman reached a hand out, and the air before her shimmered as the fabric of reality began to warp. A tear in space and time was rent open, and the woman's hand vanished into the miniature void, only to withdraw a small, circular, red bead. She looked at it, rolling it between her fingers as the tear in the fabric of time and space mended itself, feeling the small object bite savagely at her aura. The Daimakaicho palmed it, applying pressure to the small gem, and felt its astral teeth crack against her physical shell.
"Enjoy this," Hild murmured, violet eyes narrowing at the gem in her palm as she rolled it to her thumb and forefinger. "I am not oft to grant my own Magatsuhi to another, but…my time is rarely my own, and I cannot wait through eternity for your recovery." Holding the gem over the woman, she applied pressure to the small bead, crushing it into dust between her finger and thumb. Fine grains of red glitter fell across the form, and as they settled The Daimakaicho reclined in the air and waited.
She did not need to wait long.
Within moments, the Chousin Daughter jerked forward as though pulled by invisible strings, a gasp leaving her throat as the last of the Magatsuhi was absorbed by her body. There she sat panting before tearing the veil from her face, tossing it off to one side as the woman buried her face in her hands, golden eyes squeezing shut as she moaned, massaging her brow, before letting them drop in favor of observing her new surroundings.
Hild, smiling, veiled her aura from existence, taking the moment to observe the woman's behavior.
Before her the woman slowly sat up, placing her feet on the ground as she swept her head from one side of the room to the other, taking in the room she found herself in. The room appeared to be some kind of study, the couch she'd awoken on sitting adjacent a massive mahogany work table barren of papers or supplies. An executive's chair sat behind it, its leather matching the same shade as the couch she now rested on, and behind that a deep, burgundy curtain blocked out the light of a window behind it.
Around the room's perimeter, bookcases of the same mahogany lined the room, each shelf crammed to the brim with massive tombs and paperbacks, new, shiny spines resting behind decrepit grimoires. Tall lamps provided ambient lighting to the room, showcasing walls of a deep red that while not calm, worked to create a quiet space for work empty of distractions.
Hild was quite fond of the room, personally.
"There's…no door." The Chousin's Daughter's voice was rough but curious. "How did I come here without a door?"
Carefully, the woman climbed to her feet, and for a moment her gaze swept across Hild, where they paused just long enough for the Daimakaicho to consider if the child could somehow sense her. Yet before the thought could fully manifest the golden eyes swept across the rest of the room, leaving the Silver Haired Demon to question whether it was a fluke or intentional.
"Feel hungover." The woman ran a hand through her hair, freeing some of it as she remembered the cowl it was wrapped in.f The cowl was shredded, as though something had ripped through it, and the Tengu Student removed it with a frown, staring at it in bemuesment. She made a face, irritated, then tossed it onto the couch, heaving a sigh as she began to investigate her new surroundings. She ran her fingers over the couch, the nearby lamp, and even the wall with the tactile impulse of a child exploring a China shop. She approached one book shelf, examined the spines, and then pulled out one in particular.
Hild, a likewise curious creature, trailed after her and caught a glimpse of the cover. The Maqlu Text Unabridged.
Oooh, that's a good one. Hild thought. Been a while since I read that one. May want to revisit it since this Conception has given me the rare bit of Down Time I see once in every couple of millenia.
The Daughter's head whipped towards Hild, golden eyes looking at the Daimakaicho with a start.
Hild blinked, noting how unfocused the woman's gaze was, and waved a hand in front of her face.
No reaction.
Instead, the woman's eyes traveled the length of the room once more, stiff and attentive like a rabbit hearing a wolf, before slowly placing the book back on the shelf, careful to return it to its exact location before continuing her sweep of the room.
A silver brow lifted in curiosity. Despite her veiled aura, the Chousin Daughter was displaying a level of sensitivity that some lesser daemons struggled to develop, let alone emulate. The level of care in returning any touched objects was of interest too; despite there being no logical in or out of the room, not only did the child know she was being watched but wanted to ensure that, even if she wasn't, the room remained in the same condition as it had been prior to her arrival; pristine, untouched, unobserved, as though aware that whoever owned the books was of a power greater than herself.
She moved to the next bookshelf, and this time her eyes seemed to be drawn to one massive tomb in particular. Glancing over her shoulder, glancing at Hild, she turned back and carefully with drew the large book, opening it and observing the illustrations within.
OCCLITH, the title read.
A newer work on my Beloved Paracelsus 's subject matter. Not bad, primarily republishing his work with more modern terminology and examination, but the illustrations I must admit are fantastic.
The Tengu Student once more glanced over her shoulder, eyes darting around the room in search of The Daimakaicho and grimacing when the demon in question still did not reveal herself. She grumbled something unintelligible beneath her breath before shelving the book with the same careful consideration as before. Her record as a space pirate fits. Hild mused. For all the wanton destruction she's reputed for , when she wants to be, she can be quite the stealthy little figure. I suppose stealing priceless artifacts from high-security vaults will do that to a person.
The Chousin Daughter slipped away, hugging the bookshelf as her eyes trailed around the room, some sixth- or seventh-sense drawing her eyes back to Hild's position. A curious affair. As a third-dimensional being, there should be nothing directing her back towards Hild's position; even those with the highest spiritual sensitivity, those who walked the waking world blind but with their third-eye wide open, could not sense her if the Daimakaicho so chose. How curious…Have the Tengu and Kitsune tuned her senses so well? Or is this intuitive to her heritage?
Lips pursed, the Daimakaicho drifted to the left as the youth approached her desk, moving to the nearest wall and waiting for the space pirate to raise her head again. There was no immediate reaction; the woman spent her time observing the desk, tugging gently at drawers to see the contents inside, frowning when she discovered them locked, and then spending a moment longer with her head bowed, conducting some kind of operation that Hild could not observe from her angle by the wall. A moment of silence went by and then the woman's face brightened into a smile as her hand rose to the table's top, holding a manilla folder in one hand.
Oh, clever girl. Hild thought, her expression growing amused. The drawers were locked but rather than force them, you phased your hand through, grabbed whatever you felt, and withdrew it. And here I thought you'd go the way of destruction.
The woman opened the manilla folder, and then stared in confusion at the contents within: a printout of a hand, the middle digit raised in salutation. "The fuck?" The Student breathed, then looked up sharply, her gaze initially going to the center of the room, where they paused. Golden eyes glanced in Hild's direction against the wall, and the uncertainty on the space pirate's face grew. The Daimakaicho watched the Chousin Daughter's eyes dart between the center of the room and her current location, then carefully close the folder and return it to its original drawer.
"I applaud your efforts of subtlety, however they would be more apt to work if the owner wasn't already present." Hild said, revealing herself with a simple thought and watching in bemusement as Ryoko Hakubi shrieked like an alarmed cat and tossed Hild's five hundred pound table across the room at her.
The Daimakaicho held up a finger.
The table stopped within a foot of her, hanging weightlessly in the air.
"Ah, there's the destructive tendency I was waiting for!" Hild crowed, her teeth bright against her dark skin, as, on instinct, the Tengu Student summoned a blade of compressed and heated Magatsuhi. There she stood poised, the Fight or Flight response inherent in all mortal creatures spasming through her system and leaving her paralyzed and dependent on Hild's next action.
Plump red lips pulled back in something that could have been a smile, could have been a snarl. "Congratulations, Chousin Daughter." Hild said, "You found me." The woman pointed to the ground, and the massive desk crashed onto the wooden floor, making the woman across from her flinch.
Ryoko stared.
A silver brow arched in amusement. "Oh?" She asked, "Has my beauty left you speechless?" Violet eyes narrowed, "…Or are you merely stricken by the resemblance to my daughter?"
The space pirate stiffened.
A low, chuckle emerged from the Daimakaicho. "It's so…wonderful to discover that Urd has made a new friend in the Vortex World. Reliable allies are quite difficult to come across in this day and age, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah…" Ryoko grunted, and kept her eyes centered on the woman's brow, where a red, six-pointed star rested at its center.
"Comparing notes of what my daughter's told about me to who you see now?" Hild asked, a single silver brow slipping upwards in question. "Do tell, I'm always up for a laugh. Little Urd creates some of the greatest stories about me; I nary need to speak a word about myself with her around-she creates a creature of such wretched infamy that I must say, I'm taken aback by it." The demon shrugged. "Something to strive for, I suppose. I desire nothing more than to live up to my daughter's expectations."
For her part the space pirate was silent, observing the Daimakaicho with the wary suspicion of a feral cat.
"Not much for conversation are you? I had been led to believe otherwise."
"Where am I?" The woman demanded. "And what happened to that bastard Yosho? Where's Tenchi?"
"Are you by chance implying the Amala Network?" The Daimakaicho tilted her head to one side. "It's gone. You and your ilk were…we'll just call it 'banished' after your run in with that Death God. Kudos there; it takes quite the courage-or recklessness-to challenge a God of Death in His domain." Hild snorted. "As for your companions…we shall say they are temporarily…indisposed at the moment." She saw the pirate stiffen, then raised a hand. "Indisposed does not mean dead, if that is your concern, Child. Have you no faith in the allies you draw near? Do you consider them so weak?"
"…Just tell me where Tenchi's at." The Chousin Daughter whispered. "I don't care about the others outside of Hiji but—I need to know what happened to Tenchi."
"Your little Hitoshura?"
Ryoko was silent.
"He's alive, again, if that is your main concern. However like you now, he is, shall we say, 'predisposed' at the moment. An old associate of yours has taken it upon himself to provide a bit of mentorship to him as I am you, and I'm sure you'll reunite once both of you have completed your respective lessons."
"And what lessons are those?"
"For you or your young companion?"
"Both."
Hild raised her hands, shrugging her shoulders without care. "Who knows for the Hitoshura? I certainly cannot."
"And me?"
"Well…" Hild trailed off, and the smile on her face grew ominous. "…I suppose that depends on you now, doesn't it?"
Ryoko bristled, yet to Hild's surprise did not pounce on the bait, instead dropping her gaze to the woman's feet in submission. "What do you want from me?" She asked. "You've haunted my dreams, haunted me with things I barely understand, and now you've brought me here. Away from my friends-my family-without any idea if they're safe or not. You're…you're Urd's mother, and yet you terrify her and she's actively tried to warn me away from you and now I'm here and I still don't know what you want from me."
"I've already told you what I want." Hild replied.
"To what, mentor me?" Golden eyes flashed up towards the Daimakaicho's sigils, defiance shining on her face despite her inability to meet Hild's eyes. "No…no, that isn't it. Not someone like you. Not-not based off what I've seen. Not based off what I sense. You want something else."
"Of course, Sweetling." Hild purred. "You think I would take any little waif off the street and mold them into something more? Child, not even the end of the World grants me such leisure!"
"Then why?"
"I've told you before. You may be the vaccine to the virus which truly led to this world's end, Chousin Daughter."
"What's a Chousin?" Ryoko demanded. "Is that what led Loki to calling me an unregistered goddess?"
"In a manner of speaking." Hild said. "If it were just so simple…" Her fingers drummed on one arm as she considered how to move forward. "To speak simply…The Chousin are a Holy Trinity from a Shadow Vortex; a world which underwent the Conception and failed to hatch. When such a thing occurs those left trapped within the Shadow Vortex are trapped, banished, and forgotten; they fade into obscurity until the last of their Magatsuhi is returned into the Aeon, the Void, where they are reborn as new entities unaware of their past failures. Yet on occasion…some choose not to remain banished. Some choose to remain rather than be reborn, and seek a new Vortex World that can hold them, one that has never seen them and perhaps…cannot… shall we say…hold them because of what they once represented."
"So is that what a Chousin is? Or is that the specific terminology for these banished entities?" Ryoko asked.
"Oh I like that. You're asking for specifics." Hild smiled with open delight, and before Ryoko could say anything answered her question. "Those entities who remain in a Shadow Vortex are Rouge Deities and False Gods: those creatures whose titles grew forfeit with their failures to bring about the rebirth of their own universe, and thus invade other worlds and steal the titles of the entities who dwell there. The title "Chousin" is what we have come to call the three Rogue Sisters who invaded ours."
"And you call me one of their children."
"In a matter of speaking. One did create you, but I would also say she is the least threatening. Where her siblings maintained their godhood, she released hers for mortality, though a long-lived one at that. What's more, she used not only her own DNA, but also the elements of our universe to create you. Chousin Daughter you may be, but you remain a true child of the universe you were born into."
"Like a vaccine for a virus, isn't that what you said?" Ryoko said. "What does that mean?"
"So glad you asked!" Hild chirped and leaned back, inclining in the air as she stared down at the space pirate. "The Rogue Sisters do not belong." She stressed. "Tell me, what happens when you introduce a foreign animal to a new ecosystem?"
"It's dependent on the creature." Ryoko said, "Depending on its evolution and its place in its own ecosystem, there's a probability that the creature will have no natural predators leading to it carving up the ecosystem and destroying the symbiosis of the environment its introduced to and possibly the extinction of one or more species native to that ecosystem."
"Marvelous." Hild nodded in agreement. "Now humor me: replace the non-native species for deities from a Shadow Vortex-an ecosystem that has collapsed, if you will, our universe for our own ecosystem and apply the same concept. What do you think would occur?" She paused as a look of deep contemplation overcame Ryoko, then added as an afterthought, "…Don't overthink it."
"…The ecosystem would collapse." Ryoko muttered. "…Our ecosystem would collapse…"
"Because the checks and balances that higher-dimensional beings like myself and my dear daughter are bound to would not apply to them." Hild agreed. "If we consider those checks and balances the 'predators' of the ecosystem that keep everything in check. And what happens when a universe collapses?"
Ryoko shook her head.
Hild gestured around her. "Vortex World." She said. "Perhaps…before it's due time."
The Tengu Student pursed her lips. "But I thought Tenchi said someone else was responsible for it. 'Hijima' or someone."
"If the intruding creature in the ecosystem is a parasite, can it not carry bacteria and viruses that can be spread to its victims?"
"Are you implying Hijima was a symptom of the Chousin?"
"Perhaps," Hild observed the woman, watching the flash of a suppressed snarl slip across Ryoko's face and vanish again. "As are others." She continued. "Your Juraian Prince is one, though he's a bit more…convoluted than the others. Your previous…master was another."
Ryoko's head snapped up, and for a moment, gold met violet as the space pirate breathed, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"One thing leads to the other," Hild replied. "Through either direct or indirect action… the master enslaved you, the prince who imprisoned you, even the man who ended this world…all of their actions are due, in part, to the Chousin who guided them to those decisions, to those actions, to those lives. She narrowed her eyes, the smile on her lips twisting into something savage and cruel. "Tell me, does that not fill you with ire?"
"Who?"
"The Chousin?"
Ryoko nodded stiffly.
"One you are aware of quite well. Tsunami."
"Jurai's first ship?"
"A radical race that was never supposed to exist, created to fill a power vacuum that was a direct result of her sister, Tokimi." Hild agreed. "Your previous master? Washu. His very existenceis her doing, much as you, however he grew quite mad along the way and was radicalized by the esoteric items he surrounded himself with."
"Motherfucker." Ryoko breathed. "Wa…shu?" She ran a hand through her hair. "I don't- I don't recognize that name."
"No, I suppose you wouldn't." Hild wheeled in the air, and where once the Daimakaicho hovered instead a pale woman with wild, spiky red hair and green eyes hovered, observing Ryoko with contempt. The uniform was that of a Galaxy Academy professor, and while the relation was difficult to spot-not like Hild and her daughter-there were still some similarities. The way the hair defied gravity from the power both emanated. The shape of the eyes and the way they became almost feline under the right light. The same nose, the same set of cheekbones, the same height, but that was where the similarities seemed to end, from what classified reports Hild had read on Washu Hakubi's profile.
The illusion vanished with another twirl in the air, and Hild watched as Ryoko shook herself from her daze. "That was-was that-a-my-" The woman stammered, and Hild held her silence until the Chousin Daughter regained control of herself. She shook herself, then whispered, "She-she was behind Kagato?"
"A victim of her own raging success, I shall say." Hild nodded. "While I am under certain restrictions in what I can share, I will say this: She modeled Kagato after a dear friend of hers, and was unaware of the instabilities that resulted from that successful cloning. Not long after, you were born-a biological daughter stolen away by a Thief of Always."
"Why…why are you telling me this?" The words came out a whisper. "I—Urd couldn't… but you-you already know?"
"My darling daughter is privy only to the past and those sub-gamma restrictions she's read into as Yggdrasill's Administrator. She knows much, but not everything. And in terms of Chousin…there's only so much she is allowed to know."
"She knows what a Chousin is too?"
"Of course." Hild's smile dipped into a snarl. "All of the entities of the tenth dimension know of the Rouge Sisters. As for why I am revealing so much to you now…" The Daimakaicho's expression grew grave. "I need you to realize the significance of the Chousin, Ryoko Hakubi, Student of Tengu and The One who escaped a Thief of Always. The Chousin do not belong here. It is because of them you've suffered so much of your life. It is because of them that our universe was forced into Conception before its time. It is because of them that the Daitenkaicho and I-the two entities who manage this universe and everything from the tenth dimension down, agreed to create a coalition task force between our respective nations and all the surrounding Worlds in an effort to Hunt. Them. Down."
Deep rage, an old and familiar friend, sparked in her chest, sharpening her features. Before her, Ryoko flinched, perhaps seeing something in the shadows of her expression. "Your world was lost because of them. Because they lacked the checks and balances of this world. Because they harbored parasites which they passed onto their victims. Because they failed their world and so came to try again in this world, and destroyed it in their avarice."
"Then why do you need me?" Ryoko demanded. "Aren't I one of their kids? Doesn't that make me just as bad? What can I even do that would be of use?"
"You, Sweetling, are of our world, not theirs." Hild replied. "You need training, yes. A mentor to guide you through the checks and balances of the gods and demons of our universe, yet you've already displayed a sharp mind and a willingness to listen not just to demons but gods as well. Because of the Chousin the gods and demons of this world-the true inhabitants, the residential dwellers of this universe-are trapped in the same Vortex World as you, and likewise…so too are the Chousin." Hild's expression was grim. "And if they are not stopped…then this world too, will never break the egg of Conception, and will instead wilt and rot inside its shell: a Shadow Vortex that leaves all those trapped withing-all the gods, all the demons, all the spirits and youkai and your Hitoshura to wilt away into nothing."
"Then why aren't you doing anything?" Ryoko demanded. "I can sense it-you hide it well, but after what I saw from Urd…after what I sensed in that demon prince…I can feel it. You can do whatever you want, can't you?"
"Only within the constraints that have been placed upon myself." Hild said. "I was not present when the Vortex World form any more than the Daitenkaicho was. That means that for better or worse…I cannot enter the Vortex World." She leaned forward, looking Ryoko square in the eyes. "My daughter is trapped in that world, Child."
"Urd."
"Yes." Hild agreed. "And I cannot-will not-allow that Vortex World to fall into shadow." She leaned back with a deep sigh. "And so I come to you, in the hopes that I can train you. Guide you. Mentor you, that you may, if nothing else, discover the whereabouts of these Chousin and prevent their interference and allow this world to hatch from its egg. For my daughter's sake. For Tenchi's sake, if you must also be selfish."
"Loki said I was an unregistered goddess though, not demon." Ryoko squared her jaw. "Aren't you like…a Demon Empress or something?"
"You think the differences between Demons and Gods so grand?" A silver brow raised in question. "Than allow me to fill you in on a little secret, Sweetling…The difference between what defines a god or demon is merely a matter of who was on the winning side of a war forgotten to history. We were, we are the same people, though time has changed our culture and values. It matters little if a demon mentors a goddess any more than if a goddess mistakes herself for a demon. A demon of pestilence and disease my be the son of a great god. A goddess may paint herself as a demon as she bounds from house to house, bringing miscarriage and death to expecting mothers and newborns. They are two sides of the same coin, and so are you."
The woman fell silent, allowing the words to hang in the air as Ryoko pursed her lips.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" The cyan-haired woman finally whispered. "I don't even know how I got here. I'm a space pirate. One who failed in even finding Tsunami on her home planet let alone dragging her to Kagato, and that was with my gems! How am I supposed to find or even protect myself or Tenchi or Urd from these…these Rogue goddesses if I don't have my gems?"
"You get stronger on your own terms rather than relying on the crutch of your mother's power." Hild's tone rang with a sharp note, and Ryoko jumped, staring at the woman owlishly. The Daimakaicho crossed her arms. "You wish to grow stronger? Then allow me to provide you your first lesson: Master yourself. In doing so, your reliance on your mother's gems-what you mistake for your gems-will be a thing of the past." The silver-haired demon narrowed her eyes. "The question is…do you have the capability to conquer yourself?"
"And if I do?"
"Then we'll have a stronger likelihood of putting a stop to these Rogue Sisters and their attempts as stealing a Vortex World." Hild revealed. "With that and the guidance to understand your own abilities, and if necessary, stand toe-to-toe with them on your terms rather than theirs."
"And you'll just…do this. Mentor and develop me into something that can stand as an equal to Tsunami of all creatures? Just like that?"
"And her sisters, as necessary." Hild nodded.
"What's the catch?"
"You mean outside my daughter's survival and preventing this Vortex World from collapsing into Shadow?"
Ryoko grunted.
A thin, silver brow rose in amusement. "I gain a new demon." She replied. "And gain the sincere pleasure of telling my ex to 'go fuck himself', as is tradition."
Ryoko expression grew confused. "What?"
Laughing lightly, Hild shook her head. "Nothing." She said, "Disregard." She clapped her hands, somersaulting in the air to lie above the Tengu Student's head. "However…as a demon, I understand what your implying. This all seems too suspicious, too convenientto fit with your perception of the world, isn't that right?"
Ryoko snorted. "Prior to our conversation, my perception of the world was 'life sucks, then you die', not 'life sucks and then you died because your maternal family sucks at their job'."
Hild blinked, staring at the space pirate before tossing her head back in laughter. "Aah, yes, I believe you and I have the potential for a wonderful relationship if we allow it to manifest." She said. "And so I offer you this in exchange: my mentorship for your promise to ensure the Vortex World is reborn by a native of our universe."
"And after?"
"Oh?"
"And after all this is over, then what?" Ryoko asked.
"You want more?"
"No." Ryoko said. "At least…not without a counter-offer."
"Is that so?" Hild's lips stretched back in a smile. "I'm all ears."
"There's…a devil I know. Kind of. That…maybe I want off my back." Ryoko hesitated, then said, "It's not that he's bad necessarily, but…he speaks like a zealot and…I'm not sure I want to return to whatever kind of servitude his 'idealistic world' might bring about."
Hild hummed in agreement, nodding encouragingly.
"So…what would it take to get him off my back? To prevent him from bothering me and Tenchi in this world or the next whenever he goes on his crusade?"
"Aaah, now that is an interesting issue." Violet eyes narrowed. "An easy fix, though one you may not be inclined towards."
"Shoot."
"As I had already intended, my mentorship will effectively place you into Nidhogg's database as a registered Niflheimian Demon." Hild explained. "…In which case, this individual would be unable to touch you specifically without my expression notification and approval."
"And if it's Tenchi?" Ryoko asked, "Or someone else who's like family to me? Not these Chousin, but…like…youkai or-or Urd?"
"Urd can take care of herself and she is always welcome to reach out to me for assistance, though she never does. As for the ones you care about…would you not already have power to prevent such interference from occurring?"
"And what would be the cost of being a Niflheimian Demon?" Ryoko lept at the chance. "Wouldn't that just make me subservient to you though? I'm not trying to exchange one master for another."
Hild looked at her in amusement. "We all must serve something, Child. You are being presented with the opportunity to choose who or what it is you serve. You have been denied that for almost all your waking memory. This is hardly the time to squander such a chance now."
"And if I choose not to serve you?"
"Then you won't be registered as a Niflheimian Demon and will remain as an unregistered goddess, simple as that." Hild replied. "Though there are some…benefits that come with the privilege of Niflheim."
"Give me the cliff notes."
"Depending on your position, you still have all the liberties of any other demon, if not moreso." Hild shrugged. "And I may have a wonderful position for one of your caliber to fulfill, should you prove to me you are worth the investment."
"This feels like a job interview." Ryoko muttered, her expression dour.
"I prefer to look at it as a residency visa application." Hild countered. "But now is not the time or place for such discussions. You've met the first requirement of finding me within the Labyrinth of Amala, which is quite the feat given the pocket dimension I'm in. Now comes the next test: to master yourself. Perhaps afterwards we can continue our conversation about Niflheim and even the Chousin if that is what you wish, but I've spent altogether too much time speaking with you and my time is past wrapping up."
"Are you saying you have a meeting you need to go to?"
"Was it not apparent that such a thing was this discussion?"
The Tengu Student opened her mouth to protest, staring gape-mouthed when no sound emerged. Finally she bowed her head with a sigh. "Fine." She grumbled. "Master myself, right? Shouldn't be too hard. What do I need to do, beat up my reflection?"
"On no. No no no no no." Hild replied. "Normally such a think would be restrained to Samsara and the Wheel of Reincarnation, however we have neither the time nor river to divert to its mastery. So instead we're going to take the express elevator."
"Express—I don't understand half of what your saying."
"You will." Hild replied, and raised her left hand, "Allow me to leave you with this parting advice: Balance every thought with its opposition, for their marriage equates the destruction of Illusion." She snapped her fingers.
Before Ryoko could say another word, the woman vanished.
"Do what thout wilt shall be the whole of the law," Hild murmured. "Enjoy, Child. The Tree of Life can be as kind as it is cruel, depending on the work that needs to be done. We'll just have to see how you're doing after your first hurdle. Something tells me you'll be in for quite the painful awakening, Chousin Daughter." She chuckled. "What a delightful discussion. For the Elder Chousin's daughter, she's quite the simple soul. Amazing what a little word play can do to lean a person over to your side." The Daimakaicho vanished, reappearing in the large executive chair. Pointing to the table, she gestured to it with one finger, where it vanished, reappearing at its original location in the next instant. She tapped the table's top, where a holographic computer appeared. "Now…onto the next meeting…" She grumbled and steeled herself, putting on her best game face.
The screen flickered, and a man appeared on the other end, his hair long, black, and straight, bringing out the blue of his eyes and the blue sigils of his face. "Hild."
"Why hello, my darling, dear daughter's sire!" She smiled, "My, have I the update of a century for you, Sweet Mother Fucker."
On the other side of the line, the Daitenkaicho, father of three Norns and Lord of Deities, took a long, deep, and resigned sigh. "Hild, please stop calling me that."
"But it's true, is it not?" Hild asked. "Ah, but fun and games aside, let's get down to business. I've an update regarding the Chousin Daughter…"
Labyrinth of Amala 's Tree of Life
Malkuth
Kagatushi: Masked
"What the hell does that mea-" Ryoko stopped herself, eyes darting around as the room that once housed the Silver-Haired Demon vanished, replaced with an earthly forest rich with greenery. "What?" Slowly, she turned, observing the area around her with open suspicion. "How did I…did she…?" The woman looked up, yet the canopy of the forest prevented her from seeing the sky above her. The woman sucked in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Okay." She said, "Where…the hell am I now?" She grumbled and looked around, finding a small animal trail that maneuvered through the trees.
"Gods damn it." Ryoko hissed and followed it out, her lips dipping into a deep frown as scents and sounds from the not-so-distant past returned to her. Cicadas singing in the tree tops. Birdsong in the trees. The scent of blossoming trees and rich earth. The warmth of an invisible sun on her shoulders.
Fox.
Ryoko froze.
Some where far off, she heard a fox's laughter from a voice that had grown so familiar it hurt. "Kokonotsu?" She breathed and inhaled deeply, smelling a thick, earthy musk sprinkled with a spice that she'd come to associate with magic. Her heart skipped a beat, and before she knew it Ryoko was running, hearing fox laughter as if the creature in question was guiding her forward, leading her along the path towards their inevitable reunion.
Ahead of her, the trail opened into a familiar clearing and—
A cave.
Her cave.
She stopped in her tracks, her heart leaping into her throat as a wave of panic overcame her.
A yip, and her eyes were torn to the cave's entrance. Where a rusted iron gate creaked open with a haunting shriek. The tip of a white fox tail vanished into the darkness, and from within she heard the echoing laughter of kitsune.
"Kokonotsu?" Her voice came out a trembling whisper, and she looked back towards the trail, finding nothing but a long line of greenery replacing it. She looked back to the heavens, yet the forest canopy seemed to loom out over the cave too, something she could never recall occurring during her time imprisoned within the Masaki Shrine. She looked back at the cave, a grimace of raw emotion overtaking her face. "Kokonotsu, if this is a game, it's not funny!" She exclaimed. "I'm not—I'm not going in there! Not again! Never again!"
She took a step back, her pulse throbbing in her ears.
A yelp from further in the cave, like an animal in pain. Not Kokonotsu. Nanatsu. A high whine, followed by a fox's barking, high, loud, and distressed.
"No. No, no no." Ryoko shook her head. "That's not—I can't—it's their cave now, not mine! I can't- I-I won't go in there again!"
"Didn't you say you were going to master yourself?" A voice, so ancient it rang with a note of unfamiliarity.
"Ryo-oh-ki?"
"What's a cave to the most feared space pirate in the universe?" Her sister whispered. "You're stronger than that. Are you going to allow a mineral outcrop to frighten you?"
"No!" Ryoko exclaimed, "But you don't get it! That-that place, what I went through-"
Another cry from a vixen in pain. It's whine echoed against the cave walls, exiting the mouth like the hollow din of a dying animal. The woman flinched, her own distress mounting. "Kokonotsu, Nanatsu, are you okay?!" She called, and heard a fox scream from somewhere inside.
"Damn it, gods damn it!" She began pacing outside the cave entrance, staring at the black mouth leading into her former prison in open terror.
"Will you let them suffer?" Ryo-oh-ki asked. "I thought they were your friends."
"They are!" Ryoko snarled. "But I can't go in there!" She bit her lip, pausing to stare at the black, yawning chasm. "I-What if I don't come back out?"
"They must not mean as much to you as you claim." Ryo-oh-ki reasoned.
Ryoko reeled as if physically struck. "That's not-that's not true." She whispered.
A whine from the cave, and without realizing it Ryoko took an involuntary step towards it. She stopped herself. "You're-you aren't…Ryo-oh-ki." She said. "Ryo-oh-ki's asleep in the Masaki lake. I-I can't actively communicate with her without a gem. We can only commune when both of us are asleep, and even then, we don't-we don't hear our voices. It's-its shared thoughts and images and concepts, not-not this." The space pirate paused, re-examining her surroundings. "This…this isn't the Masaki Shrine any more than it's my mountain."
The voice disguised as her sister was silent.
"Where am I?" Ryoko demanded. "Who are you, and why are you playing games with me?"
"If you don't act swiftly, your friends may not make it."
The woman bared her teeth. "That isn't them." She said.
"Are you so certain?"
The cyan-haired woman growled, baring her teeth at the cave. "Yes…No…They wouldn't be here!" She snapped. "This isn't the cave, this isn't the Vortex World, this isn't my home or even my memories! Stop playing games with me!"
"Will you risk what you love over uncertainty and fear?"
The words struck a chord in her, and she looked back to the tree line, scanning the greenery as if expecting to lay eyes on whatever owned the voice in her mind.
Nothing.
A whimper from the cave. It sounded weaker than the last.
"Damn it…" One more scan of the tree line. "Damn it! Fuck! Shit! Fuck!" Turning, she raced towards the cave entrance. "Hang on, Kokonotsu! Nanatsu! I'm coming!"
She raced into the Maw of Malkuth and was swallowed into oblivion.
Around her, the cave walls warped, vanished, and reformed into Somewhere Else with all the nauseating speed of an uninitiated teleport. The self-proclaimed demon fell with a shout, landing in tepid, ankle-deep water illuminated by a network of blue veins in a circuit board of Jurain technology. Her hands took on a greenish glow atop the light, and the space pirate felt her heart quicken. I know this. Trembling, she crawled to her feet, hyperventilating as she turned to regard her new surroundings. I'm back. I'm back in the cave.
A chaotic network of pale roots curled like a nest of serpents through the architecture of the prison, unburied tips reaching to her with a terrible human yearning. The walls, once metallic, had crystallized with mineral deposits in the seven hundred years she'd been buried, and now reflected the light of the small sterilization liquid she'd been buried in with odd hues and rainbows.
Something groaned behind her.
Don't turn around. Ryoko thought, scanning the walls for the exit. Any exit. Don't turn around, you don't want to see it. Don't do it. Yet there was no exit from where she was standing. She looked down, finding the ground at an incline with a maze of illuminated circuitry fueling the forcefield that was her prison.
She closed her eyes. Don't look. She told herself. Find the wall, follow it around until you find the exit. But don't turn around. Don't turn towards the center.
She could hear breathing. Gasping. Wheezing.
The air was cold, the moisture from the sterilization pool chilling her to the bone.
Get out. You need to get out of here before —
Before what?
Ryoko didn't know, and wasn't about to find out.
Terror settling in her bones, the woman thought back to her interaction with the Silver-Haired Demon; the woman who'd sent her to this hellhole, and what she'd do next time Ryoko saw her. I'm going to rip her head off. She thought, nudging her anger in the hopes it's fire would fend off her fear's chill. I'll punch her in the face, I'll burn her bookshelves down, I'll steal everything of worth from her and leave her in rags. I'll—
Her hand touched a root.
With a gasp she yanked it back, and heard something groan in front of her, heard something moan behind her, and felt the icy terror of her situation consume her utterly.
Teleport out. Phase away. Go anywhere other than here.
Yet she couldn't.
She wouldn 't.
A whimper behind her. A sound so familiar it almost broke her.
Against her will, against her sane judgment, Ryoko found herself turning towards the sound.
And found her corpse staring back at her from the pool that was once her prison, the mummified body entwined with Funaho's binding roots.
Her eyes burned at the sight as a well of dread overcame her, leaving her nauseous.
Something hissed. Like dry paper brushing against layers of dry paper. Two gold orbs watched her behind an oni's mask, and slowly, a withered frame rose from the pool. It reached for her, and Ryoko fell back, pressing herself against the wall in an attempt to phase through it with all her might. Yet her body did not respond, and instead Ryoko found herself glued to the surface, staring at her decrepit past self with a wane expression born of terror. "You know the way to the nearest exit?" She asked herself.
Her mummified corpse fell silent.
Ryoko swallowed. "Yeah…figures." She said. "We're imprisoned down here, after all." She bit her lip. "Is this what that devil meant when she said 'master yourself'? Because she can take it and shove it up her-"
A red haze fell over her imprisoned-self's eyes, and with an anguished howl, lunged at her with a ferocity borne of madness.
"Ah." Ryoko said. "Fuck me twice, then."