Daughter of Sunlight [Solo]

[Muramasa Maya]

"By the rite of my Sacred Blood,
I, Aikayume Azusa, call out to you of my own free will;
I am born of your Blood and shaped by your Blood,
You are The True Aikayume. The All-Mother.
O' Great One!
My Silent Spirit!
I offer only that which is rightfully yours.
Come, Inari-no-Mikoto. Accept all that is Aikayume Azusa."​

Her ritual knife was made of obsidian, said to be blessed by many individual spirits throughout the land over generations of Aikayume. It was the only object Azusa would willingly allow to draw her blood, and one of the Aikayume's sacred treasures. Held in her right hand, she she sliced a gash into her left palm and placed it onto a circular stone tablet enshrined within the Aikayume household. Her blood leaked into the engravings of the stone, which in turn began to heat up. It soon reached the point where it burned her skin, but Azusa did not flinch or remove her hand.

"You...had best be...prepared. Aikayume who have their blood taken by the Celestial Mirror have been consumed....never to be seen again." "I am...Aware. I know, lord brother. I...I know." Azusa spoke to her older sibling, keeping her mind off her burning hand.

Her brother leaned against the entryway of The Forbidden Shrine, tending to the injuries he had suffered after his battle with Azusa. This shrine was located in the back of the Aikayume clan's grounds, away from the main shrine...and housed one of the clans most important treasures. A Treasure that he, Aikayume Yatsu, was charged to protect as the Aikayume's strongest guardian. So when an intruder snuck into the shrine intending to steal their sacred relics, of course the proud samurai kitsune would attempt to defend his home.

That Intruder was Azusa.

"I had not expected you to attack the Shrine." "It would not have been an attack if you had let me pass, lord brother. I was only after the Celestial Mirror." "'Only after the greatest treasure' of our clan. The Mirror is not meant for us mortals. It is a relic of spirits long gone, far more powerful than us. You will pay dearly for this transgression on their domain, sister." "I know. I am prepared to offer everything." "You would go this far just to regain your standing?" "Of course." "...You've become strong." "Strong enough to defeat you, lord brother. I...had wanted to defeat you the day I was accepted back into the clan, to be champion of the Aikayume." "Instead...you beat me down while trespassing into our home like a common thief." "You've said "Our home". Do...you forgive me, lord brother?" "..." "I've...missed being chastised by you, lord brother...You were the only one who would be harsh to me growing up. I...never hated you, despite what I may have said...I was young back then." "Mother and everyone would always pamper and spoil you. Someone had to teach you the world could be harsh." "...My vision...is dark. I-I am cold...if I am unworthy...and the mirror...consumes me...then please...seal it...again..." "I will be sealing the mirror regardless." "Th-thank you...D-does Akiko...h-hate me?" "...Our sister still prays for your return. " "I...miss her...so much." "...May your spirit find peace."

Throughout their conversation, Azusa's hand remained firmly planted on the Celestial Mirror. Despite its name, the treasure had no such reflective properties, merely being an inert stone tablet. But the longer her bleeding hand remained in contact with it, the more blood began to flow from her injury. And the hotter the mirror became, until it ignighted with sapphire blue flames of foxfire. But even still Azusa remained in contact until her body had no blood left for the mirror to consume.

And at that point, the mirror consumed her too, both body and soul.

 

[Muramasa Maya]

Azusa was consumed by the Celestial Mirror. What that entailed, she couldn't possibly know; only that it was a powerful artifact belonging the the original Kitsune spirit all Aikayume had descended from...according to Aikayume myth, at least. It was the Priestess's hope that by channeling the power of the artifact, she could make contact with this primordial spirit, the Great One of the Aikayume.

...But all Azusa saw was sand. Her mind was consumed by the mirror and brought into a land of emptiness. There were no distinguishing landmarks as far as the eye could see; and the sea of sand was completely flat, without dune or mountain to disrupt its surface.

Aside from the infinite sand, the only other distinguishable object was the massive sphere of light monopolizing the horizon. Its light illuminate all, casting a golden glow across the desert. The intensity of the sun's light irritated her eyes and heated her skin. The Kitsune raised a hand to shield her eyes, and went to take a step; but the moment her foot touched the sand again the world seemed to to recoil from her.

"WHY DO YOU WAKE ME. THIS FORM IS NOT COMFORTABLE. EVEN IN YOUR DREAM."

[THE MANY-TAILED]​

The voice shouted...if it could even be considered a voice in the first place! It was more like booming explosions accompanied the roar of a blazing wind. By all means, noone could logically have been expected to interpret such unbearable sounds....And yet, even if Azusa could not understand the words, she felt perfect understanding of what the sounds meant to convey to her.

"I Am Ai-hwua!" She tried to speak, but the moment she went to searing heat scorched her mouth and throat from all sides. In fact, she found this heat to be omnipresent all around her, near intolerable. (This is too hot! C-can't speak!) "ANSWER ME LITTLE FOX" The blaze commanded from its omnipotent position; the barren landscape's atmosphere seemed to heat in response to the being's impatience.
"I...Am....Aikayume! Azusa!" The priestess stammered out; and the words reached the blazing sun before her; although she had no idea just how near or far it was in actuality.

"AIKAYUME. MY KITS. YOU ARE SMALL FOX. DO YOU KNOW ME." An understanding radiated through the air; the temperature lowered, and Azusa felt the unbearable heat scorching down on her existence was lessened. As if she were only now being allowed to exist within this dreamworld. "I know...You are the first Aikayume, our ancestral mother. First Priestess of the Aikayume, ascended to join the spirits themselves. This is...the Dreamlands...within your mirror. Within all Aikayume." "YES; I WAS TINY FOX A LONG TIME AGO. THE FIRST FOX. THE FIRST AIKAYUME ONCE, BUT NO MORE; MANY TAILS NOW."

The light it exuded by what she assumed had to be a spirit was too much for her; it was far too bright! The flaming light it emitted obscured any accurate observation Azusa attempted to make of it; the best she could tell is several segments of light moving away from what she presumed to be the -center- mass of light.

"Proud Spirit, Great One! I have come to request of you! Grant me your power. I have been tainted by the touch of a demon...With your power, I could be cleansed. With the power of the Aikayume, I could smite him!" The Priestess requested of her distant ancestor. And the spirit responded. "THERE IS NO POWER FOR YOU HERE TINY FOX. MY FLAME DOES NOT LIVE IN YOUR WORLD. I DO NOT LIVE IN YOUR WORLD. BUT YOU ARE WELCOME HERE; YOU ARE FIRST VISITOR. STAY; IN MUCH TIME YOU TOO MAY BE MANY-TAILED." It spoke. The rays of light shining from the blazing sun before her shifted from harsh and unbearable...to gentle and welcoming. Azusa was not touching anything, but she felt as if she were being held in a loving embrace.

It was welcoming her. And within her heart...it felt right to be here. And yet...she had her own purpose. If not here, then elsewhere. "I...I see. But there are other spirits in the world; if you cannot help me Great One, please send me back so I may search for another who can. I am in a hurry, and that demon still exists in the world." The Priestess bowed; glancing throughout the barren desert around her. There was not so much as a single mountain, not even a dune. Just an endless expanse of sand, all under the shining rays of the burning spirit sitting upon the horizon. Truthfully, she hadn't the slightest clue -how- to return home; let alone where she was to begin with!

The blazing sun responded with silence, but its eternal burning did not dim in the slightest. And the silenced continued, to the point where Azusa was about to speak up once again, before being interrupted by the great spirit's voice. "ALL AIKAYUME BOUND BY BLOOD IN DEATH. AIKAYUME MAY NOT LEAVE THIS MIRRORLAND. THIS IS HOME FOR YOUR SPIRIT." Azusa blinked; she felt no hostility from the spirit, but what it said left her stunned. Not only was it claiming it could not help her, but also that she was unable to leave? "That...That cannot be! "

"YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD. YOUR SOUL WILL BE TRAPPED HERE. IF YOU WISH TO LEAVE THEN YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN." "...I Do not understand, Great One." "THEN ASCEND. THIS MIRROR BELONGS TO ME. LIKE ME ITS POWER SLEEPS. BUT IT CAN BE YOURS. AND YOUR POWER WILL BE AWAKE.""Great Spirit! Tell me; How may I ascend? What do you need me to do?" Azusa exclaimed.

"WALK INTO THE LIGHT LITTLE FOX. EMBRACE MY BLESSING." And Azusa listened; she moved toward The Sun sitting on the horizon. One step. Two steps. Ten steps. A Hundred steps. A Thousand Steps. Ten-Thousand Steps. One-Hundred-Thousand Steps.

Countless steps.

She did not hunger; the inconveniences of the body seemed to not exist within this world, confirming her thoughts that this was a dream world within the mirror created by her blood.
But...for how long was she walking? Even if her body never tired, her mind most certainly did. There was no time here. No shadows with the everpresent sun before her. Her only sense of progress was the growing size of the blinding light of the spirit; but even now when it occupied the majority of her vision, it still felt so far away. "DO NOT TURN BACK LITTLE FOX. THERE IS NO RETREAT. THERE IS ONLY VICTORY." It reminded her from all directions.

Another step. Another two steps. Another Ten steps. Another Hundred-Thousand steps. She felt as if she were not even walking at this point; though the desert was unchanging and eternal, The Light of The Many-Tailed monopolized her "vision" in all ways; everywhere she turned was the burning sunlight; she could not even see her hand outstretched before her. "YOU WILL FIND MY MIRROR. CLAIM IT. IT WILL JUDGE YOU. TAKE MY POWER. OR MY POWER WILL TAKE YOU." The voice spoke. And beyond the sunlight consuming her existence, she saw it; floating in the bright abyss of light.

Just as it had appeared at the Aikayume shrine, the "Mirror" was more of a stone tablet. A chunk of rock that wasn't even capable of reflecting any image. Yet, the moment Azusa touched it, flames spread across the "ground" of the void, and 3 figures appeared around her. Ones she was very familiar with.

"..."
"..."
"..."
The shadows of her past closed in on her; initially without word, but soon began to speak;
"We could have helped the village..." Chibi-Azusa claimed, saddened by how her future self had turned out.
"We could have had everything..." Heiress-Azusa claimed, irritated by how much her future self had lost.
"We could have killed our enemies..." Berserk-Azusa claimed, furious with how her future self's vengeance was still unfinished.

"...But you chose to help only your pride!"
"...But you lost it all with your mistakes!"
"...But failed to even get close"
This shadows attacked her, clutching her, striking her, grabbing her, cutting her. Try as she might, all she had was a stone mirror, and her attacks at swinging that only seemed to phase through the visions of her past.
"You are selfish!"
"You are stupid!"
"You are weak!"

"...Enough...So what if I am Selfish...and make stupid mistakes...Or was weak...I am Azusa! I have not walked through the endless desert just to be brought down; I will -not- accept -anyone- telling me what I can or cannot do! My mistakes are my own. My life, my own. If you, or anyone dare say you have some power over me...then try me. I will purge your unsightly existance without a second thought." Azusa shouted, clutching onto the inert mirror as a shield against her shadows' attacks. (CLAIM MY POWER. NAME IT AS YOUR OWN.)

She had never spoken them before, but she instinctively knew what words to speak. They were the words that resonated with her soul. They were words that would be the banner she rallied under.

"Vanity Dawn."

She spoke. And stone mirror in her hand shattered into tendrils of light...And in place of the useless stone was an ornate mirror, coated with gold edges and constantly radiating flames. Comforting flames. Her flames.

Flames that burned away the aspects of her past that haunted her.
Flames that burned away the dreamrealm that trapped her.
Flames that burned away whatever stood before her.
Flames that burned away her.

...And recomposed themselves around her body.

[Aikayume Azusa, Spirit of Dawn]

(IT...IS NOW YOURS. WHERE THERE IS DARKNESS YOU WILL BRING THE LIGHT...little fox. No. BRIGHTEST FOX. May you..become.....many tailed...) The Great Spirit's voice faded....and with it the light it constantly emitted throughout the dreamworld.

Azusa was alone within her mind. But...that was fine. This was her mind afterall. Not her blood's. Not the mirror's. Not her past's. She had not borrowed the power of a spirit, but had claimed what was hers. The dreamworld around her began to fade...

...And the Priestess awoke not int he Aikayume shrine, but the outskirts of the village...Or rather, a large hole in the desert covered in scorch markings...With With the ornate and awakened Celestial Mirror in her possession.

[MFT]
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