4Legends άνοιγμα [Anoigma]*
Thirteen silent figures zigzagged through the tall grasses, threading through the heather, never stirring a blossom but quicker than thought. One paused in the thrushes, on the edges of a small pond of light and beauty, all the more so sensuous in its midnight grandeur. Two luminous peach-rimmed eyes peered through the night. Others stared through the grasses at the glamour of a lavish paradise far against the horizon, full of youth and power, practically begging to be plundered. The sparkling of eyes, sapphire-rimmed, sienna-rimmed, red-rimmed, pure black, and the others, twinkled about in the dense thicket, the chirping of birds within the trees. One leapt up to strangle a single shining bird but was quickly pulled down, the thump of its landing gentle but still noticeable. Others hissed for it to be quiet. Soon, they converged.
"Their paradise is near, Akuma-heika*; it is Tengoku*," one hissed, cloaked in black.
"Warui! Silence until the Master uses Kakusu*!" another hissed, gently thumping the other.
"Sigh," was the only comment their master had as he cast Kakusu, a shield invisible to all, undetectable without flaw, even to the gods. Pulling Psyche to him, he sat down, her on his lap, and began stroking her head like he would a faithful dog. "We're come far, my minions, and I am pleased that your bodily desires have not intruded in on the mission."
He was met with awkward laughter and chagrinned smiles.
"Tengoku is within the horizon, the sun will rise within the hour. This is perhaps the time when some of you will die. Oni – are you ready?"
"I will follow you through torture, Akuma-heika."
"Na Tsuretsu – are you ready?"
"This is my ecstasy, Akuma-heika; I will follow you and never let go of the mission you have proposed."
"Jigoku?"
"I will plunge myself into the pits of my namesake, Akuma-heika."
"Korosu?"
"Your will be done, Akuma-heika."
"Psyche?"
Psyche was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, the other Kappa looking at her inquisitively, an expression she had never seen on their faces. Akuma's eyes were almost gentle, almost worried, as were the others'. She looked down quickly. "It is as Lord Korosu said, Master. Your will be done, Akuma-heika. I will go to the utmost lengths to do that will," she bit her lip, "no matter what it be."
Akuma regarded her a moment longer with his eyes of gold and scarlet. "Fair enough, Psyche. Now, my fair warriors," he smiled, "we will plunge into battle, a battle to bring the gods down and make rise for the demons of the universe. Fair too long have we sat idly by as the unjust gods rule, a few of the weaklings rising to revolt and failing, failing again and again! We will bring honor to the demons, the oni*, of the universe by murdering each and every single one of those gods, starting from the highest and hunting down the lowest like the filthy, treacherous dogs they are. You are bound to me," he added quietly. "Remember: I own all of you even as I own weak Psyche here. Your souls are mine. Are you ready?" Twelve set faces met him. "Make your way to the gates of Tengoku. When the sun rises, burst forth, at your full power, and attack. Make no pretenses: they are most likely prepared. I will see many of you in the end, either at victory or hell. Do not fail."
With those words, the Kappa dropped their cloaks, standing nude in the night air save for their own hair, and faced Tengoku quickly. Then, one by one, they sped off into the brisk night, the scent of blood already seeming to rise in the air.
A lone trumpet called out at dawn, the sun just cresting over the horizon, facing Tengoku, even as the partial wall surrounding it toppled over, its foundation having been dug nearly halfway away and so giving it no room to stand on. Immediately, the gods were in an uproar, barracking themselves and the others while a few ran out to face the attack.
"Will you quiet that infernal noise, Heimdall? We've known about this attack for at least three days before yester eve!" yelled one god of a thousand arms, those arms, once symbols of compassion and kindness, now armed with a weapon of war.
"My apologies, Senju Kannon!" bellowed the man in return, a broad shouldered warrior with a wide jaw and silvery hair, lowering his mighty horn.
'Chikusho*!' swore the reincarnation as a god of compassion, gentle brow furrowed in anger and confusion. 'Even though we knew of their arrival since yester eve, letting them to their own devices so that we would have the upper hand on our own territory, how could they have dug out the wall, and so quickly? That simple wall took nearly eight months to complete and it fell in less than a day! How?' He had reached the second wall, a rude construction of spiked bars, poisoned to the tip.
In front of him lay the littered bodies of the guards, humans who had reached a special place by their valor and ability, now lifeless upon the ground until they be resurrected again, a feat that would not be commenced any time soon as a Kappa hunched over each of them, feasting upon their throats, slowing peeling their skin off to lap away the blood. Arrows fired at them repeatedly, only to be flicked away by a flip of their long, black, reptilian wings, a few feathers bristling about the tops and backs.
Most of the time, Kappa appear to be normal, their horns, varying in size depending on their rank in power, the only clue of something preternatural, or their intense amber eyes, rimmed by various colors. But, once within the realm of their true powers, they were entirely different beasts.
Growing in size to anywhere between six and eight inches to nine and five inches, they possessed long and lanky limbs, perfect for intense speed and agility, several of them having bulked shoulders and thighs, thus possessing more physical strength. Their eyes, normally mainly amber, now flowed with a liquid the color rimming those amber eyes, the iris and pupil sometimes disappearing completely as the white was changed to that color. Wings of reptilian skin sprang from their backs, also the size depending on the power, with those stray black feathers curling about the back, further protecting them. Their ears were pointed, their canines long and sharp, nails on the hands and feet grew into points of three inches and blades slide from their knuckles, heels, and elbows, thin, sinewy black tails curling about their waists. They were truly monsters with only one minuscule weakness, so tiny that, though it was well enough known, was impossible to exploit.
Now, as the first streaks of a golden dawn, deeply tinged with blood, cast their color across the fields, once beautiful and full of life, they saw only pain and agony, blood and despair. One god, a man of glorious, golden beauty, fired golden arrows of flame rapidly, his attendants doing the same, all of them far out of reach. Swearing at the lack of effect the arrows were having on the creatures, he mopped his brow, sweeping back his golden brown curls, and left his attendants in charge, fleeing to the stables.
There, he came upon his golden steeds: Pyroeis, Eous, Aethon, Phlegon, all golden mane-d, fiery breathed, white and neighing, a call that rivaled Heimdall's trumpet. Brilliant blue eyes saddened, he touched each in turn, paying no mind to the trouble outside the walls and caressed each one in turn, heart and mind heavy as he decided who would be the decoy, the one to die for the gods.
Outside, in the open court where the smaller officials were being herded in an effort that appeared to favor killing the weak first but in actuality was merely just a ploy, the Kappa howled their rage, splashing glowing blood about the walls and then lapping it up, pining several others by their throats to the walls and watching them twitch and gurgle until life was no more. Many had noticed the glowing aura, one not of their nature, about the center of the walls, past several of the crude barricades, and were in a frenzy to get to it, taking a few meager hits, but ones they should never have taken.
It was at this point when a whiney broke the air and a horse, large and glorious with its flowing mane and gleaming flanks, cut through the ranks in a charge towards the largest of the Kappa, a wonderfully fit specimen with cracking sapphire eyes. Seeing the rush of power and licking his lips, the Kappa turned to face the onslaught, wings curling forward only to be thrust back as several brave gods rushed his back, thrown back at his wings clipped their eyes and noses, attention only on the charging animal, claws at the ready.
Thunk!
With a hollow sound, a golden arrow hit the second strongest of the Kappa, beneath only Akuma, at his right temple, embedding deep, almost half of it disappearing into the black tresses of Evil. Wings and hair flaying about him, he managed to turn his sapphire eyes, a hue nearly as brilliant as the one who had shot him, towards his right, dying eyes penetrating all their barricades to see the golden archer. He raised a clawed hand, lips uttering, "The –" before his head exploded, bloody water splaying across the battle field as the upper part of his head, nose up, was suddenly gone, a watery crimson mass of shredded flesh. His body fell.
Scarlet eyes widened dramatically, the right side of his body feeling a shearing pain not due to any wounds, though he had sustained none. "My Aku…" whispered the Lord of the Kappa, paralyzed for a split second that his instinct quickly covered for him, a fountain of blood spraying from a neck wound. "You will pay…"
"You will pay…"
"YOU WILL PAY!" Raising the cry across the battlefield, the Kappa Lord suddenly streaked within the barricades, shattering them as though they were nothing, seeking the golden archer, having already slashed his claws across the flanks of his horse, which now lay near death, entrails crimson across the cobblestones. He cast ruin and hate about him, the depth of his rage reaching the inner confines where most of the gods were crouched, hiding from the battle. One rose, a goddess of battle, beauty, and blood, with locks as red as the blood he was splattering. She exited the confine.
And there the golden archer was, crouched near the floor for cover like his attendants, a slow rage near to Akuma's burning in his brilliant eyes, more piercing than diamond, more luminous than sapphires. Behind him, three horses nearly the triplets of the first voiced an outcry, straining to get at The Fiend.
"Who are you, kami*?" the Kappa spat, eyes glowering with hate, tail lashing about madly.
"I am Apollo the Archer, sometimes called the God of Light and Truth, son of Zeus and Leto, brother to Artemis the Huntress. You would be Akuma, the Fiend?" he asked, notching his bow and pointing it at the Kappa squarely.
"I am. And you would be the one that killed my Aku?"
"The only archer out here, what do you think, Fiend?" he snapped in return, attractive brow set, lovely Greek eyes attached to their target. "You've come to kill me; do it already before the three send the thirteen of you to Tartarus."
"Your wish!" snarled he, launching himself at the other at a speed Apollo had never before seen, though still giving him enough time to fire six shots, all of which were barely avoided and resulted in several wounds. At the last possible moment, he drew two other golden arrows and met the Fiend.
They clashed, the archer flipping his arrows over the Kappa's claws to invade his chest, stabbing deep within before ripping upwards, splintering bone in a wound that would not soon heal. In return, the Kappa cleaved his poisoned claws down the youth's chest, stopped from splitting him in two only by a leg that lashed out; he lost balance. Flipping back, he was met by the luminous eyes of the archer-god and two crossed arrows that were whipped about the back of his neck and pulled forward, nearly severing the neck. About to have one slammed into his temple, a black snake tail snagged the archer's leg and threw the youth to his back. Then, the Kappa was all about the god.
Pinned in placed, the Kappa went for his chest cavity; the god screamed with rage and fear, lashing out in return and bloodying him well, the large wings the Kappa possessed the only thing that prevented the god from puncturing his skull. In a burst of strength, the god reached an arm up and shoved his palm sideways, the crack of the Kappa's neck audible above the din though the Kappa paid little mind to it other than to grunt and falter his hold on the god a bit.
It was enough for the archer who stabbed his arrows into those crimson eyes and bucked his legs, sliding out of the Kappa's grip. Leaping back he aimed his bow, notching it quickly, and fired pointblank into the Kappa's head, right between his blind eyes. The Kappa fell.
The other Kappa suddenly screamed, hugging their arms to their bodies and scrunching up, heedless to the attacks that were instantaneously rained down upon them, wind whipping up suddenly even as they rose from their crouch, eyes closed in pain, arms to the sky. Three were badly wounded, one so close to death that water leaked from his ears and nostrils. Concentrating on Akuma, Apollo paid no heed to these happenings even as a victory cheer rose skyward.
His feet and muscled legs came upon the body of the fallen leader, eyes peering inquisitively down at it, no doubt in his arrogant mind that he had slain it. Curious, he bent slightly, guard dropping an amount so small that a lesser opponent never would have noticed the change.
Akuma did.
He rose suddenly, whipping an elbow about, taking the light from those eyes, a golden arrow clutched securely in his fist as the other closed about the golden god's neck, squeezing severely. He plunged the arrow deep into his chest and twisted, the screams of the young god making him smile. The other Kappa suddenly fell, weakened, as their leader regained his strength.
A blade plunged into Akuma's exposed back, only barely stopped from severing his spinal cord by a quick wing, part of it sheared off by the sharp sword. Facing the attacker, he found himself staring eye to eye with a woman as tall as his nine five, looking every bit as menacing with a tone that suggested she would slay the Kappa no matter the price. Moving on the offense, she screamed, "Move the archer! Keep him out of the way and find out what those three are up to! Ah!" She was cut in the wrist.
From seemingly nowhere, a horde of oni emerged on the battlefield before the sweating form of their master, Oni, who was on his knees, clutching at his head and heart. A spear hit him in the base of his head, where it attached to his neck, and it exploded, the back half completely blown off. Unleashed from his reign, the oni swarmed about on either sides, never touching him, but still without constraints.
The horde pressed onwards, not taking the Kappa's approach to slay the higher-ranking gods first but picking off the weak, as was their manner. They attacked those who were wounded, the screams of those who they attacked rising into the air. The oni went after the goddess who was battling with Akuma and nearly covered her, hindering her progress, like so many flies to rotting meat. Her injuries rose and the Leader of the Kappa cackled with malice, seeing his victory so near, for the opening between the second wall and this one was almost clear of all the living.
It was at this point, when victory was so nearly to the Fiend that he could taste it as surely as he could taste blood, that Amaterasu appeared on the battlefield, shedding light and radiant energy about her, blinding the oni and one or two weakened Kappa. Psyche shrieked in pain, the force of her voice splitting the ground and destroying oni and kami alike. The goddess raised a sacrificial katana and pointed it down the middle, her firm voice rising over the screams of the dying.
"SPILL THE BLOOD OF THE FIEND AND HIS MINION! ONCE ALL ARE BLEEDING WITH WOUND TOO LARGE TO HEAL QUICKLY, ATTACK WITH VIGOR! ATTACK WITH VALOR! And leave the rest to the archer twin, bodhisattva Kannon, and I," she added.
A vast multitude of arrows, silver and gold alike, fell like rain upon the field, never once hitting their allies though one of the archers was blind, a rag tied about his useless eyes. Kannon did his work to aid the nearly fallen goddess of war and quickly healed her wounds, disappearing in the glowing light cast by Amaterasu when the situation was pressed too close for his safety. The tide of the battle turned, many of the demons weakened by the light possessed by the Goddess of the Sun. Should Izanami should been there, or Susanowo, the battle never would have turned but the Kappa had neglected to make ties, too confident in their own robust abilities. But one, the weakest of them all, had yet to bleed, protected by forces none could detect. An arrow never once struck her.
Only two of the Kappa had fallen; thirteen hundred demi-gods and a few gods lay dead, the demon crows already picking at their godly flesh. And yet, over three thousand of the oni were slain, not all of them as weak as the weakest Kappa.
"Children! The soul! Seishin*!" Amaterasu called, pointing a glowing finger at the cornered Kappa, who snarled and spit, slashing about her. Energy flowed into her body and the light of her powers grew so strong that, for a moment, even Akuma flinched though the weak Kappa never once faltered. Robes and hair flowed, the goddess of the sun aimed at the weak Kappa, determined to kill her, allowing the thirteen to be sealed away.
Silver eyes grew wide and an arrow fired off course as her face paled somewhat. Her brow knotted together, russet locks fanning about her hair, getting into her eyes but no matter, the path of her arrow was set with its merciful silver arrow.
Faster than the speed of the goddess of the sun, the silver arrow sped to its target, even passing through the obstacles of the bodies of demons; it whistled its path, shrieking its intention, and buried itself into the Kappa's upper jaw, below her pointed demon ear. Screeching an ear splitting wail, she fell from her crouched position on the wall, thrashing spasmodically on the ground, clawing at her own ear until blood fell, never being able to dislodge the arrow. Twitching and screeching so, seeming to not be able to stand the arrow that was only inches from ending her life, she was the only sound on a still battlefield, the golden-white light of Amaterasu and her bodhisattva Kannon muffling and clouding all.
Behind Tengoku, in the farthest west, the ground split and cracked, the steam and fire of torment licking the new air, charring all about the seam to ashes, poisoning the wildlife and environment. The crack streaked toward Tengoku, toward the rising sun, and demolished the compound; the gods not engaged in battle were somehow sparred though the site fell to rubble and debris. Below the Kappa, where their blood was pooling on the ground, the ground opened up, hungry for their arrival.
The chains of Amaterasu and Kannon bound the Kappa in place, momentarily raising them from their plummet. Below them, in the pits of this indescribable hell, the damned wailed and demanded the new to come down to them, the cruel punishers commanding these new creatures, utterly cursed for all eternity as they knew they would be. Izanami and Susanowo stirred and woke, Susanowo cracking open the skies with thunder and lightning, threatening and promising rain. Izanagi stirred but did not wake.
"KAPPA!" came the commanding voice of the goddess Amaterasu No Nihon, the one who shed light upon all and without there would be no light. All of them, the two dead newly resurrected to witness their fall, turned their eyes to the goddess, blinded by her radiance but staring nonetheless. Akuma screamed and bellowed his rage, straining and breaking the bonds only to be newly bound, this time by the shearing whips of hell.
"Ever since the last of the kami, Izanagi, Izanami, Susanowo, and myself, sealed our self away within this haven, you have been pestilence to all life, allowed to spend your deplorable little fetish until they temporarily drained away. Then, they would be taken up and, yet, we did nothing to respond to this deplorable little situation! You have condemned yourself, Kappa; no other has."
"Shut your self-righteous mouth, kami!" snarled Akuma, livid and still straining though in extreme pain. "Save your babble for those worthless humans, put only to feed the stronger! We, the Kappa, have no cares for sentimental kuso*!" He spat at her feet.
"Kappa…" she warned before continuing. "This is your fall, Kappa. All thirteen of you will be sent to the deepest pit of Jigoku* to be tortured, never to be sent free or given respite. You will be flayed alive again and again, reborn anew again, given task that can never been done and will drive you slowly insane, and made to repent again and again. That is your fate, Kappa, nothing so glorious as what you willed it. Ainai ga hoshikunai*." Snatching up her hand, the binding fell and so did all that was stable that the Kappa had to cling to. Thus, they fell, and Akuma was pulled downward towards his doom.
"Wait! Amaterasu-sama*!" the silver bowed archer yelled, leaping over the wall where she was with her brother and running to the black haired goddess' side, much to the shock of those about her, especially of the Kappa, who were suspended once more by chains. Stopping at the goddess' side, tall but still dwarfed, she looked up with beseeching silver eyes, suddenly looking older than she had ever before. "Please, great madam of the sun, don't condemn them all, not them all." She looked at the one she would choose to be speared.
"Your mercy is well-known, Lady of Wild Thing, but it is also fickle. Tell me, child, why would you have a Kappa spared? All of them, from the weakest to the strongest, are vile, despicable creature. You would have one spared from their rightful torment and set free upon this earth, only to cause more pain and suffering?" the goddess asked, looking at the younger goddess with concern. "There can be no reason why that should be so."
"But one of these Kappa is not a Kappa, Amaterasu-sama! You know this, as do many of the others about us!" came the answer as Akuma nearly snapped, the other Kappa growing restless to find one in their midst who was not one of them.
"That 'Kappa' was taken from its rightful home thousands of years ago and none would come to its guardian's aid in reclaiming it! Instead, it was tortured, horribly so, and made into this," she swept her arm toward the chained Kappa, all ignoring the fit of rage Akuma had succumbed to. "Is not divine intervention meant to serve the greater good? What good could be greater than allowing one who was so tortured to be set free and given a life, not a pathetic excuse for one? Is THAT not mercy, is THAT not compassion, Great Compassionate One? Tell me false!"
Kannon looked uneasily at Amaterasu, not wanting to answer a lie but not wanting to say the truth either. The goddess sighed.
"Then you would have us free that one, Huntress? But is that justice? Though that one suffered, it still succumbed to tendency less than virtuous. Would not that be hypocritical?"
"The kami suffer to be called hypocrite too long, Maiden," added Kannon. "Such an act would merely reinforce such accusation and, ultimately, bring chaos. It cannot be allowed."
"But the gods also believe in a price for a price. Though a deal is mainly used for darker purposes, could not we compromise? Our champion, the yushosha* you called him, what if that one, that false Kappa, is given to him for rehabilitation and raised right, for once?"
"And if that one cannot be changed, sister?" called the golden archer, peering down at her as though he could see her. "Even I am aware of what those things can do, alone or together. We all must have a guarantee, though I wish that I was not the one to tell you such."
"Then take my goddesshood as a promise!" cried the goddess. "If the one cannot be remodeled within the mortal year, take my goddesshood and force me to live as a mortal forever and never die, no matter how grief-stricken I may be. Please, mighty megami*, let this be!" she finally beseeched; hands clasped her chest, her eyes looked at the goddess.
"No, Amaterasu-sama!" came the cry of the golden archer, looking down at the two. "You cannot allow her to do such a thing! From our father – we are both too often rash! Do not say it will be so!"
"It is too late, young Apollo," the goddess answered solemnly, closing her eyes in an expression of understanding. "Your sister has chosen what she will, as her father granted to her so long ago." She looked at the young, russet haired goddess. "Take your one, Goddess of the Moon, and give him to a champion that you see fit, for whatever reason; your soul is on the line. Choose carefully; it may well be your last free choice."
Then the bounds that sustained them once more dropped from the Kappa, twelve falling, one held up, wonder shining in its eyes as it stared at the benevolent huntress, who smiled back. Then, fire engulfed the whole of the land and the once Kappa felt no more.
END OF PART ONE: LEGENDS
* "Opening"
* "King Akuma"
* "Heaven"
* "hide; cover up"
* "devil"
* "Damn it!"
* "god"
* "Psyche!"
* "shit"
* "Hell"
* "I hope to never meet again."
* Formal title of respect
* "champion"
* "goddess"