Ark 8 Episode 32: A Funeral for the Gods

The Labyrinth was a tangle of turns, twists and enemies that seemed to pop out without any warning. It seemed that Xian had no handling the last, so Kyoko and Raiden did nothing more than wade through the mess left in his wake. Kyoko seemed lost in her thoughts for the most part as she trotted beside the tiger. The night had fallen and it caused a chill to creep into her bones. Without much warning, Kyoko dropped to her knees gripping her chest tightly. It was as if something had been ripped from her and searing pain coursed through her frail body causing her to tremble. She desperately looked around for help, anything to make the searing pain stop. Raiden let out a loud mournful growl that filled the night air, it was a sound mixed with rage and incredible sorrow. Whatever pain Kyoko was feeling, he felt the tug as well and it scared him. He was terrified and fear was not a feeling he was accustomed to. His body froze up and while he knew he should try to help the small girl somehow, his body would not seem to move. Time seemed to stop for the pair and the entire world faded away and all there was was agony and grief. Kyoko’s limbs quivered and trembled violently as sweat glistened on her skin. Then, as if it was all a bad dream, the pain stopped and she was left with this horrid emptiness, as if some part of her had died. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to breathe, the feeling of hollowness almost suffocating her. It was minutes before she could move and the first thing she did was scramble for her bag and pulled out the mirror. The whole thing was glowing brightly as she peered into the reflective surface. The horror that she saw was reflected on her face as she watched a battle that was taking place elsewhere.

Her eyes grew wide as she saw Keyth. Was it Keyth, he looked so angry and full of rage? His whole body radiated with power and fierceness. His appearance terrified her. What on earth had happened while she was unconscious? There were so many questions that flickered through her mind and nothing she saw made sense. Keyth was the hero, he had proved it time and time again, why was he fighting the very gods who had sent them there? As she watched the battle, she wanted to look away but her eyes were glued to the scene as tears streamed from them. It couldn’t be Keyth, at least not the Keyth she knew. Her stomach churned uncomfortably as the battle between Keyth and Tsukuyomi played out. She cringed as she watched him explode before her very eyes, tears free falling from her eyes in heavy streams. Her mind numbed as she watched the rest of the path of destruction. The man that was with Keyth, the one who looked similar, it had to be his fault. He had to be the reason for this agony and the change in Keyth. Kyoko was filled with so much anger it seemed to radiate off her body in waves. There was no seems about it, ripples of chi wavered in the air around her and all she saw was red as she looked on at the mangled mess of the god’s remnants. Finally, the mirror returned to normal and her fierce eyes bore back at her and she knew what she had to do.

As if they were in perfect sync, Raiden knew as well as she hopped on his back. Before she even got the words out of her mouth he was already traveling at full speed towards the massacre. As they sped through the night, her mind was riddled with thoughts and plans… but first things first. The sun was just rising as they reached their destination. The clouds were filled of hues of reds and oranges as if the very sky was angry. Her tears had dried as Raiden slowed his pace and softly padded into the middle of the battle field. Her mouth gaped open, it was one thing to see it in a mirrors lifeless reflection but another thing entirely to see it in person and be able to smell the coppery scent of blood and hear the deafening silence that hung in the air. It seemed that even the animals were in mourning and the birds failed to sing their morning songs and the crickets silenced their symphony. In the midst of all the blood and corpses Kyoko stripped from her red and white kimono and carefully donned the black one which was more suited for the work she needed to do.

The small girl did what only she knew how to and slowly, god by god, she dragged their remains to the river to cleans and purify they body. She struggled with the weight of the bodies, her arms trembling as she dragged each one towards the river. The water slowly began to turn pink from the blood as she chanted over each god. Hours passed as she performed the proper burial rituals. It was late into the afternoon by the time each body had been cleansed and was neatly laid out on the bank of the river. Kyoko slumped into the muddy shore, part from weariness and exhaustion and partly from the utter sadness of it all. Tsukuyomi had been blasted to bits, he was her god and she was his priestess and she couldn’t even give his human body a proper burial. A single tear crept out of her eye and slid down her cheek as her heart seemed to break even further. She didn’t rest for long because of all the work she needed to do, and right now she needed fire. She looked around at the battle field small fires still burned here and there. She searched the area for brush and shrubbery that was dry enough to catch and surrounded the bodies, before lighting the fire around each one with a make shift torch. The air was perfectly still as If it was cooperating with her desperate attempt to maintain tradition and hold a proper funeral for the kami. The air filled with heavy billows of smoke that caused her eyes to water as she continued the traditional burial chants.

As she chanted, animals began to appear in the clearing each one brought something with it. The items were not anything of true value but the sentiment attached to them made them precious. A small pile began to grow in the center of the battlefield. It was a tribute, gifts to honor the deceased. Raiden caught Kyoko’s eyes as she admired the tribute and he seemed to give his approval of her and the animal’s efforts.

The eyes of the tiger were not the only eyes that witnessed the funeral services. In the shadows, Hachiman peered out from the tree line, watching the curious little priestess. He could have easily helped her however it seemed that would somehow lessen the sincerity of the gesture. His armored shoulder rested against the bark of the tree as he continued to watch. The tiger of course could sense his presence, and if the girl was able to awaken her abilities, she would have sensed him as well. Somehow, the funeral seemed to quench his anger enough for him to start strategizing and trying to make a plan as to how he was going to get this small group together and to do what needs to be done. He stepped out from the tree line and watched as the girl tried to gather the ashes of the bodies. Without a word, he snapped his fingers and the ashes floated into the air and then with another snap they all settled into intricate urns that had appeared beneath them. He then made his way to where Keyth had destroyed Tsukuyomi, casting a glance over to the girl. “You coming priestess?”

Kyoko jumped, startled of the sound that was the first sound to ring in her ears other than the ones she had made since she arrived at the clearing. She looked him over with wide eyes as she followed obediently. He stopped and she stood by his side. She couldn’t help but tear up at the damage before her, the deepest fibers of her being ached as she was forced to face the sight she had been avoiding all day. With another snap, slowly small particles began to rise from the ground forming a cloud in front of the two. They floated together and swirled around before them. Hachiman reached forward and closed his giant fist around a handful of the dust before releasing them into a small metal vial marred with intricate carvings. He then sealed the vile before attaching it to a small chain and fastened it around Kyoko’s neck. She stood perfectly still as she watched the God with curious eyes. He gave her a warm smile that didn’t seem to reach the sadness in his eyes before his harsh voice whispered in her ear. “Is not it tradition that close relatives are given some of the ashes?” With that, he turned away and released the remaining ashes into the waiting mouth of an urn. He snapped his finger and the urns and the tribute disappeared. There was a moment of silence before he turned back towards the small girl.

Hachiman looked her up and down before reaching towards her and poking her body and grabbing her wrists and wiggling her arms. “You aren’t much of a fighter, but you could be. Your body knows hard work and you are flexible enough.” He rested his chin in his hand as he looked at her some more, evaluating her. “I know” he said in an eureka type moment. He seemed to pull out of nowhere a small shield that resembled a turtle shell and a miniature spear. “Tinbe-rochin and Sais” he said before pulling out a pair of the three pronged sais. He handed the weapons to the girl. “Priestess, you earned those today, but don’t think they are gifts. They are responsibilities. You have worked hard today, but this is only the beginning. There is work that needs to be done to make things right. You can feel the wrong, you can’t put a finger on it but you can tell that yin and yang are not matched up and the forces of light and the forces of dark have been disrupted and something has been sealed away. That seal, it needs to be broken. You need to make sure that the seal is broken and the balances are equalized.”

He did not even wait for a response before he disappeared without a trace of being there other than the weapons and the small vile around Kyoko’s neck. She had no idea where to proceed from there or where to start looking for the seal to release whatever it was containing. Nor did she know exactly how to react to the vile around her neck and Hachiman’s comment about close relatives. Her mind was a swirl of activity and she wanted to try to unknot all the mysteries that befuddled her, but there was not time for that. She looked to Raiden, “Shall we head back?” She asked as she slid onto his back. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he carried her back towards the group. It seemed that Raiden knew exactly the route needed to get back to the Labrynth and through it allowing Kyoko to close her eyes and sleep as they traveled. Her dreams were riddled with curiosities that she couldn’t make sense of and when her eyes rolled back before the gates that would lead to the throne room. She inhaled deeply and slid off Raiden’s back. With her shield in one arm and her spear in another, she peered forward pausing to take in the moment.