Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 151- Dragon Rests for the Long Winter

[Eblana POV]

After making sure Loughshinny was fine and all of this wasn’t a dream, I locked up the room and went to find Aslan. The chill from outside had already begun seeping into the passageways.  The waster that was always present had started freezing, making it quite the hassle traversing the tunnels I’ve gotten so used to over the many long years.

“I forgot how cold it could get…and it’s still getting colder.”

When I got to the door I’d just used, it was nearly frozen shut.

“…I’m going to need to find a better place to live. It won’t be convenient if I have to defrost myself or the doors if I need to go somewhere.”

Giving the door a good kick managed to get it open. A gust of wind then tore through the opening making me shiver.  The snow had started falling harder and the clouds had grown darker, making it nearly impossible to tell the time. It must have been some time just after sunrise due to the amount of people I could see panicking, though that wasn’t necessarily correct. Of course, not everyone was panicking; children were running around playing in the snow, despite the increasingly stormy conditions. Others were trying to go about their daily business seemingly unaffected by current events.  Another strong gust of wind blew causing me to focus on my task again.

I made my way back to the castle after making my wings appear.  It was interesting hearing some of the people get scared at seeing someone flying around, but I didn’t have time to revel in their reactions. I landed on the balcony of the mongrel’s office and shattered one of the windows. Wind started blowing around all the papers on the empty desk and knocking over lighter things on shelves.  I stepped into the room and looked around.

“I may have hated you, mongrel, but I’ll say this much, this room is empty without you hunched over the desk.”

I was about to move on when I got curious about something. I walked up to the desk and started opening the drawers. Most of them only held blank papers, quills, inkwells, some fancy sticks that seemed to have ink in them somehow, and some paperweights. One had a false bottom with some very old, well aged wine and brandy which I gladly took. When I opened the last drawer though, I almost let out a breath.

There were several vials of faintly glowing liquid. In the bottoms of these vials were scales or small pieces of flesh. I picked one up and opened the lid. It reeked of decay, yet I could tell it would restore vitality.

“Is this another Valkyrie skill?  No, can’t think of that right now.”

I ignited the desk with my flames and made sure all of those vials were destroyed.  I now had a secondary mission aside from Aslan. I was about to head to the mongrel’s old room but decided that I’d have the other help me search instead of doing so alone.  As I made my way across the castle, I ran into several guards.

“Oi! Stop right there, criminal scum!”

I stared that particular guard down with an unamused glare.

“…Forgive me, lizard. We have found the king dead and are looking for the culprit. As his pet, you should join us in the search.”

This annoyed me even more.

“Looks like all of you have forgotten something, so allow me to kindly remind you. I. Am. NOT! A! LIZARD!!  I am a dragon!!!”

I launched myself forward and grabbed the leading guard by the neck, lifted him off his feet, and with a satisfying crunch, crushed his neck. I wrapped my tail around another one’s throat and twisted, his head nearly being torn from his shoulders.  I grabbed the third one by the face and, similar to the first one, squeezed, which was promptly followed by a wet pop.

“How liberating.”

I cleansed my hand with flames and moved on.  If he followed along with our correspondence, he should have been waiting in his own office. When I got there, I found more guards trying to knock the door down.

“Prime Minister, open the door!  We’re trying to protect you!”

That guard’s words sounded genuine, but several of his comrades were not, judging by the naked daggers in their hands. I was about to step forward when one of the people with different affiliation stabbed the guard knocking on the door. The others with unsheathed daggers did the same before one of them started trying to pick the lock.

“Saves me the trouble and only slightly guilty conscience.”

I kicked the corpses out of the way and knocked on the door.

“Aslan, it’s Eblana, open up.”

I heard the sound of things being moved and the door being unlocked. When it opened Aslan poked his head out and looked at all the bodies.

“Was killing all of them necessary?” (Aslan)

“Believe it or not, I only killed a few of them.  One noble or another decided now was a prime time to try and assassinate you as well.” (Eblana)

“Idiotic snakes.” (Aslan)

“That’s rude to snakes.” (Eblana)

“It seems Lady Okami’s humor has rubbed off on you.” (Aslan)

“What can I say, she’s very charismatic.  Anyway, we should go. Though there is another thing that needs doing first.” (Eblana)

“And what would that be?” (Aslan)

“We need to make sure that mongrel of an old man didn’t leave any more of a vile concoction behind. I destroyed all of it in his office, I just need to search his personal room.  And we should hurry before more rats show up.” (Eblana)

We ran a while before finally arriving before a set of heavily decorated wooden doors. Pushing them open revealed a lavish room. A large circular bed covered in a deep purple blanket and a blood red carpet covering the entire room were the first things I noticed. Even after all the years I spent here, I’d never been in this room.

“His taste in décor is actually surprisingly gaudy.” (Eblana)

“It is indeed somewhat of an eyesore.” (Aslan)

We walked in and I explained exactly what we were looking for before we started turning out every drawer and pocket in the room.  We found coal after vial which was then tossed onto the bed. Once we were confident that we’d searched every inch of the room, I turned to the bed and lit it ablaze.

“…” (Aslan)

“Having second thoughts on anything?” (Eblana)

“No, but even if I was, it’s already too late to go back on them.” (Aslan)

“True.” (Eblana)

I checked one more time that all the vials were burned up completely before walking to the balcony.  Once the two of us were standing outside, my wings appeared.

“*Sigh*” (Aslan)

I picked him up and hopped onto the guardrail before glancing over at the room behind me and flicking my tail.  The blaze on the bed flared and soon the entire room was covered in purple flames; flames that would soon start spreading to the rest of the castle.

“Hehehe.  Truly the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.” (Eblana)

I jumped from the railing and glided a bit before dipping down into a spiral around an aqueduct. Buts of hail had started falling along with the snow, buffeting me as we went.

“Before we make it to our temporary refuge, I will warn you, do not do anything to my sister. No matter how much Lady Okami or I trust you, that is nonnegotiable.” (Eblana)

“I understand.” (Aslan)

I wasn’t going to have Loughshinny, or I go through such a terrible experience again, so until she was back to her full strength, I wasn’t going to let ANYONE near her without my constant supervision.

“Gnn.” (Eblana)

A powerful gust of wind nearly blew me into the stone pillar supporting the aqueduct and allowed a sizable piece of hail to hit me on the head.  I felt some blood trickle down from just above my eyes, but I ignored the stinging. When I landed, I had to once again forcefully open the door and we walked inside.

“It’s hard to believe everything was warm only a few short hours ago.” (Aslan)

“Yeah. Either the Dead Zone was keeping all of that at bay for years, or some Gods are having fun right now.” (Eblana)

“Does Lady Okami know?” (Aslan)

“When she killed Baldr, she said something and stated a name…Fimblventer or something like that. No clue what it is, but next opportunity I get to ask, I will.  All I know is that it’s, for some reason, Conceptually tied to the name Baldr, and only happens if the one with the name is killed by a certain plant, and that’s only what I’ve been able to piece together myself.” (Eblana)

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t continue to get worse.” (Aslan)

“Saying things like that causes the worst to happen, you know.” (Eblana)

Making sure the door was securely shut, we walked for a while until we got back to my room.  Unlocking the door and opening it, I was about to step inside when I was suddenly knocked into the wall. Looking down I saw Loughshinny hugging me tightly with tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Eblana, you were gone for so long…I saw all these scary shadows moving…and it’s getting so cold.” (Loughshinny)

She looked up at me and saw the blood trickling down my head and her sorrow and fear instantly turned to anger.

“Who hurt you?” (Loughshinny)

The flame on her tail turned from a calming orange to a fierce red.  Around us small flowers made of flame began to bloom. She must have caught some movement Aslan made as she immediately turned her head to face him and glared at him.

“Calm down, Lou, I just got hit with some hail.  He is an ally.” (Eblana)

This made her calm down and she looked at my head. One of the fire flowers floating in the air fell and landed on my wound, healing it instantly.  Shortly after that the others faded, and Lou’s breathing became a bit labored.

“You should be resting.  Those shadows are Death Spirits that I asked to watch over and protect you while I was gone for a bit.” (Eblana)

“…It seems I missed a lot…and mister, I’m sorry for glaring at you.” (Loughshinny)

“You need not apologize; I’ve become used to such glares.” (Aslan)

I picked Lou up and walked her inside before laying her back down on the bed. Aslan followed shortly after and sat further away from us.

“Hmm.  I really need a better place than this. I can’t light a fire for warmth.” (Eblana)

“Are there not any places in these tunnels made for camping?  With the size of the city there has to be.” (Aslan)

“There are, but none of them are as secure as this room and a few others.  The point is to stay hidden until Lou can fly long distances again before getting you out of here.” (Eblana)

“I suppose I’ll be fine with enough blankets for now.  At least until we figure out something more permanent.” (Aslan)

“Hmm.  Well, think of it as getting used to Solheim weather.” (Eblana)

He nodded his head before gathering up as many blankets as he could while leaving us on our own.

“Eblana, I haven’t questioned it really, but what’s happening?  As far as I remember, Odeen doesn’t get cold.” (Loughshinny)

I then started telling Lou the story of what’s been going on since she died up to this point while leaving specific parts out that Keeno didn’t want Aslan to know. Lou’s eyes were shining as I told her everything like it was a bedtime story.

“There are some things that are left vague or false that I will explain later. Things he doesn’t need to know or are misunderstandings that don’t need fixing” (Eblana)

She nodded slightly before hugging me tightly.

“Eblana…You did too much…for so long…I’m sorry I left you alone…” (Loughshinny)

I stopped her from going any further.

“You’re my sister, my family, my world, I’d turn everything to ashes…I’d sacrifice my soul if it meant you’d live.  Hehe.  Some could even say I already did, but I don’t care.  As long as I can see you alive and smiling, then all trouble or pain is an afterthought.” (Eblana)

“You should save those kinds of words for someone you want to marry, Eblana.” (Loughshinny)

“*Sigh*Looks like Okami is rubbing off on me more than I realized.  Always flirting with such flowery words…come to think of it, most of them were like that, though Mostima was better since she kept most of her conversations quiet or through telepathy.” (Eblana)

“Hehehe.  I really wish I could have spoken with them.  They seem like fun people.” (Loughshinny)

“You’ll have the chance to in the future.” (Eblana)

I leaned back against the wall next to my bed.

“For now, though, I need some sleep.  Today has been…chaotic, to say the least.” (Eblana)

“Good night, sister.” (Loughshinny)

“Good night to you too, sister.” (Eblana)

Chaos Realm:

Atmos: You know, seeing all of this, it’s eye-opening seeing how much goes into making this place safe for someone with no real connection to the Divine.

What can I say?  You have never and should never want to see what happens when something gets tainted by the Pure Chaos here.  Even with all the protections I can give it’s a pain to cleanse.

Atmos: Don’t think I’ve forgotten The Incident.

I’m trying to forget it.

Atmos: You and I both know that it’s impossible for both of us.

I do, but I can put it to the back of my mind and not think about it if SOMEONE doesn’t bring it up.

Atmos: …Touche.  Also, where is Order and the others?

Order, Astraea, Nykuro, Crisis, Evelyn, and Mordred are out.  Evelyn and Astraea are on a date while the others are making sure nothing gets out of hand.

Atmos: So, all of them are babysitting Crisis.

Yep.

Atmos: And Luna and Tamamo?

Preparing something for yall’s world.

Atmos: Eh!? And why was I not included in this secret?

Don’t ask me!  I try my best not to spoil things for you…wait, you should know!!

Atmos: He he he, actually, I’ve figured something out.  With my Authority over Mischief, I can trick myself into not seeing the Fate of things!

…That’s stupid.  Stupid and dangerous.

Atmos: …

*Sigh*You didn’t think of the repercussions, did you.

Atmos: Not a single bit.  I was too preoccupied with the current moment that I didn’t really consider anything.

See, if I didn’t like you and consider you a close friend, basically family at this point, I’d have to punish you severely for that.

Atmos: I promise on my name and Authorities that it’ll never happen again…well, this specifically.

…I’ll accept that.