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Chapter Thirty-One
The Thirteen Portals
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In the silence, Yushin began to take me through the underworld to numerous locations. We first stopped at The Spirit Tree, or as I know it from the human world, Abigail’s Tree. It still looked the same as it did three years ago, inside and outside the portal. However, with the portals still being deactivated, they weren’t being used at all except if something crazy happened, as Yushin put it, such as me, a Reaper from the human world, being able to activate them with just a simple thought. I still didn’t quite understand why the Celestial forced the portals closed nor why they froze the underworld over in ice. It seems no one of the underworld, so far that I’ve come into contact with, understood either. Perhaps Mundus had something to do with it, regarding the fact that he is the ruler of the underworld. Did he threaten the Celestials, maybe threatened their power? Or was it simply a matter of fact that the Reaper was gone?
So much to learn, so much to do!
Traveling with Yushin solely was strange. Usually, it was Kurai and I, and it has been since I entered the underworld.
But nooooo, he found a new friend. I scowled at the thought, even though I did not know what was happening regarding them. Maybe it wasn’t even him. But how could I mistake those cute fluffy ears on his head?
My scowl caught Yushin’s eye as he barely turned his head to speak, “You know, it’s been strange not having you back here in the underworld. Granted, you were in a stasis, but not loud and talking like usual.”
“Loud?” I quickly questioned him, eyebrow raising slightly.
This made Yushin chuckle some; I could see his shoulders bounce slightly as he did so. “Loud,” he repeated.
“I could be louder, you know,” I teased.
“Nah, you’d wake the dead,” He replied.
“The dead? Aren’t they already awake?”
“I mean, yes and no?” Yushin paused for a second as we came to a halt near a shadowy land covered with darkened trees. We couldn’t see the other side or much in front of us.
My gaze scanned the darkened woods before us, silent as a graveyard. What was also strange was that the Snow just ended here, didn’t fade into the forest at all, just finished. Right there. It’s like a perfect line - not a piece on the other side. As I raised my hand to the forest entry, it felt like a wave of heat rushed through. It was hot from the other side of the invisible line. When I raised my hand, my hand rested on the invisible wall - similar to the one I had in my dream when I met the little girl, Sora. However, this one, I couldn’t see. The only thing I understood was that it was hot. When my hand rested on that invisible wall, my hand instantly heated up - almost like lava. There was no lava on the other side or anything. I squinted and realized that it wasn’t shadows that consumed the forest before me - it was ash. I stared widely in amazement. Behind me were snow-covered trees, and even the Snow fluttered down slightly.
“Yushin? What is this place?” I asked him.
He also placed his hand on the wall before me, grabbing my other hand and pushing through the wall and into the heat-filled woods. As I step into the Underworld Forest, I am immediately struck by the thick smog that fills the air, making breathing difficult. The ground is covered in black ash, and the trees are twisted and gnarled, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. The heat is oppressive, and I can feel it weighing down on me, making me sweat profusely.
Looking up, I see the sky is a dull red-orange, casting an ominous glow over the entire landscape. I take a deep breath and continue walking, my footsteps crunching on the charred remains of brush that litter the forest floor. It was silent, though, just pure quiet. It was almost peaceful.
Despite the bleakness of the forest, I felt drawn to it, and I found myself wanting to explore its depths further. I was curious, but I was also interested. This must’ve been a different part of the underworld, separate from Asturdorm. How could it change in thin air as though it were a completely different realm? Perhaps it was. I went to ask Yushin what this area was, but as soon as I did, he covered my mouth instantly. His gaze narrowed as he looked directly into my eyes. However, Yushin looked… Different? I could tell it was him, but he was different. He didn’t look human, wasn’t in his owl shapeshift, but… He sprouted horns and a tail, his clothes twisted into something the color of the fire that would’ve overran this forest. The intensity of his eyes burning brightly like the stars above. Yellow with a spark of red shimmered in those eyes that shifted into something more of an almond shape rather than his round eyes.
You mustn’t speak here.
What?! I replied, giving him a cold glare. I ripped my arms away from him, threw them up in the air, and tried to push back through the wall. But as I did so, the wall’s heat intensity grew hotter, making it feel like my hands had instantly caught on fire. When I was about to let out a yelp, Yushin quickly covered my mouth again and motioned for me to be silent. I swallowed the pain that was beginning to form in my throat, and I nodded.
You could’ve told me before I let you drag me through the portal of fire. And why is it so hot here?!
Yushin’s gaze grew soft as he locked with mine and smiled. For fun?
Anger brimmed inside me at his response. I glared at him once more before turning my attention back to those surrounding me. My gaze flickered between the trees, drawing in their skeleton-like fingers. I took every aspect of this forest and noticed it was completely dead. The ash was thick, making it harder for me to breathe. My face twisted into a frown as my scan came to an end, landing back on the spirit walker next to me. I pointed to the horns on his head and questioned him.
Why do you have horns?
Demon form - makes it more bearable in these parts of the underworld.
Demon Form. I remember the little knowledge I had learned from one of the spell books I was learning from Astaroth. If I recall correctly, it was considered an expert-level spell. He told me if I were to ever summon my ‘inner’ demon, I’d be consumed by it. I’m unsure what he meant when he said that, but I guess it wouldn’t be good.
What about me? I demanded, pointing to the area my lungs were in.
Hm… I guess you’ll just have to be ok with breathing the air. The man shrugged.
Excuse me? I may die. This stuff is thick, and it hurts.
You’ve died before. What’s once more?
“Yushin!” I snapped out loud, instantly regretting that my voice sounded.
The spirit walker completely froze and turned to me almost immediately, giving me the coldest side eye I’ve ever received from anyone.
Really? He asked me, obvious irritation in his thoughts that floated over to mine.
Within seconds of my loud voice hitting the smog-filled air, I could hear significant rustling and low growling sounds as if some creature were nearby. The sound around came from numerous directions and not just one. Multiple noises began to sound around us, all a low growl and rumbling noise. But the smog and the ash were too thick to see anything. I pushed closer to Yushin, still afraid that I didn’t have much training regarding magic. I knew how to defend myself with a weapon, but since I was knocked out by Mundus, my dagger had gone missing. It had broken in the fight, but I had not seen the blade or the jewel anywhere. I knew one spell, and that was very faint to me. I put my hands up as if they were going to do much against some kind of underworld demon of hell.
Yushin held up his hand, and white light emitted from it; he held it up towards the air and occasionally whipped his hand around to try and get a better light of what was around us. “I told you, you were loud, Snow,” He muttered quietly under his breath.
“This could’ve been avoided if you shared the information before throwing me into a different realm!”
“It’s not a different realm…” He sighed.
“REGARDLESS!” I snapped at him.
“Stop being so damn loud,” Yushin muttered once more, holding the flame of light up a bit more. “Now, hush so I can focus, please.”
I was about to speak again, but the look on his face was genuine. He was as concerned as I was, and I knew he felt nervous. Something about his emotions swept into mine, similar to what Kurai and I had before being practically killed by Mundus. I could still feel a little of the nogitsune’s emotions, but not as strong as I had once before. Though Yushin’s emotions were different - they felt more assertive, he actually had fear and something else… Something that felt like guilt? He was nervous and scared.
“Your fear isn’t helping my confidence, Yushin,” I said quietly.
“And your voice isn’t helping our situation,” He replied with a bit of a snappy attitude.
I could hear voices beginning to sound around me again, nearly screaming at me. These were the same voices I had heard since waking up from the stasis. I could never make out what they were saying, but they were loud voices, getting louder by the second. The voices made my head spin. I did everything possible to block them out, but they weren’t letting me go.
“Yushin,” I murmured, covering my ears tightly. It almost felt like they were bleeding; that’s how loud and scratchy the voices were, and it hurt. “I don’t know what we’re doing here, but it hurts,” I told him. The noises of whatever beasts were around me were gone, and I couldn’t hear them. It had all been replaced by the voices surrounding me and blaring in my ears. It hurt so much that I could feel the pain growing stronger by the second.
“Ha-hang on!” Yushin’s voice barely sounded.
The feeling in my stomach began to claw its way back up, causing it to churn painfully as the voices grew louder by the second. My entire body twisted in pain as if something were literally trying to come out. I began to feel a heat form, staring in my stomach and making its way slowly throughout my body. It felt as though my body was shifting. Between the agonizing screams in my ears and the agonizing pain in my stomach, I had no idea what was happening. I was scared, and I could feel my tears begin to form.
I barely opened my eyes to see nothing but shadows around me. Yushin’s light even disappeared from my sight. Was my sight impaired as well? My hands fell from my head to the ground, and I could feel the hot ash underneath my hands when I felt a sharp pain burst through my back, almost as though my skin was being split open. Heat as intense as the wall my hands pressed against, that fire was swallowing my body. Gripping the ash, I felt just everything being ripped through my body, and I gritted my teeth in pain. I was being overcome with heat and pain.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Snow? Yushin, what the hell are you doing here?!” A voice barely splitting through the loud surrounding voices. “Are you fucking stupid?”
I ended up lying down in the ash, my body uncontrollable as it began to spasm a little. I could feel whatever was in me start to claw its way up and take over my body, the pain beginning to disappear and be replaced with absolutely nothing. This started with my feet, but the agonizing pain throughout the rest of my body grew more assertive. The multiple voices began to form into one voice, a female’s voice that was deep and speaking words I’d never heard of before. The female’s voice was the only voice I began to hear, and her words escaped my mouth - these enchantments, or whatever it was. I could feel the pain throughout my body, beginning to fade from the tip of my hands and moving slowly to my chest. The pain grew excruciating towards my chest, and the heat grew stronger there as well.
“She wasn’t ready, and your dumbass brought her here?”
At this point, the words that escaped my mouth were words I couldn’t understand or even comprehend why I was saying them. I was no longer in control of my own body, but I could still feel the pain that lingered in my chest.
“Get her out of here, now!”
I could feel it, the presence of something sinister trying to take control over my body. It started with a subtle feeling of unease, a sensation that someone was watching me. Then, it progressed to the point where I could feel something moving inside me, trying to take over. I fought as hard as I could against it, trying to reclaim control over my own body. But it was like trying to hold back a tidal wave. The more I resisted, the stronger it grew. I could feel it trying to push me aside, to take over completely. It took over nearly my entire body but my heart, which continued to beat. That’s the only sound I heard after a few moments - once the whispers ended. And then, all of a sudden, I felt it. A shift in the balance of power. I was gaining control, pushing the thing back. It was like a wave of relief washed over me. I was in control again. I lay there for a few moments, catching my breath and feeling the power of my own body pulsing through me.
My vision began to come back into perspective, and I could feel my fingers tingling with the warmth that flowed through my body. A rush of air hit me, and I breathed every second of the clean air, filling my lungs as I came back to reality, now breathing heavily. Still sweating, I gazed around. I was in a circle of light, sitting next to Yushin, who just glanced over his shoulder at me, grinning widely. “You did it, Snow!” He chirped.
Confused, I looked around at the ball of light. On the other side of the ball of light that engulfed us was a shifting shade of sandstorm whisking around us. Occasionally, I could see a couple of faces of some kind blur up to the ball of light, but whatever Yushin was doing, it was keeping us safe.
“What did I do?” I asked him.
“Snow, what the hell are you doing here with him?!” The second voice scared me to the point where the ball of light began to flicker in and out.
“No, no, no, stay focused please, don’t pay attention to him, focus on me, help me,” Yushin said.
I glanced at the man next to me, his familiar warm gaze of amber staring back at me with worry. He was down on one knee, a reassuring hand squeezing my shoulder and the other holding me upright. I felt nothing from him, no anxiety, no worry, no excitement - just a nullified emotion. I turned back to look at Yushin, silently cheering me on for whatever I did. My attention focused solely on the spirit walker, holding his hands up against the shadow menaces on the other side of the shield. Slowly, I pushed myself up off the ground and gazed around the shield of light - watching as the sandstorm of shadows engulfed it as best they could - but couldn’t penetrate through it. Ignoring Kurai, I asked Yushin if this was my doing.
Yushin, once more, smiled and replied, “You are - with a little bit of help. Reaper things, you’ll have full control of it one day. However, with my help, we made this shield exceptionally strong. Since Fox-boy decided to join us, he can get us to the other side of the land. Transform, fox-boy,” he demanded, motioning with a quick shake of his head towards the outside of the shield. “Move along, please. Take us across.”
Annoyed, Kurai lowered his gaze, which darkened slightly before blindly following directions from Yushin. Typically, he would never follow orders from a ‘lesser creature.’ I watched as the nogitsune stepped outside the spell shield I was somehow holding up. I didn’t feel any kind of magic flow through me, but perhaps I didn’t do this, but maybe the creature speaking through the whispers. The woman, whomever she may be, was pushing out all the pain and control from myself. My mind is not my own, and that worries me. What the hell happened while I was in stasis?
Outside the portal, the shadows began to dissipate into thin air. On the other side of that shield, I noticed Kurai had shifted into his large and powerful fox form, carrying the nine-tails that ‘saved me.’ The fox moved forward with a graceful stride, eyes scanning the darkness ahead. Anyone could see he was not afraid but agitated. I slowly began to walk after him, Yushin walking beside me and his hands dropping towards the ground again - but the shield held firmly and moved as we took a step.
As Kurai walked, the darkness seemed to retreat, pushed back by the warm glow of his fire. Shadows that had once been menacing and threatening now seemed to shrink away, cowering from the fox’s bright fire. And so he continued, his flame growing stronger with each step, illuminating the path ahead of him and pushing the shadows further away. It was as if the fox was used as a beacon of protection. And as he moved forward, he knew that he was lighting up the way not only for himself but for us as well, and continuously, he’d look over his shoulder at us.
I was amazed by the spell shield that surrounded us. There was no heat, and the air was crisp and clean. I reached for the top, wondering if it expanded depending on where I put my hand or body. When I reached the top of the shield, I could feel the heat covering the outside, but keeping it on the outside rather than allowing any heat on the inside.
“I’d recommend keeping your hands on the inside of the shield. This area only gets hotter as we walk further,” Yushin’s voice explained gently.
“Yushin, do you enjoy putting me in danger?” I questioned him, crossing my arms as we walked after Kurai.
“I don’t put you in danger, but I do test your limits,” He replied casually as if nothing about that question bothered him. “You are the Reaper; you will encounter many unexpected situations; my job is to bring out your best potential.”
“By almost killing me?”
“You did it, did you not?”
A gentle sigh escaped me, and I gently rubbed the side of my arm. “Yushin,” I glanced towards the firefox before us, “Something strange happened.”
“Strange? I heard you speak a few demonic wor-”
“Demonic?” I echoed.
“Yes, most spells here in the underworld are spoken in demonic since you are part reaper and part demon. You’ve gone over a few spells with Astaroth before. I’m not sure how many, but regardless,” Yushin replied. He looked around the spell shield, “And whatever you did, you did it well and powerfully,” He complimented me, flashing a small smile.
Stupid actions on his part. Kurai’s voice crept into my head.
I glanced ahead at the fox, and for a moment, we locked eyes, and I could see his fiery eyes swirling around as he guided us. Well, I’m alive and not hurt, I replied to him before returning my attention to Yushin. “I don’t feel as though I’m casting the spell. The last time I cast a spell, I could feel a course of magic rush through me, but this time, nothing,” I told him.
Yushin nodded, “Which can happen if your magic is a bit more powerful than we have imagined,” he glanced at me and then froze for a second. This also caused me to freeze, and he stared into my eyes, tilting his head and making a strange face. “Interesting…” He murmured gently.
His freezing made me freeze, especially when he was staring directly at me. I instantly felt a bit nervous as I stared back at him. What was it? Was something wrong with my face, my eyes, my hair?
“Snow, your eyes are purple, yes? A light purple…?”
“That’s r-right,”
“Do you… wear contacts?”
“No?” I questioned, frowning.
“Your left eye… It’s red. A bright red,” He put his finger just above my eyebrow and traced something, “And you… Have… A marking?” Holding his hand in my face, a tiny little puff of smoke appeared with what looked like a rough mirror.
Reflecting back from the mirror, I stared at my face that didn’t look like mine. It was still pale as always, but a strange mark, similar to the one that sat on my side - looking like Kurai’s demon mark but slightly different. Kurai’s mark always looked fire-related or identical to the sun - but this was different. It was extremely faint and barely recognizable. It seemed to only be a half mark of some kind. The main concern was my used-to-be purple eye turning a bright red, as he described. When I gasped, the small mirror he was producing disappeared, as did the shield around me, which caused an instant heat to hit me again and the whisper to return to me, but not as loud as it was a few moments ago.
When Kurai noticed the shield fell, the fire fox quickly returned to us. It ran in my direction, glancing around the shadows that began to come back towards us. I didn’t move. I was in a slight state of panic. What the hell was on my face?! I ran my fingers over my face but didn’t feel anything - nothing was raised, and nothing felt funky.
“We have to go!” Kurai’s low fox grumble sounded. He began to tug at my sleeve, but I wouldn’t budge.
“Kurai is right; we need to get out of here,” Yushin said, slightly pushing me.
My heart was beating when the massive fox demon suddenly lifted me off the ground. His sharp claws dug into the fabric of my coat, lifting me up and throwing me onto his back in one fluid motion. I gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of me, but before I could fully process what was happening, Kurai had taken off running into the smog-filled forest. I clung on for dear life, my fingers gripping the demon’s thick fur tightly. I could feel the fur texture beneath my fingers, the strands coarse and prickly against my skin. Kurai’s muscles rippled and flexed powerfully beneath me, propelling us forward at an incredible speed. Despite the chaos and danger of the situation, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement at the surreal experience, even if it was just for a moment. This was incredible. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering where Yushin had disappeared. The wind was hot against my skin, tiny little ash falling on my face.
Keep down. Kurai’s voice echoed inside my head.
My gaze scanned over the large fox below me as I watched his gorgeous fur ripple through the wind as he continued his hot pursuit. My grip tightened as I leaned down and buried my face into his soft, fluffy fur. To my surprise, he wasn’t warm, nor were his flames all that hot. Honestly, his flames didn’t bother me at all. They had no heat coming from them. I knew they were real as they lit the entire path before us.
I held onto Kurai as tight as possible as he continued through this ash-filled forest. I turned my head to the side, glancing into the ash-filled woods. As I did so, I saw something blue rippling in and out of the trees. Doing my best to focus, I realized Yushin had taken flight in his owl form, his wings flapping quickly as he dodged the trees and bushes and then suddenly flew up toward the red-orange sky. My gaze followed him as best it could as his grace took him gently through the sky above. Above, though, I noticed no darkness - nothing chasing him like Kurai and me.
We’re almost there; just hang on. Just.. A few more feet.
My gaze traveled back from Yushin high in the sky to the dark, smoggy, dead forest. I watched the shadows consume the area before suddenly being pulled through a jello-like wall. It was the most awkward feeling I’ve ever felt, touching my skin and making it crawl. “Gross,” I muttered as we stopped on the other side of the jello-like wall. I could feel Kurai’s body heave in and out, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He then flopped to the ground, transforming back into his usual self and leaving me to fall out of thin air and onto my butt on the floor. “Ow,” I muttered, landing with a thud.
Yushin’s owl landed beside me, and he immediately transformed, cheering as he did so. “Man, what a rush!” He exclaimed. “I can’t believe we just made it through there! That’s incredible!”
Kurai tried to speak but was still trying to catch his breath. “You’re… Dead… When… I recover,” He said. The man lay flat on his back between breaths, his clothes covered in ash.
“Does anyone want to explain to me what in the hell just happened?!” I snapped at them, giving them both cold glares.
Yushin turned to me, nodding quickly with a small smile. “You just crossed Lejithas, a plane of ash and dust. It’s a field of silence and ruled by Ozakol, and you survived!”
Kurai, finally recovered, sat up straight and stared at the spirit walker menacingly. “Why did you think bringing her here was such a great idea? We had this discussion. She isn’t ready.”
“You’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Kurai. She is beyond ready - as she’s been ready for the past 3 years that you took to get your damn tails,” Yushin argued, standing his ground against him. “Did you not see the powers she finesses? She is the Reaper. What do you not understand about that?! She has powers beyond your imagination and is ready to use them.”
“She knows nothing yet!” He snapped, glaring at him with a cold stare.
“Nothing?” I repeated, feeling rather saddened he said that. My heart sank. I know Kurai’s been busy, but I didn’t think he thought of me that way.
“You almost died in there, Snow,” Kurai pointed towards the field behind me.
I slowly turned around, gazing into the darkness protected by the invisible wall. I could see the shadowy faces dancing along the wall and trying to escape, but unable to escape.
“But she didn’t, you know why? Because her body is ready for the underworld - finally. She is ready to be unleashed.”
“Did you not hear the comments from Astaroth? She will be consumed, Yushin. That demon will overrun her fragile human mindset,” Kurai’s loud voice rumbled and echoed in my ears. I wasn’t sure why he was being so rude toward me. The other day, he was extremely kind and told me he was grateful and thankful that I was back. But today? What was so different about today than the previous Kurai?
“Astaroth knows she’s ready,” Yushin defended his point. “Her demon is a protection mechanism-”
“That will completely take over her body, and you will no longer have Snow or a reaper!”
“I will because I know Snow. I know her mother-”
“You knew her mother. Her mother is dead. We don’t need Snow dead, too.”
Yushin’s face contorted with disgust as he recoiled from Kurai’s comment. His eyes widened in surprise, and his mouth hung open slightly as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Yushin’s usually calm and composed demeanor was thrown entirely off by Kurai’s words, and he seemed to be struggling to find the proper response. Despite his shock, however, Yushin managed to maintain a sense of dignity, his posture remaining straight and his expression stern. He stood up straight. “You know something, Kurai?” His voice, low and full of hatred, “You think you’re so damn strong. Just because you suddenly have nine-tails that you traded for,”
“Traded?” I suddenly interrupted their conversation and turned to face the two bickering men. “Traded? What do you mean, traded? I thought... I thought you went training for those tails?”
Kurai’s amber eyes narrowed as he glared at Yushin, his face twisting into a scowl. His fists clenched at his sides, and he felt a surge of anger rise up within him. He couldn’t believe that Yushin had just blurted out one of his most closely guarded secrets without regard for his privacy. Kurai did not show any signs of remorse as his flames heated up. “You little-”
I instantly cut him off, walking over to Yushin’s side and standing beside him with my arms crossed. “What did you… Trade?” I asked Kurai, my voice quavering towards the end.
“I…” Kurai fumbled with words as he quickly looked for an answer. His black and white fox ears quickly flattened backward against his ruffled black hair, and his eyes flickered with worry. “I… It’s nothing - don’t worry about it. The good thing is that you’re back with me and safe.”
“But you just said I wasn’t safe,” I said, catching him. “You just said I knew nothing? I, apparently, don’t know anything because I had no idea you traded these last 3 years for three tails of strength in response!”
“I’m a demon, Snow. Demons do a lot of stupid things. A-a-and you are safe, really! You’re just a lot safer in Asturdorm than out here in search of the 13 portals,” Kurai’s voice was highly uncertain with his response, and it sounded as though he had more to tell than what he was saying. However, his words weren’t prominent when he spoke, and his voice went back and forth between his average and nervous pitch.
“Kurai, I’m not sure why you lied and continue to lie to me… I thought… I thought we were closer to sharing these things with one another,” I murmured as I turned my back to him. “Go home, please. I will be fine, thanks.” I began to walk off in the direction that we were headed, holding my arms close to my body as I could feel my body ache with sadness and pain.
“Snow, you don’t understand!” Kurai called after me, running after me. He jumped in front of me, back in his fox form, staring down at me.
His fox form was impressive, and he was such a tall creature. I avoided his gaze and shook my head, “It’s fine, Kurai. This is my duty, as the Reaper - I will become what the underworld needs.” I side-stepped around the large fox and continued off in my path, but once more, he stopped me.
Kurai’s warm nose pushed through the small gap in the armpit. I could see his nose twitch as he spoke, “I promised to tell you everything, but I don’t think you need to go out there. These lands are unknown to a lot of demons - including myself.”
“I’m not a demon,” Yushin said boldly, coming up on my other side. “I am the Underworld’s Spirit Guide, and I know the underworld better than you ever will.” His voice was cold and unlike Yushin at all. I could feel the spirit walker’s anger rising in him and his confidence during this situation - much better than the fear I felt from him in Lejithas.
“Kurai,” I murmured, pulling away from the large fox again, “Go home.” My voice was more stern and trembling with a bit of hurt. I closed my eyes, feeling a slight pain rush through me, mostly near my head and the eye that was now a different color.
“I can’t leave you here with him-”
“I said leave me alone,” I snarled, gripping my arms tighter.
“I’m not leaving,” The fox said, standing up straight and towering over me as if intimidating. I locked gazes with him, searching his eyes for something. For that little spark of hope, but I couldn’t find it. “I have to protect my human.”
I shoved past him immediately, shoving him with my shoulder and retaking a step. I was brimming with anger when he said that. I hated that, and I’ve told him that already since I was awoken. “Don’t expect me to say a single word to you then.” Taking the lead to wherever the hell I was going, I just walked away from him, back against the fox continuously.
Yushin took one last glance at the fox demon, smirked, and then walked off after me, leaving Kurai alone behind us. The spirit walker fell into step with me, taking the slight lead wherever we went. “We will set up camp here in a little while. I’m sure you’re tired. Outside of Asturdorm, my magic isn’t as strong. So, I do apologize for having to walk everywhere right now. If you need someone to carry you, I’ve got it.” He said with a soft chuckle.
Ignoring him, I simply shook my head and continued on the path.
Lejithas - A plane of ash and dust. It’s a field of silence and ruled by Ozakol. The creatures that rule this land are blind (besides the dragon, Ozakol.) Ozakol is a large black and red dragon that does not speak human but only demonic. A part of the underworld, but rules as a separate underworld for specific creatures. They do not commune with any of the other rulers of the underworld.
