Dungeon Master 6

by Eric Vall

  I didn’t know much about nine-tailed foxes, but from what I did, they were known to be seductresses, who would lure men into the dark forest to consume their bodies and souls. I’d never encountered them in my lifetime, and from what I’d heard, a lot of the spirit-type beings died off once humans revolutionized weapons. She was the last of her kind, trapped in a place she didn’t know, and for a moment, I felt an ounce of pity for her.

  In a way, we were similar as I’d been trapped in my dungeon for thousands of years without knowing what was happening in the outside world until my minions released me. I thought that we could be that for her, maybe she lured us here to release her from her own personal hell. I could send the being to the spirit world if that was what she wanted, and the process was fairly easy. I wouldn’t kill her though, the Underworld and the spirit realm were two different places, and it made me wonder how long she’d been gone from her home.

  Was she sent here for a reason like I was in my dungeon? The spirit realm was much different from the god’s realm, and I’d only peeked into that place a few times out of pure curiosity.

  “I wouldn’t call it trapped, more like banished from the only place I’ve ever called home,” the Kitsune whispered, and the sound rustled through the leaves above our heads like a breeze rushing past. “Kind of like your Master, but he has the earth to roam over, where would I go? The times of spirits and rituals are over, aren’t I right, Dark One? No one fears or respects gods and spirits like they once did in our times. They used to fear us, maybe me not as much as you but there was still fear in their voices when they spoke of the waif women who ran through the forests as a beast and stepped foot in towns as full-bodied women.”

  “Then what do you want us to do, huh?” Rana asked as she stepped forward and placed her closed fists on her hips. “If you’ve been banished from the spirit realm, then you can’t go back, right? So you’re stuck here, what else can we do for you?”

  The bushes to the right of me rustled loudly, and this time, I knew it was the being showing herself. The being emerged slowly, first her long and pointed face that in a way resembled a canine. Her dark, burnt umber eyes were slanted and heavily lined with black that gave her a feline look to her. When her ruby red lips parted, her teeth were pointed and sharp like a predator’s, and she gazed over at us from the corner of her intimidating eyes.

  Her long hair was white as snow like Morrigan’s and blew back from her shoulders in waves. Her bangs were slashed straight across her eyebrows and gave a mysterious look about her. Her skin was as pale as milk and looked buttery to the touch as she walked into the clearing. She wore a cream-colored robe cinched at the waist with cherry blossoms painted down the back. Her paws were small and dainty as she held them out at her sides.

  She emerged from the brush slowly, and as she did, nine luxurious snow white tails followed after her. They spread out and waved behind her slowly like cat-tails bobbing in the wind.

  The nine-tailed fox was tall, taller than any of my women and willowy. She turned and moved towards us as she brought her paws in front of her and folded them respectfully. The being looked into each of our faces one by one then she settled upon Rana. Her ruby colored lips spread into a smile as her burnt umber eyes fluttered closed, and she bent forward in a bow. Rana’s eyes widened for a moment as she stared down at the second fox and I watched both of them. My two women, Rana and Carmedy, had explained it to me multiple times how human-animal hybrids came to be, but it took the redhead a moment to realize what I already knew. This was her link to the entire lineage of the fox people, not this nine-tailed fox specifically, but the fox spirits of this world were the reason people like Rana existed. Children born from the fox spirit women and human men in the towns they frequented, all of it trickled down and created Rana’s people.

  “You’re so beautiful.” Carmedy breathed as she pressed her paws to her chest, and the fox spirit smiled kindly as she closed her eyes.

  “Thank you. I was about to say the very same thing about all of you,” the white-haired fox said in a soothing, undulating voice.

  “Do you have a name we could call you?” Rana asked after she finally found her voice and the nine-tailed fox’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  “My name? You wish to know it?” the being asked as she took a tentative step towards us, and the same smell from below washed over us through this time it wasn’t as pungent. “I haven’t used the name for thousands of years, but they once called me Kukan, do you know what that name means?”

  “No.” all of my minions answered at once, and Kukan nodded slowly, almost sadly.

  “Lady of the Void. Do you know what nine-tailed foxes do?” the white-haired fox asked Rana specifically as she looked deeply in the redhead’s eyes.

  “No, I’ve never heard of them before,” Rana answered in a whisper.

  “We were known to be tricksters, we played, we entrapped, and we consumed the souls of men. We were feared and took towns by storm as we entranced each and every man within our reach.” Kukan murmured as she stroked her cheek with her pointer finger.

  “Is that what you did with the pirates?” Morrigan inquired with furrowed brows, and the nine-tailed fox’s eyes swiveled to her.

  “A semblance of what I used to be able to do, I’m quite proud that I can call them across the sea like that, but nothing compares to what I used to be able to do.” The white-haired fox stated sadly as she let her paws drop and cupped her elbows in the palms of her hands. “I used to do it for fun, it was tantalizing to watch a man fall for my wiles, but now, it’s for survival. You see where I am now, in the middle of the godforsaken ocean where very little life exists, I am on the brink of death, each and every day that no new pirates arrive.”

  “Why were you banished?” I questioned as I looked into her beautiful face.

  There was no denying that the nine-tailed fox was alluring, and when I looked at her, my heart longed to touch her porcelain skin. I pulled myself away from that feeling, and her dark orange eyes met mine for a split-second. I could tell that she meant no harm by it, that was simply in her nature. She had no desire to entrap me from her mannerisms, it was just what came to her naturally.

  “I was but not in the way you’re thinking. I wasn’t sent away like your Master once was,” Kukan told us in her sultry, undulating voice as she looked into each of our faces. “Humans began killing us for sport, spirits could no longer coincide with humans. Many of my kind fled but were caught in traps and snares specifically made for spirits. My people are gone, I am the last of my kind. If I returned to the spirit realm, I would be the only one remaining.”

  “Do you want to return home, even if you’re the only one of your kind left?” Carmedy asked in a hiccupping voice as she struggled to keep the emotion down.

  “Yes, it’s the only place I can think about. I’ve modeled my sanctuary after it, it’s calm and comforting but deep in my heart, I know it’s not the same,” Kukan admitted as she gestured towards the trees and greenery around us. “But I did get to see something I never expected…”

  “What’s that?” the redhead asked as her eyes narrowed, and Kukan’s expression broke as she grinned down at the fox.

  “You. The product of all our struggles, the lineage that my sisters and I passed down for thousands of years,” the nine-tailed fox purred happily as she preened over Rana. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when a fox made it across the sea to me. I wish my sisters could see you, I’ve dreamed of this day for most of my life. You, a fox, part human, part spirit, found your way across the ocean to me. I’m one of your ancestors, a living and breathing fossil of proof that the spirits once walked the earth amongst the humans, and you, proof that we once existed and thrived. It hurts my heart to look at you, but I am grateful to the sun and stars that I’m seeing you now, right before I beg to be released. I can go happily now.”

  “What do you mean?” Rana asked as she shook her head and stepped closer to the pale fox-woman. “What does a
ll of this mean? I’m just… a street-rat, begging and stealing. I’m not some ethereal being made up of stardust or anything impressive like that. I’m just a mongrel, scrounging for scraps in the street. I’m nothing…like you. We may be foxes, but there is no way we’re related. You’re like the goddesses I’ve seen depicted in paintings and tapestries and I’m… I’m…”

  “Part of the lineage too.” I finally said as I looked deeply into Rana’s baby-blue eyes. “You may not want to accept it, but you are part of her just as much as she’s a part of you. The fox spirit lives within you, you say that you’re nothing but a street-rat, running from the law but doesn’t that embody the fox spirit perfectly?”

  Chapter Nine

  “You are part of the Kitsune tribe, born a part of it and will die a part of it,” Kukan stated as she stared straight forward into Rana’s eyes. “As I said before, I am the last of my kind, and seeing you here, sensing your presence out on the ocean was like a dream come true. I wanted to bring you here and see you in person before I die.”

  “Y-you’re dying?” Carmedy cried as she clasped her paws tightly together and stepped forward towards the Kitsune.

  The pale woman’s brown eyes swiveled to the feline as her lips pulled back into a smile. The nine-tailed fox looked thoroughly surprised at the feline’s reaction as her snow-white tails fluttered in a sweltering breeze. She was absolutely stunning without trying, I knew for a fact that this wasn’t the face that she showed to the pirates or any other man that happened to fall into her trap. This was Kukan’s true form, and it was remarkable. Her white hair fluttered down to her waist completely straight, and when she tilted her head at me curiously, her fluffy ears twitched. I wondered what she looked like to them in the moments before they stepped off the foundation into the vortex, what types of mirages and illusions of women she showed them to tempt them over the edge. When her animalistic eyes met mine, she gave me a half smile like she understood my thoughts perfectly.

  “In a way, yes,” Kukan nodded to the petite alchemist and tears sprang to Carmedy’s eyes. “My ties to the spirit realm are fading quickly, like red strings leading me home being cut one by on. I’ve been here for too long and if I stay much longer, I’ll never be able to return.”

  “Is that why you called us? Called to our Master?” Morrigan asked, and the two white-haired women eyed each other.

  “In a way, yes, I could feel the presence of a god, but I could also sense out the lifeblood of another Kitsune. I had to see her before I faded to nothing but since you are a god…” Kukan trailed off as she turned, placed her hands behind her back, and looked me straight in the eye. “Can you send me home? To the spirit realm where I will rest for all of eternity as the last Kitsune. That is my final wish, to reside in my true home and not this fabricated copy I’ve fashioned to comfort myself.”

  “What happens if Master refuses and you stay here?” Rana asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and leveled her baby-blue eyes at the Kitsune.

  “I will revert to my natural form, an animal with a conscious mind. I’ll be trapped on this island for the rest of my body’s natural life, and when I die, nothing will become of my soul. It will slip between the fingers of the heavens and be passed on to nothing.” Kukan told us as her pale paws brushed at her hair then tightened the cream colored robe around her waist.

  “T-that’s so sad!” Carmedy sniffled as she rubbed at her eyes then the feline turned to me. “Master, can’t you help her?”

  I looked at the Kitsune, and her strange, entrancing eyes never left mine the entire time I stared her down. She was a powerful being, though not a god. I’d never taken powers from someone other than gods, and I wasn’t entirely sure that I could take whatever she offered.

  Her power was immense, strong enough to create this entire structure and the miniature forest on top of it from practically nothing. Her seduction power was astounding, she’d taken over the minds of the pirate’s before we’d even entered the cove, but I didn’t know if that was a power that I could use. The Kitsune’s eyes glinted knowingly as if she could read my mind and turned away from us. The nine-tailed fox stared at me from the corner of her eye and took a step.

  My eyes widened in surprise, and all of my minion’s gasped loudly from behind me. The Kitsune transformed before our eyes, and each step she took, her body and face shifted into that of another beautiful woman. Each change came gradually as her features shrank or stretched into a new person, but the eyes, the burnt umber color stayed the same as she looked into my face. The robe and her eyes were the only things that remained unchanged, her limbs stretched and shrank as she pulled other women’s faces and bodies out of thin air. Right as she was far enough away from us and her nine tails obscured her from view, she turned suddenly, and Rana took a sharp inhale. When the Kitsune turned back, she’d transformed once more, but this time she looked like the redhead’s twin.

  Kukan stepped forward, and the robe fluttered around her small frame that matched Rana’s perfectly. Even the white tails fluttering around her transformed to the same color and length as Rana’s, and they shivered and shook like the redhead’s when she was excited.

  “I have many things to offer, you are a god, this I know, and you are capable of creating multiple avatars to store your essence in but do you have the ability to change your appearance by will completely?” the Kitsune asked in a purring tone, her voice sounded like Rana’s but it was off by the smallest detail. “Can you slip into the in-between without ruffling the curtains of reality? You know how Cronos likes to keep a watchful eye on those who step in between realities, but what if you could move without him noticing?”

  “What does the god of time have to do with this, Kukan?” I asked with a furrowed brow, and finally, the Kitsune morphed back into her own body as she smiled sweetly to me.

  “Don’t you know?” Kukan simpered as her lips pulled back against her pointed teeth in a wicked smile. “I may not be a god, but I’m closely tied to the god’s realm. They’ve placed Cronos at the opened sanctum, if you can slip into the in-between like me, then…you can waltz right past him into the heavens…unnoticed.”

  “And all you ask for in return is to be released into the spirit realm?” I questioned, and the Kitsune’s reddish-orange eyes burned with a feverish intensity.

  “I want to go home, I wish to visit my mother’s resting place in the beyond, and I wish to nest down beside her,” Kukan whispered back, and from the emotion painted across her face, I knew this was what she desperately wanted.

  I gripped the haft of the God Slayer in both hands as I prepared to do what the Kitsune asked. The nine-tailed fox didn’t ask for death as the Tichádáma did, but instead, she’d asked to be released into another realm. The Underworld and the spirit realm were two different places; no human soul could step foot into the spirit realm while the Underworld was primarily used for human souls. I’d only released a few spirits in my lifetime, and I pooled my power into the mighty weapon. I breathed in deeply through my nostrils as I called all of my godly powers through my avatar’s body.

  I slammed the God Slayer down on the mossy ground, and the blades sprang to life. I stepped forward, and the Kitsune stepped backward with her paws held tightly to her chest. Her burnt, umber eyes stayed on me the entire time, but her smooth face remained calm. I pushed the polearm forward as the god’s language spilled from my lips and toppled into the air.

  Everything around us heated up, but this time it wasn’t from the Kitsune’s powers but mine. I brought the God Slayer up over my head and slashed downward into the air as I shouted. The air in front of me parted then wavered for a second as a portal opened. My minions squished together behind me and looked over my shoulders into the spirit realm. The tear in our reality stretched out before me, and I stared deep into the beyond that was the Kitsune’s rightful home. When I glanced over at her, her slanted, reddish-orange eyes brimmed with tears, and she cradled her elbows in her palms as she stifled back sobs. Kukan turned
to me as she took a few shuffling steps towards the great beyond and dropped her paws from her elbows. The nine-tailed fox placed a single paw over the middle of her chest then closed her eyes as she took a ragged breath.

  Kukan pulled her paw away from her chest and a swirling orb made from midnight blues and royal purples rested against her fingertips. It was the size of a grapefruit, and the nine-tailed fox gazed down at it for a moment before she offered it to me. Though the orb of power was smaller than the ones that I’d taken before, I could feel the pulse of her raw power all around us. I’d wager that the Kitsune was more powerful than a few of the gods we’d defeated in the past. The Kitsune spirits were ageless, a lot like gods in the heavens, and the older they grew, the stronger they became.

  I had to wonder how old Kukan really was, but I didn’t have the heart to ask. Our fingers brushed as I took the orb from her and held it close to my chest. Her power was electric and zapped at my fingers strongly as I pressed it to the middle of my chest. Once Kukan’s power absorbed into me, it felt as if I had lightning rushing through my entire body. I savored the feeling for a moment before it subsided into the cavity of my chest.

  When I looked back at Kukan, she’d taken a few steps closer to the portal into her lost world and folded her paws behind her back. Beyond the tore reality, I could see acres of forest, trees so high that I couldn’t even see the leaves or tops to them. Flowers and massive ferns bloomed and bobbed in a light breeze. As I stood there and looked inside, I could smell the distant scent of rain and moist earth. It was a comforting scent, and from the way the Kitsune’s ears twitched and her tails whipped through the air, I could tell she was dying to return home.

  Kukan glanced over her shoulder at me, and her snow-white hair parted, she wasn’t holding back the tears now as they streamed down her colorless cheeks. The nine-tailed fox gave me the softest of smiles as the surrounding air began to glimmer and shift like a mirage. Her paws fluttered down and undid the tie around her waist. The Kitsune let the robe fall away from her as she turned her back to us and took a single step towards the tear in our reality.