Fated Soil

The night air crackled with the embers of the bonfire. A cool summer breeze blew across the Bronze Lions as if nature itself was trying to calm our nerves.

The group was camping in the forest on the outside of the small rice village that was attacked by the beast a few nights prior. The villagers locked themselves away in their small wooden homes as a solemn silence blanketed the area.

Around the campfire sat the majority of the group, eating their travel rations of rice balls and jerky. Takato expects to find the beast that night and ensured we kept to a light dinner. Takato, Shoji, Kana, and I sat away from the group. We were in a circle facing each other, kneeling on the ground with their hands in different positions than each other. Our eyes were closed as rooty vines from our shokushin dug into the earth. The flowers around our bodies opened and closed repeatedly with a slow melodic beat and shone with colored light.

Inside of my mind, I saw a curtain of light and faint whispers begging for me to hear. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I could never hear them or see beyond the white veil. My eyes would physically flicker as I struggled against the wall of murmurs. Someone touches my shoulder gently and I take a deep breath. Misaki always watches us and takes notes on our meditation. With a deep breath, I focused on each exhale. Relaxing myself, I felt the murmurs become quieter, singular. For the first time, the first word from beyond reached me.

Danger.

Danger?  That word popped into my mind, repeating slowly but with increasing intensity. Just before I could not take the drumming any longer, it stopped. A soft flute melody rose in its' place and the white light dissolved. The physical world melted away and I felt like I was transported entirely. Could I return? Is this normal?

The image of wild, green fields appeared before me. A field of flowers and tall grass, soft blue sky, and a bright yet gentle sun. The sounds of a creek drummed along the harmony of insects and birds.

Before me stood... or rather floated a small human-like creature. It did not appear like the fairy Takato befriended as it did not have any wings. Its' skin was closer to bronze and appeared more metallic than flesh. It wore a blue wool vest and a long, triangular hat. Its' beard appeared to be bits of small silver and dark gray ore all around its' face.

The creature stuck out its' tiny hand towards me, "Howdy partner! My name is Garbhan!"

"Uh... hello?" I reached out my hand towards the little guy but just one claw was larger than his whole arm. That didn't stop the little thing but grabbing my claw and shaking it energetically. "My name is - "

"Makoto! I kno'. I was the one who calle' for you!"

"You did?"

"Yes yes! Almos' no one can arrive here withou' a lil' help!"

"And where is here? Why did you call for me?"

"Here is Fae! A worl' of spiri's! Our worl' is a very gentle, fun one! I hope you can come again. Bu' tha' depen's if you survive."

"Survive what?"

"You will see very soon! Tha' is why I calle' you. You mus' save Takato! He is well love' here! But... he will die soon. Very soon. Unless you save him!"

"Is it the demon we are hunting?! How can I save our captain?!"

"You mus' go into your soul and call for - "

The world around me instantly faded as my head was shoved. I rolled backwards against the dirt as my eyes quickly adjusted to the physical world. The sounds around me was chaotic. Yelling, voices.

"Makoto, quickly, get up!" Misaki yelled at my. She was standing nearby with her rifle pointing towards the forest. An attack?!

I lurched onto my back and jumped onto my feet. Misaki handed me my halberd, "I think the beast attacked, but it was not like was described. It was not a ghostly, flaming skull. It was a monstrous icy wolf."

"Could it be two demons?!"

"Either the cult learned how to summon two at once or the information was bad! Amongst our research in the City of Alqadima, two would be unprecedented!"

"Damn cult!" Makoto spat as he watched the forest, waiting. Takato and the others have woken up and gotten ready. Two of the group around the campfire were already badly injured. The fur on their torsos and faces were frozen over, with patches completely fallen off, revealing purpled flesh, and one had a large chunk of his shoulder torn off.

Takato shouted out, "We don't have the right dust! We need to retreat! Shoji, lead the rescue and retreat! Makoto, Misaki, Yoshitaka, Jiro, Souma, we will guard the retreat!"

Shoji immediately led the others into retrieving the injured two and hurrying to the south. However, before they could break out of the area of the campfire, the wolf lurched from the shadows. The beast seemed to have manifested from the shadows itself as it bit into Shoji's neck before grabbing another and dashing back into the darkness of the forest. The wolf was over 300 centimeters tall, blue-white fur, and frosty air flowing off of its' body and breath. How can it hide with such a massive, conspicuous body?

Another picked up Shoji from the ground and swung Shoji's arms over his shoulders. They continued towards the edge of the forest back to the village, the exit just in sight. Then another attack. Three more went down in a blink as the wolf grabbed a fourth. Misaki reacted quicker and fired multiple rounds of lightning at the wolf. One hit the wolf's belly, forcing it to drop the woman in its' mouth.

"Charge! We fight to survive!" Takato exclaimed. Takato charged at the wolf and thrust his axe at its' leg. The wolf tried to dodge but Takato's axe had a lucky clip and knocked the wolf over as the blade cut half of its' paw. Takato took another swing down but large spikes of ice burst from the ground and air around the wolf, forcing Takato to retreat.

I, Yoshitaka, and Jiro blocked the ice that thrusted at us but the ice impaled Souma in the gut. Misaki swapped out the canister in her rifle to dust that was fire attuned. She fired multiple bullets of fire that exploded against the ice. I grabbed my pistol and fired my own fire bullets. Behind the melted ice stood the wolf, its' injured paw frozen over.

Takato stepped forward with his fairy friend on his shoulder. "Please, Cathan, save my family."

The wolf clashed with us for a few moments. Our blades and fiery bullets colliding with its' ice and claws. Cathan shot lightning from every direction but the wolf was too fast. Slowly, everyone was brought down. Bloody, frozen, or worse.

All that was left was Captain Takato, his fur turning brittle from the frost, Misaki who can barely move with the freezing air and her cold-blood, Yoshitaka who can barely stand, and I. Cathan floated erratically in the air with one wing missing. The wolf stood before us, snarling and largely uninjured.

"Takato.. I'm sorry. We tried. We tried to save you." Cathan said.

"It's ok Cathan. Mercenary work is dangerous. We knew this could happen. Thank you for standing with me to the end, my friend." With a wave of his hand, Takato forcefully sent Cathan back. "Makoto, I leave the rest to you. Carry our will on and end these attacks."

"Captain, why are you talking like you're dead?!" Misaki shouted. I gritted my teeth as Garbhan flashed in my mind.

Takato closed his eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath. The wolf lunged towards Takato, its' teeth aimed for Takato's neck. Takato activated the last of the dust in his axe and hurled it. The blade spun as lightning flicked across the air. The wolf stopped and ducked underneath the axe but the lightning lashed out against the beast's back. With a yelp, the beast collapsed to the ground. A shield of ice spikes formed all around the wolf again.

Takato clapsed a fist inside of his other hand. The flowers around his eyes shone with an intense light that flowed down and throughout his body. The shokushin plant itself started to become visible through the metal and fabric over it. Pulsing with white light over Takato's solar plexus, the plant started to dissolve into the light itself. Takato's form slowly took on an ethereal feeling.

The wolf was standing up behind its' castle. From the cracks in the ice, we could see fear in its' eyes. This was the first time I have ever seen fear in a monster. The ice spikes shot forward at Takato. Spikes flew from every direction from the wolf. Yet Takato stood still as light built up. Just as the ice reached him, the light ignited and turned into an inferno, engulfing the ice.

Takato exploded forward and immediately appeared in front of the wolf. With a singular punch, Takato thrust his fiery fist into the wolf. Fire erupted from within and engulfed the wolf alongside Takato.

After several minutes, the fire dwindled away. Remaining in its' place was two charred bodies.