The Amber Sky

There was no ground, no sky, no walls. Ken floated in an absolute void, a darkness so dense it seemed to suck him in. He didn't remember how he got there. His last memories were a blurry mix of screams, blood, and the Regent's laughter.

"Am I dead?"

The thought drifted in the nothingness. If this was death, it was disappointingly boring.

But then, the pain returned. Not gradually, but as an explosion. His head throbbed as if the Regent were smashing it against the rock again. His chest burned, remembering every blow he received while hanging helplessly. Ken fell to his knees in the void, gasping, unable to breathe. The pain was physical, real, so intense he felt his consciousness would shatter again.

"Gah... aahhh..." He tried to scream, but there was no air.

Just when he thought he would pass out from the agony, a voice cut through the darkness.

"I was expecting much more from my favorite champion."

It wasn't a disappointed voice. It was a feminine voice with a playful, vaguely sensual tone that didn't fit the situation. And with that voice, the pain evaporated instantly.

Ken took a deep, shuddering breath and staggered to his feet, searching for the source of the voice. "Is... is this heaven?"

The panorama had changed. The darkness had dissolved without him noticing. Now he was standing under an infinite sky of intense orange and gold, an eternal sunset decorated with clouds that looked like strokes of fire. He looked down and felt dizzy. The ground was a perfect mirror of the sky. There was no horizon. Up and down were the same.

"Where...?" he began to ask.

"You are in Takamagahara," the voice answered from behind him, near his ear, in an amused whisper. "The Plain of the High Heaven."

Ken spun around sharply, his heart racing from the shock. And he saw her.

The feminine figure appeared to be in her twenties, but the antiquity in her gaze said otherwise. Her hair was spectacular, inhuman: it began silver at the roots and transformed into a mane of golden fire at the tips, floating as if underwater. Her eyes weren't human; they were a brilliant amber with slitted pupils, like a dragon's, watching him with predatory amusement.

From her temples sprouted two elegant horns that seemed made of polished jade. A long, slender tail, similar to a lion's with a tuft of fire at the end, swayed lazily behind her. Her attire was an impossible mix between an ancient priestess's robe and royal garments, in white and blood-red colors, revealing patches of iridescent scales on her shoulders.

Ken stood petrified, his human brain unable to process the divinity and danger emanating from her.

"Greetings, Ken," the creature said, enjoying his reaction. "I am what you little mortals call a Kirin. A divine being from your culture."

The word divine didn't calm Ken at all. His last experiences with non-human things had ended with all his friends dead. His survival instinct kicked in. He took a step back and, with fear etched on his face, raised his fists into a clumsy fighting stance.

The Kirin blinked slowly. Then, she let out a soft giggle, covering her mouth with the silk sleeve of her robe. The sound was like ancient wind chimes.

"Oh, how adorable. Are you going to hit me?" she said, lowering her hand and taking a step closer, invading his personal space. "Don't worry, dear. I don't plan on harming my new toy."

"T-Toy? Champion?" Ken stammered, not lowering his guard, utterly confused.

The Kirin slowly circled Ken, her tail brushing the boy's arm. "Well... you weren't supposed to meet me yet. But you got such a pathetic beating down there that I had to step in. It would have been a waste to let you break so soon. You're far too entertaining."

Ken slowly lowered his arms. He didn't sense hostility from her, only an arrogant curiosity.

"So..." Ken swallowed. "Am I alive?"

The Kirin smiled. "You're not quite dead. However, you can't enter this place so easily, nor can you stay long. So... I suppose for now I'll have to send you back to Neo Japan."

Ken didn't understand what she meant, but before he could ask, he felt an irresistible force. The mirrored floor beneath his feet gave way, and he began to be dragged downward, into a darkness opening below him.

"Wait!" Ken shouted, instinctively trying to grab the Kirin's robe, but she was already far away, floating above him as he fell.

The Kirin leaned over, watching him descend with an enigmatic smile. "Ah! AND PLEASE, GIVE MY REGARDS TO YOUR BROTHER!" she shouted before the portal closed.

The words struck Ken. "My brother? This entity knows my older brother?"

The question echoed in his head as he fell into oblivion, until his mind abruptly shut off.

A harsh, artificial light burned his retinas. Ken opened his eyes slowly. There was no amber sky. There was a metallic ceiling covered in fluorescent lights. A rhythmic beeping from a heart monitor filled the air.

"He's waking up," said a male voice, muffled by a surgical mask.

Ken tried to move, but his body was too shattered. He was connected to tubes and wires. He saw blurry figures in blue around him. Surgeons. And among them, a figure with two-toned hair and a gaze that was cold even through the observation room glass.

Natasha.

Was I... dead? Ken wondered, his brain foggy from anesthesia.

He tried to focus his eyes on Natasha, tried to ask about the woman with jade horns, about his brother... but exhaustion was stronger. His eyes rolled back, and darkness reclaimed him, plunging him into a deep, dreamless sleep.