Descent into Darkness: Goodbye Dragonborn!

It was a cloudy day the next day when the party continued on their journey to the Hyperborean Mountains. The clouds really made the atmosphere feel stale and the rise in humidity made the entire trip feel stuffy. Kiai looked out of her carriage window and worried that this could be a bad omen.

Meanwhile, as he was walking almost robotically with his head staring down at his feet, Tatsuya was deep in thought about the little scuffle last night. ‘Who were they and what did they want with me?’ he wondered intensely. The fact that they came at him with clear killing intent made him think that they had to be assassins sent by some group…the Okami tribe, maybe? He hadn’t met the Okami tribe yet and didn’t know the entire story so he didn’t want to make any blind assumptions, but he couldn’t help to wonder….

Shen saw Tatsuya buried in his thoughts and was growing a little worried for his rival. “Tatsuya,” he called over to him. Tatsuya hadn’t heard him and Shen called his name one more time. When it was clear that Tatsuya was out of it, Shen placed a hand on his shoulder. This got Tatsuya’s attention and he turned to his rival. “Are you okay?” Shen asked him.

“Huh? Oh—I’m fine,” quickly answered Tatsuya.

“Really? You seemed to be really out of it,” Shen told him.

“It’s nothing,” reassured Tatsuya with a little laugh.

They walked on for a few more kilometers before stopping for a short break in a rocky clearing. The rocks were smooth and some that were closer to the north had frost. According to Nobi, they were very close to their destination. This would be the very last break they would take before finally reaching their goal. Everyone settled down and snacks and drinks were brought out for the party to enjoy.

As they were enjoying their respite, Mr. Urushihara approached the prince and his fellow members of the United Front with some alarming news. “Something happened last night,” he told them. “Two assassins attempted to assault Tatsuya under the cover of night.”

“Did you get a chance to see who they were or what group they were affiliated with?” asked Jeroji.

“It was too dark,” replied Mr. Urushihara. “To be honest, I only watched from the edge of the camp, but I was able to see all of it.”

“Could it be the Okami?” suggested Zarc.

“Are you saying that they’ve already begun their assault despite accepting the terms for a possible treaty?” asked Regalos with a shake of his head.

“Who knows? They could very well be,” said Zarc with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Did Tatsuya get hurt?” asked Nobi worriedly.

“He was fine,” reassured Mr. Urushihara. “He is a Dragonborn after all.”

“Still, Dragonborns cannot be killed, so what were they thinking of sending assassins?” pointed out Jeroji.

“Maybe they want to stop him some how, like injuring him badly to where he can’t continue or threatening him to turn back,” offered Zarc.

“If this really is the work of the Okami tribe—,” began Nobi with glowering eyes.

“Actually, I don’t think they were sent by the Okami,” said Mr. Urushihara. “I only saw vague shadows underneath the moonlight, but it looked like one of them had the power to manipulate the earth is some way. I noticed Tatsuya using his sword to cut through something near his legs, but I don’t know exactly what. And the second assassin appeared to have the power to stop time.”

“It’s clear then that the second assassin is an Abzu,” deduced Jeroji. “They’re the only ones with that kind of power.”

“But what about Bakunawas?” wondered Zarc. “They can technically manipulate most things in the universe with their power over magical energy.”

“Lindworms also have the potential to cause some kind of similar effect, too,” added Mr. Urushihara.

“However, Bakunawas can only manipulate time through magical energy alone,” explained Regalos, the resident Bakunawa. “If it was truly the work of a Bakunawa, then there would be some kind of disturbance in the magical force.”

“And if it was the work of a Lindworm, there would’ve been some kind of consequence to balance out the universe on some scale,” reminded Zarc.

“The only way we can be sure is by their scent,” said Jeroji.

“Sadly, I couldn’t catch their scent at all,” apologized Mr. Urushihara. “I would assume that they must’ve worn some kind of magical item that allowed them to hide their scents.”

“We’ll leave that for next time,” said Nobi. “Meanwhile, we should discuss what to do next to prevent this from happening again,” he told his men. “It’s clear that Tatsuya is their target, so from this moment on, we should be on high alert and make sure that he stays close at all time. There’s also a very high chance that Princess Kiai will be targeted too, so we also need to make sure that we can protect her at any given moment. With that being said….” Nobi turned to call two of the other agents that he had brought along. The agents, who were low-ranking officers of the United Front but had caught the eye of the director for their efforts during the Scourge outbreak in the human realm not too long ago, were a young Python woman and a young Naga man.

“Yes sir!” they answered their superior in unison with a salute.

“I want you two to stay at the Dragonborn of the human realm’s side at all times,” Nobi instructed them.

“Excuse my rudeness, but may I request you to explain why?” asked the Python agent.

“It seemed that assassins had targeted him last night,” Nobi told her.

“A-A-A-Assassins?!” exclaimed the Naga agent in terror. He was literally quivering in fear.

“Luckily, their attempt was stopped by the Dragonborn himself,” finished Nobi. “However, I have reason to believe that they might try something again. For that reason, I want to assign you two to be his shadows until we reach our final destination. Can I trust you two to do that?”

“Yes sir!” said the Python agent.

“I-I-I-I don’t…,” mumbled the Naga agent with averted eyes.

The Python agent slapped her colleague’s back and said, “This is our job!”

“Yes sir!” squealed the Naga agent with a jump.

Nobi dismissed the agents and they quickly walked away to where Tatsuya was standing. Meanwhile, once they left, a new visitor came to join the United Front crowd. Nobi glared at their new visitor and asked harshly, “What can I help you with?”

Dex Lector had apparently overheard everything that was going on and asked them about last night’s incident. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I am sincerely worried for the Dragonborn’s safety,” he assured them with a simple smile.

“There’s no need,” Nobi told him. “I thank you for your consideration, but we have it all figured out.”

“Oh, really?” responded Dex with an understanding nod. “Well, that’s great news!” he said with a relieved sigh. He then raised a hand and waved them farewell as he walked back to his carriage.

Nobi looked at his men and then back at the noble. “Make sure to keep a close eye on him, too,” he told them. Everyone nodded their heads and the team was dismissed.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya was enjoying his snack with Shen and Aika and Kiai. He was about done when the two young United Front agents approached him. They bowed their heads and introduced themselves.

“I am Runa, designated agent 013,” introduced the Python agent.

“And I am Rolan, designated a-a-agent 130,” introduced the Naga agent in a squeaky voice.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Owatatsumi-sama!” they greeted in unison.

“N-Nice to meet you too,” replied Tatsuya in surprise.

“Owatatsumi-sama, we agents have been assigned to be your guards,” explained Runa.

“G-Guards? For what?” asked Tatsuya.

“Last ni—,” Runa was quickly interrupted by Rolan.

“Orders from the director!” cried Rolan hysterically.

Runa turned around and pulled Rolan close to her face. “What are you doing?” she whispered to him in a sharp tone.

“I-I-I just thought that if he knew the truth, he would push us away,” explained Rolan. “I-I mean, he is the Dragonborn. If he knew that we were assigned to guard him because of an attack last night, he would feel self-conscious and do everything he could to get rid of us. He’s more than capable of handling it himself.”

“You’re right,” agreed Runa after hearing her colleague’s explanation.

“B-Besides, we’re not e-e-exactly l-lying either,” pointed out Rolan. “The director did order us to act as his guards.”

While the agents were privately discussing amongst themselves, Tatsuya wondered exactly why they were assigned to him. It didn’t really make sense since he’s supposed to be acting as a guard for the journey, too. Could they be entering a very dangerous territory? Are they in a situation where everyone has to watch each other’s backs and no one gets left behind? These were the only logical situations that Tatsuya could come up with regarding why these two United Front agents were suddenly assigned as his own guards.

Runa and Rolan had finished their discussion and turned back to face Tatsuya. “I apologize for our rudeness,” said Runa with a bow of her head. “My colleague was right. We were assigned to you by our director for reasons undisclosed. I hope that we have not put you in a weird situation.”

“Well, to be honest, it’s kind of strange to be assigned my own guards,” admitted Tatsuya with a nervous laugh.

“We’ll promise to do out job and not get in your way!” pleaded Roland.

“S-S-Sure thing!” quickly accepted Tatsuya.

Suddenly, the distant sound of thunder rumbled through the heavens and it began to rain. “Everyone!” called Nobi from the center of the camp, “It’s best we move now.” Everyone immediately packed up their things and the party promptly continued on with their journey.

The entire time, Tatsuya found himself flanked in the middle between Runa and Roland. The former walked with her body upright like a soldier and marched with a similar militaristic cadence. The latter, on the other hand, stumbled sporadically and appeared to have trouble keeping his nerves in check.

“You guys can just relax around me,” Tatsuya told them.

“We must remain vigilant!” protested Runa.

“I-I-It’s our job!” agreed Roland.

“I can protect myself, too,” Tatsuya told them.

His statement made the two agents exchange glances and they reached an agreement. “Then we shall relax ourselves!” announced Runa.

“E-Exactly!” agreed Roland.

“W-W-What's got into you guys?” asked Tatsuya in surprise to their sudden change in behavior.

The party eventually reached their destination and, with the exception of the downpour, didn’t get into any trouble at all along the way. The sky had cleared by now as they marched up the mountainside. According to the prince, many of the smaller mountains of the range have flat peaks, which will make it easier to serve as even ground between the two parties—and if push comes to shove, an excellent battlefield.

It had appeared that the Draco tribe’s party were the first to arrive. Alekso and Aika promptly organized the troops and Kiai and Dex Lector joined with Nobi at the forefront to wait for their guests. Tatsuya and Shen stood near the carriages and the former watched with keen eyes over the distance in hopes of seeing the other party.

A good hour has passed by when the sight of soldiers dressed in snow-white armor marching before a carriage drawn by beautiful white hippogriffs appeared in the distance. They stopped a good distance away and two people got out of the carriage. A pair of guards promptly escorted them to the center of the field to meet with Nobi, Dex, and Kiai.

The first representative of the Okami tribe was a tall man with broad shoulders and a well-chiseled face. His marble-white hair was silky smooth and reached close to his shoulders. His eyes were blue like icicles, and his nose was a little sharp. He had a small white patch under his bottom lip and long sideburns, which gave a really fantasy-RPG-villain-like vibe to his appearance. As for his attire, he was dressed in a white and purple long-sleeved shirt under a white fur vest, along with a pair of white pants and a pair of fur boots.

The other representative was a very beautiful young lady. Her skin was like fine porcelain and her soft snow-white fell past her shoulders with a hime-cut on the front. Her eyes were of a light blue color that was like sparkling aquamarines, and her lips were small like those only found on fairy-tale princesses. She wore a very sparkling blue dress with twinkling jewels and white elbow-length gloves on her hands. If her appearance could be summed up in one word, though cliche it may seem, it would have to be “doll”.

Tatsuya, upon seeing the girl from the Okami tribe, was taken aback by her beauty. He had only seen girls like her in movies and anime, but never would he expect to see a girl like that in real life! She stood only to her comrade’s shoulder, which would put her height somewhere around Aika’s or Kanjomizu’s. But the entire time, she wore an expressionless face as opposed to her comrade, who had on a small smile. However, it was clear that her eyes carried her emotions. Tatsuya couldn’t help but be intrigued by the girl. Her aloof appearance reminded him a bit of Shurai; however, Shurai’s “aloof” appearance was drawn only from her lethargic self, as opposed to her energetic fast-talking hyper-self, due to a Druk’s dual nature. This girl’s appearance was more natural and purposeful, as if this was her real self. She was sincerely indifferent, cold, and unemotional.

“She’s the princess of the Okami tribe,” Shen told him.

“Princess…,” echoed Tatsuya to himself.

Meanwhile, Nobi and his fellow representatives bowed before their guests. “I am Prince Nobi of the Draco tribe,” he introduced himself to the Okami representatives. The prince then gestured to his colleagues and introduced them one at a time. “Dex Lector, the Draco tribe’s Minister of the Interior.” The minister bowed. “And Princess Kalira of the Wyvern tribe. She will act as witness to our treaty.” Kiai bowed.

“Vakar Mundi, Royal Advisor of the Okami tribe,” introduced the broad-shouldered gentleman with a bow. He then gestured to the girl next to him and said, “May I introduce her highness, Princess Senna of the Okami tribe.” The princess bowed her head.

“May we please—,” began Nobi.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to represent your kingdom,” quickly interrupted the Okami princess unapologetically. She said her words with a straight face, making it impossible to tell just what kind of emotion she was trying to convey visually. However, her voice made it clear that she was annoyed.

“Pardon?” came Nobi politely.

The princess glared at him and said, “You’re the head director of the United Front, are you not?”

“I am,” answered Nobi.

“It must be hard being a prince and a leader of a washed-up organization who can’t take care of even one measly organization. Tell me, is it quite frustrating to be thwarted by them at each and every turn?” she said with a biting tone.

Nobi could only exchange glances with his colleagues, who were also quite baffled by the Okami princess’ attitude. “Princess, I—,” attempted Nobi.

“Hmph. Can’t you even tell when someone is not interested in you?” said the princess under her breath with a sharp sigh. She then quickly turned her head towards the Draco army and pointed a finger in their direction. “You! I want you to take his place,” she declared.

Everyone turned their heads to see who it was that the Okami princess wanted and were dumbfounded to find out that it was none other than Aika. Aika threw the Okami princess a frown and calmly marched up to where her brother was standing. She then bowed her head and said, “Princess Aika of the Draco tribe.”

Tatsuya was watching everything from the sidelines and he became very apprehensive when he saw the Okami princess requesting Aika’s appearance. And when he watched Aika march up, he could see the displeasure written on her face. He knew by then that the Draco princess was just about ready to blow. But to see her approach the matter in a calm and cool manner really surprised him, but in a good way.

Aika raised her head and tilted her head with a smile at the Okami princess. “You’ve requested my presence. What can I do for you, Princess Bitch?” she said with a huge (mocking) smile.

‘There it is!’ exclaimed Tatsuya in horror.

‘She said it!’ exclaimed everyone else in mental unison.

“I haven’t heard that since our academy days,” said the Okami princess. “It appears that you haven’t grown up at all, Princess Hothead.”

“Oh really, Princess Cold Bitch?” said Aika, her smile growing in intensity.

“Hotheaded Broad!”

“Cold Bitch!”

“Hotheaded Broad!”

“Cold Bitch!”

“Fire Freak!”

“Absolute-Zero She-Demon!”

“***** ** **** ****!”

“*** * **** ***** **!”

“Stop it!” ordered Nobi. His voice echoed over the entire peak and the two princesses shut their mouths. They had their heads turned away from each other just like little children getting scolded after a fight. “You two are grown adults, not preschool children!” he admonished them. “And you are supposed to be princesses, for goodness sake! Your vulgarity has brought shame to both your tribes!”

“But, but, she started it!” whined Aika, pointing a finger at the Okami princess.

“I only spoke the truth,” said the Okami princess with pouted lips, her eyes slowly darting to her left.

“Enough!” ordered Nobi. “We are here to discuss important matters!”

“You are correct, Prince Nobi,” agreed Vakar Mundi. “I apologize for my princess’ behavior.” He bowed his head in apology. He then looked over at his princess and said, “Princess.”

The princess obliged and bowed her head. “I apologize for my actions.” And then, in a snide aside, she added, “Looks like the Draco tribe’s “Goddess of Victory” is nothing but a spoiled girl who still gets ordered around by her older brother.”

“I heard that!” exclaimed Aika.

“Aika, please return to your position,” Nobi told his sister. Aika glumly obliged and sulked all the way back to join the troops. “Now, shall we begin the meeting?” suggested Nobi.

While the negotiators were discussing the treaty, Tatsuya approached Mr. Urushihara with some questions that really needed to be answered. Mr. Urushihara noticed Tatsuya’s advance towards him and held up a hand in greeting. “What can I do for my student today?” he asked Tatsuya with a smile.

“Mr. Urushihara, there’s a few things I want to ask you,” Tatsuya told him.

“Shoot!” said the teacher happily.

“First of all, I’ve been hearing a lot of people refer to Aika as the Draco tribe’s “Goddess of Victory”. What’s the story?”

“I had a feeling you were going to ask that,” revealed Mr. Urushihara. “You see, hundreds of years ago, here, in the dragon realm, a war broke out between the Draco tribe and the Okami tribe. It was after the massive war between all of the Thirteen tribes. That war ended with a peace conference when more than half of the tribes wanted to stop what they ultimately believed was a stupid and petty war. Only three tribes were opposed to the offer because they believed in total victory and dominating the entire dragon realm. Would you like to guess which ones they were?”

“I know that the Draco tribe have a reputation for being a tribe of warriors,” answered Tatsuya.

“Unfortunately, the Draco tribe wasn’t one of them,” revealed Mr. Urushihara. “The Draco tribe was actually one of the early supporters of a treaty between the Thirteen tribes. By this time, King Rexus had taken the throne after his father passed away from an illness.”

“An illness?” asked Tatsuya.

“The Hollow,” Mr. Urushihara told him. Tatsuya was all too familiar with that term and said no more. “King Rexus was the Draco tribe’s most preeminent general in the war, so when news came that he would have to succeed his father, everyone began to worry. However, King Rexus, despite being the great general he was, grew to despise the war. So when one of the other tribes proposed for a total armistice between the Thirteen tribes, he was one of the first leaders to support it.”

“Who proposed the treaty?” asked Tatsuya.

“Well, the Wyvern tribe had long forsaken the war ever since its inception,” explained the teacher, “but they weren’t the ones that proposed this idea. In fact, they stayed neutral throughout the entire fight and isolated themselves from the outside world. Although I’m pretty sure that they had also thought of the idea, I believed that they thought it would be impossible to get the other tribes to listen. Especially those tribes who were made for war. It was the Abzu tribe that proposed the idea of an armistice.”

“The Abzu tribe?” Tatsuya was sure that he had heard the name get mentioned a few times before, but he didn’t know exactly who they were.

“The tribe with the power to manipulate the element of time,” answered Mr. Urushihara. “They had received a prediction that showed just what the war will bring to the dragon realm if it didn’t stop.”

“So who were the three that opposed the armistice?” Tatsuya asked his teacher.

“The Lindworm tribe, the Ur tribe, and the Okami tribe,” replied Mr. Urushihara. At the mention of the Okami tribe, Tatsuya glanced over at the Okami princess. “But they eventually gave in with a little pressure from the other tribes as well as their own people. The war had done a number on all of the tribes and resources became scarce. But the treaty had allowed for all the tribes to recover, mostly from the establishment of free trade between all Thirteen tribes and the founding of Jaculus City.” Mr. Urushihara took a small pause before continuing on. “Now that we got the background of it all out of the way, let’s get back to what we were discussing. Hundreds of years after the war ended, the Okami tribe and the Draco tribe got into another skirmish. Keep in mind that when I say “hundreds of years”, I mean in terms of dragon years. So for humans, it would be equivalent to…a little over 30,000 years of so.”

“30,000 years?!” exclaimed Tatsuya.

“More or less,” said Mr. Urushihara with a laugh. “Anyway, the Okami tribe and the Draco tribe had come into conflict over a mine of draconite. Draconite is a very valuable material in the dragon realm. And this mine was located right near both of their borders. At first, the tribes attempted to settle this peacefully; however, the animosity between the Okami tribe and the Draco tribe had existed since the beginning of time, so it didn’t take long before they settled on going to war against one another. This was a little bit before Princess Ashira and Princess Senna graduated from the Royal Academy. It was during this war that Princess Ashira assumed command of the army when General Alekso suffered a major injury and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the war. She proved to be a natural and was a genius strategist. It was because of her strong military knowledge and ingenious tactics that allowed for the Draco tribe to win. Ever since then, she became known to all as the Draco tribe’s “Goddess of Victory”.”

“I see,” said Tatsuya with a proud smile. Tatsuya now fully understood just how great Aika really was. Now, when he glanced at her standing with her soldiers, she didn’t seem out of place at all. He gained a whole new respect for her. A few months ago, he would’ve made some stupid assumption about how she could’ve gained the nickname and would’ve more-or-less linked it to her royal status. But now, especially after everything that had happened since then, he could fully acknowledge, without any prejudice, the origin of her well-deserved nickname. And it made him proud of himself for being able to mature as a person, but more importantly, it made him proud of Aika as a loved one.

His attention quickly turned to the negotiators as Nobi called out his name. He walked up to them, followed closely behind by Rolan and Runa, and saw that Aika was also joining them. “Can you both help us persuade the princess to accept the terms of the treaty?” Nobi beseeched them.

Tatsuya glanced at the Okami princess and she flashed him a death glare colder than ice. It literally sent chills down his body and he could feel his skin grow colder. Tatsuya desperately hated the cold and he automatically wanted out of this situation. Coming up the mountains was chilly enough, but he was able to push through it and it didn’t really hurt him all that much. But this sensation, it was totally different and he was reminded of Hokkaido again.

“What can a man like him achieve?” asked the Okami princess with a sharp tongue.

“Senna,” said Aika in a strong and serious voice. Tatsuya had never heard Aika speak this way before and it made him draw in a sharp breath in surprise. “This war is pointless. This area had been a neutral ground for millennia and it was fine that way. Why should we complicate matters with needless bloodshed?”

“Really? You really want peace? You, the one who laid waste to many Okami on the battlefield centuries before?” asked the Okami princess with a cold tilt of her head. “If you don’t want any bloodshed, then we can settle this dispute right here and right now.”

“What are you suggesting?” asked Aika suspiciously.

“A duel,” replied the Okami princess. “If you win, I will accept the terms of the treaty on behalf of the Okami tribe and see to it that all parts of it will be observed. But if I win, you and your retinue will leave this place and the Okami tribe will claim ownership of the Hyperborean Mountains. Of course, if you want to contest us then, we will gladly go to war.”

“That’s crazy!” exclaimed Tatsuya.

The Okami princess flashed him a cold glare again and Tatsuya could feel a chilling cold pass through his body and settling in his bones. She then turned her attention back to Aika and said, “I will do whatever it takes to defeat you. You are my enemy.”

“The war ended centuries ago,” Aika told her.

“This goes beyond the war,” came the Okami princess chillingly.

“Can we settle this without a fight?” suggested Tatsuya peacefully.

“I agree,” said Kiai.

The Okami princess flashed Tatsuya another chilling glare and said in a crispy and cold tone, “Those who side with humans are of no importance to me. Go play with the rats like you’re supposed to.”

“Enough!” shouted Aika. It was clear that she was very angry and reaching the point of no return. “I can’t let you get away with slandering my Darling.” She then touched her right wrist and brought out her Dragon Regalia.

“Are you too weak to use magic?” scoffed the Okami princess.

“I’m not putting my men in danger just because I want to duke it out with you,” snapped back Aika. She then wore a smirk and sneered back, “Oh, right, I forgot. Hand-to-hand combat was never your strong suit. I’ve always wondered how you survived our combat classes at the Royal Academy. In fact, I can count more times I’ve seen you in the nurse’s office than in the arena!”

The Okami princess, her expression subtle as always, was pissed. She touched her wrist and brought out her Dragon Regalia: a shiny white wood naginata with encrusted crystals circling the body in five neatly spaced ring-like arrays and a very brilliant blade with the translucence of ice, decorated with elegant ice crystal chains hanging from the bottom of the blade like tassels made out of icicles. She gracefully held her weapon in her hands and placed the butt on the ground.

Aika acknowledged her opponent with a downward tilt of her head and everyone else knew to back away. By now, even the soldiers of both tribes knew what was going to happen. As soon as Tatsuya was back with the rest of the Draco tribe’s men, flanked by Rolan and Runa on both sides, Shen asked him why the situation had come to this. Tatsuya explained everything that had happened and Shen could only shake his head as he looked at the two princesses poised for battle.

Aika and her opponent turned around and took thirteen steps away from each other. They then faced each other again and got into their ready positions. And then, they both attacked at the same time. It was clear from the first few strikes that Aika was the more combat efficient of the two. Her strikes were quick and sharp and, despite seeming to appear blindly aggressive and random, were actually very strategic—a testament to her military mind—and struck her opponent in their blind spots with dangerous accuracy.

The Okami princess, despite being the weaker of the two, did pretty well in holding her own. Though it was pretty clear that she was no match for Aika’s honed fighting skills that relied on natural instincts and calculated attacks, she managed to survive most, if not all, of the strikes with two special advantages of her own: the length of her weapon, and her natural graceful footwork. Her naginata helped her to really put a ton of distance between her and her opponent, and this helped her to avoid a majority of the blows. But her own movements, which were graceful like the wind and instinctive as if she had done it all her life, allowed her the mobility to respond with parries and counterattacks to match Aika’s offense with decent success. And the way she was able to gracefully maneuver her own weapon while still being light on her feet, a sight that was so natural that one had to wonder if the weapon was really a weapon and not an extension of her own self, made it possible for her to fight Aika on more-or-less equal ground.

As Tatsuya watched the two princesses battle, he instantly understood just how different they were and why their relationship is as it is. It wasn’t just because they were a Draco and an Okami—it went beyond that. The way they fought told him just what kind of people they were; and there are just some people who just can't get along with each other. That’s just a fact. Aika was very aggressive and precise and unapologetic, and she fought instinctively; she unabashedly wore her heart on her sleeve and became one with her passion. If Tatsuya could describe what kind of person she was, it would have to be a warrior princess who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and speak her mind. On the other hand, the Okami princess was nimble and evasive and distant; her strikes were harsh like her words and she was brazenly ruthless. If Tatsuya could describe what kind of person she was, it would have to be a sheltered noble lady who doesn’t trust others nor mince her words.

The princesses continued to clash as everyone else watched them with captivated eyes. It was almost impossible to tell who was winning since their fighting styles meshed so well against one another. Even Aika, who’s more disciplined combative skills should’ve made her the likely candidate to win, couldn’t argue against how evenly matched they were. The Okami princess knew that Aika’s combat skills were greater and more refined than her own, but she was able to utilize her other skills to her advantage and prevent a one-sided victory.

The battle looked like it wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Both princesses were going at full throttle and looked like they were ready to succumb to fatigue at any moment, yet they refused to lose to the other—this was how strong their hostile rivalry was.

As the princesses continued to clash with no sign of stopping, powdery snow began to lightly drizzle down. Tatsuya felt the air around him slowly becoming chillier as the light drizzle slowly evolved to become a massive blizzard. The massive snowstorm forced everyone to take take cover behind their weapons and shields and arms. But amidst all of this, the two princesses continued their battle without interruption.

“Aika!” Tatsuya called out to her. The blizzard quickly obscured the princesses from view and all Tatsuya could see now was white. The storm had increased exponentially in strength and it was almost impossible to maneuver in the chilling cold and the unrelenting precipitation.

"Owatatsumi-sama!" called out Runa. Her voice echoed through the blizzard yet Tatsuya couldn't find her at all.

"Owatatsumi-sama!" came Rolan. Tatsuya searched for the United Front agent but the blizzard made it impossible to locate him.

“Tatsuya!” called out Shen from behind him.

Tatsuya turned around and clearly noticed Shen reaching out a hand to him. He grabbed the Dragonborn’s hand and held on. Suddenly, the storm released a strong gale of piercing snow that froze Tatsuya from the inside. His field of vision became white once again. The storm decreased in intensity very slightly and Tatsuya decided to use this moment of respite to lead his friend far away from the storm. “Let’s go, Shen!” he called back to his friend. There was no answer. Tatsuya looked back and found that his friend had disappeared. After a quick scan of his surroundings, he realized that he was all alone.

‘Did the blizzard separate me from everyone else?’ he wondered anxiously.

Tatsuya held up his hands to his mouth and tried calling out to the others. “Aika! Prince Nobi! Shen! Mr. Urushihara! Kiai! Rolan! Runa!” Each time he called out a name, he received no reply back. His worst fears were confirmed. ‘This can’t be!’ he bemoaned. He needed to get back to the others. Who knows what could happen to them in this blizzard? He took a step forward and found that the ground was buried in more than two feet of snow. The snow had gathered very quickly and continued to build as the storm raged on without any end in sight.

The cold took a toll on Tatsuya body and he was already developing a nasty cough. His skin became dry and he couldn’t feel his face. His blood was close to freezing and his hands and feet quickly became numb. His breath was slowly getting shallower with each step. His lips were cracking and he was becoming more and more dehydrated. There were moments when he wanted to surrender to the blizzard and die amongst the snow. But the thought of his friends and allies kept him going. He can’t give up now!

“Over here!” called a voice. The sound was faint through the blizzard, but it managed to catch Tatsuya’s ear nonetheless. He turned to the direction of the voice and thought that he could make out some sort of silhouette. It was hard to know for sure, and he was initially hesitant about going towards it, but the thought that it might be one of his friends compelled him to go forward.

He got closer and closer to the source of the voice and saw the silhouette becoming more and more clearer. The silhouette was of a man. Tatsuya smiled knowing that he had finally found someone in the midst of the blizzard. “Hey!” he called over to the man. The man raised his hand and waved. Growing ever more confident, Tatsuya channeled whatever strength he had left and dashed forward to meet the man.

The distance between Tatsuya and the man quickly grew smaller and smaller. Tatsuya could feel some warmth return back to his body in response to his excitement at meeting someone else. There was no thought of danger at all as he continued onwards towards the man. The white snow slowly began to disappear from his field of vision as he got ever closer to his target. The cold had also disappeared and Tatsuya’s body functioned normally once more. He was now only a few inches away from the man. He reached out his hand and said, “Excuse me—!” What awaited him was an unforeseen fate. He found himself overlooking a deep chasm, but he was too late to stop himself. His body was forced forward from the acceleration of his motion and he lost his footing. The next thing he saw was darkness as his body plummeted down into nothingness. As he fell, he heard the most evil voice he had ever come across bid him the most chilling farewell ever: "Goodbye, Dragonborn!"