Tales Of Ayakashi

CHAPTER 7

The nine realms is derived from the nine races that live in the world and it can be divided into three layers. The underworld, where the yokai, devil, ghost and goblin clans lived. 

The mortal realm where beasts, sages and spirits lived. 

And where the gods and celestials roamed is what was called the heaven realm. 

Anyone of the races from the underworld and the mortal realm can become celestials and leave for the heaven realm.  Celestials can one day become gods. Gods were the ultimate apex of the cultivation and what everyone strive to become. 

Apart from the Heaven Sovereign, there are at least a thousands of minor and major gods throughout the heaven realm and they're continued existence depends on a power called 'faith'.

'Faith' is something intangible and cannot be easily obtained. It comes in various forms. Faith of their subordinates towards their leader, faith of followers, and faith of their believers. But as time passed, mortals' faith in the gods disappears and the many minor gods perished out of existence. 

Only a select few could survive and those who did, didn't come out unscathed. Their once glorious power base was reduced to only one tenth of their original power and they all chose a unanimous agreement. So, the gods retreated from the heaven realm and no one had heard from them since. 

A certain day, atop the mount Kurama:

Rain pelted heavily against the stone paved path as a single traveler climbed up the stone stairs. In the distance he could just barely make out the outline of the shinto shrine. On either side of the winding path, bamboo trees rustled in the violent wind. 

Thunder struck, and the traveler whirled around as he caught the sight of a silhouette from the corner of his eyes. But to his disappointment, he only saw the stone stairs, devoid of any visitor other than him, disappearing down the mountain. 

Turning around, he adjusted his travelling sack on his shoulders, then continued on his way. 

After a while, when the travele's figure had long since left, the space around the spot where the traveler had stopped previously, distorted to reveal two figures.

"Another one," One of them said, shaking his head in disappointment. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it," Thunder struck, and the resulting light illuminated the two newcomers. 

Long silver hair that fell down to their ankles, and red eyes that glinted like rubies in the dark night. They could've passed themselves off as humans if it wasn't for the two pairs of fox ears on top of their heads and the silver tails that was swinging behind them.

 The only difference between them was the number of tails they both sported. One of them had eight tails while the other only had a single tail.

Dressed in black yukata, and holding their katanas, they didn't look like mere travelers. 

"Aniki, are you sure this is the place?" The eight-tailed fox asked his companion. 

"There's no mistake," said the other, his voice calm. "Young master wouldn't get it wrong,"

"However..." 

"Kamito," The quiet command in his voice stopped the other's protests. "It's not our place to criticize our young master," 

The eight-tailed fox named Kamito nodded grudgingly, then he followed his brother as they climbed up. 

"But this is seriously messed up. Planning on turning Faith into Fear? That's a taboo territory!" Kamito asked, his eyes vigilantly looking at his surroundings. 

"Sometimes, a great enough Faith can give a god enough power to turn the tables on his opponents. The same way, such great Faith can also turn into Fear. And Faith that powerful when turned into Fear...You can imagine the impact it would have on the Underworld. But, with the clan's state of affairs as it stands...we have no other option,"

"And to think Young Master discovered it," Kamito asked, cautiously.  

"The more powerful our young master is, the more powerful we as a whole would become. The Ninetails cannot fall," Kamito's companion said, calmly. 

"However, Inushimaru, what if...he discovered about it as well?" Kamito asked nervously. 

Inushimaru paused  then he sneered. "Him? What can a weakling do? Added to that, he's a fallen divinity. He should blame his luck for being weak. Ninetails cannot afford weaklings." 

Kamito halted nervously. "But I've heard he's a madman. He used to be powerful, no?"

"Used to be. Not anymore. Now it's our young master's turn. And he would rise above them all and stand atop them as the head of Ninetails!" 

Inushimaru's declaration was followed by a clap of thunder and the lightening illuminated his red eyes glinting in the darkness like two lamps. 

_

Thunder struck. 

In Ayakashi's courtyard, all was silent except for the rustling of tree leaves as wind howled overhead. 

In the front hall with the screen door thrown open, Ayakashi reclined in his seat, his elbow resting atop a low-setting handrest, his other hand gently holding a pipe. 

A single lamp flickered in the gloomy room, illuminating a slight portion of the wide room, where Ayakashi sat. With a black haori coat thrown over his shoulders, he smoked his pipe leisurely, purple smoke rising as he exhaled, gently. 

Another clap of thunder, and he smiled suddenly, his canines glinting in the dark.  "Heh! Looks like the pup's got some guts," he said, amused. 

Lightening struck and the resulting glare illumined the shadowy figure that was kneeling on one knee. With his head bowed, his long hair glinted silver under the bright glare, his fox ears twitching. His silver tail rested calmly behind him. 

Ayakashi looked at the kneeling figure in front him pensively. "How many had defected already?" he asked. 

The figure trembled. "About half. The others are still having a wait and see attitude," he said. 

Ayakashi pondered while smoking his pipe. After a while, he said, "Turning Faith into Fear, eh? The Ninetails do not lack those with ambition," he said, mockingly. 

"...Head..."the figure started, but Ayakashi waved him away. "I'm not your head. I gave that up a long time ago. But this bit of news...hmmm...It'll be very useful," he said, waving his hand. 

The figure bowed. He turned to leave, but stopped, hesitating. Then as if gathering his courage, he went towards Ayakashi and dropped onto his knees. "To us, there had only ever been one master," he said. Then giving a deep glance at Ayakashi, he turned and left. 

Ayakashi watched him leave, his face expressionless. Then exhaling a puff of smoke, he said to the empty room. "Unfortunately, I cannot live up to your expectations,"

He was only met with silence.