The Encounter

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He managed to steal the very precious relic from his archenemy, who managed to lay his hand on the golden mini scepter adorned with lotus made of jewels of countless sorts. Diamonds of various shape and color was thoughtfully tied to the tip, held by strings, or chains, made of gold. Old Sorrow was too excited when he walked into his tent and announced that he was getting tired of their endless confrontation. In their earlier days, when Sorrow still had plenty of his youth running in his blood, they had been enemies the sort no one will have it cross their mind that they will ever draw peace between them. As Sorrow grew older, he become far more sober, and his yearning for bloodless confrontation grew much, much stronger, while his archenemy, who was famous for his immortality, remained the same, still stubborn and rock-headed. When word reached him that Sorrow had gathered a very precious relic from the ancient time, he decided to try his luck in deceiving the poor old man, and he succeeded.

He marveled at the beauty of the relic. He had seen so many beautiful relics, but this one in his hand now ought to have been one of the most amazing ones. Then again, all summoning relics are beautiful, but from his lifelong research on relics, this sort of beauty could only be found in summoning relic. And among thousands of summoning relic, those who could be used to summon high-level deities will look like no other. Living for thousands of years, he had heard many rumors about four summoning relic that could summon the four deity of different elements, and they are the kings of all kings. Although tempting, he had never seen any of those relics, and when he heard that Old Sorrow managed to get his hand on one, he didn’t waste much time when he plotted to snatch it from his archenemy.

He eyed the scepter that was not more than quarter a feet, from the end to the tip, and measured merely few inches in width. Somehow he was feeling skeptic enough that this little thing could summon a king-level deity. Before, he had laid his hand on a relic that could summon the gate guardian deity, the White Tiger known as Byakko, and it was much, much bigger than this one. Even the relic to summon a simple deity that looked very much like a wolf but insisted that he was a cat itself took three man to carry, and he wasn’t even as half as strong as the White Tiger. And that wolf with identity crisis needed merely the first level of his spiritual width to summon upon…

He ruffled his blood red hair and sighed. No use thinking too much about possibilities or if this thing could really work. If it couldn’t summon a high-level divine deity like what Old Sorrow had told him, he would probably go back and throw the rubbish back at the old chief of the Sengal Tribe. But before he could do that, he ought to try first.

Carefully placing the relic onto the ground, he sighed deeply. Should he use any magical inscription to assist him in summoning the deity that was attached to this scepter? The use of magical inscription could help lessen the burden of having to provide enough power for the relic to work, because each relic will require different amount of spiritual energy before it would respond to the user. But problem was, he doesn’t have a single idea who, or what will the relic call forth. To use a magical inscription mean he ought to know and understand the deity that corresponded to the relic. But for this ancient, unknown, dusty relic, mysteries were all that shrouded it.

Thinking too much gave him headache, so he decided to just do it, and bear the consequences later. Obviously, greed and curiosity had a better hand on him.

Inhaling deeply, he spread out his hand and concentrated his power on the relic. First level of release of his spiritual energy, the relic did not respond to him. Second stage, it was still dead. Third level, nothing, and so do the fourth and the fifth. That was 50% of his personal spiritual width, and decided that if it was going to work, the sixth level better be. However, to his disappointment, it didn’t, and he was about to give up when halfway into the seventh stage of his personal spiritual width, the relic’s tip started to glow. He realized that it might eventually work, but that also mean it required extreme number of spiritual concentration. He had never opened his 8th stage of spiritual width before, because it will tire him easily, but for this one matter, he was willing to open all level, despite knowing the fact that opening the eighth and further level could create unwanted disturbance.

Grimacing to himself, he murmured quietly, ‘this better be good.’

What sort of deity could be attached to this relic? It was not a coincidence when a relic to summon a high level deity required a lot of spiritual concentration power, but he had never really encountered anything as demanding as this. The highest he ever got to was seventh stage of his overall spiritual width, and the deity that appeared before the relic was deadly enough that he could sink an entire continent in a blink of an eye, but with this one, whatever came forth will definitely be interesting. Just the thought of acquiring another deity into his collection, one especially as powerful and as demanding as this excite him, up to the point that he wouldn’t mind opening his further width although he realized that doing so could cause earthquake on the ground he was standing on.

Whatever the price will be, he will be glad to pay for it.

And he was amazed when he just surpassed his 7th stage, and moving rapidly towards his 8th stage, yet very little change could be traced on the scepter. The ground below him had started to shake, and he grinned. He was now covered in sweat as he tried his best not to overdo everything, because regrettably, spiritual energy overload will destroy certain relic. He could just bang the relic with his power right to the full width, but doing so could destroy it. And he, no matter what will happen next, wouldn’t want to destroy such precious relic. But this one was extremely interesting albeit demanding. It absorbed a wide length of his spiritual width, and not to mention, the whole load of it.

When his width surpassed the eighth door, the trees were swaying madly, and everything was shaking violently. Knowing how the continent could end up if he continued releasing the width at slow rate, he quickened the opening towards the ninth stage when very loud crumbling noise startled him. The relic, however, had begun to shine so brightly that he was certain the deity will pop up before him very soon. Though, halfway through his 9th stage, the earthquake began to grow very violent, he almost gave up trying to summon the deity when the jewel lotus on the top of the scepter spread open, and extremely bright light burst from its center, that it form a pillar which shot through the sky. Seconds later a form could be seen emerging from the pillar of light, and as the light began to fade, the glittering form stepped down from the air and onto the ground.

“Stop it,” a voice echoed from the light, “You whoever summoned me,” added the golden form, formal and straightforward.

And immediately he shut down all of his width, but the earthquake did not stop with it. The form held out its hand and immediately the earthquake stopped. For sometime he stood there quietly, facing the golden form, whom as minutes passed by, ‘cooled’ into the form of a very beautiful lady that looked very much like a human. The only difference was that her ears were pointed, and there was a long mark on her forehead. She looked too normal to be very powerful, he thought, but he decided not to bet on it. This might just be her other form. Who knows what lies within that stunning façade?

When she opened her eyes, it revealed two unusual jewels the color of golden yellow. She stared deep into his eyes, as if demanding for explanation. He, however, noticed how she had her hands held tight around her body, as if to cover something. After she was sure of something, she walked forward rapidly towards him…

And slapped him on his face.

“Hey,” he barked, “What was that for?!”

The woman…deity…or whatever, scowled.

“For summoning me during an untimely moment,” she said shortly, as she turned around and walked towards a tree. Again, she held up her hand, and her eyes became fixed at the trunk, when a golden light appeared on her palm, and the tree’s vines moved and rustled. Seconds later an intricate looking overcoat was delivered by the vines, which acted as hands, and she quietly donned it. He immediately understands what does she meant by ‘untimely moment’. As she turned around, he realized that she was dressed in nothing but very sheer white nightgown that it shows her beautiful skin beneath. Though now she’d put on the coat…

“You’ve been sleeping?” he asked, shocked.

“Almost,” she said, rolling her eyes. Then she eyed him from head to toe.

“Deities sleep?” he asked again, his jaw dropping. She rolled her eyes again, and there were signs of irritation.

“It is a matter of choice,” she said, rather informal and straightforward, which amazed him. Do all high level deities act like this? Although she did appear regal and all, the way she spoke sounded too ‘human’. “A demigod, I’m surprised. Introduce yourself, demigod,” she said, rather demanding, and that somehow ticked his nerve.

“YOU should introduce yourself, lady,” he said, sounding a bit impatient. How dare a summoned deity say that to her master? He WAS the one who summoned her here, meaning he had surpassed her test. He WAS now her MASTER…and she should introduce herself first…

“You're a little ungrateful brat, aren’t you?” she said, now sounding very irritated. “Do you think you could really get me here just because you almost used your full power? I’m here by will, because your idiocy could eventually brought destruction to this continent when you shook the ground with your spiritual width!” she barked, angry. “Rule of master and his slave deity don’t apply to me,” she added, as a matter-of-factly, which further irritated him.

“You're telling me that my width weren’t good enough to get you here?” he asked, voice as loud as hers, veins bulging on his neck. The lady, although two inch shorter from him, held her face high and nodded firmly. “I have Byakko under my command, if you must know,” he added, trying to tell her that his power weren’t to be messed with.

“Byakko is one of the four beasts of the gatekeeper,” she said, still irritated, “And I am by any and every right, IS NOT a gatekeeper.”

He sensed that she could’ve been something else…very different than the deities he had seen and met before. Before, he could talk any selfish deity into submission, but this arrogant lady seemed to get onto his nerve with her selfish and superior attitude. And she spoke of Byakko as if he was MERELY a guardian beast. For few moments there was only silence between them. No one spoke of anything, and they merely stared at each other.

“And no one was supposed to be able to summon me using that scepter, demigod,” she said, a bit softer, and her fierce face toned down. “You indeed have enough power to destroy an entire continent with your width and amount of spiritual energy, but that wasn’t enough to get me here by yourself. It was the violent shacking of this continent that called me here,” she said, voice rather calm, and that somehow soothed his irritation. “Tell me who you are, demigod.”

He sighed. Finally, she was asking nicely. “You may call me Dominic,” he said simply, without further elaboration.

“Dominic,” she repeated, nodding few times, as if she was trying to remember it from since. “You are perhaps the strongest human I’ve ever encountered,” she said, rather honestly. “But that much power, by right, should not be allowed to exist in this world,” added the still unknown deity. Dominic bit his lips, as he grew yet again irritated by her dilly-dallying. Hurry up and introduce yourself, he thought. “I am Hoku, Northern Emperor of the Land of Immortals. I govern the element earth, and life respectfully,” she said finally, which shocked the man. “And a King must not, and never, let itself have another master but the Celestial Emperor,” she said, which somewhat disappointed him.

“I don’t get it!” he said out loud, in frustration. “Isn't that a man who summoned a deity by its relic will be considered as the deity’s master? I summoned you through this relic, didn’t I? That makes me your master!” he said, on the verge of throwing a childish tantrum, which had the lady sighing in annoyance. “That is not fair!”

“You truly don’t get it, don’t you?” she said, growing out of patience. “You're giving me headache,” she said again.

“Deities have headache?” he asked, which rendered the lady speechless. Truly irritated, she walked towards the relic and confiscated it from the ground. Turning around to face Dominic, she grinned annoyingly.

“Fine. I’m out of here. Thanks for finding this relic for me, and GOOBYE!” she said, and she started to glow with golden light again just like when she arrived. Panic, and realized that he had just offended a deity he shouldn’t have, he instructed for the wind to assist his movement. As she started to turn into speckles of light again, he managed to grab on the skirt of her nightgown the same moment she began disappearing into the air. Ripping noise filled the air, and she was gone. Getting up from his stumble, he looked at the pieces of fabric in his hand and laughed sadly. He WAS desperate to get her on his side, didn’t he? But the deity was too short tempered to withstand his annoying antics; she left after confiscating the only relic that could be used to call upon her. And judging at the tear, he must've tore a chunk of her skirt right up to her tights. She will OFFICIALLY hate him now…he lamented, and sulked over the fact that he had just gotten himself on the wrong side of a very powerful deity.

And that was when a loud thunder filled the sky, followed by a crashing sound that shocked him. Turning around, he saw someone coming out of smoke from the center of impact, and it turned out to be her.

Hoku. And obviously, she had rage written all over her face. He was, nonetheless, happy to see her again, that he was even smiling despite the fact that his instinct had been urging him to run away and save himself. He didn’t even move from his spot when she marched towards him angrily at an amazing speed, and…

Slapped him as hard as she could for the second time, twice.

“WHAT ARE YOU?! A PERVERT?!” she said, half screaming, her face bright red from either anger or embarrassment. He caught a glimpse of her bared flesh and understood why she was too angry that she returned as soon as possible, either to tell him that he’s a pervert, or to slap him, or just to reclaim her dignity. “You have no idea what did that cost me,” she screamed, pearl of tears forming at that corners of her eyes, obviously induced by her rage as she walked away from him and sat on a boulder, sulking. Silence followed and Dominic realized that he might’ve done something terrible when he tore away her skirt that she was now…crying (?), sulking alone at the corner of the opening, in the middle of the forest. When he tried to come near her and apologize, she ordered him not to even move an inch further, or she would obliterate him.

“I can’t die, lady. You know you can’t kill a demigod,” he said, half joking when she glared at him with pearly eyes.

“I could burn your body that it will take you eons to recover your form,” she threatened, which got him thinking. She did have a point there. He was, after all, dealing with a deity. The fact that she arrived the second time on a thunderbolt proved that she was not an ordinary one. “Or throw you into the sun.”

“Now that is over the limit,”

“Who cares? I can do it, so I will do it,” she added further, still sulking, still not looking at him. Dominic bit his lips.

“You're acting like a child now, lady,” he said, trying to get things straight. He had started to grow annoyed with her childish threat and remark, but knowing this all happened because he was desperate to get her, he decided not to make things uglier than it already was now.

“Who wouldn’t?!” she screamed. “First I was forced to leave my chamber in the middle of the night wearing only my nightgown. And then I returned with a torn skirt. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA what did he think when he saw my torn skirt?!” she continued, which shocked his every bones. He? She’s talking about a man, there, didn’t she?

This was getting pretty complicated, he realized. VERY complicated, in fact. Does that mean…

“YES! I HAVE a husband alright, demigod,” she said.

“Hey, don’t read my mind! That’s not fair!” he retorted.

“Do I look like I care? Because you obviously don’t look like you care about me, of course,” she added, which had him frowning. Then she did the unthinkable, when she summoned Byakko, who arrived with a gust of wind, and Suzaku, that appeared in her human form that he had never seen before. Both beast bowed before her, and then stood next to her.

“Sorry Dominic, if she’s around we’ve to obey her before you in the first place,” said the playful tiger that appeared in his alter image of a human. Dominic was surprised to see the white tiger in his human form, because he definitely hadn’t seen him looking like this. And Suzaku, too, who sport the appearance of a woman in her thirties with long black hair yet blazing eyes. What amazed him further was that the two beasts were dressed in night attire.

“These are the beast you were so proud of, demigod,” the lady said, still not looking at him. Suzaku narrowed her eyes to the sulking emperor and sat next to her, as she nudged Byakko on his shoulder. As if understanding Suzaku’s sign, he walked over to Dominic, and walked him further than the two ladies. Still clueless, the redheaded demigod merely followed his fellow friend and waited for whatever he had to say.

“How on earth did you manage to get her here?” the white tiger asked, obviously astonished to learn that his ‘master’ managed to summon one of the four DragonKings into this world of mortals. “No one was supposed to be able to summon a DragonKing, Dom,” added the white tiger, his voice in hush whispers. Dominic looked at him with confusion.

“With a relic, of course.”

“You mean that mini scepter with jewel lotus on it?”

Dominic nodded.

The white tiger sighed deeply in regret.

“And care to tell me why she’s sulking like that?”

The redhead blushed. He showed the pieces of fabric in his palm to the white tiger, and the deity had on his face a horrified look. “You tried to ra…”

“Don’t be foolish, Byakko,” he said, smacking the white tiger on his head. Dominic sighed deeply, when he added; “I was desperate, alright. I manage to cling to her skirt right off when she was about to return to her realm…so it got tore off…she said something about a man, thought, when she reappeared,” he explained unsurely. Alright. He wasn’t the sort of man who lacked confidence, but the sequence of event really messed the logic off him. Living thousands of years didn’t really help him to understand the world of deities, he admitted quietly. And when he saw the horrified face on Byakko’s facial, he knew something was wrong, so he smacked the white tiger on his head for the second time. “Silly you. Now tell me, why she mentioned that there’s a man or something in her chamber. What, she’s married or something?”

When Byakko nodded, Dominic’s jaw dropped.

“Deities marries?!”

“Tone down your voice, you two!” Suzaku hollered from afar, and Byakko smacked Dominic’s head in return for his previous loud exclamation. The redhead started to become even more confused, when Byakko chuckled.

“Deities have several types, too, you know? Not all are immortals like you, or me, or the Emperors,” he began. However, Dominic was still skeptic, so he looked at his friend skeptically.

“Don’t you ever try to tell me lies, friend,” he warned him, when the white tiger chuckled.

“I wouldn’t lie while she’s around, Dom,” he said, his face as serious. “She could read our minds if she wants to,” he added, which calmed Dominic down almost immediately. “Only the Emperors of her standing and above have the ability to read one’s mind, though. Truthfully saying, I couldn’t do that…”

“That’s not an issue. What I want to know is, deities marry?!” said the curious redhead, and again, Suzaku hollered from afar, but this time she threatened to barbeque the two with her fire. Byakko apologized, as he pulled his master few steps further from the ladies. “And tell me, why was she sulking like that…if you know the reason,” he asked further. Byakko smiled knowingly.

“You’ve probably caused Sohryu to think badly when she returned with that torn skirt,” he said, as the smile on his lips broadens that it almost turned into a giggle. Dominic’s jaw dropped, when Byakko laughed mildly. “You DO know that the only beast gatekeeper you’ve yet to find the relic for was Sohryu, the blue dragon, right?”

Dominic nodded.

“I doubt you will ever find it, or acquire him…” he said, which startled the redhead. With his eyes, he asked the white tiger; why. “Sohryu’s merely one of his name. He was actually an Emperor, just like Lady Hoku, who governs the water element and goes by the name Azuma. You can’t have a DragonKing as your slave deity, master,” explained the white tiger. “And did she come here on a thunderbolt?”

Dominic nodded.

“She probably borrowed that from Ten…”

“Now who is this Ten?!” the redhead snapped impatiently, which surprised the white tiger. Obviously, the news he dropped on him that he couldn’t have a DragonKing as his slave had him feeling irritated. For a man who thirst for power with an ego the size of the earth, having someone drop the truth that there’s something he can’t get his hand on angered him. Perhaps it was the demigod-ness syndrome. He acquired that, why couldn’t he get a DragonKing to obey him?

“Azuma and Hoku’s son,” he said simply, and Dominic’s jaw dropped intensively.

“She gave birth to a son,” Dominic repeated the word son in such away that suggested shock, surprise, and disbelieving.

The white tiger laughed gleefully. “We are, in fact, very much like you humans, except that we live to serve certain matter forever in our life…which is for eternity, even. True the immortal deities will not die, even if we don’t eat or drink or sleep, but life’s too boring just living the void way. And yes, we don’t have sexual needs, but in the case of Azuma and Hoku…since the Celestial Emperor had been tampering, that all had changed. For them, at least.”

“For you?”

Byakko laughed nervously. “Do you want me to prove that?”

“They lived the life almost like those of human and yet I couldn’t acquire her vow?” asked the redhead in disbelieving and pure disappointment again. Obviously, he REALLY wanted to add the emperor into his assortment of deities, which, if mentioned to the rest of the kings, they will gladly label it as absurd. One of them might even try to obliterate him for even asking.

Byakko smacked the redhead on his head for the second time. “You really don’t get it don’t you? You can’t, no matter what you do or try, or even, say to her to get her to submit her loyalty to you! Suzaku, and I, even Genbu, is different compared to her, or compared to Sohryu himself,” said the white tiger seriously, trying to tell his master that he WILL never be able to acquire her as one of his slave deity. But this demigod redhead here was too stone-headed that it was a headache trying to convince him that he couldn’t have her the way he had him, and the fellow gatekeeper Suzaku, as well as Genbu. “And let me get things straight with you to why Suzaku and I had never appeared before you in our human form, when you called,” he said, trying to convince him. Dominic raised his eyebrow, when the white tiger rolled his eyes. “There are times when we weren’t properly dressed, friend. Just like her. The hard truth was, there are times when you summoned Suzaku while she was bathing…”

Dominic’s jaw dropped again.

“And you do notice how she obliterated her surrounding then, at one point when you summoned her, didn’t you?”

Dominic nodded.

“And I, too, have my fair share of being called while…er…”

“Stop. I don’t need to know…”

“Fine by me. But anyways, Lady Hoku couldn’t always appear in her alter form, thus she had to appear before you dressed as she was…”

“Why couldn’t she when you can?” the stone-headed redhead asked in irritation. Obviously, he still did not get the point that the Lady Hoku was miles different from him or the other gatekeepers.

“She is what she is called as; a DragonKing. Doesn’t that ring a bell or two?”

“So what? There’s quite a number of dragons here in this world, aren’t there? As far as I’m concerned they could at ease live on this surface of world,” retorted the redhead, and he still did not get any point Byakko was trying to tell him. The white tiger almost gave up explaining to him when a voice interrupted them.

“You do so want to see my alter form, don’t you? Very well, I might as well obliterate you until there’s no remains left…” roared the sulking deity, as she replied him from afar. Obviously, she had been listening to the men’s conversation, and this shocked Byakko and the demigod himself. Sensing the danger in her words, the white tiger hurriedly interrupted her.

“No he doesn’t mean it that way, lady,” Byakko interrupted as he knocked the redhead down onto the ground. As Suzaku calmed her down, Byakko tried to tell him quietly that he was not helping to mend things over, although he doubted that this man will ever listen to his words. He’s too stubborn to let anyone talk him out of his plan and determination, what else, stop him from getting something he truly wants. “Having her in her alter form in this world will not be a very good idea, Dom. I understand your curiosity, but you don’t want to scare the peasants to death, don’t you?” asked the white tiger, rather diplomatic, when curiosity flashed inside his master’s eyes. Upon seeing the sort of look on Dominic’s face, Byakko slapped his forehead. It seem that he did not help to reduce the wild curiosity brewing inside the redhead, but merely emphasize it to the point he will pardon any sort of disaster that might come through if she changed into her alter form, even if it concerned death of countless innocent lives…

“Is she that awesome?” he asked, his eyes practically twinkling. Byakko ran out of solution when he knocked Dominic down with his elbow, causing the demigod to loose his conscious, and placed a seal on his forehead. Suzaku sighed when she saw what happened, and said to Byakko to do whatever he must to satisfy the demigod’s endless curiosity. That was when Byakko’s body shimmered with brilliant white light, before disappearing into thin air.

“That…hurts,” complained the demigod, as he got onto his feet, only to find himself standing in mid air. When he turned around, he found Byakko standing next to him with face as grim as Death’s. “I have a feeling that this is an imaginary world created by you,” he said, sounding a little pissed off, as the white tiger shrugged.

“It’s a reconstructed world based on my memory. You do so want to see Lady Hoku’s alter form, don’t you? I can’t let her change into her dragon self, so this, I bet, is enough to satisfy your crazy curiosity,” replied the white tiger, sounding somewhat irritated. Dominic scowled at his slave deity’s abrupt and direct comment but find not a way to reply him. He has a point there. “Wait a while for it to load. Once it does, it will look a lot better than your world’s 3D cinema,” said the white tiger with a grin. Immediately their surrounding blackened, and seconds later, they were floating above a majestic castle ground, similar to those of ancient time. He saw a man with very long black hair running on the ground, his magnificent robe flowing behind him. Behind that man was another man with smaller build and girlish features, and his hair were reddish brown, and measured as long as the first man’s hair. On their face, panic and alarm was written all over. They were running in a hurried manner, until they reach a pond, with a gazebo constructed in the middle of the waters, linked to the dry ground by stepping stones that seem to float on clear blue water. Byakko grabbed the collar for the demigod’s shirt and dragged him down, and they passed through the roof of the gazebo to land next to a woman in her early thirties, with shoulder length black hair and familiar golden yellow eyes. On her forehead was a blood-mark that ran from between her eyebrow to almost until her hairline.

“This was her, some hundred years ago,” Byakko introduced the demigod to the image in front of them. When the two running man arrived at the gazebo, he saw that the first man, who sport black hair and dressed in magnificent blue robe, had a pair of blue eyes, and his hair was tied into an intricate bun topped with ornaments which featured mainly a roaring dragon made of blue jewels. Behind him, a younger looking man with much softer feature, and stood much shorter than the first man. His garment weren’t any intricate than those of the first man, but anyone who looked at him will agree that he radiates such regal aura. The two men both had pointy ears, and they have almost similar red mark running across their forehead. “That is Azuma, Hoku’s husband, and behind him, the DragonKing who controls the element fire, Kaji.”

“Wait. If this is that Hoku lady, why did she appear very different from her just now,” he asked which had Byakko sighing deeply in regret. When he realized that the white tiger couldn’t further elaborate the thing he wanted to know, he changed the question; “Is this her alter form you're talking about?”

Byakko shook his head in denial. “Just wait,” said the white tiger, and immediately their surrounding went blank. When the picture reappeared around them, the previously beautiful castle complex had been reduced to rubble, and the sky was so dark, laden with thunderbolts and thick, black cloud. The wind was blowing very violently, but that did not seem to affect them at all. This was, after all, a replay of Byakko’s memory. Then he saw a building closely guarded by three females, but they were too far away for the two to hear whatever they were talking about, when golden light suddenly shot through the building guarded by the females and covered the sky. There was no end to the light that filled the dark sky, and as it subsidized, a dragon form appeared, and the air was filled by the sound of bells tinkling. The dragon was so huge that it could easily crush the remaining building in the castle complex if it ever landed. Floating in the air, he could really see how huge the dragon was, with each of its scale gleaming with the color of pure gold, and its wings, adorned with countless bells, spread over the land so wide he had doubt he could guess the actual length. The sound it made sounded far scarier than the thunder that roamed the sky, and immediately, he felt so small standing among the gliding body of the six-winged serpentine. Turning to Byakko, he saw in the white tiger’s eyes, sense of satisfaction.

“This is her,” he said simply. “Now, does that satisfy your curiosity, Master Dominic?” he added, and yet the demigod did not reply him. As Byakko floated further to her serpentine body, he stood next to her claw, in which each of her fingers alone was as long as Byakko’s height. Dominic was too awed by the live comparison he was getting from his friend that not a single word escaped his mouth.

Huge.

As if to tease him, Byakko changed into his alter form of a white tiger and stood ‘on’ her ‘palm’. He barely filled the area by a quarter, when Byakko’s alter form was twice as big as his human form. Smiling knowingly, he merely let his friend do the thinking himself. What he was showing him was enough to delete all sort of curiosity that existed within his master over Lady Hoku, and why he wasn’t allowed to acquire her as his slave deity. Her size alone dictates her importance, and power.

“Hence she almost never appears in her alter form,” added the white tiger. “And the other DragonKings measure almost the same length and size as her. A deity of such size and power must never fall under any human, demigod or not. Do you understand what I’m saying, Dom?” enquired the white tiger, which forced the demigod to turn to him. He nodded, but then, the white tiger saw what he thought to be ‘determination’. “Stop wanting to make her yours. It won’t work.”

“No, it’s not that. Fine. I’ve learned my lesson…” he sad, finally submitting to the things Byakko had been trying to tell him. “No man, not even the mighty Dominic could have her…” he added, which had the white tiger laughing madly over the statement.

“Forever a narcissist, aren’t you?”

Dominic grinned.

“So, I take that you're satisfied with what I’ve showed you?”

The redhead demigod nodded.

“That you can’t have her?”

He nodded again.

“Then, let’s go back.”

“Wait. One more question.”

Byakko rolled his eyes. “What is it now?”

“If she was not for anyone to summon, why that relic ever came into existence?” asked the demigod, still curious. Byakko bit his lips, as if he was reluctant to answer that question, but he gave up in the end when he explained briefly.

“Aside Ten, she has another child. A daughter. She was made the governess of sea, but then she fell in love with a mortal man and asked the Celestial Emperor to turn her into a human. Of course she was stripped off her power and immortality, but Hoku and Azuma, as well as the girl’s elder brother, Ten, refused to severe their ties with her, and gave her the scepter so that she could summon her family if needed. The scepter you used to call upon her was what left of all three…and it was made so that only Umi could summon her families.”

“Where were the other two?”

Byakko smacked his friend’s head with his tiger palm. “You're still thinking about getting the other two?!”

“I’m just asking, Byakko,” replied the demigod, as he smiled sheepishly.

“The other two had been destroyed, Dom. After Umi died no one could use the scepter, so it was destroyed. The jewels were taken apart and sold as ordinary pieces,” answered the white tiger. “Only Hoku’s remain. There was some reason why she was so emotional then. First, you tried to summon her regardless of the earthquake caused by your insensible power release. Secondly, of course, that nightgown incident, and thirdly, when you attempted at calling her by that scepter, although it wasn’t enough, it still linked back to her and that reminded her of Umi,” Byakko explained, his voice somewhat heavy and sad. Squinting at the demigod, the white tiger sighed deeply. “Don’t you think you're being too hard on her, Dom? She may be a DragonKing but she’s still a woman, you know?” he said, and their surrounding went blank. Before he could say anything, he blacked out, and when he reopened his eyes he was lying on the leaf-covered floor of the woods. Next to him stood Byakko who was already in his human form…

Getting onto his feet, he saw the lady and Suzaku still seated on the boulder they sat on before Byakko kidnapped him and brought him to his world of reconstructed memory. Without warning, he marched toward the two ladies, and this shocked Byakko. Before he could do anything, the redhead demigod was already standing in front of the lady, and his sudden and abrupt appearance shocked her, and Suzaku. When the lady held up her head, their eyes met, but Dominic still refused to look anywhere else. Byakko was about to say something when the demigod took the liberty of breaking the silence.

“Fine, I apologize for, one, forcing you to come here by shaking this continent madly by releasing almost my full spiritual width. Second, for being so arrogant, that I thought you’re here because I summoned you here. Third, for…tearing your skirt away, fourth, for…”

“That’s enough, Dominic,” said the lady, as she looked away. The demigod; however was surprised when she mentioned his name instead of calling him ‘demigod’ like she used to do. Brushing her face with her hand, she sighed deeply as she got onto her feet, about to leave. Once she started to glow, he lunged forward again, and this time, accidentally pulled her hair the while he was aiming for her arm. Feeling the thug, she stopped glowing and split second later she turned around and stared at him murderously. Without any warning, she lunged forward and placed her hand onto the demigod’s chest. Her hand glowed with the brilliant color of golden hue as she slowly pushed her hand into Dominic’s chest. She said something, and the demigod felt something unusual taking place in his chest and when she removed her hand, his chest was still glowing with the same sort of light that had been accompanied her from the first moment they met. After few second, the light died, but the weird feeling did not go away, and quizzically he looked into the lady’s eyes.

“I will forever keep my eyes on you, Dominic,” she said casually, a small smile appearing on her lips. “You are a dangerous soul to be allowed to roam free on this world’s surface. Your power could bring about happiness to others, as well as disaster. So much you wanted to have a link to me, then that is my gift to you.”

“Will I be able to call upon you as I wish?” he asked, still hoping. Byakko slapped his forehead upon the request and Suzaku sighed. The lady rolled her eyes.

“I will definite come to you every time you're up to no good,” she said, “But it is still my decision when should I appear upon you.”

‘Still a stubborn little lady with an ego the size of this universe,’ complained the demigod quietly to himself, when the lady suddenly glared at him.

“Say whatever you want, demigod,” she said, irritated. Dominic was shocked when she said that out of nowhere, and he immediately remembered that she could read one’s mind with or without the subject’s permission. Then a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. “Do you want me to tell everyone about that little moment you shared with that girl…called…” then she pretended to be shocked, “My goodness. How many girls did you hit on last night alone?”

By then the demigod’s face was filled with horror. “That is NOT fair! Don’t go running through my memories and personal matters without my permission!” he retorted, face blazing red, when Byakko laughed hysterically in the background.

“I will do that if you keep asking for my loyalty, Dominic,” she said as a warning. “You wanted to always be near me, or, well, to be able to keep in contact with me, would you say? Now you are definitely linked to me. This might give me some headache, but I guess it was worth the trouble knowing what you're capable of doing,” added the lady, “and with the sort of curious yet selfish mind you have…”

His jaw dropped. Then he looked down to the spot where she ‘buried’ something into his chest moment ago.

“You’ve put into me a spying device!”

She smiled.

“Isn't that good?” she asked, and she, soon glowed again. This time, however, he did not try to stop her and the three watched as she disappeared into speckles of light in front of her. Once her presence was no longer felt, Byakko stepped forward and patted him on his shoulder.

“At least you’ve her attention from now on, master,” the white tiger said, as he smiled knowingly. “How brave you are to let yourself be attached to her. Be careful, Dom, for your every action, thought, and word, will now be relayed to her through that link she planted into you. And she could even go through your memories to learn more about you, and the things you’ve done…”

“But I want her to swear me her loyalty, not…treat me like a puppy by putting this leash onto me by means of controlling my action!” protested the demigod, as Suzaku and Byakko listened on. They both smiled, when he continued complaining, “I wanted to command her, not let myself be commanded by her!”

‘I am no one’s property, demigod!’ echoed a voice angrily from out of no where, which shocked the trio. For split second the situation quieted down, when both Byakko and Suzaku burst out laughing. ‘You’ve put me through enough trouble, so be grateful that someone’s watching your back!’ added the voice, which caused Byakko and Suzaku to laugh harder. Dominic’s face turned bright red of embarrassment, and he fell seated onto the same boulder where Hoku previously sat on.

“On second thought, master,” chirped the previously quiet Suzaku, “You’ve now a friend to talk to even when you're alone. Isn’t that neat? Lady Hoku isn’t a bad person once you’ve get to know her…well, I mean, be on good term with her, that is.”

“And you could trust her, even,” added Byakko with an assuring smile spreading across his lips. “The thing she said about you that she read from your memory might merely be a warning. I don’t think she’d go barging into your memory and start to announce all sorts of secrets you’d rather keep to yourself to everyone, not even when she’s so angry at you for whatever you did to her.”

“Not to mention that she was already very busy with her Imperial Dealings, so she won’t do it for fun…or simply because she feels like it. She’s not an ordinary female deity, more else, so cheer up and stop feeling so bad just because she linked you to her,” said the female deity, a smile appearing on her lips. “Just…be sure not to do anything foolish, though…or she might interfere further than you’d anticipate,” warned Suzaku, as she yawned. “I guess its time for me to continue my sleep…”

“So am I,” agreed the white tiger. “Lady Hoku summoned me while I was sound asleep,” he said, “But since it had all settled…its time for me to resume my little nap.”

“You guys sleep? How about your responsibility that concerns the gates?”

Byakko smiled. “We are linked to the gate by our soul…or awareness, Dom,” he explained, “Very much the way you and Lady Hoku’s linked now. Whenever anything amiss happened, we will be alerted no matter where we are, or in which realm we are in, so sleeping doesn’t really pose any threat to our duty. Well now, I must take my leave. Good night, master,” he said, and with that he disappeared into thin air. Suzaku bid him a similar good night, and followed the steps of her colleague, leaving the demigod alone.

He sighed deeply as he looked down onto the spot where Hoku had planted that link into him. What an extraordinary occurrence. His encounter with one of the deity he had only heard of, but never encountered somehow opened his eyes, and changed his overview. Previously he was so sure that acquiring a deity’s vow of loyalty merely involved the initial summoning, and that he could have any deity he’d like, but his brief encounter with the DragonKing called Hoku made him realize that not all deities could be his and obey his orders…

“You're still listening?” he said into the still night.

‘What is it, Domi?’ replied a tired and sleepy voice in his head. The voice no longer echoed out of nowhere like previously when Suzaku and Byakko were still around, and he realized that she might’ve did that on purpose, as a warning that she could even listen to his conversation with others around him, as well as let others hear her.

Realizing that what she had told him about the link weren’t a lie, he chuckled to himself. “Domi? Why not Dom or Dominic or your usual demigod?” asked the redhead, as he stretched his arm into the air and yawned. He looked at the moon high in the sky and realized it had well pass midnight. The clock must've been around one or two in the morning, he muttered to himself. He didn’t really need a watch. Living for thousands of years had taught him on how to read the time according to the moon or sun effectively.

‘That will be your punishment,’ she said, rather sleepy. The demigod chuckled at her reasoning. He realized that she was still angry at him from her short, almost insensible and childish reply.

“How’s Azuma?”

She did not reply him as soon, when he felt another presence interfering with the link. He realized from whom could this presence originate from, but not wanting to make any false assumption, he waited. Waiting cautiously, he readied himself for any lashing that might come from the interrupting presence.

‘I’m fine, thank you. And just a note for you, I will forgive your rudeness for the event just now, for this once, only. I will not tolerate it for the second time, thought,’ said an alien course voice which belonged to a man, that he did not recognize, yet easily figured to be Azuma. In his voice were hints of jealousy when he spoke of ‘the event just now’, and it was very visible as well as obvious. They must've made up, he thought, and he must've realized that he had hurt her feeling the while she sulked in the mortal realm, while she must've explained what had happened to him extensively that the poor guy was willing to forgive him for whatever he had done. ‘And you better not start doing anything stupid, because…’

Like a telephone line, it was cut off by someone, which was Hoku, obviously, and this had him laughing alone in the middle of the forest.

‘Laugh all you want. I need to catch on my sleep. If you’ve anything you want to tell me or complain about, do it once the sun at my place rises,’ she said, as if she could no longer hold her eyes open and she’s terribly tired.

‘Okay,’ he replied, and after that, there was no longer any respond or reply from his distant watcher. He laughed mildly to himself, and after moments later he jumped onto his feet and walked away. He however, will never forget of the event that took place here in this modest clearing in the middle of the wood, the encounter, and how he became permanently linked to one of the most powerful deity existed.

He will never forget.

~ The End ~

Glossary

*Byakko – one of the four guardians of the gate in Japanese/Korea/Chinese folktale, almost always associated with the element wind. It is portrayed as a huge white tiger.

*Suzaku – likened to phoenix, the bird of destruction and rebirth, associated to the element fire. She guards the southern (if I’m not mistaken) gate in Japanese/Korea/Chinese legend.

*Sohryu – guardian beast of water element, guardian of the east and portrayed in the form of a mythical blue dragon that came from the Japanese/Korea/Chinese folktale.

*Genbu – guardian beast usually portrayed as a green turtle with snake as its tale.

*demigod – an immortal who descend from mortal (according to my term tho)

Author’s notes;

1 – The character Dominic (affectionately called Domi/Dom) belongs to Mahata, a friend of mine, while the character Hoku belongs to me (the author). This piece was written in a way to commemorate their ‘clash’, since both of them appeared in each other’s fictions in our own way. Unlike most of my story, this piece is a true one-shot and although it is related to a bigger piece, it stands alone in its rightful way. Anyways Dominic belongs to Mahata rightfully.

2 – This story is actually a script for comics (yes I do comic/manga as well) so I tried to write it as graphical as possible, throwing in detailed description so bear with all the descriptions and the length.

3 – The ‘Ten’ in this short story is the same ‘Ten’ or brother of Umi in my other piece, Love of Sea posted here on kapasitor.net, if you ever read it. So that makes Hoku Umi’s mother and Azuma/Mizuno Umi’s father. LoL

4 – Last but not least, I thank you all for the attention and willingness to read this. Please drop a comment so I’ll know how the story fare in your judgment and help me grow as both an artist and a writer.

Ta~

Iasa

\(^_^)v

Aftermaths;

\(^_^)/ bonus pieces, everyone!

When Hoku barges in his room in the middle of the night with her skirt torn and her face very red, Ten was so shocked that he almost knocked down his ink bottle all over the papers he had been signing.

“Mother! What’s the matter?” he asked, standing up from his seating. But before he could walk to her, she was already marching towards him. He saw that there were hints of tears at the corner of her eyes. Did she fight with his father again? He wasn’t very sure why she was looking the way she looked, but he didn’t have the nerve to enquire further what was wrong too.

“Do you have your thundercruise with you at the moment?” she asked, sounding like she was in a hurry. Ten nodded, “Lend it to me,” she said, and the young man handed to her a glowing handful of tame thunder that merged out of his hand. Without saying anything, she exited the room and walked to the court in front of the quarters, and eventually ‘jumped’ on the tame thunder. Loud banging noise followed, and the spot where he last saw his mother standing had a huge hole on the granite floor slab.

Ten shook his head as he closed the door to his quarters and quietly tended to his interrupted work, thinking how the palace keeper will freak out once he sees the hole on the ground the next day…

“You seemed mad. What’s the matter?” asked the Emperor of the West and governed the element fire, or also known personally as Kaji when his path crossed those of his counterpart of the East, Azuma. The man with amazing black hair turned to look at his friend and groaned. Despite all the reaction he was getting from Azuma, he knew it perfectly that the cause of his anger weren’t him. Azuma wasn’t the type of person who would simply lash his anger on someone else but the concerned soul, so he doesn’t really worry when he straightforwardly voiced his random guess, “Did you fight with Lady Hoku again?”

The water emperor bit his lips.

Bingo.

Kaji chuckled as he patted the tall emperor’s shoulder.

“Couldn’t you two be at peace for longer than a month or two? News of your fights with her had started to bore the hell out of me…” commented the fire emperor, which caused Azuma to glare at his friend. “Come one Azuma.”

“Who wouldn’t be angry if she returned with very torn skirt, and later on, I learned that she had linked herself to one human?” blurted the water emperor, face stricken with obvious uneasiness, as his friend smiled knowingly.

“And that human is a guy,” guessed Kaji, which had the water emperor looking stupefied. The fire emperor laughed gleefully until his teeth showed, as his palm contently patted Azuma’s stiffing shoulder. “You're an easy prey for my guessing, Azuma. And this happened mostly due to you jealousy,” pointed the fire emperor, which caused Azuma’s face to grew very red and flushed. Kaji laughed again, as their eyes met. He did not say anything further, as he walked away, and left the water emperor frozen in his steps, his eyes fixed on the leaving fire emperor…