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Yukina mumbled a spell that lighted up the paper talisman in her hand. Electricity gathered and formed a sizzling ball that she hurled at her enemy. Too slow. It was cut in half by the enemy’s sword that kept slashing forward with the momentum. Yukina tried to dodge, but she could not evade cleanly. The sword nicked her shoulder - the magic energy that coursed through it made a much heavier hit, sending her flying. She desperately protected her neck as she fell and rolled on the ground. She managed to avoid a major injury, but it was clear that she could no longer continue this duel.
As Yukina struggled to get up, her opponent stood over her, sword pointing at Yukina’s neck.
“You lose again, Human.”
“That is right,” Yukina answered plainly. She glared up to the pair of grass-green eyes overlooking her. Her enemy met the gaze with equal coldness.
“You aren’t going to deny your defeat?”
“What is there to deny? Your sword is on my throat.”
Her enemy snorted but lowered the sword. “Why, then, must you be so stubborn? You are a human. I am a god. A human cannot defeat a god. It is impossible.”
“I will make the impossible possible.”
“How?”
“With my life.”
The god laughed. “Your life is worth nothing. You mortals expire like morning dew shed from the leaves; a fleeting spark in a universe that has lasted so long you can never grasp a concept of its age.”
Yukina’s expression did not change. There was neither anger nor bitterness at the god’s jibe.
“So?” – was all she said.
“So even if you lay down your life you will still find no victory. Is that not clear to you after all this time you have challenged me?”
Ever since her father’s most precious “possession” had been taken away by the gods, Yukina had ventured to the Heavenly Plane to retrieve it. This god was the gatekeeper. She had never been able to defeat her. Not even close.
“So long as I live, I will keep trying.”
“Are you telling me to kill you?” the god asked.
“The sword is in your hands. I am at your mercy.”
The god stared down at her for two more seconds. After perhaps some pondering, she returned the sword to her sheath and turned to walk away.
“Killing you would only sully my sword. Be grateful you can leave again with your life, Human.”
……………
Humans were a greedy race, perhaps it was because they had been created in the semblance of their creators.
The gods had given them more than they would ever need, yet they found the necessity to war with each other. Those who already had it all were still not content with enjoying those riches throughout their lives – they sought to keep the riches forever by seeking immortality. The First Sorcerer was one such man. He stole the Elixir of Souls from the Heavenly Plane and consumed it. He would not achieve immortality with this act – the elixir’s power too strong for him to bear and would later take his life – but he passed on the propensity for mage craft in his blood.
This blood still ran in the Minato Family, long after their riches were depleted, and they had been relegated to peasantry. Minato Ryuunosuke was a humble man who used his craft to treat the ill. For those who were beyond saving even by powers that were originally divine, he would sing for them – his beautiful voice eased their passing. His voice caught the envy of the gods. When he refused to sing at a banquet on the Heavenly Plane, his voice was taken away by its king, and he was left to live on in despair.
From that day onwards, Minato Yukina lived solely to reclaim her father’s voice.
Yukina was talented in mage craft, but she had thus far only followed in her father’s footsteps as a healer. She was physically weak and clumsy – completely unfit to fight. Still, she willed herself to take up dueling, compensating what she lacked in muscle strength with powerful magic. The road leading up to the Heavenly Plane was not one mortals should follow. She had plowed through the territory of rare beasts and finally reached the Heavenly Plane’s gates. It did not matter how many times she had to challenge the gatekeeper – she would do it until she could push past her or die trying.
This was the twentieth time she had fought the gatekeeper. Based on her research, fire and light spells should be most effective. Yukina cast fire at the gatekeeper, but the attack was dodged, scorching nothing but earth. She kept at it, throwing stream after stream of flames. The gatekeeper was too fast though, her movements untraceable by eye. She flashed before Yukina, sword sweeping for her head. Yukina ducked by only a hairsbreadth. She forced her weary feet to step back, putting distance between the gatekeeper and herself so she could heave much needed breaths.
“Fiery today, aren’t you?” the gatekeeper noted. Yukina smirked.
“Fire and light are the weaknesses for a god of the night, am I right, Sayo?”
The gatekeeper’s expression changed. Never had Yukina seen the calm disappear from her porcelain-like features to be replaced by such rage.
“How…how do you know my name?”
Yukina's heart pounded in fear, but she did not let it show. “I found it strange that one as powerful as you would take on the lowliest job on the Heavenly Plane, so I searched and searched for an answer. At long last I found it. You are one of the twin gods who keep our time, the Patron of the Night who ran away from the Inner Court because you could not bear to be a mere mirror of your sister, the Sun…”
“Be quiet.”
The sword that had nearly taken her head just moments ago now swung even faster. Yukina realized that all the times they had previously fought, it had never been Sayo’s intention to hurt her. But this had changed. This was the god’s true power – Yukina could no longer catch even a glimpse of Sayo’s attacks. She could only duck by instinct. “Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet!!” the god chanted. Yukina felt the wind stir by her side and brought her staff up just in time to narrowly deflect Sayo’s blade – its tip slid off the staff to clip her throat, sending blood pouring. She had to back off. The next attack would not be so merciful. But like Sayo had said more times than once, she was a god, Yukina was a human. A human could not move like a god. It was not possible.
Sayo’s sword plunged into Yukina’s body. She only noticed when the pain hit her. She saw Sayo’s eyes widen in shock, her hands slipping from the sword that remained skewered through Yukina even as she fell. The expression reminded Yukina of herself on that night when her father returned home voiceless – one of guilt and helplessness.
“We’re alike, aren’t we?” Yukina muttered. It had become too painful to breathe. She was dying, but she felt strangely at peace.
Maybe she had never truly believed that she would be the one to turn impossible to possible. On the surface, it appeared that she was courageous. But like Sayo, she was just running away from a past she could not accept, chasing a dream that could not be.
……………
It was bright. Her eyelids were heavy, but she forced them open to survey the surroundings. She was staring into a wooden ceiling. Light was pouring in from the window beside her.
“You’re awake.”
Yukina turned her head towards the sound of the voice. Sayo was seated on her other side; she closed the book she had been reading and put it on her lap.
“Where am I?” Yukina asked.
“Not the Land of the Dead, if that is what you are concerned about. It was no difficult task to preserve your life.”
So Sayo had saved her. “Why?”
“Should you not just be grateful?”
Sayo stood. She flung her hair behind her so it fell down her armoured back. The light shone on the turquoise lengths and made them seem to gleam. Bright. Powerful. There was something different about the way Sayo now carried herself, like she had found a new meaning to her existence. She turned slightly so she met Yukina’s eyes once again.
“I will follow you, Minato.”
“Follow…me?”
“Your quest to retrieve your father’s voice. I swear to support you through it. We will carve our path forward, together.”
What lay ahead on their journey was what no one could predict. But Sayo would not let Yukina run away again, and in turn, she too would have to walk forward without ever turning back. They might not find what they came seeking; still, they would at least find themselves, and a bond in one another.