Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

"Cancel the bridge!" Clan Lord Kaito roared hastily towards Akane. The Bridge could not be tainted by outside forces or they may never see their ancestors again. This meant their mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, or friends. They would lose their connection and way to speak and remember the dead, they would lose the ability to be remembered to see their children grow up, see the state of their grandchildren, or their great-great-great-grandchildren. They would be unresigned in death, unable to be at peace with the knowledge that their clan was likely no longer alive!

As long as the Ancestors Hope survived, the bridge remained pure, they would never truly die. He, as the Clan Lord, could not allow something like that to happen even if he had to burn his soul!

"Akane! CANCEL THE BRIDGE!!" He roared with a tinge of viciousness and urgency in his voice.

Akane was a little absentminded by the words of the Nine Tailed Ancestor followed by the three rings of the bell signaling an attack. To her, when had the village ever been attacked? Not in this generation, or the last, or the last ten? The Ancestors Hope protected them, blessed them with privacy and secrecy to live without pain or conflict. But what was happening now?

How did the Nine Tailed Ancestor know about the tragedy today? About the compass?

"AKANE!!" Tsumi, Akio, Kaiga, and pretty much everyone deeply familiar with her called out nearly simultaneously. Regardless of age, they knew the consequences of the bridge being tainted.

Akane snapped out of her absentminded state and regained her focus. She pulled away from the sword’s hilt. At least, she tried to.

She pulled, tried to spread her fingers, and even relax her body completely, but the sword seemed to be glued to her fingers and unwilling to let her go. "I!" She struggled with that one word.

Clan Lord Kaito ordered, "Prepare our defenses, do not allow anyone to enter the village!" He realized the situation and quickly responded. There were a select few individuals in the crowd that vanished like a shadow. They seemed unreal and insubstantial, like illusions birthed from nothing. He approached Akane and said once more, "Cancel the bridge, Akane!"

"I! I’m trying! It won’t let me go!" She continued to do everything in her power to release her grip but to no avail. Frustration and trepidation pounded her heart endlessly. She couldn’t let the ceremony be tainted on her watch. She just couldn’t.

"This?!" Clan Lord Kaito was stunned, but he soon recovered. His expression decisively hardened. As long as Akane acted as a conduit to connect the bridge to this world with the Ancestors’ strength, then others could taint it. There had never been a moment where the ritual had to be closed off prematurely. After all, this event, this opening, lasted for a few minutes and occurred once every few years. The chance of an attack happening at this moment of time was incredibly small, yet this situation still occurred.

"Akane! Prepare yourself!" Clan Lord Kaito ordered before he grabbed his hand into the air. A strange force seemed to be birthed, unlike any the world has ever seen before, and a sword seemed to appear from absolutely nothing within his hands. It was a katana and had white hilt and sword guard. He grasped it heavily and without giving Akane time to say anything, he slashed it down viciously at her forearms.

Surprisingly, Akane instantly reacted. She extended her arm the furthest she could to ensure the cut was cleanly done.

The crowd watching gasped!

Ping!

The sound of metal clashing with metal resounded. Clan Lord Kaito’s expression and eyes suffused a terrifying light of horror as he saw a violet metallic glow protect Akane’s arms from being severed.

Even Akane was aghast at the Clan Lord’s decisiveness, but also trepidation at the fact it didn’t work. Would she cause the ceremony to be tainted? Will she be the sinner of her entire race this day? Was this the tragedy?!

"Ancestral Protection! They’re protecting her! The ritual won’t end until the natural time has passed!" Elder Eiji arrived on the stage with the flicker of a shadow, his eyes solemn and tinged in fear as he spoke. Clan Lord Kaito’s heart trembled as he realized the truth of the matter, his hands still trembling from the rebound.

Elder Hiroji arrived as well. His creaking body seemed to become non-existent as he wore light samurai armor and carried a katana in his hand. His old body exuded a youthful brilliance and honed battle intent. "We can’t do anything until the ritual passes naturally, so we kill our enemies! Did I teach you to feel fear at the slightest moment of danger or uncertainty?!" His voice was powerful as he berated the Clan Lord himself.

Elder Eiji looked towards Hiroji and warily smiled, his clothing changed as light samurai armor also formed from nothing around his body. He wielded a katana as well, his entire aura and eyes emitted a dense battle intent and willingness to die.

"We kill!" Elder Hiroji shouted to the clansmen who seemed to be watching in fear for the ceremony. "If they want to disturb the ceremony, taint it with their presence, then regardless of who they are, we taint them with death and offer their blood to our ancestors!" He hefted his sword in the air as he looked towards the direction of the rung bell.

"We kill!" Suddenly, women and men alike, children and even Tsumi and Akio viciously roared. Their eyes revealed a much concealed battle intent that seemed to have been cultivated since birth, it was as if the Kitsune was a warrior race! Their battle intent surged into the skies like an ethereal god, revealing its domineering might across the lands.

Their pitch black eyes and liquid teeth made their battle intent seemed devilish and evil in nature, giving one an eerie chill. As they chanted sonorously together. Each of their bodies seemed to magically shift, transforming from their ceremonial attire to full-blown light samurai outfit. They each wielded katanas and they’re outfits matched the colors of their hair. The incense they held were placed within their chest plate, kept close and protected.

They were like a rainbow of warriors birthed from nothing.

"WE KILL!!" Clan Lord Kaito came to his senses, his pitch black eyes suffused a dense, unrelenting killing intent. He transformed. His samurai armor was heavy in design instead of light, creating a sharp contrast to the others. His white katana vanished, revealing a white naginata. He hefted it in his hands, and dashed forth in lead of everyone.

In unison, everyone followed along, every man, woman, and child. Even the olden elders transformed, their bodies were filled with vigor and youth betraying their advanced age.

Akane looked at Akio and Tsumi, her heart quaking, but a deep, unfathomable battle intent surged in her heart as she wished to join them to protect their land, but she couldn’t. Her hand was still stuck on the sword.

Kaiga stayed behind, under his father’s orders to protect and oversee the cancellation of the ceremony, but truly to simply be with Akane in case of an accident. He was solemn, unlike his usual appearance of haughtiness. A rare trace of concern emerged in his eyes as he approached Akane, "Are you okay?"

Akane turned towards Kaiga. This young master had made her life quite frustrating sometimes with his endless courting, but for some reason, when she saw his eyes, her heart quivered. He seemed more worried about her than the ancestral bridge that everyone was willing to protect with their lives. Her feelings were complicated.

She softly nodded, "I’m fine. I’m just..." She looked towards the cluster of people going off to fight an unknown enemy. According to the Nine Tailed Ancestor, today was one of tragedy...

"Don’t worry! We’ve trained since birth for battle. Not a single one of them aren’t experienced warriors willing to lay down their lives to protect you...to protect our hope." Kaiga tried to reassure Akane. The Ancestral Hope allowed their lives to have a future even after death, a land where they can go and meet their ancestors, talk to them while living and see them when dead.

Even if Akio or Tsumi died, they would still have a life. This was why Akane and Kaiga wasn’t concerned about their deaths, but the outcome of them being unable to defend the village and protect the Ancestral Hope.

"En," she mindlessly nodded as she stared into the distance.

Klang! Klang! Klang!

The sound of battle had begun.

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