"Well... test of death... sounds... fun."Luna gave me a look. What else should I say?!
I looked around the mausoleum like place, seeing cubbyholes filled with cobwebs and unknown material, rotten to the point I cannot tell what it once was.
I felt out the presence that filled this place, of death, and above it was the ghost.
Calm... silent. This ghost felt... different. Not unstable and dangerous like the half-elf, not tough and rough like the blacksmith. He didn"t feel elegant, or strict.
"This soul feels... quiet. Austere. Filled with something that moves in silence."
I walked forward. "I am the living, come to learn of death."
Dust moved, spinning in circles as the stillness broke, the presence of death covered by the remaining will of this place"s guardian.
He formed, a Foxkin with faded brown fur, with streaks of grey. He looked to be middle-aged, in his 40"s-50"s perhaps.
His skin was pale and yellow as if sick, and pulled tight against his skull on his face.
He looked... sick, starved, old, tired. He gave an air of death that really matched the mausoleum.
"I am the keeper of the dead, and the gatekeeper to the fox G.o.d"s h.e.l.l."
I took a step back nervously. "What? Fox G.o.d"s h.e.l.l?"
"What is this h.e.l.l?"
He gave a grin, his lips pulled back showing white teeth.
"A celestial G.o.d will have a divine realm in the celestial realm, or a "heaven". Similar realms exist in the Abyss, as the Abyss is just many h.e.l.l"s stacked atop one another. I keep the way to the h.e.l.l of our G.o.d, the demonic realm which must be guarded."
Is that... where I was? When I had that vision in my dreams? The demonic side resides there... it felt like h.e.l.l.
Yeah that would help support that theory.
"What is the test to take on this Path of Realization?"
"To, as you might imagine, "Realize" the truths death may teach."
Okay... that"s not much of an answer. Are you saying I am to learn from death?
He gestured to the cubby holes, now filled with scrolls recreated from the mulch that had been there before.
"Read."
"What?"
He sighed. "There is much you do not know. So read. Or actually..." he trailed off in thought.
"Use that light spirit there to preserve these scrolls after I fade to prevent them from being taken by time once more. Take them with you after. Then read them when you can. They are the records of our people, so hopefully it will do you some good."
"Alright." I nodded. Yeah that sounded useful and something to note.
"For now, lie down on this table so I can kill you."
We all kinda stood there. "Sorry?"
He groaned. "Come. Over. Here. So. I. Can. Kill. You."
I blinked a bit. "Why?"
He rolled his eyes, limping as he walked in his frail legs. "How else do you go to h.e.l.l?"
I pointed at myself. "You want me to go to h.e.l.l? What am I to do there?"
I think I took the "die and go to h.e.l.l" part pretty well. h.e.l.l(no pun intended) it"s another world. Maybe dying isn"t that permanent.
For example, if I die in the Dungeon, apparently I"m resurrected too, even if I"ve never tested that idea.
Seriously, ouch! No need to test, especially since I don"t want to push it.
"You will go to h.e.l.l, and be left in there for until the next sunrise, so about 15-16 hours. You will journey from h.e.l.l and explore the abyss and do all you can to not let your soul be devoured."
He turned to look at me, complete seriousness radiating off of him.
"We Kitsune are Bork of both demonic and celestial powers. However, generally we fear the darkness within ourselves and our demonic nature. So we prize the light and seek to be good and bright. This test is to reveal your inner darkness."
"Okay..." I drew out the word, seeing Luna staring at me in very heightened concern.
"So I am to find in the abyss and h.e.l.l my own dark side? That"s a bit..."
"Cliché? Stupid? Overly obvious and unrealistic?"
"So I lie down on this table and you... kill me."
"Yes."
"How?"
He pointed at the desk that had once been splinters. I looked and noticed the vials of fluid, some glowing a bright purple.
"That"s a lotta poison elements..."
"So you kill me by poison? Is this basically just suspending me in a near-death state."
He shook his head. "No, you"ll genuinely die. We would use light magic to retain your corpses vitality until we jolt your heart."
Uh... that actually sounds like it"ll work.
"As long as your soul isn"t damaged or trapped into demonic slavery/servitude, you"ll come back."
Uh... can you not gloss over that part?
"How do I AVOID all that?"
"Don"t make deals. Don"t get caught. Don"t go anywhere dangerous and just stay nice and safe in the h.e.l.l of our G.o.d if you like."
"...!"
I looked, seeing his unchanging expression, but feeling his souls expectation.
"...the test will be pa.s.sed no matter what I do in the Abyss. But there"s something about whether or not one is willing to explore the abyss or stay in the h.e.l.l that has something important about it."
I walked forward. "As a ghost, you aren"t able to provide the light magic to keep my body in a resurrect-able state. So what"s your plan?"
He pointed at Halo. "I"m going to use a artifact filled with light energy, that you will recharge right now. Then that spirit will be the one making sure it works and controlling it."
I nodded. I turned and said "Luna, Fenrir. Find someplace to rest, and see if food can be found for you guys. I"ll see you tomorrow."
***
Luna looked at Kyoku"s gentle smile. "Is he insane? He"s going to die and enter the abyss? Why go so far?"
He waved, and turned away, going to the desk and grabbing the poison the ghost indicated.
Kyoku drank it swiftly, and went to the center of the building, pushing himself up onto the stone table and lying down.
"Let"s do this."
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The ghost nodded, waiting.
Luna turned and walked to the doorway, then turned back to anxiously watch.
Fenrir stared alongside her as Kyoku began to breathe more lightly, his eyes fluttering as his pulse quickened.
After about 3 minutes, he was clearly unconscious, and suddenly... not another breathe was leaving his mouth.
Halo flew over, golden stone filled by Kyoku"s mana as he waited for the poison to kick in already on his chest, so Halo just landed upon it.
A soft glow lit up Kyoku"s body, becoming a coffin of light, preserving his body.
Kyoku the Foxkin... was dead.
***
I looked around the strange place I was in.
Wait a sec... I reached for the mana in the air, feeling a large amount of dark elements mixing with all the elements that are usually there.
Separating the dark energy from the fire elements I created a small light.
Black water, which I knew contained the corpses of many Foxkin.
I looked about this strange ocean, wondering if the demon fox was nearby.
I walked, for a seemingly endless time.
I made the fire much larger and threw it higher to shed more light as I moved.
Finally something began to come into sight.