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𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒃 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅, ── 𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆. . . 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅. 𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏. . . 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅? Seated across from the deity was the woman to whom she spoke, Ayume Koubu, and the first in many centuries to receive the favor of the Fox clan's progenitor. She often came to the innermost sanctum of the shrine to meditate. It was here that she first encountered her clan's progenitor, Inari, and where they made their initial pact. ``Call it a. . . . change of heart.´´ Ayume spoke with a warmth in her tone that the Fox deity hadn't witnessed before. Much like their previous meetings, Ayume could only see Inari as a mirror image of herself; a young woman with a fiery spirit and a desire for power. Though her presence was more like an apparition, ── a projection of what she wished to see rather than the deity's actual true form. This apparition stood from her seated position before gradually closing the distance between the two. Until she was within close enough proximity to capture Ayume by the chin, forcing her gaze to meet her own. As if to peer into her soul for answers. 𝑰 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒙 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔. 𝑰 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏? /𝑾𝒉𝒚?!/ ``You wanted me to abandon all earthy attachments in exchange for power. I can no longer uphold that agreement. However, my goal hasn't changed. . . so I haven't turned my back on you. I still intend to restore the Fox Clan to its former glory. So I ask that you continue to lend me your strength, but that you still allow me to keep the bonds I've created. They're too precious to me to let go.´´ 𝑯𝒂𝒉. . . . 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍. 𝑼𝒏𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. ``Even so. . . I've already decided.´´ Inari gave a dissatisfied hum before releasing Ayume's chin. Silently casting a disapproving gaze over the woman. Candlelight fading in a flash to briefly pair the silence with an empty darkness. Until the room became illuminated once more in azure flames. The apparition that once stood before her now took the form of a towering fox with white fur that seemed to emit it's own ethereal glow. Inari's voice erupted in a beastly roar. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒏. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. Ayume Koubu said nothing as she rose to her feet. Her amethyst gaze met the eyes of the beast with unyielding determination. ``That's where you're wrong. As long as I'm alive, the clan will 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 fall. I will restore the Koubu clan to its former glory with or without your power.´´ . . . . 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏. . . ``Maybe so. . . but that won't stop me from trying. If that makes me a fool, then I'll be the Koubu clan's biggest one yet.´´ The silence that followed the young fox's bold proclamation was immediately disturbed by the deity's amused laughter. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒅. . . . 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒘𝒆'𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒗𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅? ``I do.´´ 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅. . . . And just like that, Inari's presence faded, the Candlelight returned to normal, and Ayume stood alone in the center of the room. Now that she was no longer weighed down by the influence of Inari's fury, she somehow felt lighter. As though she'd been freed of the shackles placed upon her in return for the power she so desperately sought. Emotions that she'd kept locked away came flooding back like a tidal wave, bringing with them a sense of both regret and relief. Relief to be permitted to feel them in the first place, but full of regret for the damage caused by giving them up in the first place. With any luck, the damage to her bonds won't be irreparable. ``I chose my path. Now the only way to go is forward.´´ Thus her first steps were taken down the path beyond the crossroads. 𝐄𝐍𝐃.