Hero Ghost [VoK Sea and Sky]

[ToxicShadow]

Hero: Ghost


Directory:

[ToxicShadow]

Sky prompt : Day 1A
Your hero is like a fish out of water here... why don't you do something to make them feel at home?
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Color: White & 1 AC

Since there was no other choice but to allow Ghost to settle in with them, Lore was one of the ones selected to guide the... chosen one. It only seemed most appropriate, since Lore had once been a being from another place that had come to the Celestial Heavens under unusual circumstances. Of course, as was the common method of the Heavens, anyone that something to teach or to show to Ghost would.

"Come along," Lore had called out to the silver eyed hero. "Before anything else, we must choose a dwelling for you. As you will be with us, you need a place to call your own."

Ghost could only nod as she followed after the male.

"Folks live in many parts of the Celestial Heavens, even building or finding their own homes as they settle in even more, but we do have a more central living space, with many of its own living quarters," Lore explained. "For the time being, I believe it would be best if you select a preexisting space."

Ghost nodded again.

In the end, Lore showed her various available rooms, rather than assigning one to her. For the sake of making her as comfortable as he could, he was more than willing to show her around and give her the time to choose a place for herself.

[223]

---

Sea prompt : Day 1A
Your hero needs a tour, they have no idea what they're doing! Do they even know how to walk on land??? Help the poor thing out.
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Color: Mid-gray & 1 AC

Although it was a little strange for her to walk on land, as if her body weighed more than before, which made her legs feel especially sluggish when she stepped, it was not all that terrible. Ghost figured she would just need some time to adjust.

As Lore was her current guide, there wasn't any chatter between the two of them. It seemed that they were a similar sort, neither saying much of anything that wasn't something necessary. The tour of the Celestial Heavens started with the God of the Void showing the hero many open living quarters, so she could claim a space of her own.

After that had been accomplished, he began to give her more of a full tour. "You could say that the cavern is really something of an underground palace. And the entrance, the courtyard, if you will, is the shrine. It's the location where most meetings take place." Lore explained.

The Celestial Heavens were vast, so they could not cover everything, but he touched on what he thought was important.

[b]"Down here... It's the most well known location for meditating, as well as the place of our healing waters." They had arrived at a rock garden, entangled with a beautifully crisp, clear body of water. "If you come here, know it's improper to be loud. It belongs to Chione, and her family."

[228]

---

Land prompt: Day 1B
Write about the new arrival's personality, why are they here and what do they make of the situation?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Simple underbelly & 2 AC

Ghost was... confused.

Honestly, she had barely come to grips with what was going on. From what she gathered, she had been in some sort of accident, but here she was. Others, left and right, were telling her that she was a hero and that there were things that she needed to do. It seemed like they really knew, and that they had authority over the course of her life.

But she didn't know anything about herself. Who was she? Where had she come from? What things did she like? What things did she dislike? Right now, she just could not remember. And trying to remember just made her head hurt.

In spite of her confusion, though, Ghost put on a brave face, so to speak. It was more like... an expressionless face, but at least she wasn't visually showing her confusion, nor did she seem upset about her situation. Since she did not know anything about herself, all she could do was face things head on. There wasn't really any other option, and she was rational about it and aware of it.

For the time being, she accepted what the others around her were telling her. She was a hero, with connections both to the sky and the sea, and now had to go with those of the land to make her final preparations for a great battle. She would be responsible for battling a titan, for preventing their worlds to be torn even farther apart, or even shattered.

Even thinking about it, Ghost didn't have any particular feelings when it came to hearing about this supposed fate of hers. She was not scared, worried or intimidated, but she didn't feel a sense of responsibility, duty, or honor, either.

She supposed that maybe, without her memories, she just didn't have these sorts of feelings, but even if she had forgotten all of her memories, did that mean that her heart and body didn't even show any sense of familiarity to the things that she knew? Losing her memories, she could not say if it had ever happened before now, or how the rules worked for such a thing.

Still, Ghost was determined to not run away from anything. If it was truly her fate to end up battling a powerful titan, then she would just have to trust herself to do just that, when the time came. Perhaps, during her preparations for it, she would discover herself again.

[409]

---

Sky prompt: Day 1C
Your hero tells your group/pride where they came from. Were they born in the sky city or sea city? What was it like for them growing up? Did they get along with their parents?
Requirement: 600 words
Reward: Edit: Tail feathers & 2 AC

As Lore had taken Ghost on a tour of the Celestial Heavens, they had found themselves at a zen rock garden, with carefully raked sand, which seamlessly transitioned into a beautifully untainted body of water that also had many rocks smoothly jutting out of the surface.

The tour guide had begun to explain the details of the location to the hero, when two others approached them, each wearing something of curious smiles on their faces. They were the oldest twin children of Chione and Jabari, Raziya and Safiya. Raziya was the darker one the two, with a coat consisting of various shades of brown, while Safiya's coat was lighter and softer, something with shades similar to peaches, sand, or cream.

"Hello," Safiya was the one that greeted Lore and Ghost verbally, while Raziya nodded at the same time. Though, specifically, both her and her sisters' gazes were on the new arrival, Ghost, not even really sparing a look toward the God of the Void. They did not intend for this to be disrespectful toward him, but could not help but look at Ghost, the dark lioness with strange, silver eyes.

"Hello," Ghost greeted back, after a beat. Due to the delay, it almost seemed cautious, if one chose to interpret it that way, but her expression never changed. And, honestly, Ghost didn't particularly have any cautiousness or reservations against these two. She didn't even know who they were.

"Safiya, Raziya," Lore calmly and casually greeted the two sisters.

At this time, the two looked over to Lore, nodding and smiling, to acknowledge him.

It took no effort for the male to realize that the sisters were simply her to greet Ghost, and did not think anything more of it or intend to turn them away at the time. Ghost would need to meet everyone, after all. This could only be considered part of the tour.

"I'm Raziya," Raziya took the initiative to introduce herself. "And this is-"

"Safiya," Safiya interjected. "Her sister."

"I am called... Ghost." The hero had chosen her words to sound such a way purposefully. They were intentional. Rather than claiming, "I am Ghost," or that, "My name is Ghost," she introduced herself in the way that put forth the idea that Ghost was what others had been calling her. She did not know if that was truly her name, if that was truly who she was. As things were, she did not feel any particular connection to the name that supposedly had been given to or claimed by her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Safiya said, to which Raziya agreed with a simple, "Indeed."

Ghost had not even been able to get in an intentionally polite reply, when Raziya already continued, this time with a question. "I hope you do not mind me asking, but where did you come from?"

The silver eyed lioness was momentarily lost for words, even at the simple question that Raziya had asked her. It did not seem like a complicated question at all, but the answer was not something that could easily come to Ghost. After all, she had no idea where she came from. Not really. Not more than what anyone had said to her.

"I was told that I was born and spent my early youth within the city of the sky, while I was later raised within the city under the sea." She answered that way, being honest.

Although both of the sisters opened their mouths to say something, it was, shockingly, Lore that asked, "Do you not remember?"

When asked so directly, Ghost could only shake her head back and forth. "No, I... don't seem to remember where I came from. I just know what I have been told."

[624]

[ToxicShadow]

Sky prompt : Day 2A
Your hero should have a friend or two they can rely on. If you can't trust your teammates you'll never succeed in battle. Who (or what) becomes your hero's friend while they stay among your group/pride.
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Color: Light orange & 1 AC

After being introduced to those of the land, it was Lore that had acted as her tour guide, assisting her in finding a place to call her own, and showing her around the Celestial Heavens. And, even then, accompanied her on the scouting mission. Ghost felt that they were similar, as Lore didn't really bother with small talk or otherwise useless chatter. If there was something that needed to be said, he said it, otherwise did not bother. She liked that, as she was much the same way. So, she supposed, out of everyone here, she could consider him a friend.

Other that him, she wasn't sure. She hadn't gotten into a disputes with anyone and everyone treated her kindly. In spite of all having different personalities, everyone from the Celestial Heavens seemed to take on their task of assisting her seriously. There had been volunteers to help her scout, she trained the most alongside all of the royal family, though everyone else was willing to help and spar with her, too, and she even meditated at the rock garden alongside others, often lead by Chione, Raziya, Safiya, or Akiko, since she was not all too familiar with the practice and needed guidance.

If this all ended well, she imagined she end up with more friends amongst them all.

[219]

---

Sea prompt: Day 2B
What does it mean to be a "hero" in your pride/group. How do they explain this to their guest? How does it differ from what the 'hero' already thinks? Does their explanation mean anything to the hero or change their perspective at all?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Overeye (eyeshadow) & 2 AC

"I do not know... what a hero really is," Ghost admitted. "I do not know how to define it. I have been told, in the very vague sense, what has been expected of me, but... I can't say it really means anything to me."

She and Fallyn, the Demon Princess, had just finished a sparring lesson, and were now chatting, somewhat.

"You know, a hero... can be many different things," Fallyn replied, after a moment of consideration. "To some, a hero is someone who has accomplished great feats, fought in amazing and dangerous battles, and succeeded. Some might consider it like... an occupation. They practice to get stronger, maybe they travel the world, intending to help folks or fight monsters. To others, and it is especially common in children, their hero might just be someone that they look up to."

The hero listened to Fallyn's explanation, thinking about all of the possibilities. In the end, she found herself asking, "What about you? Is anyone... a hero to you?" It seemed, if training for battle and wanting to help others fell into the possibility of heroes, than everyone in the Celestial Heaven was a hero, not just her, whom had only just gotten started.

The Demon Princess looked downward for a moment, smiling gently, but not wholly. "Both of my... mothers. Even since I was a child, they were... my heroes."

"Both?" Ghost asked, naturally. From what Ghost understood, Fallyn was the eldest daughter of Nero, the Demon King and the leader of the Celestial Heavens, naturally making her father, Makuvu, just like all of Fallyn's brothers and sisters.

Fallyn nodded her head, before looking back up at Ghost, smiling a little more, but there was some sadness in her eyes. "Nero is my... adoptive mother, you see. It has been so long now, that I... I don't even remember my biological mother's name. But when we were in danger, she did everything she could to protect me, and even lost her life in the process. She gave up her own life, so that I would have a chance to keep mine."

"And it was Nero that came and found her, on her deathbed, and then found me after making a promise to my mother. She... saved my life, you see, and brought me back here. She took me in, raised and cared for me, even though... she did not know what she was really doing at the time. We stumbled sometimes, but... she always did everything she could for me."

"So, of course, Nero is my hero. And my other mother, too."

[432]

---

Sky prompt: Day 2C
Your group/pride sends a scouting mission to get a glimpse of this so-called-titan in the distance. They can hear the rumbling far off- who's brave enough to go? Who's loyal enough to be trusted? How far do they get before they give up? Do they see it through?
Requirement: 600 words
Reward: Edit: Shoulder feathers & 2 AC

"We're going to scout out the area," Nero announced, as she stood before all of the members of the Celestial Heavens, and their newest guest, Ghost, the hero said to be sent to vanquish the titan that threatened their worlds.

Directly to one side of the Demon King, was Aggoth, the eldest of the group, whom nodded his head. And to the other side was Makuvu, the First Commander, her beloved, and second in command. Directly next to him, that was where Ghost found herself standing. Lore was next to her. The entire group formed a ring, though, so there was someone next to everyone, and they were all generally capable of looking at everyone else within the group.

"We'll need to send a team along with Ghost," she continued. Nero had already discussed the basics of this matter with a few others, including Ghost, whom was willing enough to see out this task. She was the hero, so what else was she supposed to do? Turn down the task? That was... not something that she could do.

"It has already been decided that Makuvu and Lore will be seeing this through with her. Makuvu is going in my stead, as we believed it best that one of us remains within the Celestial Heavens, in the event that things go awry, and he has a scouting advantage. Lore is not only capable and used to unfamiliarities, but can also use his skills to get everyone out in a pinch, if it comes to that."

Normally, Nero would strongly volunteer herself to be the one to stand off in the face of danger, and she tried, but the Commanders disagreed, insisting that, this time, Nero was needed to defend their territory and, in theory, it was Makuvu's wings that gave him an advantage over her in scouting.

"We need a few additional others to go with them. Do we have any volunteers?"

Vayde was, perhaps, the first one that wanted to step forward, but then reconsidered. Not because he was afraid, but he realized that while they were scouting out, they would be weaker in number, and scouting was one of his specialties. He would be too great an asset in defending, and knew that the Commanders would reject him for that reason.

Instead, Domino, the God of Fire, and a member of the First Unit, who had been sitting beside him, took one step forward. "Please, allow me to go! I wish to lend my strength to the team, should we need it." As a member of the First Unit, he was also incredibly familiar to working alongside Makuvu, the Commander that he answered directly to. There was no doubt that they would work together seamlessly, in spite of Domino's more chatty and outgoing personality.

All five children of Kandra and Lee Ah enthusiastically volunteered at once. Although the enthusiasm was more than welcome, it made a few frown, and Nero had to answer carefully, "While appreciate having so many volunteers, I'm afraid that not everyone can go. As a scouting mission, the numbers cannot be too large, less we want to alert what it is that we are scouting."

Thus, the five all began to discuss it quietly amongst themselves. In the end, Shira smiled. "We've decide to volunteer Akiko, should you allow it. Akiko, especially, has a talent with healing, and her other skills are not short of the others." Akiko nodded, beside her twin. "Please, allow me to go."

"Um, please let me go!" Konin said, grasping onto the amulet that hung around his neck. "I believe that my ability to duplicate myself will come in handy, while scouting. We can cover more ground, without needing as many to travel out."

Everyone looked at Konin, and although they wanted to minimize the group, thought that his reasoning was not poor. Nero looked around to the other Commanders, exchanging nods.

"Good. Does anyone have any objections to this scouting unit? Makuvu, Ghost, Lore, Domino, Akiko, and Konin?"

There did not seem to be any. Thus, with a few preparations, the scouting team soon set out.

[687]

---

Land prompt: Day 2C
How does your pride interpret the newcomers on their land? Do they favor one city over another, or just dislike them both? Do they have a preference/bias towards one based on some element? (They're more unusual to them/they seem more aggressive/ect)
Requirement: 600 words
Reward: Edit: Chest and back fur edit & 2 AC

When the earth shook, when a massive chain fell from the sky and another burst out of the sea, the Celestial Heavens behaved as they would. They were mildly cautious, but ready to handle anything that came at them. They were always prepared to go to arms, to fight any battle against any disaster. They were unafraid of things that this world, and any other, could throw at them.

Of course, when folks began to descend and climb the chains like bridges, coming to their land, they responded by sending an envoy to meet the gathering groups. Typically, it was not all that common for the leader, themselves, to step forth, it instead being a high official of some sort, but Nero, herself, came forward, along with Makuvu, Rasha, and the Yokai members.

It had been the Demon King that exchanged the most words with the two main representatives from the sky and the sea, discussing matters with them and exchanging general knowledge. Nero took on the task of receiving Ghost as a guest within the Celestial Heavens on her own, without consulting all of the Commanders and others, but, as usual, no one had anything against her making this decision. After general introductions and basic discussion, that was when the Demon King had assigned Lore, the God of the Void, to act as Ghost's guide and get her somewhat settled within their land. The logic had been simple. Since Lore came from an entirely different world, he had something in common with Ghost and could, perhaps, make her feel more at ease because of his own experiences.

The others stayed back to speak with those of the sky and sea more, before departing and returning to the Celestial Heavens, intending to set Ghost's training and cultivation into motion.

Once they returned, of course they had a meeting amongst all of the Commanders and many other members of the group, to explain the situation.

However, as it was, no one from the Celestial Heavens felt any sort of particular dislike for the outsiders that had gathered just outside of their boundaries. It seemed that they had a mission, a mission that the Celestial Heavens could not avoid and would also participate in, so there was no need for any hostilities or bad feelings. Ultimately, they didn't care that they came from different places. After all, the majority of the members of the Celestial Heavens all came from very different places, too. While some came from the realm of demons, others came from different parts of the world, or even other worlds entirely, like Lore, Rava, and Axiom. It was nothing new or unusual to them. Not even the different appearances, choices in wear or weapons, or even the obviously different cultures. The Celestial Heaven was just a blend of differences.

"What do you think of the others? From the sky, and the sea?" Lore had been the one to ask Ghost the question.

Ghost shook her head. "I don't really... have any feelings for them. I mean, I guess... I am one of them? Right? But... Don't you think it is strange that I don't remember much of the sea city, and I remember absolutely nothing about the sky city, even though I was born there and spent my childhood there?" Ghost did not receive many answers from anyone of either city, honestly, and hardly bothered with it once they realized they had no answers regarding her missing memories, more than just saying that she had recently been in an accident, and things still had to move forward, even that being the case.

"Is it really... that easy for Nero and the others to accept them?" The hero wondered.

"As they have done no harm, and mean no harm overall, Nero doesn't mind them. As of the moment, we all have a common goal, don't we? And, logically, we are all stronger together." Lore answered.

[655]

[ToxicShadow]

Land prompt: Day 3C
These rock creatures are a menace...How does your pride handle fighting them? How difficult is it for them to face such an unusual foe? Who figures out a weak point, and who gets hurt in the crossfire?
Requirement: 600 words
Reward: Edit: Bat ears & 2 AC

---

During the previous days scouting mission, the group sent on the task had witnessed the creatures of rock gathering up as they neared, what they believed to be, the location of the titan. Though, only from some distance. They did not attempt to fight with them then and there.

Makuvu had eyed them, and declared, "We'll need to return and alert the others." While he believed that the Celestial Heavens was more than capable, even if they did not hear about the creatures in advance, it still made this easier and more favorable if everyone could be prepared for what was coming.

Ghost eyed the creatures long and hard, and realized that she was almost... angry looking at them. She wasn't scared of them, but almost furious that they existed. And as someone that had somewhat gotten used to not having preexisting feelings toward anything, this came as an obvious shock to her.

"Ghost, is everything alright?" It was Lore that asked this quietly, as he looked at her expression.

Hearing the voice of the God of the Void, the hero seemed to snap out of her own thoughts, and her schooled her expression back to a fairly neutral one. "Yeah, everything is... fine, I guess. It just felt weird, looking at the creatures." Ghost had found herself being more and more open and honest with Lore, when she came to realize that they were similar.

The group had returned ahead of the rock creatures and informed the others of what they saw, so by the time they made their way to the boundaries of the Celestial Heavens, all of the gods, deities, and immortals were already mobilized.

As they approached, Nero roared, "Destroy them all!" and it had been a long time since the Demon King had that look in her eyes in front of everyone. Without any hesitation, she crushed the first tiny rock creature that had rolled toward her into dust with a singular step of her paw.

All around, members of the Celestial Heavens began to battle it out. Kandra was seen literally throwing the rock creatures here and there, regardless of their size, using her magic. Pandra had already invoked chaos, by turning one of the larger rock creatures against their own kind.

Water, fire, ice, lightning, many elements clashed all over the battlefield.

Zralok, Vaal, Mercury, and Ceres brought forth and manipulated water, surrounding many foes at once while the family worked as a singular unit. Enough pressure from the swirling blasts of water chipped, broke, and shattered the rock creatures.

"Aki, right rear!" Shira shouted, as she was battling one of the creatures, noticing that another was trying to sneak up on her sister that had just used a blast of air to destroy one of them.

Akiko acted before even turning to face the one that was sneaking up on her, fully trusting Shira without any doubt, blasting another burst of air.

"Oh no, you don't," Zuka declared, furious, when several rock creatures made their way to the edge of his field of peach trees. Roots began to twist and wind themselves around all of the monstrous creatures at once, first immobilizing them, then adding more and more pressure until they began to crack apart.

"Darling, why don't we turn them into rocks for our garden?" Chione's voice was chilling as she said these words, so much unlike her usually calm and tranquil self that seemed to emanate peace.

"If that is what you want," Jabari answered his love. "Hear that, my daughters?"

"Of course we did," Safiya answered, even before Raziya could.

"We would be happy to help," Raziya replied.

Makuvu, Fallyn, Rulan, Zizan and the rest of the royal family were all scattered throughout, battling with force no less than the Demon King, dropping foes left and right.

[638]

----

Land prompt: Day 3B
What is your hero doing to help against the rock creatures? Are they actively fighting them, or dismissing them to focus on their training? Why?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Paw/leg undersides & 2 AC

There was no better training than putting her training into real practice, right? Ghost did not hesitate at all in joining in on the fight against the rock creatures as they made their way to the boundaries of the Celestial Heavens. Everyone else was so ready to take arms and fight with everything they had, there was no way that she, as the hero, could stay by and do nothing to contribute.

Still, aside from practical training, she hadn't figured out much. It seemed that most physical combat practices came fairly naturally to her, as though her body somewhat remembered what she needed to do, perhaps. Still, she wasn't nearly as strong as the likes of Fallyn or the others. She fought with all of her strength, but it was still a hard fight.

But Ghost did not fight alone. Only a few paces from her, Lore was battling it out with the rock creatures, too, as were many others, all around her. No member of the Celestial Heavens fought without keeping the others in mind, and knowing that Ghost was the least experienced, others kept their eyes out for her in some unspoken system of turns.

Though, since Lore had accompanied her ever since her arrival, he felt responsible, and remained a constant beside her.

At one point, while heavily panting, Ghost misstepped, tripping herself up on the rumble of a fallen enemy, and Lore, witnessing this tumble, rushed beside her to catch her and help her regain your balance. When he caught her, effectively preventing her from tripping and ending up in a dangerous position, Ghost was thankful, though embarrassed of her mistake. The two exchanged glances, but did not exchange any words.

Once the hero had fully righted herself once more, Lore stepped away, preparing to continue his fight, while she continued hers.

Some more time had passed on the battlefield, and Ghost was finding herself more and more capable, as though the rock creatures were somehow unstable before her. Not that they wobbled or any such thing, but that their entire structure was weaker, somehow. She was taking on more creatures at once than before, and handling herself well.

That was, until she didn't see a much larger one than she had faced come bowling at her just a hair too late. Just as she was about to be crushed, a strange purplish void appeared in front of her, and Ghost stumbled he way through it in a hurry.

Lore, whom witnessed this as he had been rushing to her aide, was momentarily dumbstruck. Ghost had opened a void! Ghost had used his power. He shook away the shock as best as he could, opening his own void and jumping through, going in after her.

[459]

---

Sea prompt: Day 3B
Look at you! Your hero is finally making some progress, I can even count a muscle or two- What has your hero learned about themselves through training, and what part of training is their favorite/favored element?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Toe markings & 2 AC

With her entire lack of memories, Ghost had no idea how the style of training within the Celestial Heavens differed from the training style of the sea and the sky. However, that did not mean that the hero could not appreciate it. She had soon discovered that training with them had more than just a single element.

She spent time with Fallyn and many others learning and practicing physical skills, sparring with them, to even practice the execution of each of her steps and motions in real time, in a real scenario. Though, of course, no one was actually trying to harm her, she still found it to be a good way to learn.

What surprised Ghost more, however, was that she was not only trained in the ways of fighting, but also taught the value of meditation and underwent training for that, too. She was told that meditation was just as important to cultivation as physical practice was and that, possibly, it would be even more effective.

Apparently, each individual was different, and some responded to one practice more than the other, though there were also just as many individuals that responded equally to physical practice and meditation.

Still, the hero was beginning to learn the value of understanding not only herself, but everything around her, which was practiced through meditation. It even helped with the understanding of all the steps and moves she learned and practiced. And it helped her to almost find... peace within herself, as she sat in silence with her own thoughts freely wandering as they would. Sure, her memories were gone, and she knew absolutely nothing about her past for certain, but she was still here. If she lost her memories, perhaps they were not all that important to begin with. Instead, Ghost came to value her growing relationships now, and the other things around her now. What she lost did not matter, when she could look at the things that she could gain.

So, in the end, Ghost had a great appreciation for the practice and use of meditation, which came as something of a surprise to her. She was even praised by Chione, whom seemed to be the leading expert when it came to meditation, at how quickly she grasped the concept and the progress she made in her understanding.

"I believe that you will greatly benefit from continued, earnest practice of meditation," Chione had informed her, giving her such a judgement after their first practice.

[414]

---

Sky prompt : Day 3A
These little magical beings are causing chaos! How does your pride deal with the tiny rock creatures running about causing mayhem? Who's on "pest duty?"
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Color: Bright purple & 1 AC

Once the majority of the larger rock creatures had been dealt with, it was declared that different units and teams would take turns handling the smaller ones, while the rest of the members of the Celestial Heavens would take this time to discuss matters, recuperate, and all other necessary things, though, of course, all while still remaining alert should more dangerous ones appear. In spite of all being immortals or greater, they could still feel wary without rest.

As Nero had matters to discuss with Ghost and other commanders, her eldest daughter, Fallyn, lead the Yokai unit on the first patrol. The small ones were easy to deal with, so she, Vayde, and the others had no trouble with them. They were annoying, of course, but were little more than a nuisance.

Destroying them wasn't all that difficult, not with their many, many years of cultivation, but at some point, they made the call to actually gather up and confine some of the small ones. They attacked, therefore seemed to be enemies, but the gods and others didn't know all that much about them.

So, through the process of rounding them up, and confining them to watch and study, they hoped to learn a little more about them.

[208]

[ToxicShadow]

Sky prompt : Day 4A
A new challenge arrives! Someone's got to go up to the sky city to enlist help, who's going up the long journey up the chain to the flying city above and why? What do they bring with them or how do they prepare?
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Edit: Pupil shape & 1 AC

Receiving the request from the winged cat from the sky city, it seemed that another party was going to be sent forth into completely unknown territory.

"Ghost, do you want to head into the city?" Nero addressed the hero directly. "It's not a command; I genuinely want to know. You said you don't remember it, do you want to see it?"

It felt like a loaded question. It seemed wrong to choose to see it, but also to not to. After much mental debate and confused feelings, Ghost shook her head. "I'm not... ready to see it," she came to her conclusion.

"Okay." The Demon King had no intention to force Ghost to be one of the ones to go. "Then-"

"I'll go," Makuvu interjected, gently touching Nero as he did. "I mean no disrespect, but my wings will give me an advantage."

Nero stared at him with side eyes. "You already lead the scouting party."

"I know. But you're still more needed here than I am."

Nero wanted to argue with her beloved that it wasn't true. He was just as needed here as she was. Their feelings aside, he was literally her right hand man. He was second in command, and the First Commander. He was vital in battle.

Nero shook her head. "I trust you, and I doubt that it will be dangerous, but-"

"We'll go," Zeri finally interjected, stopping the disagreement between their parents, motioning their head toward their twin.

With that, it was eventually decided. Zeri and a small team braved heading up the chain from the sky city, to seek out reinforcements.

[268]

---

Land prompt: Day 4C
Your pride/group takes the time to explain their history to their hero, sharing their side of the story. What elements are most important they think the hero should know? What means the most in their path to becoming who they are?
Requirement: 600 words
Reward: Edit: Horns (on the head) & 2 AC

"Wait, wait, wait," Ghost was trying to wrap her head around the tale that she had heard from Fallyn. A tale of deities, demons, and mortals. "How... did things turn out the way that they did?" The Demon Princess shook her head, unable to really go into any details. Although it involved the history of the Celestial Heavens, the deeper origins were not her own story to tell.

Therefore, Ghost, with Fallyn beside her, sought out Nero and Makuvu, in order to hear the story from them. "Fallyn told me a little bit about the history of the Celestial Heavens, but I thought... I should hear it from you."

"Hm." The Demon King did not object, her tail swishing behind her thoughtfully. "Where should I begin?" She wondered.

"... Anywhere is fine. Whatever you are willing to tell me. I just... want to understand this place more." Ghost would be fighting alongside the members of the Celestial Heavens, and although she could not predict how the fighting would end, she had to consider the possibility that she just might... end up staying with them, afterward. If they welcomed her, that was. So she wanted all the more to learn and understand what she could about it.

"I cannot boast and say that I know all the history, either," Nero admitted. "As you may have heard from Fallyn, I was born within the Demon Clan, among the land radiating with negative, hostile, demonic energy. By the time that I was born, the former deities that had once been great enemies to the demons had all but been destroyed by them. Many lives where lost and their traces were practically erased."

"The only evidence I found of their existence was from the mouths of demons, whom boasted about their destruction, and a record of their fall saying even less than that."

Ghost considered what Nero was telling her, but her silvery eyes shifted to Makuvu. He shook his head. "I knew even less than she during my time there. I gave up my life and faced execution, just as I had made it through the so called coming of age ceremony."

Ghost's eyes widened slightly in her alarm.

"In the Demon Clan, you have not become a full fledge member of the Demon Clan, until you have taken the life of another young demon during the ceremony. Kill, or be killed. And if you defeat them without taking their life, the witnesses take your life on the spot." Makuvu experienced being torn apart, alive.

"Similarly, I disdained the horrible ways of the Demon Clan, but I was born the child of the reigning Demon King, and that made things even more complicated." Nero carried on. "Still, I had once been determined to take the role of Demon King, a mantle that is only passed down when someone takes the life of the reigning Demon King, as only the strongest demon may rule them all. I intended to change the ways of the Demon Clan under an iron fist, and although I stopped the needless bloodshed amongst our own kind, I was no doubt loathed by all of the demons that knew no other way."

"I spent years seeking out a place brimming with positive, divine energy, a place where deities of old could have once made use of. And once I found it, here, you could say that I... set up shop."

"By that time, I had already rejoined the land of the living, and although I misunderstood her intentions at first, Nero and I came to settle here and began to cultivate, with the assistance of the divine energy."

"And those that were... odd, that did not feel at place among mortals, or already showed signs of unique abilities, even those that simply had nowhere else to go, have gathered here. The only real requirement for the Celestial Heavens is that those with malicious intentions or evilness in their hearts are not welcome. That, and we pride ourselves on lending a hand to others when its needed."

[676]

---

Sea prompt: Day 4B
Your hero is keeping up with their training and adjusting to the land despite the commotion. Have they come to show anything unique compared to the rest of the pride? What do they add that's different from others, whether its their experiences from the other cities that add to that or their outside perspective?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Leopard spots & 2 AC

Ghost stumbled into an unfamiliar place, as she narrowly avoided the attack from a larger rock beast. The environment she found herself in was strange and foreign, as if everything was basked in strange dark shades of purple. There was mostly rocks all round her, like she was at the bottom of a died up canyon, with sparse trees and vegetation of even more unusual colors. The air felt heavy all around her, and she was certain that she could hear faint, eerie chattering in the distance.

The hero began to look all around her in confusion, and she could feel the fear beginning to well up inside of her. Where was she? This wasn't the Celestial Heavens, nor was it the boundary near it.

"Ghost!" Lore called out, his voice coming from behind her.

The speed with which she turned to face him was very nearly miraculous.

He could see the fear in her face, but once she registered that it really was him, and not just a voice like his, he could see her visibly relax as relief washed over her.

"Lore!" she called out to him similarly. "What happened? Where are we?"

Seeing that she was okay relieved him, too, which then allowed the shock of what happened to come back. "This is... the void. The negative space of the universe, where things that have been rejected by the universe gather," he explained it as it was. However, it was not exactly an easy concept to grasp.

Ghost just took his words for what they were. "Okay... Well, how did we end up here?"

"You opened a tear, a portal, into the void to escape danger."

"And you... followed me through?" Ghost asked.

Lore shook his head. "It closed up behind you. I made my own tear to follow after you."

As they exchanged words, the odd, chattering sound that had been in the distance was growing closer and closer.

Lore, aware of this, declared, "But we need to go back. It's not safe to be here for no reason." Without waiting for a response or explaining anything further, another portal appeared before the two of them. "Heroes first?"

Knowing that Lore wasn't the type to do things that were not necessary, said nothing, and stepped through the portal, finding herself back where she had come from, though all of the rock creatures that had been around were turned to rubble.

Lore followed right behind her and, when he came to stand next to her, he said, "I don't know how you did it, but you used my power just now."

[434]

---

Sky prompt: Day 4B
The sky city is a massive place full of all sorts of new spots! What do they think of this place? What things do they see?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Freckles & 2 AC

Zeri, Trinity, Mitani, Euphemie, and Vayde ended up being the selected party to ascend into the sky, into the unknown land that was the sky city. They were not selected without any thought put into it. Zeri made a fine envoy, as one of the oldest children of the Demon King, and their abilities were nothing short of excellent. Trinity was similar, as a cousin of the Demon King, and held a rank of one of the Commanders. Mitani was the historian and archivist. Of course he would want to go, to learn what he could about the sky folk and their city. Euphemie had a talent for diplomacy and invoking a sense of trust from others. Vayde was unparalleled in making observations, and his abilities made him both an unmatched fighter, and someone that could get everyone out and to safety at a moment's notice.

As the group finally landed in the corner of the city, the remained close together, all observing what they could. The end of the chain left them near a bridge, which they decided to cross. Having gotten just that far, they began to discuss their course of action.

"We should stick together." Zeri didn't even consider the option of splitting up. They would cover more ground that way, but who knew what would happen in the process? This was an entire unknown to them and, although the sky folk on the ground appeared to be their allies, who knew what those still in the city would think of five strangers from the land below?

In the end, they followed along the path into the city, each curiously and cautiously taking in their surroundings. Things were unique, certainly, but none of the party allowed those differences to shock and slow them down. Those that had been around for an especially long time were even less surprised; they had already seen so much in their lifetimes.

They had made their way to the bustling town square, and realized just how busy things were, even with what was happening on the land. All the of sky folk had feathers, if not wings, which made the majority of the party stand apart from them. They were all fully aware that they were drawing the eyes of everyone.

Zeri decided to try to take advantage of that. "Hello! We have been sent up by Allana, to ask for reinforcements below. Does anyone know whom to speak to about it?"

[410]

[ToxicShadow]

Land prompt : Day 5A
Your pride/hero is faced with some pretty strange anomalies. Some of them even dangerous. What safety protocols do they put in place to try and protect everyone against them? Is there a certain area or type of area they avoid to prevent running into them?
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Color: Gold (bright yellow) & 1 AC

As reinforcements from the sky managed to come to their aid and handle the rock beasts, the members of the Celestial Heavens thought, for a moment, that they might be able to refocus on assisting Ghost with her training and preparations. However, they soon realized that more nonsense was afoot.

Whirlpools were appearing in a great many pools of water, big and small, and trees were falling left and right. While they could ignore some areas, even the small lake at the rock garden had been effected.

Thus, another meeting was held, though not quite with every single member. Zuka had his hands full, guarding his beloved fields of peach trees and other crops. The God of Nature was constantly using his power, to protect their additional source of food and diving energy.

"Zralok, Chione, can you do anything about the lake?" Nero asked. "The lake is vital, so while we can ignore the issue elsewhere for now, we need to do something."

The God of Water answered. "If Zuka's magic is capable of protecting his fields, I do not doubt that I can at least stop the whirlpool in the lake, though it will actively take my participation, to be safe." Meaning, if they wanted to hold back the whirlpool from forming, he would be unable to help elsewhere for long.

[222]

---

Sky prompt: Day 5C
How is this introduction to the titan's magic faring for your pride/hero? Are they afraid of what it can lead to, or are they unphased? What else do they think it could do that could be a threat?
Requirement: 600 words
Reward: Edit: Halo (Up to 3) & 2 AC

While the forming of whirlpools and the falling of trees were somewhat problematic, overall, the members of the Celestial Heavens were not all that concerned. Although tending to such matters tied the hands of the God of Nature and the God of Water, no one found this to be a great weakness. Whatever it was that was thrown at time, they were sure that they would be able to face it.

"I do have... an idea," Aggoth brought up, during the meeting of the commanders and a few other members of the group. "Although, I do not know how practical it is."

"What is it?" Nero invited the elder to speak, without any reservations at all. She may have been the Demon King, but she was always willing to listen to the thoughts and ideas of those around her.

"Instead of having Zuka and Zralok deal with the issues alone, it occurred to me it may very well be possible that establishing a barrier around all of the Celestial Heavens would prevent the titan's magic from causing issues, at least for us. Maintaining a larger barrier for a long period of time would prove to be too much strain on everyone, but I'm fairly certain that we could manage to hold out, at least here, for as long as it takes before we must help Ghost actually face the titan."

Admittedly, Nero had considered the possibility of a barrier early on, but hadn't put too much thought into it yet. Instead, solving the issues most immediately, with the proven method came to mind first. So she was, in fact, pleased that Aggoth seemed to believe in the possibility.

"With Axiom leading the creation of the barrier, I do believe that it would go well," Makuvu, the First Commander, also agreed. Axiom was, after all, the God of Protection. His barriers were stronger than anyone's, especially if everyone was willing to lend their powers for its creation.

"Once the barrier is formed, we wont have to worry about it, unless it proves to become damaged or weaken." Nero voiced her thoughts out loud. If it worked, it was certainly their best option. "So, we need to gather everyone."

"Allow me," Makuvu announced. Within a moment, Death, the crow, came to land before the winged lionfolk. "Death, please have everyone send out the message for an urgent meeting." The crow squawked in response, before taking flight. Though, he never actually left so far that Makuvu was out of his sight.

All around the Celestial Heavens, there lived a murder of crows, their allies. They weren't commonly used to relay messages for meetings, unless the matter was incredibly urgent, instead used as lookouts instead of messengers, but this was certainly an urgent matter.

As the network of crows passed on the message at an incredible speed, it did not take long for everyone to gather. Given it was the crows that summoned them, even Zralok appeared again, and Makuvu had taken it upon himself to deliver a message to Zuka. He need not participate right away, but the God of Nature would be needed at the time that the barrier was being formed.

Nero quickly explained to everyone their plan, and nearly everyone agreed with the idea.

Ghost was the only one with any concerns to be voiced. "I... I have not spent a long time cultivating. Are you certain that I should also... participate? Will my agility even do anything?"

The Demon King reassured the hero. "The more that lend themselves in the formation of the barrier, the stronger it becomes. Though you have not been cultivating long, you have been making exceptional progress."

[612]

[ToxicShadow]

Land prompt: Day 6B
Does your hero believe in luck, or believe everything happens for a reason? What do they think of the concept of destiny and how it's effected their life and led them to where they are now?
Requirement: 400 words
Reward: Marking style: Tiger stripes & 2 AC

If one were to ask Ghost if she believed in luck, or if she believed all things happened for a reason, she would likely answer that she doesn't have enough faith in the world, the universe, or outside forces for either things to truly be the case. In the case of luck, why would some be given good luck, while others given bad? How was that considered a fair, balanced existence? And if things weren't fair, then how could things happen for a reason? Why was life easier for some, but so very difficult for others?

She is someone who lost everything, including her own memories and identity, while the places that she was supposed to be familiar with were strange and foreign to her. How was all of her time spent? What things did she like? Who had been her friends? Originally, the hero had a lot of questions about her past, and was confused not only about herself, but also everything that she was supposedly supposed to do as a hero.

However, Ghost now more so isn't too concerned with what her fate as a hero was supposed to be. The fact is, she was tasked with it, regardless of everything else. It didn't matter who she was, or what she had been up to in her past, since she had to face the present. Therefore, rather than believing in a concept like destiny, Ghost has chosen to believe in herself and, to a lesser extent, those around her, as well.

During her time in the Celestial Heavens, she has not only been training to fight in battles, but she has been taught to learn to understand and accept herself. Her current self. Whether it was her destiny or not, the fact is that she is the one that will face off with the titan. She has decided to accept this task that has fallen upon her, and do everything she can to prevent whatever disasters that may befall them at the titan's hands. And, as it has become her own will to carry out the task, she is willing to put everything into it. Although it's all been new to her, she has been willing learn and push her limits to grow stronger and more capable.

And she can do all this, now, because, even though she doesn't have her memories, she has others that she knows that she can count on.

[405]

---

Land prompt : Day 6A
Does your group/pride have any sort of written word, or the ability to read any languages? Why or why not? Is it something they've just never considered/been exposed to? If they don't, how would they respond to words/written things they can't understand?
Requirement: 200 words
Reward: Alt: 2 AC

Members of the Celestial Heavens come from varying backgrounds and varying places and, overtime, as all members cultivate, they are capable of taking on different forms, either some form between human and animal, or entirely human in appearance. Therefore, they do have an established primary written language, but some members are capable of speaking, reading, and writing others than that which is most used among there kind. The varying languages, written and non, often stem from each specific member's background, but there are also members, like Nero and Mitani, that study and learn other languages, for different reasons.

Nero, and most of the royal family, in fact, learn many different languages, for the sake of being able to communicate with more and more of the worlds. If they meet someone from a different background, they want to be able to communicate with them, especially if they need help, or in order to accurately assess whether they are a threat or not.

In Mitani's case, as someone that pursues knowledge, he learns new languages for the sake of learning even more. He is something of a historian and archivist, but also a researcher, learning more and more about other groups and civilizations where he can, especially if it is something he can possibly apply for the betterment of their group.

[219]

[ToxicShadow]

Sky prompt : Day 8
Who's in charge of tracking down the traitor, and how do they find her? What's your hero's new plan for battling an ancient sorceress, and how do they cope with the sudden change of direction and enemy?
Requirement: 850 words
Reward: Edit: Large/major wings & 2 AC

"It seems as though the titan may not truly be the enemy," Lore was the one that delivered the news to the other members of the Celestial Heavens as everyone gathered up for yet another meeting.

He, Ghost, Mitani, Zralok, Mercury and Ceres had all ventured down to the sea city together, for the sake of getting the remainder of the scroll translated. Although the hero had refused to go to the sky city on the first day that they were told to venture there, she did not allow herself to sit things out when it came to the scroll and its translation. However, she made the request that the god of the void be one of the ones to escort her through the process. Lore agreed willingly. Mitani came, for both his interest in the sea city, and to care for the scroll, as a scholarly folk would do. Zralok was the god of water, while Mercury and Ceres were his children, and water deities themselves. All three could already naturally breathe underwater and required no help in order to do so and, of course, felt perfectly fine and comfortable even under the waves. They spent half of their lives in water, as it was.

Mitani recited the entire length of the scroll's translation for everyone to hear.

The majority of the Celestial Heavens frowned, but some were obviously angry or frustrated.

Nero was reasonable, and although the news came as a surprise, they were not so alarmed that they could not think clearly. Really, this was hardly anything to be concerned about. All they needed to do was adapt to the situation, now that they had more information at their disposal. "While it has come as a surprise to discover that the titan, itself, may not be the enemy, but, instead, is one that may be defending itself, it is possible that it may be reasoned with. We can't rule out the possibility that it is dangerous and may still do harm, but it will not be our first concern, at this moment. We must be ready for that to change at any moment, however."

No one had any arguments with Nero's logic and decision, so most agreed with nods or simple sounds of agreements.

"We'll be focusing our efforts on finding and dealing with the sorceress. Ultimately, the responsibility will land on Ghost, but that does not mean that we will not do our part. We will do everything that we can to lend her a hand."

During the entire exchange, and Nero's declaration, Ghost had remained silent. Lore, Fallyn, and a few others noticed this, and glanced toward her with concern. Still, from the very beginning, Ghost didn't talk all that much. If she had something that she wanted to say, she would say it. Otherwise, she would keep her thoughts to herself. She was a little more open than she had been before, of course, as she had adapted to life amongst those of the Celestial Heavens, and even became more or less friends with some of them, but that didn't fundamentally alter her personality or anything.

The demon king, too, had noticed the hero's silence, and turned to face her. Her voice wasn't so loud that everyone could hear, when she asked, "Are you okay with this?"

Ghost had been thinking about the answer to that question long before it was even asked, before slowly nodding once. From the beginning of her memories, she had been told that she was a hero, and that she would soon have to fulfill her duties as a hero. She would leave the sea city and go to the land, to train with the land folk. After training, she would face off with the titan, in order to prevent disaster.

From the beginning, even though she was, understandably, very confused about everything, especially her lack of memories, she was considered the hero. Even though it turned out that the titan may very well not be the one that she needed to deal with, but it was now instead a sorceress, what difference did it really make? Even if, by chance, the sorceress was more powerful than the titan, there as nothing she could do about it, but to be a hero, regardless. Really, the details did not matter all that much.

"No matter whom I have to face, I must face it," Ghost finally answered with words. "Nothing about that changes, even if the enemy changes."

After another moment, the hero added, "Still, I appreciate everything that you all have done for me so far, and I am afraid that I must ask all of you to continue to support me. Is that... okay?" Admittedly, Ghost didn't want to even consider that the land folk were obligated to help her, like the sky and sea folk made it seem. However, as she had lived with them and learned from them, the hero learned something important. There was kindness. They did not act out of obligation to help her, they did so because they were kind and they wanted to. And, because they had become close to her, they would do whatever they could for her even more so.

[877]

[ToxicShadow]

In the aftermath of the battle of the earlier scuffle between the Celestial Heavens and the rock creatures that split off from the titan, Ghost and Lore had made a new discovery when it came to the hero's abilities. At the very least, Ghost was able to replicate some of the God of the Void's powers. In order to save herself from a blow that would have otherwise landed and harmed her, she tore open a portal into the void, escaping danger by slipping inside. She hadn't even realized what she had done, she just did it, as though her instincts of survival kicked in and she acted before she knew what she was doing. Lore, whom witnessed it happen in shock, ripped his own portal open and followed after her. They escaped the void together, as he lead them back.

During the battle, it was not something that they could address, but when the sky and sea folks took up the role of defenders against the attack, they were finally able to discuss what had happened.

"I... I really don't know how I did it," Ghost admitted, that familiar feeling of confusion arising within her again. She spent so much of her time confused, since she didn't know anything about herself in the past. She was only learning about herself in the present, and doing the best she could with that.

Lore shook his head, comforting her. "It's alright that you do not understand it yet." They were equally surprised. After all, he was the God of the Void. Never before had he met anyone else that could specifically enter and leave the void.

"Do you... Think I borrowed your power, because you were near me?" Ghost brought up the possibility, since she wanted to make sense of what happened, if she could.

"It is a possibility," the God of the Void answered. "Kandra's abilities work on those that are near to her in proximity. As her domain is magic, itself, you could say that she is like a battery that supercharges the abilities of those around her. Since hers work on those near her, it's possible that you can use the abilities of those that are close to you in proximity."

The hero nodded her head, still very much uncertain. Did the her of the past know all what she was capable? Did she have the answer, but she just could not access it within her broken, lost memories?

"You will not know the answer, without trying to find it," Lore said, after the hero had been silent for a long moment. "Now, we'll have to try to replicate what happened, and test it out with others, as well."

Ghost nodded in agreement. After all, she was the hero. She was here to train, to grow stronger and become capable as quickly as she could manage. The world could not wait, as they were already under attack, and the greater battle was looming over their heads. They did not know exactly when it would happen but it would, undoubtedly, happen soon. Sooner than anyone wanted, surely.

The two of them had returned to the territory of the Celestial Heavens, entering through the barrier that surrounded their land to protect them from the magic of the titan. They had been fighting on the outskirts, as even that was too close to home, but they could not be attacked within the barrier so easily. At least, not without them breaking through the barrier first. But everyone had lent themselves and their abilities into the formation of the barrier, lead and directed by Axiom, the God of Protection, himself. It would not break so easily.

There, they had sought out Fallyn first, as Nero and Makuvu were making rounds to check on everyone, escorting them back from the outside of the barrier now that the other folks were providing reinforcements. The eldest princess was tending to those on the inside, with the help of Zeri, while other members of the royal family were checking the perimeter of the barrier, itself.

They explained what had happened to Fallyn, and she did not disagree with their current hypothesis. "We'll have to figure it out. It could be what gives you an advantage in battle."

Eventually, this information was passed on to the Demon King, and all of the Celestial Heavens had gathered together once more. It was something they were doing a lot during this particular crisis, and did not seem like the meetings would end any time soon. However, this time, there as not actually much to discuss. The parties involved simply explained Ghost's discovery, and asked everyone to lend her a hand in figuring out her abilities.

First up, was Lore, again. Since Ghost had used his powers once before already, it was a logical choice to try and get her to do the same thing again, though, this time, by her own intention. The God of the Void helped explain it to her the best that he could, and, soon enough, the hero managed to open a portal again and enter into the void. The two, she and Lore, vanished into the portal together, but only momentarily. Once they entered the strangely colored world of the void, Lore instructed her to try to return. Though, that was more difficult than randomly entering into the void. The hero would need to learn how to open the portal at the location that she wanted to go to, which required some focus. She tried a few times, and failed at getting the location correct. "It's fine to make mistakes. You're doing fine," he encouraged her.

The fourth time, Ghost tore an opening, allowing them to return to the same place that they had left. She stepped out first, followed by the God of the Void. As the portal closed up behind them, they heard a few gasps from other folks around them.

"What?" Ghost found herself asking before she even realized it.

Lore first looked around at the others, before his gaze landed on the hero, and then he understood what it was that had surprised them.

"You changed," he informed her.

Ghost whipped around to look at Lore so fast that he was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"It's not anything major, just... You have a new color on your coat," he answered.

Ghost had gained a shade of purple color upon her return from the void, as though her body had somehow been tainted or painted by the colors of the void, itself.

Understandably, the hero was alarmed to discover the change in herself. But, in the end, she decided that it was not something that she should be worrying about now. What was gaining a new color on her body? She had just gained a new power, right? That was much more impressive. Maybe her physical change happened because of her using the powers. She rationalized it that way, since she really had no time to try to figure out the change when she had to figure out how using new powers worked.

After she had successfully used Lore's powers, he explained to her that there were more abilities than just entering and exiting the void, but they were far more complex and, likely, difficult to learn.

From there, a few others were selected to help her in figuring out her new abilities, allowing her to have a hand at their own, perhaps. If they were able to pinpoint how her abilities worked, then, likely, even more would join her.

Makuvu ended up supervising the earlier part of her training, with Lore, Kandra, Fallyn, and a few others. Though, even with others attempting to assist Ghost in harnessing their powers as her own, there weren't any other successes. This, of course, brought even more questions. Though, as the hero accidentally tripped over her own feet, the First Commander did the gentlemanly thing and rushed forward to help her keep her balance. When the two came in contact with one another, feathers seemed to immediately burst forth on the hero's body, growing on her shoulders and her tail.

Stunned, Makuvu stepped back. The others gasped, and Lore stared, as an idea formed in his head. Ghost only felt a little strange. She did not experience any pain in suddenly growing feathers. At most, she could describe it as a bit of a tickle or a tingling sensation. So someone had to tell her what had happened.

"Ghost! You have feathers now!" It was Fallyn that informed her, seeming a little excited about the whole thing.

"Perhaps you gain the abilities of those that you have come in contact with," Lore suggested, once he decided that this new hypothesis was at least a real possibility. "Before using my powers, you and I have certainly come into contact. Now, in coming in contact with Makuvu, you've sprouted feathers, just as your colors changed after entering the void." It seemed logical, did it not?

Ghost nodded her head. "That... Might very well be possible. What do you guys think?"

Fallyn, Kandra, and the others agreed that it was plausible, at least, and worth testing out. So, they followed along with that possibility in mind. Ghost would intentionally come in contact with someone else, and try to use their powers. It was successful.

However, she soon learned that there was at least one limit set in place. After coming in contact with someone new, she was unable to use the abilities of those that she had come in contact with prior. So, after touching Kandra, she could no longer make use of Lore's abilities, even though she had already demonstrated her ability to harness them accurately before.

All through the process, Ghost's body also continued to change. She sprouted vividly colored wings, and grew more than just a single set of horns, and then some. She had no choice but to adapt to the changes as they came, since they did not go away, even as she switched her abilities around.

Her training lasted only a few more days, before things had escalated beyond a point where they could still delay her supposed destiny. She was told by the members of the Celestial Heavens, "You will not be fighting alone." Not only would they be beside her in the fight, but she had learned to harness a number of their powers. Sure, her abilities were not as good as their own respective ones, but that was still to be expected. The gods, deities, and immortals that she borrowed abilities from were the owners and masters of their own abilities. She could not dream of matching them, especially within such a short amount of time. But, still, being capable of harnessing such a variety of abilities was, undoubtedly, part of her true strength.

When the time came, there were no members of the Celestial Heavens that were left immobilized. Before facing their enemy, they had already developed their plan of tactics, as well as additional plans, based on how things went on the battlefield. There was no more preparations that they could do. They were as prepared as they could be, so they all only had to play out their roles to the best of their abilities, and lend Ghost their strength. On her part, Ghost did not at all hesitate. She was as confident in herself as she possibly could be, even though she was still unsure of what the outcome would be. They had divided into the planned ranks, centered around Ghost being the secret weapon that, in the end, would be the one to bring down their enemy.

The battle was not an easy one, even with many seasoned fighters within their ranks. It was vicious and brutal. Although they felled their enemy, Ghost was critically injured when they exchanged final blows. Her ear piercing screams of pain exploding in the ears of all the gods, deities and immortals present, and Lore manipulated the very structure of the world to shorten the distance between himself and the hero, as she fell to the ground, unmoving.

[2022]

---

In her critically injured condition, Ghost was returned to the safety of the cavern within the Celestial Heavens, behind the barrier. The barrier, itself, had weakened now that she was knocking at death's door, and her own cultivation was no longer supporting it, alongside that of the others.

As Lore had gone ahead with only the twin sisters, Raziya and Safiya, managing to catch up with him, at his shouting request, before he ventured straight from their location on the battlefield to the depths of the Celestial Heavens, the others were either dealing with the situation there, or rushing back to join them. Knowing exactly why the two of them had been called, aside from the fact that they happened to be the ones closest to the God of the Void at the time, they rushed into action.

The water of the lake within the rock garden, where they meditated, could be used for healing wounds, as it had been specially purified by their family. The waters, kept so pure, was brimming with divine energy. The sisters used it to apply much needed first aid. Pouring the purified water over each and every one of the hero's flesh wounds began to heal them. As one poured, the other wiped away the reddened waters.

Unfortunately for Lore, although he could manipulate aether, the very matter that made up the universe, meddling with life was not something he was allowed. He could only watch over what was happening, lending a hand to the sisters.

Although only minutes passed by, a crow swooped down toward them, letting out loud, repetitive caws, announcing Makuvu's soon arrival. Death, the crow, had gone and flown ahead of him, but the First Commander was, really, only a few wing beats away. Carried on his feathered wings, he soon landed beside the three conscious and one unconscious folk. Immediately, not missing a second, he got close and began to examine the hero. Her breathing was labored and her body was obviously weak. "She has internal injuries," he declared. "But... I do not believe that she will be able to drink the divine waters in the state that she is in."

"That is why... we have not tried to feed it to her," Safiya answered quietly, her voice obviously pained.

"There must be something more that can be done," Lore argued. "It's too cruel if her life ends now." She came to them without any memories about her past, without knowing who she was or where she truly came from. She didn't even know what she liked or disliked, or what hobbies she had. She didn't know if she had any friends, and thought she probably didn't, so no one approached her as if they were from either the sky city or the sea city. Yet, even so, Ghost gave it her all for them. She came to the Celestial Heavens after having the role of a hero forced upon her. She struggled and struggled to better herself, just for the great battle. If she lost her life while confidently fulfilling that duty of hers that was pushed upon her, in spite of not knowing anything about herself, that was just too much.

Makuvu happened to agree with the God of the Void. As someone who had once lost his own life before he even truly had the chance to live it, he understood all too well how cruel this matter was. If Ghost lost her life now, it would truly be tragic. He had to try, even though it had never been done before.

Suddenly, his feathered wings unfurled, both rising up and pointing toward the sky, and his dark eyes seemed to glow with his energy from within. Death naturally sensed what it was that he was up to, and the crow began to act erratically. Cawing, screeching, frantically flapping his wings, protesting what it was that Makuvu was about to do. Still, he did not listen. If this backfired, he would surely lose his own life. He would never see his most beloved one or their beloved children again. He would not even be able to tell them goodbye. Still, even asking another to convey such a message was not his style.

Soon, the glow from his eyes consumed his entire body, forcing Lore, Raziya, and Safiya back. Other members from the Celestial Heavens that were not assigned to deal with the immediate aftermath arrived in time to witness Makuvu, surrounding in his own aura, reach out to touch Ghost's still unconscious, unmoving body. When he did, she was also surrounded within the glow. Then, it flickered and violently danced around the two of them, the glow around the First Commander seeming to become dimmer, as the glow around Ghost became even more lively.

Another ear piecing scream shattered the silence that had fallen over them, escaping from the hero's mouth. When she screamed, the glow seemingly dissipated, both from her and Makuvu. Simultaneously, the First Commander heaved a sigh of relief, and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Although he already felt exhausted, his entire body began to ache, the pain radiating all over, from his head to his toes, as the two different cultivated energies, demonic and divine, clashed within his body. Exerting himself as he had, not even knowing if what he intended to do would work or not, this was the minimum that he would suffer for his attempts. Using his powers so greatly, it disrupted the careful balance within his body, so of course they would clash afterwards.

Although Nero had to remain on the battlefield, Fallyn and the other members of the royal family had rushed back to the Celestial Heavens. Even those that wanted to stay with her were sent back, unable to refuse her authority when she commanded them to stay with their father, for who knows what would happen. When they witnessed Makuvu crumple to the ground, they rushed toward him.

But Ghost had not stopped with her screaming. That was, until her eyes flew open. Her own eyes glowed, but it was multicolored and frightening, as her eyes were also glazed over, like she was not at all aware. Slowly, the hero rose to her feet, and slowly looked around her. As if she did not recognize anyone there, she growled and snarled, before violently lashing out.

She dove toward Raziya first, obviously intent on attacking her, but Lore threw himself between her and Ghost, yelling, "Stop this!" and pushing the hero back. He did not intend to harm her, of course, but only acted to protect the deity from the hero that seemed to have lost all sense of herself. Although she was pushed back, that did not stop her. Instead, she lunged for whom she perceived to be the weakest there, the one that was already on the ground, in pain, Makuvu. Rulan was the first to act to protect him, but it became a sparring match, where it seemed as though Ghost was actually out to take his life, while Rulan was trying to defend against her attacks without actually harming her, or letting anyone else be harmed.

On the sidelines, Death, the crow, never stopped cawing.

In all of the commotion, that was when Nero appeared, in time to witness Ghost send Rulan, whom could not properly fight back, back into a wall. The Demon King roared, infuriated at what she had witnessed, and rushed forward. She bowled into the hero without any second thoughts, pinning Ghost to the ground beneath her. Ghost struggled violently, but Nero did not budge.

"My love!" Makuvu called out between pained breathes. "She's not...within her... right mind!"

Death finally calmed, his caws no longer filling the air.

Ghost's mind was flooded with memories of her past, those that she had once lost. They came in overwhelming waves, but the worst of it was remembering the pain of her death, and the pain of her soul being chained down, unable to move on even after her heart had stopped beating. It was followed by the memories of this very thing happening, over and over again. Being reminded of her past brought her physical pain, until she lost all control. Like she had here.

Tears began to pour out of her eyes and streak down her face as she struggled against the Demon King, but was entirely unable to push her off. Nero was too strong and, even though a Ghost that was aware may have been able to borrow the Demon King's superior strength, it was not something she was capable with the state that she was in.

After a long while of struggling, but being forced down, Ghost finally lost consciousness again.

"What happened?" Nero demanded, although she only released the hero from her grasp when she was certain that she would not be getting right back up again.

Lore was quick to answer, "Safiya, Raziya, and I used the waters to heal her external wounds, although she was in no condition to consume the waters directly to heal her internal wounds. In spite of our efforts, I'm afraid... she was still dying. That was when-"

"I interfered," Makuvu answered, cutting into Lore's explanation. "She was dying... But I... stopped her death."

"Stopped her death?" Even the Demon King could not hide her alarm. "Since when could you defy death, yourself?" Her words may have sounded offensive to someone from outside of the know and the situation, but the fact was that Makuvu was only alive now, after once dying, because Death, the crow, had shared its very existence with him. Binding their souls together, they were linked. Makuvu would live, as long as the crow was alive, no matter how many times he was killed.

"Just now," Makuvu continued to answer his love, and his leader, in spite of the pain erupting within him.

"And because of what you have done, you're ill," Nero came to such a conclusion.

The First Commander nodded.

"But are you otherwise well?" She had to know.

He nodded again, reassuring her. "I should be fine, in time."

With that settled, she turned her vividly green gaze back over to Ghost. Although she was still lying there without moving at all, her breathing was steady and no longer labored. It seemed as if her body was no longer struggling to keep her alive. It, more or less, only looked like she was resting after an exhausting ordeal.

It was decided, then and there, that someone capable and willing to subdue the hero would be assigned to watch over her while she rested, and in shifts, if need be. Since they did not know what would happen next, all they could do was wait, and find out when the time came.

Nero, of course, lent herself to assisting her life mate, in returning to their private quarters, where he could properly rest. While the two energies inside of him fought against one another within him, there was nothing anyone could truly do to help him. It was something that he had to face by himself, and he could only wait it out, no matter how painful it was. Of course, lovingly, she would stay beside him whenever she could, brining him comfort with her presence there with him, but there was a lot to do right now. There was little time, only than when she wanted to catch a moment of rest, too, for her to actually be beside Makuvu.

It took a handful of days for Ghost to finally stir again. At the time, it had been Lore's shift to watch over her, which was hardly a surprise. He felt responsible for Ghost, ever since he had been assigned to be her guide, so he decided that it would be his shift to watch over the hero, any time that he did not specifically need to sleep.

Her entire body ached all over, like she had somehow been torn apart, but pieced back together. She recognized that she was in pain before even opening her eyes, so when her eyes did flicker open, her expression was rather panicked. The last thing she remembered was the exchange of blows that left her howling in pain. She forced herself up on her feet almost as soon as she opened her eyes, but her limbs were weak, and they buckled beneath her.

"Whoa, whoa," Lore said, when he watched the hero frantically try to stand, only to tumble back to the ground.

Ghosts wings fluttered quickly when she heard the familiar voice, though it was definitely not enough to lift her into the air. "Lore?"

"I'm here," the God of the Void replied when Ghost called for him.

"Wh-what happened?" Ghost needed to know.

"You..." Lore tried to decide how best to word it. "Almost died." Was that less scarier than "you were dying?" Probably not. "We, Raziya, Safiya and I, managed to heal your outer wounds, but we couldn't stop the internal bleeding. While Makuvu... He put himself on the line to interfere with your death. He's still recovering from it, but is better than he was before."

The hero was silent as she was attempting to process the information given to her. So she was dying, but they had worked to save her. "So... I didn't die?" It seemed so strange to ask, since she was sitting here and talking to Lore, and she was pretty certain that this wasn't a dream, but she couldn't help but to ask it anyway.

Lore shook his head. "No. You didn't die. You're alive."

As Ghost thought about what had happened, she realized... that there were fragments of memories that she did not have before. She was most certain that she died once before, and that was why she asked such a question, but... that was a different time. Everything was a jumbled mess, and it hurt. Trying to think about the past made her head throb.

"Is everyone else okay?" After she had fallen, what had become of everyone else? She needed to know. She owed them so much, she... cared about them. So, of course, she did not wish for anyone to come to harm.

"Yes, everyone else is fine," the God of the Void reassured her. "We have been mostly worried about you. Makuvu said you were alive, but... we could not say if you were going to wake or not."

[2410]

---

For Ghost, it had almost seemed like she had managed to live an entire lifetime in a matter of days. At the very least, she had a lifetime of excitement. But that feeling was doubled when she realized that she had fragments of memories from her past swirling around in her head now. If she didn't think about them, it wasn't too bad, but when she did, it made her head ache. Still, she had a few answers now. Not that she necessarily liked those answers. In fact, some of them were utterly horrifying, but, for now, the hero decided not to think too much about it. There was still something that she needed to do.

Although she had remained unconscious for a number of days, and much of the clean up work had already been done outside of the Celestial Heaven's territory, there were still folks from the two cities milling about.

Fallyn, whom had become a good friend of hers, wondered, "What are you going to do now? You said you came from the sea city, right? But you were also in the sky city earlier on."

Ghost had been thinking about the answer to that question for awhile now. Miraculously, thanks to the help from the members of the Celestial Heavens, the hero had survived her greatest trial, thus far. Originally, she didn't even know if that was in the cards for her. Dying in the battle was a real possibility, and something she had to take seriously. At the beginning, since she had no idea who she was, having no memories to give her life value, she had not initially been too worried about it. But as she stayed and cultivated within the Celestial Heavens, she made connections with others. Folks had helped her left and right, with many different things. They provided her a comfortable place to sleep, food and drink to eat, company whenever she wanted it, and even sometimes when she didn't. They spent time giving her advice, teaching her what they felt she needed to know for her upcoming battle, practiced, trained and sparred with her. They trusted her, willingly shared their precious abilities with her when they found out that she could make use of them, and fought alongside her.

That was vastly different from what little she had remembered of the sea city at the beginning. So, as these connections were formed, her life afterward had become a growing matter of concern for her. They had helped her gain the confidence to face what she needed to face, so she was not truly afraid of what would happen to her, but she could say now that she really, truly did not want to die. When she was dying, she worried about what would happen to everyone after the fact. Would they be okay? Would they miss her? Would they change, somehow, if she disappeared in such a way? She was especially close to Lore and Fallyn, considering them her good friends, so she had worried about them the most.

She wanted to stay with them.

That was the conclusion that Ghost had come to. If she were being honest, she held resentment against the sky city and the sea city both. As she had remembered that she had once died, long before the time that she was supposed to face her supposed fate, and, yet, they had still refused to let her go, to allow her to move on, she was here, today. Because of what they had done to her, living was torture. Remembering was torture. So, since they gave her no other choice but to survive even though she had already died, the only way she managed to hold on was to forget everything. Every single time that they reminded her too much of her past, she would snap, just like she had after Makuvu had saved her. She remembered her actions, vaguely, but Lore had told her all about what had happened, when she asked him to. He had been somewhat reluctant about it, but didn't keep it from her, and she appreciated that. After lashing out like a crazed lunatic, Ghost normally forgot everything all over again.

But this time, things were different.

If she tried to find a reason for it, it might have been because she was no longer in the environment where she had been mistreated, and she had connections with those around her now. No one in the Celestial Heavens only looked at the hero and saw a weapon. She was not just a tool for their survival. They had not been the ones to inflict her terrible fate upon her, not even allowing to escape it when she lost her life the first time. They kept her alive just because they wanted to use her. That was how Ghost looked at it, anyway. Perhaps the sea and sky folks did not think of her only as a weapon. It was possible that they had not indented to be malicious in how they treated her. But, nevertheless, Ghost was unable to let go of what they had done. In time, she might eventually be able to forgive them, since her being forced to live meant that she was here, now, around those that she valued, but it would take time, and she would certainly never forget. It was possible to forgive someone, to better yourself and lighten your own load, deciding not to carry around the negative feelings, but that did not mean that things had to be forgotten or you had to actually spend time with those that harmed you.

Ghost had not actually given Fallyn her answer at the time that the demon princess had asked it. The hero had already had an idea of what it was that she wanted, but still didn't exactly know how to say it. However, she could not avoid the outcome. If she wanted to stay, then she needed to do something about it.

"Nero, thank you... for allowing me to have an audience with you." Ghost greeted the Demon King very respectfully in the moment. She had been told long ago that Nero wasn't the sort that carried herself above others, and simply preferred to be called by her name, rather than king, leader, or anything else. So, she respected that fact, but still spoke her words in a way that gave her the authority. This was important.

The Demon King chuckled, shaking her head. What Ghost had done was really unnecessary. "You know that's not necessary. I'm more than happy to speak with you. What is that you wanted to talk about?"

"First of all, thank you for stopping me from hurting anyone," Ghost began. She was somewhat embarrassed about what had happened and wanted to lower her gaze, but dared not to. Her silvery eyes stared back to meet Nero's vividly green gaze, a way of showing her sincerity. "And I am sorry that Makuvu had fallen ill because of helping me."

Nero had nodded her head when the hero had thanked for, even though she was thanking her for pinning her down while she struggled against it violently. But, when Ghost mentioned Makuvu and how he had fallen ill, the Demon King shook her head. "You do not have to apologize for that. Those like he and I, we can become ill like that without any notice at all. As we are unwilling to give up our many years of demonic cultivation, even though we now cultivate divinity, it is the price that we must pay. Makuvu only fell ill at that time because it is more likely that the balance between our two types of energy will become disrupted when we exert ourselves. It does not have anything to do with you, specifically, nor is it something that he would be unable to fully recover from in time. There is no need to apologize for it. He made his own choice."

As Nero had gone out of her way to explain it to Ghost in such a way, the hero was unable to say anything else on the matter, and only nodded her head.

The leader of the Celestial Heavens smiled, as though she was either trying to reassure or encourage her. Maybe both. Ghost hadn't decided which.

"What else was it that you wanted to talk about?" Nero inquired. She had gone on for a bit, there, and was aware of it. So, she asked the question to get back to the matter at hand.

"To be honest, it... it took a lot for me to come here," Ghost began again. "Not because I held any doubts about the choice, or about any of you, but maybe... because I doubted myself." She was still working through all of her own issues, and still would be, for a while to come, she was sure. "Still, I just have to ask, Nero, can I have your permission to... stay here? I mean, will you let me join the Celestial Heavens?"

Before the Demon King could even answer, her, though, she carried on, "To me, it feels more like home than anywhere else in this place, with all of you. I cannot imagine going anywhere else and being happy about it. It feels as though I actually found myself here, and I do not want to give that up."

"Of course," Nero finally answered, when Ghost had briefly paused and allowed her a moment to do so. "You already belong here, so how could we turn you away when you asked to stay?"

[1602]

[6025 total]