Skysin crouched before a pond, cupping his hand and dipping it into the water. He pulled it back out, lowering his lips to sip from his palm.
Relishing the smooth, cool water, Skysin gave a single breath, "…weird…never thought the mountain would have a place like this." He said, standing, sitting his hands on his waist. The young man looked around, absorbing the beautiful area around him.
This place is a natural basin hidden within the snowbound heights. Floating, speckled lights of chaos flowed through the air like pollen. Gentle. Slow. Small constellations cast across the violet grass.
Trees rise, bark a mix of snow and silver. Branches hung with crystal leaves of frost, chiming softly like tiny bells whenever the air moved. Alienated plants bloom in many colors, pale violet, soft blue, faint red. Translucent petals with lantern-like skin glowing within.
This place was like a sanctuary.
And this sanctuary was untouched, seemed protected, hidden. Like it was meant to be unseen from the yuman eye.
Skysin strolled around, following the dancing specks of chaos that drifted like fireflies. "What is this place?" The young man asked himself, amazed. His violet eyes locked onto a large, pretty tomb sitting behind a line of bushes.
Skysin tilted his head in question, but shrugged, "I'll be sure to not touch anything." He approached it, shifting the many glowing branches and leaves to the side.
The building itself wasn't huge, it was simple. Sitting alone in this small wonderland of serenity, just geometry and peace. A structure of white tile and pale stone. Smooth was the perfect word to describe it. There were no sigils, inscriptions, warnings, even.
Skysin pushed the singular white door open, and entered a small room, same material as the outside. It was cold, freezing even. Luckily for him, Skysin is pretty much immune to such temperatures. It had to be at least ten degrees or lower.
Skysin gazed at a small table, a picture of a family. Three adults, two yuman, man and woman. As for the third, she had fox ears. The pair of children are both girls; they looked damn near alike. Essentially twins.
But the intriguing part of this tomb was the glass coffin sitting right beside the table, left of it. Covered in a thin shell of ice from the inside.
Just as Skysin took a step to it, the coffin had glowed a frigid hue. In an instant, the blue hologram of a woman had appeared right before Skysin.
"What the—" Skysin blurred, already shifting back by a foot. But he tilted his head, realizing that this woman was indeed deceased.
There was a strange familiarity with her that he couldn't describe.
The woman herself; absolutely beautiful. She was near average height, standing around five-four. Dressed in a white traditional kimono with pink floral designs, edges of the petals tinged in blue. A wide, raven black belt tied around her small waist,
But those eyes, those eyes are the bitter definition of ethereal. Like dazzling diamonds in a shade of blue pearl, puddles of pink within them. Her smooth skin is the same cool tone as snow. Bangs of her blonde hair draped just above her short eyebrows and shaped her round yet defined face. Drizzling down her slender back, right above her bottom. But the most notable features are the pair of fluffy fox ears sitting atop her head, and the five tails dancing behind, all in the same motion as grass shuffling in the wind.
The woman sat a hand over her full pink lips. Clearing her throat, those thick lashes fluttered as she blinked, eyes forward.
"Hello, my name is Taekhyu Seraphina. Or, originally known as Taekhyu Rillem."
Skysin's violet eyes had widened hearing that last name, "wait wha—"
"I am apart of the kitsune clan, as you know, the clan who no longer fully exists. However, if you happened to receive this message, that means your chaotic energy is similar to mine. Which… you are my kin."
Skysin was thrown straight into a loop. The young man felt like he ran full speed into a block of heavy metal. But more than anything, Skysin was confused. "Kin…" Skysin repeated, just saying the word felt foreign to him. The only known family he ever had is his mother Valentine and Juniper, his older sister. Information of his father, unknown. And now he comes to discover this deceased kitsune is a relative of his??
What was she?
Aunt?
Grandmother?
Cousin??
"Why would mom hide this from me…?" Skysin asked, fists clenched. It's not everyday you find out you're related to someone, from their own manifestation of energy. Much less in a random predicament such as this.
The woman, Taekhyu continued, her voice soft, melancholic, "there…is little left to say…" She gave a small, yet saddened smile, "except that the little girl I raised as my own became my very end."
Taekhyu shook her head, "I watched her grow. Loved her. Believed in every dream, foresight, unity, she spoke into the air." Taekhyu shut her eyes, "but beneath all of that was control, dominion. A hunger to rule all through fear, force."
"When she killed my husband, I knew. Not with certainty…but it was inevitable. When we stood against one another, I understood the truth. She wasn't choosing darkness. But synchronized it within her heart."
Skysin: Silence.
One hand covered his chin and mouth, the other crossed his chest. Not intrigued. Concerned. This was his family, after all. His blood. Even if he never met her, the most Skysin could do is simply listen to Taekhyu.
"By the time I understood her machinations, I was already carrying life…"—Taekhyu rubbed her own stomach, gentle, caring— "my own very child. I couldn't allow her soul to be shaped by…this malice."
"After I managed to barely escape and arrived here. I focused all my remaining energy for an ancient rite. Not to destroy but preserve her very essence. And create this message," Taekhyu raised her hand, and a glowing ball of blue and angelic light rose from her hand.
Skysin's gaze drifted.
He could feel the energy fluctuating, the child was alive, although faint. It was there. Whoever Taekhyu was, for her to accomplish this in a weakened state…she was strong. And her knowledge of chaos was impressive, unprecedented.
"This is her…" Taekhyu softly spoke, "my clan was erased. My bloodline shattered. Husband slain. My life ended by the one I once called daughter," she lowered her head, lips curved just barely. "It appears my story was always meant to unravel like this."
There was a pause. Quietness. Taekhyu blankly gazed at the floor, as if pondering about everything that occurred in her long life. The look in her eyes deemed she was questioning the reason she even lived for such an amount of time. Why did she even live at all.
"But…" Taekhyu continued, "I believe my blood still lives. My nephew, Rellgis. Somewhere in the omiverse, wherever that may be. And if not him, then his children, or their children…"—Taekhyu looked forward, eyes deadest on Skysin— "Whoever you are…if you hear this, see me, standing here before you—!"
"Please…" tears formed under Taekhyu's eyes, streaming down her cheeks as she slowly fell to her knees, "I beg of you…take my child with you… Don't leave her in stillness. Don't let her become a forgotten existence…She deserves a life!!"
Skysin bit his lip, withdrawing his head. Taekhyu's passion and determination was ardent. The pure emotion she released was too much for him. Palpable. The weight, the sound of her voice breaking. Even though this was made who knows how many years ago, it felt as if Taekhyu was standing before him. Skysin could feel the small hairs of his neck rise and spike like a hedgehog.
Taekhyu spoke, gentle, "to truly manifest her. The chaotic energy of both Kitsune and Seraphim will be needed. I know, it's quite the task…"
"I understand that what I ask may seem impossible. But if there is a chance within this Omiverse…"—Taekhyu stood, and gave a deep bow— "Please, bring her with you. That is all I ask for. For her to feel the warmth of the sun. The grass under her feet. The wind hit her skin as she plays."
And like that, Taekhyu's spirit of chaos slowly twirled, dissipating into small flakes of snow, disappearing like a phantom of holiness.
But the orb of light remained, floating calmly, quietly.
Skysin knew what he had to do.
Sure, he may have never met Taekhyu. But this was a request that any good mother would make for their child. To breath, to walk, run…live a life.
It'd be different if this was something else, or if this never happened to begin with. But he received this message for a reason. It was fate. Something that the strings of chaos had intertwined, bringing him here. Coming to understand that he has more family. The young man couldn't let his own sit here…
She is kin.
Skysin raised his hand to the orb, and it wisps into his hand, like a black hole eating a planet. He could feel the warmth, the life, within him.
"Also…" Taekhyu's voice spoke within his head, catching Skysin off guard.
"If you're wondering what her name is. It is Tenko. However, I'm no longer in the realm of living. If you have a better name, then I see no problems…"
Skysin gazed at the frigid coffin, not a word said.
He clenched one hand into a fist and tightened his fingers with the other like a knife. Skysin stood at attention like a soldier, feet together, and pressed his hands against each other like a martial artist. He closed his eyes and deeply bowed towards Taekhyu's coffin, in silent prayer.
Respect, all Skysin thought.
Taekhyu was weakened, close to death, yet she still did everything in her power to save and preserve her daughter. Utter will power.
Taekhyu was a strong woman, a mother, to the bitter end.
**
Skysin stood on a cliff beside the giant hole he made, gazing before the broad landscape before him. The heavy gales of snow howled, running through his hair and clothing.
He sighed, rubbing his head, "I gotta say, you must've been one hell of a woman. It sucks I was never able to meet ya…"—Skysin looked back at the hole and slapped his hand on the ice-covered rock— "I hope you'll be able to be in peace now," he said, ice creeping along the huge cave, making it hidden once again. "I'll be sure to take care of Tenko for ya. You have my word, auntie."
Skysin leapt from the cliff, performing multiple summer saults. He created a makeshift snowboard of ice, landing on the steep mountain side, sliding down at high speeds. The chilled wind hitting his skin, snowflakes passing his sight as he sped down. Skysin's eyes remained on the horizon, slithering across the white hill of rock. While his thoughts drifted back to Taekhyu, still, he had another mission. Get to Crim.
And for now, that'll be his main objective.
Skysin finally made it down, and the ice dispersed like glass shattering. But the momentum never broke, Skysin kept a fast pace, his legs already hard to perceive as he ran. The boy grinned, "alright, now I just gotta figure out where I'm going."
Skysin's entire body blurred, and was already gone, a trail a blue left behind as he took off into the horizon under a millisecond.
Like wind speeding through the land, taking him to his next destination.