A/N: The first place winner as per popular vote appears at the end of the chapter. Enjoy ;)
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The Kirin stared at me with genuine kindness and a smudge of curiosity. I, on the other hand, was on edge. Although the place I was in right now soothed my worries and honestly made me feel relaxed, I had just met a creature from myth. It was like seeing an angel in its real form as they say, "Do not be afraid." Not to mention the lightning spirit was one of the weirdest things I had ever interacted with. It was beyond my understanding as a human.
The Kirin seemed to sense my feelings as the ancient scales around her eyes crinkled and the corners of her long snout curled upward in a gentle amused expression. She leaned down to sniff the grass and played with a few hummingbirds which seemed to adore darting around her regal head. Eventually I narrowed my eyes and said cautiously, "Hi, I am Noa. Where am I and who are you?"
The creature looked up slowly, eyes focused on me, however all I could sense from them was benevolence which eased my worries somehow. She spoke and her sound was one of the most pleasant things I have ever heard. It was like multiple gentle chimes moving at the same time with the gentle wind, causing a sound that was melodic and pleasant to the ear without being overwhelming like the previous creature or too quiet to hear. It was just perfect.
"Hi Noa, I am simply Kirin, that is who I am. You are in my realm, in the middle of some really dangerous areas that no human ever dared to explore. It is interesting that you came here. How did you do so?"
Seeing no smoke or lightning, I responded while looking around cautiously, "I used a summoning jutsu, but I didn't have a contract beforehand and so was flung by the jutsu randomly through space to find a summon."
An intrigued look appeared on the Kirin's face as she said, "A jutsu, how curious. But for that jutsu to send you to me, you must have something special about you." A nervous chuckle escaped my mouth as I scratched my head, which the Kirin found amusing. She let out a soft rhythmic rumble that vibrated through the air like a song, and the birds around her chirped in harmony as if they were trying to imitate the divine melody. The entire scene looked almost mythical.
I was lost in what I was seeing as the Kirin looked at me and asked, "So you are searching for a summon. Hmmm. Maybe visiting the human world after so long isn't a bad idea."
I was excited for the implication behind her words before I forcibly stopped myself as I asked with narrowed eyes, "You are not going to ask for something weird like kids' belly buttons, are you?"
An irritated look almost escaped her beautiful glowing eyes before it disappeared under her gentle demeanor as she said, "I see that you have met the Ooni. How unfortunate."
I sighed in despair just remembering it as I said, "Yeah, he even tried to negotiate and ask for adults' belly buttons when I refused kids' ones, like that makes it more reasonable."
The Kirin shook her head. "No, I will not ask you for something that weird in exchange for contracting me."
A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I asked, "Ok then, what do you want in exchange?"
The Kirin spoke with a naturally pleasant tone as she proclaimed, "I want you to worship me nineteen hours a day."
"God damn it!" I stomped the ground hard, destroying a few grass blades which seemed to annoy the Kirin, however she just stayed calm, observing me as I tried to reign in my feelings. After a few moments, I was able to speak through gritted teeth. "That means that I will do nothing with my life but worship you."
The Kirin nodded. "Indeed. How lucky you are to get the chance to worship me directly. It is a great blessing I am bestowing upon you, you know."
I asked with pure puzzlement, "What can you do besides stay there while I worship you? Can you fight?"
An offended look appeared on her face as she spoke with an almost disdainful tone, "Fight! Of course not. How barbaric."
I blinked for a few moments before I said, "Can you heal or provide support in any way?"
She shook her head. "I cannot do such things to mortal humans. Your body would explode."
"God damn it," I said once more with a bitter tone before I started to weave through hand seals. My chakra was already dangerously low since apparently the jutsu was using it to move me through those crazy distances, probably in a way which the Flying Thunder God technique imitated. A small realization appeared on my face as I was almost done with my hand seals.
The Kirin finally spoke, her voice weirdly louder than before, "Fine, fine! I have a more reasonable proposition."
I stopped my hand signs and listened carefully, doubt clear on my face, as she continued, "Instead of nineteen hours, you can worship me, a living, breathing deity that you can see, for twenty hours a day."
I started to weave the signs even faster as she started to speak faster with a slight panic, "Ok, twenty-one! Twenty-four! Twenty-six!"
That was the last I heard before I was catapulted through space and time, smeared through the spatial tunnel once again.
The turbulence was becoming stronger now, the process itself becoming more and more unstable as colors and sounds started to blink in and out of existence. My chakra reserves were now being consumed at a dangerous level, and this time I couldn't feel anything trying to even wrench me to their realm as my speed was increasing and my trajectory was becoming more and more unstable and erratic.
I came much closer to the walls of the tunnel. I couldn't do anything as I drifted closer and closer, panic now rising in my stomach as my eyes widened before I crashed into the barrier, breaking it entirely as the world fell around me like broken glass.
My eyes opened and closed rapidly as I regained consciousness, only to find myself flying through the air and approaching the earth from a deadly height and at a sharp angle with terrifying speed.
I did not have an option. I activated Stormdrive, shrouding myself in a lightning coat while focusing more chakra into my legs just as I crashed hard into the earth. The impact was massive, causing a huge explosion as enormous pain flared through my legs. A trail of destruction was left behind as I tumbled through the air. I had to cut off Stormdrive fast, or my chakra would be too low to perform another summoning jutsu in case this place was dangerous. I tried to stop or roll, but I was moving too fast. My body continued to skid, crashing through ancient, dry, hollowed trees as splinters sliced into my skin and face, including a deep slash just above my eye. Finally, the painful momentum died away, leaving me to come to a rest amidst a wreckage of dust and shattered wood, with steam rising from my wounds into the freezing air.
I stood up slowly, agony radiating through every nerve. Blood seeped from multiple wounds and my clothes were little more than torn rags, but I forgot the pain as the sight before me froze the flow in my veins.
In the darkness of the night, something massive was lying down. It was coiled onto itself, a mountain of white fur that shifted slightly until two vicious crimson eyes snapped toward me. Slowly, it began to rise, getting bigger and bigger until it stood on its hind legs, its coat thrashing in the powerful wind. Through the gloom, I saw the silhouette of something truly primeval.
It roared as it stood on its hind legs to make itself even bigger, and the sky lit up with a flash of lightning; then, thunder came in, so powerful that it seemed to amplify the sound until the air itself vibrated. In that momentary light, I finally saw it. It was a colossal polar bear, a titan of the frost. Its body was a roadmap of survival, covered in thick, gnarled scars that told stories of a thousand battles. The entirety of its left ear was missing. But the most prominent was a horrific injury: a single, jagged canyon of a scar ran through its face, cutting across its chest and all the way down to its leg in one continuous, brutal slash that had even claimed a clawed digit. A thick, freezing mist rotated around its body, making the veteran predator look even more terrifying.
Finally, it slammed back down to all fours with a thunderous impact. The sheer weight of the beast caused the earth to groan, shaking the ground so violently I almost lost my footing. As thunder echoed behind its massive frame, the bear remained anchored like a boulder in the storm, its gaze fixed on me with pure, unadulterated savagery.
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A/N: What do you think of the new cover? Pretty awesome, isn't it? Hahahaha. Well, no wonder it is. After all, it is art done by the amazing Doxis_. Let me know what you think of the cover and the chapter in the comments <3