Chapter 48

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            Yasuhira could feel the world dying around him

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Yasuhira could feel the world dying around him. The sky, which had been once brightly lit, was now entirely dark. There were no stars either. Only black. He was surrounded by it; he could feel it seep through his skin. And then came another shattering eruption of power, a roar of tumult and violence. All that dissonance drove him back to ground. The earth's surface wasn't solid anymore; it was malleable and yielding, like he was in a puddle of sickening oil and mud. As he struggled to free himself of the earth, Yasuhira noticed the horizon. It was glowing, sometimes white, and other times red. Great plumes of light flew up from the main mass; they rolled and twirled through the black sky like long streams of fire. And the ground shook with each expression of light, which made Yasuhira lose his footing and he sunk further into the morass that the world was fast becoming. He had to be free of it. He had to reach the horizon where he knew the final battle was taking place. He had to stop it before it was too late. With a great primal cry he summoned up all of his strength and pulled himself free. He struck at the earth and was shocked to find it retreated from his attack and he even heard it cry out. All reality was being transformed. Nothing was they way it supposed to be. But Yasu was free now and roared off toward the battle. He would not spare one moment even to consider what he would find once he arrived. Yasuhira wept at the thought of what was happening and all that came before this terrible day. Enough. He continued forward. However it seemed as if the horizon was moving beyond him somehow, as if it were running away from a pursuer. And the more power Yasuhira expended in trying to overtake the horizon, the further away it became. Damnable.

He came to a halt, and hovered in mid air. Yasuhira needed a moment to collect himself. His mind was in direct conflict with his spirit. Everything was out of sorts and he needed to set things straight or he'd be a useful as a blunt edged sword. Upon opening his eyes he noticed the horizon had stopped running. He was close now. He could feel the power being expended by both women. It was breathtaking. Yasuhira began to have doubts about whether he could stop the war or not. Everything was so beyond him. The din of battle grew with those doubts. Yasu took a breath. Despite his reservations, he moved on. And now the world worked with him, instead of against him. The glow on the horizon grew and grew. It's power increased and the plumes of light had become like fire. Everything was burning. Time, space and the soul were ablaze. There was nothing for Yasuhira to hold on to. All he had left was his resolve to end the madness and save his daughter. High expectations, considering who was in the heart of that turmoil. As Yasu approached he at last was able to discern two figures in the centre of blaze. They struck at each other, pulled away, regrouped, and struck again. Over and over. They whirled about one another like two hawks locked in deadly combat over the corpse of a mouse. Yasuhira came to a halt on event horizon of their battle. He hovered within the black of one world and reached out to the light of the other. Those within hadn't seen him.

Amaterasu was smiling. Akako was more than she ever could have imagined. She was beyond the imagining of any of the old gods who first formed the world and the universe that surrounds it. She couldn't really understand why Akako was so powerful. Where did it originate? Was her blessing the source or merely the key that unlocked it? It hardly mattered. Akako would be the beginning of a new era. And the Sun would finally be granted the peace and serenity she had always craved. Amaterasu began to laugh. Which only incensed Akako even more. She had transformed into her pure white form, as she had when with her maters. Her eyes blazed so ferociously that flames curled over her forehead. But despite her best efforts she could not stop the Sun from laughing. Now her loathing was raging. She halted her attacks, which startled Amaterasu and then tried a more direct approach. Akako threw herself at the Sun and grabbed her tightly by the throat. Once they were eye to eye, Akako drove down to the earth below. Amaterasu struggled to free herself, as she was now deathly afraid of the outcome of this attack. The sight of Akako, so enraged, made Amaterasu believe that perhaps this would not end exactly as she hoped. The force of their landing was unlike anything ever witnessed. It was far greater than Yasuhira's affront only a few hours earlier. Yasuhira himself was caught up in the blast and it was nearly the end of him. The world was quiet. The darkness remained. The light was only around Akako now, who stood over a silent and still Amaterasu. The Sun was in a pit made of blackened glass and as she struggled to move the shards cut her skin, which made her flinch.

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