"I have plagued the lands of all its evil.... I have stood at the front line against wars in the name of justice...."
Her hands clasped the bells in her fist tightly. The foul stench of burning flesh filled her lungs.
"Fighting for a place in the Heavens to call my own.... And when I leave to finally find my place...?"
The golden fire in her chest burned. It seared her insides with its wrathful greed of consumption.
"They take and they take and they take..." Her claws dig into the side of her head as she began to chant the words over and over again, "It's like a cycle of never ending corpses piling, that I could never truly escape...!"
"The ones that I gave a chance....!"
"The ones that I let into my heart-!"
"The ones I cherished and loved-!"
Golden blood dripped from the lids of her eyes as they flashed a bright saffron.
"All ripped away from me in my very own arms-!" She wailed out. Her heart aching sobs filled the empty wasteland around her. The cold body that she held close to her chest. His white locks filled with the scent of a withering wisteria petal.
"First it was my father... then my beautiful child... and now-!" Her voice cracked towards the end of her sentence as she gazed down to her fallen love.
"I need... I need something... Anything to stop this painful ache that forever stays lodged in my heart..."
A soft whisper echoed in her ears.
Ṯ̶͈̇̈́͆̽͝a̶͆ͅk̸͓̦͖̆́́̿ë̴͉́̄̓̓ ̸̛̖̳̮̰̉̍ŕ̷̦̤̰̦̯e̶͓͆́͒v̷̟͇͇̫̏́̈́͑e̵̤̿̅͂n̶͈̫͒̈͐͝͝ģ̶̛̟͓̆͂̕ͅẹ̶̻̓͊͆...̶̨̛̠̆̈̈́͠
Her eyes widened slowly.
D̶̢͚̻̽ö̶͙͚͔͙́̉̀ ̵̧͇̘̐̄̋̕î̵̭͋̀̇͜t̵̲͍͍̓̊̈́̊̕...̴͚͎̱̠͚̉̆̌̆̕ ̴͖̺͒̚y̴̛̬̥̋͝ő̷̫̠̰u̴̻͒́̔̈́ͅ ̵̲͔̉̃͜ȟ̵̗̙͚̞͕̆a̵̯̦͔̔̐̍̈́̽v̵̻̤̦̤̝̈́e̶̦̹͗ ̵͕͖̠͛̅̄̅́ͅn̸̼͇̋̈́̆͐̽ŏ̸̺̹̤t̴̞̽̑̀h̴̠̤̫̤̚í̷͠ͅn̴̘̄̀̐ĝ̷̡̟ͅ ̸̟̦̂͋͠l̵͈̠̎e̶͖̙̟͛̐f̶̰͉̏͗͘͝ṯ̵̩̗̍́̀̽ ̶̪͌̓̀̚t̴̡̅o̵̐͋̅͐͝ͅ ̶̬̏͐l̷͈͊̃̎͠o̵̢̪̝̖̻̽̀̈́s̶̨̛̬̲̬̤̍̍͆͝ê̷͓͇̙͇̦͒̈̽̿...̴̢̞̯̫͑͘!̴̭̜̝͉̺̏́̍̔̕
"Nothing...."
At that a giant spiral of golden flames erupted around her, towering over the great mountains surrounding the burning kingdom.
It's flames danced in wrathful and a vengeful emotion, it's blazes almost reaching out to the city. Branching out like one on a deer's antlers...
A scream tore from her throat as she could feel her soul burn, it felt like her heart was being pricked by a thousand needles.
An almost deathly figure could be standing before her, looming and observing what her next move was.
Her dazed eyes gazed upon the figure who stood before her in a dark shrouded cloak. It's hand holding onto a weapon that the farmers would use to shear crops of bountiful wheat.
"A reaper...."
At its title being called, it's skeletal claws reached out from underneath its long sleeves. Though if Jinhua focused through her blurred teary eyes, she could see the dainty patterns curling around its bones.
The flecks of gold wrapped around its bones.
"Your.... Mine aren't you....?"
"𝕲𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖍𝖚𝖒𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖔𝖓𝖔𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖆 𝖓𝖆𝖒𝖊...."
Jinhua placed a trembling hand in his, the touch of frost and sheer cold. Her mind in scrambles as she observed the loyal servant.
"I grant thy name of Shiwen. Do as you please with it...."
As soon as the name slipped from her lips, the skeletal figure erupted into a tower of flames and soon formed full on suited deck of armor knight.
"𝕸𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖌𝖊.... 𝕴, 𝕾𝖍𝖎𝖜𝖊𝖓 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖎𝖑 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖓𝖉..."
"Your liege...?" She muttered out tiredly.
"𝕿𝖔 𝖒𝖊... 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖞 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓... 𝕸𝖞 𝕸𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖘... 𝕸𝖞 𝕰𝖒𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖘..."
"Who knows.. You might have the makings of a new Queen. Or maybe..."
The voice of the Demon Fox King echoed through her mind.
"An Empress..." She trailed off with a surprised exhale. Her mind racing with questions of the exact warnings that the demon king knew of.
She looked down at the servant before her. He was kneeling down on one knee with a broad sword held down in front of him.
The feeling that flowed around her chest gave her a slight shiver at the sudden power she held.
"What are you...?"
"𝕴 𝖆𝖒 𝖆 𝖋𝖎𝖌𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖊... 𝕴 𝖉𝖔 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜 𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝕴 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝕴 𝖏𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕴 𝖆𝖒 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖘. 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖘 𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖞."
Gently picking Macaque up, she carried him over to a nearby willow tree. Placing his cold form down against the rough bark, Jinhua took off her shoulder robes that bud her from the rousing cold in the air.
Covering the body of her lover, she snapped her fingers and tucked a single lotus behind his ear.
She turned back towards her so called servant who stood off to the side and gave her space. Still standing in an almost guard like position.
"Shiwen."
At the call of his name, he dispersed from his spot and appeared right before her kneeling.
"𝖄𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖘, 𝖒𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖌𝖊."
Jinhua held up her hand and observed it, wondering what she had just done to make the soldier in front of her, "What power do I hold?"
"𝕹𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖞, 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕳𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘."
Her eyes immediately looked straight down at him. A fiery glare lit them up.
"Necromancy, you say?"
"𝖄𝖊𝖘."
"And what is the limit to this power?"
𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖆𝖞 𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖓 𝖇𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖔𝖜𝖓 𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖞...."
"My own army of Nekomata...?"
"𝖄𝖊𝖘."
"And does this power work for other races besides my own....?"
"𝕹𝖔."
Her once hopeful mind soon shattered at his answer.
"I see... And how exactly would I be able to achieve such a feat?"
"𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖌𝖎𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋 𝖋𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊𝖘 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖑."
"And you want me to separate it..."
"𝕴 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖌𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖘𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚..."
"Thank you." Jinhua stated and rose to her feet. She held her hands out towards the battlefield of fallen warriors.
Shiwen stood behind her and pointed his sword up to the sky. A great powerful beam shot up and encased the two demons.
Little orbs of tawny light, flickered out like little puff balls of dandruffs.
Each one glided down and was absorbed into each of the corpses that lay sprawled out.
Feeling the warmth radiate from the servant behind her, she glanced up to meet her towering soldier.
"𝕲𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖎𝖘 𝖆 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜."
Closing her eyes she thought long and hard.
Opening her illuminating gaze, she snapped her finger and spoke up loud and clear.
"Rise."
Ghostly wisps flowed out of the bodies of the dead, and rose up to stand in a line of fortified union. Their weapons held high and mighty. Their golden figures glowed with their armor leering in an offsetting motion. They're tails almost merge with the flames at the ends and all blaze a bright yellow.
The numbers of soldiers grew from a dozen to hundreds at the number of killed. The utter mass of the Nekomata that stood before her, made her realize the mass slaughter of her clan.
"Tell me Shiwen... How many of the Nekomata have fallen in my clan...?"
She kept her gaze steady as she didn't even look up at her servant to know what the answer was.
All she needed was a confirmation.
"𝕱𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖚𝖉𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖆 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖆𝖈𝖗𝖊. 𝕹𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖑𝖊𝖋𝖙 𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊."
Jinhua dipped her head at the answer and took a breathe.
𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖉, 𝖒𝖞 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓. 𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖘𝖊 𝖘𝖔𝖑𝖉𝖎𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖎𝖗 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖛𝖎𝖛𝖔𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖓."
"The last of the Nekomata. Indeed it seems to have come to that notion." She stepped forward and watched as they all kneeled in a domino affect. The loud clang of weapons being dropped in submission was heard ringing throughout the air.
Snapping her fingers again, her golden encrusted blade sat resting in her sash as her traveling attire was now replaced with her battle armor. Her golden shoulder plates stood on end and showed a more royalty effect as chains fell down her chest plate and belt. Her garnered pants weaved tightly around her legs for mobility and silken robes hung behind her.
Her boots clicked at every step she took when she grew nearer to her army of dead.
Unsheathing her sword and holding it up to the sky, she declared her righteous words to her Clan.
"Here me, Nekomata. I do not like you. But I sympathize with you and the loss of your home and lives. I am no leader. I am no friend of yours. But you can follow me if you so desire too. That is your choice." She struck down her blade into the gravel near her feet.
"But if you follow me, I will do my best to lead you as my own. I will put you to test of your limits and abilities to serve me and my will." Her eyes trailed over the kneeled mass, "Follow me and you might not get a second chance.."
"All I need is answers... Answers to the questions that poison my mind in its tangling grip..!" She felt her face tremble, "And to do that..! I need to find a friend. At least I hope is still one...." She trailed off at an ominous feeling that slithered around her.
A hand was placed onto the demoness' shoulder, startling her. Looking up she was met with Shiwen's masked gaze on her.
"𝕱𝖊𝖆𝖗 𝖓𝖔𝖙, 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕳𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘, 𝖜𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖆𝖇𝖎𝖉𝖊 𝖇𝖞 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖜𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖓𝖔 𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖊𝖑𝖘𝖊'𝖘..."
Taking a large inhale of air, she grabbed hold on her blade out of the ground and gave a mighty swing, "Follow me, my people! My own! My soldiers! Follow me and the chances of not fighting a god are slim depending on his mood!"
"With that we rise-!"
The roars from her army escalated to the skies above. They swung they're weapons high and with powerful steps they marched on following their Empress.