It had been almost three full years since Kuzuno began her journey with Kuroyasha-three years of growth, struggle, and the slow discovery of her true power as the first ice fox of the royal family.
But while Kuzuno walked the path of awakening...
Her sister, Kayo, had been walking a far darker one.
Deep within Yeounui's hidden domain, the Dark Nine-Tails rested in a chair, her posture calm, yet her presence heavy with quiet menace.
Before her floated a magical crystal shaped like a thin circular disc. It hovered above the tip of her claw, sustained by her mana.
The crystal flickered.
Images appeared.
Yeounui... and Beniyasha.
Smiling.
Laughing.
Happy.
Her expression softened.
The image shifted.
She saw herself pregnant, one hand resting gently over her stomach. Behind her, Beniyasha wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her belly with a wide, goofy grin. His eyes were full of pride. Full of love.
The face of a man ready to become a father.
A future they had believed in.
Yeounui slowly placed her claw against her stomach.
A hollow ache spread through her.
What would our child have been like...?
She remembered the names they had chosen.
Benihime, if it were a girl.
Benitsume, if it were a boy.
For a moment, sorrow filled her completely.
Then-
It twisted.
Her sadness became rage.
"Inari..."
Her voice was cold. Venomous.
"You ripped my child from my womb... broke the future I was promised... sealed away the Shinigami Realm... and hid the blade that can kill even gods."
Her mana flared violently.
"I will break that seal. I will steal the Shinigami Blade. And then..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I will kill you."
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The crystal cracked.
Then shattered into glowing fragments that vanished into the air.
Silence followed.
Yeounui exhaled slowly.
Her expression smoothed once more, returning to its usual calm beauty.
But beneath it...
Something far more dangerous remained.
"I should check on Kayo," she said softly. "If she survived that training... then something truly special is about to happen."
A wicked smile touched her lips.
"I can't wait to see it."
Moments later, Yeounui stepped outside her hideout.
Before her, suspended within the void-like expanse of her domain, burned a massive sun.
She gazed upon it with delight, bathing in its overwhelming light and heat as though it were nothing.
Then-
A pulse.
Small at first.
Then another.
And another.
Each pulse grew stronger than the last.
The sun itself began to throb with power.
Even from miles away, Yeounui could feel it.
Her smile widened.
"It's beginning..."
Her thoughts darkened.
I will use the very bloodline Inari cherishes to destroy everything she loves.
Her realm.
Her family.
Her legacy.
Starting with Inari herself.
Her smile twisted.
Tamamo... dear little sister...
You still have your family.
I lost mine because of the will of our goddess... and yet all of you still follow her blindly.
Her eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.
Kuzuno suffers... and Kayo was so easy to mislead.
A quiet laugh escaped her.
Almost too easy.
But then-
A memory struck her.
Beniyasha.
His death.
Her claw piercing his body.
His blood staining her hand.
And yet...
His face.
That same big, goofy smile.
Even as he died.
Yeounui's expression cracked.
She lifted her claw to her face, hiding the unstable look in her eyes.
"What were you smiling about...?"
Her voice trembled.
"I killed you... and still, you looked at me the same way you always did."
Her tone sharpened.
"Were you mocking me?"
Her power surged.
"Did you smile knowing our child was gone?! Knowing you helped the very goddess who took everything from us?!"
A fearsome, spine-chilling roar tore from her throat, shaking the space around her.
Then-
Silence.
Slowly, her breathing steadied.
Her composure returned.
"No..."
Her voice became quiet again.
"I will not lose focus."
She lowered her claw and turned her attention back to the sun.
"Now then..."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Let's see how far you've come, Kayo."
The pulses intensified.
Faster.
Stronger.
More violent.
Then-
A massive explosion of divine power erupted from within the sun.
The light dimmed drastically, as if something inside was absorbing it.
Devouring it.
Consuming the very essence of the star.
Then the light flared again.
Brighter.
Hotter.
More divine.
That light took shape.
It moved with incredible speed, appearing only a few feet in front of Yeounui.
Slowly, the radiance faded.
Revealing-
Kayo.
She stood at 5'6", her presence no longer mortal.
Nine flowing black tails extended behind her, each tipped with a miniature blazing sun.
She wore a white battle kimono trimmed in gold, with red markings flowing from a circular crest on the right side of her chest. The markings stretched across her body, down her arms, and into her nine tails like streams of living energy.
Her jet-black hair carried a single golden streak along the right side.
Her sharp red slitted eyes burned with golden light at their centers.
Her black fox ears bore twin earrings that shimmered with heat and power equal to the sun itself.
She had ascended.
Yeounui stared at her, clearly impressed.
"So tell me..."
A faint smile formed.
"How does it feel to no longer be mortal... Fox Goddess of the Sun, Kayo?"
Kayo smiled.
Calm.
Devious.
Divine.
"It is a feeling beyond words."
She looked down at her claw.
"I did not merely train inside the sun. It was almost as if I became the sun itself."
Her eyes lifted.
"I understand what powers it. What sustains it. What falls beneath its domain..."
Her smile sharpened.
"My domain."
Yeounui's expression filled with satisfaction.
"Well said. Very well said, actually."
She stepped closer.
"It is important for a goddess to understand what she holds dominion over."
Her eyes narrowed with interest.
"But tell me, Kayo... do you believe you have reached the peak of a sun goddess's power?"
Kayo studied her claw again, considering the question.
Then she looked directly at Yeounui.
"No."
Yeounui's smile widened.
"There are many paths a god can walk with their power," Kayo continued. "For example... your gravity flames were not born simply from fire. They came from centuries of studying gravity-not only the gravity of stars, but what stars are... and what they become."
Yeounui clapped her claws together, genuinely impressed.
"Very well deduced, Kayo. To understand that so quickly is remarkable."
Her eyes gleamed.
"Now then... shall we test this new power? I am curious to see it up close."
Kayo's smile became eager.
"Of course, Auntie. I would be delighted."
She tilted her head slightly.
"We shall train again at the Forbidden Fox Grounds, yes?"
Yeounui nodded.
"I'll see you there, Kayo~"
She stepped backward into the shadows and vanished.
Kayo remained where she stood, staring up into the sky.
Her eyes burned with hunger.
Not just for battle.
For victory.
For dominance.
"One year..."
Her voice was soft.
"One year before I burn Kuroyasha to ash."
Her smile darkened.
"One year before I drag Kuzuno into the deepest depths of despair."
Her power flickered.
"One year before I dethrone Mother and Father... and reshape the Fox Realm into my vision."
Her eyes narrowed.
"A realm of strength."
"A realm of power."
"A realm worthy of me."
She looked toward the distance, her nine sun-tipped tails swaying behind her.
"Auntie will kill Inari..."
Her smile widened.
"And I will claim everything else."
A calm, wicked expression settled over her face.
"A year is a long time, Kuzuno."
Her voice dropped into a cruel whisper.
"Train well."
A pause.
"I hope you put up some kind of fight."