Furries and fursonas are still heavily controversial to this day and age so imagine that in the 70s
Trying to pretend the whole thing was a business was their cover up
Under this, they definitely watches Soap Operas together
As in like, both sides have good points and debunks towards one another
For me personally it is MikeRunaway vs BVRunaway, Like lowkey both can work and have good narrative
BBV and Cacassidy is noy that popular as BV and Cassidy
But you dont often see BBV and Cacassidy in any Fnaf games like UCN
To make this I literaly had to break BV into multiple pieces and then put him back together. Hehe
Like, nothing against these theories I think CassidyVictim has a lot of merit to it but yall acting like thats the only way for him to have narrative importance😭 Even SparkVictim+BVNobody alone already gives him more of a role than the entire DCI and 4 out of the 5 MCI Victims
Cacophony ensued across the stands at Izanagi's display, from fear and amazement at how he showed not an ounce of pain even after losing his arm, to dread and curiosity as he exhibited a new power that easily stopped Hou Yi's attack.
"Huh", Susano'o muttered in surprise while scratching his chin "That's new"
"You haven't seen this before?" Kagutsuchi raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed, and I thought I had made him use all of his abilities against me..." The storm god seemed disappointed with himself.
"Well, Dad has been alive for over 8 billion years; we couldn't have expected to see all he has to show in just the few million years we have lived..." Amaterasu commented with a frown on her face as she tried to make sense of what was going on.
<>
"That power.....could it be? It can't..." Ra muttered, a rare look of concern on his face.
Sekhmet and Bastet exchanged a glance "What is it, Pa?" Bastet asked worriedly.
"That technique....it belonged to Izanami"
<>
Within the battlegrounds, Hou Yi stood still. Just the presence of the ghostly construct alone shifted the atmosphere of the arena. The air felt heavier, as if literally carrying a feeling of deep sadness and resentment.
Hou Yi instinctively began to ready another arrow, but he stopped himself. The ethereal limb had stopped his previous bolt as if it was nothing; rushing in would just lead to the same results, so he chose to wait to see what his foe was going to do so he could analyze it better.
But Izanagi didn't do anything. He stood frozen, staring at his severed arm with a completely emotionless face.
"........"
<>
[8.000.000.000~ Years Ago – Age of Ancients, 'The days before days']
The world was still unformed, shrouded by fog and darkness; What few stars that had dared to be born had their light sapped away by a pitch-black, spiraling black hole in the sky, the hole itself being somehow darker than the lightless heavens that surrounded it.
Below the primordial spectacle in the sky, two figures, each one a child and covered in only simple rags, walked across a vast land of gray crags through the fog, stumbling through the terrain while holding their hands together.
"Please...hold my hand; if you do, I won't find you again..." The taller of the two figures asked in a distraught voice while holding on tight, speaking in a forgotten language long lost to time; her features would later be identified eons later as belonging to a girl.
[Izanami]
The smaller figure grunted, seeming irritated but not letting go of his companion's hand "Be quiet....*they* might hear us"
[Izanagi]
The pair continued to stumble for a while longer in silence, until a sound echoed through the fog.
Inhuman. Unnatural. Quiet. Deafening. A primordial predator was on the hunt.
The two quickly scurried away to hide in the nearest burrow they could find across the jagged crags, taking shelter in a depression in the shadow of a curved rock pointing vertically towards the sky.
The sound repeats itself, not louder, but closer.
Izanami almost begins to sob, but Izanagi is quick to palm her mouth, letting her tears flow silently as they could hear something colossal and slimy shifting atop the rock they were hiding underneath.
The sickening crawling noise stops, replaced by the flapping of wings that got further and further away.
Izanagi let out a sigh of relief and pulled his hand away from his companion's side, who broke down into quiet sobbing. Izanagi raised his eyebrows for a moment while staring at her, seeming annoyed.
"The danger has passed, you can stop crying now… it will only attract more of those things...." The girl then began to wipe her tears while trying to swallow her sobs. Izanagi rolled his eyes, 'What's with this girl?’ He thought to himself.
He seemed to be about to get up until he felt his stomach begin to growl. He sighed before sitting down, picking up a small pouch from his tattered robes and opening it, a few tiny chunks of flesh of a species long lost to time falling from it.
Izanagi then put his hand forward and began to focus; his head began to hurt as a minuscule whirlpool began to swirl in front of him.
The boy kept this position up and began to grunt in pain while the whirlpool showed no changes.
"Stop this!" The girl to his side hushed in a concerned tone while tugging his arms away from the whirlpool, breaking his focus and making the swirling water disappear "What are you even trying to do!?"
Izanagi glared at her for a moment before sighing "Sometimes, when i focus really hard i can make the red thing that makes the meat tastes better...but now my head is hurting too much to try it again" He reprimands her, before letting a sigh of resignation and starting to eat the raw meat as it was.
Izanami stared as Izanagi ate, rubbing her own stomach as it growled.
"I told you before, there is not enough food around here for me to share", the boy complained while looking away from her.
"It is fine, as long as you are well; that is good enough for me", the girl replied with a weak but genuine smile.
"So what? Are you just going to follow me around until you die?" He asked, irritated "Are you satisfied with just this? Don't you want... anything grander for your own life? Is this really good enough for you?" He gestures toward the environment they were in.
"... If you are in here with me, then it is more than good enough for me", she spoke "... I..." Izanami looks down "I would rather...I would much rather die near you than continue living alone......."
Izanagi freezes, unable to say any words before sighing and putting the meat back into his pouch "......Better to save it for whenever I am truly starving," He says while avoiding her gaze.
"...... That's quite a logical decision" The girl smiles softly.
They sat near each other for a moment longer until the wind began to howl, a freezing chill settling over them as the currents flew through the crag.
Izanagi began to tremble while he shivered; a wave of concern took over Izanami's face as she quickly wrapped his arms around him, trying to keep him warm.
The cold wind continued to blow by, and Izanagi and Izanami waited a long time until it ceased, eventually both drifting to sleep while freezing together.
...
The wind had ceased, but the atmosphere felt colder than before; and not because of the physical temperature.
The eldritch sound echoed through the crags again, immediately setting Izanagi and Izanami awake.
"Quiet", Izanagi hushed while trying to move to the deepest part of the depression he could.
The sickening crawling noise surrounded them on all sides; they could see dozens of colossal tentacles slithering through the edges of the rock that roofed them, seeming to stretch further and further, seemingly endlessly, closer and closer to the duo.
Color left Izanami's face as she desperately tried to remain quiet, Izanagi looked at her face distraught before taking in a deep breath "...I never wanted to have you following me" He mutters quietly to her "Run away, you will be alone from now on"
Izanagi then dashed outside the depression they were hiding in, screaming as loudly as he could as he stepped outside the shadow of the rock.
A swirling mass of tentacles descended from the rock, dwarfing the boy while the tentacles began to peel back, slowly revealing >!#&_-(@/!< colored>! §∆£¢\¥^¢[!<, the creature's >!π÷`∆§°!< eyes locked on Izanagi slowly, assessing the boy with an unknown purpose.
The boy's heart began to beat faster and faster, he put his hands forward to summon the whirpool once again, a crudely made weapon that would later be called a Naginata emerged from it, Izanagi quickly grabbed it and charged towards the creature, stabbing one of its tentacles with it.
The weapon sinked into the creature's "flesh", instantly melting under its acidic like substance pouring from it, the creature shrieked before shifting to strike Izanagi with one of his tentacles, sending him skipping across the crag, burning and tearing open multiple gashes across his skin in the attack.
The creature slithered closer and closer; Izanagi tried to get up, but he couldn't muster the strength to do so.
"Damn it... Why am I doing this for her?" He grunted frustratedly before closing his eyes, accepting his fate, when a loud, ghostly wail echoed across the entire area.
Both Izanagi and the creature froze, standing still and quietly for a moment, until the creature shrieked loudly as a spectral green hand pierced through its center.
From behind him, more and more identical hands began to appear and viciously lunge at him, tearing him apart ruthlessly, ripping off chunks of his body with complete ease.
The world stood quiet as the corpse of the eldritch creature lay mangled in pieces across the crag.
The last thing Izanagi saw before he passed into unconsciousness was Izanami floating across the beast's fragmented body, with countless green hands emerging from her.
....
Izanagi and Izanami rested against one of the bones sprouting from the carcass of the beast, the boy lying with his back against it while the girl knelt besides him.
She had her hands forward, a green ghostly glow emerging from them as equally emerald strings sprouted from the glow and wove themselves along Izanagi's cuts, stitching them back into place.
"I was thinking...this reminds me of the time when we first met", Izanami muttered softly with a small smile on her face.
"You are speaking as if that was a long time ago" Izanagi commented “It has not not been that long since we met”
The girl giggled "It wasn't. But it was the most important moment of my life" Her smile became more fond "You were so reckless...getting hurt while picking up fights with so many things so much bigger than you"
"It is called trying to find food", He muttered.
"....I suppose we can never fully know the result until we try, no?" She giggled softly before her smile became more somber "I hope you know...that no matter how you feel about me, no matter how difficult things get...that if anyone, or anything, tries to hurt you...I will heal you. No matter when, or how bad the wound...I hope you know that I will always be there to heal you, just as I am doing now" Her smile shifted, becoming warmer and shining a light through the darkness.
"But please, take care of yourself! There is only so much I can do, unfortunately," She added while puffing her cheeks out "And I don't like seeing you hurt..."
"...Since you are not going to get off my feet, I guess I need to get enough food for both of us then…” Izanagi muttered with a faint smile on his face. “Since it seems we are doing this together now”
"Together forever", Izanami added with a giggle.
The boy raised an eyebrow "Forever is a long time"
"Indeed...maybe within this time you will be able to accomplish the grand things you want" Her smile turned softer "...and then maybe we will have some time to just rest together...." Still smiling, the young goddess closed her eyes and rested her head against her companion's shoulder, who in turn rested his head against hers and closed his eyes as well.
<>
[HEAVEN'S ARENA - Current Day]
Izanagi continued to stare at his severed limb.
'My beloved....I failed you once again...'
'I never deserved you....I should have been better for you......'
A voice inside his head thought.
Three more spectral limbs sprouted from the supreme deity's body, stretching towards the severed limb and picking it up, pulling it back to the stump in Izanagi's torso. The hands then began to weave themselves and connect the limb to the body, stitching it back into place.
"Using his new mysterious powers, Izanagi completely brushes off having lost his arm!" Sandraudiga screamed to the excitement of the gods and the dread of the humans.
"What a chilling power, it is as if the air got colder!" Nike added.
Hou Yi stared with a blank look on his face before letting out a grunt of frustration, reaffirming his stance and readying himself for the battle.
'My beloved... I'm sorry it has come down to using this, but it is necessary; I am not as strong as you were....'
Countless more ghostly limbs sprouted from Izanagi as the whirlpool began to swirl around him again; the arms then all quickly descended towards the vortex, seeming to be absorbed by it as the whirlpool expanded in size exponentially.
Hou Yi began to draw in the string of his bow, and light began to glow from the whirlpool, until both fighters stopped as they noticed a glimmer in the night sky above.
Ame-no-nuboko fell from the heavens back into the arena.
Izanagi doesn't waste a second; a pillar of stone emerged below him and proceeded to keep increasing in size, higher and higher up.
Seeing this, Hou Yi's eyes shone as he saw an opportunity to end the fight.
As the supreme deity rose higher and higher, the former god began to unleash a barrage of countless arrows into the air, nearly emptying his stock; for a moment, the wooden projectiles nearly entirely covered the sky above the arena before falling outside of it.
But none landed upon Izanagi as he caught his weapon and twirled with it, deflecting all the strays that would have hit him while all the other arrows seemed to rise endlessly upon the sky.
Izanagi landed on the ground with grace, seeming to almost float right before his feet touched the surface.
He pointed Ame-no-nuboko at his foe.
"Let's finish this, Human”
Like we assume Cassidy is a girl because it is a name that is usually more used with woman but it is a unisex name so like, the closest thing we have to confirming Cassidy as a girl is the logbook showing a girl in it but that doesnt really mean have to mean anything
There is a girl in the franchise that is called Cassidy, but that one doesnt posses Golden Freddy so we cant really take it as a paralel, we have 3 Jeremies and possibly 2 Davids after all
There is also that deleted Youtooz tweet but again it was deleted so it doesnt mean anything
Golden Freddy's kid outside the games is always portrayed as a boy like with Michael Brooks, Kelsey and the kid from the movies
Idk i think Cassidy being a boy is just way more clean of a awnser to TOYSNHK's pronouns than all the hoops BVTOYSNHK goes through to justify BV being killed by William, Andrew existing in the games, BV actualy being Cassidy and somehow part of the MCI or UCNdissent
Izanagi thrust Ame-no-Nuboko into the wall, cracks cobwebbing through the stone as Hou Yi just barely rolled away in time to dodge.
Before the human could have a moment to breathe, the god began to rotate his body, twisting his blade at him and forcing him to backflip away.
The moment the archer's feet landed on the ground, the emperor jumped after him, slamming his weapon at his opponent, who jumped back as far as he could while the ground quaked from the impact of the missed strike.
Hou Yi stumbled backwards from the impact while Izanagi immediately gave chase, running at him to slice him vertically, the human narrowly managing to avoid it by ducking into the ground.
He put a hand on the floor to stand up. Still, the god had already twisted his body unnaturally fast and attempted to slice him again, forcing the archer to use his positioned arm to push himself off to slide under the naginata.
Izanagi twisted himself once again, throwing an overhead swing at his opponent, who then jumped on top of the blade and used it as a springboard to jump high into the air!
The former god quickly drew his bow before shooting at the ground.
BOOM!
A cloud of smoke lifted before it was dispelled by a swing of Izanagi's naginata, who stood unharmed, with only the human's arrow lodged into the blade as any proof the exchange had even happened.
<>
".....Is it my impression, or is Izanagi not managing to get a single lick in?" Bastet questioned with a confused eyebrow.
"Hmpfh! As vile as that fiend Hou Yi is...he is undeniably strong, very much so. I considered him to be among the elite of power in Tian once, after all," Yu Huang admitted despite how much it hurt his pride, "and I am never wrong, after all"
"No, this isn't how Izanagi fights", Ra scratched his beard "Has old age affected him more than it did with me?......."
<>
".....Has Dad always been...." Kagutsuchi struggled to find the words "This stiff while in close quarters?"
"No, not really at all" Susano'o caressed his chin with a thoughtful expression "He was never as fast as me, but he always kept up pretty well....he must be rusty after so many centuries without any action"
".....He really hasn't been the same ever since Mom passed away" Amaterasu raised an eyebrow while staring intently at the arena below.
<>
The god and the former god stood still for a moment, Hou Yi breathing heavily to catch his breath
'I can weave around his attacks; that is doable...but I don't have enough stamina to keep this up for long,' He thought while analyzing the situation. "But he seems to be unable to use his domain of creation for the moment...if I manage to disarm him, this might be my chance to end this-'
Izanagi sprinted towards Hou Yi.
An ungraceful, accelerated shamble that made Hou Yi's eyes widen for a moment before he recomposed himself.
Hou Yi jumped back against a nearby tree before leaping off of it into the air; the god responded by thrusting his naginata upwards while jumping towards his foe!
The human held out his bow so that the blade and the pole of the naginata passed in between the string and the body of his own weapon, using it to zip-line down across the pole weapon before connecting a kick with all the strength he could muster, breaking Izanagi's grip on his weapon and making him skip across the floor like a stone on a lake.
Hou Yi quickly caught his foe's naginata and armed it on the string of his bow as if he was about to fire it like an arrow!
"In a shocking turn of events, both of the divine weapons in this match ended up in Hou Yi's possession!" Sandraudiga announced, "Is this the turning point humanity needs!?"
The audience waited in bated breath as the archer let the strength build in his enchanted bow. Izanagi stood frozen "You wouldn't dare..."
The Naginata began to sizzle in fire before the archer finally let go of the arrow, firing it
–Upwards.
Izanagi stood unarmed, watching his weapon fly towards the skies above. Hou Yi quickly moved within less than 10 meters of him, another arrow pointed and string drawn—
And didn't shoot his target.
"Forfeit", Hou Yi demanded.
<>
"WHAT!? Just shoot the arrow already! Finish this!" Themis cried out as she heard the events below.
"Lady Themis, Izanagi has been disarmed; it is as safe as it can be to try to offer mercy in the middle of battle...." Athena spoke while a frown began to creep onto her face "... Although it is unwise to miss an opportunity like this when facing off against a god of Izanagi's caliber"
"So you admit he screwed up!"
"...Indeed, but I am sure Hou Yi hasn't dropped his guard for this"
"That's just Yi for ya", Artemis spoke with a smile that was equal measures affectionate and exhausted "A dumbass with a big heart"
<>
The god didn't answer, but his aura began to flow aggressively from where he stood.
"Listen, Izanagi, I understand your pain...I truly do," Hou Yi spoke in a softer tone while aiming his bow down, but keeping his arrow ready to be fired "...I know what it is to be away from the one person that completes you"
He sighs.
"You are hurting, and you want to discount all of that anguish, all that frustration, for anything else...it just happened to be humanity....it is understandable, but it is not healthy." He shakes his head before shooting his opponent a vulnerable look "It is not worth dying over this; there are others in your life still...Izanami would want you to be happy"
A long pause fell between the two fighters; the entire audience waited on bated breath for Izanagi's reaction.
"*I know VERY well what Izanami wants*", the emperor responded as his voice reverberated. Exactly. Hou Yi felt an odd sensation, the hairs on his neck standing on end at Izanagi's words as a primordial fury tainted his words.
Izanagi drew a glistening blade from a sheath hidden under his robes before rushing towards his opponent and slashing at him.
<>
As Izanagi drew Ame-no-ohabari and the blade glistened, Kagutsuchi began to shiver "Ame no Ohabari..."
The young god began sweating while his body began to tremble; his eyes stared unblinking at the sword while his hands unconsciously began scratching at the countless scars along his body.
Amaterasu noticed the way her brother began to behave, and without a word, pulled him into a tight hug.
Kagutsuchi began to sob while Susano'o and Tsukuyomi put their hands on his shoulders.
<>
The human got grazed on the cheek as he barely had time to react.
"And she wants to be remembered!" The god swung down, his opponent barely having time to roll away "You think I will just...let it go? Live despite the fact she isn't here anymore!?"
The emperor moved frantically, unleashing a furious flurry of slashes and cuts that Hou Yi was barely able to parry and block with his bow due to the short distance between them.
"You claim to understand me, Hou Yi!? You who choose to live and claim the name of the kind responsible for separating you from your love!?" Izanagi slashes diagonally downwards, grazing at the archer's chest "You who want me to ignore the only soul who ever completed me for the sake of 'Others'!" Another successful cut at the human's chest "Then you truly became a human! A selfish coward who only loves as long as it is convenient " Blood spilled as another cut was torn on Hou Yi's chest, and he fell to his knees. Izanagi raised the katana again "If you can just simply... move on, then you never truly loved-"
Hou Yi stopped moving. And then suddenly moved with practiced and swift movements to grab Izanagi's blade out of the air, catching it between his palms, a deathly glare shot towards the supreme deity as his hand bled. The human then stood up and punched his opponent, his fist sinking into the god's face and sending him ragdolling multiple meters away across the floor until he collided with a large boulder.
Izanagi stood up, not seeming to be in any pain, until he pulled his mask down and blood and teeth started to drop from his mouth.
"You are right; I don't know what Izanami would have wanted", Hou Yi started saying as he began to draw an arrow "But I know Chang'e well enough to know she wants me to keep fighting for what I believe in" He aimed it straight at his opponent "She is rooting for me to 'kick your butt'."
The god then charged towards his opponent, unleashing 3 lightning fast slashes that were in turn parried by the human's bow-CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!- the tall grass near them had their tops cleaved cleanly due to the wind blades generated by the force of the sword.
Izanagi finished his onslaught by arching himself back while Hou Yi regained his footing, releasing a final strike, pushing the archer back after the blade collided against his bow once again.
Not willing to give his foe a moment to breathe, Izanagi began to run to cross the distance once again; however, this time Hou Yi was faster, swinging his bow at him as if it was a melee weapon and forcing the god to parry with his katana.
The two began to clash their weapons, striking and parrying while circling around each other in close range!
Hou Yi and Izanagi put a pause on their exchange for a brief moment as both arched themselves to charge for a stronger strike before unleashing it! – The two forces collided, but neither warrior budged!
Cracks began to open on the ground due to the force exerted by the fighters as they clashed.
Izanagi seemed to have started planting his feet in the ground as Hou Yi kept pushing higher and higher until he finally overpowered his adversary, knocking the god off balance before striking him with his bow to send him further back!
As the supreme deity began to recover his stance, Hou Yi didn't lose a beat and slid under his foe's legs, continuing by stabbing his foe straight into the back of his chest with the sharp tip of his bow.
As the sharp edge sank into Izanagi's skin...the god didn't flinch; without missing a single beat, he then stabbed himself through his waist to strike a near-fatal blow at the human.
The human gasped as blood poured out of his mouth "Fool. You may be able to harm this body, but not the soul behind it" Izanagi drew back his katana, drawing more blood before raising the weapon upwards for a downward slash meant to cleave his opponent in half!
Hou Yi desperately raises his bow to block it
CRACK!
The blade goes clean through it, splitting the weapon in two and forcing the formed god to a knee in the ground.
"Now you stand unarmed in front of me, but unlike you, I have no mercy to mock my opponent with. Someone like you, who forgot their reason to live, does not deserve to do any more," Izanagi spoke until he heard a small sound coming from his foe "Laughing now? Have you become delirious at your final moments?" Izanagi questioned in disbelief.
<>
Artemis smirked wildly before joining in the laughter.
"...Artemis, WHAT are you on?" Themis asked, flabbergasted.
"....Nothing, it is just that one of the reasons why Changie took the time to make that bow for Hou Yi....is because he would always end up breaking the regular bows"
<>
The two broken pieces of the bow flashed in luminous silver light as Hou Yi put them together, and as the light dissipated, the bow was now once again as good as new.
Hou Yi immediately began to ready an arrow; Izanagi quickly swung at his foe.
SWCHI-BOOM!
A shroud of dust was lifted, and Izanagi was sent flying out of it, his blade now broken as he fell limply to the ground.
The former god approached him while drawing an arrow upon his bow "You truly are a stubborn old man, so this is the last chance I will give you-"
A loud, harrowing shriek was emitted from Izanagi, who snapped back up with a sudden movement! Within the blink of an eye, the whirlpool once again began to open beneath him, and light began to flare up from it; but it didn't take shape,
It blasted forward.
Like an eraser being dragged across a page, the white light cleared its way forward across the arena, all objects that had stood in its way disappearing as if they were never there.
[精製 - Seisei (Purification)]
The whirlpool around Izanagi shrank down in size as the light dissipated.
Hou Yi stood breathless beside the trail of destruction, having just barely avoided getting completely eviscerated.
"You had your moment of respite while my light replenished itself, but now it is time you pay for your insolence!"
Izanagi opened his arm, and multiple glittering lights began to emerge in the whirlpool before popping out into the air, taking the form of hundreds and hundreds of shurikens and kunais
[SOZO NO HAMON - Legion's Weaponry]
The sharp weapons began to spin in place, gathering momentum before being shot forward with a hand motion from the god!
The archer responded with a single arrow shot; the lone projectile charged against the incoming army
And continued its trajectory without issue, the displaced wind easily blowing away all the metal weapons before the arrow collided with Izanagi, pushing him back several meters in a vortex of wind that blew multiple trees away.
"If this is the best you can do, then you are clearly not fully replenished yet", Hou Yi stated while drawing another arrow "That, or you are starting to become senile"
The god stood up, seeing his foe building strength for his next shot; he realised he had to act quickly, even if he was far from fully recovering the entirety of his power. Using whatever light he still had left, he created an ornate metallic bow and an arrow, drawing it with all of his strength and firing it at the same time as Hou Yi!
It wasn't a competition; the former god's arrow easily overpowered Izanagi's, who just barely managed to dodge the whirling gale that followed the human's arrow.
"There hasn't been a single day since she left where thoughts of her didn't permeate my mind..." Hou Yi began to say.
The god took cover behind a tree and shot another projectile as fast as he could.
Hou Yi easily caught the arrow in his hand, stopping it mere inches from his face, without so much as a stray glance at it. "But something you said bothered me. My beloved never made me ‘complete’. She made me more than what I could have ever hoped to be on my own."
The archer began to ready the arrow the supreme god had shot at him in his bow, letting the strength build. “So don’t you DARE insult her like that again!”
As the former god's seized arrow began to sizzle in flames, Izanagi desperately shot another projectile at him.
The human dodged with ease as he calculatedly jerked his head to the side while his eyes remained locked on his target "You did not fight like a supreme god.....I am sorry your loss made you this 'incomplete'..."
Hou Yi released the string, and an infernal vortex barreled towards the god, consuming every tree near it on its path of destruction.
Izanagi strained himself, using his last remaining energy to conjure a giant metal shield in front of himself; but it was for naught, the flaming arrow tunneled straight through the metal uninterrupted!
The shield crumbled to pieces, revealing the sight of Izanagi... and his severed arm on the ground.
There was no blood; his shoulder was simply gone, and the areas in the torso and arm that connected to it were fully scorched and cauterized.
The audience gasped. Izanagi stood still, not expressing any pain or reaction, but his gaze remained focused on his severed limb.
Hou Yi began to ready another arrow as he walked forward towards his opponent "I never wished to take your life, but if you give me no other choice...." He placed it upon the string of his bow
"I have learned compassion from humanity, but I still remember a god's wrath"
<>
(??? - Somewhere outside the 9 realms)
A star-filled night sky shone above a large plateau of white rock riddled with craters.
Inside one of the craters, a figure sat while watching an illusory projection in front of herself, the fight between the god and the former god being displayed on it.
"YEAH! GO BABE! KICK HIS ASS!"
A beautiful woman cheered loudly, a small jade colored rabbit on her lap squealing along. The woman smiled softly as she began to caress the head of the small animal.
"See that Yutu? Daddy still has it going!" She giggled softly "....But still....against a god like Izanagi......please be careful, my beloved; it is not over yet..."
[CHANG'E - THE CELESTIAL BEAUTY, Hou Yi's wife]
"I miss you so much...."
<>
As Hou Yi built up strength for his next shot, he spared a single glance towards the moon above.
"I hope you saw that one, my love", the archer muttered to himself with the smallest of smiles on his face before shooting the arrow at the supreme deity!
The projectile froze midair.
A large, ethereal green construct formed from Izanagi's back, vaguely taking the shape of a hand that grabbed the incoming arrow with ease.
"Showing a brand new power, it seems Takamagahara's first emperor is not out of the game, just quiet yet!" Nike announced loudly.
But Izanagi didn't express a single reaction towards the announcement, nor to the bewildered expression of his opponent or his children in the stands.
His severed limb basked in the attention of the former chief god alone.
".....My beloved....Im so sorry.....i failed you once again"
I dont believe in it but i love the idea so much
Basically what the title says
I will always be a CassidyTOYSNHK believer but i like understanding the logic behind other theories
If the Vengeful Spirit is not one of the spirits in Golden Freddy, then what does the 50/20 ending showing Gold Freddy twitching into the void and the Death Coin not working on Golden Freddy and getting you killed by Fredbear means?
Just art of a few side characters for my personal fic
In Order
Hephaestus, Greek God of Fire and Forge by u/Local_treeEater
Amaterasu, Japanese Goddess of the Sun by u/Main_Material3297
Ra, Egyptian Sun god by u/GeneFull7290
Thanks a lot to these 3 guys they are all awesome sauce friends, check their fics aswell
​
[KAMUY MOSHIR - Ainu District of Takamagahara]
In a bar by the lakeside, multiple gods and mortals alike watched the airing of the match through a screen.
As Izanagi dominated the match, all had a reaction; from excitement at seeing a god like him fight, others felt dread and fear.
But one man in particular remained completely silent, taking a sip of his drink while looking unimpressed at the screen.
"I don't see what is so impressive"
He was a middle-aged man with big eyes, short slicked-back black hair, a pair of pointy moustaches, and a pointed goatee. He wore an indigo Hawaiian shirt adorned with fish patterns, with a dark red blazer, black pants and sunglasses.
[EBISU - MEMBER OF THE 7 LUCKY GODS, 'The Laughing Fisherman']
"He is just an old fart trying to get any scrap of attention he can to try to cope with his dead wife," Ebisu said while taking another sip.
"What a rude thing to say! Who are you to speak like this about them?" An older god at the bar called him out.
"His very first son" The other god went quiet, while Ebisu let out a small, humorless laugh "Can't say I'm too thrilled to root for him..." He said while looking at Izanagi on the screen.
<>
The massive stone hands created by Izanagi floated in the air while the god stood still below. The hands stretched and twitched their fingers, as if just waking up from a state of dormancy.
Hou Yi didn't wait to see what happened next, quickly drawing an arrow and firing it; however, the projectile was hurled harmlessly into the air as the hands snapped forward diagonally to avoid it!
The right hand then curled itself into a fist before rocketing forward towards Hou Yi at an alarming speed. The archer began to draw an arrow before realizing it wouldn't be fast enough, so he ran forwards towards it before jumping onto the construct and sliding over it, falling towards the ground right in position to fire his arrow.
The sound of the bowstring being drawn was muffled by the whirring sound of the air being cut behind the human. With only a moment to react, Hou Yi backflipped, just narrowly avoiding the left hand.
Upon landing on the ground, the archer only had the sound cue of the air being displaced to roll away to the side to just barely dodge the right hand slamming onto the ground.
A shockwave erupted as the colossal palm struck the ground, making the human stumble backwards before he stabilized himself and quickly fired an arrow while exchanging power for speed!
The projectile bounced harmlessly off the stone.
'Damn it! Not strong eno-
Hou Yi's train of thought was stopped as the left fist collided with him and sent him skipping across the arena floor like a pebble on a lake.
The archer barely had time to recompose himself before seeing the two fists rocketing towards him once again; he readied an arrow and fired with an echoing boom!
The hands then both slammed towards the ground, creating a massive shockwave that made the projectile lose its course.
Hou Yi immediately tried to prepare another arrow, but the right hand fired itself forward while the left pivoted itself in a circle behind him before both constructs began to repeatedly slam against the ground while circling around the human, creating multiple shockwaves.
The archer jumped frantically to avoid the shockwaves and get away from the area of impact of the drumming constructs.
As he leaped, he noticed in the corner of his eye a terrifying sight:
Izanagi slowly marching towards him, his movements methodical and robotic.
'So these hands are just a ruse to distract me while he gets close; I need to get rid of them! But I can't focus enough to fire at them with full strength!
....But maybe I don't have to deal with them'
Hou Yi started moving to the side until he was positioned in a straight line away from the encroaching god. In the brief window of time where the hands raised themselves before slamming again, the archer then leapt off the construct from in front of him until he was midair above both the constructs.
He drew his fingers to his mouth.
Fweeeeeeeeeeeet!
Izanagi turned his head to look at his opponent“......What is he doing-”
After the archer's whistle, many more whistling noises could be heard across the arena, although those were sharper.
Schwiiiiiiiiiim!
Dozens and dozens of arrows that had previously missed their target suddenly moved from their spot directly into the direction of the god and the former god, and faster than anyone could blink, half a hundred arrows pierced the back of the Shinto Emperor.
For a single moment, the entire arena fell silent at the sight of the god being seemingly brutally impaled.
Until Izanagi simply took another step forward, continuing to move as if nothing had happened.
<>
"IZANAGI SHRUGS OFF BEING TURNED INTO A PORCUPINE!" Nike screamed at the top of her lungs.
The Shinto gods roared in cheer in their corner of the stands, many of them having only known Izanagi through history books, seeing him live up to his legend more than excited them.
The children of Izanagi, however, had a more controlled reaction.
"Man....dad truly is terrifying", Kagutsuchi muttered while rubbing his scars nervously "...Can anything hurt him at all?"
"I never saw him hurt before... physically at least", Amaterasu commented besides him.
"Ah man, this takes me back! Remember when we would start fighting, and Dad would send in those things and slap us away from each other without even looking at us," Susano'o asked with a wide nostalgic grin while turning to Amaterasu.
"Not a particularly fond memory" A small grin tugged at the edge of the princess's lips.
The sword god chuckled before his gaze turned more analytical while he looked at the ongoing fight "All things considered Hou Yi is holding his own pretty well...those hands are the bane of any archer, flying over any distance and keeping them way too busy to shoot any arrows, all the while dad can close in the distance" He began to stroke his beard "Back when we sparred I just hacked them away with my sword, but of course, dad had other constructs ready to fight me, he has an answer to everything...so how will Hou Yi adapt?"
<>
'Does anything get through him at all!?' Hou Yi thought while his eyes widened in shock '...He sure seems to be taking his time approaching me'
'...Perhaps controlling those constructs from afar requires active thinking on his part, so while those hands restrain me, he can't sprint towards me....or perhaps it is simply a matter of pride'
'Regardless, this is the best hypothesis I have; I need to test it, but first I have to find a way to distract him....'
"How can you keep walking after that!?" Hoi Yi shouted the first question that came to his mind, hoping to distract his opponent by making him talk.
The constructs stopped for a single moment "No pain in creation compares to the one of not having my beloved by my side" The hands then smashed against the ground again.
Despite the construct's halted movement, Hou Yi was barely able to dodge the impact, his opponent's words resonating with him deeply.
But he steeled himself; he wasn't in the arena to relate to his opponent; he was there to fight for his new people.
"You speak against humanity, but what does a feeble race that hasn't even existed for a fraction of your existence matter to you!?" The archer asked again while sliding under a hand that attempted to slap him.
The constructs continued their relentless attack while Izanagi stood still in silence "....Do you think the value of time is measured by its quantity?" The chief god finally spoke, "Then allow me to count it for you."
"Across billions of years, Izanami and I survived on our own within the primordial chaos. Across billions of years, we created a perfect paradise, Midgard....the 9th world with the best of all the other worlds....until humans stepped into it, a race that was never a part of our design. And within only a few million years, humanity has tarnished our creation-"
BOOM!
Hou Yi shot an arrow towards Izanagi; the right-hand construct quickly flew down to act as a barrier for its master, exploding on contact in multiple pieces as its building blocks disassembled.
Quiet fury overflowed from Izanagi before the left hand rocketed forward, its speed increasing even more as Hou Yi was punched away across the arena.
The former god rolled to stand up as fast as possible, clenching his shoulder in pain.
"Arghf...." He grunted in pain while breathing heavily, but it was worth it; I finally made some progress-'
The building blocks of the disassembled construct began to float in the air and rebuild itself.
'.............Alright, that plan clearly isn't going to work....'
The hands chased after Hou Yi, who repeatedly jumped backwards to increase his distance from them, until the constructs slowed their movements and started to snap their "fingers" forward, each collision between the thumb and the index sending multiple pieces of flying debris and shrapnel towards the human, He drew his arrow back and fired his powerful shot: Shesha Changkong de Jian Shi! And then again. And again! Regardless of how tired it made his shooting arm, he could not stop lest he allow the rocks to strike him!
As the former god retreated closer and closer to the Chinese temple, an idea formed in his mind.
He began to ready an arrow while backflipping onto a pillar at the entrance of the temple, immediately jumping away from it upwards through the roof of the first floor while his right hand smashed through the pillar.
The left hand quickly followed up and rocketed towards Hou Yi, who ran towards it while still holding the arrow on the string of his bow, landing on its "backpalm" to jump off towards the roof of the upper floor of the tower.
The construct ran through the floor as if it was made out of butter, causing the upper part of the structure to tilt and collapse as it fell towards the ground.
Still without firing his arrow, the archer began to dash across the falling tower while the constructs barreled after him, tearing through concrete walls as they chased the human!
As Hou Yi approached the uppermost floor, the arrow in his bow began to sizzle in fiery flames before jumping upwards, his silhouette illuminated by the moon behind him.
<>
"It is intriguing....how is such a small bow supporting such draw strength? Not to mention there doesn't seem to be a limit to the tensile strength that bow can handle....it almost seems like something made by Hephaestus, but he never told me about making anything for Hou Yi..."
"Does it really matter? Hou Yi is almost dying there!" Themis shouted in panic.
Well, there are only very few things I don't know, and I do intend on fixing that-"
"It is moon magic mumbo jumbo", Artemis explained, interrupting her sister.
".....What?"
"Yi and Changie were always really sappy...The bow was an anniversary gift; she wasn't a good weaponsmith, she had to ask me a billion questions about how bows actually work... but magic and potions were always right up her alley." The huntress elaborated, "The craftsmanship may make Heph sneer, but even his stubborn butt wouldn't be able to deny the power in it"
<>
As the constructs encroached, the archer finally fired the arrow.
The projectile blasted forward like a descending comet, leaving behind a massive vortex of flames trailing it! The arrow flew between both constructs, missing them both before the rippling vacuum wave following it EXPLODED both hands into countless pieces, and the following wildfire engulfed them and consumed these pieces into ash.
[SHESHA TAIYANF ZHI JIANG - The Arrow that Shot down the Sun]
The tower crashed, the crowd roared, and Hou Yi began to plummet towards the ground.
As he was about to crash, the archer fired an arrow downwards; the displaced air from the projectile slowed and broke his fall as he safely landed upon the ruins of the temple.
<>
"HOU YI SHOWS WHY HE WAS TIAN'S TOP DOG AND BOUNCES BACK WITH A FIERY EXPLOSION!" Nike shouted.
"I NEVER DOUBTED YOU FOR A SINGLE SECOND!" Themis cheered loudly, earning a side-eye from Athena.
A soft smile crept up to Artemis' face "...By the way. In exchange for the handmade, incredibly powerful enchanted magic bow.....Yi gave her a rabbit. Those two..."
<>
Hou Yi stood atop the ruins of the Chinese temple, breathing heavily, way too exhausted to move, but his eyes remained locked on where Izanagi stood. He may have destroyed some of his constructs, but their source remained undamaged.
The god remained still in his place, not taking a single step forward. A silence fell between the two fighters, only broken by the noise of the whirlpool swirling around Izanagi.
"Impressive display", Izanagi finally spoke, "but don't let this make you forget the simple fact....." The whirlpool began to spin faster and faster, the noise starting to resemble a serrated blade grinding against metal "I am a creator god. I made the ground on which you stand; you are merely a seedling of that which I have sown!"
The whirlpool expanded and separated itself into multiple smaller ones around Izanagi "The limits of my ability are nonexistent" The whirlpools began to concentrate closer to each other "Anything you can do, I can do better."
Hou Yi gathered his strength and began to draw his own arrow again, letting his draw strength build, knowing whatever Izanagi was planning to do wasn't good.
The whirlpools swirled faster and faster until...
"...Nothing is happening?" Nike commented with a confused tone.
<>
"Izanagi has expanded the borders of his technique beyond anything seen before in this match! But...nothing has come out of it so far, what has the Ex-Chief god planned?"
Lucifer's face narrowed while he watched the god's bizarre display "Talos?"
The automaton's visor glowed intently while its field of vision remained firmly locked on the arena "Izanagi is spawning multiple small particles of various elements from his technique"
The angel raised an eyebrow "...Such as?"
"Large quantities of hydrogen and helium, as well as oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron. He is also rapidly moving the particles, simulating the effects they would be while under extreme heat"
"...Wait, don't you tell me he is-"
<>
Above the whirlpools, a small sphere of incandescently bright burning plasma coalesced into existence, shining light into the entire arena and raising the temperature harshly. Izanagi put both of his hands forward and shook slightly, struggling to contain the power of the newborn star.
[SOZO NO HAMON - Rising Sun]
"Remove as many suns from the sky as you want, *human*; I will simply put more in it"
The god pushed his hand forward, sending the miniature sun forward at his opponent!
Hou Yi jumped as far as he possibly could, even firing his arrow to give himself more momentum putting even more of a distance between himself and the incoming star.
The star collided against the ruins of the Chinese Temple, and within an instant a massive explosion erupted, fully consuming the wreckage and nearly engulfing the human, who was sent blasting forward by the shock wave, light expanding uncontrollably and heat rising unbearably from it.
<>
"MY EYES! MY EYES!" Yu Huang screamed in terror while running blindly around the VIP box.
"The heck is this heat!? It is almost as harsh as Pa's!" Bastet blabbered while stumbling slightly, being caught by her sister Sekhmet, who stood tall, despite having a hand up to cover her own eyes.
"...." Ra stared below, unaffected by the heat or the light 'Yoi had only ever used tbis technique whenever there were no other paths to victory….It is not like you to use anything beyond the necessary measures, Izanagi....'
<>
Countless gods and humans fainted from the heat, including various Shinto gods in the stands, only a very select few managing to stand, including Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susano'o and Kagutsuchi, the latter 3 having to cover their eyes.
"Haha! Now that is awesome! Dad never used those during the spars!" Susano'o roared excitedly.
"...Absolutely terrifying", Kagutsuchi reconfirmed while staring in fear and awe with a palm in front of his face.
"..." Amaterasu stared silently at her father, standing still and unblinking at the epicenter of the supernova 'You were never so over the top….what is it about this guy that is pissing you off so much, dad?'
<>
It was as if the Chinese temple had never even existed; a massive crater stood in its place with no signs the building had ever been there.
A few hundred meters away, the human began to stir awake.
Hou Yi slowly opened his eyes, coughing up blood as he analyzed the scene.
Debris fell in front of him, and multiple trees were knocked down in a straight line; the explosion had sent him blasting through the forest all the way to the corner of the arena.
His head was still spinning, but he focused himself and managed to stand up. He began to dust himself off until he froze at the sight in front of him:
Izanagi, with Ame-no-Nuboko in hand, standing only a few meters away from him.
"It will take some time for my Light of Creation to be replenished" The god then mechanically raised their hand, pointing the pole weapon towards their opponent "You tried to face me head-on earlier in this match; consider your wish granted", he said before thrusting his weapon forwards!
In a special VIP viewing box on the gods' side of the arena, a dark-skinned figure sat on a throne surrounded by luxurious seats while looking at the arena below. He looked old, incredibly so, but his tall and muscular build made it clear he was not to be trifled with.
[RA - ELDER OF HEAVEN'S COUNCIL, 'Elden Sun']
"Izanagi...." He muttered to himself, "I didn't expect you to despise humanity so much that it would be enough to overcome your grief. I was never able to fully read you, Old Friend"
"Ugh, he should have stayed gone for longer"
A woman with feline eyes and ears interjected while she draped over her own seat; she had striking curves highlighted by her low-cut Egyptian top.
[BASTET - EYE OF RA, 'Mistress of Awe']
The back of Bastet's head was slapped down by the strong calloused hand of a woman who sat to her side.
"Watch how you speak over a supreme deity!"
She was incredibly similar to Bastet, sharing almost the exact same face, but her body was considerably more muscular, war paint on her face and several scars on her body further differentiated them.
[SEKHMET - EYE OF RA, 'Mistress of Slaughter']
Bastet rubbed her head before growling at her sister, "Oh come on! Don't you remember when Dad made him babysit us when he had to leave for that campaign!?" Bastet shivered "He was so strict!"
"It is that strictness that raised the great warriors of Takamagahara!" Sekhmet crossed her arms.
"......he might have rubbed off on you too much"
"Tch, one would have expected the mighty Ra to better control his own spawn!" A piercing voice called out the attention of the three Egyptian gods.
A short, rotund man with bushy eyebrows and a long thin beard strolled into the room, carrying himself with an air of importance. He wore a mianguan hat and jade colored royal clothes.
[YU HUANG - THE JADE EMPEROR, 'The Dragon Sovereign']
"......Lord Yu Huang...." Sekhmet rolled her eyes and bowed as respectfully as she could.
"The heck are you doing here, you greasy fart?" Sekhmet looked mortified at her sister's bluntness, while Ra's gaze remained firmly locked in the arena below, seemingly not even noticing the commotion. "Shouldn't you be with your pantheon right now?"
Yu Huang began to fume "Of course! Of course! Everything makes sense! Of course someone with a daughter this undisciplined would let that CRIMINAL stand there with his neck intact so publicly!" He pointed a finger towards Ra.
"..."
Yu Huang marched forward until he was standing right next to Ra "The insolence! I was gracious enough to allow him to live among the mortal scum, but now he DARES to show his face in front of us gods? And trying to kill one of us again!? ARGH, it fills me with FURY! How can one be so ungrateful!? IT IS UNACCEPTABLE" Yu Huang gritted his teeth while glaring at Hou Yi.
"...."
"And those two black and yellow harlots dared to talk about him in such high regard! Sacrilegious!UNACCEPTABLE! We should have them reallocated to Tartarus as soon as this match is concluded!"
"..."
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!-" Without sparing Yu Huang a single glance, Ra extended his arm to hold his fellow chief god's shoulder, the strength in his grip making it clear he could crush it anytime he wanted.
"Don't raise your voice. It hurts my ears" Ra removed his hand from Yu Huang's shoulder, who promptly piped down.
<>
(Ragnarok Arena)
Hou Yi and Izanagi took their respective battle stances. The human locked his eyes onto his target and drew an arrow from his quiver to quickly ready it within his bow while drawing the string, while the god pointed his large naginata forwards.
Nike could barely contain her excitement "It seems both fighters are ready to rum-" She was cut off by a sudden loud sonic boom.
Hou Yi had fired his arrow; the projectile moved at breakneck speeds, unfurling the ground below with the air displaced by the vacuum wave that trailed behind the bolt due to the air it was displacing through the sheer force of its movement!
Izanagi twirled his weapon before gripping it with two hands and slamming the handle on the ground.
Water spouted from the tip of the pole, surrounding the Shinto god and starting to spin until it became a swirling whirlpool.
[SOZO NO HAMON: Ripples of Creation]
A shining white light emerged from the whirlpool before quickly coalescing into a solid shape, the photons turning themselves into a gigantic, wide stone wall!
The archer's arrow collided with the wall, its sheer force of momentum causing the rock construct to explode in countless pieces of debris.
The whirlpool continued to swirl around Izanagi, glistening with light before another wall of stone ruptured from it.
The primordial god tilted his Naginata forwards slightly, and immediately the rocky construct cracked into multiple pieces that all rocketed forwards as soon as they cracked away from the formation, resembling a miniature meteor shower as they rapidly approached Hou Yi!
The archer gritted his teeth and was quick to respond, drawing arrows from his quiver before firing a volley towards the incoming rocks.
Each arrow shot left the bow with an explosive noise, shattering all the rocks they collided against on impact as the meteor shower collided with the hurricane; the displaced air knocked away all the remaining stones!
Hou Yi took a moment to catch his breath after the exchange while Izanagi stayed eerily still. Silence dawned upon the arena before the archer moved, jolting forwards while turning to the right.
The human made his way towards the forested part of the battlefield, jumping from tree to tree while he approached his opponent through the circular arena.
Each time he landed on a branch, he fired another arrow at his opponent, the projectiles hurling towards the god like rockets!
Izanagi didn't move a single inch, but every time an arrow got too close, a wall of rock emerged from the rippling whirlpool around him, shattering and taking the hit for him.
More arrows were shot as Hou Yi got closer; more stone walls were shattered, the dust from destroyed barriers now encasing the old god in a cloud, which only increased in size with every arrow fired.
<>
"What a glorious performance!" Yu Huang clapped his hands "While that Bucolic Non-Entity keeps running around and firing his pathetic twigs, Lord Izanagi has not yet lifted a finger!"
"Man, he is so boring", Bastet casually said while Yu Huang widened his eyes "Is all he can do just create rocks? Given how much of a snob he was, I thought he would be more impressive..."
"YOU SUPERCILIOUS CHILD! How do you DARE talk about Izanagi like this!?"
"It is not that he can't do more; he is just choosing not to do it yet", Ra replied to his daughter while his eyes remained focused on the arena "If he wanted to, the things he could accomplish with his power are near limitless"
"Creating rocks?" Bastet asked sarcastically.
Ra sighed, "The very power of creation itself" The solar deity raised his palm, a small whirlpool whirling into shape as water surged in his hand "The domain of creation is a very rare one among gods; only those from the Age of Ancients like me and Izanagi have it...." A small mound of sand emerged from the miniaturized whirlpool "Although from all of us, Izanagi is the most proficient in using it by a large margin" Thwhirlpoolol then vanished into the air before Ra let the sand fall towards the floor.
"....So you are saying he is stronger than you?" Bastet teased.
"ARE YOU GONNA LET YOUR OWN SPAWN TALK TO YOU LIKE THAT!?-"
"We never had a serious fight, so I can't say for sure", Ra replied "Although if I were to restrict myself to only using my domain of creation, Izanagi would certainly win"
The worlds hung in the air while the silence began to linger before the gods in the seating all looked towards Izanagi's silhouette standing ominously among the cloud of dust.
<>
Hou Yi continued his ceaseless barrage, each time the cloud of dust began to dissipate, another arrow was fired and another wall exploded in debri.
Soon the archer finished his 180° run around the arena as he landed on the roof of the Japanese temple, dislodging multiple tiles with the impact, bombarding the god with another volley of arrows!
Dust now completely surrounded the god, and Hou Yi collapsed to one knee while taking a moment to breath "....even after all those years, i'm still not used to this body...heh" he said with a small humorless smile on his face as the dust began to dissipate.
In front of the Japanese temple, in front of where Izanagi should be was a giant metal shield pierced by multiple arrows, which slowly crumbled into pieces to reveal Izanagi with his back turned against the temple, still having not moved a single inch.
[SOZO NO HAMON - Iron Defense]
"And that's the power of Supreme God folks! Hou Yi's best efforts couldn't even make Izanagi budge!" Sandraudiga announced while Hou Yi straightened his posture.
'...At a distance, my arrows don't can't maintain enough momentum to keep going after colliding with the barriers he is creating...it may be dangerous, but it is the only way to make progress in this battle'! Hou Yi thought before he slid down the roof to close the distance, taking a quick look at the moon before doing so 'Guide me, my love'
<>
"Hou Yi is now running straight towards Izanagi!? Has he gone insane!?" Nike announced.
"What in the Hellheim is he doing!?" Themis gasped "Aren't you an archer!? Go back! Get range! Shoo! Shoo!"
"Actually, for Hou Yi, the less distance he has from his opponent, the better" A third female voice chimed in behind the two goddesses.
She was an average-sized woman with a slender athletic frame, with tree branches in the shape of antlers growing out of her violet hair, which was styled in a short, spiky, fanned-out ponytail. She wore a purple tunic with a hood that was pulled back and tan pants with a black belt wrapped around them. She sported a quiver of arrows on her back, along with a single tan glove on one hand.
[ARTEMIS - Goddess of the Hunt, 'Lunar Huntress']
Themis jumped back startled "Who the heck!?"
"Artemis" Athena said while crossing her arms and staring at the new arrival with a raised eyebrow "What brings you here? Should you not be in some forest causing trouble with your...'friends'?"
"Nice to see you too,sis" Artemis said with a lazy smile over the corner of her lips before draping herself over the railing "The huntresses can take care of themselves for a day. I just came to see another friend while he fights to his death" She said while her green eyes focused on Hou Yi in the arena below.
Athena's eyes widened slightly "You know Hou Yi?"
"Yeah, through Chang'e, he was her husband before....you know"
"...And you knew Chang'e too?"
"Yeah, she was one of the Moon Girlies"
".....Moon Girlies?" Athena asked with a deadpan look on her face.
"Moon Girlies" Artemis confirmed without looking at her sister.
"Oh yeah, Thoth told me about them, he was an honorary member" Themis chimed in.
"...Why would Thoth be a part of the Moon *Girlies*-"
"Anyhow, as I was just explaining" The huntress interrupted with a cough "For Hou Yi, it is better for him to be in close range"
"Heh? Aren't Archers supposed to...you know, be at a distance from their targets?" Themis questioned.
"Because the arrows won't lose as much force if the travel time is lesser!" Athena explained as it clicked on her mind.
"Exactly" Artemis nodded "Since it takes so much power to shoot that bow, his accuracy suffers. He is well aware of this weakness though. He may not hit you square on the head, but good luck surviving the blood loss after your arm gets exploded by the vacuum wave that follows"
Themis' mouth opened in an "o" shape before she smiled brightly "Go and shoot his ass, Hou Yi!" The titaness cheered.
"Well, of course....getting in close range of Izanagi isn't exactly something safe to do either" Athena rubbed her arm while watching the archer approach his opponent.
<>
Once the human reached a few dozen meters of distance between himself and the god, another wall emerged from the earth. At first the archer didn't pay it any mind, beginning to ready his bow until he noticed it–This wasn't a simple elevation of rocks, it was a proper construction with ornaments in it, multiple statues of monstrous animal faces carved on it.
Hou Yi staggered for a single second as he took note of the change, trying to figure out what the meaning behind it was, but as the train of thoughts began to form, pillars erupted from the spot the animal faces were in towards him!
The archer jumped back and followed it up with a few backflips to gain further distance as the pillars encroached on him while moving like tendrils, the animal head statues moving as if having gained life and trying to bite down on him.
[SOZO NO HAMON - Carved Beasts]
Hou Yi tried to string an arrow to destroy the stone beasts attempting to maul him, but he couldn't focus on it while managing to dodge multiple incoming attacks.
The human then concocts a plan as quickly as he could, he changes the direction of his retreat, starting to jump towards the forested area of the arena once again while the beastly pillars quickly followed him.
Hou Yi stopped in front of a tree and waited in front of it until a pillar with the head of a monstrous wolf lunged towards him!
The archer remained completely still as the stone beast approached, until at the very last second he did a backwards somersault, dodging the stone wolf, who bite down only the bark of the tree while Hou Yi spun in the air from his jump until his feet made contact with the trunk where he then sprung forwards and used the momentum to run along the pillar towards Izanagi!
The whirlpool around Izanagi swirled rapidly as the pillars of stone coiled and twisted like serpents converging on his opponent. The once god frantically darted from pillar to pillar maintaining constant vigilance of where he was jumping, knowing any miniscule mistake could cost him.
While the human ran across the wolf pillar, another one with the head of a monstrous pig attempted to intercept him, but Hou Yi once again dodged, jumping from the wolf pillar to the very swine one that tried to stop him. Another head rose to try to stop him, this one with the visage of a tifer, and once it lunged at Hou Yi, the archer simply ducked before jumping forwards and using his bow to zipline across the pillar directly towards the old god.
The moment Hou Yi landed on the ground, only a dozen feet away from Izanagi, he quickly fired an arrow to destroy the wall ornated with beasts, destroying it with a loud "BOOM" before rapidly turning and firing another one directly at Izanagi!
BOOM!
The air ringed as the sound barrier was broken and the arrow left the bow
To be stopped mid-air by a loose, granular substance that had emerged from the god's whirlpool. Sand.
Hou Yi didn't allow himself to be shocked; he rolled around Izanagi again before firing another arrow at the god, who in turn didn't move an inch while the sand jolted in the direction of the arrow – The substance acting unnaturally as each grain worked together to slow down the projectile and cushion it.
The archer circled and jumped around the god, bombarding the deity with countless arrows – each and all of them being stopped by the shifting sand.
'Damn it! I can change my position faster than the sand moves, but until I draw my arrow it has already shifted itself to absorb them! I need to fire them faster....at this range it might still work.....' The once god thought to himself.
Hou Yi drew an arrow from his quiver, and in less than the blink of an eye, the projectile was fired. It didn't break the sound barrier; it didn't displace the air around it, but it moved with absurd speed, exchanging power for velocity.
[SHESHA CHANGKONG DE JIAN SHI - The Arrow that Slays the Sky]
SCHWIM!
Before anyone could perceive it, an arrow was lodged deep into Izanagi's chest, puncturing his Kimono.
The human allowed himself to catch his breath, closing his eyes for less than a second as he breathed in before feeling rippling water touch his feet.
"...What-" He began to mutter before a colossal fist of crystal emerged from the water and punched high into the sky!
[SOZO NO HAMON - Iron Fist]
The fist extended upwards into a full arm all the way into the heavens above the archer, opening itself into a palm before SLAMMING Hou Yi all the way from the sky into the arena below.
CRUSH!
The crystal limb shattered into countless shards once it collided with the ground, creating a large crater on the ground.
...
"Izanagi!?....Amazing Power........Hou Yi....."
The words of the announcers were a distant buzz on Hou Yi's ringing ears. He pushed away some crystal shards covering him and stood up battered and bruised, briefly stumbling and coughing up some blood before straightening himself and climbing out of the crater and dusting himself off.
"Despite the massive attack, Hou Yi is still going! Truly deserving of once being Tian's champion!" Nike shouted while the crowd roared.
The once god's focus wasn't on any of the announcers; his eyes were locked on his opponent, who, despite having an arrow lodged straight into his chest, stood completely still.
Until he finally moved again.
"You are much sturdier than a human" Izanagi removed the arrow from his chest and dropped it into the ground "There is still divinity within you" The old god twirled Ame-no-Nuboko again, and the whirlpool of water massively increased around him "But someone who chooses to forsake it in favor of 'humanity'....."
Two massive constructs began to emerge from the colossal whirlpool, each being two identical hands made out of dark grey stone bricks.
[SOZO NO HAMON - Hands of the Emperor]
"Could never hope to cross the gap between us”
"There are many ways to tell a story."
"Nothing built can last forever as it is. And every legend, no matter how great, fades with time, and within each passing year, more and more details are lost...and more are added where the missing pieces are. In fact, the greater the legend, the more it is prone to changing throughout its different tellers, and that's how legend transcends into myth."
"And when we tell a story, we never tell it the same way twice. So here's one way to tell the story..."
<>
[TAKAMAGAHARA - Realm of the Shinto Gods]
The sun rose upon the heavens, its golden rays casting a warm morning light across a mountain range in the vast land of Takamagahara, lair of the mighty gods of Shinto.
On a lonely peak, a small shrine stood. Its rustic walls were adorned with multiple cracks and the wooden parts of it were rotten, but yet, there was beauty in the abandoned building as nature reclaimed it for itself, moss and flowers grew freely upon the cracked walls and floor and multiple insects made their home in it, multiple spider webs converged upon the statue of a man in kimono with a straw hat who sat in a cushion at the back of the building.
The peaceful scene was disturbed when a red rift suddenly opened in the grassy hill leading up to the shrine, and from it, two figures stepped out of it.
The first was a very tall blonde woman clad in a royal red kimono with white edges who carried herself with elegance as she stepped forward.
"Ugh....he really has not bothered to clean the place at all in the last one hundred thousand years," The woman said as an expression of distaste came to her face as she stared at the shrine.
[AMATERASU - RULER OF THE SHINTO PANTHEON, 'Princess of Sunlight']
A tall man with long, flowing red hair and a heavily scarred face walked from the rift after her; he wore a waistcoat over a red shirt.
"Let's not waste much time; this region is infested with wild Yokai." He stopped beside his companion. "...It feels weird to see you without any bodyguards trailing behind you"
[LUCIFER - LEADER OF THE GODS' SIDE IN RAGNAROK, 'The Once Golden Angel']
Amaterasu side-eyed him while raising an eyebrow. "Please, I am visiting my father's house; there is no place in existence where I am safer."
The princess pushed the doors to the shrine open, which proceeded to crumble and fall to the ground with a light shove, multiple bugs skittering away following that.
"......he really hasn't been the same since Mom..." Amaterasu stopped herself before sighing as she entered the shrine, bending down so as not to bump her head against the roof. "Dad, we talked about this before; this is no way to live!"
Lucifer stared at her for a moment with a look of utter confusion on his face. ".....Who are you talking to-"
A loud cracking sound made the angel stop speaking, his head turning to look at the statue on the back of the building, its head having just moved.
Slowly, the statue began to move, its limbs moving with unnatural mechanical movements as it stood up, the cobwebs and the dust covering it being shed with each move.
The statue stood, now revealing itself to be a tall man with his face obscured by a straw hat and a fukumen mask. Now a sakura flower pattern could be seen adorning the kimono, although the pink colors were faded.
[IZANAGI - SHINTO'S FIRST EMPEROR, 'Patron of Creation']
"..........." The pressure in the room increased as the god stood still, the very air itself feeling heavy. "AMY!"
With a snap movement, the old god jolted forward and hugged his daughter, barely reaching her waist as he did.
"It has been so long! You should visit more often! Have you been eating well? Do I have any real grandkids yet?"
Amaterasu looked deeply uncomfortable as she was bombarded with questions. "I have a pantheon to run! Yes! And also yes! Just because they are adopted doesn't mean they are not real!" The goddess pinched the bridge of her nose before hugging Izanagi back. "...missed you too, Dad."
Izanagi's head then once again snapped, turning to look at Lucifer. "And who may you be?"
The angel bowed respectfully to the older deity. "Lucifer, once Heaven's General of the Angelic Army, and currently the reigning Demon King, it is a pleasure to meet-"
"Never heard about you before." Izanagi cut him off with a sharp tone. "What is your relation to my daughter?"
Amaterasu palmed her own face in frustration while Lucifer sighed. "Absolutely none, I can assure you of that, sir." He straightened his posture. "I can't blame you for failing to recognize my titles; my entire existence has been a speck in the grand scheme of your life, but I believe one might mean something to you: I am currently responsible for leading the gods in Ragnarok."
Izanagi took a step back from his daughter and stared at the fallen angel.
"We currently have the lead, as expected, but the last match was way too close for comfort...I need a guaranteed victory, an overwhelming one, and there is only one god I can think of that can guarantee that."
The creator god clenched his fist as the pressure in the room began to increase once again. "...It took way too long to wipe off those *pests* from Midgard; they have been desecrating my beloved's creation for way too long..."
Izanagi then bowed in turn to Lucifer. "I will fight for you, angel, and I thank you for the opportunity to honor my beloved..."
"Please, the gratitude is all mine." The angel dismissed him with a handwave.
"When is my fight due?"
"This afternoon, about half a day from now"
The old god nodded his head. "I see." His gaze returned to his daughter, who stood awkwardly beside him. "Well, until then, I shall celebrate! Amy! Order the chefs at the palace to make the grandest of feasts! I need to see all my babies again!" Izanagi said in a cheerful tone as he hugged his daughter once again, who sighed.
<>
[OLYMPUS - Realm of the Greek Gods]
(Temple of Themis)
"Honestly speaking? You guys really didn't need me for this," Said a man. He had a scarred face and wore a blue, long-sleeved ninja suit with black mesh underneath and black boots while wearing a red scarf, speaking while sitting casually on a chair. "After nearly a million years away, Izanagi suddenly comes back, and the entirety of Takamagahara is celebrating on the same day a new Round is going to happen....it is pretty obvious."
[HATTORI HANZO - HUMANITY'S SPY FOR RAGNAROK, 'Greatest Shinobi in History']
"...Man, it still feels weird to talk about gods I grew up hearing stories about like this," He said as he stole a cookie from a jar on the table and began to eat it.
Two women stood in front of him, one a tall woman clad in armor that concealed her toned frame, and another a short, smaller one who wore a dress and an eyeless metal mask over her face where her eyes were supposed to be.
"...Well, things have gotten a lot more complicated," The taller woman said while she held her chin. "We knew he had Izanagi on his side, but...nobody has heard from Izanagi since his wife passed. At first, I almost thought having his name on the roster was just a bluff."
[ATHENA - GODDESS OF WISDOM, 'Warrior of the Mind' ]
"Anyhow, it was naive of me, but I was hoping we would have won Ragnarok before he fought....it is hard to think of anyone that could stand up to a god like him..."
"Well, in cases like this, we just forget strategy and hit the panic button," The smaller woman said while crossing her chest and letting out a hopeless smile. "...Who is the weakest human we have on our side?"
[THEMIS - HUMANITY'S LEADER IN RAGNAROK, 'Lady Justice']
"LADY THEMIS!" Athena spat out in shock while glaring at her. "That's no way to approach this fight! We can't go in assuming we are going to lose!"
Themis sighed. "Fine, fine....if we are not sacking anyone, then...." The titaness stared down for a moment, crossing her arms while in thought. "Well, no human is beating Izanagi, that is for sure." Athena was about to say something until Themis spoke again. "But maybe.....another god could do something, or at least someone that used to be one."
<>
[TIAN - Realm of the Chinese Gods]
In the territory of the domain designated for human souls, a man marched forward in a forest while dragging the body of a large mole-like reptile beast by its tail, as the sun began to set.
The man, who carried a wooden bow and a quiver on his back, kept his black hair out of his face, tied into two neat buns. His bushy eyebrows, mustache, and goatee were all perfectly trimmed and orderly. The man wore simple clothes, a sleeveless tunic of aged blue tied at the waist by a red binder, the colors having also lost their luster to time. Coming from under his tunic, a bone white shirt covered his arms while his leather shoes fit snugly on his feet.
An outfit showing its practicality with its longevity.
[HOU YI - TIAN'S FORSAKEN CHAMPION, 'The Sun Slayer']
The man eventually reached a small town upon a clearing in the woods; his arrival was immediately noticed by the inhabitants, who began to gather around him.
"He actually did it! He killed the Tulong that had been eating our crops!"
"Look at him! He is not even harmed!"
"He is just like a god!"
The humans said in awe as they flocked to him.
Hou Yi chuckled softly while brushing them off with a hand wave. "It was nothing, really; the hardest part was waiting for it to come out of its burrow."
An elderly man stepped forward, seeming to be the leader of the community. "What do you wish for a reward? We don't have much to offer that could match your greatness, but-"
The archer stopped him by putting a hand forward. "I am not greater than any of you, and there is no need to reward me. In fact, I brought the carcass of the beast here so you can either strip it for resources or eat it." Hou Yi crossed his arms while taking a moment to look at the body of the slain dragon, which dwarfed him. "I'm sure you can make quite a feast out of it."
The people of the village began to cheer until Hou Yi turned his back to walk away.
"W-where are you going!? Aren't you going to stay for the celebration?" A villager asked.
Hou Yi stopped and smiled softly. "...I would love to, but I have places to be before the night falls...."
<>
The archer made his way towards a hut in a secluded area of the forest as the moon started to become visible in the sky.
He entered the building and rested his bow and quiver against a wall after he closed the door.
The interior of the house was almost as simple as the exterior, the wooden furniture being well made, but far from fancy. The only thing in the hut which truly would catch anyone's eye was a beautiful altar that rested against a wall with a vase of flowers and a plate of mooncake in it.
Hou Yi knelt beside the altar. He took the vase and replaced the dead flower in it with an Osmanthus Flower.
"Wherever you are, my beloved....I hope you are well....and happy if possible." He smiled softly.
His quiet moment was interrupted, however, as the sound of something large landing and the neighing of horses became audible.
Hou Yi stepped out of his house to see Athena tending to the Pegasus that pulled her chariot while Themis carefully descended from the vehicle.
"Lady Athena, Lady Themis." The archer bowed before the two goddesses. Athena smiled and bowed back, while Themis didn't notice the gesture. "Is it my turn to go now?"
"Yes, it is. Izanagi is going next, and I think you and Beowulf are the only ones who have a shot of lasting for more than a few minutes," Themis stated while crossing her arms.
Hou Yi looked shook for a moment after hearing about the god he was going to fight, but he quickly composed himself and nodded his head. "I see."
The man turned back to walk towards his hut. He then pulled over the rug on his floor to reveal a trapdoor, which he then opened and effortlessly lifted a large chest out of the compartment.
The archer smiled nostalgically as he retrieved a beautiful, ornamented red bow from out of the chest. "I am ready."
Themis smiled. "You seem pretty calm considering who you are going to face."
"No matter who my foe is..." The once-god smiled as he turned towards his two guests. "I will fight for my kind"
<>
[RAGNAROK ARENA]
Hours later, the skies had darkened as the moon began to rise. The arena was filled with gods and humans alike, as well as other races among them.
There was a loud uproar of noise in a sizable chunk of the stands on the gods' side of the arena as the Shinto Gods cheered loudly and celebrated.
"Gwahahaha! Man, I don’t think I ever saw the old man fighting besides some sparring sessions we had!" A tall and muscular man who had long navy blue hair with white streaks tied in a ponytail and a messy, unkempt beard shouted.
[SUSANO'O - GOD OF STORMS, 'Tempestuous Blade']
"It is going to be awesome seeing him go all out!"
Besides him, a much shorter god, clad in a dark colored hood and gi with his face obscured by a mask with a visage of a rabbit, shook his head with crossed arms while looking at the other god's attitude. "..."
[TSUKUYOMI - DARKMOON BLADE, 'Amaterasu's Shadow']
"Come on, Omi, say something! Dad's finally back after eons! Say something!" Susano'o teased his younger brother.
"Please, Sano, I believe our little brother is just mortified at your stench," Amaterasu said, unable to contain a small smirk at her sibling's antics.
"HEY NOW! I will let you know that I bathe in the most crystal clear rivers and lakes every day!" Susano'o protested while laughing.
As the children of Izanagi laughed and cheered together, one of them was notably missing.
<>
A red-haired man wearing a gi with flame patterns stood against a wall with his arms crossed in one of the colosseum's hallways that led directly to the arena where the two fighters were about to duel. The man was completely covered in deep, cicatrized scars, every inch of his body adorned with them.
[KAGUTSUCHI - GOD OF FIRE, 'The Accursed Flame']
Kagutsuchi looked down nervously until he heard footsteps; his head turned to see Izanagi marching towards the battlefield.
As Izanagi stared down at his son, the pressure in the room suddenly began to increase; the younger god shivered before weakly muttering, ".....Dad...."
The pressure immediately turned back to normal.
"....I..." Kagutsuchi faltered, unable to find the words, unsure of what to even possibly say. "I know the last time we met each other....it didn't go well....." He tried to look at his father's face to gauge their reaction, but the mask and the hat made that impossible to discern. "I wanted to...I wanted to apologise"
"...For what?" Izanagi simply asked.
Kagutsuchi raised their eyebrows. "For....." He became wordless again, before it finally came out exactly as he was thinking. "For being born."
A silence fell between the two gods until the younger one started to sob.
"I... I'm so sorry.....mom...I didn't mean to...I never wanted to.....If it wasn't for me, maybe she would still be here...Maybe-"
Izanagi suddenly wrapped his arms around his son in a tight hug. "I'm the one who has to apologise for making you ever feel as if you were unloved."
Kagutsuchi froze in shock for a moment, before finally blurting out. "What?! Y-you can't just...HUG ME after everything!"
"My son....I didn't ask for your forgiveness....After your mom died, I was so struck by grief...So consumed by it, I became a fool, a complete and utter fool." Izanagi pulled away from the hug before bowing deeply to Kagutsuchi. "I sincerely hope you have it in your heart to forgive me, but if you don't, I will understand....but regardless of it, I will always love you."
Kagutsuchi stood still; he tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth were weak sobs.
Izanagi gently put his hand on his son's shoulders while he stepped forward. "Go watch the match with your siblings. After I win, we will make up for the lost time." The creator god continued to walk forward towards the match, leaving his son standing in the hallway.
<>
The arena was a circular battlefield that was split in the middle by a small river and connected by a few bridges. Two temples, one of Japanese architecture and another of Chinese architecture, stood opposite each other at the edges of both sides, each connecting to a hallway. A straight patch of grassy plains filled the path between the two temples, and a large forested ring circled the arena.
Two women stood on a bridge in the center of the arena, one with an athletic build and long blonde hair wearing a golden tank top with some silver stripes, while the other woman was more lean, her pale skin contrasting with the gothic, pure black overdress she wore; she wore her raven hair in a ponytail and had blood colored eyes.
[NIKE - GREEK GODDESS OF VICTORY]
[SANDRAUDIGA - NORSE GODDESS OF DEFEAT]
['Announcers of Ragnarok']
"GOODNIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Nike screamed at the top of her lungs through the microphone. "Thanks to a certain section of the crowd, we all already know who the fighter for the gods is, SO LET'S GET RIGHT INTO IT!"
Spotlights shone from above into the Japanese temple. "Born in a dark land, before the very idea of the Heavens was even thought of, this god was one of the progenitors that built this realm!" Sandraudiga began to announce.
"He and his other half, Izanami, survived the primordial chaos, claimed it as their own, and carved out their own empire from it!" Nike continued.
"Amaterasu, the beautiful Sunlight Princess of Takamagahara! Susano'o, the Monster Hunter who slew the Yamata no Orochi! Tsukuyomi, the mysterious skilled assassin! All own their talent and greatness due to HIS lineage!"
"And many, many, MANY more gods!" Nike added
The two linked their arms together before starting to speak in unison. "The Patron of Creation! The Emperor of Takamagahara! He who cast the Rising Sun out of the Abyss! HE IS IZANAGI NO MIKOTO!"
The crowd roared as Izanagi walked through the doors of the Japanese temple; his movements were stiff, but even then he carried himself with elegance.
"...." His gaze remained locked at the opposite temple.
<>
Lucifer watched the match below him with his arms crossed while looking down from a VIP box in the stands.
"That guy is creepy," A girl beside him said while eating fries from a box she was holding.
She was a young woman with a smaller stature. She wore two red ribbons over her black hair, which was cut short, but her fringe completely covered her eyes. She wore a black and red dress with a corseted, fitted bodice that connected to a skirt with long frills that went all the way to her knees. The dress had an opening on her midriff, revealing her pale white skin and a small, pure white piercing-like object on her navel.
[BEELZEBULB - LUCIFER'S ASSOCIATE, 'The Bottomless Abyss']
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "That's ironic for you to say. What makes you feel this way?"
"Bad vibes," She simply said before returning the attention to her food.
"There is a basis for 'Bad Vibes'; there is something very different about Izanagi than most other gods."
A tall, lanky, vaguely humanoid figure spoke; his "skin" was made out of bronze, and on his face he had a single visor displaying a yellow light that seemed locked on Izanagi.
[TALOS - LUCIFER'S ASSOCIATE, 'God Made of Metal']
"What do you mean by that?' Lucifer inquired.
"The mana readings detected by my scanners are completely unlike any others in my database," The automaton stated coldly, but his visor remained focused on the arena below, as if showing genuine curiosity.
<>
"Now, onto the humans challenging the mighty Izanagi..." Sandrahdiga began to say before smirking, "There isn't one!"
The audience began to murmur in confusion.
Nike let out a laugh before starting to talk. "A Chief God's might is unparalleled! But they alone cannot secure an entire pantheon on their shoulders. Kingdoms don't need only a king; they also need a CHAMPION!"
"Asgard has Thor! The angels have Michael! And Tian had a champion that could rival them! Yayu, Zaochi, Jiuying, Dafeng, Fengxi, and Xiushe are just a few of the countless monsters he struck down! There was nothing that could stop him!
...Until one day, he made a choice that sealed his fate."
"When the Shí Rì, the 10 unruly solar gods, children of the Jade Emperor, came down to wreck havoc on Midgard for no reason other than their own pleasure, HE put a stop to them! One arrow for each, and 9 stars were removed from the sky on that day!"
"But this action angered the Jade Emperor! And so, for fighting to protect humanity, the champion was stripped of his divinity and sentenced to never set foot in heaven as a god again!"
"And now, once again he defies the gods to fight for humanity once again!"
"He is Tian's Forsaken Champion! The Sun Slayer! The Consort of the Moon!" The two goddesses shouted together, "MAKE WAY FOR HOU YI!"
Humanity cheered in uproar as their champion walked into the arena through the Chinese Temple.
<>
"So....is he a human or a god?" A man in Victorian-era clothes in the stands questioned.
"Does it matter!? Didn't you hear the ladies!? He has killed the sun! 10 of them! There is no way he is losing!" A viking interjected before laughing it off.
"But are we really okay with a god representing us? This just feels wrong,” A man wearing more modern clothes said.
"Well, as long as he fights for us and scores a point, I don't see the issue," A knight in medieval armor beside him spoke.
Despite some mild distrust, hope festered in humanity at seeing their champion.
<>
Izanagi and Hou Yi stared each other across the battlefield, the divine aura of the older god flaring across the arena as the pressure hardened, but Hou Yi simply stood still, his own divine aura being far more suppressed after eons of living as a mortal, but it still remained steadfast and strong.
"Hou Yi....I had heard tales of your skills, of your greatness before I departed to mourn my beloved.... What happened to you? To defy your Chief God to protect those primates?" Izanagi asked, "I could forgive you for your naivety...but after living directly with them, you still choose to fight for them?"
Hou Yi stared at Izanagi for a long moment before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Irrelevant. I am a human now, and I will fight for them."
Izanagi's expression was obscured, but his voice hardened along with his grip on his naginata. "Then you will die with them."
Both fighters took on their respective battle stances.
"Izanagi vs Hou Yi, The Patron of Creation vs The Sun Slayer, BEGIN!" The two announcers screamed together.
why did they made her so pretty
