OFF: I have been looking forward to writing this chapter. It's one of the biggest plot twists in the story and probably what will send most of the story going forward from this point on.

Hope you'll like it! Enjoy!

OKAMI

Sight of Black Sun

Chapter 4

Amaterasu's fate

Everything was quiet, too quiet.

Sure, there was this horde of monsters as vast as the horizon back at the landing spot but excluding that, the white wolf had not seen even the slightest hint of a monster. Yes, she did see a few movements sometimes and she had this strange feeling that she was observed all the time but excluding this feeling of unease, it seemed that the forces of darkness were making no effort in stopping her.

Did they knew what she was trying to do? Did they knew that she was returning to her home, the Tower of Light, and would summon the power of the sun and unleash righteous death upon them all?

... and why is her tower intact for the matter? She had expected it to be twisted into a vile structure by the forces of evil, for monsters to crawl its holy halls and claim it as their home... but it was completely intact, the delicate stone walls not showing a single hint of damage or curse.

In fact, it looked even better than a brief memory of it, way back. Back then, just like right now, she didn't care much for protocol and other duties and as such, never hanged near her oversized home enough to keep it sufficiently clean. Yet, there was not a single dust bunny in the halls, as if someone was living here and making a better job than her at keeping it in shape.

... but who?

... and most importantly, why?

It was giving her the creeps when she thought about it. And well, it brought an important point to her. The Celestials perished, devoured by the monsters.

... but how? Gods are supposed to be immortals! How did every last one of them perished? As she walked the plains, she had expected to find survivors of some kind, maybe even a resistance against the powers of darkness but she found nothing. No life as far as the eye can see, only the shadows of the enemy inhabiting the land.

The white wolf reached the gigantic golden door at long last. The climb had been long, boring, and gave her the creeps due to how uneventful it was but at long last, she was before it. The last door, the door to the tower's roof. It was here that her power would shine.

... well, that was easy. Too easy, in fact. But well, who is she to whine? It's not as if she had expected much resistance with Yami and all of his main minions dead.

Slowly, the humongous panel slid into the wall and Amaterasu stepped outside...

Climbing the golden stairs, Amaterasu finally stepped on the roof of the gigantic tower. As the wolf looked carefully at her symbol that was carved carefully into the stone, a loud rumbling sound could be heard behind her.

Ammy spun around instantly only to see the stairs sliding into the tower, blocking the way back into the tower.

What? Why?

"So... we finally meet."

The white wolf spun back, getting in position as a growl escaped her throat. She had been tricked, it was a trap! But almost instantly, she stopped, her eyes widening, almost falling down from the surprise at what she saw.

At the opposite side of the roof, a figure stood. It was a human woman with a completely unnatural beauty. She had white, long flowing hair, crimson eyes, and she was wearing the most elaborate kimono one could imagine, a kimono white as snow that covered skin almost as white... a kimono covered in unmistakable red markings, familiar markings of the same color on the back of her delicate hands and on her forehead.

Those markings were familiar to Amaterasu and so was that human form...

... for it was her human form.

"Welcome, wolf. My name is... Okami Amaterasu." said the human, stepping forward. "Judging by your expression, you obviously did not expect to find me here, am I not right?"

The woman paused, allowing the words to sink in and then, she continued.

"By now, you must have noticed the state of the Celestial Plain, how empty it is." the other Amaterasu turned to the horizon and motionned toward the wolf below. "As far as the eye can see, no trace of the gods who used to inhabit this place. But why is it so? Aren't the gods immortal? Shouldn't they be reborn if killed? How can one destroy one who is eternal?"

An evil smirk came to her face and slowly, a sinister laughter filled the air. The fact that it was Ammy's only made it creepier. The wolf never knew that her own laughter could be so chilling...

"The forces of darkness are different from not just the monsters, other one. Their origin go back to the far past, before even what your memories can reach. They were born out of defiance with only one goal..." she turned back to face Ammy. "... to discover the true nature of the gods, the universe, and reach a state of purity."

She pointed at Ammy. "You are the sun goddess, a deity... but most importantly, a member of the specie known as "gods". Mortals look up to you and do not question your nature, obeying you and accepting your influence over the sun and the light. This is why they are mortals, Ammy. Not because their forms are temporary... but because they accept to be inferior. You see, everything has an origin and an end... even the gods."

Finally managing to get ahold of herself, Amaterasu got back into position and growled. "Enough! What kind of demon are you, imposter?"

The cold laugh was heard again. It went through Amaterasu's skin and sent chills down her spine, almost making her lose her concentration.

"You are so simple. It is tragic that even you, a genuine "god" does not know the truth." said the other Ammy. "Fact is... what is important is not the flesh, my dear other. It is not even the soul. It is... this."

Suddenly, Ammy saw the most incredible and, at the same time, vile of sights. An orb of pure light that was visible within the other one for a moment... it was so beautiful yet its significance struck her with disgust and fear.

"Power, other one. It's all that matters, it's all that makes you what you are. You are the sun goddess ultimately not because of your happy-go-lucky personality, memories, or your furry form... but because of the power that course your veins. If it is removed, you are nothing more than a white wolf with weird markings... and thus, can be killed like any other being."

The human figure closed her eyes, her smile becoming serene. "This was Yami's strategy, my other one. What he did was not curse the world and hope the gods remained silent. What he did was much more subtle, much more clever. What he did... was replacing them. Yami is nothing like the weak gods. His power is true and in the eyes of fate, he proven himself, his power erasing all of them from existence. And now... only you remain."

Ammy stepped forward, growling deeply. "Enough! I heard enough! You're nothing but a cheap doppelganger created by those freaks!"

The other one smirked anew, her gaze becoming... vicious and mocking. "You who fail to understand, you who is locked in her false, fleeting beliefs... I am not a doppelganger of Amaterasu. I... AM... Amaterasu!"

Slowly, the woman reached into her Kimono and took out a familiar disc. A red disc that was covered with flames glowing in the colors of the rainbow. The exact same disc as Ammy was carrying... the divine instrument, the Solar Flare.

"... and there can be only one Amaterasu. I fear... that you will have to disappear."

Ammy let out a roar-like bark, rage filling her heart. How dare that being spew out such non-sense?! As if she was going to roll over and let the forces of darkness replace her with such a cheap copy! That was the last straw, the last insult they thrown at her! She did not go through so much for this to happen! Oh no, she's going to beat up that creep and kick every last monster out of her home!

Kicking into the stone floor, the white wolf charged forward, decided to tear that smile off that fake's face! Her charge was incredibly fast and graceful, the wolf leaving a trail of bright white flames behind her. Then, just as she leaped and gripped into the handle of the Solar Flare with her teeth, about to slam it into the fake's face with great force, the imposter leaped with impossible speed.

Her eyes widened and she lost her grip on the Solar Flare as a disc sharper than anything that had ever struck her before slammed into her neck with improbable force and speed, knocking her out in mid-air and inflicted deep burns upon her as the holy weapon's flames bit harshly into her flesh and fur.

Slamming into the ground, landing on her side with a total lack of grace, Ammy quickly shrugged off the pain despite how surprisingly incredible it was. Most importantly, she chased off her confusion regarding the fact that the power that had coursed her own for a moment as she was struck truly was her own holy power and not an unholy copied power.

Getting back on her feet and turning to face her opponent, Ammy charged again, this time aiming to knock the foe off-balance. But as the Solar Flare was swung, it only struck air... and a second later, Ammy let out a loud, pain-filled yelp as the human Amaterasu landed on her back, crushing her against the floor.

Jumping off her and landing in front of her anew, the imposter grinned in a confident way. Getting back on her feet once more, Amaterasu swung her head as she growled menacingly, wiping the blood off her face and preparing to strike anew.

She charged once more and as she predicted, she struck only air. But this time, the wolf was ready. Instantly, divine ink was spilled in mid-air, her tail swinging as she painted with incredible speed and precision.

FWOOSH!

The imposter stopped in mid-air, time slowed down to a crawl. Ammy prepared herself to intercept the foe when she noticed that while she held the Solar Flare with one hand, she was pointing behind her with the other. Why would she do that?

The wolf turned to find herself face-to-face with a gigantic, lit up Cherry Bomb. She barely had the time to swear internally that a deafening explosion was heard. The wolf cringed as her white fur was charred by the explosion, sending her flying. She landed on her back, sent rolling a few feet from the force of the explosion.

Not only was that fake like her physically but she had the exact same powers as she had...

Getting up, the wolf growled. So, she want to play it this way? Fine! Let's see how she do if she stack up effects!

Dipping her tail in divine ink, Amaterasu unleashed her wrath. Instantly, two Cherry Bombs appeared to the sides of the enemy while one was created in mid-air, right above her. Time was slowed down once more and in an instant, Amaterasu summoned divine wind to knock the foe off-balance. Then, she unleashed her power, making a large stream of flames go from her divine instrument to the Cherry Bombs and to the foe, filling the arena with a flood of fire.

Surely the enemy will not dodge THAT, isn't it?

As the last of the divine ink was spent, time begun to flow and the trap was unleashed. As expected, a screen of smoke rose, covering the wolf's sight as the many explosions rocked the roof. Now, all she have to do is see if the foe had resisted and prepare to...

BAM!

Ammy's eyes widened as she rose, the woman right in front of her, her fist slamming squarely into her stomach, breaking something inside and making blood fill her mouth.

SLAM!

The human made a backflip, her feet striking the bottom of Ammy's skull and making her spin.

FWOOSH!

The human took out a brush and slowed time to a crawl before taking it away and grabbing into her own Solar Flare...

CRACK!

The disc was swung as Ammy spun out of control, striking the precious equipment on her back. The disc cut straight through Ammy's precious Astral Pooch, the tool that prevented her from dying should lethal injuries be inflicted upon her...

BAAAM!

Then finally, the other Ammy slammed the Solar Flare into her lower jaw, sending the wolf flying.

Pain raked through her whole body. What was that? She had barely been able to process anything except for the pain and the fact that...

CRAAACK!

Time froze.

Amaterasu's lupine eyes stood wide open as a pain unlike anything she had ever felt slammed into her. It was... different from anything she had ever felt before. It was as if, suddenly, everything she had ever known did not matter anymore, as if all of her injuries had disappeared. The only thing that was in her mind was a silent, cold horror that invaded all of her mind. Cold... so cold... and so straining.

Amaterasu had landed on her head at an odd angle... instantly twisting her neck into an unnatural angle. Her neck had been broken upon impact.

It was a lethal hit...

Her body slumping down, the goddess losing all control of herself, she found herself on her back, unable to move herself. Her form shook furiously as a weird feeling, like if she plunged in freezing water at the same as knives were plunged into her flesh, invaded her. Her breathing was fast, ragged, desesperate. The whole world was a blur, seeing only a vague shape, her foe, and an endless sea of red underneath, her blood pouring out of her body via the gapping maw that used to be her neck...

"And so... the last of the gods fall."

She barely heard the words and yet, they still reached her mind and echoed as clearly as they could ever have.

She... she can't die here. She can't die now. She didn't make it so far only to be killed by a fake here. It can't be... She must get up... she must fight... she must... she must...

"Relax, Amaterasu. Don't give in to the anguish... The pain will leave you and so will the anguish. You will be at peace..." there was a strange feel in the enemy's voice. Was that... pity?

She doesn't want her pity! She doesn't want to be at peace! She want to get up! She... she... her body hurts... she's tired... Why aren't her limbs moving? She gasped more and more but the air was escaping through her twisted neck, denying her the life-giving oxygen she needed.

Darkness begun to rise. She could feel its tendrils, the curse, the cold power. Her vision begun to fade and strange feeling invaded her mind. A feeling of calmness, of peace, of serenity. She felt... cold, relaxed. She stopped moving, the darkness wrapping itself around in a way unlike it had in the past. It was not the curse of the past, a painful, burning feeling. It was... a cold embrace, almost like a loving hug. It was if... the darkness was welcoming her.

And then, the full meaning of the other's words finally dawned upon her.

It was not like last time. She wouldn't turn to stone or anything like that. She was dying. She was going to die and this time, for real.

Fate had decided itself and as she lost that battle, she lost the title of sun goddess. Her enemy, now the true Amaterasu, glowed in pure divine light as the light left her, leaving only darkness.

As the divine light left the body of Amaterasu, the red disc's flames faded and the markings dulled, revealing themselves to be nothing but generic gashes in her body filled with red ink. The white tendrils of light had faded and her once snow white fur was revealed in all of its pathetic glory, revealing that her fur was a very normal, cream-like shade of white in truth...

In death, the true, humiliating form of Amaterasu was shown. Underneath the power of the sun goddess was a young, relatively small and delicate female white wolf, her body covered in deep cuts that housed the ink that made up her markings. The mortal soul underneath the immortal power...

At this moment, memories begun to flood into her mind. She remembered everything she had experienced since the dawn of time. Her life on the Celestial Plain, the emergence of demons, her first meeting with Waka, the great war... everything.

The more memories flooded into her mind, the more her sadness and regret grew. She did not want to die! She did not want to disappear! She's Okami Amaterasu, not that... that whench! So many beings depend on her and she... she want to see them again! Waka and Issun... only two of the countless people she want to see again, to play with, to live with!

The darkness gripped into her, squeezing the light out of her. The world had already faded from her view as life was denied to her. Cold, peaceful sleep came to her, denying her the world for all eternity.

Denial racked through her mind. Her soul was tormented and soon enough, visions of the demons came to her.

Yami, Orochi, Ninetails, Lechku, Nechku... and the myriad of demons serving under them.

It was all their fault. It was their doing. The demons and their curses, the evil they spread. They had destroyed her life and everyone else's.

Her sadness and regret soured, turning to resentment and rage...

Every last of them had wasted the lives of so many, causing so much pain and destruction. The mortals, sure, did mistakes... but the demons actively sought the destruction of all that is good, spreading those stupid curses all over the place and never caring for the consequences. They were not worthy of respect. She would never forgive them, never. And now... they did this to her?

With the divine light fading, her resentment and rage begun to grow. The other Amaterasu blinked a few times. The sun behind her begun to darken...

The vision of the demons swirled in her mind, all of them laughing at her, mocking her, taunting her. She was dying and them, not. Every last of them had bound itself to the world, was simply sealed. They laughed at her, their souls proclaiming to her their superiority. Who was alive and who was dead right now, heh? She's not alive right now, that's for sure!

Sealing them back is too good for them! She don't care anymore! They're not deserving it! This horrible fate which they inflicted upon all of her people and now upon her... unforgivable! She hate them! DESPISE THEM!

The foul stench of dark, cursed power invaded the air. An air of damnation surrounded the body of Amaterasu as the darkness seeped into her body through every single opening it could find.

She will not disappear. She will destroy those demons, whatever the cost might be. She no longer care. She just want them to die, to suffer, to be destroyed! She wants to see pain, despair, suffering in their eyes! She will inflict upon them what they inflicted upon her, she demand vengeance! All of them. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!

And then, Amaterasu sprung back on her legs and screamed, her eyes filled with darkness. The last of her divine light burst out of her body, her lupine form shattering into pieces as the last of the holy power left her. Her soul exploded, the shards flying out and melting into nothingness.

The fallen goddess, now a part of the legions of the damned, howled loudly, her kindness replaced with only vengeful hatred. Her once divine form had been twisted, her fur black as night and the markings the same icy color as that of Yami's.

Then, its strength failing, the demon born out of Amaterasu's resentment fainted, its body dropping on the floor, not a single hint of strength left in it...

"Hey. Hey. Hello?"

A faint protest escaped her throat but feeling something poke at her, it seemed that whoever it was, it would not leave her in peace.

She opened her eyes to see a black armored figure with a ridiculous paper mask on its face.

"Ha, finally! Looks like it's alive after all! Come with me."

The creature begun to walk away.

... where is she? It seems like some kind of weird black place, the surfaces as smooth as metal. Everywhere around her, she could see strange glass tubes containing the obviously lifeless forms of creatures. Most of these were demons but she could also see weird humanoid figures. What those were? Hmm... she can't remember. They're familiar, though.

"Hey. What's the matter? Come on!" said the Imp, noticing that she was not following.

Growling a bit to herself in annoyance, she reluctantly turned and followed. How annoying! Who is that being? Who do he think he is?

After following the imp for a short while, she made it in front of a few monsters. Some kind of crow thing in ridiculous orange clothes, a weasel-like weirdo carrying a huge sickle, and a wheel that somehow has eyes and a mouth.

"What? Another newcomer?" said the weasel, raising an eyebrow at the sight of her.

A glare from the Imp caused the weasel to become silent. Then, it begun to speak.

"Members of the Deathlock Squad, say hello to the newest member of our little group!" announced the imp. In response, the demons begun to greet her.

... Deathlock Squad? Newcomer?

The imp turned to her. "Heh, you seem confused enough. Well, I got some stuff to do in the lab. I'll let your new partners give you the explanation."

And with that said, the black imp walked away, leaving her everybit as confused as before. What's the deal with that? Where is she? Who are they? How did she got here?

"So... how does it feel to be alive? Pretty weird experience, heh?" that was the wheel, obviously speaking to her. She rose an eyebrow.

"Do you have a name, newcomer?" the weasel thing.

Hmph! Her name? Easy! It's...

... it's...

... err... it is...

What? How come she can remember? It's really an obvious thing! How could she forget her own name, her the great... the great... the... err... Who is she? She can't even remember who she is!

A short growl escaped her, hinting at them that she did not know. The three turned to each others before turning back to her.

"I see. Well, you were made of wolf parts and it seems like you are extremely similar to the hated nemesis, the sun goddess Amaterasu. What about calling you Wamaterasu?" said the crow.

Amaterasu... that name was familiar. Something stirred inside of her and she felt anger rise. She did not know why but the mention of that name was making her feel awful. Sadness... but most importantly, a whole lot of anger. She did not know why the name was enraging her so.

... Wamaterasu? That name... hmmm...

"Wamaterasu... I think I'll take it."

The three looked at each others, satisfied before turning back to Wamaterasu.

"Well then, welcome to the world, Wamaterasu!"

The demoness was not sure if it really was a good thing. She turned away from them and saw a window nearby. A feeling of emptiness and regret filled her mind as she saw the weak ray of sunlight that got through, piercing through the thick darkness of the room. She did not know why she felt as such or why a solitary tear escaped one of her eyes at this moment.

There was something important she had to do, there were people she needed to meet.

She feel so confused...

... what happened? Where is she? Why is she here? Who is she?

TO BE CONTINUED...