"Submit!" I commanded.
As soon as the pressure lifted from her, Kitsune collapsed to her knees, visibly drained. "I understand… I submit," she muttered, her voice trembling.
"Take these next words as scripture," I said, stepping toward her. "You will not report to Thanatos unless I explicitly order it. If you disobey… I'll know!"
Finally, I called out, "Tailed Lilith."
She appeared before me in an instant, her usual smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "I see you're still in one piece."
"You expected anything less?" I asked.
"Only your downfall," she said with a teasing glint in her eyes.
Kitsune, meanwhile, looked as if she'd seen a ghost. The moment Lilith appeared, horror twisted across her face.
The tailed Lilith glanced at her with a bored expression.
"What are you?" she asked.
Kitsune didn't respond—too stunned to form words.
"You got a problem with me?" the tailed Lilith followed up, more irritated now.
"You… how are you here?" Kitsune finally choked out.
The tailed Lilith narrowed her eyes. "Do you know me?"
"Of course, I do. You are 0][1<{}>0][1*—"
Suddenly, Kitsune's voice shattered like static in a broken transmission. A blinding white light snapped over her mouth, and the very space around it warped, pulsing unnaturally. Her mouth moved up and down like a puppet's, but no sound came out. Glitches rippled through the air around her, as though the fabric of reality rejected the words she tried to speak. Her own body seemed to rebel against the knowledge.
"What the hell is wrong with her?" the tailed Lilith muttered, her voice laced with confusion.
I scanned Kitsune's body, sensing Theós' presence briefly radiating from her before it vanished, as though it had never been there. She looked completely unaffected, her demeanor indifferent, as if the strange event had never occurred.
"Kitsune, do you know her?" I asked, gesturing toward the tailed Lilith.
This was an opportunity to learn more about the tailed Lilith. Her origins, her true nature—everything about her had remained an enigma.
Kitsune shook her head. "I've never seen her before."
"But you just…" the tailed Lilith began, but I raised my hand to silence her.
"She's telling the truth," I said, my voice firm. "I think I understand what's going on."
"Do you know Thanatos?" I asked the tailed Lilith directly.
"Never heard of him," she replied, her attention still fixed on Kitsune.
'The tailed Lilith is definitely different from Kitsune,' I thought, processing everything. 'Theós is clearly hiding something. Whatever it is, it's far from simple.'
I pushed the matter aside for now.
"Let's meet the locals," I said, shifting focus. "Take us to the nearest town."
Kitsune nodded and quickly darted ahead. "Follow me."
In the blink of an eye, I was right behind her, covering miles in an instant.
'Wow, I've gotten faster. I teleport so often, I've forgotten what it's like to actually run to get somewhere,' I mused, a sense of exhilaration washing over me.
Seeing me appear next to her, Kitsune jumped in surprise, clearly not expecting me to catch up so easily. Without missing a beat, she quickened her pace, and I matched her stride, still able to keep up effortlessly. The tailed Lilith, running beside us, didn't seem to be exerting herself at all.
Armando struggled to keep up, his pace faltering as Kitsune continued to increase her speed. Within half a minute, we were already on the opposite side of the planet, far from the supposed "nearest town."
Kitsune dove into a cave, weaving through a network of tunnels. She eventually came to a stop in the middle of a hidden city, clearly winded, though she tried not to show it.
"You know teleporting takes way less effort. Much less," the tailed Lilith grumbled, her tone irritated.
"We could have been here in an instant. I can't believe you made me run like that in these heels. Now they're completely ruined."
Armando finally caught up, also looking fatigued. I gave him a nod of acknowledgment before turning to the tailed Lilith.
"Stretching your legs every now and then isn't so bad," I remarked calmly, a slight smirk forming on my face.
"You!" Kitsune snapped, turning toward me with fiery determination. "I want a rematch. You could only keep up because I let you follow me."
Kitsune, her pride bruised by the encounter, had never met a reaper from a weaker planet who could match her speed so easily, especially not a random stranger who had just appeared and defeated her reaper. It stung, deep down. She needed to feel like she still had control.
"Why not?" I said with a smile.
'She thinks like a child, but her confidence in her speed is evident. I'm sure she can push herself even faster than what she just showed,' I thought to myself.
As I surveyed my surroundings, I realized we were still in the middle of the city. The marketplace was alive with noise and energy. It resembled a medieval bazaar, with stalls filled with various goods and haggling vendors. Green-skinned beings, each with four arms and tusks protruding from their faces, moved about the marketplace—these were the Asímians.
A few of them were whispering to one another, their eyes darting our way, clearly intrigued by our presence. Some were still engrossed in their trades, while others milled about, riding six-legged horses down the street.
"Let's go." I said, vanishing from the scene.
We reappeared in a quiet alleyway, away from prying eyes. "I don't want all that attention on me," I said aloud. "I just want to explore this place casually." It was my first time on a planet other than Earth, and the excitement was palpable.
"I need new shoes," the tailed Lilith muttered, then, as if it were second nature, she grew another set of hands. With a swift motion, she tore two holes in her t-shirt, her skin shifting to a vivid green, transforming her into a true Asímian. With that, she strode confidently out of the alley, fully blending in with the crowd.
"Will she be okay on her own?" Kitsune asked, her tone uncertain. "She looks… fragile."
"She'll be fine," I replied, glancing toward the exit. "Hopefully, no one pisses her off… for their sake."
I turned to face Armando, an eyebrow raised. "Now, what do we do with you?"
"I shall go wherever you go my king." He said to me, turned into a cloud, then flew
"Umm…okay?!" I said out loud unaware that, that was possible. I then proceeded to grow an extra pair of arms and turned my skin green as well. With the white kilt and brown sandles, I looked like a proper Asímian. "How do I look?" I asked out loud. "Like a king." Armando answered from within the dark cloud.
I smiled, feeling slightly amused by Armando's comment then turned to Kitsune. "Will you be fine looking like that?" I asked her. She then proceeds to take the form of a young Asímian female. She looked around the age of 16.
'She really is a child.' I thought to myself. "Lead the way." I said to her with a hand gesture. She then proceeds to walk on ahead and led me back to the market place. As we walked in the middle of the street, we could see stands on both sides with foreign goods on them being sold.
In some of these stands, were what I think was supposed to be food. Although I saw people eating it, I wasn't a fan of eating anything that is still moving and stared back at me. There were also fine jewelry and exotic clothes being sold in the stands as well.
"Over there." I said, as I directed Kitsune towards a stand that piqued my interest.
It stood out as it was the only stand selling weapons and armor. I then spotted a black long sword, in a glass case, giving off an aura of death.
It had carvings on the blade, written in the Asímian language that translated, "To Die Is To Gain."
'When did I pick up on the Asímian language?' I thought to myself.
I then continued to examine the sword. I could tell from the aura it gave off that it's been through a lot of battles, yet it still looks brand new.
"You have a good eye sir. This is the legendary sword of the great Qatar Adolf. A brave soldier that single handedly brought down the revolution, killing dozens with just one swing. It's my prized possession." He said to me proudly.
'A little too exaggerated there. However, it is a good sword. Azrael would like this.' I thought to myself then picked up the sword.
"What's it doing here then?" I asked the Asímian man.
"Qatar is my family's ancestor. This sword has been passed down in my family for generations. "Yet, you're here selling it?" I asked in disbelief.
"I am the only one of my family left. There is no use hanging on to an old legend. I still need to get by." The Asímian man said.
'I wonder what happened to the rest of his family.' I thought. 'I killed them.' Armando said from within the cloud. This didn't shock me so I went on to take the blade out of it's glass casing and got a feel of it.
I tried to slightly bend it to test out its durability, but it suddenly snapped in half. I awkwardly looked at the shop keeper and saw his face was frozen stiff with shock as he looked at his once alleged prized possession.
I then slowly kept the two pieces of the sword back in it's case and said to Kitsune, "You don't mind paying the man, yeah?" Then awkwardly walked away. As Kitsune was paying the shop keeper, with a heavy heart, I kept on walking and taking in the air on this planet.
"This planet is amazing. The lifespan of Asímians is leagues above that of humans. They can live up to 200 or even 300 years. I can feel myself growing stronger each second. Even my senses have become sharper." I said out loud to myself with a spine-chilling smile on my face.
I walked on the street like I was on top of the world, I felt like nothing could stop me; nothing could stand against me. Then suddenly, a young Asímian boy, around the age of 13, bumped into me.
The boy fell on his butt, like how one would fall if they were to run into a wall. He dropped a bag full of what looked like fruits, similar to tomatoes, but without shape. A crowd of four Asímians seemed to be chasing after the boy further behind.
"THIEF!" They called out. I looked down at my kilt and saw a red liquid from the fruits smeared on it.
"Vermin!" Grayson said out loud, releasing his death aura.
Dark clouds began to hover above as a purple lightning storm raged within them. Grayson then summoned a lightning bolt from within the dark clouds to strike the boy down.