InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In Death, Trust Me, as You Didn't in Life ❯ Rage of a False God ( Chapter 68 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: kanna37 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Hentai / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.09.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.6K | Visits: 603 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Hentai / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.09.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.6K | Visits: 603 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 68: Rage of a False God
Kagome watched the last of the portal Sou'unga had opened to hell fold in on itself, and waited – she could feel the divine aspect of the god of chaos and storms hovering over the battlefield, and knew that it was going to be ugly.
The God was angered that his plans had failed – Sesshoumaru and Kagome had managed to stop the destruction of the youkai, and already changed the future that she had always known.
On top of that, he still hadn't gained access to the heavens – heightening his anger at his impudent sister Amaterasu. Not only had he lost much face when she had ousted him, proving her strength against him, but then she had managed to keep him out, no matter what he had tried.
His latest scheme wasn't fairing any better than any of his past attempts, and this was angering him greatly.
But this time, despite the fact that her newest daughter was only a semi-divinity, and not as powerful as he, he was wary. Amaterasu wasn't so stupid as to make a mistake such as this... there had to be a catch.
But what was it?
Even as he began to form his aspect on the battlefield that was drenched in the blood of his own army, he was wary... wondering what effect his sister was expecting Kagome to have. Even with her mate sharing her divine aspect, in a flat comparison of power, they were still not as strong as he, one of the primary gods, and one of the eldest, as well.
This strip of a girl was literally just a week or so old, in terms of divinity.
Poking and prodding the girl's soul from every side, he studied her, and still couldn't understand what his sister was aiming at with her. Was it possible that the all-mighty Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and of life, had finally messed up? Could it be that she had grown stupid and complacent against him, and had finally done something that would make his victory easy – and assured?
There is no way to tell except to go down and face the little wench and her mate, I suppose. As they oppose me, I shall just obliterate them, and then Amaterasu will no longer be able to keep me from the heavens.
“Girl, prepare yourself for your absolute destruction!” came the mighty voice of Sosa no Wo, as every being on the battlefield below him cowered in terror – all except Kagome, and Sesshoumaru.
Looking up into the darkening sky even as the sun was obscured by racing clouds of a bleakness even Sesshoumaru had never seen, Kagome's slender figure glowed against the black clouds forming above her, the only spot of hope for all those alive in the lands around.
Defiant to the last, Kagome refused to bow before Sosa's might, standing stark and bright against him, and she watched, unimpressed, as he, in a showy manner more suited to a second-rate magician, deigned to appear before her and the lowly mortals of the earth by forming himself into a funnel cloud and then forcing the swirling winds to coalesce into a humanoid aspect.
This was it: the final and most important battle between giants, by which the fate of everything would be decided.
For the fact of the matter was that it wasn't only the heavens that would fall should she fail, but all of creation – Sosa would see all under his dominion, rendering everything into a state of chaos and destruction, even as he had made the underworld.
Silence filled the world in that moment, when the divinities met face to face, even in the midst of battle there wasn't a sound. It was a silence such as hadn't been found since creation had first burst into being.
But even in the midst of terror and death, and meeting a kami she should have been terrified of, Kagome was Kagome – always true to herself, and definitely not impressed with Sosa.
Hands on hips, she stared him down with narrow eyes, and then let loose on him.
“Just what do you think you're doing, Sosa? Do you know just how pissed off I am about what you've pulled here? And that stupid time trap! Grrrr... I so wanted to punch you for that – and I don't usually advocate violence!” she ranted, only stopping because her mate turned to her with a lifted brow and told her to breathe with an amused light in his eyes.
Sosa plainly didn't know how to deal with Kagome – he was staring at her with bemused eyes, completely taken aback. “You are very evidently Amaterasu's daughter – there is no denying the relationship there,” he murmured, still eyeing her uncertainly as he tried to figure out how to handle the little spitfire.
He turned to Sesshoumaru. “You mated her?” he asked, pointing to her, and shook his head when the youkai Lord nodded. “You are a braver being than I, then. I would have killed her instead.”
Kagome had listened with narrowing eyes to Sosa's words, and when he said that last bit, she was about to really unload on him, but Sesshoumaru beat her to it, growling dangerously and tensing up, obviously not liking the storm god's words.
Everything degenerated from there, as Sosa began to call on his power and Sesshoumaru also raised his strength, facing the dangerous god with no sign of fear at all, despite the fact that Sosa was, as a higher kami, more powerful.
Or so he thought.
Soon enough, Kagome would teach him otherwise. The whole thing was really not about raw power – it was about each persons aspect, or their base of authority. Sosa was the god of chaos and storms... and Kagome was diametrically opposed to him, being the goddess of balance. As the goddess of balance - and this was something that Kagome had just finally understood recently - she even trumped her mother – Amaterasu herself. Because the aspect of balance was intrinsic to absolutely everything, and how the universe was even able to exist as it did.
That was what would defeat Sosa. He, especially, of all the gods, was susceptible to Kagome – as the god of chaos, in order for him to even be able to control chaos, there had to be a certain balance... and that was where Kagome's desires ruled, and there was nothing he could do about it. That was what Amaterasu had counted on... and Sosa still hadn't figured it out.
As the God of chaos, he was actually under Kagome's rule, whether he had more personal power, or not.
And as Kagome was running all these things through her mind, beginning to truly understand what it was that Amaterasu was expecting her to figure out, Sesshoumaru was squaring off against Sosa as her champion – he would hold back the god's fury long enough for Kagome to come to the realizations that she needed to... or at least, that had been Amaterasu's hope.
It was what she had bet everything on... and now it was time to see if she had won her bet – again.
Sesshoumaru quickly glanced around the battleground, and was pleased to see that pretty much both armies had already fallen back, scrambling to get away from the titanic battle that was about to take place. He had no desire to kill those who had no business in this particular fight – the only one he wanted to defeat was Sosa.
And though he knew he couldn't defeat him, in the end, just getting some hits in for his comment about killing his little mate would be pleasing to the daiyoukai.
Bringing up his aura, he settled it around himself like a shield, armoring himself against the god of chaos, almost certain that Sosa would face him on a field of power, where he would rule supreme...
Imagine his shock when the god arrogantly decided to face him as a warrior – with a sword.
Sesshoumaru blinked as Sosa immediately forged some of his power into armor and a sword, wondering at the god's sanity. Is he a fool? In pure power, he is stronger – but he is no warrior, and on this field, I will decimate him!
Inwardly shaking his head, the daiyoukai decided he wasn't going to argue with it, and simply brought forth his own sword, and settled into a defensive stance for the moment, letting the god start the attack – in this situation, he wanted to see exactly what Sosa knew of battle tactics and swordplay.
Within minutes, it was clear he knew little, and Sesshoumaru just got that much more confused as to why the fool was doing something he couldn't possibly defeat, he, Sesshoumaru, at. Was Sosa actually simple?
Could it be that a higher god was really just stupid?
Incredulous after several minutes of clumsy attacks and ridiculous moves, Sesshoumaru decided with derision that yes, the crazy male was a complete idiot.
And then he opened up on him, and began spanking the God of Chaos and Storms.
It was clear to anyone who was within sight of this titanic battle, that Sesshoumaru was not trying to kill him – only maim and humiliate him, and it was working very well. While on this particular field, he could not hope to defeat Sesshoumaru.
Streaking from across the battlefield to face his opponent after having leaped away from another clumsy attack, Sesshoumaru brought his sword up and initiated an attack pattern he'd learned from his father centuries before – it was actually a beginners attack, simple and easily deflected.
Usually.
But apparently, even that was too much for the slowly faltering Sosa, and Sesshoumaru had by now drawn much of his immortal blood, splashing it across the battlefield in garish crimson streaks that glowed with unearthly power, marking the ground as even more cursed than it had already been. This once-verdant plain would never be green with life again.
Or at least, it wouldn't have been, but for Kagome.
Sosa, finally having enough of the swordplay that he couldn't even understand, suddenly lost the weapon and armor that was no longer covering anything, and began to grow, rising in bloody splendor to tower over the field and everything on it. Trying to take advantage of his divine power, he stepped forward to crush Sesshoumaru – but missed... because the daiyoukai was no longer there.
In the moment the storm god began to grow, Sesshoumaru allowed his own transformation – he had to wonder in that moment if the god had forgotten that he, himself, had an alternate, and gigantic, form in which to fight. An effervescent burst of light erupted into the sky before the near-stricken god, and then crashed back to earth, throwing up dirt and rock as his massive paws landed hard against ground already overtaxed and softening.
When the dust cleared, Sosa was facing a giant dog as large as he was, if not a bit larger...
And once his transformation was complete, Sesshoumaru continued exactly what he'd been doing before – attacking all out.
It was clear in this form, and type of fight, that Sosa had a better chance than with swords, as this was more on brute strength, and less on fighting ability as Sesshoumaru was quickly blooded as well, though it was still far less than the damage the god had received.
Bringing his aspect of storms to the fore, Sosa changed himself into a mighty tornado, sucking up everything around him and shooting it out at a startled Sesshoumaru, leaving him little room to maneuver, as the entire battlefield was being sucked into the funnel cloud the god's body had become.
Crouching low, and then using his incredible leg strength, Sesshoumaru leaped away, avoiding some of the flying debris, and then studied the god, his blood-red eyes narrowed dangerously as he thought. It was clear that there was no way he could defend against this while in his larger form, and, irritated at having to change back so quickly, the daiyoukai once more initiated his transformation to his smaller form, to his father's consternation from where he was watching.
But he quickly understood what his son was doing when Sesshoumaru copied the move that Sosa had done, creating a shield against the flying debris, and the storm gods attempts at sucking him up, by forming his youki around himself in a funnel of his own. Brilliant red against the storm gods black, the area where the two forces met began to spark and burn, one power attempting to force its way through the other, but meeting with little success.
Pulling back his now useless funnel, Sosa allowed the winds to die down, and then began to call ice from the roiling black clouds that moved in and completely hid any evidence of the sun. Sesshoumaru was caught off-guard at the force the ice was hitting the ground around him with, and against his shield of youki, and knew that he couldn't afford to be hit by many of those – the damage was greater than just the area impacted, as the ice then spread out from the original impact point.
Staring at the wounded god thoughtfully, Sesshoumaru tried to think of what he could do next, as his youki was busy just shielding him, he wouldn't be able to call on that portion of his power for anything – now he had to use the power swirling inside him that had come from his joining with Kagome.
Concentrating fiercely, Sesshoumaru began to form spears of sheer force, and began to throw them much as a spear would be thrown at Sosa, catching the arrogant god off-guard. It hadn't occurred to him that the daiyoukai would be able to bring so much power to bear. Still, technically, he was the stronger, and as things stood, Sesshoumaru couldn't kill him – but he could kill Sesshoumaru, though it was clear it wouldn't be easy.
Dodging another spear, Sosa in turn took a chunk of ice and formed it into a spear, throwing them against Sesshoumaru with deadly accurate aim, and with enough force behind them to begin to break through his shield of youki. At that point, Sesshoumaru once again unsheathed his sword, and began cutting the spears away as they penetrated his shield.
And just like that, the two males began taking chunks out of each other, the force and pressure behind their attacks beginning to wear the fabric of creation down. Neither being noticed, however, both being too far into their combat to notice anything but each other.
However, Kagome, and all those who had stayed relatively close, like Sugimi, Inuyasha and Nyoko, Kikyou and Kisho, Sango and Miroku, did – and that's when Kagome knew that her time to figure things out was coming to an end. Appearing instantly before the gathered group near the command tent, Kagome ordered them to remove themselves to the cover of the forest on the one side of the plain, and then flashed back to her spot near the two battling titans.
Shocking the entirety of creation, Kagome spoke one word, and one word only in a serious tone, and both combatants froze, unable to move as her aspect of balance came into play, forcing both males to bow to her will.
Sosa was visibly shocked, eyes wide and jaw working soundlessly as he tried to understand what had just happened. Struggling against the compulsion to stay where he was, he tried to move, but was unsuccessful – and Kagome, smiling at the irony of it, decided to tell what could be considered her uncle, exactly why he had been forced to bow to her will.
“Your foolish attempt to regain the heavens by taking over the mortal realms, and thus beating Amaterasu at your game, has begun to tear rents in the fabric of reality,” she began, her voice colder than the ice Sosa had been throwing with such abandon.
Sosa broke in sarcastically. “And why would I care about that, little girl? I aim to take the heavens, and if the other realms have to fall for me to do so, then they will fall,” he spat angrily, still struggling to move.
Kagome laughed at him. “Sure – when you can't even break free from my will. Do you even know why I am able, even as a demi-goddess, to hold you to my will? It is because I am the goddess of Balance... and that puts me over most of the kami, since all of creation, even the heavens you so desire to return to, has to have balance, in order to function. If I removed my aspect from creation, everything would be gone.”
She paused for a moment, then smirked as she delivered the final blow. “Including you. Because chaos cannot exist without balance.”
The scream of rage that swept the plain echoed for several moments as Sosa worked out what she was saying... and the ramifications of it.
Not liking what he was hearing, he did what he always did when told something that went against what he wanted – he ignored it, and continued to struggle against her will, trying desperately to get away from her grasp so he could kill her.
As they started to revolve around her with multi-hued glory, the energies of the damaged portions of the universe began to glow so brightly that all those of non-divine nature anywhere within eyesight, had to turn completely away, unable to even bear watching.
Kagome herself was once again experiencing the rush that came with manipulating such massive energies, and with a wide grin, she started spinning the balls of energy out towards the areas where Sosa's greed had begun to unravel reality, not stopping until the fabric of reality was once again whole.
Sesshoumaru had merely watched his mate as she balanced out what Sosa had destabilized, interest sparking in his eyes at the feel of it that he got from her. That much power was intoxicating...
He wanted to experience that again – it really was a rush.
By this point, Sosa was enraged – nothing about his plan had come to fruition, leaving him with nothing but rage as an answer.
Bringing all of his will to bear, he once again tried to move – this time to get his hands on the woman standing against him and spiking all his plans, but again, to no avail, as her will swelled to truly impossible dimensions. Eyes wide as they'd ever been, Sosa stared at the female before him in shock – even for the kami, there were limits.
Having enfolded themselves within their creation, the kami had also accepted certain limits against their own power – they could not hold so much that they could destroy the universe. Change it's form, like Sosa was trying to do, could be done, but absolute destruction?
Not allowed.
That was why seeing so much power suddenly coming from one who was supposedly beneath him in the pantheon, was so shocking. He didn't have that much power – neither should she.
And as his sister suddenly appeared before them all in the form of Meimei, before suddenly changing to her normal state, he realized that what Kagome had said was true – even her mother's power did not outstrip her own. As the goddess of the sun, and of life, her aspect was as dependent on Kagome's balance, as every single one of the other kami.
In the world they had created, Kagome's authority trumped all.
He finally understood what his sister had been about – and enraged or not, there was nothing he could do to stop whatever it was that Kagome was about to unleash.
Kagome blinked at Amaterasu, then looked at Sosa, and shook her head. “You, Sosa, were a mistake in creation. As the god of chaos, your aspect should have been contained within my mate – because together, chaos and balance are the two greatest forces in the universe. Without them, nothing could exist. And as the goddess of balance, though my aspect is seemingly small, and unimportant in the pantheon of kami, conversely, it is the opposite that is true – I temper the chaos inherent in what should have been my mate.”
She paused, and eyed him for a moment, and then looked over at Amaterasu. “This is what you were after all along, wasn't it? I should have guessed – if I'd bothered to think things through before, I'd have seen it.”
Her mother nodded encouragingly. “Yes. This is the way it must be – if this first step isn't taken, then any other decisions you make will eventually unravel, due to Sosa's interference. Do it,” she inclined her head towards her brother. “Do what needs to be done, so that you can get to the second part of your responsibilities – changing the world.”
With a sigh, Kagome turned back to Sosa, who was now looking extremely wary and tilted her head. “Very well.” Her form began to glow, brightly, brightly, as bright as the sun at noonday, and in a great voice that carried to the ends of Japan, she announced the change in the order of the kami.
“From this day forth, Sosa, you are no longer the god of chaos. As the god of chaos, you were a false god, and that is why your aspect will be limited to storms, and your presence within the higher realms will never be allowed – you cause too much havoc with your schemes.” She stepped towards the now writhing, enraged and frightened god, and, placing her hand gently against his forehead, she began to draw out his power, containing it within herself and taming it to her will.
The remains of both armies, even as distant as they were, could see what was going on, and watched in awe the work of the kami themselves as Kagome continued to drain the god of his power over chaos, and his authority over it, leaving him much lessened, his aspect smaller and weaker.
Still a god, however, no human or youkai carried more power than he, but now, he was weakened so much that he would never again be able to aspire to the heavens – Amaterasu had won again... only this time, the prize was the universe, once again and forever safe from him.
End game, to the victor goes the spoils.
Glowing so brightly now that no one save the kami could even look at her, Kagome turned and moved over to stand before her mate, and she smiled. “It's time to take over your true destiny, Sesshoumaru. I didn't realize it at first, but the moment I took up the mantle of the goddess of balance, you were destined to become the god of chaos. Yin and Yang – do you see?”
Sesshoumaru had been just as shocked as he'd listened to Kagome speak – at first. But then... something, somewhere inside, clicked, and he knew that she was right – he had always been meant for this fate, just as Kagome had been meant for hers.
With a nod, he faced her calmly, not moving even as she touched a gentle hand to his crescent moon... and began feeding him the power and authority she'd taken from Sosa. It took a bit of time for her to pass it all, as it was, indeed a great deal of power, but eventually, she finished, the glow dying down to a more bearable level as he began to glow lightly to match her.
Staring at each other for a moment, they spoke between each other, and then with another nod, Sesshoumaru turned back to face his beaten enemy, to tell him of the rest of what Kagome had decided.
“You, Sosa no Wo, are now confined to the aspect of storms. As the new god of chaos, you are not only answerable to my mate, but to me as well.” He watched the now cowering godling for a long moment, and then said, “Begone from this place, Sosa, and take a long sojourn in the underworld. And do not do anything that I would not approve of – you will not like what will happen to you should you cross me.”
With a scream of hatred and rage, the now diminished Sosa disappeared, and once again, an eerie silence settled over the battlefield.
And then Kagome grinned mischievously, and turning towards where she'd told their friends to hide, she yelled out, “So, Inuyasha... still think I need to learn which way to point it?”
Hopping mad, a distant blur of red started screaming at her.
“Hell, yeah, woman! What the hell persuaded you that giving that asshole more power was a good idea?!”
Kagome couldn't help it.
She started laughing, and couldn't stop.
What a way to end the long, bloody day...
With laughter in place of tears.
~cCc~
A/N: I hope no one is disappointed with the end of the battle portion. Now, we get to the rest of what Kagome has to decide in the next couple of chapters, and then this fic will start winding down. Finally. Some five hundred pages later... I actually see the end in sight.
Ja!
Amber
Converting /tmp/phpAtDvYv to /dev/stdout
Kagome watched the last of the portal Sou'unga had opened to hell fold in on itself, and waited – she could feel the divine aspect of the god of chaos and storms hovering over the battlefield, and knew that it was going to be ugly.
The God was angered that his plans had failed – Sesshoumaru and Kagome had managed to stop the destruction of the youkai, and already changed the future that she had always known.
On top of that, he still hadn't gained access to the heavens – heightening his anger at his impudent sister Amaterasu. Not only had he lost much face when she had ousted him, proving her strength against him, but then she had managed to keep him out, no matter what he had tried.
His latest scheme wasn't fairing any better than any of his past attempts, and this was angering him greatly.
But this time, despite the fact that her newest daughter was only a semi-divinity, and not as powerful as he, he was wary. Amaterasu wasn't so stupid as to make a mistake such as this... there had to be a catch.
But what was it?
Even as he began to form his aspect on the battlefield that was drenched in the blood of his own army, he was wary... wondering what effect his sister was expecting Kagome to have. Even with her mate sharing her divine aspect, in a flat comparison of power, they were still not as strong as he, one of the primary gods, and one of the eldest, as well.
This strip of a girl was literally just a week or so old, in terms of divinity.
Poking and prodding the girl's soul from every side, he studied her, and still couldn't understand what his sister was aiming at with her. Was it possible that the all-mighty Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and of life, had finally messed up? Could it be that she had grown stupid and complacent against him, and had finally done something that would make his victory easy – and assured?
There is no way to tell except to go down and face the little wench and her mate, I suppose. As they oppose me, I shall just obliterate them, and then Amaterasu will no longer be able to keep me from the heavens.
“Girl, prepare yourself for your absolute destruction!” came the mighty voice of Sosa no Wo, as every being on the battlefield below him cowered in terror – all except Kagome, and Sesshoumaru.
Looking up into the darkening sky even as the sun was obscured by racing clouds of a bleakness even Sesshoumaru had never seen, Kagome's slender figure glowed against the black clouds forming above her, the only spot of hope for all those alive in the lands around.
Defiant to the last, Kagome refused to bow before Sosa's might, standing stark and bright against him, and she watched, unimpressed, as he, in a showy manner more suited to a second-rate magician, deigned to appear before her and the lowly mortals of the earth by forming himself into a funnel cloud and then forcing the swirling winds to coalesce into a humanoid aspect.
This was it: the final and most important battle between giants, by which the fate of everything would be decided.
For the fact of the matter was that it wasn't only the heavens that would fall should she fail, but all of creation – Sosa would see all under his dominion, rendering everything into a state of chaos and destruction, even as he had made the underworld.
Silence filled the world in that moment, when the divinities met face to face, even in the midst of battle there wasn't a sound. It was a silence such as hadn't been found since creation had first burst into being.
But even in the midst of terror and death, and meeting a kami she should have been terrified of, Kagome was Kagome – always true to herself, and definitely not impressed with Sosa.
Hands on hips, she stared him down with narrow eyes, and then let loose on him.
“Just what do you think you're doing, Sosa? Do you know just how pissed off I am about what you've pulled here? And that stupid time trap! Grrrr... I so wanted to punch you for that – and I don't usually advocate violence!” she ranted, only stopping because her mate turned to her with a lifted brow and told her to breathe with an amused light in his eyes.
Sosa plainly didn't know how to deal with Kagome – he was staring at her with bemused eyes, completely taken aback. “You are very evidently Amaterasu's daughter – there is no denying the relationship there,” he murmured, still eyeing her uncertainly as he tried to figure out how to handle the little spitfire.
He turned to Sesshoumaru. “You mated her?” he asked, pointing to her, and shook his head when the youkai Lord nodded. “You are a braver being than I, then. I would have killed her instead.”
Kagome had listened with narrowing eyes to Sosa's words, and when he said that last bit, she was about to really unload on him, but Sesshoumaru beat her to it, growling dangerously and tensing up, obviously not liking the storm god's words.
Everything degenerated from there, as Sosa began to call on his power and Sesshoumaru also raised his strength, facing the dangerous god with no sign of fear at all, despite the fact that Sosa was, as a higher kami, more powerful.
Or so he thought.
Soon enough, Kagome would teach him otherwise. The whole thing was really not about raw power – it was about each persons aspect, or their base of authority. Sosa was the god of chaos and storms... and Kagome was diametrically opposed to him, being the goddess of balance. As the goddess of balance - and this was something that Kagome had just finally understood recently - she even trumped her mother – Amaterasu herself. Because the aspect of balance was intrinsic to absolutely everything, and how the universe was even able to exist as it did.
That was what would defeat Sosa. He, especially, of all the gods, was susceptible to Kagome – as the god of chaos, in order for him to even be able to control chaos, there had to be a certain balance... and that was where Kagome's desires ruled, and there was nothing he could do about it. That was what Amaterasu had counted on... and Sosa still hadn't figured it out.
As the God of chaos, he was actually under Kagome's rule, whether he had more personal power, or not.
And as Kagome was running all these things through her mind, beginning to truly understand what it was that Amaterasu was expecting her to figure out, Sesshoumaru was squaring off against Sosa as her champion – he would hold back the god's fury long enough for Kagome to come to the realizations that she needed to... or at least, that had been Amaterasu's hope.
It was what she had bet everything on... and now it was time to see if she had won her bet – again.
Sesshoumaru quickly glanced around the battleground, and was pleased to see that pretty much both armies had already fallen back, scrambling to get away from the titanic battle that was about to take place. He had no desire to kill those who had no business in this particular fight – the only one he wanted to defeat was Sosa.
And though he knew he couldn't defeat him, in the end, just getting some hits in for his comment about killing his little mate would be pleasing to the daiyoukai.
Bringing up his aura, he settled it around himself like a shield, armoring himself against the god of chaos, almost certain that Sosa would face him on a field of power, where he would rule supreme...
Imagine his shock when the god arrogantly decided to face him as a warrior – with a sword.
Sesshoumaru blinked as Sosa immediately forged some of his power into armor and a sword, wondering at the god's sanity. Is he a fool? In pure power, he is stronger – but he is no warrior, and on this field, I will decimate him!
Inwardly shaking his head, the daiyoukai decided he wasn't going to argue with it, and simply brought forth his own sword, and settled into a defensive stance for the moment, letting the god start the attack – in this situation, he wanted to see exactly what Sosa knew of battle tactics and swordplay.
Within minutes, it was clear he knew little, and Sesshoumaru just got that much more confused as to why the fool was doing something he couldn't possibly defeat, he, Sesshoumaru, at. Was Sosa actually simple?
Could it be that a higher god was really just stupid?
Incredulous after several minutes of clumsy attacks and ridiculous moves, Sesshoumaru decided with derision that yes, the crazy male was a complete idiot.
And then he opened up on him, and began spanking the God of Chaos and Storms.
It was clear to anyone who was within sight of this titanic battle, that Sesshoumaru was not trying to kill him – only maim and humiliate him, and it was working very well. While on this particular field, he could not hope to defeat Sesshoumaru.
Streaking from across the battlefield to face his opponent after having leaped away from another clumsy attack, Sesshoumaru brought his sword up and initiated an attack pattern he'd learned from his father centuries before – it was actually a beginners attack, simple and easily deflected.
Usually.
But apparently, even that was too much for the slowly faltering Sosa, and Sesshoumaru had by now drawn much of his immortal blood, splashing it across the battlefield in garish crimson streaks that glowed with unearthly power, marking the ground as even more cursed than it had already been. This once-verdant plain would never be green with life again.
Or at least, it wouldn't have been, but for Kagome.
Sosa, finally having enough of the swordplay that he couldn't even understand, suddenly lost the weapon and armor that was no longer covering anything, and began to grow, rising in bloody splendor to tower over the field and everything on it. Trying to take advantage of his divine power, he stepped forward to crush Sesshoumaru – but missed... because the daiyoukai was no longer there.
In the moment the storm god began to grow, Sesshoumaru allowed his own transformation – he had to wonder in that moment if the god had forgotten that he, himself, had an alternate, and gigantic, form in which to fight. An effervescent burst of light erupted into the sky before the near-stricken god, and then crashed back to earth, throwing up dirt and rock as his massive paws landed hard against ground already overtaxed and softening.
When the dust cleared, Sosa was facing a giant dog as large as he was, if not a bit larger...
And once his transformation was complete, Sesshoumaru continued exactly what he'd been doing before – attacking all out.
It was clear in this form, and type of fight, that Sosa had a better chance than with swords, as this was more on brute strength, and less on fighting ability as Sesshoumaru was quickly blooded as well, though it was still far less than the damage the god had received.
Bringing his aspect of storms to the fore, Sosa changed himself into a mighty tornado, sucking up everything around him and shooting it out at a startled Sesshoumaru, leaving him little room to maneuver, as the entire battlefield was being sucked into the funnel cloud the god's body had become.
Crouching low, and then using his incredible leg strength, Sesshoumaru leaped away, avoiding some of the flying debris, and then studied the god, his blood-red eyes narrowed dangerously as he thought. It was clear that there was no way he could defend against this while in his larger form, and, irritated at having to change back so quickly, the daiyoukai once more initiated his transformation to his smaller form, to his father's consternation from where he was watching.
But he quickly understood what his son was doing when Sesshoumaru copied the move that Sosa had done, creating a shield against the flying debris, and the storm gods attempts at sucking him up, by forming his youki around himself in a funnel of his own. Brilliant red against the storm gods black, the area where the two forces met began to spark and burn, one power attempting to force its way through the other, but meeting with little success.
Pulling back his now useless funnel, Sosa allowed the winds to die down, and then began to call ice from the roiling black clouds that moved in and completely hid any evidence of the sun. Sesshoumaru was caught off-guard at the force the ice was hitting the ground around him with, and against his shield of youki, and knew that he couldn't afford to be hit by many of those – the damage was greater than just the area impacted, as the ice then spread out from the original impact point.
Staring at the wounded god thoughtfully, Sesshoumaru tried to think of what he could do next, as his youki was busy just shielding him, he wouldn't be able to call on that portion of his power for anything – now he had to use the power swirling inside him that had come from his joining with Kagome.
Concentrating fiercely, Sesshoumaru began to form spears of sheer force, and began to throw them much as a spear would be thrown at Sosa, catching the arrogant god off-guard. It hadn't occurred to him that the daiyoukai would be able to bring so much power to bear. Still, technically, he was the stronger, and as things stood, Sesshoumaru couldn't kill him – but he could kill Sesshoumaru, though it was clear it wouldn't be easy.
Dodging another spear, Sosa in turn took a chunk of ice and formed it into a spear, throwing them against Sesshoumaru with deadly accurate aim, and with enough force behind them to begin to break through his shield of youki. At that point, Sesshoumaru once again unsheathed his sword, and began cutting the spears away as they penetrated his shield.
And just like that, the two males began taking chunks out of each other, the force and pressure behind their attacks beginning to wear the fabric of creation down. Neither being noticed, however, both being too far into their combat to notice anything but each other.
However, Kagome, and all those who had stayed relatively close, like Sugimi, Inuyasha and Nyoko, Kikyou and Kisho, Sango and Miroku, did – and that's when Kagome knew that her time to figure things out was coming to an end. Appearing instantly before the gathered group near the command tent, Kagome ordered them to remove themselves to the cover of the forest on the one side of the plain, and then flashed back to her spot near the two battling titans.
Shocking the entirety of creation, Kagome spoke one word, and one word only in a serious tone, and both combatants froze, unable to move as her aspect of balance came into play, forcing both males to bow to her will.
Sosa was visibly shocked, eyes wide and jaw working soundlessly as he tried to understand what had just happened. Struggling against the compulsion to stay where he was, he tried to move, but was unsuccessful – and Kagome, smiling at the irony of it, decided to tell what could be considered her uncle, exactly why he had been forced to bow to her will.
“Your foolish attempt to regain the heavens by taking over the mortal realms, and thus beating Amaterasu at your game, has begun to tear rents in the fabric of reality,” she began, her voice colder than the ice Sosa had been throwing with such abandon.
Sosa broke in sarcastically. “And why would I care about that, little girl? I aim to take the heavens, and if the other realms have to fall for me to do so, then they will fall,” he spat angrily, still struggling to move.
Kagome laughed at him. “Sure – when you can't even break free from my will. Do you even know why I am able, even as a demi-goddess, to hold you to my will? It is because I am the goddess of Balance... and that puts me over most of the kami, since all of creation, even the heavens you so desire to return to, has to have balance, in order to function. If I removed my aspect from creation, everything would be gone.”
She paused for a moment, then smirked as she delivered the final blow. “Including you. Because chaos cannot exist without balance.”
The scream of rage that swept the plain echoed for several moments as Sosa worked out what she was saying... and the ramifications of it.
Not liking what he was hearing, he did what he always did when told something that went against what he wanted – he ignored it, and continued to struggle against her will, trying desperately to get away from her grasp so he could kill her.
As they started to revolve around her with multi-hued glory, the energies of the damaged portions of the universe began to glow so brightly that all those of non-divine nature anywhere within eyesight, had to turn completely away, unable to even bear watching.
Kagome herself was once again experiencing the rush that came with manipulating such massive energies, and with a wide grin, she started spinning the balls of energy out towards the areas where Sosa's greed had begun to unravel reality, not stopping until the fabric of reality was once again whole.
Sesshoumaru had merely watched his mate as she balanced out what Sosa had destabilized, interest sparking in his eyes at the feel of it that he got from her. That much power was intoxicating...
He wanted to experience that again – it really was a rush.
By this point, Sosa was enraged – nothing about his plan had come to fruition, leaving him with nothing but rage as an answer.
Bringing all of his will to bear, he once again tried to move – this time to get his hands on the woman standing against him and spiking all his plans, but again, to no avail, as her will swelled to truly impossible dimensions. Eyes wide as they'd ever been, Sosa stared at the female before him in shock – even for the kami, there were limits.
Having enfolded themselves within their creation, the kami had also accepted certain limits against their own power – they could not hold so much that they could destroy the universe. Change it's form, like Sosa was trying to do, could be done, but absolute destruction?
Not allowed.
That was why seeing so much power suddenly coming from one who was supposedly beneath him in the pantheon, was so shocking. He didn't have that much power – neither should she.
And as his sister suddenly appeared before them all in the form of Meimei, before suddenly changing to her normal state, he realized that what Kagome had said was true – even her mother's power did not outstrip her own. As the goddess of the sun, and of life, her aspect was as dependent on Kagome's balance, as every single one of the other kami.
In the world they had created, Kagome's authority trumped all.
He finally understood what his sister had been about – and enraged or not, there was nothing he could do to stop whatever it was that Kagome was about to unleash.
Kagome blinked at Amaterasu, then looked at Sosa, and shook her head. “You, Sosa, were a mistake in creation. As the god of chaos, your aspect should have been contained within my mate – because together, chaos and balance are the two greatest forces in the universe. Without them, nothing could exist. And as the goddess of balance, though my aspect is seemingly small, and unimportant in the pantheon of kami, conversely, it is the opposite that is true – I temper the chaos inherent in what should have been my mate.”
She paused, and eyed him for a moment, and then looked over at Amaterasu. “This is what you were after all along, wasn't it? I should have guessed – if I'd bothered to think things through before, I'd have seen it.”
Her mother nodded encouragingly. “Yes. This is the way it must be – if this first step isn't taken, then any other decisions you make will eventually unravel, due to Sosa's interference. Do it,” she inclined her head towards her brother. “Do what needs to be done, so that you can get to the second part of your responsibilities – changing the world.”
With a sigh, Kagome turned back to Sosa, who was now looking extremely wary and tilted her head. “Very well.” Her form began to glow, brightly, brightly, as bright as the sun at noonday, and in a great voice that carried to the ends of Japan, she announced the change in the order of the kami.
“From this day forth, Sosa, you are no longer the god of chaos. As the god of chaos, you were a false god, and that is why your aspect will be limited to storms, and your presence within the higher realms will never be allowed – you cause too much havoc with your schemes.” She stepped towards the now writhing, enraged and frightened god, and, placing her hand gently against his forehead, she began to draw out his power, containing it within herself and taming it to her will.
The remains of both armies, even as distant as they were, could see what was going on, and watched in awe the work of the kami themselves as Kagome continued to drain the god of his power over chaos, and his authority over it, leaving him much lessened, his aspect smaller and weaker.
Still a god, however, no human or youkai carried more power than he, but now, he was weakened so much that he would never again be able to aspire to the heavens – Amaterasu had won again... only this time, the prize was the universe, once again and forever safe from him.
End game, to the victor goes the spoils.
Glowing so brightly now that no one save the kami could even look at her, Kagome turned and moved over to stand before her mate, and she smiled. “It's time to take over your true destiny, Sesshoumaru. I didn't realize it at first, but the moment I took up the mantle of the goddess of balance, you were destined to become the god of chaos. Yin and Yang – do you see?”
Sesshoumaru had been just as shocked as he'd listened to Kagome speak – at first. But then... something, somewhere inside, clicked, and he knew that she was right – he had always been meant for this fate, just as Kagome had been meant for hers.
With a nod, he faced her calmly, not moving even as she touched a gentle hand to his crescent moon... and began feeding him the power and authority she'd taken from Sosa. It took a bit of time for her to pass it all, as it was, indeed a great deal of power, but eventually, she finished, the glow dying down to a more bearable level as he began to glow lightly to match her.
Staring at each other for a moment, they spoke between each other, and then with another nod, Sesshoumaru turned back to face his beaten enemy, to tell him of the rest of what Kagome had decided.
“You, Sosa no Wo, are now confined to the aspect of storms. As the new god of chaos, you are not only answerable to my mate, but to me as well.” He watched the now cowering godling for a long moment, and then said, “Begone from this place, Sosa, and take a long sojourn in the underworld. And do not do anything that I would not approve of – you will not like what will happen to you should you cross me.”
With a scream of hatred and rage, the now diminished Sosa disappeared, and once again, an eerie silence settled over the battlefield.
And then Kagome grinned mischievously, and turning towards where she'd told their friends to hide, she yelled out, “So, Inuyasha... still think I need to learn which way to point it?”
Hopping mad, a distant blur of red started screaming at her.
“Hell, yeah, woman! What the hell persuaded you that giving that asshole more power was a good idea?!”
Kagome couldn't help it.
She started laughing, and couldn't stop.
What a way to end the long, bloody day...
With laughter in place of tears.
~cCc~
A/N: I hope no one is disappointed with the end of the battle portion. Now, we get to the rest of what Kagome has to decide in the next couple of chapters, and then this fic will start winding down. Finally. Some five hundred pages later... I actually see the end in sight.
Ja!
Amber
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