Fallen Gods

"Princess Ame, it seems we meet again." His voice was clear and dark, the expression on his face equally vile.

Amethyst scoffed, adjusting the tie holding her long brown hair as if she wasn't afraid of him at all. He shot the talisman her way, but it burned midair before it touched her skin.

He wasn't disappointed, only smiling in response.

"Jun An, just because you call me by a dead name, don't expect me to give you a title."

Jun's face turned sour, tossing another two talismans Amethyst's way. Her eyes locked onto them, and both burst into flames the second he released them, nearly searing his skin. He flinched slightly before his smirk came back to his lips.

"What are you doing on the mountain path, Ame?"

She frowned and reinforced her disdain for the name, saying,

"It's Amethyst. And the same could be asked of you and those dimwitted ghouls you're marching up the mountain."

Jun An was an immortal, a now fallen god. He had cultivated as the heir of the An kingdom, but had ascended to godhood at the mere age of nineteen. His brother took the throne, and over two hundred years later, Jun An descended heaven after walking the path of the demonic.

Amethyst and he had crossed paths a few times over the years, as she followed the trouble, and the trouble often followed him. It had been a good year since the last time they'd spoken, and Jun An had mostly fallen silent.

Of course he has to show his face when I've finally taken Rei Li with me.

"Ah, I guess you've been caught in the crossfire. Don't tell me, did you take shelter in that temple? How shameless! Aren't you asking for trouble by sleeping in the hall of the Divine, practicing your dark arts… Not even I would-" Jun An had rambled on a bit too long. So Amethyst cut him off,

"Crossfire? What do you mean by that?"

Jun An raised a brow before smiling smugly once more, shifting his sleeves. He tossed another talisman her way, but she caught it in her hand. It was the character for "wisdom". She burned it at once in aggravation at his blatant disrespect.

"The fallen god, once of that temple, has been rampaging in the valley below. I've come to seal it away, and what do you know, you happen to be here. Should I have expected anything less from a troublemak-"

"Is the god in the temple now?" Amethyst's concerns grew, realizing she had told Rei Li to stay behind.

Jun An was frustrated by now, having been interrupted so many times. He sighed, putting his arms back into his sleeves.

"Why else would I be leading these ghouls that way?"

Without saying another word, she turned on her heel and dashed away back up the mountain path. The incline should have been tiresome, but Amethyst kept running.

So the corpses weren't the enemy, they were coming to attack the fallen god residing there! But I didn't feel any malignant energy, I could even nap… Being around the dark everyday, maybe my senses have dulled…

But I even was excited, leaving Rei Li all alone! He trembled facing a low-level ghoul, if a fallen god raises a weapon to him…

Amethyst shook her head, pouncing up through the grass and nearly flying through the temple gate. Through the open door, she saw the masked figure from before, standing in front of Rei Li as if guarding him from something. Their sword was unsheathed, a powerful glow radiating from it. It was bursting with Divine power.

Amethyst wasted no time in reaching them, bowing slightly in thanks to the figure. They nodded back, and she took her place beside them and in front of Rei Li.

Rei Li was indeed shaking, as right in front of the three stood a tall man, long brows and thick lashes. His hair was a deep brown, and flowed as if he was underwater. His entire body was coated in black miasma, even making his pristine white robes look grey.

He held a sword twice the size of any sword the group possessed, equally coated in the black mist. It gave off the dark energy of murderous intent, and wasn't to be matched by any of them.

"Oh my…" Jun An's voice came from the door. He quickly ran up to them, but cowered a bit behind Amethyst.

"You thought those thoughtless corpses were going to take down...him?" Amethyst spat.

Jun An had very obviously been unprepared.

"You know, for an immortal who's lived for several hundred years, you'd think that you'd know a thing or two. Obviously, Jun An-"

"Jun An?" the large figure asked. His voice was deep and booming, shaking the temple walls as he spoke.

None of them were going to come out of this fight, so retreat was the obvious answer. Amethyst had long since been thinking of a plan, but because she spoke so carelessly, it seemed the fallen god had recognized one of them.

"D-Dozao, brother, how have you b-been? So it was you wreaking havoc...why would y-you do such a thing?"

The fallen god roared in anger, though the inhuman sound of many voices flowed out. Rei Li covered his ears and collapsed to his knees, sword trembling in his hands. Jun An squealed, covering his ears as well.

But both the masked figure and Amethyst stood straight, despite the roar rushing wind against them.

Amethyst tried to quickly think of a way to escape, but she hesitated.

If they ran, what guaranteed he wouldn't chase? The strong miasma around him would burn up any talismans she put on or around him, and she hadn't brought anything else that could seal him.

And if he followed them, they'd lead him right into a place full of civilians, a town, or the Third, and he'd probably rampage.

He suddenly swung the sword down towards Jun An, who cowered behind Amethyst. She raised the corpse's rusty sword, hilt in one hand, blade in the other.

The fallen god, Dozao's blade cracked down onto the one in Amethyst's hands, causing the tip to cut into her palm a little.

She held it with all her strength, blood dripping from her hand. Rei Li seemed glued to the ground, Jun An was shaking in terror, and the masked figure had disappeared.

She looked around for the figure, but couldn't find them. She shouted,

"Rei Li, get up and run! I'll handle it, so you just travel down to the nearest town okay? It should be an hour down the second mountain path. I'll meet you there!"

Rei Li looked up, mouth twitching and sweat pouring down his face. He wanted to object, but seeing the deadly smile on Amethyst's face, and how he couldn't be of any help, he decided to listen.

He ran out and, although extremely tired from the journey, ran down the mountain path without stopping. He prayed there might be a rogue caster or two who he could bring back up to help trap the god, and began reciting scripture to himself as he ran.

As soon as Rei had cleared the temple grounds, a crisp clean sound of the old sword snapping in half rang out through the night. The fallen god, Dozao, pushed with all his might and, though Amethyst's strength had held up, the corpse's sword couldn't.

As it snapped and fell to the ground, Amethyst had to think fast. The sword nearly sliced clean through her body, but right as it broke the blade in two, she used the blood from her palm as a spell.

She slashed her hand above her head, the blood streaking the air. It turned into a violet glow and cemented a barrier above them. The fallen god's sword hit the barrier with a clang, but didn't break through.

She was relieved for a moment, but the god withdrew his sword and came at them from the side.

Jun An jumped out of the way, and Amethyst ducked below it.

"Jun An! Who is this exactly?" She shouted, tapping two fingers into the blood on her hand. She erected another barrier to dodge another blow.

"An official from lower heaven, Dozao. He was born into godhood to protect the valley from the evil of the Third."

Jun An anxiously dodged Dozao's sword once more, forehead wrinkled in worry. Amethyst relaxed, seeing he was more interested in Jun An, but still tried to figure a way around the fight.

Just then, the masked figure in black burst through the doorway, holding ten talismans and a clay jar. They threw the talismans one by one, each burning as they came near Dozao.

But while he was distracted with the talismans, Amethyst saw the opportunity and, upon understanding the masked figure's plan, jumped into action.

She tapped her fingers into her palm again, but this time, knelt on the floor. Jun An ran for it the second he got the chance, but the two were too busy to curse at him.

Using her blood, Amethyst drew a sigil on the floor. After ten large strokes, she saw the blood had begun to dry on her palm. She still hadn't finished the sigil, so she bit into one of the fingers she'd been using.

She winced but finished the last two strokes of the sigil. She jumped up and slid across the wooden floor to the masked figure, who steadily threw out more talismans.

Amethyst followed the lead, tossing out a few of her own. Dozao began to groan with irritation, all the while backing up. As soon as one of his feet touched the corner of the sigil, Amethyst shouted,

"Now!"

The masked figure opened the clay jar, Amethyst humming a lullaby-like spell song. The tune appeared like lilac-light, covering the fallen god and pulling him inside the small pot. After he'd been pulled inside, the masked figure closed the jar.

Amethyst cheered a little, saying,

"Wow! Look at the two of us, a formidable team!"

The masked figure didn't respond with words, and no expressions could be seen. They nodded, however, which was enough for Amethyst.

She rushed outside the temple to find Jun An, and the figure followed closely behind. He was sitting against the gate, arms crossed and legs lazily spread out. When he saw the two, he bolted upright.

"A-Ame you have to watch out, you know! Do you even know, the one beside you is-"

His jaw clenched shut when he glanced at the figure. They didn't have much to show other than their deep, black eyes behind the mask. But Jun An saw a flicker of something wild in those eyes, a flash of white, a dangerous warning. He couldn't continue, for fear he'd be killed.

Amethyst rolled her eyes, saying,

"If I have to watch out for anyone, it's you! You get yourself into trouble and then leave us to get killed. It's a wonder you've been silent for a year, I really hoped you died!"

While the words weren't very kind, there was a taunting, humorous tone behind them.

They came close to him, and the figure reached out to give him the clay pot. His hands trembled, but he still reached them out and accepted it. Amethyst laughed,

"Yeah, make him deal with it." She then looked back to Jun An.

"What's with you? You wanted to seal the god, now you've got him."

He shot his eyes to the figure, whose eyes flashed pale once more, and immediately averted his gaze. Amethyst continued,

"And stop calling me that god-forsaken name. I'm gonna lose it on you, one day."

She opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by the masked figure taking her hands. She was about to pull away in surprise, but saw that they held a few rags in their hand.

She smiled and gave another nod in thanks as they bandaged her palm and even wrapped a few thin linen pieces around her finger.

"Thank you." She said. The figure pulled away and bowed.

She returned the bow before looking back to Jun An. But he had long run away, and left nothing behind where he'd stood. Amethyst shook her head, her smile drooping.

And again, the masked figure had vanished as well, leaving behind a trace of that white, ghostly looking spiritual energy. She frowned, feeling she hadn't said enough thanks, and examined it carefully.

But since there was not much left, nothing could be said with certainty about who or what the figure was. So begrudgingly, she turned on her heel and began to trudge down the mountain path to the nearest town.