Checkmate

Squeal!

Kyle struggled in her hands as Aphrodite tightened her grip on the back of his neck and pinched him painfully. Her other hand pressed against his furry body and reached for his neck.

"Kyle!" The Oracle called out to his son when he realized what just happened. He placed an invisible spell on Kyle to avoid others from seeing him. When he created the barrier, Kyle was still within the area. Now that blood has splattered on him, the spell was broken.

"Heal us or your son dies. I will snap his neck if you don't do as I say. Old man, we respected you as the Oracle, but you are not the law. You can't rule over us. You've ruined my youth and now, I will make you pay. Reverse the magic you've used on us. Then, we will give you your punishment for not staying in your enchanted forest!" Aphrodite applied force on Kyle's neck making him cough.

Without a second of hesitation, the Oracle waved his hand, retracted his spells and healed their injuries.

"I've done it. Let him go." The Oracle fixated his gaze on Kyle's reaction. His claws were exposed and curled up from suffocating under her threat.

"Who are we kidding? Now that I have the upper hand, why would I easily hand this fox over to you and give you a chance to attack us again? Have you forgotten about your dead daughter? Ah, right. It's been millions of years since you and your wife separated." A scoffing laugh escaped her mouth forming a grin after she closed her lips.

"Of course, you would forget you ever had a daughter, whose soul wandered through depths of the underworld. Like how your family was broken to pieces, I too, can bring that image back in place today. I wonder what your wife will say when she finds out her precious child is nothing but a dried corpse later."

Aphrodite reminded the Oracle of the tragic deaths and separation between him and his family. Though his wife was well and alive, she was on earth and they weren't permitted to see each other physically. It was the laws and punishments that led to such an end for his family.

The Oracle's expression paled as flashbacks of a bloody massacre occurred one after another. He looked up scrupulously, meeting Aphrodite's menace smile. "What exactly do you want? Just speak your goal."

"My wish is very simple. I want you to stand there like a scarecrow, not budge and suffer every one of Zeus' attacks until I am satisfied with your performance. If you dare to defend yourself or attack, this neck in my hand will immediately dislocate. I'll suck his soul force and kill your son for good."

Swinging her palm to and fro, she gestured Zeus to make his moves. Hesitantly, Zeus whispered, "How about I throw him some punches and we call it equal? He is the Oracle after all. We can't kill him."

"With his son in my hands, I call the shots. Hurry and move it." She growled impatiently.

Flaming balls with thousands of sharp arrow points launched at the Oracle's body. Small holes punctured through his flesh and skin. Blood leaked out the corners of his mouth, but the old man held it in and swallowed it. He straightened his back, prepared to accept incoming attacks.

Within minutes, the gaps in his body healed.

Seeing how easily his wounds recovered, Aphrodite demanded a more compelling attack. Zeus took a deep breath, pulled a few strands of hair from his scalp and blew on it. Five clones of him appeared with various weapons in their hands. Each of them wields a potent sharp object, symbolling the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and space. At the count of three, the five of them charged at the Oracle's body and sliced through his tendons.

Blood splattered, liquid spread and the weapons slowly pulled out of his body. Still, the old man held in the mouthful of blood just like before. He refused to back down and stared at his enemies with reddened eyes.

Though they cut his tendons, it'll reattach in a matter of time. Appearing dissatisfied with the crimson result, Aphrodite summoned her own deadly tool. A sword with thorns sticking out of its metal length was tightly gripped in her palm. The thorns leaked a venom that had the potential in destroying a deity's soul force.

Step by step, she held Kyle in one hand and the sword in the other one. The furry fox in her hand kept wrestling away from her, but failed. Squeals whimpered in the air, coughs choked from his throat and tears wet Kyle's fur. His head shook and paws paddled as if he was screaming at his father to run and abandon him to death.

Smiling faintly, the Oracle forced the blood down his throat. He said, "father will never leave you alone. Be good and close your eyes."

Growls replaced squeals as Kyle refused to let this woman touch his father again. His small figure swung back and forth, causing him to run out of breath. His chest heaved violently as the metal reflected into his eyes. Under his very eyes, the sword in Aphrodite's hand fastened its way into the elderly man's chest. As she dived her sharp weapon inside his chest, she screwed the weapon, striking his vitals.

Aphrodite expected a wince or begging expression, but none of her expectations came true. Instead, a wide smile curved on his lips. The Oracle parted his chapped lips and stared intrepidly into her cold ones. He said in a coarse tone, "Checkmate."

A sharp intake of breath conveyed every shock that electrified her nerves from the unexpected stab in her chest. The prickling sensation seared through her chest, expanding to her intestines. The pain was excruciating, worse than branding irons and fire ant invasion. Her blood melted into acid, destroyed the outer layer of her soul force and seeped into it.

Her gaze lowered to the sharpened blade that extended out from the Oracle's nail. Right where he cut into was the exact place her sword had passed through his chest.

As she stumbled backwards, she released both the handle of the sword and Kyle. While struggling to break free from her embrace, his tail was caught in the process. A red string with an arctic-blue bell attached to it loosened from his white fur as Aphrodite's nail pulled away. Once he jumped to safety, he realized the charm his mother had given him was gone.

Suddenly, his heart quickened and his eyes widened. A massive wave of warmth traced his nerves, pumping up his chest. His blood boiled as he felt a change coming. Blue flames ignited from the center of his pupils.

A rumbling growl escaped his mouth. His body enlarged, legs extended and fur grew lengthier. Like a contrast splash of manganese blue in the midst of a dark night, the tips of Kyle's fur symbolized flaming fire.

Flames engulfed his paws and prints carved in the grass. Greens of the field swayed in Kyle's direction and dust particles concentrated on his body.

The size of a bead formed at the opening of his mouth, slowly emerging into a colossal sphere. "He's a spiritual beast?!" Aphrodite coughed up a puddle of blood, hunching her back forward. She glared at the fox whose tails remained hidden, yet his strength had such pressure on her.

"Watch out!" Zeus shoved her out of the way. With his clones surrounding him in a circle, he formed an enormous shield. Once the strike landed on the shield, it didn't take long for the barrier to crack. The huge ball of flame crushed Zeus and his clones, shredding his clones like pieces of paper. Like molten lava, Kyle's fiery flame spread across the field, burning Aphrodite simultaneously.

Standing with his remaining strength, the Oracle tried crushing Aphrodite's soul force to ensure everyone's future safety. Unfortunately, he was only able to damage her soul force halfway.

Zeus summoned a sword that reverses all spells and attacks, reflecting the flames to Kyle. At the sight of Aphrodite under the Oracle's soul crushing attack, Zeus ran to her rescue. With the sword spinning in one hand, his palm struck the grass field between him and Aphrodite.

A dark water swirl heaved into view, sinking the two figures down the portal. Seconds after the villains were gone, Kyle returned to his small figure. Seeing the Oracle falling backwards, he rushed to his father's side incontinently.

Kyle wanted to pat his father's arm to see if he was alright, but halted when he witnessed the pool of blood coming out of his body. Crystal tears dripped out of his eyes as he sensed the decreasing aura from his father's body. His temperature was reducing as time passed by.

Shaking his head, he placed his cheek in his father's palms. His squeals were pleading for his father to pinch his cheeks like how he always wanted to. The Oracle softly chuckled. "It's useless. My soul force will slowly break down. Kyle, remember to take good care of your mother. Protect yourselves and don't let others bully..."

Squeal!

Kyle rubbed his tears with his paws and tried helping the Oracle rinse away the blood from his mouth. The more he scrubbed, the messier it looked. Suddenly, his ears straightened from recalling something. He circled around his father and eventually, closed his eyes and placed his paw on his father's forehead. An illuminating light wreathed around them. Soon, nine active tails appeared from Kyle's behind.