Choice

Ashell wasted no time in her attempt to rescue Kin. She needed to make haste if she wanted Kin alive and well; she needed to act quickly.

Ashell knew the bond she shared with Kin wasn't one that could be broken easily. It could be interrupted for a while, but it was never really gone. Not unless Kin was dead.

"I might not like the fool, but I'm not going to let him die just yet," Ashell thought.

She remembered the day Kin had summoned her; it was something she would never forget.

*****

Night of the fallen sun, Ra's Domain Amateratsu

Ra had just returned to his domain after speaking with Kokou and Plutonia. The sun god's realm was indeed a magnificent sight. Different creatures flew the skies, which, although had no sun, seemed to be filled with a light that the realm itself generated. The ground was filled with clouds, and no one could tell if there was anything else there on the ground except for clouds. The structures were made of gold, and the entire realm spanned endlessly. Immediately, upon entering his domain, one of the flying beasts approached the towering god.

The beast moved with great speed and landed close to the sun god. From behind the beast, a woman hurried down and bowed before Ra. The woman was a divine being but was not yet a god. She had reddish skin and blue eyes. She was slender and tall, but Ra still stood taller.

Immediately upon seeing her, Ra knew something was up and spoke. "What's the problem, Tahilah? You seem distressed."

"It's the Princess, my liege; there's something wrong," Tahilah said.

Ra immediately opened his eyes wide. Before Tahilah could utter another word, the sun god was gone. Ra entered a space in his domain. Unlike every other place in his domain, an eternal darkness forced itself into this space, letting not a single light in. It was as if he was in another domain entirely. Ra looked around quickly until he saw a young child in the corner, hugging her legs in fear.

"My love," Ra spoke as he drew closer.

Immediately, the child heard her father's voice. She raised her head and ran to him, chains rattling on the ground as she did.

The girl was bound on her feet and hands, but the chains did little to restrict her movements.

"Father," she said as she hugged Ra, her eyes filled with tears and her body shaking.

"Are you alright?" Ra asked as he stared at her. He took a quick scan of his daughter, and it didn't take long to find out what the issue was.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ra said. "How can a mortal summon you?" Ra felt the pull of a mortal on her essence.

"I don't know, Father. I'm scared," the child said, holding Ra tighter.

The sun god's eyes blazed in anger. The entire domain shook, responding to his anger. He was ready to burn the entire divine realm to the ground until he got an explanation for what was happening. But his daughter's fear only grew alongside his anger, causing him to withdraw immediately.

Ra stared at his daughter's essence and saw she was suffering more as the mortal's pull felt stronger on her essence. A mortal capable of exerting this kind of pull on her was not an ordinary mortal, and this wasn't just a random and ordinary occurrence; something else was wrong.

Ra looked at his daughter and the chains that bound her. He wanted her to be free; he wanted her to not suffer, staying in chains in fear. He wanted her to be able to live without fear of hurting people around her.

Ra sighed deeply as the child squealed in pain,- the mortal's call growing stronger as time passed-, holding tightly to her father.

Seeing no other choice, Ra decided to make a choice. One that he hoped will spare his daughter of the pain and hurt.

Ra caressed her hair for a while before speaking. "You have to answer the call," Ra said.

"No, Father, I don't want to leave you," the girl said.

"No, you must, at least for now. You must. I always wanted you to be free and see the world, not in chains. If you go, you'll get to see the world, or at least a world," Ra said with a smile.

"But I don't want to go to the smelly humans," the child said.

"The humans are not smelly; they are just... just an interesting bunch," Ra said.

Ra closed his eyes for a while and summoned a small ball of light from deep within his being. "Take this," he said to his child. "Her name is Ashell. She'll be your guide and protector. Don't worry; she won't allow the human to harm you," Ra said.

Immediately, Ashell wrapped herself around his daughter's neck, and a golden collar formed from the light. Ra whispered some words to Ashell, and the collar glowed in response. Ra turned to his daughter and spoke.

"You should allow Ashell to speak to the mortal. There's no need to show yourself; only show him a fraction of your powers, and never tell him your name. Do you understand?" Ra said, and the child nodded in response.

"Now, I want you to listen to the human's soul. Listen quietly and let go of yourself," he said.

The child did as instructed, and a few seconds later, she disappeared from her father's grasp and found herself deep in Kin's soul. Ra stood from where he was and walked out of the space. He set up a mind link with Kokou; maybe his dumb brother would know what was going on.

"Hey brother, are you there?" Ra said.

"You'd better have a good reason for the sudden intrusion, brother…" Kokou said with an angered voice.

"Of course I do. I don't derive pleasure in talking to you either…" Ra replied. "I contacted you because something strange just happened…"

"What is it?" Kokou asked, feeling a bit nostalgic due to the strange thing he himself had just experienced.

"Someone reached for Ashell…" Ra said with concern.

"Ohhh, interesting," Kokou replied. "Seems it's not just me then," Kokou thought. "Hey Tonia, I know you've been eavesdropping. Are you also experiencing a similar occurrence?"

"If you knew I was listening, why did you have to shout like that?" Plutonia responded in annoyance. "And yes, it seems someone has summoned Iku to the mortal world," Plutonia added.

"All three of us experienced a similar thing at the same time. Definitely not a coincidence," Ra thought.

"Who summoned Ares?" Ra asked his brother, curious to know who was able to summon the war god's damned armor.

"A kid named Kindel," Kokou responded.

"Ooh… interesting…"

"Who…"

"I don't know who it was," Ra replied before Kokou could ask. "He passed out before I could find out," Ra added, feeling frustrated and concerned for his child.

"Seems like a weak child to me," Plutonia looked at the image of a child passed out. In her gaze, she could still gaze into the mortal realm.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill the person who reached into your domain, Tonia," Ra asked the goddess.

"I have no reason to kill the little child," Plutonia responded. "And she seems kinda cute; it would be a waste to kill her."

"Cute, huh?" Kokou thought. "No one 'cute' is capable of reaching into her domain. Nothing good comes out from there, and after all, she is the goddess that damned humans, gods, and demons alike. The feared Goddess of Death, Plutonia."

"I'm going to have fun with her a bit," Plutonia finally said before ending the mind link between them. Ra was thinking of his next move in this situation. Something was definitely at play, and it was definitely the work of a god or a demon.

The sun god wasn't quick to anger like Kokou, his brother, neither was he reckless like Plutonia, his sister. But he wasn't going to sit back and watch his most precious jewel become a pawn in anyone's games. Someone was going to answer for this, definitely!