Karma is a Cat

*Warning: there are psychological and horror aspects. *

~

"Wake up, Little Guardian." Suddenly a heap of water was splashed onto Asahi's face. 

Grudgingly, he woke up from his tender sleep. His eyes felt heavy, and his lips as well. He could feel itch around his face and neck. 

"Em…" He rubbed his eyes, but he could feel a certain texture from his hands. It was swollen, and several bumps were on his hands. 

"You look quite handsome now." 

Asahi fully opened his eyes; he first looked at his hands. As if some kind of virus or allergy had affected him, his hands were swollen and looked awful. Several spherical bumps had spread on his hands, arms, legs, and even his face. 

From afar, he could see blackish short limbs. Was that the one who spoke? Asahi raised his face and saw two raccoons standing in front of him. To the least of his expectations, it was the tanuki yokai indeed. 

"Tsk tsk, you should look at your handsome face, Asahi san. Here" Suddenly a body-sized mirror was placed in front of Asahi. In the mirror, he looked ugly and unrecognizable. His eyes were swollen, as were his upper lips. The spherical wounds had turned yellow, and a few were bleeding too. His neck was filled with wounds and the spherical bumps, and each part of his body started to itch. 

'No… This is not me. How can I be this ugly? No… This… This isn't me... what…' The same thought ran through his mind. He was the most handsome man in his hometown and well-liked. Although beauty was superficial, humans preferred what was to be presented to what was actually on the inside. 

The more he gazed at himself, the more his appearance started to degrade. He could feel his entire mouth swell, and suddenly a drop of tears ran past his cheek and reached his lips. It was salty, and he hated it. 

This was not him. How could he live on?! Having been born beautiful, he couldn't stand his appearance. He could feel his existence churn, and if only... 

"How do you feel, Asahi San?" Don't you look the most handsome? Hahah" The pair of Tanuki Yokai laughed in silence. 

Meanwhile, Asahi could feel his arms starting to burn. Just as he used his left hand to scratch his right palm, suddenly his palm fell off. Huh?! What was happening? Blood started to slowly ooze out of his wrist, and the pain intensified. The Tanuki continued to cackle. 

"Oh my. It had been such a long time since I had last laughed so much," one of the Yokai stated. 

"Same here. Oh, his face looks so funny. I am enjoying it so much. Ahahah." They continued to laugh while Asahi could feel his upper lips throbbing. It burned, it hurt him, and yet, to whom was he supposed to call out? To whom could he rely? 

The human world, the samsara, was a place of extravagance, luxury, and beauty. A place where people fell into the traps of sins like gluttony, superficiality, and greed. People gave birth and broadened their horizons and their generations, all for selfish reasons. 

Nothing had ever been selfless; thus, in such times, to whom could Asahi call? Why would they help when he was such an ugly disaster? He could feel his breath tremble. 

"Tsk tsk, you humans are such fragile creatures." One of the Tanuki walked towards Asahi. It brought its sharp claw forward and pressed it gently on Asahi's forehead. "You are superficial. You ostensible creature, how long do you think your appearance will be in your favour? Have you seen what's underneath it? There is nothing but the dark gunk of hell within." 

Suddenly the Raccon used its entire paw and scratched Asahi's face. The bumps started to leak, and the yellowish liquid flowed out of his face along with blood. His face looked hideous. Worse of the worst, but that was who he was at the end within his mind and soul. 

An impossible person who was grotesque. If his mind was to be in hell, then his soul was tainted in the dirty waters of hell. 

Asahi lay on the floor helpless and bleeding. Internally screaming in pain while enduring it physically, the other raccoon walked towards Asahi and placed its paw on the side of his face. 

"In hell and on Earth, your karma defines you. But if you couldn't even stay true to yourself, how could your karma even represent you? First and foremost, 

Before the Tanuki could further attack Asahi, from a dark portal, a large panther-sized black cat appeared before them. The three marks on its forehead were glowing, and its eyes were as red as the vermillion blood. 

"How can you speak of karma when you haven't even been to hell?" 

The cat had a sharp tongue. As it laid its paws on the blood-filled ground, the Tanuki took a few steps backwards. Asahi had lost consciousness; after all, he was still a teen, yet to learn much of the world. 

"Tsk, we do not need to go there to know the laws of karma. The words do spread fast after all." 

One of the Tanuki Yokai spoke. The Yoaki's could feel their hands and feet tremble. The presence of the unknown creature was strong and scary. 

"Then you must know that Karma is a cat." The cat all of a sudden appeared before the two raccoons, and in an instant, black smoke surrounded them. Before those creatures could run, they perished, taken to the lowest realm of hell. 

"Master," Kuro muttered. Unable to keep its face as the ugliness of his body hampered his judgement. This was the way Samsara worked. 

Kuro's human master had been hideously placed on the ground. There was not a part of Kuro that told him to stay away from the hideous body of his master, and yet, it was all just an illusion in the end. 

Kuro used the transport tunnel, and instantly they were brought back to the human world.