Song of the Wolf's Abyss - Chapter 10

Song of the Wolf’s Abyss

Chapter 10: This is my Duty

The foggy murk in her head was lifting, and her body began to respond to commands once more. Okami opened her eyes to the brown ceiling of her room. Her body, though still a bit stiff, was able to move again, and she tried to sit up, grunting in the process. The last thing she remembered was getting injured in the battle against Masaru. Some dark aura managed to wound her in the arm; however she and the other okami who were alongside her managed a victory against the exile. When did she end up back in her room? Perhaps Koharu carried her back.

Okami turned her head to look at her arm. It had been freshly bandaged recently, however it was rather numb. Taking a deep breath, the young wolf youkai decided to test some waters. She flexed her fingers, and they moved with ease. She stretched her arm, and although it was rather stiff, it moved fine. Resting both hands on her lap, Okami found herself staring at them while her mind wandered back to the battle.

She wasn’t even aware how long she had been asleep, so who knows how long ago it was? However, the battle itself, that was what she remembered clearly. Okami saw what the aura could do to a person. Break them down, knock them to the ground and reduce them to only their primal survival instincts while their minds separated from their fighting bodies, all while screaming in agony and despair.

The aura corrupted the mind and the body, granting unnatural strength at the cost of one’s mind. And what’s more: Okami had seen the source of it all.

A youkai clad in black who goes by the name of Hisoka. She had only revealed herself briefly, but just from that small glance, Okami sensed malice, bitterness, and sheer oppressive power. The way the aura gathered around her and obeyed her every whim, it was as if the aura itself was part of her.

Okami shivered and felt sick to her stomach. She brought her knees up to her chest and stared off into space. Her heart sank lower and lower as she thought: There’s no way she could possibly win against something like that. It was simply… impossible. Okami swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat and tightly shut her eyes.

Tap, tap, tap. The sound against the wolf youkai’s bedroom window snapped her attention back to reality. Turning her head towards her window, she sees Mari nonchalantly leaning into the window with her elbows propped up. Her furrowed brow and scowl spoke of her mood long before she opened her mouth to talk.

“Took you long enough to wake up,” she spoke. “Do you have any idea what’s been going on these past three days while you were sleeping nice and soundly in here?”

Okami looked up at her with a confused look on her face. The way she spoke about it… something bad is happening right now. Okami clenched her fist and bit her lip. “What’s going on…?” she asked slowly.

Mari let out a sigh and looked at the ground for a few seconds. “Damn, where do I even begin?” The older wolf youkai turned her crimson gaze back towards Okami. “Black aura was spotted in the Human Village in the early hours of the morning, it was easily able to take over the humans and it’s has been spreading at an alarming rate. At the same time, the black aura was also located in various youkai communities, at first targeting the lower and weaker youkai, but no one was really safe. It wasn’t long before stronger youkai got corrupted,” Mari explained.

Okami froze in place as she listened to Mari’s explanation. What had happened to Itsuki and, to a lesser extent, Masaru, was now happening to the rest of Gensokyo. A horrible image came to Okami’s mind. Humans and youkai screaming in agony, writhing in pain as the aura corrupted their bodies and made them attack their friends and loved ones blindly.

“Are… are there any survivors?” Okami asked hesitantly.

“Of course there are. I can’t say much about the humans, but some of the stronger youkai are alright and are taking refuge on the top of Youkai Mountain,” Mari spoke. Her expression darkened a moment later, however. “Although, I don’t know how much longer they can hold out.”

As Okami listened to Mari’s recollection of the events going on in Gensokyo, she felt her heart sink even lower. Her stomach churned with apprehension and her hands grew sweaty. It was happening. There was no way she could possibly help. She couldn’t kill anyone else like that. It was just unfair.

“That’s enough of my rambling. When are you going to be ready to get back to the Okami Village?” Mari asked, looking Okami right in her golden eyes.

Okami averted her eyes and bit her lip. “What’s the point? Seems that it’s all spread really far around Gensokyo; and to humans too, so how the hell are we supposed to stop something like that?”

Mari stared at the younger wolf youkai in shock for several moments, her jaw agape. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. “What the hell do you think you’re saying?!” she yelled, gripping the windowsill and leaning inside. “Are you just going to give up, without even seeing what you can do to help? You don’t know for sure that it’s all hopeless.”

“But-“

“Don’t give me any of that crap! What happened to all that resolve you had during our search for Masaru? This is hardly any different from that! Pick yourself up and start walking, or are those legs just for show?!” Mari shouted.

Okami looked down at the ground for a good few moments. Mari was right. Nothing was truly impossible. Nothing was truly hopeless. Gathering her strength, she stood to her feet and stretched her body. There had to be something she could do, despite how bleak the situation is all over.

“Heh,” Mari chuckled, a small smile crossing her face. “That’s a bit more like it. I’ll see you over at the village.” With that, the red-clad okami headed off.

Okami was about to start heading out of her room, when she heard a voice that cause her to pause. She strained her ears to listen, because Byakuren was having a conversation with someone right outside her door.

“Is Okami around? I have to talk to her, it’s urgent,” a voice spoke. It sounded slightly bored, but the urgency in the speaker’s voice rendered that fact negligible.

“She’s not well enough to be walking around right now, Reimu. What do you need her for?” Byakuren replied, concerned.

“I did some investigating since the incident started, and I found out something over at the Okami Village ruins. It turns out that that’s where the source of the black aura is, but there’s a seal placed over the portal,” Reimu started. “I can’t go in past the seal. I need Okami to do that for me.”

“What makes you think she can get in there?” Byakuren demanded.

“Because that’s what the seal asked! It specifically asked for someone born of that home,” Reimu replied, exasperated.

“I still can’t let you speak to her. She really needs her rest, and she’d be of no use to you as she is now.”

There was a long pause, and it seemed that Reimu was considering it, however a deafening explosion sounded out in the direction of Youkai Mountain. “Damn, I can’t stick around,” Reimu cursed. “Tell Okami that if she wants Gensokyo to survive, she has to go to the Okami Village ruins!”

It sounded like Reimu left after that. Okami waited for a few more moments as Byakuren stepped away from in front of her door. She had to go now. She slammed her bedroom door open and sped down the halls as fast as she could, running past Byakuren in the meantime.

“Hold it, Okami!” Byakuren, with lightning fast reflexes, reached out and grabbed Okami’s wrist as she was running away. “Where are you going? You’re in no condition to be running around!”

“To the Okami Village,” she replied, looking firmly at the chief monk. “There’s something that I can do there.”

Byakuren’s eyes flicked down to the gauze that was wrapped around Okami’s injury, and then back to the wolf youkai’s eyes, which were gleaming with determination. “I don’t want you to go out there and get yourself killed, Okami. After your injury…” Byakuren’s voice trailed off.

“I’ll be fine, Byakuren-sama. I’ll feel worse if I were just to sit around here doing nothing when people are suffering,” Okami said, looking into Byakuren’s eyes. “Please, let me go. That way, you don’t have to stick around watching over me.”

Byakuren took a breath and let Okami’s wrist go.

The wolf youkai continued to run off out of the temple, but not before stopping momentarily. Turning around, Okami smiled at the chief monk. “Thank you. I have to do this.”

Okami ran off at full speed towards the Okami Village. Along the way, she remembered that she could fly, and began to float off of the ground in order to speed towards the village faster. The Okami Village came into view, as did Koharu and Mari. Okami came to a halt just within the village gates.

“What took you so long?” Mari asked.

“Are you sure you want to be doing this?” Koharu questioned, her eyes concerned.

“Well, let’s be honest. There was no way that I would let you two go on your own,” Okami replied, a smile on her face. She turned her gaze to the swirling portal of black aura. The runic symbols that surrounded the entrance faded away, allowing entrance.

“Let’s go,” Mari said.

With that, the three okami headed into the unknown.

“The battle is nigh… I can feel it. I will stand at your side for this, worry not.”