Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

A fox with nine tails was drifting in a vast black space with millions of multicolored orbs. The fox had crimson, almost as red as blood, fur with white furs at the tip of its tails and ears. It seemed to be unconscious and was aimlessly drifting in that space.

After what seemed to be minutes, the fox landed on the lap of a woman. The woman had flowing hair in different colors and kaleidoscopic eyes. Her eyes were glued to a holographic screen in front of her that showed moving images of the recent battle in the capital city of Praiji Empire; Azte. Once the fox settled comfortably on her lap, it slowly stirred and looked up.

“Where am I?” the nine-tailed fox asked, glancing around the vast space, taking note of the sphered that were scattered in it.

“Ah, you really came.” the woman replied and started caressing the fox. “I was debating whether my summons worked or not.”

“Who are you?” the fox asked again. “No, wait, answer my first question first!”

“There’s really no point in telling you my name since you’ll forget about this event once I send you back for a definite period, but if it will make you feel comfortable then I will tell you my name, Nyxtriel.” the fox, now known as Nyxtriel, stiffened. That’s when she noticed she was not in her human form but rather a fox. A form she never thought she’d ever transform into.

‘But, why am I in my fox form?’

“Because that is the shape of your soul.” the woman answered with a smile. “My name is Lyga. I am the primordial goddess in-charge of transmigration and the travelling between worlds.”

Nyxtriel only tilted her fox head in confusion. She had never heard of such a goddess, much less a primordial.

‘Aren’t there only supposed to be three primordial gods?’ she wondered.

“Well, stuff happened you know so those from Afasia don’t really know who I am. Those that do are either ‘really’ old ones or those that have seen me, the former being near impossible and the later rather rare. After all, I am not in any written records.”

“Why?”

“Hmm… I’ll tell you when we see each other again.” Lyga smiled. “Anyway, I summoned you here to see what kind of person the soul I chose to replace me as humanity’s champion.”

‘Uhm, I beg your pardon?’

“Let’s see… When somebody tries to screw with fate, it basically screws with the ancient laws that keep the balance of the universe. And what better way to fix it than to screw the one who’s doing the screwing.”

Nyxtriel watched the woman who was laughing creepily.

‘I’m pretty sure that’s not how you’re supposed to fix things.’

Lyga suddenly stopped laughing and flipped her hair, her expression nonchalant.

“Anyway, you might be confused why you’re inside a mortal vessel right?” Nyxtriel nodded, eager to find out that particular mystery she had always wanted to figure out. “It’s a vessel I prepared for a certain soul to reincarnate into.”

“Huh?”

“The Guardians of the Ancient Laws, the ones your people call the beings of the High Heavens, told me that a certain soul was supposed to be reincarnated into Afasia to fight the incoming war you’re supposed to face. I was supposed to give that child my blessings but that soul never showed up in front of me for reasons I do not know.” she sighed and rubbed Nyxtriel’s head, scratching below her jaws in the process which made the fox purr in pleasure. “So I had to think of an alternative. And then I saw your ‘soul’ drifting in limbo, or at least a part of your soul that is, and decided to let you reincarnate into the prepared body, shouldering her future despite the destiny you already bear.”

Nyxtriel couldn’t help but gawk at what she was hearing. But she stopped when something popped up in her head.

“That’s not right. I entered Luna’s body seven, no, almost eight years ago. I’m-“

“All this time you had been Luna, Nyxtriel. I just sealed your memories with most of your abilities because a baby mortal, whether tampered or not, is never strong enough to contain a high celestial’s soul, even if it’s only a part of it.”

Nyxtriel knew that of course. Despite everything, there’s a reason why mortals could not gaze upon a Celestial’s true form, or why the Celestials were called gods or deities. They were too strong.

“But then I was in danger so my sealed powers and memories broke free from their shackles thus why I’m in my current situation.”

“Yes. Luna was raised as the next leader of the Lyxi Clan you know, the strongest among them, so at an early age she had always been working on becoming strong. She awakened her powers and memories as Nyxtriel at that moment. Which I may add was not supposed to happen.”

“Hmm?”

“The Lyxi Clan was not supposed to be wiped out. But as I said, somebody’s screwing, tampering, with the destiny the High Heavens have set so we’re now in an impasse.”

“Why choose me?” Nyxtriel questioned.

“Because you have the drive to fight. And besides, originally you’re supposed to fight alongside Luna, but because of someone screwing with fate, you died.”

Nyxtriel suddenly realized something.

“Wait, you mean I wasn’t supposed to die? And you are the one who gave me the chance to live again?” Lyga nodded. “I mean no offense but I feel like a pawn in somebody’s chess game.”

“You’re not a pawn Nyxtriel. You’re your own person. This is your life now and you live it the way you want it. Whether you use it to make yourself stronger and get revenge on the people that wronged you, or fight against the enemies in your path, or protect those you cherish, or all of the above. It’s up to you.” Lyga gave her a sweet smile. “I only have one request, no make that two requests; protect Afasia and get back at those pretentious bastards that took what does not belong to them.”

“Let me guess, those that are ruling over the Celestial Realm and call themselves gods?” Lyga only smiled. “I suppose I don’t have qualms with that. I do have a bone to pick with those geezers.”

“Great! Then I bid you luck, Red Sovereign.”

“Where do I start?”

“Hmm… I wonder if I should tell you… I mean, you’ll forget about this conversation once you return to your body you know.”

Nyxtriel groaned, or at least groaned like how foxes would. “What’s the point in telling me that?”

Lyga was silent and was actually thinking about it. “Good question. Well, the memory of this meeting will never really vanish you know, just sealed but it will take time. How about impressions?”

“Impressions?”

Lyga nodded her head. “You will not remember this conversation but with certain keywords a certain thought will pop out of your mind and help you decide on your next course.”

Nyxtriel thought about it for a second. It was better than actually forgetting all about it despite being only temporary. She hated the thought that she would be at a loss on what to do.

“Let’s do that.”

“Good. Of course, the first thing you have to do is to become strong. Someone is already on it so I don’t think I should give you tips for it. Other than that… how about searching for the scattered parts of your soul? Regaining your tails in the process.”

“My… tails?”

“Yep. Your powers and whole soul is scattered all over the mortal realm of Afasia in the form of your tails. As of the moment, you have two tails. You were born with one and you regained the other when you reclaimed your spirit core.”

'No wonder I felt like my powers were lacking despite getting my spirit core back.'

“Make your mortal body stronger and get all your tails back. It should let you be prepared for the incoming battles.”

“How do I get my tails back?”

“Who knows? Oh! Time’s up. See you when I see you, Nyxtriel.”

A flash of light appeared and the red fox, Nyxtriel, was no longer in Lyga’s lap.

“Make me proud, Inari’s descendant. Avenge me and your ancestor.”

***

I woke up with a groan and then opened my eyes. I was met face to face with the familiar ceiling of my room in the Celestial Mansion inside Azte City.

-Eh? The manor actually survived the demon attack?

But my eyes widened at the sudden realization.

-The demon army!

I immediately sat up, temporarily forgetting my screaming muscles at the sudden movement, and glanced around. I remembered the last bits of facing the demon army; using the Transport Gate as some sort of black hole to gather the demons in a valley in the east and then a really bright white light. And then nothing.

-Why do I feel like I went somewhere? But where?

The image of a woman with colorful hair and equally colorful eyes popped out in my head.

-Who was that?

But the image disappeared, scattering into fragments, as fast as it appeared. I shook my head to clear it and get my thoughts straight. My attention was caught by a piece of letter in the nightstand. I took it and immediately read it. It was a note from Aunt Zai-

-No, she’s Elthesia.

But then a sudden thought popped up inside my head.

-Wait, does Sun Wukong know Aunt Zaira is Elthesia? If he does, that explains how they interact with each other! No, calm yourself Nyxtriel. You still have things to deal with.

[Hello little red! I’m currently busy, being the prime minister and all, so take your time to recuperate and hang out with your friends. Classes are suspended until the damage in Azte city has been fixed so don’t worry about school either. I’ll see you when I can and when we do, prepare yourself.

Xoxo,

Your big sister.

P.S.

The letter will self-destruct after you read it.]

My eyes widened as the letter did erupt into flames after I read the last word.

-Wait, what does ‘Xoxo’ mean?