Hello all, Caleesci here! Just a warning, this story will be very dark, so if things such as death make you squirm then turn back! I would love to hear any and all feedback. Thanks!
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Prologue: Legend of the Three Guards
Back in the times of early creation, there existed a god whose name was erased by the great god of creation, Izanagi. He had betrayed the gods and sought to steal Izanagi's power for his own. Striking out, Izanagi managed to trick the evil god. He was sealed within an earthen tomb protected by three warriors of incredible strength. The first guard was a daiyoukai, fierce and strong like his creator Tsukuyomi the moon god. The second guard, created by Amaterasu goddess of the sun, was a human woman who was a powerful miko. She was beautiful and strong created after the image of the goddess herself. Not to be outdone, Susanoo god of storms created a guard that was neither human nor youkai. He gifted him with exceptional strength and power to outshine his siblings creations. However his thirst of dominance was etched into the soul of the third guard unbeknownst to the gods. Izanagi was content with the protection and granted the three guards with eternal youth. He also gave each guard a talisman of power. To Tsukuyomi's guard, Inukeyu, he gifted a black pelt harvested from the god's own body and stored with immense power should the daiyoukai need of extra strength. To Amaterasu's guard, Michuru, he gifted a diadem crafted from obsidian and decorated with a ruby created from the god's own blood. To Susanoo's guard, Kentaru, he gifted with a spear created from a shard of the Ame-no-nuboko, the heavenly spear that had been gifted to gods by the heavenly beings to create the earth. Satisfied, the three guards were stationed by the tomb and charged with keeping the unnamed god imprisoned.
Hundreds of years passed, and Izanami, Izanagi's deceased wife, had vowed revenge upon her husband for defying her and spying upon her rotting body and running in fear. She swore to kill one thousand people a day to slate her anger. To do this, Izanami thought to release the long since imprisoned god to do her bidding. She sent many warriors to the guards to slay them, but they were easily overwhelmed by the power of the three guards. After many failed attempts she decided to try a different tactic. She searched the land to find the most beautiful woman to seduce one of the guards. She knew that Susanoo's guard was greedy and jealous so she sent her new weapon to him.
As Izanami predicted, her creation, Susimi, caught the eye of Kentaru. After months of bedding the guard, the woman finally was able to convince Kentaru to kill the other two guards and take their heavenly talismans so that he would be strong enough to kill the unnamed god. Once the god was killed, he would be free of his duty and could be with her. That night Kentaru attacked Inukeyu and Michuru. The guards were distracted and Susimi snuck in to the tomb and used Izanami's great power to release the seal of the god. Michuru saw Susimi sneak in and shouted to Inukeyu. Kentaru rushed in, fearing for Susimi's life. The unnamed god devoured Susimi and turned his sights toward Kentaru. Michuru and Inukeyu arrived as Kentaru's feet were consumed, as well as the spear gifted to him by Izanagi. Inukeyu watched in fear as the unnamed god charged after Michuru and out of his secret love for her he called upon the power stored within his pelt to bind the god to him. The soul of the unnamed god was pulled into Inukeyu who struggled to maintain his control. Looking up to the woman he loved, he pleaded and begged that she purify him and in doing so kill him and the god, since purification would eliminate both souls from reincarnation. Michuru fell to her feet for she was unable to kill Inukeyu for she loved him too. Inukeyu again pleaded with her, telling her it was the only way to kill the evil god. Still she could not strike down the man she loved. She watched in horror as the god assumed control of Inukeyu. The god laughed as he struck down Michuru, laughing at her foolishness as she died. The evil god then left the area that was his prison for so long to do Izanami's bidding. He slaughtered one thousand humans and youkai before releasing control back to Inukeyu. Inukeyu was grief stricken when he returned to the god's tomb to find Michuru's slain body. With bitter tears e buried his lover before killing himself. Izanagi appeared as the life was draining from Inukeyu and took the soul of Inukeyu and the evil god. Izanagi did not want the evil god to join Izanami in the underworld. Izanagi knew that the only way to truly destroy the evil god was the combine the three talismans of power gifted to the guards and destroy the god's soul. As the evil god had devoured Kentaru's spear its power was within the soul of the evil god and Michuru's diadem could only be worn by a miko of equal power to its former mistress, Izanagi felt such a task was impossible. Instead he devised a way to keep the evil god's soul forever in the cycle of reincarnation and never able to reach his full power. He stored Inukeyu's soul within the black pelt, and then transferred the soul of the unnamed god into a demoness that had recently conceived. He then gave Inukeyu's pelt and said to present it to any child born by her and her descendants on their one hundredth birthday. If the soul of the evil god was within the child, the power from the pelt would kill the child and send the evil god's soul back into the cycle of reincarnation. None outside of the demoness's family were to know of the curse should anyone ever seek to unleash the evil god.
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Thank you for reading!
Love,
Caleesci