Asami stood still, eyeing the man who stood before her. The blue-haired woman had only one thought thrashing around her mind, and Kyoshiro was the only individual with the capabilities of solving it.
Kyoshiro parted his mouth to speak, "So, Tansu vessel, what made you return to Shanti?"
The Tansu vessel in question narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure if you are aware, but I visit these lands quite often, and each time I have come here, the Heiwa no Kabe was an open gateway to this nation—now, however, that gate has been closed."
Kyoshiro arched a single eyebrow. "You're here about the gate?"
"Why is it shut, Kyoshiro?" Asami queried tersely, her eyes locked on the man.
The man chuckled, scratching the side of his face. "You should know why, Tansu vessel. Adonai, your homeland, has been flooding our gates for months now. Do you want to know why? The ongoing battles that are occurring between the villages in that nation."
He was not wrong. In recent events, more battles have occurred throughout Adonai at a rapid pace, with more blood being spilled each day. With this, the people of Adonai grow fearful and flee to Shanti to escape the destruction. Despite the nations remaining in a peaceful era, the concept of bloodshed still resides in the people that inhabit them.
"That's no reason to close the gates, Kyoshiro. You're trapping the people in Shanti and preventing people from getting in—you're going to cause a crisis amongst the people." Asami said, her countenance unwavering.
Kyoshiro hummed. "Don't only pin this on me, Asami."
"Why shouldn't I, Kyuujo?"
The dark-skinned man sighed. "You hate me for being one of the five Kyuujo's, huh?"
Asami's eyes grew distant. "You dictate a nation that supports discrimination among Aura Senses—your nation alone holds the highest crime rates and now the only thing you do is close off your entire nation from anyone getting in or out!"
"Now, now—we still have our doors open for Zebulun—!" Kyoshiro tried to reason, only to be interrupted immediately.
"---What about the people of Adonai!? If what you said is true, then you're allowing thousands of people to die outside your own border!" Asami raged, glowering at the Kyuujo intensely.
Kyoshiro retained his calm expression. "If you want me to assist my people your way, then me closing the gates is the best you're going to get. With more people entering Shanti, unemployment rises, discrimination peaks, and overall crime will become much more tense. We're clearly not on peaceful terms as of right now, Tansu vessel."
"That's because your nation refuses to cooperate! Zebulun at least tries!" Asami barked in response.
The man grumbled, "Don't compare us to that pacifist nation. They don't even have a ruling power! They divide their land in quarters and grant various laws all across! They're far from being stable themselves!"
"And Shanti has a desirable ruling power?" Asami questioned, silencing the man.
Kyoshiro folded his arms, his hands clenching tightly. The only thing he wanted to do was banish the Tansu vessel from ever stepping foot in Shanti again, but he severely doubted that it would be possible. She was elusive and powerful, although Kyoshiro doubted that she was unbeatable. The mighty power of the Kyuujo was not a force to be considered trivial, and they always knocked down any adversity in their path.
"I suggest that you leave, Tansu vessel. Your nation started the last war—don't make us start another." Kyoshiro stated, venomous ire growing in his voice.
Asami's eyes broadened, her mouth gaping slightly. "You'd be willing to wage a war over population control!?"
"A population that makes us a stronger nation than Adonai." The ruling Kyuujo replied, his facial muscles tensing.
"Is that what you truly believe? Your nation clings to empowerment over humanity, Kyoshiro! You don't care if the crime rates rise, you and the other Kyuujos are just scared that the people flooding your gates from Adonai will revolt against your guys' cruel rule and everyone else will join in!" Asami declared, feeling unbridled anger lift her words out from her mouth.
The two were then encompassed by silence, glaring at each other with immense hatred. Asami was not one to lose her temper, especially in a world such as theirs, but when she had the choice to expose the negative facets of reality, she did not back down. Kyoshiro, on the other hand, attempted to remain composed but failed with every passing second.
"Get. Out. Kyuujo's orders." Kyoshiro demanded, his Aura Sense flaring in a hostile manner, his waves of magic clashing against Asami indignantly.
The blue-haired woman felt no fear, taking the brunt of the assertive and potent magic launched her way. She had the magic of a Tansu, and Kyoshiro was a mere Kyuujo, a dictator with human magic.
"Fine," Asami conceded, returning to the windows in the room. "But, from the looks of it, a war will break out either way—you keeping your gates closed or Shanti taking the initiative against Adonai. Don't think Zebulun will side with any of us, either."
With a tone of finality, Asami slipped out of the room in the form of a puddle, falling through the cracks of the walls and departing entirely, leaving Kyoshiro alone with his thoughts.
XXX
White. It was a white realm that Tanjo seemed to be enveloped in, his eyes blinking repeatedly. Why was he here? What had prevented him from striking down the main assailant who had threatened the lives of hundreds of people? The teenage boy's mind raced as he finally realized that he could once again move.
This, however, felt too familiar.
"Kronos? Did you drag me here?" Tanjo asked, calling out into the white void.
Suddenly, a soft voice reached the boy's ears. "No, Kronos is currently busy, so I'll be taking his place."
With a swift spin, Tanjo shifted his entire body to look behind him, his blue eyes drifting to the sight of a beautiful woman with luscious, long, brown hair and a white dress hovering in the air before him. Her smile appeared to be friendly, and her aura was much softer than that of any ordinary person.
Upon her arrival, Tanjo was granted a few clues: she had talked about Kronos—a god—all while forcing him into a separate location. Telling whether the woman had brought him to a new world or dimension would be impossible to discern.
"You're a goddess, aren't you?" Tanjo abruptly quizzed, analyzing the floating woman.
The woman giggled. "How astute of you, Tanjo!"
The teenage boy's face warmed up. "Where's Kronos?"
"As I said, busy." The supposed goddess promptly claimed with her graceful smile growing larger. "I'll be filling in for him in the meantime!"
'That bastard…' Tanjo cursed the God of Time, annoyed that he decided to suddenly leave.
The jet-black-haired boy looked at his surroundings once more, his ever-consuming anger still radiating within him. What was happening back at Shanti? Were the assailants getting away? Had the explosives gone off?
"Uh… do you mind bringing me back to where I was before, then? I was in the middle of something." Tanjo was getting tired of being pulled from his fights at random. Kronos began transporting him to various dimensions or worlds; Ms. Tassei would forcefully invite him to her illusions; and now some goddess has taken him.
The goddess shook her head. "Not as you are now, Tanjo."
The boy became irked. "What?"
"You're too angry, Tanjo. You've already killed one person, so why strive for another?" The goddess asked, craning her head to the side.
Irritation began to grip Tanjo. He had no clue as to who this goddess was, and it was their first time meeting, but she then decides that it's okay to dictate whether he was too angry to fight or not. There is no reason for this goddess to even care about his actions.
"I'm sorry, but I don't even know your name—please take me back to Shanti so I can move on." Tanjo spoke with hidden vexation, trying to prevent himself from speaking rashly.
The goddess gasped as she said, "Oh! Forgive me, I'm Aphrodite! Pleased to meet you!"
Tanjo nodded slowly. "...Nice to meet you, too—but I still need you to return me—!"
"No can do, Tanjo! Kronos may have let you get away with needless killing, but I won't! Do you seriously need to end that man's life—a person who is weak compared to you—just to deactivate those exploding doohickeys?" Aphrodite asked calmly, softly putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.
The teenager took a step back, pushing Aphrodite's hand off his shoulder. "I would be elated to hear that I don't have to kill anyone, but all I want to do is diffuse those explosives, and killing that man would only lower the chances of more people dying."
Aphrodite frowned melodramatically. "What happened to that boy that refused to hurt a fly?"
Now, of course, Aphrodite has not been watching over Tanjo for nearly that long, but Kronos has. The God of Time was always visibly annoyed whenever Tanjo impeded his own growth simply because of his benevolence, and through that growing irritation was how the goddess learned of the boy's existence.
"That Tanjo is trying to mature; that Tanjo is trying to grow from his mistakes—the same mistakes that led to a small boy being kidnapped and a lonesome kitten being killed—and let his naivety continue to control his every decision!" The boy stressed, his voice gradually becoming louder with every word.
"Now, wait! Don't you think that—!"
"---No. I'm not waiting. Take me back, now." Tanjo cut Aphrodite's sentence short, his Aura Amalgamation bubbling within him.
"Are…" Aphrodite started. "Are you going to try to fight me, Tanjo? You do realize that I'm a goddess, right? I could destroy your entire universe without much effort. Think about this."
Tanjo clenched his fists. "I have. Right now, my priorities are stopping those explosives from killing anyone else. I know how valuable I am to Kronos, and if you're telling the truth about just being an interim replacement, then I doubt you would fight me, much less try to "slow down" my growth."
Aphrodite hovered in place silently, surveying the nigh belligerent boy. Unexpectedly, the goddess proceeded to laugh, her previously lost smile returning at full force. Mirth presented itself within Aphrodite stronger than ever.
"Hahaha! You sure are something, Tanjo! You have spunk! Never lose that part of you, at the very least!" The goddess said, ceasing her hearty chuckles. "Fine, you got me, I'll transport you back to Shanti. Just, please don't lose yourself entirely. You, Tanjo, were picked for a reason."
Tanjo blinked. "Picked? Are you referring to my Aura Amalgamation—!"
"Bye-bye, now!"
Suddenly, Tanjo's senses went dull and the white void around him vanished like a light.
XXX
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took some thinking for the first half—the latter half of this chapter was pretty set in stone, though. I desperately wanted to introduce Aphrodite on a much more lucid level and vaguely show what her purpose in the novel is! What will happen next? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_