[POV: Vanitas] —First Meeting—
Unknown fingertips slid with a gentleness that did not belong to the clamor of the hall, touching my lower back with deliberate slowness and ascending with the softness of cold silk along my spine. A sudden shiver ran through me, freezing the breath in my chest; a light movement like the rustle of a winter breeze.
And before I could turn, a voice I had never heard in my life flowed into my ear.
A strange voice, possessing a magical musical resonance that entered my head like the whisper of an attention-stealing spell: "I heard you were gone on a mysterious journey... where to, my beautiful mystery?"
I turned slowly to see the owner of this enchanting voice.
Before me stood the most magnificent portrait ever created from light. A woman with eyes of liquid gold, overflowing with a breathtaking radiance, and hair as if melted from the purest sun bullion, cascading over her shoulders in breathtaking waves. She was toying with a golden lock using her pinky finger, raising her chin with a captivating dignity that highlighted the whiteness of her clear neck, and shooting me a sweet smile overflowing with a tenderness that made the world around her fade away.
Her perfume was an intoxicating blend of cold lilies and the breezes of ancient palace wealth, warm air that infiltrated my lungs and made my details falter before this blinding purity.
She said in her calm velvet tone, a half-smile drawn on her lips: "You stared for too long... Did the map confuse you?"
I smiled, trying to regain my noble mask and my usual composure: "Forgive me, oh..."
"Aurelia..."
"Aurelia..." I tasted the letters of the name on my tongue, and continued in a calm tone: "What a beautiful name. As for your question... that is a secret."
She took a soft step forward until the distance separating us vanished, and the heat of her breath struck me with the scent of lilies. She raised her delicate palm and her fingertips settled exactly over the place of my heart, pressing gently, trying to lure out its beats, and tilted her head to whisper in a tone overflowing with coquetry and charm: "Custom dictates... that men do not hide their secrets from me, Vanitas."
I leaned toward her slowly until my lips almost touched her earlobe, and my voice flowed warmly: "I was looking for a spell to protect me... to make sure whether the sun burns everyone who approaches it, or if it is merely a golden trap waiting for whoever dares to tame it."
Her fingers rested on my chest for a fraction of a second, before she took a step back with a faint, ringing laugh, her golden eyes shining with a gleam of captivating joy: "You are a brazen flirt, descendant of Exemplar... and you are playing with a fire you cannot handle."
From the corner of my eye, I glanced at the corner of the hall; my father, Motos, stood there like a mountain of deaf granite, watching the scene with his strict, precisely calculated gazes.
I returned my sight to her, and bowed with theatrical nobility: "Forgive me, beautiful one, talking to you requires a shield I did not wear tonight... I am forced to leave."
She narrowed her golden eyes with a look of feminine reproach dripping with coquetry: "Retreating after all this ignition? Are you running away from me to talk to other women? How brazen."
I smiled a half-smile, and winked at her as I turned my back, walking away: "But you adore this kind of audacity."
"Damn it... why am I the one carrying this deer?"
A rough gasp brought me back to reality.
I was stumbling in the snow of the forest, my breaths coming out as thick white clouds, and the massive deer carcass was breaking my back. The cold blood stained my shirt, and the smell of rotten pine filled my nose. Ahead of me, Mugen walked with light steps, his hands in his pockets, as if he were strolling in his palace garden.
Mugen said in a flat tone, without turning around: "You are like girls, you get tired quickly from carrying a deer."
I spat on the snow. "To hell with you and your so-called masculinity."
He completely ignored me and continued his walk.
I adjusted the position of the carcass on my back, trying to catch my breath. "Seriously... why don't we have 'Yatagarasu' hunt for us?"
Mugen stopped.
A second of silence passed. Then... a faint sound was heard.
I turned to him. His shoulders were shaking.
"What?" I furrowed my brows. "What's wrong with you? What is funny about my question?"
A short laugh escaped his throat. Then another. And suddenly, Mugen burst into hysterical laughter. A real, resounding laugh that shook his torso.
He took a step back, putting his hand on his forehead as he laughed until he bent forward.
"You..." Mugen said, interrupting his laughter with difficulty, "if you left alchemy... you would become the greatest clown in history!"
He returned to his laughter, giggling like a child who heard the first joke of his life.
I looked at him in sheer astonishment, then in annoyance. "Alright... are you done laughing?"
He laughed again.
"I know it's stupid!" I shouted, trying to cover my embarrassment. "I know it's a mythical entity... but..."
He laughed even harder.
"But it makes no sense that you are the tamer of Yatagarasu, the terrifying creature, and you don't use it for anything useful!"
Mugen wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye. "Good idea... I will make Yatagarasu hunt you."
He turned and continued on his way, the traces of laughter still breaking his breaths.
I muttered as I lifted the deer again: "You have a sick sense of humor."
In the cabin's courtyard.
I was throwing pieces of firewood on top of each other in annoyance, preparing the fire. Mugen was sitting on a cut tree trunk, watching me, and that mocking smile still played on his lips.
"You want to see Yatagarasu hunt, don't you?" Mugen said. "Let me call him then."
I threw a piece of firewood forcefully. "Stop mocking. Alright, alright, I get it. It's a stupid idea, and I am wrong. Are you happy now?"
He chuckled softly.
I stopped placing the wood. I looked at him defiantly, and a spark ignited in my mind. "You know what? Try it. And we will see who is wrong."
Mugen raised his eyebrow.
"He is capable of hunting a deer." I took a step toward him. "And you know what? I will sleep outside tonight, in this ice, if he can't do it. But... if he can..."
I pointed my finger at the wooden sword resting at his waist. "You will give me your wooden sword."
Mugen burst into laughter again. "You want him to hunt deer? Deer hide in dense forests. Yatagarasu is bigger than this entire cabin! His wings will crush the forest before he sees the prey. That is, if he doesn't swallow the deer whole by mistake."
"Try it." I challenged him, my eyes gleaming with rebellion. "And you will see."
"You are afraid, aren't you? Afraid to be wrong and have to give me a sword."
"Coward." I mocked him.
Mugen sighed with an amused smile. "Alright, I will try. But if he gets angry and tears you apart, I will tell him it was your idea."
Mugen raised his hand high.
The sound of the wind began to rise... rising until it deafened the ears. A black cloud blocked the pale sun disk, and Yatagarasu descended. His steel claws struck the ground, causing a violent tremor. He folded his giant wings and looked at us with his red eyes.
As soon as Mugen saw him, he returned to laughing. He pointed his hand at the bird and said to me: "This? This is going to enter the forest and hunt a deer lightly?"
Yatagarasu looked at Mugen in astonishment, tilting his giant head as if trying to understand what was happening.
I took a step toward the mythical crow. "Look at your master, Yatagarasu." I said in a deep dramatic voice. "He is mocking you. He says you are too huge and too stupid to be able to hunt a deer in the forest."
Yatagarasu immediately turned toward Mugen. His black feathers puffed up with a kind of anger, and a low threatening purr emanated from him.
Mugen's eyes widened slightly between his laughs. "What? Are you saying you can hunt a deer?"
Caw!
Yatagarasu cawed loudly and angrily, as if cursing his master.
Mugen bent over laughing. "You two are fit to be the clown and his bird!"
Caw!
Yatagarasu struck the ground with his claws with greater anger, then spread his wings that blocked the light, and flew away with a force that almost tore off the cabin's roof.
I looked at Mugen condescendingly. "Look. He will come back in an hour, and with him not one deer, but a hundred! He is Yatagarasu. Not just any ordinary giant crow."
Mugen waved his hand mockingly. "Alright, alright... finish placing the firewood. I won't eat from this damn deer we brought. I will wait for Yatagarasu's deer."
Mugen laughed again.
"Don't laugh, you bastard."
He laughed.
"I told you stop laughing!"
An hour...
Two hours.
Mugen sat before me, leaning against the tree trunk, contemplating the silent sky.
"It seems you will sleep outside tonight, and without dinner." Mugen said with the coldness of a victor.
I didn't answer. I stared at the fire in frustration. Damn you, Yatagarasu, you led me into a trap.
Suddenly...
A faint caw.
Then the sound of rustling branches approaching from the edge of the dark forest. Footsteps. Not animal footsteps, but heavy, bipedal footsteps.
Mugen's smile vanished. He sat up straight, and in the blink of an eye, his sword was drawn from its scabbard, his eyes anticipating the darkness with deadly caution.
We watched through the trees.
A shadow appeared.
A person... walking on two feet. His hands looked like wings folded carefully, and his face was not human; it was the face of a black crow with a hard beak, his body covered in thick feathers giving him the appearance of a massive man (Tengu).
And on his back... he was carrying a fresh deer carcass.
The entity stopped before us, and threw the deer on the ground.
My eyes widened in astonishment, before joy exploded in my chest. I ran toward him without thinking, and hugged his feather-covered body.
Yatagarasu cawed happily, and patted my back gently with his wing.
I turned to look at Mugen.
He was standing like a statue. The sword still in his hand, his eyes wide in absolute shock, and his lower jaw slightly slack.
"Can..." Mugen muttered in a hoarse voice, addressing his bird. "Can you do this? Since when?"
I smiled a demonic smile, and took a step toward Mugen. "Is my idea funny now? Huh?"
Mugen didn't reply. He was still staring at Yatagarasu in disbelief.
I pointed my finger at the sword in his hand. "Come on... give me the wooden sword."
Mugen quickly looked away, and tightened his grip on the hilt as if hiding it.
I patted Yatagarasu's shoulder. "Tell him, Yatagarasu... to whom should this sword go?"
The crow cawed with a rough voice resembling the hiss of the wind, and raised the tip of his deformed wing to point directly at me: "Sssw-ord... for... him..."
"Did you hear?" I turned to Mugen, elated. "Even your mythical bird acknowledges my right to it!"
Yatagarasu cawed again in agreement.
"Come on, hand over the wooden sword! Why are you silent?" I narrowed my eyes maliciously. "Oh... are you not a man of your word? Huh? The immortal entity is just a liar clinging to a piece of wood? Come on, hand over the sword!"
Mugen sheathed his sword with a violent and swift motion.
"I am going to sleep." He said it coldly, but he was clearly evading. He turned his back and started walking toward the cabin.
"Who will sleep without dinner now? Huh?!" I shouted behind him in victory. "Go and run away like girls!"
I laughed. For the first time in the Mountains of Silence, I laughed from the bottom of my heart.
The Book of Extinct Mythical Animals Academic Documentation Supplement — Chapter Sixty-Two: Yatagarasu
1. Classification and Historical Origin
Native Habitat: The impregnable peaks of the "Mountains of Silence". Temporal Era: Pre-"War of Gods and Humans". Ecological Status: The Yatagarasu races shared dominion over the high altitudes alongside major predatory entities, most notably the lineage of the "Red Dragons" (For a biological record of the Red Dragons still present in our current era, refer to Chapter 41). Reason for Documentation Abundance: Unlike most entities of its caliber, we possess an accurate record of its abilities and behavior due to its status as a highly renowned pet and companion to the "Fallen Gods," which allowed for its close study and documentation.
2. Morphogenesis and Cognitive Abilities The Yatagarasu possesses an acute strategic intelligence rivaling that of sages, and excels in shifting between three forms:
Original Form: A majestic, colossal crow. Camouflage Form: A normal, small crow used to mimic natural birds. Hybrid Form: Half-human and half-crow, combining humanoid features with wings and claws. Direct Vocal Articulation: Records confirm that its communication is not limited merely to mental telepathy and transmitting thoughts into its master's mind; it possesses a vocal apparatus enabling it to truly speak and produce physical, audible sounds to converse with creatures in their own languages.
3. Penetration of Domains and Dimensions
Spatial Ability: It possesses a unique ability to enter and exit "Domain-Restricted Dimensions" , which are isolated spatial pockets that some gifted alchemists succeed in creating. (Author's Note: Since the sciences of dimensional and domain distortion are not my area of expertise, I will not delve into their mechanical details; for further information, please refer to specialized books on the matter).
4. Physical and Combat Evaluation
Magical Reserve: It possesses a vast and diverse arsenal of highly efficient magical abilities. Physical Durability: Weak; contrary to expectations for a bird of its massive size, level, and intelligence, its body and bones lack the requisite solidity, making its anatomical structure fragile against direct physical blows. Thrust and Acceleration: Extremely intense; its wings generate a massive thrust enabling it to escape and execute lightning-fast maneuvers in fractions of a second. Stamina: Exceptional and significantly higher than its durability rate; it possesses a long combat endurance, enabling it to fly, maneuver, and exhaust opponents for continuous hours without fatigue.