Amaterasu walked in between two hulking guards comprised entirely of sun fire.
She stared at them both in a discreet manner- peering into the very depths of their makeup and trying to understand them fundantally.
Even though these beings were made entirely of sun fire, they didn't recognize her authority in any way or form.
Even if she reached out with her mind, she couldn't manipulate them the way she usually could other beings of fla.
That was scary. Troubleso. And annoying.
But really, what else should she have expected from that man's eldest son?
A door in the hallway suddenly creaked open.
Coming out and carrying a stack of books was a dragon with short red hair whom she didn't recognize.
But apparently her escorts did.
""Lady Claire.""
At the sight of the guards and the guest, Claire smiled innocently at all three of them. "Hello there, boys. Who's this?"
"A re guest here to see Lord Apophis. We bring her to the Golden Hall now." One of the guards answered.
Amaterasu could have swore.
She didn't rember the last ti anyone called her a 're' anything.
Probably because none had ever dared to be so brazen in front of her.
"Amaterasu, right?"
Claire's eyes sparkled knowingly behind her glasses. Whatever emotion was toiling around back there was one that the Shinto queen couldn't quite decipher.
"...Yes." She replied curtly.
Claire's pink lips curled up into a smile.
"...I'll show her the way. You two can return to your posts."
""Yes, my lady.""
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The avatars spontaneously combusted and vanished from the hall without complaint. Leaving Claire alone with Amaterasu for the first ti.
"Shall we go?" She beckoned.
Amaterasu could only nod in response.
As she followed Claire through the hall, she studied her from head to toe.
"Are you one of his?"
Claire giggled. "That's a bit deaning, don't you think? I'm not his belt or sothing."
"My mistake." Amaterasu corrected. "I simply ant-"
"I know what you ant... and yes, I am." Claire confessed. "Does that surprise you?"
Amaterasu didn't want to offend Claire by saying yes.
She wasn't expecting for Apophis to be with soone so... ordinary.
Don't get her wrong, Claire was impossibly beautiful. If she belonged to any other faction, she would be the starting point of many wars fought to possess her.
But Amaterasu was of a rare, exclusive group to have seen multiple Nevi'im before.
She knew that while Claire was beautiful, she would be considered average in Tehom's society.
Typically, the most popular won in Tehom are either very curvaceous or very muscular. Sotis both.
Claire looked like a simple, unassuming girl in comparison. Innocent, fragile, and ordinary. Like a delicate sunflower.
She didn't know how soone like this had managed to catch the attention of a prince. Let alone Apophis.
"...No." She finally lied. "You are very charming."
Claire giggled again, though this ti was uniquely different from before. "Oh, my. What an interesting answer.."
Amaterasu couldn't help but get the feeling that she'd made a mistake sowhere along the line. But now, it was too late to correct it.
Claire arrived at a pair of grand, red doors and pushed them open with one hand.
Golden light petered out into the hallway- briefly blinding Amaterasu until her eyes beca better adjusted to the light inside.
Now, Amaterasu could better see the grand space waiting for her inside.
The floor was seemingly made from lted gold and gems in one shining, glittery mass. It's texture was smooth and comfortable to the touch so that one could walk around barefoot until the end of days and be even more comfortable than if they had socks on.
Above her head, there appeared to be no ceiling. It was a depiction of the cosmos with various constellations, anomalies, and even so planetary systems.
A red carpet was ca from the doorway to the steps where a throne ordinarily would have been situated.
There, she found the man or creature that she had been looking for.
Curled up and taking up half the space in the room was an extrely large golden cobra.
It's eyes were a deep, intense crimson, yet far from being fearso- they were warm and deceitfully intuitive.
On either side of it's hood, there were glowing purple runes that overflowed with magical complexity. Amaterasu spoke a fair bit of dragon, yet even she could not read these markings.
Sitting on top of the creature's coils was a woman who Amaterasu didn't recognize personally, but knew all the sa.
Mid-length white hair, a short- yet buxom physique, and a spade-tipped tail. Rita.
And apparently, she knew who Amaterasu was as well. The look she was giving her was not a kind one, and Amaterasu usually would not stomach such flagrant discourtesy.
Claire sauntered up to the serpent and plopped down on it's scales right beside Rita. "How was the pool?"
"You'd know if you ca, dear." Rita replied without tearing her eyes from the intruder in her abode.
"You know the chlorine upsets my eyes. I would have been miserable."
"Hmph."
Now, all three of them were staring at Amaterasu. As if giving her the floor to voice why she had spoken.
Her mouth suddenly ran dry for the first ti in thousands of years. That was annoying.
"Thank you for welcoming ." Amaterasu said. Her queen-like regality proving that it was never too far away from her mind.
She reached inside one of the sleeves of her robe and began pulling sothing out. "To compensate for my unannounced visit, I have prepared a suitable tribute that-"
"Keep it. I won't take anything from you."
Apophis finally spoke, and even though his voice was monstrous, it was still just as the sun goddess rembered.
Though she couldn't focus on that for long, because she had felt mildly insulted by his swift rejection.
"Do you not want it because you see my gifts as sothing inferior to what you could find at ho?"
"I don't want it because I don't typically take gifts from old friends outside of my birthday or Christmas."
Amaterasu's fla smoldered out. If only just a little bit. "I see."
She pulled the item out of her sleeve anyway. It was an ornate hand-held mirror, at least 10,000 years old.
"Take it anyway, since I went through all of this trouble to prepare it."
She levitated the item over to Apophis. Rita plucked it out of the air.
Amaterasu wasn't exactly surprised or offended by that. If she were honest, she halfway expected for her to destroy it instantly.
"I'll take care of it then." Apophis said.
"See to it that you do." Amaterasu returned her arms to her sleeves.
The two sun gods stared at each other for a few more seconds before Apophis could no longer stand the awkwardness.
"So... Why have you co?"
Amaterasu took a deep breath and set her thin lips in a straight line.
Her bright orange eyes stared deeply into Apophis; searching for the first sign of a fabrication or lie.
"Why are you here?"
Apophis, Nita, and Claire all blinked slowly.
The serpent spoke slowly as if he were talking to a toddler. "You're asking... why I am in my own castle?"
"Don't patronize ." Amaterasu huffed. "You've been here the last two months. No god usual assus their responsibility that long unless they're depressed about sothing."
Apophis blinked again, though this ti had more to do with surprise than stupefaction.
He didn't know Amaterasu still paid that much attention to him.
Or maybe she had just noticed coincidentally because they were both sun deities.
"Besides, I know your family." Amaterasu continued. "Ayaana can barely function when all of you aren't under the sa roof. Abaddon isn't any better. There's no way they're alright with you just staying here 24/7."
Apophis would have laughed if he didn't find this situation so vexing.
"My father.. has decided not to pass the throne to ."
Amaterasu was an icy queen with perfect composure.
But hearing that had really floored her and caused her eyes to bulge.
Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge of Tehom's politics expected that Abaddon would pass his throne to either Apophis or Thea.
They were not only among th most powerful, but the most even tempered too.
"Then.. your sister will-"
"No." Apophis shook his massive head. "Thea has her own realm. She doesn't want the throne."
Amaterasu nodded slowly in understanding. "I'm sorry... I would say that I don't know what that ancient blockhead is thinking, but I'm sure he just isn't."
This ti, Apophis actually did laugh in a twisted, hissing sort of way. The sound was oddly satisfying to listen to.
"You don't need to apologize to . I'm not sad that I won't be given the throne." Apophis paused. "Well.. not anymore. My father raised a good point to .
I only wanted to be his heir because it's what everyone around expected, and because I idolized him. But that's not a good enough reason to want to rule.
I'm here because... I'm hoping to discover sothing that I can do. Sothing that I actually want for myself. And I hope that when I find it, I can go ho and tell him proudly."
It was rare for Amaterasu to be out of words. But Apophis' admittance had thrown her into a disorganized state.
This only made him laugh once again.
"That is the reason I am here, Taiyou. Is that a good enough reason for you?"
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