Elias simply stared at her.
A long pause stretched between them as the faint glow of golden blossoms drifted past the open windows of the palace.
The fox tilted her head.
"It does," she said casually.
"It really doesn't."
She clicked her tongue softly and leaned back against the low table, resting her chin in her palm as she regarded him.
"You humans are so annoyingly linear."
"And you're avoiding the question."
Her tails flicked lazily.
"It's not avoidance," she said.
"It's limitation."
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"Yours."
She lifted her kiseru and took another slow puff, the smoke drifting upward in elegant spirals.
"You can't know any more than that."
Elias' eyes narrowed slightly.
"And you not telling me only makes this whole thing even more shady."
The fox gave a quiet laugh.
"You think I'm hiding something?"
"You are hiding something."
"Even if I wanted to tell you," she said lightly, "you still wouldn't understand."
Elias leaned forward slightly.
"Try me."
She opened her mouth.
"###########"
The sound that left her lips was wrong.
It wasn't merely incomprehensible.
It was… absent.
Like a word that had been erased from existence before it could reach Elias' ears.
He frowned.
"What?"
She shrugged lazily.
"Exactly."
"You're making even less sense now."
She tapped her pipe against the table softly.
"Simply put, you are unable to grasp it because you're operating on a level where you are subject to Concepts. Even in this weakened state I am still a Divine Beast and I, by virtue of that, am operating on a level outside those constraints. Think of it like being able to read and edit the contents of a book while being a reader on the outside and not a character subject the contents of said book. Am I making sense?"
"No."
"Thought so."
There was a long pause and Elias turned his head toward the window, watching the golden petals spiral through the air. The garden was beautiful. The palace was beautiful. The fox was beautiful in the way that truth was beautiful—elusive, fragmentary, always just out of reach. He sighed then slowly pushed himself to his feet.
"Well," he muttered, glancing toward the open doorway and the glowing cherry trees beyond it.
"This has been… educational."
He began walking toward the exit.
The fox blinked.
"Hey..."
He didn't stop.
"Hey, wait..."
Elias continued toward the door.
"Elias."
He paused just before stepping outside.
She exhaled softly and leaned back.
"I actually meant well, you know."
He looked over his shoulder.
"Did you."
Her tails flicked lazily.
"Otherwise I wouldn't have stolen your uncle's soul shard."
Elias froze.
Slowly, he turned back toward her.
"What did you just say?"
She lifted the kiseru again.
"I was just chilling here one day, You know how it is. Peaceful. Quiet. Nothing much happens in the stillness of your domain, but it's comfortable. Then-" she said casually.
"Suddenly a piece of someone's soul made an appearance. Very rude."
Elias' eyes narrowed.
"And?"
She examined her nails.
"I figured that wouldn't end well for either of us. So I stole it."
Silence fell.
Elias slowly raised a finger and pointed directly at her.
"You're the reason my uncle tried to kill me."
The fox smiled brightly.
"Yes."
She rested her chin in her palm.
"It was quite the spectacle."
Her eyes sparkled with genuine amusement.
"Nothing much happens in the stillness of your domain, you see."
She leaned forward slightly.
"So I really appreciated the quality entertainment."
The obsidian dagger appeared in Elias' hand.
The blade drank the starlight of the room.
He began walking toward her slowly.
The fox's smile faltered slightly.
"Oh."
She stood up.
"The obsidian dagger appeared in Elias' hand.
The blade drank the starlight of the room.
He began walking toward her slowly.
The fox's smile faltered slightly.
"Oh."
She stood up.
"Now, now—let's not be hasty."
He stepped left.
She stepped right.
He stepped right.
She stepped left.
"Wait, hold on," she said quickly.
"Things could have turned out much worse."
Elias' expression didn't change.
"Oh?"
"Yes," she insisted.
"What if I hadn't stolen it?"
She gestured dramatically.
"What if your uncle had discovered me instead?"
She ducked as he lunged across the table. He caught himself on the edge, and she slid to the other side, her tails fanning out behind her.
"Do you really think he wouldn't have attacked if he sensed something like me inside your soul?"
She leaned foward.
''He still would have attacked," she said calmly.
"Just to see your manifestation of the Anomaly."
'Now that I think about it she's right, given Ortis' personality he would do exactly that.'
"See? Things would turn out the way they did regardless of whether I intervened or not."
Still—
He straightened. The dagger remained in his hand, but he did not raise it again.
"That doesn't change the facts," Elias said quietly.
She shrugged.
"No," she admitted.
"But it does change the context."
She was at his side of the table and sat down, folding her hands primly.
"Let's make a mutual agreement."
Elias looked at her suspiciously.
"You help me find my tails."
She rested her chin on her hand again.
"And I help you achieve your goal."
Elias said nothing.
The fox looked directly into his eyes.
"But what exactly is that? What is it that you truly desire?"
The question hung in the air between them, and for a moment, he had no answer.
'What do I truly desire?'
The thought drifted slowly through his mind.
At first, the answer had been simple.
He wanted to die.
Back then—Familial neglect, bullying, the betrayal of his best friend, all of it had hollowed him out until death had seemed like the only logical conclusion.
Then he met Deus.
The memory made his jaw tighten slightly.
After that—He had wanted to punch the bastard in the face.
No, that wasn't it.
Then...he wanted to die again.
Then…
Then?
Then Circumstances had changed and the desire had faded. Or perhaps it had simply been buried under other things.
His brow furrowed slightly.
Every time he got close to his original goal, something new appeared.
Something that distracted him.
His parents.
His little sister.
Jamie.
He was buried under the weight of other peoples expectations.
He felt…
Actually, he didn't know what he felt.
On the surface, he would not mind dying again. Even if that would prove difficult. But he was a bit too invested now to let himself reach that level, if he was being honest.
Excuses flooded his mind.
Curiosity.
Questions he still wanted answered.
The strange hunger he felt for understanding this world.
He exhaled quietly.
What did he truly want?
For a long moment, he had no answer.
Across the table, the fox watched him with interest.
She finally broke the silence.
"I didn't expect you to think that deeply about it."
Elias slowly sat down in the place she had occupied before.
She poured herself another cup of tea.
Golden steam curled upward between them.
"I saw glimpses of you, you know," she said casually.
Elias looked up.
"What?"
"During our little fight."
She took a sip.
"When you counter-predated me."
Her eyes gleamed faintly.
"I saw some of your memories just as you saw some of mine. Stuff like that goes both ways."
She tilted her head.
"Your previous life. Your current one. I saw flashes of both and I must say,"
She set the cup down gently.
"You are a truly pathetic existence."
Elias looked up at her.
"You are like an insect. You move based on your current situation. No egoistical ambition. No fire. No want. No real purpose besides existing for a time before you inevitably bite the dust."
She held up a hand before he could speak.
"That is fine. For an insect. But you are not an insect."
Elias stared at the steam rising between them.
"I understand, you're trying to fill that void by living for those around you."
She leaned forward slightly.
"But how can you love your neighbor…if you don't love yourself?"
A breeze slipped through the open window. Golden petals drifted softly into the room and for a long moment, Elias said nothing.
'Does it matter? Any of it? Whether I am an insect or a pawn or something else entirely. It's all null in the existential calculations of creation.'
But…
He did not finish the thought. The fox stood up and burried her hands in the sleeves of her robe,her sandals clicking softly against the floor.
"Until you discover what you truly want, this life will be just as meaningless for you as the previous one." She looked down at him.
"So."
She smiled again.
"Might as well start somewhere."
Her eyes glinted mischievously.
"Help me find my tails."
She gestured behind her.
"I already have four."
"Two more and I'll be able to steal the Concept for a short time."
She raised another finger.
"More tails, and I could steal its Idea."
Her smile widened slightly.
"Its Notion."
Then softer—
"Its Abstract."
She leaned closer.
"You can't really appreciate what I've said with Deus' hand upon you so you need to free yourself before you can even think about it. After all, Freedom is an expression of self-love."
Elias looked at her for a long moment.
Then he stood up.
"If you stab me in the back," he said flatly.
"I'll add you to my hit list."
She gasped dramatically.
Then placed both hands against her cheeks, tilting her head in an exaggeratedly cute pose.
"You'd punch this adorable face?"
"With pleasure."
She laughed. Then she dug her nails into her palms. Crimson blood welled up, glittering against her dark skin. She extended her hand.
"You will help me find my tails. I will steal The World from you."
She paused.
"Deal?"
Elias drew the Obsidian Dagger across his palm. The blade drank the light as it bit into his skin. Blood dripped onto the tatami mats.
He took her hand.
"Before that," he said.
"What's your name?"
She scoffed.
"An existence like mine isn't bound to existential chains like names."
She shrugged.
"Though it would be convenient to have."
"How so?"
Her grin returned.
"Become my partner and I'll teach you things."
Elias considered this for a moment and frowned.
"I can't just keep calling you 'fox' all the time."
He thought for a moment. The memory of an oriental legend rose in his mind. The legend of kyubi who had been hunted similar to how the fox he was making a deal with was hunted. Crazy how similar she was to that one. But he was not that fox. She was a fox that needed a name.
Elias made his decision. Behind her, the water outside had begun to ripple faintly.
She suddenly frowned.
"You should hurry. Someone is trying to wake your body."
Elias nodded once.
"Alright."
He tightened his grip on her hand.
"Ok."
"We have a deal."
He looked directly into her eyes.
Her eyes widened as the pact was sealed before she could protest.
Waves crashed against the Torii gate. Golden blossoms spiraled through the air like a storm of light. The palace trembled and the stars themselves seemed to shiver.
History had repeated itself.
Once more—
The World had given a Divine Beast a name.