Bab 3: Chapter 2: Fox God

If you want references for this chapter, just read Sewayaki Kitsune No Senko-san.

*****

"So this is death, huh? It feels so serene...", Miles' voice echoed as a bright ball of yellow light now stood in an endless corridor, black as the deepest abyss. It was obsidian all around him. Not the metal, but just how dark it was. It was almost he was now in the void itself.

Miles now no longer felt any pain. Quite the opposite in fact. His mind and body felt free from any prior constrictions. Yet it was obvious he could no longer feel his arms or legs moving. His mind remained clear, and he couldn't glance around due to having no eyes. It was just as if he was merely existing.

It's not like he couldn't see though. Everything was present all around him, appearing all at once. It wasn't much to look at considering everything around him was pitch-black.

Miles saw that he was now a ball of light, just sitting still in this dark, dark place.

"And here I thought I would be brought to Heaven or something. Maybe this is god cursing me to dump me down here. But what is this place exactly? I don't think it's Hell. Hell should be a lot more domineering and unforgiving. There's no one around here for that matter either. It's almost as if I was...in some sort of void?", Miles had to wonder to himself.

"That would be a correct assumption to have, wanderer. It would appear you have come to this place by mistake. Only those wrought with misfortune can stumble upon this domain of mine.", A voice suddenly called out to him. This voice reached the very depths of his soul, striking all around him. If he still had ears, it would be a constant ringing noise striking the backside of his brain, unable to let it go away. In a way, this voice was much worse than a pounding headache.

"Ugh...", Miles's voice uttered, trying some way to speak back to the imposing voice that just spoke out to him. Yet for some strange reason, he found no one. He appeared very much alone inside this place.

"Though upon a closer look, mayhaps you have experienced a rather large stroke of bad luck. Perhaps you were meant to come to this place after all. Allow me to give you a little push, my child. Come to me.", The imposing voice spoke back to miles, but its tone quieted down just ever so slightly to where the irritation Miles was now feeling had dampened. Miles's mind turned clear again, and all of a sudden, deep inside this abyss-like void, a faint yellow light appeared in the distance.

"I see a faint light now...Is that where you are trying to bring me to?", Miles wondered, uttering to himself. Almost as if it was the light at the end of a tunnel, he saw a glow in the far distance.

Miles felt no response after he asked that to himself, so he could only make a single conclusion, and that was to head toward the light in the distance. As he thought that, a gentle wind passed by his soul. It felt very soothing, and as much as he wanted to enjoy this new sensation, Miles felt his soul start getting pulled in a particular direction. It was toward the light in the far distance.

Seeing that he could move now, Miles's soul mustered enough energy to move toward the light. Miles didn't know how much time he had spent in this place before the light grew closer and closer. He had lost all sense of time while staying inside that dark void. It was contrary to his expectations as he was expecting to see Heaven in the afterlife, and not this place.

'Well, at least it isn't Hell. Or I don't think it is anyways', Miles thought as the light grew brighter and brighter. Before long, his surroundings were soon engulfed in a golden light entirely, and he left that place altogether.

What replaced his surroundings was now an empty white space. Large orange torii gates could be seen scattered around floating, and endlessly. They stretched onward and onward toward infinity.

Miles couldn't help but look around at this place. It was very different to what he had originally anticipated.

"What exactly is this place?", Miles asked, confused as to what he was currently seeing.

"Ease your worries, my child. You are now in the presence of the Divine Fox Messengers. I will say this now, but your soul has managed to find this place after passing away. It is no easy feat to do so.", The imposing voice said, explaining the situation to Miles.

"Divine Fox Messengers?", Miles said, only to look around. Sure enough, in the endless white space with the ceaseless torii gates, he spotted many foxes in different shapes and sizes, mostly red. But there were definitely other colored foxes who seemed to be playing around mischievously.

"Indeed. The many foxes you see here seek to eliminate a person's darkness. And you, oho, you mustered quite a bit of darkness in those measly twenty eight years that you were alive. The latest one unfortunately had claimed your life, subsequently bringing you to this place. Perhaps a way to seek solace, yes?", The imposing voice asked Miles. His gaze saw many foxes playing around, jumping close by the endless toori gates out of happiness.

"Come here.", The imposing voice said again, drawing Miles further within. He soon arrived at a throne-like structure, and his gaze landed on one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life. Even the popular dress-up models that would receive awards paled in comparison to her beauty.

She boasted a voluptuous figure and had plum-colored hair. Two plum fox-like ears stuck out of her head, appearing very fluffy to the touch. Four large bushy tails could be seen sticking out of her butt, also plum-colored. But each one had white fur at their tips. She was wearing a red kimono, which was not often seen in modern day. It hung loose over her torso, which revealed her glistening shoulders and healthy skin. She was currently holding an ancient pipe that she was currently smoking out of, allowing it to rest in her arm. It appeared as if she had used it for eons.

"And you are?", Miles asked with a polite tone, not expecting to see this beautiful woman before him. She spoke in an archaic tone, making her appear a lot older than what she actually looks like.

"Ah yes, you can address me as Yozora. I also go by different names. Many people like to call me Inari, or the Fox God. I watch over all these children here to make sure they don't lose their way. Though it certainly sounds like you were destined to come here. Welcome to my domain.", Yozora said, introducing herself to Miles.

"So you watch over this place then. You mentioned you task these foxes with eliminating a person's darkness. I won't lie, there were many unfortunate scenarios that happened to me in my life, and I just had my fourth car accident, which claimed my life. I guess it was enough to come to a place like this...", Miles uttered, recalling what had just happened to him.

"You are an astute one. Any of those previous car accidents should have claimed your life, but you squiggled your way out each time. The fourth one though. That caused enough damage to claim it. As you wandered here, I took a few moments to purview your life. It would seem misfortune wrought you no matter where you went.", Yozora mused as she observed Miles.

"Was it that bad? I will agree I had my fair share of bad luck, but if you put it that way, it sounds a lot worse...", Miles murmured, recalling what had happened throughout his life.

"Be as it may, it was enough to allow you to reach my domain. It was reaching the point where you would have been assigned a Divine Fox Messenger, but alas, the breaking point claimed you before one could be dispatched. It isn't frequent we get wandering souls here.", Yozora said, further explaining the situation to Miles.

"Still, from the way you explained it, I can assume this place is equivalent to Heaven, but for those who have reached a certain level of bad luck?", Miles guessed as to what this place was.

"Umu. You can see it as such. 'Tis is not Hell. That domain is ruled by another God. I am the Fox God.", Yozora said, officially introducing herself to Miles.

"The Fox God...", Miles uttered softly, taking a moment to observe the beautiful woman before him. "I see. Regardless, I am here now. So what comes next?", Miles decided to ask the godly being sitting on that throne-like structure. Taking a moment, Yozora brought her pipe to her lips, and took a puff, letting some smoke escape from her lips...