Excalibur, Caliburn and the King of Knights

[Amaterasu]

Though the sun was high over Nippon, the thick clouds hanging above Laochi lake were blotting it out so much that it could easily be mistaken it for dusk. However, a closer look revealed the rays of sun peeking through where the clouds were thinnest, like a ray of hope. And a yet closer look showed that the clouds were thinning further, allowing more and more sun through.

“Look...” one of the people said that were standing near Laochi lake. The villagers of Wep’keer had gathered by the shores and kept their heads lowered for prayers to the Sun Goddess. The sky who had been obscuring the sun for ever since they could remember, was now clearing up. And it could only mean one thing: the demons occupying the Ark of Yamato, the enormous sunken starship lying in Laochi lake, had been slain. The clouds were indeed dispersing and disappearing into nothingness.

Then the cheering started. It could later not be said who it was that had begun, but after a few seconds everyone was screaming out their happiness, throwing hats into the air and hugging each other. After having spent all their lives under the shadow of the demons, never being given so much as a peek at the sun, they were unimaginably happy.

At the same time within the Ark, Amaterasu stood over the corpse of her opponent, huffing and struggling to stay on her feet after the intense battle. In her right hand she held the Kusanagi no Tsurugi - the sword which she had delivered the final blow with moments ago. It had been a fight harder than anything she had gone through before - Yami, the leader of the demons, had been the hardest opponent she had ever faced. But she had defeated him... and she had cleaned his evil from Nippon, with the help Wep’keer’s villagers who had prayed to her, and the skills she had gained throughout her journey. “It is over...” she spoke into the empty room.

“Indeed it is.” A voice spoke behind her. Amaterasu turned her head and winced from the injuries covering her now human body, but with the sword for support she was able to face the speaker without collapsing on the ground. Wakka, the helmsman of the Ark of Yamato, was standing at the entrance to Yami’s room, and smiling at her.

“Yami is dead.” she spoke, stating the obvious. “I have cleansed Nippon from his evil, and that of his demons. It is now up to you to fulfill the end of your bargain, helmsman.”

“Of course. I have made a promise after all.” He turned to leave the room, but waited for Amaterasu to limp after him. “You have defeated the demons on the Ark, now I will return you to the Celestial Plain, along with the other Gods. Well, what few remain among them, that is,” he added with a snicker.
Amaterasu wordlessly followed him back to the center of the Ark and from there to the rooms where the Gods had remained in hiding as Wakka headed for the helm to return the Ark to a functional status.
“Yami is dead... Wakka will bring us home, but make sure that he brings us home safely. I... need to lay down for a while.” Little did she know that those would be her last words to them, as she moved to one of the empty beddings, laid down and rapidly fell into a deep slumber.

When she woke up, Amaterasu found herself in a dark, empty space... empty except for a white featureless individual that was looking at her. Where am I, she wanted to yell. Who are you - are you a demon? But, no words escaped her mouth.

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse.”

What? Had she been able to she would have interrupted the figure at this point, but still no words escaped her mouth. And the figure spoke on regardless.

”You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

Rules... a world... what was this all? She had at first thought this to be some stray demon she had failed to slay in the Ark of Yamato, but it seemed too real for that. Oddly enough it reminded her of her first minutes in Nippon, when the Sprite Sakuya had awakened her from Shiranui’s statue - she had been told where she was and that her help was needed, then sent off... but before she could continue that thought process, the figure produced an orb and handed it to Amaterasu, who hesitantly took it.

“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

Without it, you are nothing... with it, anything you desire can be yours. The words resonated in her head as she looked at the glimmering orb. But once more her thoughts were interrupted by the figure’s words.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.
“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

Everything went dark once more... then there was light.

Amaterasu had to blink several times to adjust her eyes to the blinding light that was shining down on her. Where had she... oh, right. The Omniverse... the white figure, the orb, the... slowly things returned to her mind. She had been brought here by this... figure. Omni. The goddess sat up and looked around herself. She was... up high, it seemed. Right above her was the open sky, with the sun shining brightly and not a cloud to obscure her vision. The edge of her view also caught the branches and blossoms of a cherry tree, and turning around revealed that she had been laying against the roots of said tree. There were two streams of water coming from either side of her, forming an island in the middle as they joined up into a larger stream that went down along the side of a paved pathway. It seemed that she was on a hill, a mountain maybe... and judging from the shrine next to the path and the lanterns put on either side of it, this was a place of worship.

The Goddess returned her gaze upon herself and to her delight found that she still had her human body - although she was stark naked. This was almost like her awakening at the shrine to Shiranui, in Kamiki village, except that here nobody was coming to her aid. But... she held her hand out, palm up, and eyed it. Perhaps she could reproduce the rainbow orb she had been given? “Anything you desire can be yours”, the white figure had said. She hrmmed and attempted to reproduce the dress she had once worn with a waving of her hand. Nothing. Didn’t work that way, huh? Well then... she closed her eyes, crossed her legs, folded her hands and focused. An outsider would have seen a praying shrine maiden, however Amaterasu was attempting to reproduce the clothing she had worn when given human form during the fight with Yami. Not that she knew it very well, she had only worn it for a handful of hours, but...

The time ticked by, and Amaterasu remained focused. She heard the water splashing around her, left and right, down along the hillside and likely into a waterfall or some bigger pool at the foot of it. It was a calming sound, and it washed away her worries and fears. Perhaps this was a new incarnation of herself... yes, this was quite possible. She had died on the Ark of Yamato, succumbed to her wounds without realizing it, and had become reincarnated at the hands of the white being. Omni. He must’ve called for her because he needed her for something around here, surely. Perhaps the Omniverse was infested with demons, just like Nippon, and she had been called to lift its curse? Was the Ark of Yamato just one of many vessels that the demons had come to various worlds with? Wakka had always been secretive about that part...

The soft clinking of stone hitting stone made her open her eyes. How long had her meditation lasted? The sun was still at its zenith, it had not moved a single bit... but before her was a neatly folded set of clothing, quite like what she had worn in her final hours on the Ark of Yamato. She spotted minor details here and there, but in total... yes, that was it. And the clinking noises? She turned her gaze to where she had heard the noise from and her face brightened up as she saw a necklace of Prayer Beads laying there on the pavement before the shrine, which she was sure had not been there before. She exhaled her stress and pulled the clothing on piece by piece, while also taking note of the red markings on her shoulders and chest. Had those been there before and she hadn’t noticed them? She remembered them having been on her body when she had been in wolf form, on Nippon... the marks of a goddess. But the dress covered them up when she put it on. The marking on her forehead on the other hand would have to remain visible.

Next up was the necklace. Amaterasu simply stepped over one of the water streams that shaped the island she had woken up on and picked it up from the ground to place it around her waist. Jade magatama beads, a total of twelve... it was just like the Exorcism Rosary she had found in Nippon, though it appeared to lack a linking chain. That was something she would have to look into at a later point in time... she folded her hands and bowed in front of the shrine in a silent thanking to whatever sprite or deity lived here. Then she turned to the pathway and began to walk down the slope, towards the foot of the hill. This was odd... everywhere she looked she only saw white, and small things in the distance. This world was certainly strange. But, surely that would all reveal itself in due time. She focused on the path ahead for now - and on the pleasant sight that where she was stepping, plants were sprouting from the ground, just like before. So she still was a Goddess.

Speaking of which - what of the Celestial Brush? She stopped in her tracks and reached for the ink-dipped hair flowing down her back, then set her eyes on a large boulder. She raised her hand and painted a straight line into the air, so as to use the Cutting technique. But, much to her surprise, no ink was drawn into the air, her power remained the same, and the boulder stood firm as ever without the slightest scratch on it. She had recovered her Brush techniques in Nippon, why was this place forcing her through a fresh start once again? Not to mention that there was no Celestial Sign far and wide, with it being the brightest day with no hint of darkening anytime soon. In frustration she thrusted her hand forward, still holding her hair-brush, in an attempt to draw a stab. Instead one of the Prayer Beads from her belt separated from the others on her belt and flew forward like an arrow, piercing the stone a little and remaining stuck there - and Amaterasu gave a surprised yelp, jumped back and let go of her hair. What was that just now? The bead... that was one of her Rosary Divine Instrument techniques. But how... she waved her hand and the bead lodged deep into the rock turned transparent, then flew back to rejoin the others on her belt, attracted by her force. They hadn't done THAT before... she looked down the path, then shook her head. Leaving this place had to wait. She had to try this first...

... and try she did. For several minutes without break did Amaterasu fire her Prayer Beads using hand motions, until all twelve were expended, then recalled them and started anew. She broke a few against the solid rock, but found that she could materialize new ones if that happened. Though they looked like the Divine Instrument she had wielded once, they functioned quite differently now - and she had to explore these functions if this place was anything like Nippon and holding demons. Finally, when the rock's once smooth surface was covered in little craters where the beads had hit and pebbles were all around its base, Amaterasu finished and looked back at the path. The physical exertion and training had quenched her frustration, and she had the clarity of mind now to think. So what of it? Her Celestial Brush, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi - the Sword-, the Yata no Kagami -the Reflector-, were gone? She would just have to recover them. Once more the words of the white man passed through her head... "With it, anything you desire can be yours." She had already recovered the Yasakani no Magatama, the Prayer Beads. She had no idea how much of this rainbow-glowing energy - Omnilium - she needed to use to obtain them, but she would get there, however long it took her. With this thought she rose to her feet and more proudly marched down the path, once more leaving grass and tree sprouts wherever she placed her feet.

She was Amaterasu, daughter of the God Izanagi and Goddess of the Sun. Whatever challenge she was presented with, she would overcome them.