The Temple of Artemis(Pre-Event/Intro Thread)

[Amaterasu]

In Coruscant, near the portal that leads to the Nexus...

It was quite good timing from the spirit - or perhaps coincidence - that, just the instant that Amaterasu lifted her foot to step through the portal leading her back to the Nexus, the center of this universe she had landed in, was when she was summoned.

Out of nowhere, the ground just... disappeared, the Sun Goddess yelped as the sensation of falling overtook her and she plummeted into the black void. How strange, this isn't how it felt when we got here... she thought after the initial shock and flipped herself forward so that she was falling by her belly downwards. Maybe that was because she had been in that transport vehicle on their way to Coruscant? Or did those portals function differently? She continued to fall, oddly enough not feeling afraid at all, until out of a sudden the void opened up into a white surface. Amaterasu reflexively lifted her hands to guard her face from the impact, but as opposed to hitting it hard she just... landed on it. No pain, no injuries, not even a scratch on her forearms. After recovering from the initial shock she pushed herself to her feet. This isn't the Nexus, is it? Maybe the portal didn't lead me back to where I wanted to go then? It was then that she spotted the ghostly figure near her, and the temple-like structures all around her, including the statue. As she dusted herself off a bit she listened to the spirit who introduced himself to her and explained that she had been chosen.

"Valiance and honor as a fighter?" She asked and gave the spirit a warming smile. "Surely there are better warriors suited to this task, Hero Teucer. But that is not to say that I wish not to help you... quite the opposite. No spirit should have to live in unrest. I shall aid you in retrieving these relics if that is what is needed to bring peace to your soul, and allow you to pass into the afterlife." What she did not say was that the relic the spirit was promising her as a gift were not interesting her much. Neither the spirit nor the statue behind him looked like people from her homelands, thus it was unlikely that he was in the possession of her Reflector or the Blade of Kusanagi. Lost in thought like that she only just noticed that there were others there, other individuals which she presumed were who the spirit had spoken of as recruits. Of course... she would not be going alone through this.

It was only then that she noticed that her Yasakani no Magatama were missing. Attempting to recall them or summon them did not yield any results either, as she noticed when attempting either, but the two golden ink pots were still by her waist. So Tachigami is still with me, huh... his Power Slash will be of great aid if my prayer beads are gone, she thought to herself. She'd worry about those later, for now she would have to speak to the others to see if she could find any individual with similar goals to herself, someone she could ally with. But first, she turned to the spirit.

"I would have a number of questions if you can spare me the time, Hero Teucer." She adressed the spirit whilst approaching him - though if he made any indication that he wanted her to stay away she would stop in her tracks. "First... suppose that any of those that came here were to die - would the same curse befall us that is keeping you in this plane? Would we be unable to move into the afterli- oh, I mean... would we reincarnate, I believe that's what I was told that would happen around here?
Second... I suppose that there is no way you have not already tried, but could your spirit be sent to the afterlife without the relics you ask of us to collect?" She put a hand on her chest as she explained. "Having hunted oni for a long time I am familiar with exorcism techniques, I could attempt to sever you from this world if that individual - Warlock you named him I believe? - did not use magic stronger than mine.
Third... why is it you were cursed, of all people? Did this Warlock hold a grudge against you, or was there perhaps... a reason you wish not to share?" As she asked this her face momentarily turned serious. She was attempting to get a reaction from the spirit - who said that he was not lying to her? He could just as well be a dark beast who needed the relics to recover its full power. If it were such, surely a hesitation in his voice, a scrambling for words or even just a momentary twitch of his eye would reveal the truth. But then the sunny smile returned to her face as she voiced her fourth question.
"And lastly, this is for more... personal benefits, I admit. Did the night sky happen to lighten up with a number of unusually bright stars recently, perhaps in a cluster even? Or perhaps as you are a spirit, might you have felt any strong spiritual presence in the sky recently?" Could it be that one of the Celestial Spirits was waiting for her here?

Just to prevent confusion: the "golden ink pots" are fluff, they represent Amaterasu's SP.

Translations:
Oni = demon(s)