The Chains That Bind You

The realm of the Sugiura had been a realm of peace and quiet. It was a mostly neutral place, full of life and vibrance within its various hierarchies and classes. Each area kept to itself in matters of containing serious matters or government, but they worked together in terms of making sure that the realm as a whole remained vibrant and full of life. There was a long period of time where those within believed themselves to be the most successful and stable of all realms, where they believed their mostly contained method o f taking care of business kept them above and beyond all others, even powerhouses such as the demon realm, or the seireitei itself ... But it was too good to last. Time flows like the perennial river. Time rides the crest of a wave in the sea. Time sleeps and wakes up. Time walks and Time runs. Time races and stand still. Time has future and past.. Time creeps and ticks.. It's day and night, darkness and light.. Time blinks like an eye, and it beats like a heart.. And Time can make anything vanish just as soon as it has come. No matter what one endures, no matter where one wanders, no matter how much one begs and pleads for time to simply stop.. It ticks on.

Prosperity was a thing of the past, these days. In the North, problems with the rapidly failing government had led to anarchy throughout the land, coupled with starvation and poverty. In the South, the Guardian Beasts lands had become so overgrown that finding any peace there seemed nigh impossible. The Guardian Beasts had, for the most part, resorted to primal attack dogs, resorting to their truly beastial routes as the South lands became hostile to any who weren't of their kind. In the East, silence had fallen over the land. Not a single soul had emerged from their place of living for weeks, and no one knew why. And in the West, there was nothing. People wandered, emptily through the streets, vaguely trying to carry on some semblance of a normal life as the world crashed down around them. With the destruction of the castle by another within the realm, and the large ice formation that followed, the shell-shock was simply too much for the realm, and it shut down without another word. This is how the Sugiura had been living, and this was how they would continue to live unless someone brought about change.

And change.. was what was coming.

It was just after 2am when it happened. A loud whining sound permeated the air, almost like a high-pitched buzzing, as if someone was drilling into something. It caused citizens of the realm to cover their ears, looking around for the source of the noise and scrambling in confusion. Some even thought they were going crazy, hearing things that didn't exist. The noise lasted for about thirty seconds, and then stopped entirely, leaving some people to wonder if there had ever even been a noise. But the proof of this came a moment later as a massive hole ripped open in the sky. Claw-shaped markings scratched downward as a hole in the very dimensional fabric that kept worlds apart opened up, revealing nothing but a black void within the hole, a swirling mass of chaotic energy that drew the eye of everyone on the ground below. Even those in the Eastern realm emerged from their homes to see what all the fuss was about. For a moment, it may have seemed as if this portal was the end of the parlor trick. But it was far from it.

From within the hole stepped a figure. She walked with a noble gait, each step pointed, decided, intentional, as she moved forward. Her long, flowing white hair reached all the way down to her ankles. This was about the same length, coincidentally, of the white robe she wore. The almost geisha-like tunic enhanced her air of nobility as she walked, hands folded behind her back. Her eyes were that of a light pink shade.. the first two, anyway. However, if anyone had been close enough to actually see the pale skin of her face, they would've noticed a vertical slit on her forehead that anyone with a brain could've guessed to be a third eye, closed, and hidden from view for whatever reason unknown.

Kameko Amakudari took in a deep breath, her normally calm expression twisting a bit into a mixture of disgust and pity for the world below her. The energy of her Amaterasu Eikyo form assaulted the open air, felt by those below even at her distance high above in the skies of the realm. She flexed her fingers behind her back before dropping them down to her sides. Long, claw like nails sparking slightly from the static surrounding her body as she looked down, gazing on the realm below. Her history here was.. vague. She remembered nothing of her time in this realm, only that she was once a proud knight of a by-gone era where nobility, structure, and royalty were things to be respected in a place like this. However, those times were long since past, and what she saw below her was remnant of a by-gone era. She saw disease. She saw filth. She saw a past she had no memory of, and a life she was glad she had left behind. Clearing her throat, Kameko spoke, her voice booming and carrying far beyond her location into each of the four lands, each visible from her heightened area.

"People of the Sugiura Realm.. You stand accused. Your puny sacreds, wretched guardian beasts, and faithless leadership cannot save you now.. 'Tis the tinder on which you burn."

As people heard this, their first reaction was that of confusion, trying to decipher what she had said as it carried through the air. The second reaction.. was to be expected. As people realized what she was talking about, fear ran rampant. People saw her as a threat, and those without any courage in their hearts ran immediately. A select few stayed, raising weapons in preparation to stand and fight should she come down to wreak havoc on their world. But descending from where she was.. had not been part of Kameko's plan. She looked straight down, seeing herself just above the Northern lands, where she had intended to end up. With a smile, she took a few steps back, adjusting until she believed herself to be centered. With a flash, her whole body began sparking, the very air around her crackling as thunderclouds formed, darkening the sky even further than the normal late-night air as the stars were seemingly snuffed out by the unpiercable cloud cover. Kameko stood just below these clouds, a figure of pure terror with a cheshire smile standing among rolling thunder and the crackling of electricity. Lightning pierced the sky, traveling back and forth from cloud to cloud as each bolt sent light scattering across the realm. In an instant, Kameko pointed downward. And then.. extermination. A bolt of lightning so immense that it could've only been described as the wrath of Thor himself split the air, traveling downward and making contact directly with the ground below in roughly 1/1000th of a second. If it had been a normal lightning strike, this might not have been such a big deal. However, it was anything but. As the bolt made contact, a massive explosion of electricity and reiatsu resonated outward, decimating everything in its path as it grew and grew, coursing electricity and energy into every person, object, and plant that it came into contact with, evaporating a good portion of it, and all within but a moment. And then, as soon as it came, it was gone, taking a good portion of the northern land's capital with it. The palace might as well have never existed with the damage done to it, only one tower remaining that wasn't rubble or completely gone.

With a satisfied nod, Kameko took a step forward, disappearing from her spot as her high speed movement carried her faster than should've been possible, allowing her to traverse the realm itself until she reached the Southern lands. The overgrowth of the area and the forested nature of its origin made her plan perfect. Her eyes flashed a bright white as she gazed down into the canopy, her vision extending and allowing her sight of what was below through the treeline as she picked a few places that looked the most dry of all the forestation. And with but a gaze to each, these places lit ablaze. The fire wasn't of natural origin. The black flames spread outward like a parasite, taking every bit of brush with them as they began to spread through the southern lands. Kameko nodded in accomplishment as she disappeared from sight once more. She was confident that the fires of the Kuroi Hono, known to be inextinguishable by normal means and everlasting by all accounts, would keep going until the forests of the Southern Land's center were nothing but ashes.

Re-appearing again just above the Eastern lands, Kameko extended her hands downward, earning looks of guilt, fear, and pleas for mercy from the citizens below. But Kameko didn't care. She had no love for this realm, and she knew of one who planned to rebuild it. She was just.. aiding the process along. And with that, two small orbs of white energy formed on her palms before unleashing their payload. A huge torrent of Kameko's "ethereal blades" rained down on the realm below, each causing a massive explosion in their wake. She moved her hands to guide these as she launched them, making sure she didn't miss a spot, so to speak. The look on her face was one of absolute calm. She was prepared for this, she had wanted to cleanse her past life for a very long time, and what better way to do that then a cleansing of the realm itself? When she believed the destruction to be sufficient within the Eastern capital, Kameko left, having saved the best.. for last.

As Kameko appeared above the Western lands, she scoffed. She could see where the castle used to be, the massive ice structure that now stood there was testament to the ignorance and poison of this place. Kameko shook her head, and with a sigh, extended her right hand. In the palm of it, a void appeared. A singularity which quickly turned into a swirling vortex of pure power. It took an almost orb-like shape before a series of white rings formed around it, spinning rapidly in several different directions as it gained power and speed. Kameko extended her other hand, another orb of similar nature forming, the two energies building and screaming, piercing the night sky with their power. Kameko spoke then, as sentimental a goodbye as she would ever give this disgusting place.

"Behold! Your Western Knight! What fruit have I wrought? What good have I done? Put your faith not in those who lead this realm, they will lead you only down the path of sacrifice, as you shall soon learn.. People of the Sugiura Realm, the time has come to rejoice.. and renounce your paltry gods! Your salvation.. is at hand!"

And with this, Kameko dropped both orbs. The black energy fell. It was, at once, impossibly fast and painfully slow. Those who looked on watched with bated breath as the orbs fell.. and when they made contact, the next occurance.. was utter hell. The energy ripped through the earth and the sky, tearing the ground below it to shreds as it completely obliterated everything in its path, decimating and slaughtering all who were unfortunate enough to be caught in this blast as it spread, and spread, until the Western capital.... was nothing but debris.

Satisfied, Kameko turned, waving her hand to one side as another tear in the dimensional fabric opened. Stepping through, Kameko let it close behind her, knowing that as it did so, so did any and all association with this realm.