Page 96 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“We have done our duty to ensure Auslin’s victory in the future,” Tatsuki answered for his son. “We leave the rest to you, dear daughter.”
“What will my mate need it for?” Kitsuki pressed, turning to his sister.
She waved his question away. “We will speak of such things later.”
Tatsuki’s skull tilted, as if listening to something beyond their perception. “Our time to return draws near. We will take this last chance to say that you both are our pride and joy.” He paused before adding, “Tell Kisano we are sorry for not recognizing his brilliance sooner. He has also made us proud, and not only because his dragon has emerged.”
“I told you so,” Kizoshi gloated.
Tatsuki’s booming chuckle echoed. “Ahh, we have waited so many centuries to hear you say that. We would have been wise to listen to you more.” Though Tatsuki could not smile in his skeletal form, the warm glow of his fatherly approval radiated through his words. “Give this to Kisano.”
A book materialized above Tatsuki’s hand, floating down to Kitsuki. The leather had a metallic purple sheen and the same mysterious markings as the black diamond sword. “What is it?”
“Our son deserves to have the greatest library in Talwyn. That is the only extant Beyond Realm text in the Living Realm, which makes his collection superior to all others. It is our gift to show him the affection we should never have withheld from him while we were alive.”
Kitsuki was touched on his older brother’s behalf. “This will mean a great deal to him, Father. Thank you.” He sent it to join the sword in his cabinet.
“The three of you are the best parts of me. It was a blessing to be a father to you. I regret we do not have more time.”
“And what about Kio?” Kizoshi asked with a wicked grin.
“Like Mitsuki, we cannot be proud of a child who has hurt so many people.” Tatsuki’s attention shifted back to Maseo. “We apologize on our son’s behalf for the trauma he inflicted on you in the name of love. Do not hold Kio’s sins against Kitsuki. He is more of a man than Kio will ever be.”
Maseo bowed low. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I know Kitsuki would never abuse me in the same way.”
“Let him care for you as his dragon demands.”
Kitsuki scowled at his father’s comment directed at the half-wolf shifter.
“Do not resist your dragon, son. Not when he knows the right course of action,” Tatsuki advised. “Send our love to your mate. Our only regret about our brief return is that we could not reunite with him. He changed our life for the better, and we will always be grateful for his pure love for you.”
The peaceful moment shattered as an eerie laugh echoed across the clearing. “What a touching family reunion,” a voice said, dripping with malice.
A lichen skeleton larger than Tatsuki’s advanced in armor that gleamed with unnatural light. A green soulflame pulsed within its ribs.
“We look forward to a rematch in the Beyond Realm after our children have destroyed you, Ishibiya,” Tatsuki declared. “We will defeat you there and banish you to the deepest circle of hell in the Blightmare Vale, once and for all.” With that, the red light of Tatsuki’s soul winked out. His skeleton collapsed into dust, scattering on the wind as crimson embers.
Grief pierced Kitsuki’s heart at losing his father a second time, but he forced it aside to focus on the threat before them. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
“You should have known he was too strong to control,” Kizoshi taunted, shifting into an offensive stance. Her sword blazed with a fire that flickered between red and purple. “But that is far from the most foolish thing you have done tonight. We will enjoy making you regret joining sides with the likes of Nasume.”
Kizoshi launched herself at Ishibiya, her dragon wings carrying her high above the necromancer. With a battle cry that shook the trees, she brought her Divine weapon down upon his clavicle. The bones shattered with a crack that echoed through the clearing, but they rose again to reform.
“Your Divine weapon cannot harm me,” Ishibiya mocked. “I have transcended the natural laws that bind lesser beings.”
He raised a skeletal hand, and the earth beneath them trembled. Fissures opened in the ground, from which poured not only skeletons but also half-formed abominations, their bones fused with rotting flesh and writhing with maggots. The stench of decay filled the air as the creatures lurched toward them.
Kitsuki met them with cold fury, his blade severing limbs and skulls, sending souls back to the Beyond Realm. Maseo fought by his side as they cut through both bone and putrid flesh. The half-wolf shifter moved with deadly grace, carving through the undead horde, but Kitsuki could see the strain building in his movements, the way his breathing grew labored with each passing moment.
Yet for every monstrosity they destroyed, three more rose to take its place. The endless tide of lichens threatened to overwhelmthem with sheer numbers. Kitsuki’s muscles burned with exertion as he carved through the relentless assault.
“You waste your strength when I have harvested the power of tens of thousands of souls to fuel my magic.” Ishibiya raised both skeletal hands above his head. The sky darkened, reality itself seeming to warp and bend. “I command the power to rewrite the very laws of life and death.”
From his outstretched fingers, tendrils of green energy snaked outward toward Kizoshi, who deflected them with her Divine sword. The magic sizzled against the blade, leaving scorch marks on the indestructible metal.
Kitsuki attempted to circle behind the necromancer, but Ishibiya sensed his approach and blasted him with necrotic energy that struck a tree behind him, which exploded into ash that rained down as gray snow.
“I grow weary of this game,” Ishibiya declared. “It is time to claim what was promised to me.”
