My Kitsune System-Chapter 23: The Riddle

There was an overwhelming presence of dark aura within the room. It attacked Dan immediately after he entered the room. His heart felt as if it was being squashed.

Blood began to drip from his nose and his eyes turned bloodshot. The dark aura pressed down on him heavily.

Why is it this heavy?

Dan decided to do the only logical thing he could think of. He immediately activated his one tail. As he did his eyes began to glow and they turned into a slit. The aura around his body sprang up and pushed the dark aura away and kept them at bay.

Dan could finally breathe now. His heart still hurt but not as painful as before. He gathered enough energy and rose to his feet. He activated his Spirit sight and headed to where he had seen the dark aura gathered the most.

As Dan navigated through the house he noticed the living room had a television and some chairs. Not only that but he saw some pictures as he moved around the house. Some were drawings and pictures that looked quite old. Some of the pictures were in black and white.

He had also seen a figurine of a goddess at a part of the house that seemed to be a mini shrine.

Dan began hearing some whizzing sounds in the house. It was coming from within the house. He started walking toward the room.

His senses tingled as he got closer to the room. On the walls of the room, he had also seen some pictures here of a girl and an older-looking woman.

As he got to the room he could see the room had a monitor in it. It was still beeping showing that the person was still alive.

Around the monitor were some drugs, injections, and a drip that was connected to whoever was on the bed. Dan got into the room and got a little closer to get a better view of the person.

Lying on the bed was an elderly-looking woman. Her once grey hair had now turned white. The wrinkles on her forehead were overlapping to the extent one would think they were ridges. Her hands were so thin that with a little snap, they could be broken.

The elderly-looking lady kept on whizzing now and then. After Dan had gotten a better view of her face, he had noticed that though she had a think aura of darkness around her.

He noticed that she wasn't the one generating that energy but someone or something else was.

Dan knew whatever was causing the dark aura within the apartment was within that room but he couldn't see it.

As if to resonate with his thoughts, he noticed the shadows move. But they did only for a second.

There is a Demon here. But it seems to be hidden. But where is it hiding?

"I know you can see and hear me"

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Dan got no reply but then he noticed the shadows rippled again and ran to one part of the room. They then began to climb one another and formed a kind of image. It was an image of a man. The image seemed very huge and menacing. But no matter how big the shadows grew, they stuck to the wall.

"And what if I can?" Dan heard the shadows speak.

Good thing it talks

"I would like to ask you to leave her alone," Dan said as it pointed toward the woman on the bed.

I hope she's on the quest.

"Haha," an eerie laugh echoed through the room.

"And why would I do that?" the shadows spoke again.

"Because I need her to be well as I have some business with her"

Another laughter roared through the room. The shadows began to shake and also ripple. They began to grow a lot bigger now. It grew so big that it had almost engulfed Dan.

"Tell me then" it began, "do you know who I am?"

Dan didn't know him so he didn't bother to lie about it.

"I don't know you"

"If you don't know me then why has a little fox come before me?"

"That's because I was sent on an assignment and it entailed making sure that she's healed," Dan said as he looked at the woman on the bed.

"But then what if I don't want to leave then? what would you do?"

Dan stood there puzzled.

It knows I can't attack it in that shadow form

Dan's face had now turned grim.

"Just like I thought"

"How about I give you a chance little fox? So, you see am a kind of demon that feeds on the souls of people"

"The stronger the soul, the more nourishment I gain. But you see this woman is old and may not provide the nourishment I require. I would have to consume her soul and that of her grand-daughter to be satisfied for a while"

So it feeds on others to survive. Is that what I might become? depending on others to survive.

"Okay, how do I fit into all this?"

"There's no need to be in a rush little fox. The thing is I want to give you a chance to save them. But then for that chance, I would need something in exchange"

"What would you want in exchange?"

"Your soul of course. It's far better than these two mortal souls. But then I am not wicked not to give you a fighting chance"

of course it wants my soul

"Okay, what is this chance you are talking about?"

"I will ask you a riddle and if you can answer correctly, I promise to leave the two of them alone but then if you fail" the shadow grew bigger as if trying to stretch its hands to reach Dan.

"I get to eat your soul"

"So you get to eat my soul and their souls too?"

"Yes, of course"

glutton

"I do not agree with that," Dan said.

"What don't you agree with?"

"You get to eat all three souls"

"But then I won didn't I"

"Yes, you won but I have a different proposal. Why don't we wager on my soul instead? you win you have my better-nourished soul but then you let them go. If I win you let us all go?"

"Hmm but that doesn't feel proportional now does it?"

"Why can't I have all the souls if win but then you get to keep all when you do?"

"Well, let's say you have more rewards in this game than I do."

"How so?"

"You get to eat a soul, not just any soul but then my soul and I'm sure you can tell that my soul isn't just any mortal soul "

"True. It is not just any soul"

"But then if I win I only get to save two people and I don't think that really favors me"

"Hmm, I see. If I get to keep your soul sure why not."

"So then can we begin?"

"Yes, so this my riddle"

"I can't be seen, but I shape what you do. I can't be held, yet I weigh upon you. I'm both fleeting and endless, yet I can't be rewound. I'm given to all, but never the same. What am I?"