Okami: A Thousand Suns

The Return

By: Parabellum

Cover art by: Ookamina

Author's Note: Hey guys, Parabellum here. Well I'm relatively new to this community as well as novel writing in general, even though I have experience in creative writing. This is my first "true" fanfiction novel that I have started to work on. I do hope that it is ok and that my presence is worth to everyone. I'll update this every three chapters or so. Anyways, please enjoy!

It was a warm, sunny day on the land of the Celestial Plain. The leaves from the cherry blossoms were gliding in the air from the warm air propelling them. Under the largest cherry blossom, laid a lupine; with a coat as white as snow followed by stripes of bright crimson markings in a symmetrical pattern like art. Hovering above her back was a spinning disk exhuming bright colorful flames as hot as the sun's rays. Snuggled beside her was a small cub, the child of the sun. The wolf was staring off into the distance of her home, which once was lively. Full of friends that she used to play with. But ever since the great demonic cataclysm, she and her child are the only ones remaining. The loneliness of the Plain used to be unsettling, but as time passes you get accustomed to the emptiness. Yet today, Amaterasu felt disturbed in her peace. A deep feeling settled within her soul as her fur flowed with the movement of getting up from her spot under the tree. She was pondering the possibilities of her next action as her cub had stopped playing in the Plains as well. From the Celestial Plain, she was able see every single corner of the universe. She eventually triangulated the source of the disturbance to a familiar world, Nippon. Even though she had not visited those lands in a millennium, she still watched how humanity had grown ever since she left, how machines started to become a norm in their lives and how they started to lose faith in the goddess. Amaterasu felt the presence of darkness grazing the mortal lands, a familiar sight that she hoped to never see again.

Amaterasu gazed upon Nippon for a little while longer and then gazed back at her pup. Chibi already knew what was going to happen and had settled by the tree. Even though the lands looked peaceful, she knew that she had to patrol it once more to make sure. Deciding to do so she stepped down to Kamiki Village, the very beginning spot of her previous adventure centuries ago. After giving Chibi a last glance and what she saw made her godly heart ache. Even as she seemed to be in a natural patch, the nature on it was sullied by the surrounding devastation. Seeing her powers sprout new and healthy greens underneath her gave her some sort of sense of comfort.

The sky was starless, only a black void and a purplish mist fogged up the air. Kamiki Village looks vastly different than what it used to be. It no longer resembled an actual village, but rather a large metropolis. She was now lost in the sea of an advanced, decaying concrete jungle. The buildings were almost hollow and boarded up. The streets look like they haven't been cleaned in years. Just barely visible over the horizon were a few very tall buildings that looked like they were scraping the empty sky. To her that indicated that it must be the heart of the "village". There were also large, metallic walls on some of the streets that completely blocked off access to the other sides of various streets. They also came equipped with watch towers, as if they were trying to keep something in, or out.

Amaterasu cautiously started to scavenge the city for any clues that may at least point her in the right direction to sort out the catastrophe. She also needed to find the guardian sapling to remove the dark negative energy from the surrounding area and bring back the divine light of the sun. The most unnerving aspect for her is the lack of a companion like she used to have, she was a lone wolf in this case. When Amaterasu turned the corner onto the next street, she was relieved to see four men standing next to one of those metallic wall-like checkpoints that cut through the buildings themselves. The men appeared to some sort of authority figures based on their uniforms and equipment. Three of them were wearing navy blue overalls along with armor plating on the chest and shoulders, with the addition of a metallic mask covering their mouths, a holographic blue visor displaying information, and a steel cap. The other man wore a distinctive red trench coat along with the same armor, mask, and visor, but he wore a taller helmet with a small spike on the top of it. He also had a firearm resembling a pistol holstered on his chest. Along with a very modern looking katana sheathed on his left side like the other men have as well.

Amaterasu assumed that the man in red was in charge, however she didn't know how to approach them nor was she certain that they were friendly. The men then started conversing something which Amaterasu listened in to.

"So how long are we going to be standing here for? We have been guarding this post for the past 8 hours!" One of the lower guardsmen complained.

"We will be standing here as long as we need to. There has been an uptick in lawbreakers and curfew dodgers in this district recently so stop asking me these idiotic questions!" The red officer replied bluntly.

"Ok I get it, but it's not like they're dangerous or anything since we can easily chop them up. Unlike those...things that are outside the city."

"Well then if you're looking for some action then I encourage you to go out there and show them who the tough guy is!"

Amaterasu wondered what he meant by "those things outside the city". It must be demons for sure, she thinks. The silence was abruptly interrupted when a small whistling arrow hit the pavement hard in front of the guards from above. The guards stumbled in surprise and then proceeded to run towards the impact area while drawing their blades. Amaterasu also got ready for a potential fight, but she had no idea where the source of the arrow was located. The guards then started circling around the area while making threatening statements in an attempt to demoralize and to draw out the enemy. That went on until suddenly one of the guards' head seemingly detached from their body, followed by the second guard's head that popped like a watermelon. The same event happened to the other two in the blink of an eye. Their headless corpses plopped down onto the pavement simultaneously, with blood that had only just started to seep out. After they fell, a black figure appeared in front of them from thin air. The figure was humanoid, it was wearing all black clothing that consisted of a hoodie, sweatpants, shoes, and fingerless gloves. It had a grey book bag slung over its left side and was resting a short blood-stained blade on its right shoulder. The most noticeable detail of the figure is its sleek-black avian-like tail feathers protruding from behind. It was some sort of avian species, like the sparrows of the Sparrow Clan Amaterasu encountered before.

Without hesitation, Amaterasu leaped towards the avian and landed in front of him. Growling, snarling, and baring her fangs, she demanded the mysterious avian to reveal its identity. Her wish was granted when the avian turned his head towards her, revealing his big black beak and large glowing blue eyes staring into her soul.

"Don't worry pooch, you can have them for dinner tonight."