The Cursed Iris

Sprout 46: Solar Dragon Slayer or Sun Goddess Amaterasu

Natsume stared at Amaterasu, and she took in every detail about her. Silky black hair, fair skin, orange eyes that looked like sun, and the kimono she wore mesmerized Natsume.

"You're staring," Amaterasu said.

Natsume snapped out of it. "Sorry, it's just that you're so pretty."

Amaterasu laughed, "Aww thank you so much. Anyways Natsume how about we have a talk?" she asked.

Her laugh basically welcomed Natsume, "It was you," Natsume realized, "you were the one who was with me when I was alone in that forest."

"I was. I watched over you my dear. I knew that if you were found by anyone other than the one I blessed with my Regalia. Tsubaki was a close friend of your mother's, and she was a very capable wizard to help you get stronger," Amaterasu wore a smile. "Natsume you really have grown."

Natsume blushed. "Listen Amaterasu there's something that's been bugging me."

"Yes what is it my dear?"

"Well there was something that Ayame had told me that has really been bothering me."

"It's about the whole me leaving Takamagahara thing isn't it?" Amaterasu's smile melted. "Well that Hokusai man wasn't wrong. I did leave Takamagahara, but not for the reason he stated."

"What was the reason then?" Natsume asked, but she felt like she definitely knew the reason as to why. She saw Amaterasu's expression. "It was for me, wasn't it?"

"Well yes, but technically no. I had left Takamagahara because I had received a message from my father stating that the Iris will make another return, and my next vessel will be the one to aid her on this journey. That was my primary reason for that, but it took me over seven hundred years to find my perfect vessel."

The sun beamed down on them, "There was also another reason for me to leaving," Amaterasu mumbled. When Amaterasu said that the air grew cold.

Natsume sat down, "The other reason I had left was because the state of that realm was deteriorating. I couldn't stay there after the way the lost singularity was handled," Amaterasu said.

"Lost singularity?" Natsume asked, visibly confused.

She waved off the question, "Another story for another day," she said. "Natsume, I don't know if you know this or not but once the three siblings are reunited we are to reset the three realms. There's some gods who are against it, but it's bound to happen."

"What do you mean reset the three realms?"

"What I mean is destroy then recreate. The destruction of this version of Ashihara has already started with the situation my brother has started a few decades ago. Although premature the reset has begun."

"And my birth along with my sister started it as well, didn't it?" Natsume asked with a somber tone.

Amaterasu nodded in response. "It became even more prominent when two sets of twins were born. You, Miyuki, Arthur, and Jeanne; you four were also the reason why the culling of the slayers began."

Natsume began to cry. "But why? Why did they do that when I was only a child? I didn't even get to choose my own path before I lost basically everything that meant the world to me."

"Natsume I understand where you're coming from, but it was already determined from the beginning on how your life would turn out."

"All for what?!" Natsume yelled.

"Because you were chosen to be my vessel Natsume."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have chosen me, nor my sister and we probably wouldn't have been in this situation," she choked. "I can't believe that I'm the reason as to why a whole race of people were killed."