CHAPTER 1 : Spirit Creatures

 

One thousand years ago, there lived a magical creature known as the Yamata no Orochi. An 8 headed and 8 tailed serpent, no bigger than a cat which resides in the mountain area in Japan, just lying there asleep. Nobody truly knows the history behind the birth of this creature, but the people believed that it was a gift from the deities that the Yamata no Orochi is the embodiment of good luck itself. Sure enough, everyone who came across the Yamata no Orochi had great wealth and luck. As time goes by, people from around the world travelled everywhere just to find it to obtain good luck and wealth, be it for honest needs or selfish needs. The breath of the Yamata no Orochi gave birth to magic, the supernatural and mythical creatures all over the world. People started having powers, with spirits of creatures residing in their bodies. People who are born with a spirit creature within them are known as Vessels. Some use these powers to fight evil. Some use these powers to commit atrocious crimes.

 

Little did they know, the Yamata no Orochi had been feeding on the human’s selfishness, arrogance, cruelty, greediness, violence and aggressive behaviour. Year by year, it started growing in size until its body was long enough to cover 8 peaks and 8 valleys. It was then when it moved for the first time in hundreds of years. It stood up, with its 8 heads soaring in the sky, and let out a loud roar. Having fed enough energy for the past few hundreds of years, it is finally ready to terrorize the world. Many people tried to stop it with their new found magic but to no avail. There were also a group of people who worshipped the Yamata no Orochi as a God and believe that the humans are finally paying for the atrocities that they have done. Anybody who went against it died a brutal death. It was said to have an unlimited amount of magic. It was so powerful that everyone just gave up on attempting to fight it and hope that they will survive this era.

 

The Yamata no Orochi terrorized the whole world for a hundred years, burning the world down over and over. The humans have lost their place in this world. Only those who submit to the creature will get to live. When all hopes seemed lost, 4 heroes emerged out of nowhere to face the unstoppable creature. They possessed one of the most powerful legendary spirits in the world. One with the spirit of a dragon, one with the spirit of a phoenix, one with the spirit of a qilin (white tiger), one with the spirit of the black warrior (black tortoise). Realizing that the Yamata no Orochi cannot be killed, together they managed to seal the Yamata no Orochi within a magical box and kept it hidden from the world. Despite being sealed in the box, its magical essence lived on in the world, permanently granting the world with magic everywhere. Nobody had seen the heroes since. They just appeared, defeated the Yamata no Orochi, and disappeared into thin air. Nevertheless, their victory and their legendary story spread across the world and into the future.

 

 

Year 2019

 

Four hundred years had passed since the Yamata no Orochi was sealed, and the world was given a chance to rebuild. Peace had once again returned in this world and everything that was destroyed by the Yamata no Orochi had returned and had been advancing faster than ever. And so is the new young hero.

 

“Out of the way! Out of the way!!” A lady wearing formal clothing with a unicorn shaped handbag dashed past the crowd and into an office building. She reached the office just in time for the secretary to call out her name.

 

“Kim Jennie!”

 

“Here!” She raised her arm and entered the room.

 

Opposite her, sat the CEO of this office, reading her resume. “You said in your resume here that unicorns are real and I can make that happen.” The man pointed out before squinting at Jennie. “What is this doing is your resume?”

 

“Because unicorns are real and I can make it happen.” Jennie spoke confidently.

 

“…” The man blinked his eyes a few times before voicing out. “This is a job interview.”

 

“Yes I realize that. You asked me to list down my skills and I did. That’s a skill that I have.” Jennie said.

 

“I don’t care if you can summon a unicorn or a koala bear. This is a job interview for an office job, not for a circus.”

 

“But I can-”

 

“Get out.”

 

“But I’m not done y-”

 

“I’m done. Get out.”

 

“...” Jennie let out a deep breath and stood from the seat. “It’s alright, I didn’t like this place anyway.”

 

The man was shocked at Jennie’s change in attitude. “If that’s how your attitude is, you’re not going to get far in this world…”

 

Jennie blinked her eyes blankly back at the man. “You better watch your mouth, mister. As far as I’m concerned, I do crime fighting for free. At least I’m doing the city a favour. You however, sit here with your tummy bulging out, overwork your employees, and just waiting for the money to be deposited into your bank account every month. And with a tummy like that, it looks like you won’t be getting far either, and I meant it literally.” Jennie turned and walked towards the door. As she turned the knob and pulled the door open, the man’s voice halted her.

 

“Yeah… Just go home and ride your stupid useless unicorn to wonderland. What a complete waste of my time.” The man mocked Jennie.

 

Hearing that made Jennie stop. Her breath got heavier. She then pushed the door close once again before locking it. “…”

 

Noticing this, the man questioned her. “What the hell are you doing!? I said get out!”

 

Jennie faced the man and glared back at him. “What did you just say about my unicorn?”

 

“...” The man gulped as he noticed the change in Jennie’s tone. “I-I’m calling the security!” He reached for the phone. As he was about to dial the number, Jennie engulfed her index finger with a rainbow coloured magic aura and blasted the phone with a magic bullet, earning a shriek from him. “Eeek!!”

 

Jennie walked silently towards the man with an expression as cold as ice. “…”

 

“S-Stay away from me!” The man was frozen in fear.

 

As Jennie stood in front of him, she placed her magic coated finger on his forehead. “I’ve had enough people mocking unicorns again and again and again and again. I don’t care if you’re the CEO of this company, or CEO of this world. You say that one more time, I will put a magic bullet through your head, you hear me?”

 

The man was on the brink of tears. “Y-Yes… I’m sorry… Please don’t hurt me…”

 

“...” Obviously Jennie never thought of harming him at all. She just wanted to scare him. Seeing how afraid the man was, Jennie chuckled a little out of amusement. “Hahaha…”

 

Seeing Jennie’s chuckle made him feel relieved. The man sighed loudly and joined Jennie’s laughter. “Aha…haha…”

 

Instantly, Jennie shot a magic bullet towards the cabinet, piercing a hole through it and ending the man’s laughter, once again earning a shriek from him. “Eeeek!!!!!”

 

“No, seriously. Don’t talk smack about unicorns. Remember, unicorns are real.” Jennie shot a smile at him. “Have a nice day.”

 

“...” The man could only blink his eyes and watch Jennie exit him room silently in confusion and fear.

 

Jennie sighed out loud as she exited the office building. “You’d think people would take unicorns seriously in a world full of magical creatures. Apparently not… Maybe I should just find a career in the circus. People would appreciate unicorns more at the circus.”

 

As Jennie was walking past a bank, a magical air brushed past her face which halted her. “A Vessel?”

 

Inside the bank, she saw a group of robbers pointing guns at the workers there. One of them had a spirit of a gorilla floating above him. Jennie walked into the bank, alerting the robbers. “Could you guys please stop?”

 

“Huh?? Who do you think you are, punk!?” Two of the robbers pointed their guns at her.

 

Jennie didn’t look intimidated at all. She looked strangely calm when she had guns pointing at her direction. “Look, just put your guns down and also that guy over there,” Jennie pointed at the Vessel. “Please keep your magic. Do that and nobody else will get hurt.”

 

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What can a little girl like you do to us??” One of the robbers said before pointing. “Our brother here possesses the spirit of a gorilla! How can you even hope to hurt him!?”

 

“Oh? You’ll see how I can hope to hurt him.” Then, Jennie’s body started releasing a rainbow coloured magical aura, alarming the robbers as they stepped back a little.

 

“A-A Vessel!?” One of the robbers exclaimed.

 

“You picked a wrong day to rob the bank…” Then the spirit of a unicorn was formed above Jennie. “I will show you what pain is.”

 

As soon as the robbers saw the spirit of the unicorn, they looked at each other and started laughing out loud. “A unicorn!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Is she serious!? You will show us what kind of pain?? HAHAHAHAHA!!! Hey hey can you make me a cotton candy too?? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

 

“...” An angry vein was seen visible on Jennie’s temple.

 

“What can you do, missy!?” The Vessel robber laughed. “I have super strength!” He demonstrated by grabbing an employee at his neck.

 

“!!!” Jennie was shocked at his gesture. “Stop this!”

 

After laughing for another time, the Vessel used his strength to toss the employee onto the wall effortlessly. “What do you have!?”

 

Right before the employee could crash onto the wall with great force, Jennie aimed her hand at his direction and stopped him from the impact. His body was floating just inches away from the wall. She slowly placed the employee back down and glared back at the Vessel with the gorilla spirit. “You were gonna hurt him…”

 

“So what!? You don’t like it, come at me then, Miss Unicorn! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” The robbers started laughing all over again.

 

“Go ahead and laugh. Laugh all you want.” Jennie had an unamused expression. “By the time this fight ends, all of you will have your heads plunging into the wall, and you…” Jennie pointed at the Vessel. “Will have all the bones in your body broken into bits.”

 

This angered the robbers so much. They started shooting at her out of anger, and Jennie just held one hand up. To their disbelief, the bullets stopped inches away from her and fell onto the ground. “What the-”

 

“Still using normal guns and bullets? What era do you live in?” With one swipe of her hand, the bullets flew back towards them and shot the ground just inches away from their feet, causing them to hop in shock. “Let me show you real bullets.” Jennie coated both her index fingers with her magic aura and shot a series of magic air bullets in a finger gun gesture that pushed the robbers all against the wall behind them. With a of her hand, she released a powerful magic force that caused all the robbers’ head to plunge into the wall and knocked them unconscious.

 

Angered, the Vessel then charged towards Jennie and attempted to punch her. As his punch reached towards her, Jennie twirled her finger and caused his own punch to land on his own face. His nose broke immediately from the impact of the punch as he grabbed it in pain. “Arghh!!!!”

 

She then raised two fingers and caused the ground beneath him to raise and knocked him up towards the ceiling, squishing him to the point where he couldn’t move anymore. “Help!!”

 

“Maybe I’ll squish you a little more.” Jennie raised her fingers and squished the man even more into the ceiling.

 

“Ouch ouch ouch ouch!! Stop!” He cried out in pain.

 

Jennie then raised her brows. “Stop? That’s not what you did when I told you to stop earlier.”

 

“Please let me go!” The Vessel begged.

 

“What should you say?” Jennie asked.

 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please let me go! It hurts!” He shouted in pain.

 

“What’s the strongest creature in the world?” Jennie asked.

 

“Unicorns!” He screamed.

 

“What’s the most magnificent creature in the world?” Jennie asked again.

 

“Unicorns! Unicorns! Now let me go, please!!”

 

“What’s the most beaut-”

 

“Keep your magic and put your hands behind your back!!” Suddenly the police appeared behind her and pointed their guns at her, intercepting her.

 

Panicked, Jennie tried telling them. “Wha- wait! I’m not the robber here! They are!”

 

“I said put your hands behind your back!” The police shouted.

 

The next minute, Jennie was already on her way to the police station. She was sitting outside of the room, waiting for someone else.

 

Then a lady came out of the room and stood in front of her after giving her statement. “Looks like you’ve done it again.”

 

Jennie looked up. “Hey CL.”

 

CL shook her head and sighed. They then left the police station and went back home. As CL tossed her car key on the table, she voiced out. “What were you thinking, Jennie??”

 

“I stopped the robbers. What do you think I did?”

 

“You tore the bank down.” CL added on.

 

“They’re not going to make us pay for it anyway.” Jennie retaliated.

 

“That’s not the point.”

 

“Look. I stopped the robbery. I saved the people from getting hurt. The bank was ugly anyway, they needed some renovation works too.”

 

“You have no right to say that after destroying it! Not only that, how did your first job interview go?” CL asked.

 

“I don’t even like an office job. They don’t even care about whether or not you have skills in magic.”

 

CL rolled her eyes. “Right. Is that why you threatened to shoot the CEO on his head?”

 

“No I did not. Where did you hear that rumour from?” Jennie asked.

 

“Don’t even try to deny it. I read the report.”

 

“And so what if I did? It was just a prank. I wasn’t even going to shoot him for real. That’s his fault for calling unicorns stupid and useless.” Jennie felt angry all over again.

 

“Damn it, Jennie! You’ve just graduated from university. You’re entering a whole new world of adulthood. How can you still be so childish!?” CL scolded. “I’ve gotten you out of trouble with the police for god knows how many times because of your childish acts! Bailed you out again and again and again! Do you still not see that I care for you!? That I care for your future!?”

 

Jennie immediately raised her voice. “You’re not even part of my family! You have no right to speak to me this way! Shut up! You know nothing about me! You’re just someone who I stay with!”

 

“Oh yeah!? If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be under that bridge I found you at! I raised you for years and let you live with me because I chose to do so. I brought you in because I saw a bright future ahead of you! Not a troublemaker who doesn’t learn from any lesson!” CL shouted back.

 

“Then I’m sorry for being a disappointment!!” Jennie stormed into her bedroom and crashed onto her bed.

 

CL sighed and followed her into her room, looked at Jennie and sighed once again. “…”

 

“I hate unicorns… Everyone is just treating me like a joke because of this.” Jennie mumbled into her pillow.

 

“I don’t treat you like a joke. In fact, I like unicorns.” She then sat on Jennie’s bed. “You know that not everyone was born with magic right?”

 

“Mhm…” Jennie mumbled into her pillow.

 

“Do you know how spirit creatures form in different people’s body, Jennie?”

 

“Yeah, because of the Yamata no Orochi monster right… I know that story. What are you getting at?”

 

“No, I’m not asking you about the existence of magic. Jeez, does nobody study about spirit creatures anymore? Everyone is just using them and not knowing what their spirits actually meant. Alright, let me make it simpler. Out of millions of creatures out there that you could have had, do you know why your spirit creature is a unicorn?”

 

“What, because I’m childish? Is this your way to prove your point that I’m childish?”

 

CL let out a small chuckle. “It’s because you’re pure and innocent, Jennie…”

 

“Riiiiiiiiiight…” Jennie rolled her eyes sarcastically. “Pure and innocent. That explains why I’m so short tempered and always cause trouble and oh, let me quote you, always being bailed out of the police station too. Please…”

 

“Just so you know, everyone that’s born with magic was born with the same spirit creature. You think the 4 legendary warriors in the past were born with legendary creatures like dragon or phoenix? Because as a new born baby, everyone is the same. Pure and innocent. So their spirit creature will by default be-”

 

That sentence piqued Jennie’s interest as she finished the sentence. “Unicorn…”

 

CL smiled. “Precisely… But spirit creatures are not permanent as it’s a reflection of the person. As time goes by, people grow up, they gain more memories and experiences, and that’s when their spirit creatures start evolving or take another form and they gain a completely different power. But you however… had unicorn as your spirit creature from the day you were born till now. You’re one of a kind, Jennie. Your mind may not understand it, but your heart knows the truth.”

 

“…“

 

“Now let that sink into your mind… You may have done many things that’s not exactly acceptable in society, but whatever you did, you did with your heart full of purity and innocence.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder how can you understand spirit creatures so well when you’re not a Vessel yourself.”

 

“I’m a professor who does studies on spirit creatures, Jennie. I don’t need to have one in me to know. I just need to read… a lot.” CL chuckled and let out a deep breath. “Jennie… You’re a really strong girl. Anything that gets in your way, you’ll just push your way through it. You won’t avoid it. You always face them head on, and I love that about you.”

 

“What are you trying to imply?”

 

“You’re destined for great things, Jennie… Every challenge and danger you will face from now on, you’re destined to conquer them all.”

 

Jennie squinted. “What do you mean by that?”

 

CL chuckled and stood from the bed. “Get some rest.”

 

Jennie shook her head. “I’ve stayed with you for so long, and yet I still don’t understand you sometimes.”

 

“Good night, Jennie.” CL smiled.

 

“Alright then… Good night.”

 

The next morning came. Jennie walked out of her room yawning. “Morning, CL! What’s for breakfast?”

 

“…” There was no reply. CL was nowhere to be seen in the living room where she usually is in the morning.

 

Jennie then walked towards CL’s room. She knocked on the door. “Hey, time to wake up, sleepy head.”

 

“It can’t be…” CL voice was heard from inside her room.

 

“???” Jennie was confused. “What? What can’t be?”

 

“Stop!!”

 

Jennie sensed something was wrong. She started knocking on CL’s door furiously. “What are you talking about, CL? Open the door.”

 

“Stop! Don’t do it! You don’t know what you’re dealing with here!!”

 

“Hey CL, what’s going on!? Open the door!!” Jennie turned the knob furiously and knocked on the door harder.

 

“Stop!!”

 

“I’m coming in!” Jennie took a step back and landed a kick right below the door knob to break the door open.

 

“Gaahhh!!!!” CL was flailing her arms about on her bed.

 

“CL!” Jennie ran towards CL and held her arms in place. “Hey! Hey! Wake up! It’s just a bad dream, it’s just a bad dream!”

 

CL shot up awake immediately, gasping for air and pushed Jennie towards the wall violently, shocking her badly. “I said don’t do it!!”

 

“Hey, hey! It’s me. It’s Jennie. It’s just a bad dream. It’s just a bad dream. Calm down. Breathe…” Jennie told.

 

“…” CL was still breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

 

“It’s just a bad dream, alright? You’re alright.” Jennie convinced.

 

“No… It’s not…possible…It can’t be…” CL pulled herself away from Jennie and started looking around in a panic manner. “It’s not supposed to happen… It can’t be… It can’t be…” CL mumbled to herself.

 

“What?? What are you talking about, CL?? What is not possible? You’re scaring me!” Jennie started panicking.

 

With her breath still heavy, CL’s eyes rolled towards Jennie, her eyes looked frightened. She then grabbed Jennie’s arms tightly in a sudden jerk, shocking the latter. “Don’t let them get to it first! You have to find it! It’ll happen again… It’ll happen again…”

 

“What!? Find what!? What is happening again!? What are you talking about!?” Jennie raised her voice in concern.

 

With frightened tears in her eyes, CL mumbled, “The apocalypse.” and then, her body fell onto the ground, unconscious.

 

“CL!! CL!!!”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Jennie stared at the unconscious CL laying on the bed in the ward and faced the doctor. “How is she now?”

 

“Her body is very weak. Her organs are all weakening one by one. I’ve never seen someone with this kind of condition before. It’s really a bizarre occurrence.” The doctor told.

 

“What do you mean bizarre? Are you saying that she’s going to die?”

 

“...” The doctor sighed. “I’m afraid that you may have to prepare for the worst.” And left the area.

 

Jennie sat by CL’s bed and started asking questions by herself. “Had you been sick all these time? Why haven’t you told me anything about your health condition? And what was the dream that you had? Please tell me already…” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Please just wake up already…”

 

After spending the night there with CL, Jennie returned home and went into CL’s room. She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her head. Something about what CL said disturbed Jennie a lot. “What did she mean the apocalypse is happening again? What did she ask me to find?? It’s frustrating… There has to be something that she’s hiding from me.”

 

Jennie then started searching everywhere in CL’s room for some sort of clue until she came across a locked drawer. She couldn’t find the key to open it, so she summoned her magic powers. A white aura coated her finger and flow into the keyhole, unlocking it. Inside the drawer was a black book. She took it out and started flipping the pages. Surprisingly, it was blank. There was nothing on the covers, nothing on the pages. “This book is awfully suspicious… There’s no content at all and yet it’s locked inside the drawer? Just what is the significance of this book, CL?”

 

Jennie held onto the book, figuring out for hours about the significance of this book, flipping it over and over. Then she looked at her own hand and thought of something. She coated her hand with her magic and placed it on the black book. To her surprise, words started appearing on the cover. “What the-”

 

The cover of the book had 2 words. “Dear Diary”

 

Jennie frowned. “CL’s diary? Did she use a magic pen to write this to conceal the contents?”

 

As Jennie flipped the cover over, the pages that were used to be empty now contain words. She read the contents immediately. Many pages where it was just her in her normal daily life but one page caught Jennie’s attention.

 

Dear Diary,

Last night, I had a nightmare. I was standing on the top of a hill, watching as the world around me crumble into dust from the wrath of the Yamata no Orochi. It was a really bizzare dream to have since the Yamata no Orochi was gone for hundreds of years. It was weird because everything was too detailed. The actions, the movements, everything was played clearly in my head. The smoke, the heat, I could feel them all on my skin. I could hear the screams of the people. I remember them clearly in my head. Buildings being blasted to nothingness, I saw everything. I could only hope that it stays as a dream. I wonder why do I feel that my body became weaker as soon as I woke up. Maybe because I didn’t get to sleep well?

 

Reading that page made Jennie feel uneasy as she continued flipping to the next few pages. Then, she found another page that caught her attention.

 

Dear Diary,

I had another nightmare last night again, also with the terrorizing of the Yamata no Orochi. But there was a difference this time. A lot of buildings that were destroyed in my previous nightmare were still intact in this dream. Again, I woke up with sores all over my body. I had difficulty breathing and felt a sharp pain on my stomach. Why does it happen every time I have a nightmare about Yamata no Orochi?

 

A few pages later.

 

Dear Diary,

Last night I had yet another similar dream, Yamata no Orochi terrorizing the city but with even more buildings intact. Why do I feel that these nightmares seem to in a reverse sequence? I couldn’t help but to feel uneasy. I had a thought… That… But it couldn’t be… right? It just can’t be… It’s not really returning to terrorize the world right? Since it’s locked by the most powerful magic box. I need to get some rest. I feel nauseous and my headache is getting worse.

 

A few pages later.

 

Dear Diary,

It happened again. The nightmare… As I deduced before, the nightmare this time was a stage before the Yamata no Orochi started destroying the city. Just it rampaging its way towards the city. This got me thinking… Was it all just a coincidence? Or was it a premonition? Could my next nightmare be of the Yamata no Orochi being released from its box? This thought is really making me insane. I don’t feel that I can think straight. My body is in pain. My brain, heart, lungs, kidneys… I feel pain all over. What is happening? This pain… this nightmare… This has to be some sort of a very bad omen. If my next nightmare comes, I would really lose my mind.

 

When Jennie turned to the last page, her eyes widened in shock from what she saw. There were two maps with a cross at the center. “W-What are these…” She gulped in horror. “Are these…the locations of the box and the key?” Jennie was confused, because there was no context at all. Just two maps and a cross in the middle.

 

Jennie kept on staring at the book, questioning everything she just read. “Even though these were all just her dreams, it’s actually pretty convincing. She kept everything a secret because she didn’t want to be seen as insane… She must have had a nightmare last night according to her deduction. That’s why she was panicking so much yesterday morning and told me to find it…” Jennie then looked at the maps with the cross on them. “Is this the ‘it’ you’re telling me to find? Is the Yamata no Orochi really going to be released?”

 

CHAPTER 1 : Spirit Creatures

END