Three times three and three.

Itori walked into the Sabertooth guild hall, once again trying to ignore the fact that she was entering a building which was floating several thousand meters above the ground. It was taking longer for her to get used to this little fact than she would have liked. At least she had gotten past the point where she was constantly worrying that the magic holding it up would fail and they would all be sent crashing to the ground. Now she just had to stop worrying that a giant storm would come past and they would be turned into cinders because every single lightning bolt out there would come at them, making the guild hall act like a conduit between heaven and earth.

Progress was being made in that direction though.

However that wasn't the main issue of today (it never really was). Today Itori had been told to visit the office of one of the Aces of the guild, the one who had drawn Itori's attention by virtue of being the first vulpine humanoid that the Kumiho had encountered ever since she and her sisters had left behind the rest of their kind. Itori had no idea whether Aiyana was also a Kumiho or whether she was from another species which also happened to have vulpine traits. It was a puzzle, and maybe Itori could use this opportunity to shed some more light on it. If she could find out the answer that would be great, although she wasn't sure what she would do with it. Whether Aiyana turned out to be a Kumiho or something else, what Itori might do once she knew was not something the current Itori could determine.

She doubted that Aiyana was very interested in that, however. The reason why Itori was called to her office was most likely because of the three tails that now swayed behind Itori. Three tails where for so long she only had one. And with the two extra tails Itori's magic power had increased significantly. She hadn't been with this Sabertooth guild for very long, but as the fox girl walked through the guild hall towards where she had been told she would find Aiyana's office she thought about how quickly those two tails had shown up after joining. It was actually a bit strange that she had lived for so long with only one tail. She should have gained more tails long ago...

Right now it however meant that Itori's magic power had gone up far enough that she could no longer be considered to have about as much strength as an apprentice human mage. The fox girl closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the air around herself shimmer as she allowed her magic power to take hold of reality and warp it for just a moment, showing what was not there and hiding what was. Since doing that for too long could attract attention she withdrew her magic quickly, containing it inside herself as she ascended several stairs. The Aces and the Guildmaster got the best rooms, which also resulted in them being higher up.

Finally reaching Aiyana's office Itori knocked, then waited several seconds before quietly opening the door and stepping in. Normally she would wait, but the fact that she now suddenly had three tails to deal with instead of one had made her just a bit giddy, and impatient. She hadn't ever really been the kind of Kumiho who thirsted for power above anything else, which is why she wasn't too worried that she didn't grow any tails after the first which she had possessed from birth. However the magic she gained as the two new tails appeared was coursing through her, making her feel as if she had been drinking just the right amount for the world to become wonderfully vibrant and lively. On one hand she hoped that the feeling would subside, since it was a bit difficult for her to stay focused and composed right now. On the other, this exhilarating feeling was something that she would miss once it left her.

The office was surprisingly tidy, at least that was Itori's first take. When she first met Aiyana she had been given the impression that the nine-tailed fox was a rather casual and cheerful personality, one who didn't sweat the details and the rules so much. But the office spoke of somebody who at the very least took the state of their homestead very seriously. Itori was humming to herself as she looked around, then quickly stopped once she noticed what she was doing, her tails swirling for a moment in embarrassment. She wasn't quite careless enough to justify letting her voice out. That would cause all kinds of trouble which would kill her current good mood rather quickly, and replace it with one of depression and disappointment. Her voice wasn't something she could trust.

Trying to shake that out of her head (literally) Itori looked for Aiyana, slowly stepping forwards into the office as her fox ears twitched and her three tails swayed behind her. No need to hide herself in here. Outside she always made herself look like a normal human, but in here she might as well display her nature as a Kumiho.

Aiyana's day had been a dull and boring one for the most part. Being an Ace came with a lot of work. Paperwork, sending and receiving messages, taking requests and finding the jobs to post on the job board. There was also the fact that they were also to do exams when the guild master was unable to be present for it. Such was the case with one of the newer members of Sabertooth; Itori.

The woman with a fox tail had peeked her interest, especially with how both she and Izayoi had joined the guild, and now Aiyana would have to do the girl's exam for her. She was quite beautiful, but either had no voice or refused to talk. Not that Aiyana would judge someone for their choices in that kind of matter, look at all she had done... Her thoughts would end as someone knocked on her door before entering shortly after; Itori here for her exam. Aiyana had sensed her magic grow since she had come to Sabertooth, as well as noticed that two more tails had grown around the same time. 'Maybe they have a connection...but I that would require a discussion I'm not sure she'd be willing to have with me...' Her thoughts would remain to herself as she watched the other beings reactions upon entering the clean room.

Many would expect for a place of hers to at least be a bit messy, but that was where many people were taken by surprise. She actually took pleasure in making sure she kept her place tidy, the looks on others faces were a sight to see when they compared mentality to cleanliness. It was then she got to hear the voice of the girl, though only in humming as she looked around before nervously reacting to her and shaking her head as if to clear her hear before stepping up to move closer to where Aiyana sat; tails comfortable splayed out in various directions.

"Good to see you Itori. And such beautiful tails, those two make you even more beautiful before. But that's not why I called you in today! The guild believes you're strong enough to be classified as a higher ranking mage, and wants you to do a test to prove yourself! I have two options for you to take. One is to go to the spooky forest with me and go through a small cave of trials. It's magical, but tests the one entering based on their own fears and life choices. The other is to go on a journey, on your own, and bring me back a few monster hides from the sleeping forest. Five would be good if you decide on that."

Aiyana had gave her an option of the two choices for her exam. One would play on her mind, while the other would allow her to test out her body and magic.

When Itori saw Aiyana she quickly stepped up to the nine-tails, really hoping that the other woman hadn't heard her humming. Her humming wasn't nearly as dangerous for others as her actually speaking, but it was still not something that she was willing to risk. Of course Aiyana wasn't your average person or even mage, so she most likely wasn't too badly affected by just hearing a couple of seconds of humming, but Itori had become rather paranoid about the trouble her voice could cause. Mentally she scolded herself over the slip, even if it was because she was feeling rather excited right now.

As Aiyana spoke Itori nodded and bowed, her tails spreading out behind her. She wasn't sure if Aiyana knew the customs of Kumiho, but for Kumiho to allow the other to see your tails, so they know how many possess and thus how powerful you are, was considered an important part of etiquette. With her three tails Itori would at best count as a Kumiho only slightly stronger than average. Itori smiled as she heard Aiyana compliment both herself and her tails, being equally proud of both praises. Her tails were a very important part of her, so they deserved as much praise as the rest of her.

Straightening Itori cocked her head as Aiyana explained the reason why she had been called here. As the fox girl had anticipated, it had to do with the fact that her magic power had been increasing steadily ever since she joined the guild, going so far as to allow her amount of tails to increase from one to three. This world and its mages might not know the relation between the tails and the amount of power a Kumiho possessed, but they could sense the actual magic one possessed well enough to realize that Itori was no longer so weak as to only fit in the lowest rank of mages here, the apprentices. Itori quickly nodded when Aiyana said that she would have to take a test to actually be allowed to rank up. That made sense, and Itori was looking forward to passing that test.

However first she would have to decide which test she actually wanted to take. Aiyana was giving her two options, and both had both their advantages and their disadvantages. More importantly, one would allow her to test her increased magic power, something which made her very enthusiastic, while the other might be more useful in the long run. Itori's ears twitch as she frowned slightly, looking thoughtful as she considered both options. She just hoped Aiyana didn't mind if she took a while to think about this, since it was quite the dilemma for her.

As Itori's frown deepened and she dug deeper inside her own mind to try and figure out what she should be doing Aiyana would get to see something strange happening around Itori. It appeared that the fox girl truly had yet to get used to this new level of power: around her the air started to shimmer as shapes and images started to appear, first rather vague, no more than warpings of the air, but slowly becoming solid enough that it was as if Itori was creating holes in the air from which to watch different places. Of course these were just illusions, created by Itori as she thought about the options laid before them, but if the Kumiho learned that she was allowing her illusions to just form like that without her being in control she would be quite humiliated.

One of the illusions showed Itori walking through a rather desolate area, from the looks of it the only person to be found in the entire landscape. She only had one tail there, and her sword was unsheathed. Itori herself also looked different, less expressive. Her face betrayed no emotion, and her eyes held nothing but concentration. Eventually the illusion had the one-tailed Itori encounter some kind of large monster, which was mercilessly killed by the illusionary Itori who confused the monster with illusions before stabbing it straight between the eyes. The illusion faded out of existence as the one-tailed Itori was dragging away the entire carcass by herself.

The next couple that appeared were all from different places and different times, and looking at the angle of the window and the way that it moved these illusions were formed as if the viewer was a person standing there watching the scene. The first was a village, desolate and in disrepair. There were no signs of actual danger or damage, but the entire village gave the impression of being a ghost town, abandoned and left to rot. The window moved as if the viewer was walking through the village, watching the state of the village while the entire thing emanated depression and sadness. Whoever it was that was walking through the village, they didn't like seeing it like this.

The second was of somebody running through a forest, and it was accompanied by the sound of somebody panting. Somebody who was quite desperate for something, continuing to run through a forest which looked like it would go on endlessly, with darkness closing in on all sides. This illusion lasted quite a while, the one doing the running in the illusion moving surprisingly fast, but the laboured breathing betrayed them: they wouldn't be able to keep going like this. The fact that they never looked back meant that they weren't running for something, but they were very clearly desperate for something. Trying to find something?

The third was by far the most violent one, as the viewer looked out over another town, a town where men, women and children alike were at each other's throats like beasts, tearing each other apart with madness in their eyes. The viewer was apparently hidden, since none of the maniacs paid any attention to them. Still, there was a kind of fear in the scene. It might be difficult to figure out, but that fear wasn't about those people killing each other like mindless animals. The fear was for the viewer themselves, as they were the ones who had made this happen.

More illusions appeared, as Itori's frown deepened. She looked worried at this point, folding her arms as her eyes were closed and the illusions kept changing, new windows opening as old ones closed. Eventually the illusions all faded away as the Kumiho opened her eyes again, looking at Aiyana with a wary expression as she touched the side of her head, indicating that she wanted the test which would challenge her mind. It was clear that considering the question had managed to remove any giddiness she might have felt, as she now looked a lot more serious. She had really wanted to test out her new powers, but she had the feeling that she might get more use out of facing the less pleasant parts of her mind.

All those illusions had been Itori's own memories, unknowingly to herself shown to Aiyana as she was thinking about them. Memories of things she had done and encountered which burdened her one way or another. And even though there had been quite a lot of illusions they had still only been a small portion of Itori's life, as she had lived for far longer than a human could imagine.

It was interesting to watch Itori think about her answer about which exam she wished to take. The silent person seemed to have something in there magic that allowed them to show 'visions' of someone, maybe her own past, as she sat there thinking. A series of these illusions went through, many of them distressing if one was actually in those current situations. These illusions went until the three tailed girl finally looked back at Aiyana with a wary expression and touched her fingers to her head, something Aiyana assumed was her answer being to test her mind for the exam.

"All right!" The two words were followed by Aiyana standing up from her relaxed position on the chair and finally bowing back to the other woman; tails reacting happily as they spread out to stretch. Nine beautiful tails would finally be revealed to the other woman, though not for any real reason other than they needed to move before they continued on. "All right! If you'll follow me we can use a lacrima and warp right to it!" Aiyana would walk by her, a few of the tails brushing up against her playfully before leading the way out and to the teleporting lacrima that would bring them right to the entrance of the cave she had mentioned not too long ago. Upon reaching it Aiyana would put a hand to it, activating the large crystaline object before speaking up to the fox girl. "Don't worry, there's nothing harmful about this trip. Nothing in the cave you enter will harm you, and this teleporter works perfectly. Trust me!" And with that Aiyana would push in the top of it, suddenly moving both of them into what appeared to be a very wet swamp.

The sounds of wildlife were all around them, birds and frogs making their mating calls for the world to hear, while the two of them stood at a gnarled tree; the cave directly in front of them. "In this cave is a small lacrima. Your task is to get it and bring it back to me. If you can do that, the guild will grant you the official title as a C rank mage. Just be careful, the cave works against your mind." With that said Aiyana leaned up against the tree, intent on remaining comfortable while waiting for the examinee to pass the test.

Itori was completely oblivious about the fact that she had just shown her own memories to Aiyana, not realizing that her increased magic power was having some awkward interactions with the fact that as an illusionist turning her own thoughts into reality through magic was part of her whole expertise. Unless Aiyana actually began to mention those memory bubbles the three-tailed fox girl would not have a single clue about what just had happened. Maybe it didn't matter, although it might cause trouble in the future where she might have to hide her thoughts a bit better than that.

The Kumiho nodded as Aiyana gave her agreement and stood up, Itori's eyes most certainly not missing the sign of Aiyana bowing and spreading all her nine tails. The Ace of Sabertooth was a being far above herself, at least if her tails had the same function as those of a Kumiho. In Kumiho society the only time that Aiyana would ever have to bow to a three-tails was if she was either honouring them, using it as a sign to other Kumiho that she respected this specific three-tails, or the three-tails somehow had gotten an important status without even being that impressive when looking at their raw power. It was most likely that Aiyana didn't know this, but Itori still felt a bit flattered at the idea of a nine-tail bowing towards her. That wasn't something she had experienced before. Her sisters had been respected for their talents, but Itori had always just been...the third sister. The one whose talent had forced her to become mute, thus making her even less remarkable. It was a kind of bad luck, although Itori had learned that not being noticed could be very useful.

Returning herself to the present Itori nodded again as Aiyana told her to follow the Ace. Although before she could begin to move after Aiyana the nine-tails brushed some of said tails against Itori, which made the three-tails suddenly blush. Okay, now she was almost completely certain that Aiyana didn't know a lot about Kumiho customs. That or she was a lot more forwards than Itori had thought her to be. The fox girl shook her head as she walked after the Ace, trying to dismiss that little accident from her mind. It was almost certainly just a thing done in jest, with nothing special behind it. Itori just watched the Ace from behind, her vermilion eyes inspecting Aiyana silently as she waited for them to reach the site of the test. She wasn't exactly looking forward to this, but it was something she would have to do.

The fox girl was fairly impassive to Aiyana's attempts to help her find a calm state of mind. She was already calm, preparing herself mentally for the test she would have to meet head-on. As an illusionist her mental discipline was strong, since an illusionist who could not keep their own mind in check would have some real trouble manipulating the minds of others. If one wanted to make it sound more mysterious than that they could say that one had to master oneself before they could master their enemies. Which made it sound a lot more dramatic than Itori really cared about. For her it was just that mental discipline was important because one had to be able to control their illusions with great precision, and leave no detail unattended. The target could escape through just the smallest flaw in the fake world that you created for them, so you had to be able to keep paying attention for potentially hours on end without rest without slipping up.

When they arrived at the location of the test Itori looked around, her eyes flitting across the scenery and memorizing it all so she could remember it. It wasn't a very good place to base an illusion on, but maybe she could later on use it if she just wanted somebody to feel like they had ended up in the middle of nowhere, with no memories of how they had gotten there. More importantly, Aiyana was telling her that she had to go inside the cave and retrieve a small lachrima, the fox girl nodding and turning around to face the cave. Once she was inside she would most likely be trapped inside illusions herself, powerful illusions which aimed to attack her own weaknesses. Itori felt a little envious, as being able to find the target's worst fears and exploiting them was a skill which she herself could make use of if she possessed it. Right now she could only observe and make guesses. She was fairly certain that whoever had enchanted this cave had made it so that it would just look straight into your mind. Maybe if she paid enough attention she could learn how to do that herself.

Aiyana was making herself comfortable against the tree, making it clear that it was time for Itori to prove her worth. The fox girl bowed towards Aiyana before walking into the cave slowly, her ears twitching as she looked around, vermilion vulpine eyes gliding over the rocky walls and ceiling, and the ground. It was dark in here, but her night vision was allowing her to still see clearly. At least, at first. The darkness was only getting heavier as she walked further into the cave, until eventually not even her eyes could catch enough light to see anything Itori frowned as she stopped for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next. Walk forwards? But she couldn't see. Looking around her eyes narrowed further. There was no light there either. She was already in the middle of the cave's trap. Holding up a hand Itori created a single fox-fire, the small pale blue flame barely managing to illuminate more than the three-tails herself. Pouring more energy into the fire Itori increased its luminosity, holding it up like a lantern as she looked around. Still nothing. The walls and the ceiling were gone, and the ground was now...earthy? Where had the stone gone?

The fox girl stared up at the sky. Those...those were stars, weren't they? How had she ended up back outside? And why was it night? It must have been the new moon, because it was so dark, and she could still barely see anything. Her nose twitched. Many scents, but where any-why did she smell smoke? It came from straight ahead. Itori held the fox-fire in front of herself as she hastened towards the source of the smoke, completely having forgotten about where she actually was and what she had been doing. The cave's illusion was a powerful one indeed: it had realized that Itori herself was an illusionist, one who knew that she would be dealing with illusions, so instead of merely showing her scary things which she could see through it had gone so far as to remove her memories regarding her location and purpose. That way she wouldn't be prepared for this, and even an illusionist could easily be trapped if they didn't know about it in advance and weren't wary for it.

First Fear: You Can't Go Home Again

As Itori continued walking towards the source of the smoke her surroundings became slightly brighter, the stars above beginning to illuminate the world below so she could see where she was. She was at the outskirts of a forest, a forest which she very quickly recognized and which made her come to an abrupt halt as she looked back at the trees. For a moment the smoke was forgotten, along with the question of why she was here and how she had gotten here. There were only three people left alive (so far as she knew) which would recognize this place. She had run through this forest quite often when she was young, together with her sisters. It had been a nice place, since the adults had made sure that there wasn't anything dangerous in the woods, meaning they could run around and play without having to worry about being attacked by wild beasts. Back then Itori had yet to become so focused on making sure her sisters were all right, because back then there was no need to be so concerned about it. The adults were keeping everybody safe, there wasn't anything which could threaten them, and as children they could just do what all children did. The only thing that was the same was that back then Itori had already refused to speak, as her abnormal voice had already been a problem back then.

She hadn't been here for thousands of years. It had been literally ages, and yet she could remember it all with a nearly frightening clarity and precision. However there was something different now, even if it was only subtle. The trees were the same, the ground was the same, and the night was just a normal night sky during a new moon. But for some reason the woods looked darker than normal, too dark. Even if the trees blocked out most of the light coming from above you should still be able to look past the edge of the forest before the darkness became too strong, but this time the trees seemed to be forming a barrier. Itori couldn't see anything beyond the first layer of trees, the entire forest blanketed by a thick shroud of darkness. She didn't want to see what was the cause of that darkness. She didn't think that her foxfire would be enough to dispel it, and the place was giving her a bad feeling. Actually, she just had a bad feeling in general. Some memories from her past, long ago, were resurfacing, and they weren't pleasant. However she couldn't just stand here. She had to keep moving, if only because that would get her further away from the woods.

Once again setting out to find the source of the smoke Itori felt her stomach complain, which usually was a bad sign. Being hungry was bad, but her stomach usually only complained like that if something was wrong. Her stomach was surprisingly good at predicting that kind of thing. Narrowing her eyes the fox girl kept walking, keeping up a brisk pace as she went straight ahead, her foxfire lighting her way so far as possible. Honestly she didn't need the light, as she could probably take this path while sleeping and with her eyes closed, but for some reason she wanted a source of light of which she was sure that it wouldn't suddenly go out. The smell of smoke was quickly becoming stronger, which made the three-tails worry. There was only one thing to be found ahead of her, and if that smoke was any indication, what she saw next wouldn't be pleasant for her.

True enough, eventually Itori reached the source of the smoke, and also the source of that ominous feeling. Her home had always been a peaceful place, a place where the Kumiho had lived for thousands of years. They had developed their potent magic abilities in ages past, and had used them to ensure that they could live lives of luxury and comfort. Unlike humans their first desire wasn't to take what others had. Rather they just wanted to eliminate the worries of life so they were free to do with their time as they wished, be it playing around, reading, creating art, studying magic, communicating with spirits, or something else. Her home had been a good example of that, where almost everything was done with simple cantrips and magic tools so the Kumiho themselves could do whatever they felt like doing at the time. It had been that way for ages, and should have been that way for ages to come.

But now it was a ruin. The smoke was thick and black, and it rose up from the burning and smouldering remnants of the buildings down below on the ground. Not a single building or construction had been left alone, all ravaged and raided. Itori stared for a while before she entered the village, her pace having slowed down as she looked around. All those familiar places were now nothing but memories, replaced by wreckages. The Kumiho had been used to building their homes out of wood, stone being very rare. Now that seemed to be the height of foolishness, as that had just made it easier for everything to be burned down when trouble reared its ugly head. The Kumiho came to a halt when she saw what had happened to the building which she had been raised in. It was just as messy as everything else here. The sight made Itori's heart heavy, even if her expression didn't show any of it. This fox girl had become rather good at hiding her true feelings after having been forced to travel alone for so long, searching for her sisters and deceiving humans and humanoids without any hesitation.

Now that she took another look Itori saw that buildings were not the only things which had been left utterly devastated by whatever had attacked her home. She hadn't noticed it at first (or so she thought), but there were corpses lying around, from both adults and children, males and females, healthy and sick. Most of them were at least partially charred, or missing limbs, or otherwise mutilated. The fox girl frowned, taking a step back as she observed all of this, her stomach once again complaining. However this time it wasn't an ill omen. This time it was just her feeling sick at seeing all those people who had lived her being turned into this. These were the people she had known when she was a child, and now they were nothing than food for whatever carrion managed to reach this place first. Seeing how the most of the buildings were smouldering rather than burning at this point whatever had caused this destruction was already long gone. It shouldn't be long before the ravens and the rats would arrive. Itori didn't want to be here when that happened. This was already bad enough without seeing the remains of those she knew being ripped apart by wicked beaks and greedy vermin.

However she wasn't done here yet. She had to figure out what had caused this, so she could figure out how to get revenge. She wasn't going to let whatever had done this get away with it. She'd hunt it down and show it a true nightmare, if possible sealing it away in a nightmarish illusion for all of eternity. Itori was never the Kumiho who sought enlightenment, or wanted to become a saint. If your family and friends were murdered like this you had to avenge them so their spirits could rest in peace. To forget about it and leave the murderers alone would bring nothing but misfortune as their spirits came to haunt you, and Itori wouldn't be able to blame them if they did. Revenge was the only option left. But that meant she had to search for clues.

Looking at the corpses Itori frowned as she realized that they were lying in a certain pattern. Well, maybe not pattern, but it seemed like part of them had been facing something which arrived from the same direction as Itori, while the rest had been moving away from it before they had been caught. The sheer amount of damage done made it hard to make out, but the fox girl guessed that some of them had tried to defend against whatever had been attacking the village, while the others tried to flee. None of them had managed to survive though. The defenders and the ones running away had all been caught, and seeing what had been done to them whatever had caught them had taken pleasure in ending their lives and toying with them. The flames which had burned the village had hidden it to some extent, but Itori saw at least one woman, actually two, whose clothing had been ripped in a way that couldn't have been caused by fire. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened to those before they had been left for dead, and they probably weren't the only ones. Just another reason to get revenge, although first Itori would have to calm down so she didn't end up vomiting.

The fox girl shook her head, trying to shake off the queasy feeling, as she followed the trail which was made visible through the way that destruction had travelled through the settlement. Starting at the beginning it didn't take long for her to realize that she was just repeating the path that she had travelled before, until she was once again standing in front of her own house. That definitely wasn't a good thing. Itori took a step forward, hesitated, then mentally steeled herself before stepping inside. For some reason her home had managed to keep up well enough that she could still make the difference between the inside and the outside, even if the walls and the ceiling were blackened and charred, and there were holes everywhere. She wasn't even sure if it was safe to be in here, if the building would collapse on her, but she had to see what was inside.

She quickly regretted that decision.

She had no trouble recognizing her father and mother, even though they were as horribly mutilated as the others in the village if not worse. Looking at the way their bodies lay there lifeless Itori would have deduced that whatever had come for them, it had taken its time toying with them, more time than the other Kumiho lying outside. However she was busy kneeling in front of the corpses retching, her stomach finally having found its limit and deciding to empty itself as the fox girl was filled with disgust, rage, sadness, and despair. She and her sisters had all loved their parents, and they had returned that love just as much. They weren't one of those families which was filled with problems. Seeing them like this was horrible, there was no other way to describe it. Even as she was vomiting Itori was crying, her stoic expression broken as she knelt there sobbing and retching, gasping for air.

It took several minutes before she finally recovered enough to lift her head again, although she found that she couldn't make herself look at the bodies again, because her stomach once again recoiled at the mere suggestion. With a shaking arm did she try to clean her face, which just meant that now there was stomach acid, tears and snot on one of her sleeves. Forcing herself to stand up she did so slowly, looking around. Her house was gone, her home was gone, everybody was dead. Except for her sisters. Their bodies were nowhere to be found. Itori frowned as that meant that either they had escaped the destruction, or they hadn't been left here by whatever had decided to ruin their lives. The fox girl's eyes narrowed at that. Her parents were now dead, and there was nothing she could do about that. She wasn't strong enough to call their spirits from the next world and bring them back. However she could at least make sure that the ones responsible for this didn't get away with it.

Stepping back outside Itori gripped the hilt of her sword with one hand as she scanned the place for any sign of where her prey had left the village. Once she found the trail she immediately set off, no hesitation left. There was nothing left in this place for her any longer, and the longer she waited the more distance between her and her prey. And with some luck she would find her sisters as well. They were the only people left in this world now for her.

As she walked she didn't realize that behind her the illusion was slowly fading away, until she was once again in the utter darkness of the cave. Another illusion was already beginning to form, smoothly replacing the old one without leaving Itori the time to wonder why one of her sleeves was filthy and why she had been crying.

Second Fear: The Road Doesn't End

Itori was completely oblivious about the fact that she was being dragged from one illusion into another. If she was aware of it then she would have been embarrassed beyond belief: she always took pride in being a masterful illusionist, who might not have a lot of raw magic power but made up for it with ingenuity, creativity, thoroughness, skill and talent. All of her magic power was always tuned to be used as efficiently as she believed she could make it, because illusions were an interesting form of magic where you could actually get away with using as little magic as possible. The only drawback there was to that was that it was easier to dispel, but as long as your opponents didn't realize that they were trapped inside an illusion they wouldn't ever think of dispelling it. She thought of herself as such a skilled illusionist, but right now she was being guided and pushed around just as easily and effortlessly as all those humans that she had always looked down on as she used her illusions on them. Truly disgraceful.

However she didn't realize that, instead smoothly transitioning from one to another. And the next illusion is one where she had to move. She had to move fast. She had been searching for her sisters, and had found clues. They had been difficult to find, and it had taken ages, but she finally thought that she had a good idea of where she could find them right now. Or at least one of them, as she hadn't been able to find any proof that her sisters were together. It could just as easily be the case that all three of them had been split up, and her sisters had as little success finding each other as Itori herself had. But even one sister was better than none, as was the case right now, and once she had found one of them they could together find the third of the triplets, after which they'd be together again. That was the only wish Itori had left these days, now that her home was in ruins, everybody else that she'd known dead, not even being able to give them a proper farewell as she had been forced to leave her home or end up just like them. The only thing she was hoping and praying for right now was that she could find her sisters. The only bright things left in her life.

But even now she was still so far away from finding them. She thought that she had a good idea of where to find them, but she first had to get there herself. It was far away, nearly completely on the other end of this strange continent in this new world that she and the others had ended up in after they had fled their homes, fearful of what had killed everybody else. But she had to hurry, because if she didn't get there in time they might not be there any longer, in which case her search would have to continue. As soon as she had gathered enough information to be sure enough that running all the way there was an affordable way of spending her time she had in fact begun doing so, ignoring any humans or anything else that she encountered as she just kept running.

She ran through the forest which seemed to go on and on, darkness surrounding her on every side. She didn't know if it was night or day, because the trees were so tall and dense that even if it was the middle of summer the sun couldn't have hoped to reach the ground here. The only thing she knew was that it couldn't be winter, because in that case it would have been much colder. As it was it was already quite chilly, enough that Itori's breath turned into white clouds every time that she breathed out. But nothing had actually frozen yet, which was good. If there was frost it would have slowed her down, and in her haste to try and reach the place where she was supposed to be in time she might not have noticed until she was already too weak to survive unless she was lucky. And if she died that way she didn't deserve to die through luck.

Darkness on all sides, including above. The forest didn't seem to change much at all no matter how much or how far she ran. Of course there were different scenes all the time, but in the end it all still felt like the same woods, with the same rivers and the same hills and the same everything. There was no way for her to tell if she was actually getting closer to her goal. She could be running in circles and she wouldn't realize it until she dropped from exhaustion. But she couldn't afford to slow down or stop. Every second that she wasn't there were she could meet her sisters was a second of her life which hadn't been worth living. She just kept running, her large white tail trailing behind her as her breathing slowly became heavier. She had already been running for hours, maybe days, and she was getting tired. Her legs were becoming heavier and heavier, and lifting them became harder every single step. But she couldn't stop. She gritted her teeth as she kept lifting them, refusing to slow down. She wasn't there yet. She wasn't where she was supposed to be yet. She couldn't afford to lose this chance just because her body was weak. Her breathing only got heavier but it didn't stop her. Her legs became heavier but she kept lifting them. She would run until she either found that place or she died. And even if she died she would never stop running, never stop searching for her sisters.

This was how she thought, what she believed with every fibre of her being. However even that determination couldn't let her just ignore the fact that she was becoming tired, then becoming exhausted, and then running on fumes. She was as determined as anybody had ever been, but that didn't make her ignore the fact her legs were heavy and weak, that her lungs felt like they were filled with needles made out of ice, that multiplied every time that she breathed. Her eyes were no longer as sharp as before, everything becoming somewhat blurry as she saw colours dancing in front of her eyes. She couldn't afford to stop running, but she was going to die here. She would die running, never being able to give up. Her desire to meet her sisters didn't allow her to stop running, so the only thing she could do was hope that maybe if she just tried hard enough she could see them, if only so she could die happily. There was no guarantee that even if she made it she wouldn't die from sheer exhaustion afterwards, but if she could at least see their faces and know that they were safe she would already have gotten what she wanted. She just wanted to see her sisters, and for that she would give her soul, her mind, her body, everything, just for that one thing.

The forest went on and on, and she kept running and running. No end in sight. No reprieve. No sign of progress. Nothing but endless trees. More and more ground she had to cover to reach that goal which in her mind was only getting farther and farther away from her. She could feel herself slowing down and forced herself to speed up instead, even as her feet became bloody from the blisters that were ripped open mercilessly by her relentless running. Her legs were filled with acid, felt weak like jelly but heavy like lead. Her lungs were being pierced by endless icicles. Her heart was beating so frantic that she was afraid that it would either fall apart or just come to a full stop at any moment. Under any other circumstances she would have come to a halt and made sure she had recovered before continuing. But she didn't have the time. She couldn't afford to look after herself. She just had to run. It had been so long since she had seen her sisters. It had been ages. Was more of that time spent running or searching? She couldn't remember. It felt like she had been running her entire life. This forest had been here her entire life, and she had been running through it, never seeing anything but more trees. All animals avoided the fox girl that was chasing something which she couldn't even see. There was just her, the cold, the trees, the ground, and the endless road.

As she ran branches grabbed at her, slapped her in the face, clung to her clothing. There were roots underfoot which tried to trip her. The trees themselves were clustering together more and more, blocking her path as she tried to find a way through. As the branches grabbed at her she kept running, tearing her clothes without even noticing. They dug into her flesh and it hurt, they felt like knives. But she still couldn't stop running. She jumped over the roots, stumbled, trampled them, kept going. Her clothes were in tatters, she had bruises all over, there were heavy red lines where the branches had whipped her. Lines of blood were they had managed to go past her skin. Her tail was also becoming bloodier and bloodier as even that wasn't spared from the assault of the trees. She nearly fell once, managed to catch herself, continued running without ever looking around to see what root had managed to do that to her. She received a blow to the face by a branch which nearly hit her eyes, but she still kept running without even once thinking about slowing down. her body was running on fumes, anybody could see that: she was like a machine which was forcing itself to keep functioning, wearing itself down until eventually it would collapse. Like a race horse that was being spurred ever onwards by the rider, until it would fall down dead. And she was also suffering from the trees, because every time that she got hit by a branch and she gasped in pain the icicles in her lungs pierced her so painfully it felt like they would go right through her. Every time that she stumbled she was reminded that her legs weren't functioning properly any longer.

This was a nightmare, no other way of looking at it. A nightmare where she had to keep running because if she didn't run she'd lose her chance to meet her sisters, to finally be reunited again. However if she kept running she would die, because the forest was not ending, the forest was the only thing in this world and she wasn't running towards anything that was real, she was delusional, seeing shapes and figures which didn't exist and imagining things which weren't real. If she stopped running she would die. If she kept running she would die. She had to reach something, something which might not exist, but if she didn't reach it she would die. But if it didn't exist she could never reach it, but even if it did exist she would never reach it because the forest didn't end. There were tears blurring her vision and rolling across her cheeks, delivering stinging pain as they touched the wounds delivered upon her face by the thin but harsh branches. She was crying, crying because she knew she would never meet her sisters again, would die here running towards that goal which was endlessly far away...

And then she was suddenly hit by a blinding light as the trees all disappeared, the forest was left behind her as the sunlight hit her like a message from all the gods in the heavens...

Third Fear: Voice Of A Siren

Itori was a mess. She wasn't aware that she had already been through two illusions which had done quite a number on her. The cave was doing a very good job of keeping her completely unaware. However it had already left its mark on her, in more than one way. She felt nauseous, she had dried up tears, snot and vomit on her face, although most of it had been wiped off and was instead stuck to one of her sleeves. Her clothes were torn and dirty, with parts of it simply missing, including the sleeve which she had used to wipe her face clean. Only for said face to then once again become dirtied by the branches whipping in her face, leaving behind scratches and wounds and dirt. With then the addition of new tears, born from the fear that she would be unable to actually reach her sisters in time, and that instead she would die running in that dark forest with no escape in sight.

She could also feel that she was about to collapse from sheer exhaustion, that her legs were weak and she couldn't move them at all, that every gasp of air was painful, and that her heart was beating frantically. Her entire body was reporting that she had pushed herself too far and that she had no energy left, that she really should find a safe place to hide while she tried her best to recover from her ordeals, even though she couldn't remember those ordeals. That should have caused confusion, but all her attention was drawn to the scene in front of her, which left her completely unable to think of anything else, as it was quite possibly the worst thing she had seen in her entire life. Her eyes were wide, her lips moving as she tried to figure out what to do now.

She was standing at the back of a large crowd, although for some reason there was an opening right in front of her which allowed her to see what was going on at the front. There was a large platform, which was quite obviously the centre of this event, and on that platform she could see both her sisters, exposed as Kumiho. They had been tied up and stripped bare, with large metal collars encircling their necks. They both looked weak and submissive, merely hanging from their bindings as they stared with empty eyes at the humans jeering and yelling at them. The humans didn't sound particularly angry or hateful, instead they sounded...enthusiastic? Itori blinked, trying to figure out what was going on. Her ears were refusing to work properly, but eventually she noticed the man who was also standing on the platform, dressed rather extravagantly and appearing to incite the crowd as he yelled something. A number? It was a large number. Itori's brain, still struggling to completely recover from what had happened before even though she couldn't consciously remember, eventually managed to figure it out. Money. The man was yelling out large sums of money. And he was standing there constantly pointing at her sisters. And the crowd...

Itori's confusion and shock were replaced by sheer terror and panic as she realized what was happening. Her sisters had been caught, and this man was trying to auction them off as slaves to whoever managed to give him the most money. And from the way that the people who caught her sisters had left them completely unharmed and healthy, and then stripped bare, they had some very clear intentions for what these slaves would be for. Kumiho were always gifted with beautiful bodies, much better than what mere humans could hope for unless they were exceedingly lucky or of a spectacularly good breed (at least, that's what Itori thought and she had yet to be proven otherwise). And beyond that there was the fact that they were fox girls. Some humans were disgusted by that, but others had an odd fascination for that kind of thing (well, it wasn't odd, because the fox traits were naturally beautiful, but humans should be focused on their own females). If her sisters were sold they would become mere property used by the owners to pleasure themselves. And they wouldn't even fight back! They already had those empty eyes of people whose spirit had been broken.

She couldn't let this happen. She had to find a way to safe her sisters from that kind of fate. That was even worse than dying, because at least in death you could rejoin the spirits of your ancestors in the afterlife. If you were stuck in such a life you would have to endure suffering for as long as you lived unless you managed to escape. And even then the mental (and possibly physical) scars would never fade. And Kumiho had exceedingly long lives, long enough that if one human bought it her sisters could be abused by the next ten generations of that family or even longer. Much longer, in fact.

But she couldn't run forward because her legs were not responding. She got the impression that the only reason she wasn't falling down was because her legs were stuck in their current position. That or surprising balance. She was so tired that forcibly freeing them wasn't an option. Which left trying to buy them back herself. It would be costly, but it was better if she was indebted to some human than if her sisters were left as mere toys for some pervert who doesn't understand that Kumiho are not creatures he can just use for his own sick pleasures. Itori began to create the illusion with which she'd start bidding, only to realize that her exhaustion was getting in the way. She had expended all her energy without even remembering how. She couldn't create any illusion powerful enough that it would be heard over the crowd. Itori became frantic as she thought of what else she could do. She couldn't use her body, she couldn't use her magic...that only left her voice...which she couldn't use because every time she did disasters happened. If she shouted in this kind of crowd, where there were so many people who were already existed, she might as well have caused fire to rain from the sky in terms of how much damage would be done. If she shouted now her voice would be filled with panic and desperation, and that would fill the heads of everybody who heard it. The crowd would turn into a riot, everything would go wrong, and her sisters would be caught in the middle of it and there would be nothing she could do but watch as the now wild crowd would storm the platform and do whatever horrible thing they could think of at the time to her sisters, either beating them up or raping them depending on how her voice affected them specifically.

Itori stared with wide eyes as her mouth went open and shut, over and over as she tried to figure out what to do. She couldn't afford to panic she had to think she had to find a way to deal with this but she didn't have any options left and her sisters were going to be sold off as slaves and they would be abused and used and it would be her fault because she was born with this voice which only caused disaster and there was nothing she could do and she couldn't find a way out and-

---

Outside the cave Aiyana would be able to notice that inside the cave a large amount of magic energy was gathering, but not in any controlled manner. It was just forming and flickering and flashing, as if the person wielding the magic was in a complete and utter panic and just randomly throwing their magic as if hoping it would help. The longer she waited the more wild and uncontrolled the magic would become. If she waited for long enough it would suddenly stop, but in that case she'd have to wait here for much longer, as it would mean that Itori had finally managed to pass out.

If she went inside she'd find that Itori was kneeling there, clutching her head with both her hands and looking extremely stressed out, covered in wounds and looking like she had been running straight through a thornbush without any regards for either herself or her clothing. She wasn't moving, only her eyes constantly moving in all directions as though she was trying her best to find a way out but finding none, which caused her to only become more and more stressed out as the magic kept becoming more sporadic and frantic around her, constantly forming random images and shapes which didn't last long enough to be recognized. Her eyes were wide, her expression was one of terror and panic and frustration, her three tails were stiff and bristling... Whatever the dungeon was doing to her, it was working too well.

The feelings from in the cave were strange, not the normal she had felt from others that had gone in. Maybe it had been a bad idea to send in an illusionist to deal with a cave of illusions. While worrisome Aiyana decided to wait a bit before walking into the cave. The cave had the tendency to make you into something for the person's illusion, and it wasn't always good. She couldn't be sure if she would be attacked by Itori if she went in, and it wasn't dire just yet.

The dire part didn't happen for about ten more minutes, when the Guild Ace began to feel fluctuating magic from inside the cave; Itori was in trouble. Charging in at full speed, the Nine Tailed Fox went in to find the poor girl on her knees. Hands clutching her head, a body exuding stress and fear, scratches and marks and a mess all over, the girl had clearly been hit with excruciating ordeals inside of the cave. Random images and objects flashed along the Ace of Convictions vision as Itori's magic went ballistic with whatever she was experiencing.

There was only one thing to do at this point, and she had to do it quick before Itori hurt herself any more than what had already been done. Not worrying about what Itori might see, Aiyana put everything she could into making sure she would be heard no matter what illusion was going on. "Itori, answer me! What is happening, it's an illusion from the cave!" There was no guarantee that they words would reach the other tailed woman in the way she had said them, or if they even reached at all. It was all on Itori now, as if Aiyana tried to physically touch her they could both end up hurt due to the illusions; bringing Aiyana into them once she did so.

If she didn't speak up to save her sisters they would be sold off as slaves, abused and toyed with for as long as the humans managed to keep them under their thumb. It could be decades, or even centuries, before they could be free again, and if they had been slaves for that long they would most likely bear the mental and physical scars forever. She couldn't allow that to happen. It was a possible future which very simply was not allowed. She refused to let that kind of thing happen to her sisters, not as long as she was there and able to prevent it.

But on the other hand if she used her voice the giant mass of humans would all be affected. She was standing all the way in the back, so to reach her sisters and the man on stage trying to sell them everybody would hear it. She was panicking, she knew that she was panicking, she was desperate and she would never be able to keep that out of her voice. A voice filled with panic and despair would be heard by every human here, and not a single one of them would be able to resist that voice, that accursed voice that Itori had been born with and which had made it impossible for her to speak like everybody else did without any issue. That panic and despair would fill their minds, fill their bodies, and the entire crowd would turn into a mob as they would all break out into panic. And in a large crowd like this that was as bad as inciting them with bloodlust. A mass of people was always one step away from disaster. Once people felt panic and despair they would try to get away, and so would everybody around them. They would set each other off, make the effects stronger, make it impossible for each other to actually escape. The fighting would break out, and her sisters would be caught right in the middle, on that plateau where they would be noticed by everybody.

If she spoke up to save her sisters she might end up being the one that got them killed.

She couldn't think of any way to solve this problem. There wasn't any way out. All her avenues were either blocked or only led to disaster, for herself and her sisters as well as for others. Itori kept trying to figure out any way out of this, but she kept coming down to that final possibility. She couldn't think of anything else. She was supposed to be the clever one, who could think of all those plans to get her way while always avoiding direct combat. Being clever was what she as a Kumiho was all about, but right now all that didn't help her in the slightest.

Then came the voice. She didn't know where it came from. She was too busy panicking to figure out where it came from. Maybe it was somebody from the crowd, all wanting to look at her sisters or even bidding to buy them for their sick pleasures. Maybe it was that man on the stage, encouraging the crowd and trying to get as much money from this as possible. The sick bastard who had captured her sisters and was treating them like some kind of prize for others to bid and fight for. She couldn't tell. She couldn't even understand all of it. She could only hear one thing, resounding in her ears as if put there by some kind of god.

"Answer me! What is your answer!"

It was the last straw. Hearing the demand to know what her decision would be, demanding to hear it, was too much for the Itori whose brain was already put under immense strain from the decision in front of her. Forgetting about how this could damn her sisters, forgetting about the disaster it would bring, the fox girl opened her mouth and screamed.

"STOP!"

And everything froze.

---

"STOP!"

With that everything appeared to freeze. That voice, beautiful beyond measure, a voice which should belong to some kind of goddess, had demanded it, so everything stopped. For several seconds Aiyana was treated to the sight of everything in her surroundings being completely frozen. Not just trapped in ice: it was as if time itself had stopped. Any sounds which might have been present fell away completely, the wind disappeared. Even Aiyana herself would find it difficult to move.

Then the world continued to spin, the fox girl kneeling on the ground blinking as she looked up, her face made dirty by the tears and the blood from her wounds. She looked completely blown away, as suddenly the illusion had frozen and shattered. She looked at Aiyana as if she was an apparition.

"Aiyana...?"

Once again, that divine voice. It sounded confused and amazed, which in turn would fill anybody who heard it with confusion and amazement. It was quite obvious that there was magic involved: Itori's voice was too beautiful for it to be fully natural, was too good at affecting the minds of whoever listened to it. A voice similar to that of the mythical Siren, a creature which would sing to entrance any and all who heard it, only to lead them to their doom.

As for Itori herself, she was starting to remember what was actually going on. Aiyana had told her to enter this cave and retrieve a small lachrima. However this cave would work on her fears, which meant it would be a test of mental strength. Remembering what she had seen she felt ashamed. She had failed the test. The only reasons the illusions had stopped was that Itori had ended up screaming for it to stop, the power in her voice stronger than the magic of the cave and shattering the illusions. She wasn't sure if this could be considered passing the exam. She didn't even think she could reach the lachrima, since her legs still refused to cooperate.

A double answering of a single word would reach Aiyana's ears, the nine-tailed fox's eyes looking around as everything seemed to freeze to that exact moment in time. Whether out of surprise, or some kind of magic, even Aiyana found herself a bit afraid to try and move until the examinee said her name.

"Yes, it's me. You're all right, it was all just the illusions." Confusion flecked the words, and an almost sly amazement at something; maybe that the girl had been so confused about it? Stepping back a step, making sure Itori wouldn't fall to the ground completely in the process, Aiyana drew her Khopesh and let loose the healing ability of the blade upon the other vulpine woman. There wasn't a whole lot of healing needed, as most of the damage was light, and the ability would also tone down soreness and pain the woman was feeling as well.

"I've never seen the cave do that to a person. Hell, the illusions barely affect me even without my illusion breaking charms. Whatever it is, I'm willing to let you walk over and hand me the lacrima right here and we'll call this exam."

Itori nodded slowly as Aiyana tried to reassure her that whatever it was that had been afflicting the three-tailed fox, it was all an illusion. She had realized that, now that her voice had broken the magic of the cave and she was kneeling there, looking up at the nine-tailed fox. She could now see how she had somehow completely forgotten about what she had been doing while she walked deeper into the cave, how the cave had managed to completely capture her and trap her inside its own illusions. It was a very embarrassing thing to admit, that she had failed so badly, but she couldn't deny it. The illusions had each showed her something which she actually feared, and how when she hadn't been able to distinguish illusion from reality those fears had actually managed to fully take control of her. She hadn't been able to resist, the very thought of resisting hadn't even occurred to her. A situation had been created where her fears were made reality, and instead of trying to keep calm she had allowed those fears to dominate her, control her thoughts and actions. It was a cruel lesson, a brutal and thorough one, but it was also an important one. For how many years had Itori thought that she already was in full control of herself and her emotions? For how many years had she believed that unlike her sisters she was emotionally and mentally completely stable, with no traumatizing experiences or fears that could be exploited or used against her? Now that she had been through those illusions that all seemed like the height of foolishness. She would have to continue improving her mind and strengthening herself internally, so if those illusions ever became reality she would be ready, and keep calm and thoughtful. She had chosen this task knowing it would be painful but necessary, but only now that she had been through her did she realize the truth of that. It had been painful, and it had most certainly been necessary.

From what Aiyana had to say she had never seen the dungeon react so heavily towards anybody who had been through it before. Itori didn't know what that meant. Were her fears more deeply rooted, thus more powerful once faced with an illusion which was supposed to exploit those fears? Was it mere coincidence? Itori now knew that those fears were substantial indeed, but she couldn't imagine that other people didn't have such heavy fears as well. Maybe for them those fears were more surreal, so even if those fears were shown to them they didn't find them as realistic and immersive? Itori's fears were based on actual possibilities, things which actually could have happened to her and her loved ones. Beyond that she had a particularly powerful and brilliant imagination. Did the cave make use of the mind of the one inside it, so if somebody with as strong an imagination as Itori went inside the illusions became a lot stronger than for the average mage? The fox girl didn't think that it was just a mere coincidence or random quirk that the cave had assaulted her so strongly. It was possible, but it wasn't likely and even if it was the truth it wasn't a useful truth. Knowing that the illusions had been stronger for no real reason wouldn't give her anything to improve upon, nor something to fix or face. A mere coincidence would leave her with no real explanation. Still, she couldn't say what the reason was why she had been immersed so deeply, deeply enough that now she actually looked and felt as if the illusions had been real. A normal illusion wouldn't leave your clothing ripped and torn, it wouldn't leave lasting wounds. The fact that both of these things were present indicated that there was something going on. Something...she just couldn't figure out what.

When Aiyana used the magic abilities that her weapon possessed Itori slowly stood up, testing her footing. She still felt somewhat unstable, but at least the wounds were gone and she could move now. The nine-tails told her that she could still grab the lachrima and give it to her, and she would count the exam as completed. Itori wasn't sure if that was actually a good idea, since technically she was completely overwhelmed by the illusions, and without Aiyana's help she wouldn't be able to get the lachrima. On the other hand, Aiyana had been the one to give her the task to begin with, and she hadn't been expecting the cave to be this brutal and ferocious towards Itori. The Kumiho looked at Aiyana for several seconds, quite clearly conflicted about what she should do now. Should she simply accept the turn of events, grab the lachrima, and leave this all behind her? Or should she insist that she failed the task and would have to try again? That thought made Itori shiver. The cave was dormant right now, Itori's voice having sent whatever magic possessed it in complete disarray, still frozen in time as her voice had commanded it to stop. But if the cave ever returned to normal she didn't want to ever come close to it again. She knew that those fears were real and that she couldn't allow them to control her, but at the same time the idea of returning to those alternative realities filled her with dread. She didn't want that. She didn't dare to face all that again. She nodded and began to walk towards the lachrima, slowly and with clear hesitance. Her gait was unsteady and slow: Aiyana had healed the physical damage and exhaustion, but Itori still had a lot of mental stress and exhaustion to deal with.

Approaching the lachrima Itori grabbed it with both hands, lifting it and looking at it. It didn't look like anything special to her, but this was what she had been sent to get. She turned the lachrima in her hands, studying it, before turning back towards Aiyana and returning to the nine-tailed fox, her tails and ears drooping as she tried to stay upright and walking. She felt as if she could just fall asleep and not wake up for over a week. On the other hand, she dreaded her dreams as well. She was quite sure that once her subconscious was allowed free reign she would revisit those illusions. It wouldn't be pleasant, and it might be even worse than before. She temporarily felt a spike of hatred towards Aiyana for subjecting her to this, but suppressed it. She was the one that chose the task that would test her mentally, and Aiyana hadn't expecting anything like this. The other woman wasn't to blame.

Itori handed the lachrima over to Aiyana silently, staring at her with eyes that spoke volumes. She was still confused and shocked at what had happened to her. But she was also wary, scared, uncertain, and worried. This test had been a lot heavier than she had thought it would be. Once Aiyana would take the lachrima the two-tailed Kumiho would bow, and once again use that supernatural voice to speak, a voice which sounded (and made everybody who heard it) really, really exhausted.

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you."

With that the Kumiho bowed, and then appeared to lose all the strength that Aiyana had returned to her as she slowly collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head as Itori fainted, everything growing dark before her eyes as the world appeared to disappear and she fell into the depths of her own mind. Aiyana would have to either leave her there or carry her back to the guild, because the Kumiho would remain unconscious for quite a while.