Orion of Five Tails claimed that dying felt very much like sinking into an abyss of deep, dark slumber. The red-furred bastard had lied to her. Death wasn't restful at all. It was a most wretched and violent affair. One that ripped the soul from its flesh. Only to be reborn like a frightened child awakening from a nightmare. With many memories lost and a gruesome sense of otherness in one's own skin.

She would know.

She had already died once before.

She was about to die again.

Pathetically, she whimpered and writhed on the ground in a bloodied heap. Her snowy white fur was soaked in crimson. Ivory-colored bones poked out from her wounded ribcage.

She was known as Miu of Two Tails. Of only two lives. Not five like Orion. As always, that bastard was nowhere to be found when she needed him. Once more, Miu would be left to face death alone.

Weakly, she glanced upwards.

The golden-eyed seraph loomed over her battered body like a beautiful, monstrous harbinger of death. 

Last time, the winged one had stabbed her through the heart and sliced off one of her hard-earned tails. She had bled to death that time. Or so she had been told by Orion.

Miu never remembered much from dying.

This time, it seemed, the blonde seraph intended to take her second tail. Her last tail.  Then, there would be no next time.

Miu could barely draw breath anymore. Her lungs staggered and strained with each second that slipped away. They had been battling for hours. There was no fight left in her. No more strength to maintain her human form. Her true visage as a small white fox had emerged against her will.

The seraph raised his sword and bellowed triumphantly, "I banish you, demon, back to the darkness!"

Miu shut her eyes and waited to meet her bitter end—

"This is beneath you, Helios. She is but a babe."

The deep, husky voice had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Miu's eyes flicked open.

"She is still a demon," the seraph protested. "If I let her go, in time, she shall siphon power from us, then it will be even more difficult to rid the mortal realm of her kind..."

Who was this newcomer?

Miu's gaze darted over to him.

"Release her," the mysterious entity urged once more.

The man's demeanor remained reserved, regal, but his tone carried a chilling edge that sent shivers down Miu's spine.

Something about his presence was comforting. He felt strangely familiar to her. Like a faceless lover from a dream.

Had they met before?

She couldn't recall.

He was very tall. Taller than the seraph. More handsome, too, with hair as dark as night and eyes that glowed like the silver of stardust and moonbeams. He was dressed in the flowy white robes of the gods.

And it seemed as though, for reasons unknown, he had come to save her!

Miu's heart began to flutter with hope.

"Do you intend to stop me?" the seraph challenged. "This matter extends far beyond your dominion, Water God. You ought to leave the demon fighting to us and go flood some thirsty fields instead..."

The god smiled darkly. "My friend, I would not have come if I did not intend to intervene. I will ask you, politely, one last time to walk away from the foxling, or else..."

The seraph spat, "Or else—what?"

"Or else," the god promised, "I shall wrench every last drop of liquid from your body until you are nothing but dust and bone."

Helios' face twisted with fury, but even he, Miu noted smugly, seemed to know better than to argue with a presumed god. Shortly afterwards, the seraph spread out his massive golden wings and took off into the velvet night skies.

Miu turned to her savior with stars in her eyes.

"Thank you, my lord, for saving this worthless hide of mine! Please tell me your name, so that I might one day repay your kindness by tenfold!"

To Miu's shock, the god stared back at her with undisguised contempt.

"There will be no need for us to meet again, demon. Do not mistake my actions today for charity. I did not come to save you. I came to restore the balance in this realm."

His words stung like an icy slap in the face, but Miu tried not to let them dampen her spirits. She was alive. It was all that mattered. She was going to live a while longer to maybe earn a few more tails. Thanks to this unpleasant water god.

Miu was determined to win him over.

"Nevertheless, I feel indebted to you all the same. I am known as Miu of Two Tails. If ever there comes a day where you require my assistance, then please do not hesitate to call my name. I shall come running to your side!"

He eyed her curiously. "Are you granting me a favor, demon?"

She beamed. "Indeed, I am!"

"Very well, then, this is what I would like you to do for me..."

Miu's blue eyes grew wide with anticipation. "What might that be, my lord?"

His piercing silver gaze drifted over to her one remaining tail.

"Try not to get yourself killed again, you little fool, and stay out of my way from this day forth!"

Then, with a haughty swish of his robes, the god disappeared into nothingness as quickly as he had come.

Miu's nostrils flared with indignation.

What a rude fellow!

She cried out to the heavens, "Learn to count, you stupid immortal! That was two favors you asked for, and I only granted you one..."

Miu regretted her spirited outburst almost immediately.

The exertion alone took a painful toll. A sharp pain stabbed at her side. Everything began to ache. Everything started to hurt. Blood continued to flow from the gashes on her body. Miu laid on the forest ground for a while longer, nursing her injuries and recounting her near brush with death in a slight stupor.

A shooting star soared overhead.

Miu gazed upon its glimmering celestial form. Shame overtook her. For being so weak. For almost getting herself killed. Again. Her body, she supposed, would heal in time. Her pride, however, had taken quite the beating.

Her jaw fixed with resolve.

Still drenched in her own blood, Miu vowed to become the most mesmerizing and powerful fox demon the world had ever known.

Never again would she lose another one of her tails to a sword-wielding seraph.

Never again would the arrogant water god be able to walk away from her.

Suddenly, the shooting star burst into a million twinkling lights against the darkened backdrop of the nighttime sky.

Miu smiled through her pain.

Perhaps, her wishes might come true, after all.