Sorcha's head spun as she plummeted into oblivion. Darkness rushed up to engulf her, draining her of energy, of hope.

Of life.

She exhaled as the darkness took her last breath...

...and then a blinding flare of golden light ripped into her eyes, causing her to cry out and shield herself from its fury. But this was light. Light was what she needed, and she carefully opened her eyes again. The glow was warm, comforting, like spring evenings on Summerkin, and it gave her reassurance.

Sorcha blinked to acclimatize herself and sat up. She had obviously landed somewhere, but all she could see around her was light. No, wait, she was sitting on something hard, but it was barely larger around than she was, a tiny patch of what looked like rock.

Where the hell am I?

She got to her feet. As she did so, she noticed the patch of ground wobbling slightly. Sorcha frowned and took a step backwards, mindful not to fall off, but the effort was unnecessary. It moved with her.

What is this?

Sorcha huffed out a meaty Fox breath and decided to start walking. Wherever she'd landed, somewhere in this alien city, she needed to find a way out. She had moved thirty paces, patch and all, when a shimmering figure revealed itself, stepping forth from a wall of light, and Sorcha stopped walking.

The figure was tall, bipedal, and dressed in a shimmering teal robe covered in indecipherable writing that flowed in ribbons of gold. A kind, lupine face regarded her with sparkling eyes, and a long bushy tail swished in golden arcs.

Sorcha's mouth dropped open, and she fell to her knees. No. It... it can't be. She tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't work. She tried harder. "Are... are you..."

"Sorcha," the being said, its voice female and musical. "Sorcha, I have been waiting for you."

"Amaterasu," Sorcha gasped, her eyes welling up. "Oh, Amaterasu. I love you." She suddenly found herself chortling. "Wow, how hard did I rub that charm?"

Amaterasu dipped her head in greeting. "Sorcha, in any other circumstances I would be overjoyed." Her eyes hardened slightly. "But I fear these circumstances are grave. You come before me in a time of great need."

Sorcha got to her feet. "Okay." She was still enthralled to meet the embodiment of everything she believed in. "A time of great need."

Amaterasu looked to the sky – or what Sorcha assumed to be the sky here – and the light rippled. Shapes took form, becoming structures, buildings. Some featured the sort of dome Sorcha had fallen through. Terrain and sky resolved from the light, and Sorcha realized that this was a picture of what civilization here had been like. Aircraft sped through the space between buildings. Figures – tiny figures, too small for Sorcha to examine properly – scuttled into and out of the buildings, boarding docked craft, living their lives. "Wow." She couldn't find anything more articulate to say. How could she ever compound the amazement she felt into words? It was impossible. Who else would ever be given this opportunity, to see what she was seeing?

Amaterasu blinked slowly, her face set in sadness. "An amazing world. But, Sorcha, it became just another battlefield in a war fought millions of years past."

Sorcha felt sadness as well. "I could have guessed as much. I've seen the aftermath." She stared wistfully at the scene playing out in the ether. "I mean, I've seen the aftermath of war on the news, but this..." She pointed a paw at the vision. "I can't believe such a wonderful place could fall to that fate. It doesn't feel right."

Amaterasu nodded. "You are correct, Sorcha. But in the battle between light and darkness, beauty matters little." She gestured, and the vision was blanketed by a wave of darkness, smothering everything. "That is the way of the universe."

Sorcha whined. "It's not fair."

"No. But, Sorcha, you are here to make sure that light stands a chance in the conflict." The goddess of the sun regarded her squarely with those sparkling eyes. "I am sure you are aware of the nebula."

Sorcha nodded. "Yeah. That's why we're here. There's some kind of electrical disturbance..."

Amaterasu growled. "The Dark Sun is rising already." She balled her paws. "The Armies of the Darkness are treacherous."

"D-Dark Sun?" Sorcha whimpered, her spine doing its ice-pop act. "That nebula is the Dark Sun? And it's rising?"

"In the battle for this planet, in the height of the war, the civilization that lived here were divided," Amaterasu told her. "Some fought for us, while others served the Darkness. The battle was long and ruinous, and it concluded in stalemate. It was then that the war was ended, and both Light and Darkness signed an accord of coexistence." She snuffled, closing her eyes. "But I knew it would not be long before Darkness once more tried to tip the scales." Her eyes opened, and they blazed with fury. "Those who served Darkness on this world constructed a device that would harness the energy of the nebula to create an infinite source of dark power. It was considered deactivated after the war, but I suspected their servants placed a delay on the device, and so I secretly broke the accord as well." Her eyes became placid once more, and looked on Sorcha with compassion. "I went into self-exile in a place described to me as the Ammarkan Star by a beautiful girl who came to me once. But, before I did so, I dispatched into the great unknown a spark of my own darkness. This spark would find its place in a being who, when the time came, I could depend on as my champion, as a champion of the light, to stop Darkness from becoming too powerful to stop." Amaterasu smiled. "And it found you."

Sorcha was about to ask more questions when her body suddenly froze. For a moment, she thought that her suit had malfunctioned, but the icy sensation coursing through her body, her being, was the effect of something else. Images rushed through her mind: her parents, their faces wet with tears as they tried to comprehend what was wrong with their little kit; herself, waking up screaming night after night, the dreams still vivid in her waking memory; her siblings, terrified of her and her nonsensical ramblings; the self-harm she had inflicted on her body when it all became too much.

A loud, piercing howl rattled through her head, and Sorcha realized it was coming from her own throat. She ran at Amaterasu, her paws out, fingers ready to gouge some eyes. She tried to grab at the goddess's robe but, as she attempted to assault the very being she had revered, Amaterasu disappeared. Sorcha collapsed to the patch of floor, still screaming and shrieking.

"Sorcha." She heard Amaterasu's voice again, this time from behind her, and she stood and spun to face it. The goddess dipped her head in regret. "I am sorry."

"You're sorry?" Sorcha screeched. "You're sorry? Do you have any idea what you did to me? What you did to my family?"

"We have not the time," Amaterasu cried, her voice becoming desperate. "The Dark Sun is rising. If it takes form, it will consume and destroy all light. Not just in this system, but everywhere. Sorcha, you must stop it."

"Do you realize what you put in my head?" Sorcha yelled at her. "What I'm thinking most of the time? The others at school used to tell me about dreaming that they were naked in class, or had swallowed their watch. I envied them! If any of my family, any of my friends, could see what was happening in my mind, what I'm planning, they'd think I was insane! I AM INSANE!" Her paws clenched, hungry for a weapon to fire at this... thing.

The thing that had robbed her of a life.

"Sorcha, you must listen!" Amaterasu's eyes were teary. "Once the Dark Sun is halted, you can have a life. Your mind will be free. You can have children. But now, your role as my champion is paramount." Tears ran down her muzzle. "The girl I met some years ago. You remind me of her. Scared and alone. But always look for the light. It will sustain you in the darkest of times. These times."

Sorcha seethed. "Yeah, I can have my life. Until you need me for the next thing!" She snarled at the effulgent figure. "I hate you, Amaterasu. I hate you!"

Amaterasu's eyes closed. "And now I have broken the accord further by reaching out to you here." Her eyes snapped open. "And now you must go. Go and bring the light."

"Screw you. I never wanted any of this!"

Amaterasu gestured, and Sorcha was falling through the patch of ground, into the void. She whimpered as she lost consciousness, and then there was nothing but the darkness swirling in her.