Darren struggled, trying to free himself from the Boss’s spell. This couldn't be happening. How could the Boss erase an entire race of supernatural beings? Yet, the facts were staring Darren in the face as he stared at the discarded clothing of the former kitsune. The Boss, in one fell swoop, had transformed the land of the kitsune into a wasteland.
Hope remained though, maybe Tatsu and Shizen could stop the Boss. That though would be difficult, even for a pair of gods. Looking at the Boss, Darren could see a malicious grin forming on his face. That alone made Darren shudder internally. He had never viewed the Boss without his hood, now though Darren finally got a good look at the man. What he saw surprised him.
Ever since he acquired the rings, the Normal were an ever present threat. Darren had nightmares about the Boss, thinking the man was some eldritch god of pure destruction. What he saw instead was a very ordinary looking man. The Boss could be anyone's neighbor. A handsome face with well maintained brown hair, he looked like the kind of guy you would see mowing his lawn on the weekend. The kind of guy who would give you a polite wave and smile as you walked by. Darren couldn't quite wrap his mind around how ordinary he looked, considering the threat he had posed for years now.
Watching Tatsu and Shizen, Darren watched as they now fought what seemed to be an endless horde of Voids. The asexual hulking humanoids rushing the pair of celestial with unbridled rage. For now, the pair of celestial were easily holding their own, Tatsu cutting through the creatures with ease as Shizen cast spell after spell. The Voids were being decimated, organic matter filling the air like a fine mist, but how long would it last? Darren could feel the magic of the Hourglass washing over the area, regressing the pair of celestials. Tatsu and Shizen were tens of thousands of years old though. Could the Boss be defeated before time ran out?
"Ugh this is taking forever," the Boss groaned, watching as Tatsu cleaved a group of Voids in two. Turning his attention to Darren, the Boss gave the teen a malicious and gleeful grin. "What do you say kid? Maybe we should speed things up a bit."
Unable to move, Darren could say nothing. Internally he was screaming, his mind racing. He was the guardian of the kitsune, entrusted by Tatsu himself to protect them. Now he felt powerless, watching the two kitsune rulers he respected and cared for fight for their very existence. It couldn't end like this, it just couldn't!
"Hey kid can you hear me?"
"Who is that," Darren thought in alarm. "Relax kid it's me the Boss," the voice stated. Darren’s eyes went wide, the Boss was communicating to him telepathically. "How are you doing this? Why are you doing this!?"
"I mean I would think the answer would be simple," the Boss replied. "You didn't think you were the only one who could communicate like this did you? As for why, well, I don't like kitsune. Plain and simple."
"So you slaughter an entire race?" Darren exclaimed in alarm. The Boss turned his head, appearing confused by Darren’s thoughts. "Race?" he asked. "They're not a race. They're creatures, little more than animals, pests, something to be exterminated like a roach. That's always been your problem kid. Your idea that anything not human deserves respect. All that cumbaiya b.s. that you can make the world a better place. You can't, I though, have the vision to usher in a true human utopia." Darren grit his teeth, the Boss’s arrogance and vitriol to anything that wasn't like him was sick. He tried now to break the spell holding him in place. If it was the last thing he did, he would stop the Boss. The sight of Tatsu and Shizen swooning now drew both their attentions.
Darren’s eyes went wide in horror, as the Boss’s grin grew. Gazing at the celestial kitsune, both now noted they only had eight tails. "Finally," the Boss smirked. "That was taking way too long." Despite their strength decreasing, Tatsu and Shizen remained undeterred. Even if they were only eight tail kitsune, they still had enough strength to stop the Boss. "Let it never be said that I don't give my prey a fighting chance," the Boss proclaimed arrogantly. "Let's see you two cut through what's left of my army of Voids, but remember...clocks ticking."
Darren grit his teeth, gazing in despair as Tatsu and Shizen continued to fight their way towards the Boss. Decades were ticking away by the second, the teen sensing the magic strength of the two celestials waning. Eight tails went to seven, then six, then five. Although the pair were still formidable, their godly powers were decreasing. "It can't end like this." Darren thought frantically. "It just can't!"
The Boss grinned, the joy on his face increasing with each lost tail. Already he could see the pair of celestials changing as they went from five to four to three tail kitsune. Their faces seemed smoother, more of a young adult in appearance inspite of their vulpine features. Their incredible size decreasing, the pair going from seven feet tall to six. He could sense Shizens magic decreasing, going from godly to simply impressive. As their third tail vanished, the Boss began to laugh softly.
Tatsu and Shizen were teenagers now, a pair of two tails. Tatsu's impressive muscles seemed to shrink with each passing second, his vulpine features transitioning from adulthood to teen. Shizen was not spared, her body thinning, her royal robes looking loose upon a lithe teenage body. Snarling, Tatsu darted forward, his body contining to shrink. Darren could only watch as the golden celestial lord exited his late teens, appearing closer to Darren’s age before passing it. Both kitsune now shrank, their bodies reliving puberty in reverse. They looked physically 15, then 14, the 13. Descending past their teenage years, Darren watched them grow smaller, skinnier, puberty rapidly abandoning the vixen as the now 12 year old Tatsu tried to hold up his increasingly heavy sword. The Voids had finally been defeated, all that was left was the Boss. An arrogant chuckle escaping the man's lips as he beckoned the lord of the kitsune to attack.
As Tatsu leapt at the Boss, his second rail vanished. Catching the kits arm, Darren noted the look of shock on the now childish Tatsu's golden face. "Looks like times up," the Boss said, kicking the child away. Quickly Shizen ran to her hisbands side, the kits gazing at one another before looking at themselves. They were the size of 9 year olds and still growing younger as their furry hands vanished inside their sleeves.
"It's over Catalyst." the Boss stated. "Look at them! In minutes they'll vanish. Already the kitsune in the other realms can feel their very existence ending." Darren strained, trying to free himself as the Boss sent a vision of what was happening.
In Circes Park, Darren could see Fukushu, Akira, and Hinata. Fukushu and Akira looking to take the kumiho Choon Hee's head. All three now doubled over in pain, much to Choon Hee's surprise as the trio of kitsune slowly began to disappear.
Elsewhere, Darren watched as Kari Harris lay in her frantic grandfather's arms. Hideo Tozawa, desperately yelling for help, Kari's twin siblings sobbing uncontrollably as their elder sister dissolved. "Soon every kitsune will be dead," the Boss exclaimed, pointing at a now 5 year old Tatsu and Shizen. The kits swamped in their adult clothing, their faces round and childish yet still wanting to fight. "Their time is over and as soon as they're gone I'll do the same to everyone else you've ever cared for! You lose Darren."
No.
Darren began to glow, his body seeming to vibrate as an explosion of light blanket edges the aura. An ungodly scream escaping the teens lips as he looked to break the spell. The Boss was shocked shielding his eyes before being thrown backwards. This shouldn't be happening, Darren wasn't stronger than the Hourglass was he?
As the Hourglass shattered in the Boss’s hand, the light began to fade. Blinking in astonishment, the Boss was shocked. While Darren looked exhausted and Tatsu and Shizen were still children, the entire kitsune population had returned.