Susanoo-no-Mikoto's knees buckled. His right knee struck first, then his left slammed into a pile of broken bricks. He knelt in the middle of the ruins, hands braced against the ground, back hunched, his whole body shaking violently.
The battle robe over his chest shattered the instant the black crystal struck. It dissolved into ash, exposing the divine body beneath, already being eaten away by a silver-gray glow.
The glow spread across his skin like something alive, creeping from his chest toward his limbs. Every inch it crossed left a dark gray mark, like a scar seared into his flesh.
Then mist rose.
A layer of gray mist began to seep from the dark marks on Susanoo-no-Mikoto's skin. It gathered around him, slowly coiling and churning.
Within it, countless faint human shapes could be seen.
Some wore ancient armor, some ragged robes, and some had only half a body left. Yet every face was painfully clear.
Hatred, agony, and obsession torn raw were written across every one of them.
Countless vengeful spirits of gods.
They emerged from the mist on Susanoo-no-Mikoto's body and reached out with innumerable translucent arms. Grabbing his shoulders, arms, waist, and legs, they hauled him downward, trying to drag him into the Tomb of the Gods.
The force pulled his body lower, driving his knees several inches deeper into the broken bricks.
His face twisted beyond recognition. The lightning roiling in his dark blue eyes gave way to overwhelming fear, and his lips trembled as he forced his first plea through clenched teeth.
As a god who had lived for countless ages, he feared death more than any mortal!
"Lord Yongye! Spare me!"
"You want my sister? I'll offer her to you!"
"You want my mother? I'll offer her to you too!"
"Get this thing off