Spirit Blossom—
In a gorgeous forest, a snow-white little fox hummed a tune as she wandered through the spirit groves. Her fur stood out against the deep green woods, and she kept humming as she walked, but not a single nearby soul paid her any attention.
Ahri tiptoed along with a small stone clenched between her teeth, wiggling her little hips as she trotted up to a pond. Her big tail thumped the ground. She lowered her head, set the stone down, lifted her chin, and called out loud:
"Laaaamb~ Lamb!"
"Come out. I need you."
"Lamb, are you there? Ahri's here to see you!"
She shouted the name again—and a long white shadow appeared, circling her with excited awoo-howls.
The white shadow spun around Ahri in a full loop, then yelled eagerly, "A fox? Whoa! Why are you here to find us?"
"I'm looking for Lamb, not you, Wolf." Ahri rolled her eyes at the white shadow.
The creature in front of her was made of mist and cloud—slim and long-limbed, with the vicious face of a wolf at its head. Hearing Ahri say that, the wolf's expression turned aggrieved.
"Why? Fox, weren't we having fun the last time we played?"
"If you mean you had fun while you chewed a chunk of fur off my tail, then yeah—sure, you had a blast." The little fox bared her teeth at him, then barked, "Enough. Call Lamb out. I have something urgent."
"She's right next to me." Wolf blinked and grinned. "Where Lamb goes, Wolf follows. We're never apart. Well—sometimes we are apart, but then I go find her."
"Wolf." A clear, airy voice interrupted.
A figure appeared before Ahri.
Blue hair spilled down her back like a waterfall. She wore a white fur-lined cloak that looked warm just to glance at, and two neat blue braids lay over her chest. Curved ram horns rose from her forehead, decorated with a small yellow flower ornament.
Her hands rested calmly in front of her as she held a long crystal bow. A white mask covered her face as she looked quietly at Ahri.
"It's good to see you, Fox. Wolf and I have been searching for our old memories again. What brings you to me?"
"Still searching?" Ahri muttered. "How long have you two been at that? Still nothing?"
She flicked her tail, opened her mouth to bite the stone again, and padded up to Lamb. Then she hopped up, spit the stone neatly into Lamb's palm, and said, "Check this soul for me."
"This is…" Lamb lowered her head to look at the brilliant stone. Behind the white mask, her eyes flashed with helpless resignation. "This soul doesn't belong in Spirit Blossom. Fox—where did you find it? He should be in the Underworld, not here."
"I went out into the other world." Ahri said it with a bright little smile.
"The other world?" Lamb froze.
Wolf, who had been circling, stopped dead too. His wolf face turned terrified as he shrieked, "What?! Fox, you went to the outside world?!"
"How did you do it?! Can you take me and Lamb out too?!"
"Nope." Ahri shook her head. "I was out for like five seconds and he basically exploded."
"So… this soul took you into the outside world?" Lamb's confusion deepened. "How did he manage that?"
Spirits as powerful as them weren't supposed to enter the outside world.
Spirit Blossom wasn't without stubborn souls—some clung so hard to their obsessions that sheer willpower let them break through to the living world. But beings like Lamb and Wolf—gods tied to the very foundation of Spirit Blossom—couldn't.
Because this realm wouldn't allow it.
Ahri was the same. As a savior spirit, her role in Spirit Blossom was vital. Spirit Blossom should never have permitted her to leave, and yet… she did.
"Logan. The soul is Logan's." Ahri said lightly. "He brought me out. I was just trying it, but I didn't expect it to actually work."
"So, Fox…" Lamb's voice softened—and turned cold. "Did you kill him?"
Beside her, Wolf let out a low, threatening howl, his gaze sharpening into something feral.
"I did not!" Ahri hurried to explain. "I helped him—helped him, okay? It was what he asked for!"
She could beat Lamb and Wolf if it came to that, but why fight?
They were all Kanmei sisters. If anyone needed trouble, they could go pick a fight with the Akana—what kind of nonsense was "family fighting family"?
Ahri continued, "I came to you because I need you to nurture his soul. I'm not great at this kind of thing, but you are, aren't you?"
"And why should I help you?" Lamb asked. "That soul doesn't belong to Spirit Blossom. If we force it—incubate it, push it along—couldn't that bring disaster down on us?"
Ahri huffed, and with a soft pop, she shifted into her human form.
She lifted a hand elegantly. Her sleeve swept past Lamb's face, and an image unfolded in front of Lamb and Wolf—a scene like a living memory.
They watched in silence… then Wolf was the first to yelp.
"Whoa! I like this guy!" Wolf shouted. "He's a good one! Lamb, someone like this should be judged by you!"
"He really gave up his life for other people! Lamb, Fox tricked him! Shoot your arrow!"
"I didn't trick him!" Ahri protested. "He died in that world. As for the part where I could protect his soul and bring him to Spirit Blossom to revive him… I just didn't tell him, that's all."
"Fox, you're awful," Wolf said with a delighted grin. "You did it on purpose. You wanted to see what choice he'd make when he faced death. If you'd told him, he wouldn't have been so scared, so worried—look, he even cried."
Lamb kept watching without a word, all the way until the enormous white fox swallowed everything and the image vanished.
She tightened her grip around the soulstone. It radiated a faint, cool chill. Lamb steadied herself, then lifted her mask slightly, revealing a small, rounded face. She raised the stone and pressed it to the underside of her chin.
"Lamb's getting serious!!!" Wolf hollered.
Ahri watched too, eyes shining with excitement.
Lamb and Wolf were the gods of Spirit Blossom who held life-and-death authority over souls. They could erase a soul without Spirit Blossom condemning them—and because of that, whether a soul lived or died here had to pass through their judgment.
And now, Lamb was judging Logan.
Judging whether his soul… deserved to be saved.
After a long moment, Lamb lowered the stone, let the mask fall back into place, and said softly, "I understand, Fox."
"I'll help you. I'll bring this soul back to life. But… your power tore his soul too badly. I'll need time to mend what was broken."
Ahri nodded hard, grinning. "As long as you'll help, that's enough. Time is fine."
"Then, Lamb—Logan's in your hands. You have to save him. He's my good friend." Ahri's grin turned sly. "And if you revive him, he can bring you things from the outside world."
With that, Ahri turned into a little fox again and zipped away in a white streak—gone in an instant.
Only Lamb and Wolf remained.
"You're really going to revive him, Lamb?" Wolf asked.
"His soul is pure and clean," Lamb replied. "A soul like that is rare. If Thresh discovers it, he'll come for it no matter what."
"And besides…" Beneath the mask, the corner of Lamb's mouth curved faintly. "Don't you like him too?"
"The way I like a soul is by swallowing it," Wolf said.
Lamb shook her head—refusing him.
"No."
"Wolf, no."
"Wolf. You can't."
"I think…" Lamb said quietly, "he might help us find the memories we're missing."
"And I really do want more books. The last ones Fox brought me—I've already finished them."
She tucked the soulstone against her chest and walked toward the heart of the forest.
"Come on, Wolf. We have work to do."
"Okay, Lamb! Together~" Wolf rushed after her, pressing close at her side. His pitch-black eyes spun with greedy little thoughts, and clouds dripped out of his split, terrifying mouth like… drool?
His gaze kept sliding to Lamb's chest.
The sound in there… it was so nice. So pleasant.
Wolf thought that all on his own.
"Ow!"
A bow smacked Wolf on the head.
Wolf looked at Lamb with wounded indignation—and met the steady, serious gaze behind her mask.
"Wolf," Lamb said, "I told you. No."
"I know, I know." Wolf nodded fast. "I promise. I'm just looking."
Lamb and Wolf stepped onto the surface of a lake and walked across it, all the way to the very center. There, Lamb took out the soulstone and placed it into the middle of the crystal-clear water.
Then Lamb sat down cross-legged and began to keep vigil over it.
A pale blue-white glow bloomed behind Lamb's back, and a pitch-black glow rose from Wolf.
Black and white twined together—wrapping, blending—then streamed into the soulstone, imprinting themselves onto the small, shining stone.
"Now it's just a matter of time," Lamb murmured. "And whether he still wants to live."
"Lamb, I can't stay for too long," Wolf complained. "I'm scared I'll get bored."
"You won't, Wolf," Lamb said softly.
"It'll only take ten years."
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