Chapter 437: The Two Foxes
Chapter 437: The Two Foxes
Before me, stood two tiny foxes.
Yep, two.
Both were staring at me curiously, and their long, furry tails appeared to be entangled with one another’s. The one on the left had pale, iridescent fur that was a gradient mixture of white to pink with hints of blue, while the one on the right had pure black fur, as dark as midnight, with red linings on its body.
Both had eyes as big and shiny as pearls, glowing brightly underneath the luminous light of the bathroom. Pair that with their small, furry bodies, and they were utterly adorable. They also had a mysterious mark that looked like a rune of some sort on their foreheads, one pink and one red, but I didn’t have the luxury of admiring that as my senses came back to me once more.
Level Three Magic — Chronofreeze!
Immediately, I froze time in a panic, realizing I was still naked. After several deep breaths to calm down, I shut off the water, then slipped on my Cloak of Yharnav, which had been cleaned in the washing machines last night then dried off just now.
Once time began to flow again, I was behind the two animals, glaring at them menacingly.
“… Oi.”
Immediately, the two turned around — the dark one baring his teeth defensively while the light one calmly spun around, blinking her beautiful eyes at me.
“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, easing the dark one down. “… As long as you don’t try to hurt me first, anyway. I just want to ask one thing — just now, after staring into your eyes, I was captivated. Normally, that would never have happened… so, tell me. What did you do?”
The dark one didn’t respond and instead merely growled deeply, as if still viewing me as hostile. Suddenly, it wasn’t all that cute anymore. The light one, however… spoke. But it wasn’t out loud. No… she was speaking directly into my head — my soul.
“Are you our master?”
I took a step back, shocked. Her voice was light and gentle, like that of an angel’s. I wasn’t that easily deceived, however, and narrowed my eyes after sensing no hostile intent from the light one.
… You can speak to me inside my head?
“Are you our master?” It asked again, ignoring my question.
… If by that, you mean if I was the one who helped you hatch, then yes, I am.
“… I see.”
“Y-You’re just going to believe what he says?!” A young boy’s voice suddenly joined in the mix. “He doesn’t look like us — he isn’t one of us!”
“He is not lying,” the light fox spoke again, her voice angelic enough to make entire towns worship before her. “Mouths can lie, but souls cannot. Master, I apologize for reading your soul without permission. Forgive me — I had to verify your identity. However, now, it is clear. We are yours, master.”
Saying this, she closed her eyes and knelt down on the edge of the bathtub, as if pledging loyalty to me.
“W-Wha… sister…” The young male fox cried, surprised and at a loss for what to do. The light, female fox opened one eye and glanced at her twin brother, gaze commanding and orderly. It was clear who was the more dominant one of the two.
Faced with this, the darker male fox had no choice but to do the same, getting into the same kneeling position as his sister and bowing down deeply.
“… W-We’re yours, m-master.”
Raising an eyebrow, I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, then ultimately decided it was better if I discussed this with Ling Xin and Axilia together.
“Hm… follow me.”
*****
Upon returning downstairs, both Ling Xin and Axilia were shocked to see what was perched on top of my shoulders. The female fox had climbed onto there after receiving my permission, while the male slid down the staircase’s railing and… well, ended up falling onto the floor. He quickly got up though, showing he wasn’t hurt at all. Or perhaps, he just didn’t want to look weak in front of his sister.
“M-Master… is that…” Ling Xin blinked a few times, still in awe.
I tilted my head. “Yeah, these two hatched from the egg. Do you have any idea what they are? They are newborns, so I doubt they know anything about their own race or anything like that.”
“Darling… those two are part of the legendary Soulfox race,” Axilia said softly, eyes widened in wonder. “I read a myth about them once… it is said that they were once incredibly powerful and ruled over the humans of a different Realm, but after one day, they all suddenly disappeared.”
“That day she speaks of… it is known as the Advent,” the female fox said in my head, to my surprise.
You know of it…? But aren’t you just a newborn…?
“The Soulfox race was originally a matriarchy. The females were significantly more powerful than their male counterparts, which were born together with them. Female foxes are immortal of old age and will not die as long as they are not murdered. Males, however, experience the life and death cycle like normal. I am not a newborn, master — my body was merely constructed anew due to… certain reasons.”
Being a guy, I felt pretty conflicted listening to this, but I endured.
So… who are you, really?
“… In the past, I was the Queen of the Soulfoxes, master. However, my original identity goes beyond that… you could say I was the founder of the Soulfox race.”
My eyes widened. You’re… the first Soulfox, ever?
“Correct. Does that bother you, master?”
Uh… no, just a bit surprised, given your small body frame and the fact that you hatched from an egg a few minutes ago.
“I see. If there is anything about me that bothers you, let me know. I will change so long as you wish it, master.”
Hm… okay. Well, I don’t know if you can do anything about this, but… if you could speak out loud, that would be great. As you can see, those two are staring at me in extreme confusion right now.
“I can, but that would require me to morph into a different form. Is that alright, master?”
Uh, sure? As long as it doesn’t blow up the house or kill anyone.
“Understood.”
Suddenly, a white light surrounded the beautiful fox, and Axilia, Ling Xin, and I all covered our eyes. When I finally opened them again… the fox on my shoulder was gone. In her place was… a human leg. There was also one on my other shoulder.
Then, I looked up.
Sitting on top of me was an angelic, perfect girl. She had long, back-length hair that was mainly white but with blue and pink highlights, making it iridescent depending on the angle form which it was viewed. Her eyes were utterly stunning, seemingly able to draw anyone in and captivate them for eternity. Her irises were a plethora of pastel-like colors, from pink to purple to blue and even light green.
The combination of colors was dissonant yet harmonic, different yet flawlessly congruent. It was a balance of imbalance; a perfection of imperfections.
She wore a silky arctic gown that showed off her slender white arms and beautiful light skin, as pure as snow and as divine as an angel. She was the very embodiment of perfection, on par with Mei Gui’s charm.
But adding onto this, perhaps the most interesting and captivating asset she had of all was the fact that she wasn’t completely human by appearance. On her head, two furry white fox ears popped up, and on the back of her waist, a soft and large snow-white tail squirmed around, waving left and right.
“Is… is that you, Soulfox?” I asked, entranced by the moment.
“Yes, master,” she replied. Of course it was. Who else would it be? Ugh, now I feel stupid.
But that aside, the fox’s voice was still as angelic as ever. Even though she wasn’t speaking directly into my soul, it was as if her tone still carried a certain amount of reverb and echo to it, making it truly similar to the gentle whispers of an angel.
“Wow…” Axilia murmured, walking closer. “She’s beautiful…”
“Ugh… as much as I want to hate you since you’re another competitor with that beauty, you’re just too darn cute~!!” Ling Xin cried, frustrated with herself but still smiling regardless. “Oh, but wait… she’s nowhere near 18 yet. Master, you can’t go for her, fufu~”
“Actually, I originally escaped to this Realm in the form of an egg 3,000 years ago,” the beautiful Soulfox corrected gently. “In other words… master, if you wish for me to serve you in bed with this human body, I would gladly do so.”
“Wait. Escaped?” I raised an eyebrow, cleverly avoiding the latter part of her statement. “What Realm were you originally from…?”
The Soulfox closed her beautiful, entrancing eyes, as if reminiscing about the past, then spoke quietly.
“… The Soul Realm.”