Regularly, the new children of the Earth began to sprout from the flowers atop the ground in the forest of life. Budding from the leaves and seeds of each flower, they were finally being born from the gracious Sun's sunlight, and the fertile lands given from the land imps, and the ocean god's offerings of pristine waters found only from his sea. Vegetation spread through the land, and life was given. Made into the forest for it's protection, and to help it flourish for the rest of the nation.

The three individuals responsible, Sun deity Ojirou Mashirao, Earth Imp Kirishima Eijirou, and Ocean God Shouji Mezou, marveled at their creations from the Mountain of Divinity. As their first creations as novice mythicals, this was a huge turning point in their lives.

Echoes from Kirishima's excitement spread through the mountain, the stems of new plants begininng to form, as he excitedly jumped around his oceanic ally. Shouji, a much more calm and collected individual, tenderly held onto Kirishima's arm as both a show of affection and congratulation, and to stop him from creating vines that harm the Mountain's structure. Kirishima stopped bounding around, and stuck to bouncing on the balls of his bare feet in front of his close friend.

While as happy as the other two, Ojirou wasn't able to showcase it as another force crept up his back like The Thousand; the giant centipede insect god whose thousands of feet were as cold and sharp as merciless knives.

They were to protect this forest until the Children of the Earth grew old enough to fend for themselves. A process that takes a mere 2 weeks if proper mentorship is assured.

And, if they're to protect the forest,

They must hide from the dark.

A body-less, horrifying accumulation of pure gaseous fear, anger, glutton and sin. It slithered over landscapes, simultaneously freezing and burner whatever it crossed with nothing but it's own leakage of power; a leakage made from an unstable amount of said power unable to all be stored within it's body. It's mere birth was a mistake if it's unable to hold it's own potentials within the body it was bestowed.

Ojirou grimaced at the though of encountering the thing in person. He hated it. It terrorized everyone, even those with the most authority in the world; God himself has no clue what he created, or what it has become.

He used his hatred to mask his fear of what the creature would do to him should he encounter the beast.

"Ojirou, are you alright?" Shouji asked from one of the faces he made from his neon blue tentacles. He was expectedly concerned, nothing killed Shouji more than the mere thought of his friends hurting.

"It's just... The Dark. What will happen if we're to face it? Will we run? Hide or fight?"

"Ojirou... God made you to completely combat the darkness; you're a tool made to defeat it. Where God has made mistakes, he makes tools to fix it. You are the perfect tool." Ojirou finally look up to see his tentacle's face smiling at him in reassurance. He couldn't help but smile back at him. Despite being the Sun Deity, Shouji seems to shine the brightest in all of the world. Perhaps he reflects the shine Ojirou casts onto him to remind them all of their purposes?

"Ojirou, the thickets of the forest are a labyrinth that no one could hope to navigate but us!! We made it, we know every square inch! Even if we did meet The Dark, there's no possible way it could find us in our own home!" Kirishima's sharp smile has never failed to cheer Ojirou up yet. This must be Shouji's work of reflecting his light onto Kirishima.

"Together, we are harmonius, and unbeatable." Shouji interjects with a curt nod. Kirishima gives a thumbs up and a much more excited nod.

What would he ever do without them?

"Alright, if that's the case, let's go down to the forest and check on the Earth's children." Ojirou already started to trek down the path the trio came from, Shouji and Kirishima following quickly behind him. Before he even reached the ground level, he could see the children's multiple colors. The bright pink of those sprouted from peonies, the striking purple of the children of violets. It was a wonderful sight to see what they had all created together, especially from up close.

Walking in through the trees' archway, the children were silent, only stumbling around on the grass, getting used to their new environment. The collars around their necks clearly showing which flower they were born from were magnificent, almost neon in color.

"You remember your sections, correct?" Ojirou smiled back at the two. They nodded in sync. Shouji was to take the eastern section, nearest to the sea. Kirishima took care of the children at the west, next to the mountain where they came from. And Ojirou took care of them in the north, directly beneath the Sun's light.

"With our sections already set up, take your garden and leave to them immediately." Each flower child had specific needs; some needed more water, more fertile soil, or more sun. They set up their sections and gardens depending on the flowers they'd take care of.

Sunflower, Zinnia, Marigold, Geranium and the lot of drought flowers all went with Ojirou, and once he had gathered all of the obedient children, he was set for the north.

Throughout the forest, he saw wondeful creatures. Timber wolves, snap dragons, seasonal deer. The scittered around him, welcoming him into his home. The fire-dwelling salamander spat sparks at him in appreciation, and rubbed up against his legs. He never got tired of their affectionate nature, shown as he carefully scratched the bottoms of their chins.

He got to his area happily. There was a Green Home for the children, and a small cottage for himself right next to it. He stepped on the stone path to the home and laid the children to rest, putting them into their beds of dirt and opening the windows for the sunshine to come through, a triggered contraption giving them small doses of water whenever they need it.

Having not opened their eyes yet, it was difficult to get them off of him as they clung to his warm figure. As he had hair on his head and tip of his tail made of pure sun, the were attracted to it like it was a beacon.

It took a while to soil all the children, but in the end, it was a simple task. As he left the green home, he made mental note of his tasks. Check up on them every 6 hours, feed them their special fertilizer, then leave them be. If more sunlight is needed, harshen it yourself.

An easy venture this was going to be.

Hopefully.

---

Three more hours until he had to check up on the children for the last time that day. It was currently 9 pm and he'd started cooking his dinner, a messenger blackbird with 8 wings (Octocrows, as the oceanics call them) sent from Shouji was eating from a tray of bird seed on the window sill after delivering me a letter. It was merely asking if he was alright, so he clipped on a response saying he was to the Octocrow's leg. It's going to send the note once it's finished eating.

Ojirou was cooking a simple dish of lamb and rice, and he planned to play his lute later today to ease him of any discomforts he had with this place. It's perfectly well guarded with all three of his and his friend's powers combined, so he has near to no qualms with that, but... he'd still rather just relax for this task rather than have to fight.

The flutter of the bird signalled that it had finished and left, going off into the night darkening the sky. The stars and constellations twinkled gorgeously this night, and the Star of The Seven was shining furiously, shining down a specific purple patch onto Ojirou's cottage. It meant good luck and fortune was to come soon, which alleviated his spirits. Although a beautiful sight, he knew stars were only the tears of his friend, God of the Night Kuroiro. He wondered if he was ok and what was bothering him to cause him him to cry so much.

Either way, Ojirou took his pan off the stone stove and stepped outside for just a moment to fully appreciate the scenery of the night, and he saw the moon shine brightly down onto the Green Home. Shouji must've told Tokoyami, God of the Moon, of their task tonight and decided to help them out of pure generosity. Ojirou's theory was only proven as he saw a crescent shape descend upon the Moon, quickly turning from a crescent, to the avian form of Tokoyami's bestowed companion, Dark Shadow. He waved excitedly at Ojirou's tiny form on the ground. Yet, once he waved back, Dark Shadow left as quickly as he came. But it still left a smile on Ojirou's face.

Until he felt a chill.

He couldn't understand why, but he suddenly felt entirely on edge. Every hair on his body stood on end, the simple chill turned into a blizzard of worry and encased his entire body as he fell into a cold sweat. He readied his hands and pure liquified sunlight began to pour from his palms like melted gold. He took in a deep breath, concentrating his focus and his breathing, and slowly raised himself onto the tip of his tail. He inhaled, he exhaled. His Sun expanded, and it shrank. The air around him began to whip up slightly, raising his hair and showing it's shining qualities better than ever. The moon glistened off his skin like sun on melting snow, he was shining, and the liquid sunlight spiralled around his still form.

He was hightening his spatial awareness, casting wind and light from his body to sense if there was another being in the area around him. His once sickly cold feeling was gone and replaced with warmth.

He held his form for another few seconds, until he suddenly felt a half-form in his area. A form manlike and alive, yet not. Now jumping up off his tail and into the air, time slowed around him as the sunlight hardened into spears. They darted into the direction of whatever entity it is that he felt.

Eyes still closed, he felt his sun, an extension of his body, rip through the air. The air bouncing off of it gave him a clear picture of his area in a split second, even with his vision restricted and arrows of light bounding off in a completely seperate direction at a speed that would put Thunder and Lightning God Kaminari's lightning to shame.

One made immediate contact with a hard surface, others phased through a substance that was between the phases of matter. More solid than moisture and able to be felt, but only left a ghost of a feeling on the skin. His eyes darted open and he sprinted to where the arrows had landed, creating stars of pure gold between his fingers in case a fight were to happen.

When he got to his destination, which was just behind the Green Home, the sight before him shook him to his very core and restrained him from moving any further.

The Dark.

It was nothing but a blubbering cloud of tar. Although it had no face or shape, everything about it told Ojirou that it was staring through the window at the flower children.

Rage and a boiling hatred festered inside of him as he ran towards the being of fear. The Dark seemingly didn't even notice his presence until too late, because before The Dark moved, Ojirou had already slipped into it.

He stopped moving. He stopped breathing. He couldn't see. Everything was black. He was very much alive, but... trapped.

Before he could comprehend his situation, he heard a wistful and quiet scream... it could barely count as a scream, since there was little to no pitch behind it, but the ferocity and genuine terror he felt course through his body told him otherwise.

The Dark fled.

And Ojirou was ok.

That night, Ojirou was too shaken to do anything. He fed the flowers a little earlier than scheduled, left to his cottage, and spent the rest of his night pondering. Wide eyed, at the ceiling, he stared until his eyes dried themselves out.

He was forced to close them and sleep, the terror of encountering The Dark never leaving his mind.

---

Immediately the next morning, Ojirou wrote 2 letters explaining his terrible encounter with The Dark and asking if either of his friends were ok. He created a phoenix from light and sent off each of the letters to their respective recipients.

Ojirou was drinking his 5th glass of water that morning, still light-headed and unable to tell what exactly happened last night. Well.. The Dark ran off because it was scared that it was found out, of course. But what should he do if it ever comes back?

Then, he had an incredible idea.

This being of pure dread and despair has spread nothing but malevolence throughout it's existence in the universe.

So what else is there to do?

Ojirou is going to catch it

And kill it.

It's the only way to end the terror inflicted on the land and it's people. He's the perfect tool... God's perfect tool.... there's no way this plan can fail when his entire existence is to end this thing's life.

He only needs to find out how.

His murderous train of thought is soon ended by the booming screeches of his phoenixes. They quickly dived in through the small window of his cottage and landed gracefully on the table in front of him. The letters Ojirou got back said things basically on the line of "we're alright, but are you alright?"

They can't risk leaving behind the Children of the Earth, so they can't come to his aid.

He needs to know how to kill this thing, and how to do it now.

...there's a flickering spark in the corner of his eye.

A fire of orange and purple. It takes the form of a small, humanoid creature.

It bounces around slowly, sputtering occasionally. He slowly scoots closer to his window to get a better look at it, and it moves back slightly, enticing him to follow it.

Stopping rigid in his track, taking a moment to think, he decides to leave the Children under the care of his phoenixes, considering they're sentient beings imbued with life by none other than himself. He can control them from any distance and can see the scenery just by how wind bounces off of his creations' figures, so it'll be no problem. The Dark shouldn't show up so soon after encountering someone that's made to destroy it.

He takes off running, the bicolored ember running off at a speed to match his own. Ojirou hurdled over logs, dodged branches and trees with ease, skidded across small streams and jumped over rocks. He was determined to catch that ember.

But... the ember disappears.

In front of a hole in the ground.

Ojirou stopped abruptly, sliding across the dirt along the ground. He peered over the edge of the hole, and down he saw nothing but black. It was just... an empty, albeit suspicious hole.

He sighed, shaking his head in confusion and disappointment. He couldn't believe he ran all the way out here, completely abandoning his responsibility on a curious whim.

Head low, he turned to walk back to his cottage... until... he was gripped.

His head snapped back to look at his ankle, it was being gripped by hardened mud. But, before he could react or pull away, he was dragged under by his leg.

And, with a scream,

He was gone.

---

The Dark ran around the land. Looking for something, anything.

Anything that can help

It wants to remember how.

That boy... that boy that was graced with the Sun.

He almost stayed in for too long. If he had stayed in for any longer, The Dark would have consumed his memory.

The Dark needs to remember.

It needs to remember.

He remembers.

-----------------------------------------------------

(A/N: I had this idea :)) )