Dark Ascension

Kyoto, once the proud capital of Japan, still stands to this day as a major tourist attraction to people all over the world as classical shrines and pagodas intertwine with infrastructure, skyscrapers, and technology. It is here we begin our tale with the Tepes family: William Tepes, a wealthy entrepreneur from London; Sukiyaka Tepes, William's wife, a native of the town they now were visiting - a trip to see her parents; and finally, Elizabeth Tepes, their lovely daughter of eighteen years. Eliza had a bit of trouble since they arrived - she spoke very little Japanese but had received much of her mother's appearance. This, in turn, gave rise to some awkward looks from the locals as many mistook her for a native. Luckily, her mother wasn't the least bit rusty, being perfectly adept in both languages.

The sun shone brightly with only a few clouds dotting the sky as they approached a traditional Shinto shrine. Although Sukiyaka was quite familiar with the sight, William had only seen such things a couple times in his life, and for Elizabeth, this was her first experience with a temple of the like. The family walked into the temple, Japanese history surrounding them in every direction.

"Isn't this great honey," Sukiyaka asked her daughter.

"Yeah, mom, this is so much fun," Eliza replied in a sarcastic tone; she obviously did not want to be spending her day at an ancient temple with her family.

"C'mon sweetie, look alive! It's not every day that you get a chance to learn about your history and the lives of your ancestors," her father responded.

"Okay, dad," Eliza replied as she and her parents walked throughout the temple, Sukiyaka occasionally taking pictures on her digital camera.

As they approached the center of the shrine, they saw a priest in traditional garbs performing a prayer ritual. As the camera flashed, the sage-like man politely asked Sukiyaka that she refrain from taking pictures during the ceremony. As he walked past Elizabeth, she could feel a shiver traveling up her spine. She shook her head and disregarded it, watching the ceremony intently, it having almost a hypnotic effect on her.

After the ritual was past, Eliza noticed something shining at the priest's feet.

"Pardon me sir! I think you dropped something," she said as she picked up the object and handed it to him. It was a necklace, one unlike she had ever seen before: The lace was made of a silk-like rope, and the jewel was beyond comprehension; a perfect sphere on the outside and on the inside, it appeared to be a constantly moving swirl of blue.

The elderly man turned to Eliza and spoke, his English heavily accented but clearly understandable, "I am sorry, but you are mistaken. That is not mine."

"Are you sure, sir?" she asked. "I found it next to you after the ceremony. It has to be yours."

"No, my child, it does not belong to me. Keep it if you wish. Who knows, maybe you will find the true owner of that necklace soon enough." With that, the priest walked away without saying another word.

"But sir...Well, I guess it wasn't his after all," she said aloud to herself. "I wonder who it does belong to?"

"Honey, c'mon," her father shouted to her. "We've got so much more of this place to explore! Not to mention that your mother wants to get more photos for our 'Family Vacations' album at home."

"Coming dad!" she replied.

As she went to rejoin her parents, Elizabeth quickly pocketed the necklace, figuring there was no use in worrying about it for the time being. As the three of them continued to tour the shrine, Eliza began to grow anxious, perhaps even nervous.

I suppose I'm more bored than I realized, she thought to herself. It'd be nice if we didn't have to stay here for so long...

As if on cue, Elizabeth felt something run down her face... Rain. Where it had been sunny before, there was now a down-pouring overcast coming from the clouds above the Kyoto area.

As they headed towards the entrance, Elizabeth stopped to remove the necklace from her pocket; she had intended to turn it into one of the caretakers, hoping that its owner would return to look for it. Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to find it; perhaps she, like its previous owner, had dropped it.

"Eliza, come on honey! Let's get back to the subway," Sukiyaka said. "We'll be dry there until we can get back to grandma and grandpa's house."

"Okay, mom," she replied, running after her mother so as to be as dry as possible.

On the subway ride to her grandfather's house, Eliza began to wonder who's necklace she now possessed. Did it belong to a rich person living in the area, or did it belong to a fellow tourist who was having an off day? Eliza pulled the necklace out of her pocket and began to examine its details. As she took a closer look at the back of the necklace, her father sat down beside her; Eliza quickly hid the necklace before William had noticed it.

"Ready to see grandpa, Eliza?" he asked. "You know, he always loves to see his only granddaughter."

"I love grandpa too, dad. I can't wait to see him again!"

"That's good to hear, honey. Look, we're approaching his stop right now!"

The subway train began to slow to a halt as it reached the family's stop. By time the Tepes family had resurfaced, the rain had ceased, the clouds slowly parting. Once they arrived at the house, Elizabeth had noticed she was a little dizzy.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" Sukiyaka asked with concern, her maternal instincts kicking in.

"It's night back home…I think I'm just tired from the time change," Eliza said, not wanting to worry anyone. "A quick nap and I should be good as new!"

As they entered the home of the elder Tepes’, they saw a note on the dining room table - apparently, her grandparents were out grocery shopping for the moment but would be back shortly. Elizabeth headed upstairs into the guest room and quickly passed out. She went into a cold sweat as she was visited by a strange dream...

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"Wha-What's going on?" she asked. "Where am I?"

Eliza was in her own dream world, being shown thoughts and images that she couldn't understand. One image showed Eliza as a neko girl, clawing at a ball of yarn; another showed her as an angel falling down from heaven.

"What does this all mean?" she shouted in confusion.

Then, as if complying to her very demand, the answer appeared before her very eyes: An image of Eliza holding the necklace before placing it on her neck.

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Gasping as she awoke, Eliza could feel her heart pounding as she looked around. The room was dark, only dimly lit by a digital clock which read 5:27 AM. She had been asleep for over twelve hours!

That dream was so vivid... It almost felt- She immediately dismissed the idea from her head, then chuckled at herself, I think I've read one too many comics; what do I think this is, the Shikon Jewel? Still, it is a beautiful necklace... It couldn't hurt to try it on...

It registered as odd in her mind; here, she had just been asleep for over half a day and yet her only concern was trying on a piece of jewelry. Yet, there was something irresistible about it, as though the necklace were calling to her, begging to be worn. She placed it around her neck and admired how it enhanced her natural beauty, the jewel shining beautifully,even in the dimly lit room.

Eliza got up and walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. As she admired herself in the mirror, she was beginning to enjoy seeing herself with the necklace; it was almost as if it was destined to be with her forever.

I look so gorgeous with this thing, she thought to herself. I think I’ll wear this today with my outfit.

Eliza went into the bathroom and began to get ready for the day ahead. She put on a fresh change of clothes and headed down into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

Eliza was certainly hungry, but she didn't feel like cooking. She opened the fridge and grabbed a leftover rice ball from the previous night's dinner. She then grabbed a carton of milk in her opposite hand. As she went to grab a cup, she reached for it, not even realizing what she was doing. She set her food on the table as she poured her glass. As she sat down to eat, she felt a sharp pain coming from just above her butt, causing her to let out a yelp of pain. Eliza nervously reached behind herself and pulled forth a tail, which she had instinctively used to grab the cup just moments ago. She observed it closely...

Eliza watched as the mysterious cat tail began to sway back and forth on its own.

H-How did this get here? Why do I have a tail? Wait a minute, it couldn’t be from the necklace, could it? No, it’s impossible;I’m probably still dreaming, that’s all.

Using her right hand, Eliza tried to pinch herself awake.

“Ouch!” she said aloud. “OK, so now I’m awake. And the tail is…”

Eliza looked behind her and was frightened at the sight: Her tail was still attached to her.

No, this can’t be! This isn’t possible! How do I have a tail?!

Sure, she had sometimes fancied the notion of having a tail, but suddenly having the reality of such an idea forced upon her was just too much to handle. Eliza gently fell to the floor as she tried to get a grip on reality.

Suddenly, a voice called out to her, forcing her to accept the situation whether she could believe it or not.
"Eliza-chan, are you alright?"

"G-grandma!" Eliza was surprised and somewhat worried about what she would do. No; calm down. It won't seem like anything more than part of a costume.

"Are you alright? You gave us quite a scare last night. Perhaps you should lie down some more, you look somewhat feverish," her kindly grandmother suggested as she helped the young woman up off the kitchen floor. "After you eat of course! You're liable to pass out again if you don't get any food in your system. Why don't you head back to the guest room and I'll fix up some breakfast for you?"

“Sure grandma, that’d be great. I’ll meet ya there.”

Making sure to face the front of her body towards her grandmother, Eliza quickly left the kitchen area and went back to her room.

Phew, that was a close one. I don’t think grandma saw it, but I definitely can’t let anyone else see this thing too, especially mom and dad. I’ve got to get away from here after grandma gives me some breakfast.

Thinking quickly, Eliza rushed over to the nearby desk in the room, opened up the drawer, and grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper. Eliza then began to write a note for her parents:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Decided to do some of my own sightseeing today. Be back by dinner.

-Eliza

There, that should do it.

As Eliza finished writing the letter, her grandmother knocked on the door to her room.

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After she finished breakfast, Eliza slipped out the window and left the note on her bed. She was on the gymnastics team back during high school, so dropping from a second story window was not much a feat for her; still, she noticed it seemed easier.

Good to see I'm not out of practice... But it's almost worrisome, she pondered. Shouldn't I be tired from fainting like that? Why am I filled with such vigor?

Eliza knew full well that standing around asking herself questions was not going to bring any answers. She decided to head back to the temple - it was where all this queerness seemed to have begun and she did not have any other leads to go off of.

Deciding to stay away from other people as much as possible, Eliza began to walk to the ancient temple. After a long trek, Eliza eventually reached her destination; for some odd reason, Eliza was not the least bit tired. Eliza entered the temple and attempted to search out the old priest while at the same time hiding her new tail from anyone else around. After avoiding most of the temple staff, Eliza eventually found the priest praying in front of a sacred altar.

“There you are!” Eliza shouted.

"I'm sorry, child, but who might you be?" the priest asked, but after looking at her for a couple seconds, he soon recalled. "Ah, yes, forgive me. My memory is not what it once was. Did you have any luck finding the owner of that necklace?"

Elizabeth lightly slapped her forehead, "I forgot all about that! But that's not really what I'm worried about right now. You can exorcise spirits, right?"

The man was quite surprised by the request. "In theory, but I've never actually done it in practice. Why do you ask?"

Eliza loosed her tail and turned for the man to see it. "I look like a cartoon character! All kinds of weird things have been going on since my family came here yesterday and I just want it to stop!"

“My goodness! That certainly looks real.” The priest proceeded to grab Eliza’s tail.

“Yeouch!” Eliza shouted.

“It is real! You are truly cursed…Get out! Out of this temple!”

“Can’t you help me?” Eliza asked.

“There’s nothing I can do for you girl, if you are even that anymore. Now get out of here before you curse this entire temple! Don’t make me call security!”

“No!” Eliza shouted, tears rolling down her eyes.

Eliza quickly hid her tail and ran out of the temple.

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Eliza wasn't sure where to go - It was obvious that the shrine wasn't going to help her any, and on top of that, her tail was getting sore from keeping it hidden within her dress.

Perhaps a different shrine? No, they'd likely treat me the same, Elizabeth thought as she tried to find new options. Then, she saw something which gave her an idea; it wasn't a permanent solution but it would buy her some time: A costume shop. If I can get some cat ears, I should be able to pass it off as a costume. Then, at least for a couple days, I should be able to say that I'm just wearing it because it's cute.

She quickly searched through the store to find a silky, white furred pair of neko ears. When she reached the cash register, she realized a fatal flaw in her plan: I only have pounds in my wallet! There's no way he'll accept them!

But when she opened it, as if by some miracle, she found no less than 20 five-thousand Yen bills. She was nervous that she might be going insane, but the cashier seemed to accept them with no problem.

As she put the ears on, more questions came to mind, Maybe mom decided to give me some spending money? No... She'd do that, but there's no way she'd give me a hundred-thousand yen!

Even though her outfit was now complete, Eliza still did not want to attract much attention on her way home. Eliza began to walk back to her grandparents’ home once more. After another few hours of walking, Eliza finally returned home; once again, she did not feel the least bit exhausted by the long walk.

I should definitely be tired by now, she thought. What the hell is going on with me?

As Eliza walked into the house, she noticed a note on the front door:

Eliza-

Went out with grandma and grandpa. Be back soon.

Love, Mom and Dad

“Well, that’s a relief,” Eliza said aloud to herself as she went inside her room and closed the door behind her. “Now I can take these stupid cat ears off…Yow!!!”

As Eliza tried to take her ears off, she felt a sharp pain shooting out from the top of her head. Eliza quickly looked at herself in the mirror to see what was happening: The ears she had bought at the store were white; the ones currently on top of her head were the same color as her tail.

It's all just a bad dream... We just got back from the shrine, and I'm still taking my nap... I'm going to wake up and have dinner with everyone, and it'll be like nothing ever happened.

She didn't really believe it, but it did comfort her to say it nonetheless. Eliza paced back and forth through the living room, unsure of what to do. Her stomach rumbled loudly, Well, at least that's normal.

Stepping into the kitchen, Eliza started heating a pot of water as she went to get some ramen noodles. When the pot came to a boil, she poured in the noodles and spices and started to stir them. However, her mind was still very much occupied with the peculiarities she had been facing and she allowed it to wander, not focusing on what she was doing. Eliza spilled the pot onto herself, the boiling hot water soaking and burning her legs, forcing her to let out a cry of pain.

"Ouch!" she yelled. "C'mon Eliza, stay focused. You can't let this situation get you like this."

Eliza quickly rushed over to the cabinet and took out some paper towels. She proceeded to clean up the mess she had made and then got another box of ramen from the pantry.

"Now, I'm starving!' she said, cooking the ramen very fast.

Eliza ate her meal and then proceeded to the guest room so she could change into a clean pair of clothes. As she removed her skirt, she noticed something that she hadn't before: Her legs were fine. They did not feel numb or sore in even the slightest, nor did they show any sign of burns.

But it was boiling! I felt it on my legs... She wasn't sure whether she should be happy or if she should grow ever more frightened. She took a deep breath, Alright, I need a test... Something small, that won't do any permanent damage if I'm wrong about this... A needle! I need a clean needle.

Her grandfather was diabetic, so Eliza simply borrowed a blood sugar tester so she could prick herself with it. She found that the prick stung but it didn't draw any blood.

What? How is this possible? I should be bleeding! Maybe I should just try another spot…

Moving the tester to a different area of her body, Eliza shoved the needle into a vein; the same result occurred.

No...I should be bleeding. Why am I not bleeding?!

Putting on a new short sleeved shirt and matching skirt, Eliza began to panic; something was seriously wrong with her. Placing her fingers to her neck, Eliza checked for a pulse; it was a small oasis of relief in this desert of despair to feel that something was the way she remembered it. Eliza slowly trudged back to the guest room and lay down. She asked herself aloud, "What's wrong with me? Why is this happening?" Her eyes were like minuscule waterfalls, flowing strong and true as she cried herself to sleep...