Chapter Text
Sunfire’s hilt gleamed bright silver as the sun rose across the barren desert. She shifted the dune that had pooled around her during the night’s sandstorm, freeing her blade.
The magic she’d sensed in the dark grew stronger. Two demon armies headed towards her as she waited, sick with dread and anticipation. Perhaps this time she’d find him, the demon who could wield her without losing his mind.
But while she had hope, it was slim. After three million years of life, Sunfire knew what they all called her. Bittersweet, the poison sword. None of them knew her real name. None of them had ever lasted long enough to find out.
Perhaps she just hadn’t found the right warrior. Even though she knew there was truth to that, thinking it caused her pain. Because it came with a slight hope tinged by a past full of the bitter reality of constant rejection.
Six hundred million demons had come to her to test their strength, to see if they could become the partner she sought so desperately. But only fifteen million demons had possessed the strength to wield her without turning into shrapnel when they touched her.
And of those fifteen million, none of them had been able to bear her presence for more than a hundred years. Sunfire was lonely and desperate for a partner. But as more time passed, the more she became convinced that there was no one able to wield her.
Still, she clung to hope. Her name was Sunfire, after all. And names were powerful things. He hadn’t given her a weak name when he forged her and she wouldn’t do him a disservice by giving into loneliness. No, she would shine on like the sun she was named for, and she would wait. Eventually, the right warrior had to come along. And she would wait, even if that meant waiting millions of years.
Today held another chance for her to find a wielder. The Eastlands and Westlands were at war again and they were fighting over her. Though they called her Bittersweet, Sunfire knew the two Kings were determined to find her and claim them as their own. And each of them were convinced she was hidden in the others’ land.
But Sunfire wasn’t hidden. She’d never hidden. Her sister and brother had already claimed a wielder and were content to keep out of the war being fought over her. It was through her brother, Iceterror, Sunfire had learned about this war.
He was always willing to share information with her, because he had no reason to fear her offensive power. It was his defensive power that kept the Southlands safe from invasion and his wielder safe from any potential harm.
Mindblinder, their sister, wasn’t someone she got along with well. The two of them contained opposing powers and that made them uneasy of the other. Because of that, they kept out of each other’s business as much as possible.
Though all three of them were swords, they were family. Neither Iceterror nor Mindblinder would turn on her; the three of them had made a pact to keep from exchanging blows with the other.
Judging by the magical signatures of the two armies, they would arrive at Sunfire’s location at noon. She would wait until there was a clear winner and then approach that army’s general and get him to take her to the King. Unless the general wanted her for himself, of course. If that happened, she would partner with the general and make him the new King.
Sunfire gave a mental shrug. It didn’t matter to her who won. All she cared about was finding a new person to use her the way a sword was meant to be used.
The air shifted around her and she sensed the presence of a god coming towards her from the south. There were few gods who visited the demon world, but the few who did were powerful. Sunfire had entertained the idea of being wielded by a god once or twice, but their power signatures were too different. While she was a powerful sword, able to cut through the fabric of reality itself, she didn’t have the power to weave her strength with the strength of a god.
An hour passed before the god got close enough for Sunfire to recognize the magical signature. Helmi. One of the two goddesses in a group of five gods that were willing to walk the demon world.
Sunfire watched Helmi as she approached. The goddess was dressed in a nylon outfit of a light yellow color, using a straw hat to shield her eyes and head from the burning sun, with trail runners on her feet. It always amused Sunfire how much trouble the gods went through to dress appropriately for their surroundings when they were impervious to weather.
Helmi spotted Sunfire and blinked to a spot beside her. “What are you doing?” she asked, sitting cross-legged on the sand.
Sunfire projected herself into Helmi’s mind. I am waiting for the war to end so that I may find a new wielder.
“Why don’t you leave them to kill each other? You know you aren’t going to find a proper wielder amongst them. With the amount of demon blood you’ve absorbed, you have the same amount of power as I do.”
That may be the case, but I cannot exercise my power without a wielder through which to channel it.
“And you can tell that there are none amongst them with the strength to wield you.”
Sunfire was silent. Helmi was right. None of the demons in the approaching armies had the strength to wield her for more than fifty years, at best. What would you suggest I do, then? I need a wielder.
“Does it have to be a demon?” Helmi asked. “There are plenty of gods around who would love to have the power you could provide them with.”
Sunfire smiled sadly in Helmi’s mind. My power is demonic in origin, while the gods have divine power. The two are incompatible, despite the similarity in our strength. Knowing that, what choice do I have but to wait for the demon capable of wielding me?
“What about going to the human world?” Helmi asked. “There are some humans who are able to handle demonic and divine power. Wouldn’t that be a better use of your time?”
Humans do not live long enough to make the trip worthwhile. None of them live over a hundred and twenty years and I am seeking a partner who can stay with me for the length of my own life. It’s impossible.
“Perhaps,” Helmi said. She stood up, sand falling from her lap. “But there are half-demons walking in the human world right now with no knowledge of their demonic heritage. After three million years of searching this world, don’t you think it’s time to look somewhere else?”
Sunfire watched Helmi walk away, weighing the question in her own mind. Should she stay here and hope that one of the two Kings held the strength to wield her or should she take her chances with the unknown and try and find a wielder in the human world?
When the two armies clashed that afternoon, Sunfire was gone.