Inari’s Gift

The instant the mage’s soul began to drift, multiple contingencies triggered, and dozens of his constructs flooded the area.  Even as they started to scan for threats, a new astral body appeared and tried to pull him in.  Clearly, he had forgotten an important step—undoing his failsafes so his choice could succeed.

After being anchored back in another body, the mage sent out a message to his creations that untethering his soul was intended, and not to be alarmed.  To keep them from worrying, he transported himself to where he met the avatar of Inari before trying again.

Upon arrival, the avatar was already present in the form of a landscape.  A feeling of amusement was projected toward the mage, who sent back a sense of annoyance before repeating his prior actions and dissolving his astral body.  Beginning again, he felt the area around them seal itself within a stronger defense than he had ever seen before.

“I must admit, that was quite amusing, little mage,” the being remarked as it shifted into a large fox, voice changing somewhat as it did so.

As the mage focused on the form of Inari, the fox continued, “Cera, the owner of the body you will be taking over, originally wanted to return to her body if the realm was brought back to a state where it was safe to live as a kitsune again.  After hearing that someone wanted to take her place, however, she has decided to have a new body created when I have the power to do so again.  Since she no longer needs it back, I do not mind expending some power to alter her body to be more to your liking.”

When the fox finished speaking, it nodded and sat down before the form of a young kitsune woman appeared between them, slowly spinning in place.  To the mage’s approval, she seemed closer to an arctic fox than a red fox, with cute little short ears atop her head and white hair.

The mage, however, was not a fan of the hair color, nor the large breasts she possessed.  The single tail signifying relatively weak magical power was perfectly fine—he could easily work on improving that, after all.  She also appeared to have almost no muscle, which was unfortunate, but again, something that could be worked on.

He thought for a moment before asking, “Would it be possible to shift the hair to a crimson red, and reduce her breasts significantly?  I much prefer those on the smaller side.  And how old is she?  I’m aware of the oddities of immortals and near-immortals.”

Inari nodded, and the figure’s hair swiftly altered to a dark red, her breasts shrinking a great degree.

“Cera is seventy-one years old, and has spent twenty-two of those frozen by magic.  Are you certain you wish to focus on physical changes rather than magical power?” the great being asked, despite being completely unsurprised by the choice.

The mage immediately replied, “Of course.  I would much prefer a body that I enjoy living in rather than having more raw power.  As you should have seen, my raw power before wasn’t terribly great without my modifications to myself, so it will just mean I’m back to my old starting point.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “This won’t be too much of a drain on you, will it?  I know that it isn’t easy to alter things in a realm you don’t have much power in.”

Inari laughed before answering, “I don’t mind making a few changes, as long as I only have to do so once.  But there is a limit to what I am willing to do, and I would prefer to use as little power as possible.”

“I suppose it is a good thing I don’t need much changed to be happy.  Yes, that looks better, thank you.  I want to ask to be tiny, like, maybe four feet tall, but I know I’d regret it more or less immediately.  Maybe, if you are willing, shrink the body down to five feet tall instead?  And the muscles look very weak, maybe just a tiny bit stronger, so basic living isn’t difficult?” the mage said while closely observing the body floating before them.

Inari shifted into an old man leaning on a staff before replying, “You are right about the muscles.  Magical preservation isn’t perfect, and her muscles have degraded immensely.  I was actually going to improve them a little as a surprise, but since you asked about it…”

The mage projected a feeling of gratitude before remarking, “If you are willing to make those last changes I asked for, I have nothing more to ask that isn’t purely greed for more.  I would be most pleased with that body.”

“That I can do for you, little mage.  And I approve of you knowing when you want to stop.  I have now made the changes to the real body, and can place you into it when we finish speaking, though the process of moving to a lesser plane won’t be pleasant,” the old man replied with a faint smile, clearly aware that another question was coming.

After a moment taking in the body he would become, the mage asked, “Would Cera mind if I take her name, or would she prefer I take a new one?  And unfortunately, I’m aware of how rough it will likely be.”

With a nod, Inari stated, “Cera is willing to allow you to take her name, as she wants to start over entirely to try to free herself from the memories of the past.”

Asking one final question, the mage inquired, “Do you need me to rush to try to restore your power, or can I move slowly?”

In response, Inari remarked, “As long as you don’t forget, and do make an effort at some point, that will be enough.  I approve of your work in your old life, and don’t mind rewarding you.  I would simply prefer that you aid me in return.”

Projecting a feeling of confusion, the mage couldn’t help but ask, “I thought you said before that aiding you was a requirement, though?”

Once again, amusement reached him from Inari as the great being stated, “I wanted to see if you were willing first.  I never directly said it was a requirement.”

“I see…  In that case, I am most thankful, and I vow that I will attempt to solve the problem, once I believe myself capable of making an impact.  I’m ready,” the mage finished as he sent a feeling of intense gratitude to Inari.

A moment later, reality lurched, and despite lacking a body, the mage felt violently ill.  A horrible twisting and squeezing struck his soul, and he could feel portions of it being torn away.  In extreme pain, he lost consciousness.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in what seemed like a faintly-glowing, well-padded coffin, arms crossed over his stomach.  Everything felt wrong, however.  As something twitched below him, he remembered the conversation with Inari and looked down.

The twitching tip of a crimson tail covered in fluff entered sight, flicking upward from between two slender legs.  A quick grope revealed that this was indeed a female body—the one designed before—and led to a joyous shift in mentality.

With a huge grin, the mage withdrew her hands from atop her modest clothing above her perfectly-sized small chest and her groin before reaching upward.  This new body was perfect, just as asked for.  The clothes weren’t great, just a simple green tunic and brown pants with some boots, but they also hardly mattered to her.

It took surprisingly little effort to open the coffin, the lid easily swinging upward, and she sat up.  Everything felt wrong about the movement, clearly due to this new body being so different compared to her old one.

Pushing through the feeling of wrongness, she pulled herself upright and swept her legs over the edge before heaving herself up and wobbling in place.  She found herself in a tiny chamber with barely enough room for the coffin and a walkway up to it.  Closing the coffin again, she leaned against it and went through a series of experimental movements for several minutes until she was relatively certain about her ability to control this new body of hers.

Unable to wait any longer, she pulled her tail around to her front and hugged it, rubbing her cheek against the fluffy tip.  A while later, she sighed, let go of the appendage, and turned toward the exit.

As she followed the pathway out of the chamber, she swiftly came across a rune circle engraved in the ground.  Perhaps it was an inactive teleporter, she mused to herself as she sat down to try to activate it.  Several minutes passed before she finally found how to control her mana and pushed it outward into the runes.

Unlike her guess, the ceiling above shifted and she found herself floating upward before stones moved themselves back into position, and soil covered them, seemingly undisturbed.  Perhaps it was a bit much to expect a teleporter at this level of power, after all, she concluded.  A look around revealed nothing but forest.

She sighed, as it was clear she wouldn’t be able to find this place again.  And once more, as she realized she was alone and in the middle of the wilderness.

Right as she began to walk, the voice of Inari appeared in her mind, stating, “I will help you find one of my followers to begin your new life.”

As she began to feel a strange pull behind her, she projected her thanks toward the voice she heard, spun around, and began walking.  While she walked, she repeated in her mind, “I am Cera.”

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