Game Over?

It's over.

You were ripped from the Demon Realm before you were meant to, with the sounds of baying dogs echoing in your ears. The taste of ash coats your tongue, and as you gather your senses you realize that you're back where you began. In the very place you first found and touched your Star Shard.

For some it rings hollow, and reeks of failure.

For others, it's a relief. Those hardships can now be put behind them, and they can return to their lives, unburdened by the weight of the world.

Yet, even without the majority of your powers, your soul still sings. Purple Souls still retain the ability to cool themselves at will, and Red Souls to heat themselves at will. Yellow Souls still find a glow to their features when they will it, and Green Souls still feel an inborn advantage of the wind when attempting to pick up scent trails. This while Blue Souls still easily chase the scent of flowing water, and Black Souls wander the night with clearer eyes than most.

Though it wasn't until a lightning storm raged that those feelings came ever more clearly. Each cat was struck without an ounce of pain. Instead, you felt invigorated, and within you two senses suddenly awakened– The ability to innately find others of your Soul Class, and a yearning for a City far to the North, where none of you have ever been before.

The North City.

Your journey there (or lack thereof) was filled with other strange and dangerous events. Golden eyes watched you for days before disappearing, and a fox taunted you for a game of tag in return for a single, answered question should you have won.

Then the world began to come apart at the seams.

Spirits grow agitated and more numerous by the day, unable to be soothed.

The days themselves run intolerably hot, while the nights chill you down to your bones. The electricity in domed cities goes haywire, spitting excessive sparks and popping light bulbs in places. Any remaining greenery begins to wilt and wither before your very eyes, and the sea rages with great and growing intensity, beaching marine life with every crash.

And death lingers, and lingers, and lingers…

All of this appeared around the time that cats first began arriving in the North City. They bore witness to the odd, cohesive community of cats and wolves who lived there.

All of you were welcomed in, and welcomed to the meager spoils found within this crumbled, old dome city. That yearning sensation that once filled your chest seemed to have abated at the time. Your soul held it's breath and waited for something that was as of yet unexplained.

Then the night came where it made sense.

A pale cat by the name of Bright beckoned you to the City Center, and you obliged. It was only there that you were able to speak with her, and to observe a conjunction of the moon and the North Star, in a great burst of color and light, and shadows dancing across the sky.

It's there that you met the fox again, and learned of their true nature and form– a nine-tailed fox demon and the patron of all Keepers, Kyukusabi. They revealed themself to be the creator of the Soul Wheels, Shades, and Partners, and they are the one you're meant to rely on to complete your personal quest. They are also the one who gave you a vision of what can only be described as Paradise, with images of all your loved ones there to enjoy it as well.

With it, Kyukusabi gave you the goal of achieving it, should you choose.

And in the end it is your choice–

Regain your powers and energy to help save the world, or forego it all and return to what's left of the life you lived before. For as long as you can, at least.

At the end of this vision and this choice, Bright yielded the North City to you, or, as she called it, The City of the North Star. It's now your's and your fellows', to turn into the community that you choose, both in appearance and functionality. Bright herself has moved on with the rest of the cats and wolves who once roamed the city, while Kyukusabi remains, ever elusive and ever watchful.

A way forward is to be decided sooner rather than later, but first you must find the stragglers who didn't attend to the call. This will take some time, but in the meanwhile, perhaps it's best if you train your powers for what's to come.

And start again.