The figure stood stalwart and respectful before bowing before the powerful lord of darkness.
“One could say that I seek many things like you do, from one god to another.” He said, the shine of his earrings reinforcing his own status as a god.
“I am Zamasu, the World-King God of the 10th Universe. I have traveled very far to this universe in search of you, Lord Aku.” The kaioshin continued, hands spread out as a sign of mutual respect to the mass of shadow. “I have heard of your exploits and your unrivaled power; how you have enslaved an entire universe of mortals.You and I are like… kindred spirits.”
“What you have heard is true, Zamasu of the 10th Universe,” the demon overlord spoke proudly of his great success. “I have indeed enslaved the mortals of countless worlds and the Dark Glory of Aku shall ravish this universe for all of eternity.”
Here, his eyes narrowed upon the kaioshin. Kindred spirits, indeed.
“And if anyone should attempt to overthrow me,” he began, his tone dripping with the promise of danger. “They will face a misery that cannot be dreamed.”
“It’s not quite like that, they just tend to reveal themselves to me alone. They don’t go invisible, they just hide. I think they want the people around me to believe I’m crazy. To isolate me. Only one of my friends has any belief and he’s not all there himself.” she explained. “It’s a harsh strategy, but it’s working.”
“Have you considered ridding yourself of these creatures? Your religious human mumbo-jumbo does not work against Aku but it may be effective against inferior entities.”
Slowly, her cries began to quiet, until only a few tears spilled down her cheeks. She had never been held like this before. And it felt…nice. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew this was something she had always wanted – the kind of care her mother never gave her. The child buried her face a little more into Aku’s beard, savoring the comforting feeling her father gave her.
“…Yes,” she replied after a few moments, her voice barely above a whisper. Her mother had seemed a terrifying, inescapable force in her nightmare. But now, tucked in Aku’s arms, she felt completely protected.
“I don’t want to go back to Mother,” Ashi whispered. “Please…can’t we just stay here with you? I like it here…I-I don’t want to go back…”.
He was relieved when her cries quieted and her tiny body ceased shuddering. She was so small in his arms and yet holding her close, sensing the fear leave her while calm set in, filled Aku with a sense of warmth and wholeness he’d never known. He didn’t want to let her go, especially when she revealed to him what it was that frightened her to terribly.
“You have nothing more to fear from her,” he promised, his voice soft yet filled with certainty. “I had a word with your mother. She is to treat you as she would treat Aku and nothing less. She will never harm you again.”
His embrace tightened around her just a bit. Aku couldn’t protect Ashi from the dreams within her head, but he could absolutely protect her from her mother. The High Priestess would obey his every word, of this he was certain, because unlike before, he would be watching.
“Your mother will do as I say and I will have my eye on her.”
The Shogun of Sorrow 