Waking up

Deep in a rich ancient forest, a small figure stirred. In a tree as old as only time could tell, kamiko opened her eyes. She rubbed them wearily, her pinky hued eyes fluttering open. How long have i been asleep?

She stretched herself awake, finally opening her eyes to observe her surroundings. The inside of the tree was the same as always, but the rune on it was servely weakend.

"Hmm... I guess it was still successful then..." Kamiko thought to herself. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. She immediately turned around, checking her rear end. That confirmed her suspicions. What was there previously were 5 gorgeous tails, now reduced to a single, short and not to mention, ugly looking one.

"Ha... well, whatever. At least I can cultivate them back" Kamiko sighed. Exiting her safe and comfy hideout, she quickly wandered to a nearby lake, which thankfully was still where she remembered. Gazing at the fox-like reflection on the water's clear and sparkling surface, Kamiko knew the extent of her powers lost. She used to have a pinkish-hued body, with white tips on her tail. However, her current fur had dulled alot, and it was now rough instead of silky smooth like it used to be. In the reflection, a single gem which resembled that of a ruby was also significantly less bright than what she remembered.

"Almost everything in terms of my physical appearance has gone down", Kamiko mumbled to herself. She dragged herself back to her hollow tree, and began to shapeshift. Her fox ears, tail and ruby remained, the only thing telling her apart from a normal, human girl. She glanced down at herself, nodding in satisfaction. At least she still looked similar to her past in this form. Sitting down on the dark green grass cross-legged, she swirled her energy and mana around her meradians. She furrowed her eyebrows as a frown appeared on her enchanting face. Not good.

"They really took almost all my cultivation with them! I used to have more than five thousand years worth of cultivation! Now i barely have over ten... Even a smart eight year old fox might have more strength than me! How humiliating..." Kamiko complained. Just then, a sudden gust of wind picked up and swept across the forest floor. The trees started swaying violently, and the leaves started tumbling around her. Then, a loud voice boomed, reverberating throughout the forest grounds.

"That was your wish was it not? You have already been warned of the price, but you chose to comply. You cannot go back on your word, or you shall face heavenly punishment, as per the agreement!" The voice echoed. Kamiko immediately kneeled down, bowing her head in reverence, "Of course I remember. Thank you for accepting my daring request. I will not go back on my word. I apologise for my rude outburst earlier."

"Good!" the voice answered, before the wind died down, restoring the forest to its previous calm state.

"This is but a small price to pay, so long as I can be with you..." Kamiko mumbled, with a sad smile on her face as a tear slid out of her eye.