[The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox] - Epilogue
Blurb: After Piri the nine-tailed fox follows an order from Heaven to destroy a dynasty, she finds herself on trial in Heaven for that very act. Executed by the gods for the “crime,” she is cast into the cycle of reincarnation, starting at the very bottom – as a worm. While she slowly accumulates positive karma and earns reincarnation as higher life forms, she also has to navigate inflexible clerks, bureaucratic corruption, and the whims of the gods themselves. Will Piri ever reincarnate as a fox again? And once she does, will she be content to stay one?
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Epilogue
Bureau of Reincarnation
Hall of Vermilion Clouds, Heaven
“And these have been the true confessions of a nine-tailed fox.”
With a contented sigh, Piri sat back in her chair, swished one of her nine bushy tails into her lap, and petted it. Flicker half expected it to start purring. She had manufactured this form for herself out of her dreams, after all, and with Piri, you never quite knew where her dreams would lead next.
“Well, Flicker? Are they true enough for you?”
Distracted by his thoughts, he’d let too much time pass after her declaration. Now her voice had gone sharp, just one step shy of offended that he hadn’t fallen to his knees and praised both Heaven and the Co-Jade Empresses for the honor of writing down her memoirs.
“What you dictated is true, to the best of your belief,” he hedged, “but I’d argue that they’re far from complete….”
Piri’s lips pushed out into a devastating pout that had absolutely no effect on him. “I told you from the start that these weren’t going to be my complete confessions. Just my true ones.” After a moment of consideration, she added, like a Jade Empress pardoning a criminal convicted of the most heinous plot against her throne, “If it will allay your concerns, you may supplement them with accounts from other people. I’m sure Sphaera will be overjoyed to collaborate on such a monumental project.”
The five-tailed fox would be, too. She’d already published a collection of sayings called Piri’s Pearls of Wisdom that the Temple to All Heaven was busy spreading on Earth. However, any account from Piri’s biggest fan-fox was not going to be…unbiased.
Correctly interpreting his silence, Piri conceded, “You may borrow Floridiana as well.”
Flicker pictured asking the Prime Minister for help when she was already running the Heavenly Bureaucracy, overseeing the squabbling gods, mediating between the Co-Jade Empresses, setting up an exchange program so gods could spend more time on Earth and humans and spirits could spend more time in Heaven, and compiling an exhaustive reference tome called The Mage’s Guide to Heaven. While she might jump at the idea of helping to craft Piri’s memoirs, Den was likely to be far less happy. Flicker preferred not to annoy the Dragon Commander unnecessarily. It made committee meetings awkward on top of tedious.
“I, uh, think I will be all right working on this project on my own,” he said carefully. “I’ll just interview the others and insert their narratives where appropriate. But thank you for the offer – ”
A burst of excited taps came from the grate in the wall. Without waiting for him to respond, Star’s favorite star-child runner slid it open and tumbled through. “Flicker! Her Heavenly Majesty says she’s finally done with work! She says meet her under your willow tree when you’re done too – oh!” Noticing Piri, she executed a flawless bow. “Hi, other Heavenly Majesty!”
Piri inclined her head. “Greetings, Sparkle.”
Flicker was already gathering up his scrolls and brushes, preparing to leave the office. He saw Piri open her mouth to object to being ejected like an unwelcome petitioner, but then the clerk overseeing the archive of souls poked his head in the door. “Director, you asked to be alerted when Soul Number 782832 wakes u– Heavenly Majesty!”
He threw himself to the floor, but Piri was already on her feet. “Stripey’s back? Take me to him at once!”
She chivvied him out the door, peppering the hapless clerk with questions about Stripey’s most recent life all the way down the hall. Flicker shook his head. Oh, Piri. Still so easily distracted.
“Come on!” cried Sparkle. “She’s waiting!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
As Flicker shut his door behind him, he caught a glimpse of the title on the first scroll, the one Piri had been so adamant that he write down. The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox.
She was right: They were true, or at least as true as she was capable of making them. And as for the rest, well, that was what he, Star, Floridiana, Den, Bobo, Stripey, and all of their friends were for.
The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox (and All Her Friends) indeed.
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A/N 1: Thanks to my awesome Patreon backers, Autocharth, BananaBobert, cameron, Celia, Charlotte, Ed, Elddir Mot, Flaringhorizon, Fuzzycakes, Just a Kerbal, Kimani, Lindsey, Michael, TheLunaticCo, Tom, V0lcano, and Anonymous!
A/N 2: Aaaand that’s a wrap! After close to five years, The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox has come to an end! Thank you all so much for reading and supporting and encouraging me all these years. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Posted Mar 6, 2026, 3:47 PM UTC