Kozuna
"So… Emper… Who is that demon and why'd that dickhead warp us here?"
"Didn't he tell you, Mifune?"
"He said he could make use of us. Not very informative. Start talking."
Emper chuckled softly.
"Well, the demon who sent you here is known as Ryuziro. He's one of the seven facets dwelling inside Shadow Seals. More importantly, the Shadow Paths is a dying realm… We need help. That's why he sent you two here, Mifune. Why don't we make a deal?"
Almost sounds like he's got this stupid interaction practiced…
Mifune winced at Emper's words, abruptly taking a defensive stance and slowly balling his hands into fists.
"Make a deal? Just let us outta here. We'll leave your precious Ryuziro be."
"Hold on." I lifted my palm to Mifune. "Let's at least… hear what he has to say…"
Emper laughed once more.
"At least one of you is a bit… agreeable. But before I offer you two the deal, I'll explain a bit of why I'm asking. Shadow Seals- curses, the power of demons- were 'granted' to humans after the death of Visutra, the demon who once watched over the Shadow Paths."
As Emper cleared his throat, a snapping sound bounced around the ruined palace, and two rugged chairs materialized behind Mifune and me.
"Take a seat. You two might be here for a while."
We don't have a while…
"About seven centuries ago, a war took place within the mortal realm. A war between the inhabitants of the Shadow and Astral Paths. The demons and the celestials. That war ultimately is what tore the human world asunder, and made it what it is today. The celestials, aided by manipulated humans, killed Visutra. And with nothing to contain his vast power, the world of the humans became ground zero for all of that demonic energy to spread."
"So, wait… Who are the celestials?" I asked, resting my elbows on my knees.
"Spiritual beings much like the demons, except they were born with celestial energy. As opposed to demonic energy. Naturally, celestials are the opposites of us demons. But… as I was saying… When Visutra was killed, his energy surged across the planet. Almost everything unprotected was either vaporized or irreparably changed in a flash. The celestials did protect the living creatures from death, but not without an ulterior motive…"
I've never heard any records of this… I mean... As much of a history buff as Yvira is, she's not once mentioned a war between demons and celestials…
Mifune stretched and yawned.
"So, what? Is this the part where you tell us the ulterior motive?"
Emper nodded slowly.
"Of course... The celestials wished to contain the power of Visutra within the humans- in the form of what came to be known as curse seals. The celestials secretly implanted that name- curses- into human minds, after wiping all memory of the war out of humanity. But those curses… They contain fragments of Visutra's power. Especially the original seven Shadow Seals. And the celestials don't wish to be directly involved… Not anymore, at least. They've even created stand-ins."
Stand-ins?
"Alright…" Mifune sat up in his seat, rubbing his forehead. "So why did all this demonic shit slam the humans? Also, why in the actual fuck was the y'all's damn war taking place in our realm... OUR world?"
"Simple, really. What race would want to bring calamity down upon itself and its own world? The celestials painted us demons as the bad guys and tricked the humans into fighting alongside them. The celestials split and sealed the most important parts of Visutra- the ones containing fragments of his consciousness- into seven humans. The primary people who aided the celestials in killing Visutra. Their reward for helping was becoming vessels, forced to pass down a piece of Visutra's consciousness as they died off. The residual energy left in the earth sometimes infects humans, which is why some of your kind are born with curses. And those of you who are born with curses, are all subject to possibly becoming another vessel of a facet of Visutra. Meanwhile, without Visutra's power, the Shadow Paths Realm is slowly deteriorating... Reaching the end of its lifespan. And the meager power I possess cannot sustain the realm forever..."
This is all so… far-fetched… But, with Nikai having a demon inside of him… And Mifune and me being transported to another world…
"Okay, you've told us some truth, Emper. But-"
"Kozuna, you don't actually believe him, right?"
"Mifune... That demon, Ryuziro- he said I have two curses that should contain demons... And since we've come to the Shadow Paths, my seal's been acting… strange." I raised my left hand, finally showing the shadowy claw and catching Mifune's attention. "When I used my abilities earlier, my hand… transformed... But Mifune, you haven't changed at all even though you've used your curse. So, while yours isn't necessarily linked directly to Visutra... For me, it's like the demons are SUPPOSED to be inside my seal…"
"What are you getting at..?"
Emper grinned in delight, flashing his fangs through the void.
"So you figured it out, Kozuna?"
I nodded, placing my hand on my chin.
"In each original Shadow Seal… there dwells an embodiment of Visutra... So the reason why I don't have the demons... is because the person or people who had my curses before me are... still alive."
How was I even born with these curses? It's like the essence of Visutra is present enough to be noticeable… But if those demons were inside of me. I'd damn sure know it.
"That's about as correct as you can get, Kozuna. Though all Shadow Seals contain demonic energy, which manifests differently depending on the person it inhabits, only the original seven hold the facets of Visutra. Your seal has a more… direct link. To put it simply. A marking on the left hand indicates a hereditary seal. It's why you only have one mark, but multiple seals. Likely, someone or some people in your bloodline have those seals. It's possible they're still alive and have those demons, but it's equally possible that you merely inherited the powers as a result of genetic mutation... Meaning the two demons of your seal could be anywhere."
"All this talk is getting me thinking... If Visutra's power was able to basically obliterate our world... Then, altogether, it should be able to restore it, right? I mean, if Visutra's power can keep your realm alive, there's no reason it can't restore the human world as well…"
"Yes, precisely. That is what I wished to explain before making a deal with you two. I need to maintain the Shadow Paths, lest the realms fall out of balance. But without Visutra, the Shadow Paths won't last much longer."
I could accomplish my goal… We wouldn't have to live in a wasteland anymore… Emper might be telling the truth, but there's also the celestial's side of the story… I'm gonna have to speak with them about this war…
Mifune took a deep breath, gradually closing and reopening his eyes.
"Alright. Let's hear this deal of yours. Is it gonna get us outta here or what?"
"Two things. I will not only allow you passage back to your realm, but I will also remove the recoil from usage of your seals and increase the raw power... All you must do in return, is collect and bring the seven facets of Visutra back here... or have him revived from your realm... Within five years."
"Annnd if we don't fulfill our end of the bargain..?"
"Your seals will be rigged to release pain equivalent to all the times you've used your abilities. Granting you a debilitating, agonizing... death... And more importantly, the Shadow Paths only has about five years left. So your time is finite no matter what. Succeed, and you will not only be able to keep the boosts to your seals, but you will also never need to worry about your own powers killing you. Failure is not an option… for anyone here…"
Not giving us much of a choice here…
I met eyes with Mifune, who surprisingly nodded in silence.
Together, we said, "We accept your terms."
Emper reached through the darkness and tapped our foreheads with his long, gold fingernails while speaking in that same weird language that Ryuziro did. Immediately, my heart throbbed, and my senses heightened… The flow of energy in my body almost felt as if it were nonexistent, strangely enough, yet my seal glowed even more profound than ever.
This decision is deeeefinitely gonna come back to bite us later…
"Hm. Something's odd about your seal, Mifune… I can still alter the properties of your powers to the extent I promised, but… it's strange."
"Yeah, whatever. You said what needed to be said. Let us out. Clock's ticking."
Emper exhaled deeply and snapped his fingers. To the right of us, a swirling circular portal appeared, showing the imagery of the nighttime desert on the other side.
Mifune crept toward the exit.
"So we just step through? We won't get killed or turned into demons or something, right?"
"No... You'll be fine... But before the two of you leave, I will say… I recommend joining Ryuziro and his vessel… You'll find accomplishing the task I gave you easier."
"Wait a minute-"
Despite me still speaking, Mifune yanked me through the portal. The portal disappeared the instant we'd crossed back into the sandy dunes. And our only means of getting answers along with it.
I rubbed my forehead desperately.
Didn't even figure out WHY the demons and celestials were warring…
"Look who's there, Kozuna," said Mifune, pointing to a figure in the sky.
"Ryuziro…"
"Heh, heh… I've been waiting… Are you two ready to get going?"
"The Hanakai... Their ultimate goal is to resurrect Visutra, isn't it?"
"Indeed. And now that our goals are aligned, I'm assuming you'll be joining Nikai and me, as we unite with the Hanakai? Our escort is nearly here."
Mifune sneered at Ryuziro, cracking his knuckles.
"We're not grouping up with your fucking cult."
"What he said. We're not joining a gang of international terrorists, and if Visutra really was a victim... Then, first and foremost, we need to confirm that information... somehow… It's not like there's any proof Emper and you aren't liars."
We can't trust either side... We're stuck in the middle, and without an unbiased source to tell us the truth, we won't get anywhere... Ryuziro recognized our strength; that's why he sent us to the Shadow Paths… Forcing us to make a bargain and help him reunite with the other six... In and of itself, that is manipulative…
We don't have a reason to do things his way… Let's test out just how much more powerful we are…
Without warning, I fired a thunderbolt at Ryuziro- electrocuting him in midair. Sweating, I was surprised at the sheer speed of my own attack- let alone that a single strike was enough to… clip his wings…
Ryuziro plummeted to the ground... smoking and twitching.
Mifune smirked and encased Ryuziro's entire body in a block of ice.
Ryuziro's not at full power, sure… And with our limiters removed… He's not a problem.
Mifune tapped me on the shoulder, pointing to the mountain.
"Yo, Kozuna, it's the Hanakai... They've got some damn perfect timing."
Two familiar faces were perched on the cliffs. One seated with his arm over his knee, and the other standing with his arms folded. The man sitting with a judgmental glare was Orion Bahsin. And next to him, with a cocky grin, was none other than Nazun Ozukashi…
"We meet again, Kozuna," Nazun called, locking eyes with me.
***
Nazun pulled the sword from his back and plunged down the mountainside, to our surprise. He descended quickly, sending out a blast of energy from his sword to break the fall. Landing on one knee, Nazun slowly stood up straight and pointed his blade at me.
"I've been itching to finally get my rematch with you…"
My gaze swapped over to Ryuziro, who was out cold- literally. His body gradually turned back into Nikai's, allowing me to relax a little, but we still had the Hanakai to deal with…
Someone rescued Nazun at the last second before… We gotta make sure no one escapes this time… And since Nazun has a stupid vendetta against me, he'll focus on me. Mifune will just have to handle Orion.
"Hey, Mifune... I need you to concentrate on Orion- the guy up top."
"Got it. Can you take the other guy alone?"
"Nazun's not a problem."
"Oh, I'm not a problem?"
Nazun sent a classic gust of energy my way- one which I dispelled immediately with a blast of lightning, leaving smoke in its wake and the eyes of my enemies wide open. As Mifune jetted to the side and made his way to the lifts, I stood there with a half-smile and my palm extended ahead, staring down Nazun.
"Not bad, Kozuna. But how about I show you how I'VE improved during our time apart!"
Nazun, without moving a muscle, furiously whipped translucent blackish-silver energy around himself. His skin glowed, and his previously black hair took on a silver color as it whirled around. Momentarily, Nazun took on the form of his signature Armored Soul Colossus, his body engulfed wholly in energy. And just like usual, his sword grew into the energy form, and a shield materialized in his free hand.
"Soooo... What exactly is the big change?"
"Oh, just watch." Nazun turned over to Orion. "Hey, do it now…"
Orion finally got off the rocky cliffside and smugly floated over to Nazun in a bubble of energy-based light. Meanwhile, Mifune, who'd almost reached Orion, began surfing back to my side.
"With Orion… I can show you the power of two curses working in harmony, Kozuna!"
The Soul Colossus' body, sword, and shield grew in stature, gaining an additional layer of smokey, black and gold energy armor atop the original silver and black layers. In its third stage, the Soul Colossus surprisingly became so radiant that the adjacent area seemed like it was daytime.
I blinked slowly.
"...fuck's sake. What's the name of this one?"
"This is the… Lightbound Colossus."
"Pfft. That's a dumb name," Mifune scoffed, pressing his hand into the sand.
Mifune's cool breath disappeared in the wind as he poured his energy into the earth, sending waves of spiky ice shooting up towards the entirety of Nazun and Orion's Lightbound Colossus. Wide-ranging and expansive, Mifune's ice blocked our view of the enemies. But that solid blockade was shattered to pieces momentarily.
I shut my eyes and blocked my face as the destruction was utterly blinding. Shards of ice rained down, and only Mifune could shield us. And even with that, the dangers were still looming right over our heads. Literally.
The sand around Mifune and me had grown lighter. I glanced above to see a sword enveloped in Orion's light coming down upon us.
"Mifune!"
"Yeah, I know!"
The two of us leaped in opposite directions as the blade came crashing into the dirt, leaving behind an expected fissure. Energy vented out of the hole like smoke from a crackling fire, as I rolled back to my feet and brushed my hair away from my face.
Too close…
I gazed beyond the icy remains at Nazun and Orion, who both stood in the base of the Soul Colossus.
The Soul Colossus is faster, no doubt thanks to Orion… But it still doesn't match my speed. Even so, they destroyed Mifune's ice with ease and would've landed a hit on both of us if I'd noticed a second later. Ah, I get it. So this is the combined power of two Hanakai curse wielders…