Chapter 1: Punishment
Darkness. Nothing but darkness surrounds me.
Why?
Because I was killed. I died yet again for the third time. I was killed; I died yet again at the hands of those vile humans for the third.
How come I died in their hands? How come I was killed by such creatures who only knew nothing but to abuse and to destroy Mother Nature and to annihilate and to persecute those who love her?
How come those shamans, those shamans who should be helping me in protecting Mother Nature and in obliterating those who abuses and destroys her turned their backs to me and even worse helped the vile humans in killing me? Protecting Mother Nature should not be a choice for any shaman. It should be a duty.
How come I was defeated? How come I was defeated by mere shamans who were nothing more than insects? How come I was defeated by shamans who had allied themselves with the corrupt humans?
They are all the same. They are all corrupted. They are all enemies of Mother Nature. They should be annihilated. All of them.
How come a great shaman like me was defeated by them? How come with all of my power I was still defeated? How come with the power of the Spirit of Fire and the Great Spirits in my hands I was still defeated?
All of these questions, all of these mysteries are yet to be answered.
But the most important question of all is also yet to be answered.
How come am I alone, yet again?
Yes. I am alone yet again. No! I shall not be alone for long. I shall not be alone forever.
I shall return to the world of the living. I shall continue what I had started. I shall continue my duty. My duty of protecting the beloved Mother Nature. My duty of helping her prosper again. My duty of helping her return to her former glory. My duty of ending her torment in the hands of the creatures who should be the ones taking care of her. My duty of destroying the so called human race once and for all.
Finally, after all of my duty is done, I shall gather all of my beloved and live with Mother Nature along with her own beloveds in complete harmony. No one shall ever again disturb us in our quiet peace.
Thoughts, such deep thoughts carried by whom everyone considered to be the most powerful human to ever live in history. In truth, even the gods cannot deny it to be a fact. It is a fact. No on can hope to oppose it. No one can hope to oppose fact. No one can hope to oppose the truth.
Hao, Asakura Hao is the name of the human being referred to. Such an elegant name and a fitting one for someone as great as him, for someone who is destined to be great like him. Hao, having the meaning Leaf King, is a name only suited to those who carry the great qualities of a royalty, of a king thus the meaning Leaf King. Hao, being the Leaf King has his own great history, a very bitter yet great history.
Ever since the start of his life, humans have constantly persecuted Hao. He had the ability to see demons and when he was young; his mother was murdered because people believe her to be a demon. Having his house burnt, Hao wondered and lived aimlessly, believing himself to be a boy with demonic powers (since other boys bullied him for this) and dreaming to exterminate all humans. However, one day while sitting by a gate, he met a spirit named Ohachiyo and they quickly became friends. Ohachiyo gave him the nickname map-douji, having the meaning demon boy, and convinced him to forget his vengeance towards humans and rather enjoy the aspects of life instead. Ohachiyo taught him trivial things such as the skill of fishing, the sweetness of candy and the names of different song birds. But the most important skill Hao learned is the Reishi.
Hao followed Ohachiyo's word and lived life with a smile, for a moment at least. However, when a guard apparently heard Hao conversing with himself at night, he immediately suspected Hao of being a demon, and reported to Monk Densen, a known exorcist. Densen proved to be a fraud, and was easily overpowered, however this battle also proved to be a breaking point in Hao's path to evil. He recognized the man to be the one who killed his mother, and with his first oversoul, performed his first murder. By over depleting his Furyoku, Hao was unable to maintain control over his powers and unintentionally consumed Ohachiyo's power. This event leads to a constant Reishi that Hao is unable to turn off, leading to his path towards destruction.
Having experienced the sensation of a shaman, Hao proved to be a genius in the divine abilities and his skills flourished in time. Hao grew to possess good nature and worked as an onmyouji that eliminated demons. Though sometimes he created Oni from his sadness and anger, Hao was able to control the demons at will. During this period, he also came across Matamune, a cat that would prove to play a great part in Hao's life by first helping Asakura Yohken to defeat him five hundred years later, as well as teaching and fighting with Yoh against the grand Oni which threatened Kyouyama Anna one thousand years later.
Hao stated that Matamune was his only true friend, and gave it some of his spiritual energy in the hopes that Matamune would stay with him forever. Nevertheless, the curse implanted on Hao from Ohachiyo was permanent and eventually drew Hao mad. Matamune sadly left Hao as he saw his master go into madness and blames himself for not being able to help him. Hao eventually learns of the Shaman Fight, and comes to believe it is the key to cleansing the world of non-shamans, which he felt were defiling the natural world. His plans to create a shaman-only world are discovered and the Asakura clan stood against him and managed to defeat him. Afterwards, the Asakura family decided to change their family symbol from the traditional Yin-Yang five-star design (the emblem of the family's head, Hao) into a seven star tree that stated their renewal.
However, Hao's Yin-Yang jutsu or art, the mastery of the five elements of nature (fire, metal, wood, earth, and water) prevented his permanent death as he could now control the circumstances of his reincarnation. He was able to gain the ability to control his soul using the ritual of Taizan Kuzun, one of the greatest and most esoteric of Onmyoudo arts, an old name for the god of the underworld. Though Taizan Kuzun could only be reached by getting past the seventy five lords of hell, succeeding in making a contract with him gives one the ability to resurrect the dead or reincarnate themselves at will. The fact that Hao was able to perform this act as a living human being is a testament to his power, given that not even ghost can reach Taizan Kuzun.
He chose to be reborn five hundred years later, in time for the next Shaman Fight. His new reincarnation was as one of the Patch, the clan that organizes the Shaman Fight. During this time, he obtained the Spirit of Fire, the honor and symbol of the Patch Tribe. With his new ghost, Hao conquered many enemies with ease, including the five Seminoa warriors sent to stop him. He once again projected his idea of a shaman-only world, but was rejected by the shamans he was trying to promote. Though he was ultimately killed once more, by Asakura Yohken with the assistance of Matamune (Hao's former loyal companion) using the Futsu no Mitama, a sword of spirits, and the Senhachijuu, a set of one thousand and eighty prayer beads containing powerful spirits of the Asakura Family. Hao came very close to winning the shaman tournament, and was able to demonstrate the capacity of his power, becoming very infamous to shamans world wide. Despite the fact that he died before becoming the Shaman King, he achieved his goal of capturing the legendary Spirit of Fire for use as his guardian spirit in his next life. The Spirit of Fire is one of the few God class spirits in existence, possessing great power.
Upon Hao's third reincarnation, he chose to be reborn as a member of the Asakura family once more. However, his soul ended up splitting in two; the other half became Hao's twin brother, Asakura Yoh. This made the both of them the reincarnation of the original Asakura Hao, and it was said since Yoh was, in a sense, Hao, as the two of them were once one and the same, he might be the only one capable of defeating Hao.
As he was being born into his third reincarnation, Asakura Yohmei, his and Yoh's grandfather, attempts to assassinate him, but hesitated at the last moment. The moment of hesitation was enough as the Spirit of Fire appeared and took Hao away forcefully. In the fight that ensued, Asakura Mikihisa, Yoh and Hao's father, was permanently disfigured, and had to wear a mask at all times. While the Asakura's had failed to prevent Hao from attempting to become Shaman King, the birth of Yoh brought hope that Hao would finally be defeated. After this time, Hao also recruited a number of powerful shamans and each formed divisional groups.
Hao was Yoh's identical twin, who was a small part of Hao, and he had regained a body with the powerful blood of the Asakura lineage. Ironically, Hao was the sole reason why the Asakuras were this powerful. His guardian spirit is the Spirit of Fire. However, because of the Spirit's journey back from hell, it lost much of its power, which it regained by consuming other souls. By the time of the Shaman Fight, the Spirit of Fire was only very slightly less powerful than five hundred years before, which was visible in the scene where Hao destroys the Seminoa warriors.
Hao forcefully subjected the Great Spirits to his will, gaining unimaginable power in the process. Unknown to him, this act was also a form of disrespect to the other gods thus incurring him their wrath. The Spirit of Fire morphed and its new form easily defeated al of Yoh's group in a single attack. Yoh, who had just broken out of his prison and nearly beat Hao a moment ago, was now easily defeated by Hao, now practically unstoppable. However, eventually every single shaman in the world donated their furyoku, or what was left of it, to Yoh, and he achieved an ultimate oversoul that uses furyoku to recreate a body for both the Spirit and the Shaman. Hao and Yoh continued to struggle, until finally Hao was defeated by the combined power of the world, and the holy land of the stars disintegrated around the shamans.
'I have to gain more power, power that will ensure my victory over the corrupt and vile humans, power that will ensure the safety of mother nature, power that will ensure my happiness. But where? Where can I find the power I seek? Where can I find the power I need?' he asked himself looking around for the containing the power he wished.
'The power of the gods is not enough. Not even the Great Spirits can stand in the way of the united humans. I need power great than the gods, greater than the divine. But where? Where can I find that power?' he asked himself again as he continually search.
His eyes landed upon a mysterious world having great resemblance to his own. Mother Nature exists, demons exist and more importantly, humans exist. But none of the mentioned was the same with the natives of his home world. Mother Nature is still on her prime, no, she is still prospering more. Humans, though none are shamans, are fighting side by side with her and are one with her. The demons…...
'Yes, the demons are the ones I'm searching for. They possess the power I wish to hold. Power far beyond than what humans can comprehend, far beyond than even what the gods can comprehend' he thought excitingly.
Yes, the demons in this world, more specifically the tailed beasts, can give Hao the power he desires. No, the tailed beasts can give anyone the power they desire. But shall these tailed beats grant anyone the power they desire? Shall they let themselves be subdued by anyone? Heck, shall they even let anyone get close to them with the guarantee of their safety?
These are the question anyone who desires so much power should consider should they want the tailed beasts' power though perhaps, no, surely, most, if not all, of them didn't. Mostly likely, they are blinded by their thirst and hunger for power, and are all sent to the afterlife by the tailed beasts themselves, though perhaps, up until now, none of the blind ones realize that they were. Hao is now one of those who didn't consider the questions but perhaps, with the divine and godlike power he now possesses, he shall not be one of those who were sent to the other world.
'Yes, the tailed beasts. I am aware of their existence. I am aware of their greatness. I am aware of their abilities. Legend had stated that each and every single one of them possesses control over different and numerous elements greater than the gods. Thus they are feared by the Divine Union consisting of the seven primary gods: Hikari, the god of light and life, Shinigami, the god of darkness and death, Kazan, the god of fire, Tatsumaki, the god of wind, Tsunami, the god of water, Jishin, the god of earth and Dageki, the god of lightning.'
Legend also stated that the gods had already united together twice, each event for a different purpose however. Their first unification was at the beginning of everything including time, in other words, during the Great Creation, during the Genesis. However, although being the great gods that they are, they still made a mistake, the greatest mistake they can ever make. No, the greatest mistake anyone can make. It is the creation of something that even the creators cannot destroy. In the gods' case, it is the creation of the tailed beasts. Yes, the gods themselves created the tailed beasts, the ultimate bringer of chaos.
Thus the reason for the second unification; the attempt to undo the mistake that they had done, the attempt to destroy the tailed beasts. However, the doer, no matter who it is or no matter what it does, cannot undo a mistake. Though the seven gods came back to their homes defeated, frustrated and half dead, thankfully, they all survive the Great Collision that occurred. If they only faced the bijus (tailed beasts) one by one, if they only concentrated on destroying the weakest biju first, if only they can use the power of the bijus that they can defeat, if only the strongest biju wasn't the one they fought first, then perhaps they had the chance to undo their mistake.
However, a doer can do redeem from the mistake it had done. The gods may not have the capability to destroy the bijus but it doesn't mean that they can't do anything else to stop the demons from bringing upon havoc to all creations. The second best and the most obvious measure that they will take is sealing the bijus. But even in this approach, the gods still require assistance from two souls; one shall be the sealer and the other one shall be container. The souls shall also be required to give up something as a sacrifice. The sealer should give up his life and the container should give up his happiness. So far, seven out of the nine bijus were sealed within living containers called jinchurikis (power of human sacrifice). As implied by their name, each bijus possesses different number of tails representing how powerful they really are.
Ichibi no Shukaku or Shukaku of the Sand has only one tail thus making him the weakest among the bijus. The combined power of the fire and lightning gods can easily overpower Shukaku. Having the form of a tanuki or raccoon dog, he is the most playful and extravagant among his kind just like native tanukis in Hao's world. He is as well the most bloodthirsty. Despite being the weakest biju, his control over the wind element is unrivaled even by the wind god, Tatsumaki but still inferior to the other wind manipulating bijus. His control over sand is just as excellent as his control over the winds as the sands voluntarily fights for Shukaku even without any commands.
Nibi no Nekomata is the two tailed beast and the second weakest among the bijus. Despite having similar form as that of a native nekomata or two tailed cat in Hao's world, the Nibi exhibits far different abilities. He has the ability to manipulate the element of fire instead of animating and controlling the dead. He is infact, covered by malevolent flames as though he is made out of pure fire. The flames are also of a different kind as they are more potent than other flames. Though still inferior to the other fire manipulating bijus, he is still superior to the fire god, Kazan. Even the legend states that the flames shall abandon Kazan in favor of the Nibi should the two clashed.
Sanbi or the three tails is the third biju. Despite having greater power than both the Shukaku and the Nekomata, he has less intelligence even than an average human being thus making him the least dangerous. In terms of overall capacity, the Sanbi is also the lowest making him the easiest to defeat for the gods. Still his power and control over the water element is undeniable as represented by his turtle-like appearance. Even the water goddess, Tsunami, admits to herself that she is inferior to the Sanbi. "If only the Sanbi possesses at least the same level of intelligence as that of a human then Dageki-dono and Jishin-dono shall require further assistance from at least two more gods just to subdue him" was one of Tsunami's comments about the Sanbi.
The Yonbi no Sokou or the four tails is a half rooster half snake biju. Possessing four tails, he has four different powers as each of his tails represents a different element that he controls namely earth, fire, water and wind. So far, the Yonbi is the trickiest to defeat as he doesn't just use each of the elements' power solely. He fuses the compatible elements together increasing their effectiveness and potency by three times as much.
The Gobi no Houkou or the five tails is the fifth biju. Taking the form of a giant five tailed dog, he resembles the Yonbi no Sokou in terms of power only that he is more cunning and powerful. First thought to be only capable of manipulating ice by combining the wind and water element, he was greatly underestimated by the gods. He came out to be capable of controlling the same elements as the Yonbi no Sokou with the addition of the lightning element thus making him even trickier than the Four Tails to defeat. Having more elements to control, he can use even more elemental fusions.
Having the name Rokubi no Raijuu, the six tailed weasel has great power over the elements of lightning and thunder and is superior to the lightning god, Dageki. To a small degree, Rokubi also controls the element of fire by using the element of lightning as a means of ignition. Despite having a fewer number of elements to control and almost no elemental fusions whatsoever than both the Yonbi and Gobi, he can easily overwhelm the other two bijus using his sheer power alone. He has a very destructive nature with intensity almost comparable to that of Shukaku's bloodlust making him one among the most dangerous bijus to approach.
The Shichibi no Kaku is the seven tailed beast resembling a badger. He is the smallest among the bijus but also the most cunning and stealthy. "When facing the Shichibi no Kaku, one should fight with his wits not just his power" was Hikari's, the god of light and life, comment about the Shichibi. The element of earth is under his complete power. It complements and greatly magnifies his elusiveness and slyness even more. The gods had stated that the Shichibi is the most annoying and frustrating biju they can ever fight.
Hachibi no Hachimata is the name of the eight tailed beast. Sometimes also referred to as Yamata no Orochi, Hachibi is an eight tailed eight headed snake greatly resembling the native Yamata no Orochi in the history of Hao's home world. Both Hachibi and his counterpart are longer than eight mountains thus making Hachibi the biggest biju. However, the Hachibi is a more cunning and intellectual being far different from the other eight tailed eight headed snake which is very much like a wild animal. Though just being the second strongest biju, Hachibi is the most wicked among all nine. His power bears great resemblance to that of the god of darkness and death, Shinigami, and the king of hell, Taizan Kuzun. Using this power, he summoned up all of the evil spirits he can to become even more powerful and challenged the Kyuubi no Kitsune in the most epic battle in the history of time though in the end, Hachibi was ultimately defeated. His purpose for challenging the Kyuubi was revealed to be the title "King of Bijus".
Kyuubi no Kisune, also referred to as Kyuubi no Youko, is the ninth biju and the deserving one to be called King of Bijus. Having the form of a giant fox with flaming crimson fur, he was thought to be only capable of controlling the element of fire thus leading the great gods to underestimate him greatly upon their first and said to be the last encounter. It was revealed that the Kyuubi has power over all of the elements of nature. So great that his power is, all of the elements abandoned the great gods in favor of the Kyuubi rendering them absolutely powerless in the battle. Among all of the bijus, the Kyuubi has an attitude deserving to be liked and respected even if it is only for a little. Though he is a beast of almost pure malevolence with scathing and sadistic personality, he does have a sense of honor and possesses respect for those he thinks deserving to be respected. He wants Hachibi no Hachimata's death more than the great gods' for the snake's unsightly personality. Therefore, he is rather frustrated when the Hachibi managed to escape during their fight.
'Yes, the bijus' powers are what I need to achieve my goal. Wait for me there, you are going to be mine soon' Hao thought and started to descend to the world of the bijus.
"Excellent choice of world, Asakura Hao" came a deep and powerful voice that seemed to resonate from every direction.
Hao stopped in his descent and looked around for the source of the voice but even before he asked who it is, seven figures suddenly appeared forming a ring that surrounded him. Each of them wore garments each with different color that seemed to represent an element. The colors are white, black, crimson, silver, azure blue, green and gold. The seven doesn't need any introductions as Hao immediately recognized them. He recognized their divine aura, their divinity.
"What purpose do the seven great gods have for coming personally to me?" Hao asked with visible respect.
"Your fate" Shinigami answered simply. Hao grew anxious to the reply.
"Your punishment" Hikari said. Hao grew even more anxious but a little aware of what the gods are talking about.
"If you are to go to that world," Kazan said pointing at the world of the bijus.
"You are not to leave it" Tatsumaki continued the statement. Hao's widened at the declaration.
"You are to stay there for eternity" Tsunami said.
"Should your new body's functions come to an end again…" Jishin said stopping at mid statement.
"Should you wish for another reincarnation…" Dageki continued but didn't finish the statement as well.
"Your place shall still be there and nowhere else" all of the deities said simultaneously.
"That shall be your punishment" Shinigami stated.
"And you are aware of the reasons, are you not?" Hikari inquired.
Hao brought his head down. This gesture was not needed as the gods knew that the shaman knew of his mistake. They knew that he is smart enough to know. They couldn't care less on whoever wins the Shaman Fight and become the Shaman King even if it is the most corrupted human for as long as he abides the laws. If the Great Spirits deemed that shaman to be worthy of governing their powers then he shall be granted of the powers. However, what Hao had done cannot be put into words.
Now that the Great Spirits are gone, so is the right of life the world has. The Great Spirits are the ones leading every single one of the living. They make the very foundation of life of the world with the elements and Mother Nature. Their banishment is the world's death or the trigger for its end. Now the world shall start to corrode and shall support no life until nothing is left in it. This is Hao's success in eliminating the human race as well as his world without even realizing that he has done it.
"Imprisonment in the world of the bijus shall not be enough punishment for your actions" Kazan stated.
"You are to eliminate the bijus as well" Tatsumaki said.
"That shall serve as your second punishment as well as your mission from us" Tsunami said.
"You are aware of their existence, are you not?" Jishin inquired.
"However, you are not to be worried" Dageki said.
"We shall be of you assistance as you know, even we cannot eliminate the bijus which are inclusions of our creations, which are our mistakes. You are who we choose as you are the only one who possesses the power to eliminate these demons" the gods spoke all at once. Hao also wanted to speak but was quickly stopped by Shinigami.
"You are not to utter further words."
"You are to accept your punishment and mission without further questions" Hikari said.
"Time is of the essence. Descend now" the seven gods ordered.
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I'm going to give this new fic a few more chapters before updating my other fic. But then again don't expect them to be out too soon. Classes had started to begin and my sight is deteriorating as well.