Musha no Yomigaeri: Prologue
Enma Daiou glanced from the ten-foot tall cloaked figure to the six-foot tall armored figure, moving only the pupils of his eyes. He didn't appreciate the Chikaradzuku. They didn't help with his job and were actually interrupting it. Literally. They didn't care if he was in the middle of a decision, deciding where the next dead soul was to be headed. When there was something they wanted, they usually demanded it when they wanted it. No sooner, no later.
The Chikaradzuku were dimensional travelers, going from one alternate way of life to the next. They never shared any stories of them, never intended to. But everyone knew that each different place they visited they took a soul that they felt deserved a second chance at life and either convinced or bribed the god or ogre who controlled the divisions of Heaven and Hell to allow this to happen. Even when the "afterlife monitor" --as some called it-- argued, the Chikaradzuku always got their way.
The last time they ever came in through this dimension was nearly two centuries ago. Their stay had been unusually quick, only two days. They had grabbed a warrior who was dishonorable and forced him back to life. One from Hell. Terror struck on Earth but the problem was quickly remedied once a legendary hero from Dimension 54 was summoned. With the Z Senshi around, however, there will be no serious threat this time.
It was no different this visit than all the other ones. A relatively normal duration visit period of two weeks. Again, another soul from Hell. But there was something peculiar about this one that was so much different than the others the Chikaradzuku ordered to be revived. This one looked familiar and hadn't died in the sector Earth was in. Then again, everyone who died in the sector this man had died in all had to transfer to this afterlife, for everything broke down in that sector.
The young man glowered with impatience, anxiety, and hatred. Enma did receive background on him after the transfer, and his name stood out in his mind whenever the name of the race was mentioned. The man was an amazing soldier, always following orders and carrying them out successfully, winning every fight he was challenged to, being fair in his fights, never complained about a situation, and as evil as he was, had some caring for his comrades. These were not qualities the Chikaradzuku looked for when they wanted to resurrect a person.
"A second chance, surely," the cloaked figure said, his voice smooth and calm. Enma and the Chikaradzuku, as a regular routine, had discussed the man's entire life story, getting into detail at many parts, but skipping over some parts as a whole. The Chikaradzuku had done most of the talking, most of the reasoning. Enma listened intently, hoping to catch a clue at why he wanted to get this man back to life. Nothing was revealed.
"A second chance at what, exactly?" Enma asked gruffly, getting more and more irritated. He quickly glanced at the man, seeing no changes in his expression ever since he had been here. Maybe a little more impatient. But he had respect, so he did keep quiet, not interrupting.
"A second chance," the Chikaradzuku bowed his head down, "for one of them to create a peace."
"There's more than one?"
"This is the only one. Pay attention to the people on Earth. I want you to notice something that had disappeared. Once the peace is made, I am certain that the element will reappear again."
"Do you think I have time for that?"
"Fine, then. Talk to one of the Kaious. Or maybe the Kami of Earth, if you don't have the time. This element is important to all dimensions that share the same location Earth is in. I won't bore you with the details. The quicker done, the better chance for survival of billions." The hood turned to face the man. "Are you prepared for the resurrection process? It will be different than all the rest."
"What do you have planned, Chikaradzuku?" Enma demanded. He didn't like the sound of 'It will be different than all the rest' despite the tranquility that had carried the words.
The hooded figure had decided to ignore Enma Daiou, and walked to the man who was two heads shorter than he. Of course he wanted to watch; information was desired and needed and the dimensional resurrector was never going to tell him. If one were to walk in at the moment he or she would think that Enma was apathetic about the situation happening off to the side. He was in his normal position; elbow on the desk and cheek resting in the palm of his hand. But the onlookers did know he was interested and was watching more carefully than anyone else.
The Chikaradzuku grabbed a lock of the man's hair, his palm roughly resting on top of his head. The man narrowed his left eye in irritation and growled softly. But that was all he did. White wisps of smoke started to ascend towards him, turning into a light shade of blue as it started to surround his body.
The bony fingers resting atop of his head started to come together as if to ball into a fist. A tremble came. Enma thought it to be normal. Everything so far was happening like it had those many times before. The onlookers were not used to this as this is the first time they had experienced a resurrection process handled by a Chikaradzuku.
Finally, the cloaked figure lifted his hand off of the man's head, but only so it hovered low to the top of his skull. A crimson disk glowed from beneath his palm, over the man's head. The fingers outstretched tightly, making the light engulf the man's body. Enma watched, his heart full of shock, as the man screamed in pain before nothing was left there but smoke. Even the Chikaradzuku had vanished also.
"Next," he called, getting the line of dead people moving again.
He acted as if nothing happened. The other ogres tried to do the same, but the elder ones knew as well as Enma Daiou that the red beam was not supposed to have occurred. It was only one of the many abnormal things the Chikaradzuku performed the entire time he had been in the dimension of this Earth.
The element that needed to appear in order to prevent the annihilation of billions...
What was it, anyway?