Chapter 1
Destruction
There had been no warning before the attack. No sign or omen, just stillness in Jukai. No one wondered why the kami attacked, even after the war; it was assumed that the spirits still wanted vengeance for Konda's crime. But they continued to attack sporadically, attempting to destroy any kind of humanoid life they came into contact with.
"Sound the alarms!" And so it continued. Another attack on the temple had begun. Yet another wave of kami trying to take the lives of the monks of Okina.
"Imorai! Here they come!" The huge, heavily muscled budoka simply grunted in acknowledgement, and ran to the front lines.
Then they came. Like a flood, the spirits rushed out of the tree line, trying to overwhelming all in their path. Most of the kami were made of plant and tree matter, using it as a body to affix their spirits.
Imorai was like a rabid animal that had been let out of its cage. Strike after strike, he downed the kami one after another, each blow seemingly blending into the next.
Then, a huge dragon appeared out of the trees. It was green in color, with two large antlers protruding out of its head. Set between its eyes was a large shining blue jewel.
"Archer! Prepare to attack Jugen on my command! 3! 2! 1! Fi-"
He never finished. At that moment, Jugen's jewel flared brightly, and roots sprung out of the ground, crushing the guardhouse and the archers within.
At this point, Imorai and a handful of budoka were in the center of the courtyard, fending off attacks to the main temple, where the elder monks meditated.
Slowly, the kami began to pierce through the budokas' line. Then all of a sudden, a huge kami slammed into them like an insane octopus, its many tentacles flailing everywhere, grasping all that they touched. It picked up Imorai and another monk, and proceeded to rip them limb from limb, following suit with the other monks as the other sprits swarmed the temple, killing all.
Heh… they never really stood a chance anyway." The dragon said with a sneer, and flew off into the clouds.
The sounds of battle filled the air as a yamabushi camp in the mountains is assaulted by hordes of fire and mountain kami.
"Kumano! The kami are flanking our right line! We're going to be overrun!"
"Send in the reserve platoon to reinforce the right flank!" A huge explosion sounded and the ground shook. "On second thought, take Adama with you! You're going to need her!"
"Yes, sir!" He turned to see Adama coming up behind Kumano. She was a reasonably attractive woman of 27, considering the war living world had endured for over ten years. She was one of the most powerful shamans, being gifted with extraordinary amounts of raw spiritual power.
"Let's go." She said calmly. They ran to with the platoon of shamans to assist the right flank, which was over the ridge.
What they saw as they cleared the ridge that divided the camp and battleground astounded them. A huge, blood red dragon, with scales that resembled armor was torching the entire mountainside like an ethereal flamethrower.
"What in the world is THAT!" Adama shrieked.
Kami ran past them, ignoring them in a seemingly single-minded attempt to flee the dragon.
One of the soldiers spoke up. "It's Ryusei. We're all dead." The despair was clearly apparent and he quickly became hysterical. "There's just no way we can stop him! There's just no way!" He fell down to his knees and curled up in a fetal position, rocking back and forth and trembling.
Ruysei watched the soldier have his breakdown. 'Humans are so weak' he thought to himself as he unleashed a blast of blue flame at the platoon.
Adama closed her eyes in anticipation of the flames. 'Is this how is ends?'
Nothing came.
She catiously opened eyes. She was in a void that seemed to stretch on forever. "Where am I?" she pondered.
"You are safe." A deep voice replied.
"Where am I?" she repeated, becoming unnerved. "Who are you?"
"That is unimportant." The voice boomed, seeming to resonate in the void. "However, what I am about to tell you is. The five dragons are attempting to bring about the destruction of the living world itself. They plan to do this by destroying the Reikai, the gateway between our two worlds."
"Can they be stopped?"
"Yes. But first you must find That Which Was Taken."
"What is that?" she inquired.
"It is the reason behind what you call the sprit wars. It is a scion of the O-kagachi."
"The o-kagachi? The guardian of the veil?
"Correct."
"So, how do I stop Ryusei and the other dragons?"
"You will have to destroy them. Being a yamabushi shaman, you can destroy spirits without fear of them reincarnating in the living world."
She winced, thinking about the raw one power that one dragon possessed. How would she destroy one, let alone five?
"Do not worry, others beside you have survived attacks by these dragons, and I have brought them to the ruins of Reito. However, you are the key to all of this."
"What do you mean?"
"You are gifted with tremendous power. That is why I spared you. You must stop their plan from coming to pass. Alas, my time has grown short, but we will meet again."
"Wait! What is your name, spirit?"
"It is Iname"
Then darkness overcame her
She woke up surrounded by ruins. 'So this must be Reito, huh.
All of a sudden, a voice broke her introspection. "So, you're awake."
She drew her sword, pointing it at the shadows where the voice came from. "Who are you! Show Yourself!"
"Now, now calm down." A figure, entirely cloaked in blue ninja garments stepped out of the shadows. "My name is Higure. I am from what remains of Minamo."
"I see. Where are the others?"
"Over by the fire. Wait, how did you know they were here?"
"I was told by Iname."
"Iname? The guardian of life and death? Intersting… Say, do you know why the dragons attacked?"
"I do. They want to destroy our world."
"What!"
"Let's go to the others to talk about how to stop this from happening."