I wanted to get this chapter out as fast as I could, so I didn't have much time to put in any comedy or crack moments. Sorry about that. The next chapter will finish up the introduction and get into the actual story. Lastly, I suck at fight scenes, so any input at all would be marvelous, and if anybody has any extra time, I would appreciate it if you would rewrite it and send it to me in a few PMs. Or PM me your email address and I'll send you a message so you can email me the documents.
Thanks, and on to the story.
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.
"Like shit. I've been working on a way to help myself. I think I've finally found it, but I want you there, too."
Harry sat down on the chair across from what could only be Akai. The only recognizable feature on him was his eyes. The eyes were just as shiny and full of life as they were three years prior. The rest of him, though, was in ruins.
The skin on his arms and legs was peeling off. Soft glowing pushed out from underneath as a tribute to how much power the man held. Blood constantly flowed out from the bandages wrapped around his arms and legs, though. The cuts looked ingrained in the skin, left to never heal.
His face was cracked and sunken. Pieces of bone had broken out where the skull had weakened enough. The skin itself was blackened from the overload of power, searing the would-be cuts shut and preventing blood from flowing freely. Most of the skin around his mouth, though, had fallen away, leaving a skull-like visage. It was a horrifying sight.
"Then what are we waiting for? If we can save you, the sooner the better… right?" Harry asked.
"Just… let's talk. I can't remember the last time we simply talked."
"Alright… but why? We can talk later, after you're saved."
"…" Akai was silent as he bowed his head down slightly.
"No. NO! I won't let you kill yourself! You'll survive. You'll be fine."
"No. Let's just talk. Everything'll work itself out. Don't worry." Akai gave a small smile, eyes closed in a sad-yet-serene way.
"But you'll die! I can't let that happen!"
"Why are you so worried that I'll die? Can't you just visit me later on?"
"Death isn't like that. I can visit you, yes, but death is outside of tangible existence. Those that are there can't do anything except wait for themselves to be recreated into something new. It's like the theory of eternal sleep, except instead of sleeping you simply aren't. Forever. I couldn't live with it if that happened to you."
"Can't you just resurrect me, then?" Akai seemed interested. Like he was fishing for information.
"I can't resurrect you. I can only create a memory of what you once were and give life to it. It isn't the same. Please. Don't do this!"
"I see you made a family for yourself. Are you expecting any kids?"
Harry grabbed Akai's head and forced the man to look into his eyes. "Take this seriously! This is your life that we're talking about! And… ewww. You're face is nasty, man."
Akai sighed. "I'll survive. The runic array is meant for me, yes. I just wanted to talk." A smile was sent Harry's way.
Harry let out a breath, almost satisfied but still rushed. "Can we just go? We can discuss this later."
"Just tell me, are you expecting children?"
"Yes, dammit! Now let's go!"
Akai suddenly looked very guilty. Harry was too focused on the man's health to take any notice, though. "Dammit, man. Just… let's go."
"Yes!" Harry yelled with exasperation. It was done! "Let me put my wife in bed before anything else, though. It'll take only a minute."
Harry picked up Kurenai, who had fallen unconscious after seeing the skull-like face of Akai, and carried her past the stairs and into a room on the left. He came back out a second later with a smile, and followed Akai out the door.
He was led just outside of the town, where a massive what looked like a sealing array stood. It was painted in red, and glowed an eerie silver, not unlike Harry's arrays. The entire thing spanned half a kilometer, making Harry briefly wonder how it was missed before. It was a work of art. It was the biggest array he had ever seen. Harry could only marvel at the complexity of the entire thing, staring at it in an awe-filled trance. He was snapped out of it by Akai.
"This is my masterpiece. This is what I have been working on since I left. This is what will save me."
Harry could only nod. It was beautiful.
"Would you do the honors and check the runic arrays? I want to know if this is perfect. This has to work."
Harry nodded again. "Yeah. Sure…"
Harry began to inspect the entire thing, piece by piece. Every time he got to another part, though, he became slightly more nervous. It wasn't looking at all like an array meant to save somebody from the brink of death. It looked like a sealing array meant for trapping something immensely powerful.
Having learned from his past mistakes, he jumped away from the circle as soon as it activated. What happened next, though, was completely unexpected. Another array, even larger than the previous one, sprang into existence. Harry was so surprised that his illusion dropped. Akai drew a sharp breath.
"W-what are you? Are you actually a demon… or a god? Did I actually trap a GOD!?" Akai's eyes opened very wide in excitement. "Now we can be together forever! I'll take your immortality and you'll live inside of me! Aren't you proud of me for making this!?"
The world started spinning for Harry. He couldn't believe that this was what Akai was doing. All he knew was that the man had to be stopped before something really bad happened. This wasn't meant to happen.
But then what was meant to happen? It wasn't his place to decide the fate of people, was it? He said it himself. He wouldn't control other people's destinies. But this was one moment where he would have to eradicate something before it became a virus. The world would never know, and would never have to know. This was one battle that would have to be fought, whether he liked it or not.
Harry shifted into his ten-tailed animagus form, but that didn't break the hold the seal had on him. How could Harry get away? He thought. Akai was finishing the hand seals that would seal Harry's fate. The moment of truth was approaching fast and Harry had nowhere to go. But- that's it! He could warp space around him to move away from the circle!
Just as the ritual was reaching its climax, a vortex swallowed Harry's form and spat him out on the other side of the village. Harry briefly paused at the sound of screaming, but didn't stand still for long. He had a man to stop.
Jumping over to Akai, he stopped right in front of him. Harry's single hulking eye glared at the man. "Why? Why did you have to do this? Just stop now and come back to me."
"Why aren't you proud of me? I found a way to finally be together with you forever. Why won't you take it!?" Akai was seething, yet crying. He was torn.
"This isn't about making a perfect world anymore! Forget my dreams and focus on your own! We'll heal you somehow. Just stop this!" Harry was frantic.
"My dream is to fulfill your dreams! I won't stop until that happens, even if it means silencing you!"
"Shut up and listen to yourself! You're crazy!"
Akai wasn't having it. With one hand raised, he let a meteor fall from the sky. Harry only saw it at the last minute, and moved away as far as he could. The battlefield had become a crater. Luckily the town was spared. "I'm not crazy! I'm doing what I must for you! I'll beat you up until you see the truth. Even if it kills me!"
"Fine. We'll fight. I won't let you hurt any people, though, so let's take it away from here."
With a determined nod, Akai moved away from the town and into a massive clearing with nothing around. Harry followed. As soon as he appeared in the clearing, though, a massive corporeal construct of energy formed around Akai. It was a mixture of red and black, having a torn black cloak flowing around its frame and red bones making a body to hold it up. The skull looked frighteningly like Akai's head. The entire thing held a scythe in its right hand and an hourglass in its left.
"What the hell is that thing…"
"This is something I came up with, all on my own. I call it Susano'o. It's able to take on a form of its own, and magnifies my power by thousands. If I could estimate its power, I would say it almost rivals yours."
"But you've never seen my power. You've never seen the full extent of it, at least."
Akai simply smiled in a knowing way.
Harry got ready for anything. His body flexed in preparation, and his mind was working on a way to bring the other man down without killing him. There had to be some way. Harry couldn't kill the man he raised.
Akai started off by hurling another meteor at Harry, forcing the beast to charge forwards and make an attempt to hit Akai with his speed. He didn't expect the giant construct to backhand him right back to where the meteor landed. The thing… Susano'o… it was fast. Really fast. And strong, too. How was Akai able to make something like that?
Harry would have analyzed further, but he jumped back to dodge the scythe swinging straight for him. "Everybody that's seen my Susano'o has died. Be wary. Anything this blade touches dies."
To prove the point, the grass around the blade began to decay incredibly fast and the dirt erode until there was a chasm in the ground. It was only then that the thing raised the blade.
Harry rushed in to try and hit the thing, but as soon as he got close, the thing turned the minute glass. Everything warped, and Harry found himself at the other side of the clearing. The grains of sand falling down once the giant turned the hourglass once more. But… what happened the first time it turned over? Harry couldn't think long enough because he had to jump around the scythe again.
This time, though, when Harry went to attack, the thing didn't do anything. It was just letting the sand fall back to the top. Harry was able to ram right into the side of the thing, and to his immense surprise, the thing fell over. Then, it got up like nothing happened. It had a single scratch on its side.
The thing turned the now-full hourglass over, and when the world warped, he found himself without his front-right leg. It regrew fast enough, but it was still very painful. Akai watched on in some amusement. Harry scowled.
"You'll never beat me when I've got time on my side. It's pointless. Just listen to reason and stay with me. We could accomplish so much! Please!"
Harry turned just in time to see the scythe come at him again, letting him dodge. This time, though, he ran past the Susano'o and went straight for Akai, only for the same warp to happen and find himself missing his head- which quickly regrew.
"You may be able to do this forever, but I can, too. The construct takes absolutely no extra energy from me besides the energy it takes to create it. It's self-sustaining!"
Harry wanted to curse so badly, but it was not the time for such… pleasantries. He had to figure out how to win the fight before there were any casualties. Dodging some more scythe swings and having limbs miraculously cut off, he thought about that statement. The one about time.
It looked like Harry was teleporting from his view. But that wasn't what was happening, because if it was, then how was he getting hurt? It had something to do with time, like the thing was stopping time all on its own. Maybe that's what the hourglass was for! If he was able to knock the hourglass away from that thing, then it wouldn't be able to stop him.
Harry pretended to dodge the next scythe swipe, but then moved back in front of it, letting it impale his shoulder. From there, he used his front right paw-hand (because they had opposable thumbs for some reason) to grab at the hourglass. His hand connected and wrapped around, but when he yanked, the entire construct fell over with him. It was like the thing was glued to Susano'o.
"You think you can simply take the Orminai of Time away from Susano'o? It's part of it! See? You'll never win!"
At this point, Akai was lying on his back a ways away from the field, watching in some fascination. It was like the man wasn't even taking it seriously!
While the thing was getting back up, Harry tried to rush Akai once more, only for time to warp again. Harry was baffled. Now what could he do to win? It was like the thing was unbeatable. Every time he would try something, the Susano'o would turn that hourglass and another limb would be gone. What was the thing's weakness… unless… Susano'o had to let the sand refill every time! That was it!
Harry went for Akai once again, and watched as time was taken from him. This time his torso was bisected, a painful thing if Harry was honest. It regrew in time for him to make one frontal assault towards Akai. Harry ran forwards and began to thrust his hand at the startled man, faster than Akai could see. But… Harry couldn't do it. The man was a son to him. He simply couldn't kill the man he raised. Instead, Harry's gigantic fist hit Akai over and through a tree, letting the younger man smash into the ground before Harry left into the horizon.
Because, who could simply turn and kill their own son? What kind of monster would he be degraded to if he went through with the kill? Was it for the sake of the planet? Who the fuck cared about the planet? There were other worlds. The people would be reborn someday into another body. But, they would be different. If Akai died, he would never be the same person. Nothing would ever be the same. Screw the planet. Screw everything! Harry would make sure Akai lived, and find a way to cure the man of his insanity.
So Harry wandered, away from where Akai was. He thought through every single possibility open, wanting to know what would save the man. Everything came back to either taking his power away or somehow giving true immortality to him. The only way to do the second was for Harry to become one with Akai, like the man was saying. There was great truth to his words. It was disheartening, but true.
Harry only stopped running when he could no longer sense the abomination known as Susano'o. He estimated it to be around 150 kilometers, but it wasn't that bad when it was physically impossible to tire out anymore. Only then did he attempt to get out of his transformation.
Only, nothing happened. Well, nothing would be what Harry would use. Anybody else would scream and fall to the ground in agony, but only excruciating pain would do anything to Harry anymore. Instead, Harry began to panic.
By the end, Harry had tried to change about forty times, each one without success. He was breathing hard from nervousness, and sweating slightly. He had no idea what to do. There was nothing to be done. Maybe he could go to the summon world and research something. Maybe that would work.
Harry focused his power into teleportation and thought about where he wanted to go. Space started to distort, and with it, Harry's body. But, then, Harry began to feel pain similar to when he tried to transform. Maybe the two were linked? Harry tried some of his magic.
His magic worked perfectly. When he attempted to use his physical energy in conjunction with the magic, that worked perfectly, too. Everything was perfect except his ability to manipulate space. It didn't make any sense. But, maybe it did.
If that second seal that appeared after the first was meant to do more than seal him in place, it would have remained incomplete. If it was a conduit to generate enough power to seal him into Akai, though, it would have been mostly complete. The double seal couldn't seal him completely, so instead of putting him into Akai, it pulled him onto the physical plain and kept him there. In other words, Harry was stuck as a giant 4 kilometer high wolf with nowhere to go.
Sighing, Harry simply went for lying down and falling asleep. It wouldn't do to get overly dramatic about one little hiccup.
The next morning, Harry woke up to the sight of a group of people staring at him. When his eye opened, they jumped back, some running while others stayed, taking to hiding behind the rocks next to the mountain he was lying up against. The whole thing was a bit funny in Harry's opinion. It was interesting watching the tiny people trying to decide what to do with him- leave the beast be or poke it with a stick. Harry would have vouched for the poking, simply because it would be fun.
Getting slightly bored at the inactivity, he stood up on his four legs and walked away, letting the people marvel at his giant stature before running away themselves at his mere glance. Soon everybody was gone, leaving Harry to himself. He sat himself down, watching the rising sun, to think about his new situation.
The first question was "what would he do?" That was simple: figure out how to break the soul seal that tethered him to this specific dimension. Then came the complicated question. How?
He was a master of seals and runes, so it wouldn't be too hard to find a way to accomplish it. The problem came in the form of his hands being too big for any sort of writing utensil. And even if there was a writing utensil big enough, he would have to find a way to free his soul safely after writing the array and stand in the middle of the array while it activates. If that wasn't impossible, then he also needed at least a year to prepare all of the above mentioned things and the ability to safely go through the ritual without finding himself in the form of his immortal soul forever. That would be boring.
Harry always walked when he wanted to think. He turned and followed the base of the mountain. He would hop over the occasionally hill and watch the occasional mortal scurry away somewhat like that rat… what was his name? It didn't matter. He'll just call him Worm.
As he walked, it suddenly dawned on him. Akai was obsessed with immortality. And it was his fault. If only Harry had been angrier and tried to get back to his own dimension, or simply left Akai and walked away, then the boy would have been at peace. But, now Akai had such a fanatical devotion to him that he wants to be with him forever. Akai would go to any length to make Harry's wishes come true, even if Harry told him not to. To Akai, Harry was perfect. It was only reasonable that everybody else be perfect, too.
This realization was what broke the theoretical camel's back. The realization that there was nothing that could be done for Akai, the son of Harry Potter. It devastated the immortal god. The pain struck deep and shattered Harry's heart. The entire world broke around him. And with sadness came the inevitable anger.
It was all his fault.
"It was all my fault." It was a whisper in the air. Some smoke broke away with the words. It broke away with the world.
"Damn it!" he thundered. Power lashed away from him. An earthquake broke the mountain in half. Harry sensed several people get crushed underneath the falling death.
Then, it began to rain darkness. Shadows engulfed the world, responding to the god's rage. The earth broke apart and molten rock filled the crust. Black lightning struck the earth, just visible through the surrounding shroud. Harry's form was just a shadow in the coming storm. His eye pierced the darkness with a vengeful glare. The commas spun for the first time. His eyes truly formed across the world as space and time broke like cracked glass. Thus was the power of creation and destruction.
People across the planet hid in their homes, preparing for certain death. The feeling of impending doom lingered, killing small animals and rotting life itself. It cracked its very essence, what created and breathed meaning. And the sky only got blacker. It only got thicker.
Harry roared and thrashed, destroying everything. The dead began to rise on their own, unable to rest in eternal sleep. The eternal rest broken, they slaved to find another meaning. When meaning broke, they simply obeyed the will of their master. They destroyed. They tore the world asunder and mutilated each other in some form of amusement. Thus was the possibility to truly control death made possible.
Soon, a town was within Harry's sight. He didn't care about lives. He only cared about Akai. Nothing else mattered. The town was quickly swallowed in the ethereal vortex of time, destroyed as it decayed in peace. That was true peace. The peace of destruction.
Soon, another village was broken and nothing was left but the skeletons, decaying from an eternity of nothing. And another. And another. Harry made sure to avoid the hometown of Kurenai, but nothing else was left standing. The rest of existence in that dimension was simply… gone. It was like it just ceased to exist. The earth was turned black and left spinning to oblivion. It was then that Harry came to a mountain, blackened by the flames of god, that Harry saw a single figure standing on the peak.
It wore a cloak with archaic runes circling the base and speared circles making a design on the rest. A necklace of hope hung around its neck. A hood covered its head, shadowing its face. Black boots and gloves covered the remaining skin. Harry knew instinctively that it was Akai. The man was certainly almost dead.
Harry could only stare at the cause of his grief with a saddened gaze. His head lowered and a great tear fell from the giant eye of the Juubi. The world meant nothing at that point. There was no way to see his newborn children, there was no way to live with his beautiful wife, and there was no way save Akai from himself. Everything was moot. If Harry could die, he would.
"Hari. Why do you fight the pathetic world? What's the point? They're nothing to you. There can't be peace if there is no life. Let me deal with them." Akai seemed so kind even then. He still spoke with a soft voice and a light heart.
"I fight because there's nothing else. There's nothing for me left. Can't you see that?"
Akai nodded. "I'm still here. If you just come with me, then we can both be the saviors of the world. The world and your dreams are still left for you."
Harry looked at Akai. The man spoke with such wisdom that one would not realize he was mentally unstable. "You're wrong. The world means nothing to me. I don't care anymore. The person I loved is gone. There's nothing for me."
Akai seemed to be physically wounded. "You don't care about me anymore…? No. You're just not thinking right. I'll show you that I'm the same person you have always cared about!" He jumped forwards and tried to punch Harry. Harry moved to the side, dodging the punch and pushing for a punch, himself.
Akai was small enough to move away from the giant fist with some ease. He was forced to move back, though, when a black lightning bolt struck his previous spot. This was followed by more lightning and, surprisingly, fire. Black fire that lined the atmosphere and looked like shadows.
Akai tried to get some shots in, himself, but was forced back each time by some sort of shield that surrounded Harry. It didn't take long before the dead joined the fray.
Akai went almost totally on the defense then, because he had to dodge the surprisingly accurate throws of the zombies at the same time as focusing on Harry. Fireballs blew from Harry's mouth and lightning crashed from the sky. Tsunamis appeared from seemingly thin air to try and drown everybody and solidified into ice whenever something was touched. Lava spat forth from the earth. The earth itself fought, jutting spears and mountains out of the ground and sprouting trees with venomous flowers to paralyze Akai. None of it went for murder, though.
There was one pause, though. A woman rushed out onto the field. She had black hair and red eyes. Harry recognized her immediately. It was Kurenai.
Harry was shocked, and couldn't move. Kurenai moved to where Akai was, and wrapped her arms around the man. She seemed to be crying. Harry heard her mumble sorrows about what the man had to do. Then, she lowered the man's hood and told him "Please. Don't do this. I don't know what I'd do if you were to die." And she kissed him.
Harry couldn't do anything but watch. He kneeled down and wept like he had for Akai. He fell to the ground and tears fell, making new ponds and seas. Akai used this chance to manipulate the energy in his veins, doing hand motions and chanting. Harry opened his eyes, watching with awe at what his student was able to accomplish. He watched in awe and slight fear for what this could mean. Had his student accomplished his quest of sealing Harry? Had the insanity run so far as to control fate and usurp temporary godhood? Did the man, Akai, actually break reality?
Yes. Yes he did.
Once again, I will ask you to put in your submissions for who Harry will be reborn as. There's only one chapter left to choose, and I hope to have a list to choose from. I prefer completely unorthodox choices, and would appreciate the choice being either an Uchiha or a Senju, but it doesn't have to be if you have a very good idea.
I would like to thank those people who have sent future scenes to me, and I will try to incorporate all of your ideas into the story in some way. I would love some ideas for comedy relief that aren't completely crack, and one-liners for certain characters would be used with gusto.
Lastly, if nothing else, click that follow button so you know what happens next, and review. I would really like to know how people liked my stuff. I would also really like to know what people think I can do better at, other than fight scenes (I already know that) and give me some tips on making a better story. If there are any flames, then I want a good reason for them. Or you will be added to my shit list.
Benedark (I still need a catchphrase) out.