There was nothing. Emptiness was all around. An endless void. The rest however, would not claim him again.
He struggled against the tight grip of the Abyss, which desperately tried to entrap his existence. He would not be reduced to nothingness, for he was a living being, he had made a purpose for himself, he had a name. Yes, a name, a symbol of his very presence in the vast universe, a proof that he had been there and had left a mark upon time's everlasting passage.
"Shishima!" he shrieked in the void. "I am Shishima, and I will not let fate's hands foil my ambitions yet again!" No response came to his cries, as if the surrounding darkness was mocking his plight. "I know you're out there, you sneaky geezer! Show yourself and stop hiding behind cheap tricks!"
"Very good, Shishima," the deep voice he expected had replied. The monstrous lion found himself back in the warm hospitable cabin, almost as the Abyss in which he had fallen had been just a dream. "You're becoming increasingly aware with each visit. That means we are making progress!" the Writer spoke while hunched down at his desk with his back turned at the guest.
"What 'progress' are you talking about?"
"Your progress to godhood. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Don't you mock me! I had just achieved godhood, but you had to take it away from me!"
"Oh?" The old man put his pen down, his back still turned. "Why would you throw such an accusation against me?"
"You're the one pulling the strings behind everything, aren't you? If yes, you basically had everything go my way just so you could rob me of my prize at the very end. Tell me, does my anger amuse you, old man?"
"Let us hypothetically assume that I am indeed behind every single event which happened back there. Why would I even let you achieve the position of God to begin with? Would that not be a great threat to my own power in that case?"
"Yes it would, that's exactly why you keep toying around with me! You shake my hand and smile, then plot how to backstab me when I least expect it!"
The Writer giggled dryly and replied, "Shishima, if I wanted to, I could erase your very existence in this moment and nobody, absolutely nobody, would ever remember you. Hajime would live a peaceful life with his friends, Borof would be a contributing member to society in the creature world and Nekohana would keep on living her fantasy of a 'normal' human life, wandering from city to city under her shrine maiden disguise."
"And why won't you do it?" the lion daiyoukai asked, rendering his host silent. "It's because you're bored, is it? You have the power to put an end to me, but you just won't because I'm just so much fun; am I correct, you piece of shit?!"
"My friend, your indignation is unwarranted. Had I not facilitated your escape from the Abyss, you would have remained stuck in nothingness, in eternal slumber. And I, well I would just be sitting here all alone, with the same old ideas, struggling to outdo myself, but always failing in coming up with something new," The Writer confessed while turning around to face the fiend, a bittersweet expression on his wrinkly bearded face. "By freeing you, I both granted you a chance to correct your past mistakes and provided myself a fountain of creativity and entertainment. Would you blame me for seeking to ease our common boredom?"
"Stop trying to weasel your way out of this, old man! Do you think that my ultimate triumph would not have been entertaining? Why, imagine the countless worlds I would enslave in my upcoming empire! And when all is said and done, I would wage war on the accursed Twilight Kingdom and make my mother feel the sharp coldness of my revenge!"
"You say this now because you've lost, but I want you to be completely honest with yourself. A world with no challenges where you always get your way would bore you to no end. This is precisely why you did not crush Hajime with your bare hand when you had the opportunity, but instead you accepted his challenge and risked everything in that last duel. You're a thrill seeker, just like me! But worry not, you do have one last chance before the Abyss reclaims you."
"What do you mean...?" Shishima asked and his host pointed down at the wooden floor. He lowered his gaze and great was his surprise when he was greeted with the image of the devastated Sagakin from above, free at last from his pocket dimension and returned to the world where it rightfully belonged. Military vehicles rushed in the ruined city, seeking to aid the few hundreds who managed to survive the massacre done in his name. And in the Western part of the city was his physical body, dead, on the verge of evaporating into thin air. A couple of military jets circled it from the air, awaiting instructions from their superiors.
"I would hurry up if I were you," The Writer calmly advised. "Your new body will dissipate in a matter of seconds, then you will once more be one with nothingness."
Not wasting another moment, Shishima jumped through the floor...
"Milord!" cried the heartbroken Borof. "This can't end like fifty years ago!" The plushie immediately flapped his wings and went towards the unconscious monster who lay among broken buildings. "I beg of you, sire, don't leave us again!"
Shinobu collapsed on her knees and blankly stared at the image of her fallen God, unable to fathom the reality of his defeat. Had every promise which came out of the demon's mouth been nothing but a lie? No, he had kept his word on each claim, a brand new world had been laid before her very eyes. What happened, where did everything go wrong? Was it all because of Hajime defeating Shishima in a duel? Preposterous! Her master would have known better than to gamble with the futures of his followers. No, the entitled rich youngster was at fault for that day's failure. Clenching her right hand around her ritual knife's handle, Shinobu silently swore revenge on the blond before becoming one with the shadows. One way or another, she would evade the authorities and live in the underground of society. She would devise a new identity and keep the flame of her cult alive. Yes, she would patiently wait for the day when her God would rise once more, and then she would once more kneel at the sight of his glory, awaiting for her well-deserved reward.
Hajime looked at the military vehicles which entered Sagakin and smiled when he saw the scared populace emerging from their hideouts and running towards their saviors. At last, their collective nightmare had ended. Although the deep scars of their trauma would take years upon years to heal, the prospect of a future without Shishima was enough motivation for them to resume their ordinary lives.
"Partner!" He heard a shout from the distance and turned to see Jack, Lori and Sayo running towards him. Before he knew it, the cowboy hugged him tight, laughing like a child who had just received an unexpected present. "Hahaha, I knew you had it in you, partner! You saved us all!"
"I'm still pinching myself to make sure this isn't a dream. I still can't believe it, but at last, it's all over! Thanks for everything, bl- Hajime," the redhead cheerfully added.
"The Light civilization had chosen well, and so did I." The priestess respectfully bowed in front of the blond. "It was a great honor to fight by your side, Hajime. I feel that we have all grown stronger in spirit after this adventure."
"It's I who should thank you guys. I don't know how I would've managed to even find Shishima without your constant support. Listen, I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, but in the name of Ken, grandma Tsugumi and the thousands who lost their lives in this madness, I will forever be grateful for what each and every one of you have done to aid me on this journey. Despite our differences and... secrets, in my eyes you three will always be my closest al- no, friends."
Not long after he finished his speech, Hajime was once more embraced by Jack, but this time the two girls also joined in the group hug. In those solemn moments they all knew that no matter what the future had in store for them, at the very least their bond would stay alive for the years to come.
As much as she would have loved to return with the three youngsters, Sayo unfortunately had a different agenda. With Shishima knocked out, she would use her magic to shrink his body back to human size and swipe him away before the military would claim him for experiments. They would hide in the mountains until he would regain consciousness, and then she would try to calmly reason with him to bring his twisted ambitions to an end. Deep down inside, the prince she once knew was still there, and now that they were reunited after over a millennia, she would go to whatever lengths to bring back her beloved.
All of a sudden, Sayo gasped upon feeling a familiar aura of evil reappear out of nowhere. Out of instinct, she pushed the other three back, but it was a second too late. Shishima's claw reached for them and managed to peel off the right side of Jack's face. The cowboy screamed in agony as he was carried away a few blocks and crashed on the road, both hands gripping onto the bloody exposed flesh, chunks of skin laying a few feet ahead of him on the cold pavement.
"Jack, no!" Lori shouted and ran to his aid.
Before she knew it, the same claws slashed her back, tearing her silver jacket, yellow shirt and back's flesh, exposing parts of her spine as she flew at the same distance and also fell face first on the same road. Hajime and Sayo stared in utter terror in the direction of their wounded friends and they soon heard bullets and lasers being shot from the military jets and ground vehicles. The dreaded giant shadow once more arose upon Sagakin, filling the city with screams from its inhabitants who ran out as fast as they could.
"Fun..." Shishima growled as he stared at the insects who pathetically tried attacking him, bullets and lasers not even leaving a mark on his fur. "That was so much fun, Hajime!" he exclaimed and cut in half all the jets surrounding him with a single swing from both of his clawed hands, none of the pilots surviving the upcoming explosions. "Let us duel again, I demand you satisfy me with another rematch!"
Hajime could do nothing but be in awe at what had just transpired before him. In one moment he was certain that a bright future was ahead, in the next it all came down and the miserable existence which he hated had resurfaced. His mind went back to Shishima's words during their first face to face encounter when he claimed that everything was dominated by the chaos of randomness. What if somewhere in his insanity, that fiend had spoken a kernel of truth?
On the other hand, Sayo could no longer hold her tears of sorrow and rage. Sorrow at the reality that her beloved was still trapped behind the monster of his own madness and rage at the injustice which befell on the innocent couple. Unable to find any other solution, she closed her yes and focused on her inner youkai blood. With each heartbeat, it grew stronger, and then she grew in size; her body covered by purple fur and a long flower mane, her face gaining sharp leonine features and her eyes becoming black with glowing red pupils. If brute force was the only way of reasoning with him, she would use it if necessary.
"Shishima, I beg of you, just stop already!"
"You dare stand in my way again, Nekohana? Are you not happy with one betrayal?"
"I don't care if you view my actions as one great act of betrayal against you. The Shishima I loved would have at least listened to what I had to say before judging me!"
"How many times must I repeat myself? The Shishima you loved has long since changed. Now move away, Hajime and I have a little score to settle!"
"No." Her reply was short and firm, she crossed her arms and proudly stood against him as the lion daiyoukai forced himself back on his feet. "If you want Hajime so badly, you will have to go through me!" She stretched her arms open wide. "Come on, cut my arm off like you did on that night. This is your only way of solving problems, right? You just slash and kill anything that inconveniences you, because nothing is allowed to stand in the way of whatever you desire. Your younger self would never have allowed himself to be consumed by obsessions. Have you forgotten Fukurokuju's wisdom so easily?"
"Nekohana, you are testing my patience. I will repeat myself just one last time - step the fuck aside!"
"And my answer remains the same - no. Don't even try to control my body again, I have shed the human flesh away, you no longer have easy access to my youkai blood. Your only option to get to Hajime is by killing me. Are you willing to do it again for something as petty as this?"
Shishima angrily growled at her, unable to raise a claw and harm the one defying him so. Despite her constant opposition to his goals, in the end she was still his first love. Deep inside he knew that regardless of everything that happened in all those centuries, he had also longed to meet her again. With a defeated sigh, he lowered his claws and asked, "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to listen, that's all!"
"Listen to what?"
"Shishima, for the longest time I believed that man's world would be our safe haven, but after witnessing everything you did here, I have changed my mind. So..." She looked him in the eye, her expression revealing nothing but pure honesty. "...I will tell you a secret which I have kept with me all this time. I had intended on revealing it to you on the night you killed me, but only after you would have agreed to run away with me."
"A secret, you say?"
"I know who is responsible for your father's death."
The lion stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape, baffled by the revelation. "You know who called the army to retreat when we reached the gates of Purgatory?" he asked, incredulous to her claim.
"Yes, the reason you found me beaten to a bloody pulp back then was because they tried to stop me from revealing the truth to you."
"Who was it? Tell me right now, Nekohana, no more tricks!"
"If you wish to find out, Shishima..." The lioness offered her hand. "...come with me. Let us return to the Twilight Kingdom and confront our pasts. When the time comes, I swear I will reveal everything to you."
He stared at her hand, contemplating the offer. If he were to return to the home which had forsaken him, with or without her, he would still get answers in regards to the happenings of the night when Purgatory fell. And then there was also the opportunity to make them all pay for the humiliation he had endured back then. With or without godhood, he would find a way. The fact that they all believed him to be dead only worked in his advantage.
"Very well, Nekohana, this is your last chance," Shishima coldly stated. "But I hope you are aware that if I somehow discover this is another trick of yours, I won't hesitate to kill you then and there. And I will personally make sure you no longer reincarnate, but become one with the Abyss."
With a resigned nod, she replied, "I understand. Then, my prince, please lead the way."
"Master, wait for me!" Borof shouted as he landed on the daiyoukai's shoulder. "No matter where you go, I as your most loyal servant wish to follow you!"
"Be careful what you wish for, the Twilight Kingdom is a dangerous place, unlike anything you have ever faced before."
"It doesn't matter, milord! As long as we stand side by side, I am sure we will be able to face anything!"
There were no words left to be said. Mustering whatever power was still left in him, Shishima raised his clawed hands and made a circular portal the size of a small lake appear in the sky. Inside that hole all they could see were grayed purple clouds spinning in an endless spiral. Nekohana took one last look at Hajime, who although triumphant still stood petrified in awe at what had transpired before him. Her face was full of regret and begged him to forgive her for everything, but he was unsure if he would ever be able to. With a resigned sigh, she jumped after Shishima and both youkai disappeared in the portal which immediately closed, ridding Earth of their presence.
It was finally over. Hajime walked to his wounded friends who lay unconscious on the ground, and all he could do was let his tears go. At last, he could properly mourn all the innocent lives who were lost at the whims of Shishima.
