Chapter 2: Red Sand Rebirth
"An invisible, red thread connects those who are destined to one day meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break."
.
.
I was falling.
It had seemed like hours before I finally regained consciousness, but when my eyes fluttered open it was all I could do not to scream at the enveloping darkness. The endless void was swallowing me hole and I had no way to escape as I waved my extremities in all directions in order to stop my endless descension.
I began to curse the beautiful girl in white, when all of a sudden a searing white light appeared out of nowhere and I rose my arms up to protect my eyes from its striking intensity.
I continued to plummet downwards until I fell face first into a soft silk-like surface. I pulled myself up and began to observe my surrounding environment. My eyes squinted as I looked around and saw nothing but endless sand which surrounded me like the ocean. The sun bore down on me with the fury and ferocity of a thousand hell-hounds, while I remained kneeling and wiping the sand from my face.
Suddenly, a sound the likes which I have never encountered appeared out of nowhere and began to resound in my ear drums. I cried out in pain as I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I rolled in the sand and writhed in pain as the sound only continued to get louder.
I tried to discern what it was until the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It was music.
The most magnificent, graceful, and alluring music that had ever graced my ears. I didn't have it within me to describe such a marvelous sound because I knew it had to be otherworldly. No sound such as this could a mere man strum, compose, or create. If there were gods, then this music would be played on their Mt. Olympus as they decreed the laws of humanity and lounged in the light of their own divine glory.
The ethereal tunes were played with such a rage and passion that it imposed its strong will on my mind with unforgiving crescendos. I flopped about like a fish and screamed like I had never screamed before in my life. This was a pain that threatened to tear my mind in two.
For some reason, I was able to open my eyes as a giant black serpent slithered out of the mountain of sand nearby. This had to all be a terrible dream. There's no way this could be real! I must've accidentally ingested acid, shrooms, or whatever bullshit my dad had lying around because there was no logical explanation for any of this.
"Who are you!" I screamed. "Why are you doing this? Please, I beg you just let me go back home!" I squirmed and felt as if my insides would melt as the music pounded like a giant drum in my skull with increasing intensity. No matter how hard I closed my ears it was never enough to quiet the never-ending orchestra.
"You have finally come to me, my boy," a deep voice hissed into my mind. The snake continued to make its way toward as he stared into my soul with his coal black eyes. These were eyes which weren't humanly possible for they contained within their pupils a design of a red pentagram of some kind.
I found myself instantly hypnotized by them as they rotated like pinwheels. It was if they could read everything about me and more. I felt myself be metaphorically be stripped to my last fiber of being before them as they translated, absorbed, and understood me down to my last molecule of existence.
"Wh-Who are you?" I stuttered out in fear as the sand serpent rose himself up to his full height and continued to stare within my inner core.
"I am like you. I was cast out of the spiritual realms and into the world of man. A new beginning, a new future, and the bloodsong which will continue on for ages to come," the Serpent replied.
"What do you mean? Why am I here?!"
"Hush now boy, and inherit this gift with a heart of gratefulness. All will be revealed in time, but for now you must just focus on the journey ahead," the Serpent stated. "Open your heart, open your mind, and the journey of a thousand miles will lead you to the divine."
I had no time to ponder the Serpent's riddle because in that next instant he used the end of his tail and placed it upon my forehead. I felt my soul unravel and I felt myself dissolve as the Serpent became one with me. I can't explain how I knew this, but I could it within my heart of hearts as we came intertwined into one. His song became my song. His eyes became my eyes. Our souls twisting and becoming a contract of one.
This continued until everything that I was in the world physically and spiritually faded into nothingness like sands in the hourglass.
"Death hangs over you, while you live, while it is in your power, be good."
Who has the power to define what is good and that which is evil?
** 2 years Before The Boy In The Iceberg Is Discovered **
I've always known what its meant to struggle. To do whatever it took in order to survive. I believed that every human had it etched within their hearts to know right from wrong, good from bad, and how to live a righteous life. Were these just concepts to keep us away from our base animal instincts? Was there truly more to this life?
I didn't know and I didn't think I'd ever know because I only knew of that one aforementioned principle of life. That I would survive at all costs because that's who I was as a person. I was a fighter in every sense of the word.
I'm not sure exactly what happened from before, but all I knew was that I was given a second lease on life. Whether or not I was thankful for that was still a mystery to me and who has the time to spare to contemplate every philosophical question of why we were here?
All I could remember was the Serpent, how we became one, and that he baptized me in the Way of the Sand. The girl of the moon who took me from the water to the endless darkness.
Every time I see the moon I still pray to her for answers and even though I never hear a response the peace which I feel after doing so makes it worth it every time.
I knew everything was different about not only myself, but also the world that I had found myself in when I was finally put back together thread by thread. I awoke naked to the moonlight and the night air had a significant chill to it.
I stood and basked in the light of the moon as I brushed the sand from my body. Something inside of me told me to start walking west and so that's what I did. The winds whipped the sand around my ankles as I effortlessly glided through the endless desert. For reasons I cannot explain, I felt more comfortable here than I had in my entire life. I felt like I was truly in my element as cliché as it sounds.
The clouds rolled lazily by as the moon lit my path and until came upon a large cavern in the middle of nowhere. I knew at that moment that I had reached my ultimate destination and I walked fearlessly inside of the cave's engulfing mouth. There within its murky depths I found the statue of the Serpent and the bloodsong sang me in what was now a much lighter heavenly chorus.
The sand in front of the statue began to swirl until finally a stack of clothing appeared. I picked it up and observed its fine silky material. On top was a long-sleeved white shirt that looked similar to a Gi which was open at the torso with a small symbol of the Ouroboros on the back of it underneath the collar. I put this on and rolled up its long sleeves a couple of times. Next, I put on the dark pants and tucked my shirt into it. I then found a faded yellow Obi sash with black swirling symbols upon it and tied it around my waste securely into a large bow. Finally, I put on a pair of leather sandals which went up to mid-ankle level.
It was like I didn't even feel the clothing upon my body, so much so I felt it was if they had always been apart of my skin. Out of the mouth of the Serpent flew out two twin Medusa-head daggers in matching leather sheathes. I caught them in mid-air and then secured them to the front and back of my sash belt. It was if I knew by second nature that this is what I needed to do.
A well suddenly emerged from the ground in front of the Serpent statue and I looked at my reflection on the water's surface. Everything about was still the same except that now it seemed as if I would be forever be adorned with a stoic expression upon my face.
My eyes.
I looked at my new dark eyes with the spinning red pentagram inside of them and they spun in response. I can't even say that I reacted with much surprise because apart of me already knew that this was the new me now and that it wasn't the only thing that was different about me now. I felt my newfound power surging inside of me.
I liked it.
The bloodsong's staccato grew thicker and voice hissed from the walls, "Your training begins now."
The Seven Elder Sand Serpents slithered from their individual holes in the cave and they looked down at me with unreadable expressions with the same eyes that I now possessed. On a side note, there's no way that I would be able to tell an expression from a snake's face anyway.
I knew at that moment that this was the start of my journey and that everything about me would change. Forever.
Two long years came and went.
I trained endlessly from day till night only stopping for brief moments of mediation and to eat or drink. I studied and became one with the Way of the Sand and it became my true bending affinity. I progressed mentally and physically in ways that wouldn't ever be possible for a normal young man like myself. I was sixteen now, but I was now on my way in possessing the mind of a true Sand Serpent Sage. I learned the Serpent Sand Forms until they were like second nature and the Medusa-head daggers were wielded as if they were an extension of my arms.
I learned how to use my new eyes and bloodsong in unison and used them in perfect synchronization as if they were the main composers of a beautiful battle melody. Just when I thought I was now reaching the capstone of my training, I was promptly dismissed from the cave by the Elders.
"Your training is now complete. Use what we have taught you as you follow the footsteps for the real test begins today," they hissed as one into my mind.
I frowned and gestured outwards in frustration at the lack of guidance. "Where do you expect me to go?" I asked. "No one has given me a single answer to one of questions ever since I ended up here and now you just expect me to walk out into that endless desert without the slightest clue on where to go or what to do?!"
"Silence, we have given you all the tools and knowledge we possess in order for you to fulfill your lunar destiny. Always adhere to the Way and never stray from it. Never forget what we have taught you for you are the Ashura of the Red Sand."
Suddenly, the sand around me began to whip up violently and I stood still in the midst of the chaos. I no longer feared such vibrant displays of my newfound element. By the time the sandstorm had finally settled, the cave and the Elders had disappeared like they never were there.
With no other choice in the matter, I started walking east towards the direction of the sun. The heat beat down upon my brow, but it had no effect upon me as I glided across the surface of the sand determined to figure out what I should do next.
Why couldn't they at least give me a hint? There can't be anyone out here for miles!
I bent down and placed my hand upon a small mound of sand. With my seismic sense abilities, I could sense any semblance of life for miles around. I closed my eyes and hummed as I channeled the waves outwards around the desert landscape.
There.
I could feel a large grouping of chi a few miles away and gliding at an exponentially fast rate. If I moved now, then I should be able to intercept them and make contact. Whether or not they were friendlies was going to have to be decided in a spur of the moment.
I opened my eyes, retracted my hand, and rose back up from the ground. In the blink of an eye, I was running through the desert and moving at the speed of the fastest serpent of the sand. My surroundings started to blur around me, but my eyes kept them in true unadulterated focus, as my red pentagram pupils spun like pinwheels in a gale storm.
The dust of the earth shrouded me as I silently approached the tribesmen at their rear. Their sand-sailers glided fast and furious as the indigenous sand people bended their environment to their will in order to propel the land ships forward. I landed as quiet as a church mouse on the back of one of the vessels and caught the tribesmen completely unawares in the huge midst of sand.
I observed how the tribesmen, who were clad in protective and rag-like clothing to protect themselves from the endless onslaught of sand, powered their sand-sailers through the use of their bending. What a clever invention and remarkable sense of ingenuity.
The sandbenders were thoroughly occupied with their procession through the desert, until I arose from my hiding spot on the back of the skiff and made my presence known.
"Greetings, would one of you fine gentleman do me the honor of pointing me in the right direction? It seems as if I have misplaced myself in this never-ending desert and now I have no idea on where I should go," I drawled out, as the sandbenders hurriedly turned around with looks of pure shock and disbelief evident on their wrapped faces.
"Wha-," one of the tribesman managed to utter out, before his fellow sand brethren urged the sand-sailer to sudden stop. The two other sand-sailers continued forward until they noticed that they one of their own had stopped and doubled back to see what potential problem could be. It was never wise to stay in one spot in the Si Wong Desert. Danger lurked around every corner.
And one of those corners had found them in the form of blood red eyes.
I had no desire for there to be bloodshed or even a battle, despite my rather shady introduction. Nevertheless, the promise of combat sent an adrenaline spike throughout my body and excitement rang through the spinning of my red star pupils, while the bloodsong sang strongly in my mind. The sandbenders on the sailer I had placed myself on wasted no time in sending a huge sand blast my direction. They only knew one thing that simply equated to one thing: that I wasn't one of their own and outsiders only meant trouble.
Story of my life.
I let their sand wave hit me and propel me off their ship as the rest of the tribesmen got off of the other sand-sailers to join in the attack. The assault of sand sent me flying a few feet before I rooted my feet into the ground. I rose my right index and middle fingers together as one and diverted the sand blast into two different directions around me.
The tribesmen who had originally attacked me were soon aided by the their fellow sandbenders and they all began to blast me as one unified force. I took on the brunt of the impact and continued walking forward towards the desert raiders. When I came to be a mere ten feet away, I rose my arms as one and spread them apart, ending the onslaught of sand.
The sandbenders looked at me with a look of bewilderment at the fact that I singlehandedly disabled their grievous strike of sand that they had set upon me. Their fighting stances faltered and they all took a step back in unison. My eyes spun wildly at them taking in account everything about my current adversaries. The chi levels surging within the sandbenders' bodies, their styles, their movements, for reasons I cannot explain in the written word, I saw everything.
I set my arms down and resumed walking towards them. "You make a mockery of the art of sandbending. I will now show you the art of the true Way," I said. I channeled the sand around me to move as tendrils around my body and they took on the form of sand serpents. The wind whipped violently around us and I let the horrid suspense of the moment slowly creep in.
The cowards I would come to know as Ghashiun and Sha-Mo stepped forward and yelled at their men to take up the fight again, but it was to late by the time they had all come to their senses. Fear is a double-edged sword and can be used as the fire within to create a diamond under stressful conditions, but in this instance I used it in the complete inverse. Fear was my Grim Reaper and it would chop the head of any who would threaten or oppose me.
The sandbenders' fears overwhelmed them by the sight of my eyes and harsh notes of the bloodsong.
I thrust my hands in the form of knives forward and sent my sand serpents to wreck havoc upon my enemies. Moving as swiftly as the wind, I directed each one of the tendrils towards potential targets and let the bloodsong guide their assault. The sand serpents attacked the tribesmen without mercy and their blood sprayed the desert landscape.
The sight of blood only made my song stronger and stronger as my eyes took in the counterattacks some of the sandbenders had managed to send my way. I blocked them effortlessly with simple swipes of my arms. Child's play. I was disgusted.
The Elders had instructed me of the different bending fighting arts in the new world I had found myself in and how each of the elemental nations utilized them. Sandbending was looked upon as a bastard child of the ever revered Earthbending. Sandbenders were considered primarily to be the scourge of society and those that bended the element had lost sight as well as forgotten the Way. I knew the Way and the Way knew me. We had become one and I would be damned by the Spirits if I ever forget my roots, for now they ran with the Sand Serpents.
Cries of mercy echoed across the Si Wong and I dispelled my tendrils back into the desert. Numerous bodies lay around me as blood gushed from their fatal wounds.
"Please, sir! No more! We beg of you!" Sha-Mo exclaimed while on knees with his hands folded together in prayer. "I have a family and my son needs me!"
The rest of the sandbenders who were still alive trembled and adopted the position of their tribal master, while Ghashiun stayed standing and stared at me with a rebellious look in his eyes. I made short work of that as I walked up to Ghashiun and punched him straight in his gut. He cursed and fell to knees and spat out blood.
"Fuck you, you bastard! You'll pay for this!" Ghashiun gasped out.
"Keep your mouth shut boy or you'll kill us all!" Sha-Mo chided in panic.
I looked at both father and son with a look of difference, "No, I don't think will." I unsheathed my Medusa-head blade and placed it under the chin of Sha-Mo, until he looked directly into my eyes.
"It can't be," Sha-Mo muttered. "You can't be Him. They were stories, just legends."
I pressed the blade further to his neck until a small drop of blood emerged from a cut I had inflicted. "Not anymore they're not. Now, tell me where I can find the Paths. I must find the divine one."
Ouroboros symbol on back of Ash's shirt: imgres?imgurl=https% .com% &imgrefurl=https% .com&tbnid=8OVkeocyAk8Q4M&vet=12ahUKEwisz9j3_eXvAhVKZq0KHU5mBpEQMygAegUIARCrAQ..i&docid=RmCxUzTKVE2WtM&w=483&h=500&q=navajo&ved=2ahUKEwisz9j3_eXvAhVKZq0KHU5mBpEQMygAegUIARCrAQ
Ashura's eyes:
imgres?imgurl=https% .org_Sharingan_ -Mangekyou_Sharingan_ .png&imgrefurl=https% .org_Sharingan_ &tbnid=VHXQ-8xxBKRNWM&vet=12ahUKEwihgKWvqe_vAhUWIM0KHacbArUQMygAegUIARDEAQ..i&docid=9Q-qbbKL6HsEkM&w=1200&h=1200&q=sasukes&ved=2ahUKEwihgKWvqe_vAhUWIM0KHacbArUQMygAegUIARDEAQ
I know I copied the design of the Sharingan, but Ash's eyes will have a different power in this fic.