An Ancient Evil! - Part V
He stood in an empty place. No light penetrated the darkness. He was completely alone. Was this Heaven? Was this Hell? Countless thoughts raced through his mind until he received an answer.
In the distance he saw a spec of light and it congruently began to enlarge as it came closer. He watched it closely, although there was nothing else he could do but watch it -- nothing else was here.
It approached him must like a train did when someone stood on the tracks, but he was unafraid. He had no fear of this light and he didn't know why. There was something about it that brought him a certain calmness, a sort of happiness and familiarity, and a smile crept upon his naked face.
He sensed a presence, the light was this presence, and it was a presence he had felt long ago. A spirit from a life he had almost forgotten. A soul from an era when he felt totally at peace with himself and with his surroundings. He knew this spirit, and as the light approached him it suddenly stopped a few feet from him.
He stared at it and then said, "Uncle, I've finally made it!" in Japanese. "I've come home." He paused for a moment. "I'm prepared to make the journey into the afterlife."
All of a sudden the light flashed with a blinding light. Tommy Arashikage shed his eyes with an arm, his eyes burned with the intensity of its luminance, and a voice said, "No Tommy, it is not your time." And within the blink of an eye the light transformed itself and became his uncle, the Hard Master.
The Hard Master was a short, bald, friendly looking man; he wore a white Gi, the traditional dress of a ninja master sensei. "I have taught you much, Tommy, but there is much you must still learn. You must return back and stop this evil demon that now possesses the man known as Cobra Commander or evil will cast a shroud of darkness over the world and there will be no way to undo what he has done."
"But I don't care anymore," Tommy said. "I'm dead, I don't want to return. Let humanity deal with their own problems. I've done my bit for the world and now it's time for me to rest. Storm Shadow is dead now. I want to reside here with you. I've missed you uncle. Where is this place?"
"It is a dwelling between the living and the dead. It is a place where souls are judged before they can enter into the world of the undead. You are not dead, Tommy. Life still beats in your heart. You must go back."
"But what can I do? The demonic spirit is too strong. I'm not strong enough to defeat it. It crippled me with a single thought and a wave of its hand. I have no power to match its own. If I am to defeat this monster then I will need a power greater than my own. But this is an ancient evil, how can defeat it?"
"Inside you is a very ancient soul," he said. "You are the descendent of a priest that lived over 5,000 years ago named Pallantides who once fought against the evil spirit and sealed it inside a tomb with a spiritual barrier. But now that barrier has been broken by the man you now serve."
"I do not serve him," Tommy said. But no matter what he said, he couldn't deny the fact that he did. Then out of the blue he said, "Marduk. The evil spirit has a name. How could I possibly know that?"
"Yes, you remember. When you reached this place, you must have awoken Pallantides spirit inside of you. With his help you will be able to defeat Marduk. He has mystic powers beyond the underworld. Use them, learn from his teachings, and defeat Marduk. But are you willing to sacrifice your friend to save the world?"
"The world would be better off without him," Tommy said matter-of-factly. "And he is not my friend."
"Then is it decided, you will return," his uncle said.
"I still don't know how I'm going to defeat him however."
"You must try, the world is depending on you."
"Then I will defeat him," Tommy Arashikage said.
----
Storm Shadow awoke to near complete darkness. The only thing he could see were thin strains of light peaking through tiny holes in the debris that lay on top of him. He tried to move, but the debris was just too heavy for him to lift. He felt like his entire body was broken, but he could still feel his heart beating inside his chest, feel his blood pumping through his veins, and wiggled his toes indicating that he wasn't paralyzed, which was a good sign. But how was he going to get free from underneath a ton of stone?
----
Marduk sat on a stone thrown resting. The tomb was lit by torch light and very little could be seen within its dark interior, but he was tired and the low light was soothing. Even though he now had a new body after so many eons of being nothing but a bodiless spirit, his power was still not what it should be. And in using his powers against that modern ninja, and minor nuisance, though it was a small fraction of his ultimate power, it weakened him slightly.
But there was something about that man that irked him. He had felt a very powerful spiritual presence inside of him that he hadn't sensed in thousands of years. Though it couldn't be the person of whom he thought it was -- that was impossible! There was no way that Pallantides would align himself with a man like that. And yet, it didn't matter. That man was dead now. But he was still unnerved somehow.
Katrina stood near-by. There was no where she could go. She was now the property of her master once again, and an eternity of servitude awaited her. She had chosen to reside outside the tomb to warn anyone who ventured too close to her master's tomb. When she tried to seduce the man called Tommy Arashikage, she hoped to convey a sense of urgency to him that would convince his and his friends to leave. But alas, that didn't happen. She instead reverted back to her old ways. She was her master's concubine but also his wife -- one of many -- and seduction was her forte, her role in life and it was difficult to break an old habit. So when she saw him, she was attracted to him and was doomed to repeat in death what she did in life and allowed it to happen. But there was something about Tommy Arashikage that made her wonder if she could ever escape her master's ever watchful eye. But her only chance of escape died with his death.
"Katrina, I sense your uneasiness," Marduk said, his eyes closed.
"I am quite content, my Master," she said. But she was lying.
Marduk opened his eyes and looked at her manifesting spirit floating above the marble floor of the tomb, a tomb crafted and built by Pallantides as his final resting place but instead was used to trap Marduk with an energy barrier inside. But with the barrier down Marduk was free to come and go as he pleased. But first he had to deal with Katrina. She sounded melancholy. "The tone of your voice says otherwise, my dear. Tell me what troubles you? Is it that man? Would you have preferred I not ended his life?"
She didn't look him at him, she frowned. "Why dwell on things that can not be altered, Master," she said. "He is dead now, and there is nothing that can be done to bring him back."
"Once my power is fully restored I will have the power to resurrect the dead," Marduk said. "He will become one of my willing minions and then you can see him any time you wish. He will become a part of my undead army and I will use his warrior prowess and the skills of many other dead warriors to do my bidding and rule the world once more." Katrina put her hands to her face and began to cry. Marduk smirked. "You cared for this man, didn't you?" She nodded. "You are so weak to allow a mortal to steal you away from me. Nothing is beyond my grasp now. You must realize the magnitude of what this means?"
"Yes, I do," Tommy Arashikage said. Marduk turned to him and saw the man standing just inside the tomb. He looked a little unstable on his feet holding his arm and his clothes were tattered and ripped and bloodied. Katrina's eyes lit up with joy. "And I'm here to stop you before this goes any further."
Marduk laughed. "So you survived your brush with death," he said, "and here I assumed you wanted a quick and painless death." He paused for a moment. "But I sense your little accident has weakened you considerably." His eyes narrowed. "I also sense another presence here -- Pallentides, show yourself! There is no need to hide behind this insect any longer. I know you are here."
The spirit of Pallentides came out of Tommy's body and manifested into a solid being and stood in front of his host. "Leave the body of that man, Marduk, or suffer the consequences of your auctions," he demanded.
Marduk laughed again. "The words of a desperate man," he said. "You have no power here, Pallentides. But I have a new body and live again, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. You are powerless here."
"He might not be able to stop you, but I will," Tommy said. "I've come back to send you to Hell!"
Pallentides looked back at Tommy, smiled, and then turned once again to Marduk. "And with my help, he will succeed in his plight," he said, and returned back into Tommy's body.
"With the power of my ancestors, you will be defeated!" Tommy said, and got ready to attack him.
Marduk snorted amused. "Do you really think you're a match for me? Have you already forgotten you near-death at my hand? That was only a fraction of my power. But you obviously need another demonstration."
Tommy Arashikage slapped his palms together and then spread them apart creating an energy sphere between them crackling with supernatural energy. Marduk looked awestruck. Tommy then turned his palms outward and touched his fore finger and thumbs together making on opening in the middle in the ninthletter of the Kuj-No-In, the ancient symbolage of the Arashikage Clan. (see Marvel issue #66)
"This ends now, Marduk. I will not allow you to destroy my world," he said, and fired it at Marduk using the power of Pallentides as his aid.
-- TBC