The Vipers of Barren Island

(バレン島のハブ)

"Looks like you're finally moving."

Imagine waking up in a cave that smelled of sulfur. Eyes meet mostly darkness, the body sluggish from days of sleep, but the voice of a little boy was like the chime of morning bells in a town. A man's first impulse was to stand, and his eyes followed a halo of warm light at the end of a tunnel. He stumbled to the light and reached out, passing through, and the smell of sulfur was replaced by wet salt. His ears could pick up sea waves thrashing each other, combined with an eerie, grumbling sound from above or beneath. His head void of sense, the man looked outward to the sea's horizon. Was he so lost that he didn't mind his bare feet being tickled by wet gravel and black, dry andisol?

"Hello?" The boy voice spoke out again, which made the man spin around.

Then suddenly, the man's muscles and bones froze. Against his control, his eyes were drawn in by the appearance of a petit stranger, crouched on a large rock taller than himself. It was indeed a boy— with hair as dark as the inner caves and skin much like the island soil. The rest of the boy's body was wrapped in a checkered, orange cloak; he shimmered with a warm light.

"An ordinary boy" many would think, but even a man, with fierce eyes and a scar over his brow, couldn't help but be enthralled by the boy's mysterious dignity. He especially could not imagine a prepubescent, in a heavy cloak, enveloped by an aura of gold. Not at the end of a dark tunnel and by the seaside. Now, the man wondered if he was crossing over to the dead.

"I hear that wearing peridot will prevent nightmares," the boy said, "because the gem was from the tears of a god."

Tearing away eye contact and looking down, the man noticed a small piece of peridot, a sea green gem, hanging from a brooch around his neck.

"You got to stay awake this time, okay?" The boy said. He then pointed to himself and asked. "Do you know who I am?"

The man's eyes weighted a look of being completely lost—staring at a boy seemed away from reality. The kid's stupid question was then followed by another:

"Do you know who you are?"

"I—no." Finally, the man's drawl and gruffy voice came out as his palm clutched his face. "No."

"I know who I am. I am a King," the boy said, baffling the other.

"King?"

"and I am your friend. I'm here to help you."

"Don't hastily label someone as your friend!" With his sudden outburst, the man dropped his hand to reveal a deep scowl on his face. "Who are you?! What do you mean 'help me'?!"

"You want to know who I am, but you don't know who you are?" The boy did not seem worried; carrying a smile, he looked to hang around for idle chit-chat despite the rise in the scar man's voice.

The man took in a breath and turned away, looking out at the sea. "All I know…is that something tells me that I have to fight."

"'Have to fight' huh? Other than that part, I guess everything's still a bit fuzzy."

"You're talking like I lost my memory." As he said that, the scar man felt a spiral of regret inside of him. Something tickled at the back of his lost mind; there were pieces within him broken, and there was no answer for it, or a path to go down on. He did not know that he had been lethargic for days. He kept to himself; at the times he had been able to stand on his feet and wobble to the seaside, he kept to himself, breathed in some air, and wobbled back into the tunnel to collapse. And each time, he would meet the boy; however, every time he woke up, he could not remember. The man had strange dreams of golden light, of well-dressed women, and a supposed childhood, but he could not remember reality. Therefore, he hardly opened to show his feelings.

"That spirit is one thing that can't be removed easily." Despite this miserable situation, the boy was a ray of sunshine. Usually, would anyone who met this scar man be scornful? But this boy's eyes looked on adoringly, like he had met a new friend. As if there was no trouble in the world, he showed an excessive expression of being star-struck.

"Depending on your soul, you'll be back in no time! You're not even trying to go back to sleep, so maybe there's progress." The boy slapped his knees as he gave off a cheery titter. What was this enthusiasm? With the way it poured out, it was definitely a child; by height, the round, unchiseled face and the thin vocal cords, the man thought the kid could have been about eleven or twelve at most.

"You didn't answer my question from earlier," the man said, and turned around to meet the contrastive youth. "Who are you?"

"I am Barren's demon slayer, and you— " From the high boulder, the boy leaned his finger down to the man. "Everyone calls you the 'Legendary Phoenix'."

The answer was met with silence. An over pompous, noble title was not enough to bat an eye from the scarred man, but there was some hesitation to ask what it meant. Rather, he stood there and seemed washed by contemplation or frozen by something itching at his thoughts.

"People call you a 'phoenix' because you have a spirit that can't die," said the boy. "You are a protector of Earth and of the Goddess Athena, who reincarnated on Earth to watch over it."

"A-Athena?" The name was the first words the man said after the reveal of his identity, spoken with an air of familiarity. It was in a way that he felt strongly about it; to the norm, maybe no one would believe in gods and goddesses.

"It was Athena who asked me to nurture you back, but I told her that it's all up to you."

A scowl again broke the confusion from the man's face. "Why in the Hell would anyone ask a boy to help me?"

"Why?" This mysterious prepubescent figure grabbed and rubbed his chin in thought. From his dark face, a glint from his eye could not be missed. Eyes orange like flames. "Because I know that I am the wielder." The boy's hand moved, and he threw a punch in the air. The scar man took off in mid-air, blinded by light. He felt his body being pinched head to toe. When he fell in wet andisol, the boy finished his sentence.

"-of the Lightning Dosa. It is time to bring out that fire again."

The man was flat on his back, punctured by bright golden stakes; was his crucified to the ground and destined to be swept out at sea? He wasn't sure; one pierced in and out his forehead.

"And I thought I told you to stay out of a body that's not your own," said the boy.

The so-called "phoenix man" stood up, and his eyes were death white. He stood, but he looked as if the life snuffed out of him. His lips twisted in scorn.

"You little brat." A different voice come out; a bewitching voice of the opposite sex dipping with venom, creeping from the shadows.

"There's another reason why I am picked." Another sentence from the boy and the seaside was wrapped by bodies of fog. "To take care of you and all like you." Rays of light seemingly pierce through the cloudy ghosts.

"For the will of Athena, it's time for you to return, Phoenix Ikki!" The boy confirmed his goal.

That man, Ikki, took one short motion before reaching out with his hand. His eyes were deadened and the voice was still a woman's.

"Not while he's in possession of my Milk Thread. Now I will make you mine." Suddenly, Ikki's hand stretched out, its wrist elongating like a thrown rope, twining in the air. Before it struck like a talon to its prey, the boy lifted his fist and let out another blinding web of golden stakes. His smile never faltered.

"Got to make sure that hallow shell of yours doesn't get controlled by an evil soul. Especially when you're in a weak state," the boy said.

As the stakes within him conflagrated into golden dust, Ikki dropped to the ground. Thick tendrils of smoke sipped out of him, leading into an inflorescence of another body. It started with a human-like face: wide, smiling, lilac lips holding the fangs of a demon. Her eyes gold, but frigid and pitiless; her dark plum hair nearly touched her feet and hung on the wind.

"I suppose you are not ready for my touch." The woman said in the same wicked voice that had spewed out of Ikki's mouth. An ample chest and voluptuous body defined her, but that buxom body was covered in sable.

"I have no interest in children, but you continue to meddle on this island, boy. Once my Lord rises, the islands and the rest of the region will be mine."

"As Barren's Demon Slayer, I'll fight you as much as you want." With his mission affirmed with a smile, without worry, he took a direct charge from the woman. He said that he would fight evil—while situated on Barren in the Indian Sea, near its only active volcano, he had been clashing with various evil spirits that haunted the land with their echoing voices. They were guided by hatred, looking to feed. The same woman had been about, provoking the boy, and the result has been the same. Thanks to her stubbornness, with each meet, her body would be left burned over and over. The boy threw a punch at close range, launching a shock wave. It blew back the woman in sparkling sable, her face contorting. Her jaw tight, stakes of gold speared her body.

Compared to when they struck Ikki, they were wider and longer.

If the stakes dissipated in thin air, they would leave 12 cm gaps in her body. They rippled with golden energy. Her neck, her chest, abdomen, arms, knees, her lower legs, her hands – just for good measure, and for the consistent pestering. Since she was a taller adult, she was an easy target. The same burning that grasped her cells, seized her movement, and defeated her. The woman retreated into smoke, leaving the seaside with a rancorous message.

"Stupid cub! Soon enough, I'll have my revenge on you, Shir Khan."

"You always say that. Stay away from Ikki!"

With the threat thwarted, the boy in the cloak stayed by Ikki's side until returned to his senses. He rose to his knees, rubbed his head, and eyed the boy in the cloak. He could not escape the smile if he wanted too; he felt like he looked at it all day. He straightened himself and looked like he had words to say.

The boy was decked in the face, crashing into ocean water that slid in. Following was the roar of the scarred man.

"That was for attacking me!" Ikki chastised the kid. Despite his sparkling display against the body-snatcher, the boy, named Shir, took time to shake off the daze he felt from having a heavy knuckle to his cheek. Salt water plugged up his nose and went into his eyes, prompting him to rub his entire face with both hands. When he didn't feel disoriented, he returned to Ikki.

His response to it all was just a laugh. "Ha-ha! It wasn't you, and it was the only way to get her out. What a hit! Your strength is returning. I am really happy for you Ikki!"

"Good," Ikki said and turned out at sea. "Then, I must go."

"Wait wait, you're not ready yet."

"Say what?!"

Shir explained while he stood by Ikki's side to watch the sea. "That woman has been the cause of why you haven't been recuperating smoothly. Your body tells you to go, but you are not yet complete."

"Why?"

"It's her ability. I had to keep her away a few times. Despite that, it's good that a part of you is recovering. If you face me and my Lightning Dosa a few times, your spirit will be purified."

Ikki was silent for a moment; he did not understand, but something told him that what he heard wasn't a lie. Even when his mind and body were against him, he had saw this Shir's power. The stakes that entered his body burned his flesh. He felt a surge of pain, but for some reason, the energy did not eat him away with maliciousness. He had saw images of his dreams again, saturating him with warmth.

"Are you telling me to fight you?" He asked. Ikki and the effused Shir would speak back and forth as they watched the sea.

"We're gonna duel a few times."

"You never told me your name." The two then faced one another; the boy looked up at Ikki.

"I am the Gold Saint of Courage and Virtue," he said. "Leo Shir Khan (希尔汗; शेर खान; 獅子座のシア・カーン)". The boy outstretched his hand in a gesture of greeting. "Everyone calls me Shir for short. Nice to meet you."

"Humph." The scarred man, however, did not follow with the same gesture and only closed his eyes, replying, "Ikki…Phoenix Ikki."

"That's what I want to hear!"

"Why are you smiling?"

"I'm happy because you're improving. You are also remembering."

"I don't know you other than your name, but it looks like I have no choice but to put up with you. There is something I want to know," Ikki said. He turned back at the sea. "Do I have family?"

OOOO

The volcanic Barren Island was a tiny land, located off a chain of islands called Andaman and Nicobar, southeast of India. That was where the body-snatching woman retreated. She also looked out at sea, but she was not complacent. Her entire Surplice was dressed in holes by the gold stakes.

"Ah, the power of the Phoenix is delicious," she mumbled.

"So, you lost?" A male voice said behind her. "Good, then there's a chance."

"Not allowed. You can't go."

"I want to go now! Your defeat has nothing to do with me, Shiva!"

"We must see to our Lord's resurrection. We are not yet strong enough. Do you wish to die before achieving your goal…again?" The body-snatcher left the other behind to meditate on the plan.

The other evil spirit was filled with anger. It trembled his fist. "Just you wait Shir, you'll learn the despair of dying, knowing a hatred of someone you care about."