Inevitable

The sisters infiltrated the palace. Knowing it was a big event, they blend in to the crowd. They evaded the guards' sights and easily entered the Emperor's palace. The assassins split up into two teams. Avi and Aki were leading the sneak attack from both sides.

Ami noticed a lot of people from different cultures came to the event. She began to wonder why would they come to this place just to celebrate a wedding.

They watched the event closely and carefully, waiting for the right time to strike.

When it started, they spotted the Samurai in his traditional wedding robe. Aki gripped her weapon tight, ready to strike down her target.

"There she is." They saw Ashi in her white gown marching towards the altar. Aki wanted to do it again but Ami stopped her and told her to wait for a little while. And so they did. They watched the event unfolds. There they saw their sister fell down and the Samurai ran to help her. They can't hear what she said but she knew she regret it for killing their father. Aki grinned as she imagined that scenario.

Past Ashi began to fade from existence, that's the sign the girls were waiting for. They waited as Ashi's entire existence disappeared and then they attack. Six sisters launched themselves to the air and set their sights on the unaware and saddened Samurai. They raised their weapons and swung it to their enemy.

The High Priestess and the little Aku heard the screams from the palace. The demon entity laughed knowing his daughters did their job. "Good! Good! I can't believe I'm going to say this again but-"

"Now it is done, my lord." The Priestess was carrying the little portion of Aku and patted it like it was her pet. The demon liked it. "What are your plans? Now that your Past is dead, are you going to do next?"

"Rebuild my palace. Start an army. Back to the beginning."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

Then Aku tried to ask her but a little embarrassed about it. "Will you- uh, well..."

The woman began to feel something different about her lord and master. "Is there something you want to say, my lord?"

"Okay. Yes. I have something to say. Ask, actually." Aku took his time to breathe before he asked her. "Will you accompany me for conquering the universe again?"

The High Priestess paused for a moment before realizing the special request. She immediately answered him. "My will is your will, my lord. I can do anything you ask."

"That's great!"

But suddenly, out from nowhere, a sword impaled the High Priestess' back directly through her heart. The woman wailed in pain and died instantly. Little Aku fell from her hands and crawled away quickly from the killer. Aku did not look back who did it but he knew he will die.

Before he could escape, the magic katana blocked his way. Aku halted and terrified to see the shining weapon again. "No! NO! This cannot be!"

An old man picked it up and showed his face to the little demon. "I'm done with you, Aku." I was the old king Jack. He lives.

"How? I saw you die!"

"You can say it is Celtic magic." The old samurai smirked.

Later, a voice spoke to them. "I found you."

Aki and her sisters struck the past Samurai down. Their weapons landed to the target with great force. They felt their target crushed as they held their weapons tightly. But what comes next was entirely unexpected.

They were weapons were stopped by their sister Ashi.

"Impossible!" Aki pulled back her weapon to strike her sister again. "You're suppose to be dead!"

The sisters back away and watched Aki and Ashi fight.

"Why are you not dead?!" Aki swinged her sword swiftly but cannot land a hit.

Ashi gracefully dodged them until she managed to grab the sword and used it to slashed Aki's throat. Her traitorous sister fell to the ground, trying to stop her bleeding neck. Blood gushed out from her head quickly. Aki lost consciousness before she succumb to her wounds. "Damn... you... sister-"

Now five of the daughters back away as their sister Ashi returned.

"How?" Ami was bewildered by her sister's survival. "We tore you apart."

Then Ashi, her eyes filled with rage and regret, made a decision. "I'm done helping you all." She dropped the sword and revealed that they're still inside the dark entity Oblitus. The bright sun turned into a large eye and looked at them like insects. The entity's sudden appearance wiped out the past Samurai, the crowd and the palace like dust revealing that it is just an illusion. "Do you really think you could escape me?" Oblitus chuckled. "I am your Past and Future now! I own you! You are no longer connected to the main time stream."

Feeling saddened knowing she cannot get out, Ashi gave up and leave her sisters alone. "Don't worry about Aki. She will be back soon."

Oblitus started to like Ashi as she lost all hope. Now she will never try to get out again. Then the entity sets its eye to the sisters. "Now, let's talk about this. For the last time... STOP. KILLING. MY COLLECTION!"

The sisters trembled in fear for the first time.

The Samurai arrived at the holy temple of the Egyptian gods and saw the slaughter that occurred.

They were too late.

"It appears he knows we are coming."

The samurai asked, "How?"

"He has the Eye. He can see multiple events. Manipulates time and space." Oblitus tried to figure out how to get to them. "He'll be real hard to catch."

"Unless we make him come to us." The samurai went into the temple.

The fallen gods were scattered around the place. He speculated the corpses. They looked like hollow shells. What's inside must be their souls. There are signs of liquid gold. It could be what the legends said; those are the blood of the gods. "How is this possible?"

Communicating through the sword, Oblitus answered. "The knight has the Heart of Pyralis. With it, no god is safe."

"Who is this Pyralis?" The Samurai light up a torch to see his path.

"It's the Entity of Power. He is titled as the most powerful deity in all existence."

"Religion?"

"Nothing. No religion. He has no worshippers."

The mortal warrior asked. "Why is that?"

Oblitus educated him. "Because Pyralis doesn't go around telling mortals to worship him. That was not his role."

"What's his role anyway?"

Before the entity could answer, they were interrupted by the loud cry up ahead. The Samurai light up his way and saw the dying goddess Isis. The mortal ran towards the 8-foot deity. When he was about to say something, the goddess recognized him. "It's you. ... You're him. The samurai warrior."

"Yes. I'm 'Jack'. Call me Jack."

"S...strange name... for an Asian man." The goddess's golden blood gushed out from her womb and her skin began to break like old ceramic. "Stop him." She said. "You got to stop him."

"I will. I promise." The Samurai made an oath. "I will stop him."

The goddess raised her hand and placed her finger on to the Samurai's forehead, showing him the light. "Use it well." She spoke her last words and her soul left the world leaving only her hollow shell.

Once it's over, Oblitus assured to the Samurai. "We can bring her back with the gems, you know. You just need to have all of them."

"I know that." The man drew out his sword. "Now, show me what you want me to see." The Celestial Sword released a wisp of light and made a trail for the Samurai to follow. The mortal followed into the dark chambers of the temple. At the end of the trail, he saw the large hieroglyphs. Samurai read it and learned the big story. "This is not the first time."

Oblitus replied. "You are correct. It happened before and now it's happening again."

The Samurai light up the rest of the hieroglyphs and saw the terrible event that happened centuries ago. All of the gods from different pantheons faced one common enemy: a large man wielding the golden glove that Samurai was wearing. If the knight gets all of them, it will happen again. "What happened to this man again?"

"He's not the threat right now." Oblitus showed the mortal the image of the knight again. "He's your target."

The warrior also remembered that he doesn't trust the dark entity. He just have to be careful. There's a big possibility that everything is just a lie and the knight was his accomplice. Many possibilities can happen and the Samurai tried to focus in one. He reminded himself why he's doing this.

It's for Ashi.

Don't worry, Ashi. He made a promise. I will save you.

"Oh, right!" Oblitus forgot something. "We should've stop by to my subordinate. He has one of the stones. We can use it to defeat the knight."

"No need." The Samurai said. "I can defeat him."

"He has three gems and you have one. What are you going to do?"

The mortal warrior answered, "I have a plan."

Meanwhile, Ashi felt his words inside her heart. Ashi lie down on the warm summer grass and watched the blue sky, hoping to see her beloved again. The revived High Priestess and her daughters watched her hopeless state. They began to realize what they did. Ashi tried to help them get out but in return, they betrayed her.

The sisters were filled with remorse and shame, including the High Priestess.

But then the essence of Aku spoke to them. "Cheer up! We can just move on and conquer this 'alternate' future' then! There will be that nosy old Samurai but we can take him down. What do you say?"

The Priestess and his daughters ignored him.

"We have reached the end of the line, girls." Their mother said. "After we took our revenge, killing Ashi countless times, I have reached the point where everything seems pointless. ...And... I can't continue."

Aku watched his number one worshipper removed her headdress and mask and threw it aside. "Girls... what are you doing?"

The Priestess spread her long dark hair and showed him her pale beautiful face.

Sad.

And lost.

"It is time to go to our separate ways. Turn over a new leaf." She puts down the little dark essence of the her god. "Goodbye, my lord." Three of his daughters joined their mother to find a new place in the alternate future that includes Avi. The remaining two did not join them. Ami left her family behind, wanting to look for another goals in her life. Just a little like Ashi, she always wanted to wander around the world. Especially, she wanted to know what kind of creature she saw from the forest back then.

However, Aki did not changed her path. She picked up her father and made an oath. "I'll always be there to serve you, father."

Aku grinned.

=X=