A New Threat

Ashi felt the cool water on her feet. She opened her eyes and saw the clear waters of the River of Time, streaming towards the big bright light. Reflections and images of her journeys with her beloved samurai appeared on the river. Her childhood. Her time with him. Even her future with him. They were all there.

But then she heard a voice speaking, "You are an anomaly."

She turned around and saw the floating god of time. His almighty planet-size eye hovering above his celestial body gave her cold feet. His appearance alone gave her a strange vibe... a sense of danger. "What do you mean?"

"You don't exist."

"But I'm here." Ashi clarified. She looked at her black hands dripping of Aku's essence. "What is this?"

"It is who you are."

"No! I'm not like him!" She screamed as the black goo on her body polluted the River of Time. Th terror of her demon father was spread across history. "No! Make it stop!"

"You are what you are." The time entity said.

"NO! I'm not Aku! I'm not AKU!" Ashi yelled at the top of her lungs. She sat up and saw the dim candlelight of her chamber. She look around and saw wide window open. Ashi got up with her nightgown and closed it.

"Are you alright, Ashi?" The samurai sat up and looked at her worried. "Nightmares?"

"Yes." Ashi said. "I've been having these nightmares for two weeks now. I can't stay here."

"Why? Where do you want to go?"

"I need to do something. Fix some things."

The samurai approached her and gave her a warm embrace. "Tell me what you want. I can do anything."

Ashi wanted to tell him everything. "I need to exist."

"Exist? But you are here."

"Yes. But I'm not part of this timeline. I'm... I'm an outsider."

"But you are not to me." The noble samurai gave her a kiss. "You are more than that."

"What am I? I'm not... just someone who popped out from nowhere in history." Ashi said. "I need to have a history in this timeline. My birth. My childhood. My journey. Our first encounter... in this timeline."

"Does it matter?"

Ashi just answered. "I don't know. I'm not really sure."

The knight Jack traveled back to his kingdom at the North. The captain of the ship told him about the ruined place and said it to be haunted by the dead who were killed in the Great War. Jack knew what happened and ignored the captain's words.

He disembark alone and the ship left as soon as possible. Jack watched them cowering back to the sea.

"Well... I'm home, my queen." He looked down at the sea, knowing where his queen's frozen prison sunk. "I don't know if there's another way to save you."

"Actually, this is." Someone answered.

It alerted the knight, drawing his sword out. "Who's there?" Jack encountered a headless man, holding his unusual head. He instantly recognized the man. "Another shadow man. Oblitus sent you?"

"No." The headless man spoke. "I came for my brother."

Jack knew he's bad news. The knight stood his ground and ready to face the dark creature. "I won't allow that."

The shadow man answered. "The Infinite Winters will be ours." His disembodied head grinned and let out a loud scream that echoed across the land. The ruined kingdom trembled by its voice and mountains shook a little.

Jack felt the atmosphere changed. The surroundings slowly turned dark. The sea... turned to ice. "Oh no. It can't be."

The frozen lake burst out a bright blue light and out from the frozen prison, his beloved queen resurfaced. Her eyes black like the starless night and smoke emitting out from her mouth like her breathe. Her hair turned raven black. She looked at the knight and remembered his face.

She smirked creepily. "Nice to see you again."

The headless man spoke to Jack. "There you go. She's saved."

The knight cannot do anything now. He lost hope as the horrors of the shadow people started to consume the land. He failed... again.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Japan, a bright yellow door appeared out from nowhere. A cloaked man came out carrying an almighty object. He panted as he has been through hell. He started to mutter "Death comes. Death arrives. They are here. World burns. World disappears. Everything ends. Ends with them."

The door behind him started to make eerie noises. The creature that pursued him was coming.

He quickly shut it before that creature reached the door. Once closed, the door disappeared. "Everything ends. Ends with them... the Troika." The man looked at the object and said, "Dilek, I make my last wish."

The object was a golden cube radiating yellow light. When it heard his voice, it spoke to him. "What is your wish?"

The cloaked man teared up, knowing his wishes cannot stop the darkness but only slow them down.

"I wish-"

To be continued in the big crossover story - NU: River of Time

Note: The stories of Ashi and the Samurai will continue here but their interactions with the others will be at the crossover.