Harsh Reality

"Brother..." A boy's voice spoke to him faintly.

The stranger watched his little brother slowly walking towards him, weak and afraid. "You're alright."

The boy cried and ran to him. He dropped towards his arms and tried to carry him. The stranger watched his brother struggling to hold on. "This is not happening, right?

"Don't worry. I'm here." The stranger said but then he didn't get any response. He looked at his hands and found his brother has turned into dust. He cried for his brother. Tears running down his face but then paused when he saw the person who was responsible for all of this.

He remembered the face of the woman who dances around the mountain of fire and corpses. Her blue hair flows like a river and three men were standing still right behind her, watching her dance.

They don't seem to enjoy or give a damn about what's going on.

They were standing around and watched everything burn.

The stranger tried to get up and face them again but then the cube spoke to him. "Not now. Not yet."

"Why?"

"It's is not the time."

The stranger had no choice but to follow what the cube said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Take me away."

And so he did.

Along with Dilek the enchanted cube of wisdom, Ashi arrived at a peasant farm, soaking wet under the weeping weather and saw a family of six living in peace. The grandparents, a husband and wife, three children and a baby were doing what they usually do during their mortal lives. A routine they follow. Most mortals uses routines during their everyday life.

People may think these are ordinary family.

But not to Ashi.

They are all special to her.

They are her ancestors.

Her mother, the High Priestess, was a mortal and she wondered about her own past. Ashi began to imagine her mother living through a life of fear and death which eventually led her to become a worshiper of Aku. The cube noticed her hesitation and asked. "What are you going to do now that you know who they are?"

Ashi felt her body tingling, telling her not to move. Her mind thinks about the consequences that will happen if she did it. But her heart kept telling her it was the only way... so she can live happily with the samurai.

She started to cry, knowing the laws of time are so cruel. "I wish..." She made a whisper and the cube heard.

And so Dilek made it happen.

The result caused reality to fracture.

The samurai and the stranger found a cave and stayed for a while, waiting for the rain to end. As time flies by, the samurai saw the stranger fell asleep but speaks while he's at it. He tried to wake him up but then the stranger sat up and yelled a name.

The name of his beloved brother.

"Who's that?" The samurai asked.

"My... my brother. My little brother." The stranger wiped out the sweat on his face. He then looked and around and wonder. He cannot remember how long they have been staying in the cave. His head was a bit fuzzy. "The Trioka..."

"We lost them." The samurai said.

"Care to tell me how? My mind still hurts... remembering things."

"Luck." He looked up the grey clouds, pouring its tears upon the land. "The heavens struck a lightning to the ground, covering our path. The Trioka lost track on us."

The stranger cannot believe it. "You think this is a superstition?"

"I've met gods, stranger. I've met a lot of them. I fought alongside them. I fought one of them. It is not a surprise they'd help us."

However, the stranger doesn't care if it was superstition or a god. The only thing that matters is that they escaped.

"What do we do now?" The samurai asked.

In which the stranger answered, "We need the cube."

"Once we get it, then what?"

"We'll use it, of course. We will use it to reveal their creator." Minutes later, they heard an explosion from the distance that its shockwave brought an unsettling vibe around them. When the stranger felt it, he knew what that was. "Oh no..." He said. "It's the cube!"

The swordsman, the spearman and the gunslinger tried the samurai's trail but for some reason they lost it. They think a divine intervention happened. That lightning was not just luck. "This is a problem." The spearman said.

"The gods are on their side." The gunslinger went to his revolver and loaded it with golden bullets. "False gods, I say."

But then, a strange phenomenon happened and they felt it a mile away. The Trioka quickly dashed towards the point of this unusual occurrence. "What was that?" The spearman asked.

The gunslinger did not respond but he's the one leading them.

Once they arrived, they found the family of peasants struck by an unknown force. They seemed to be dazed but nothing bad happened to them. The swordsman approached the farmer and checked his condition. "What happened here?"

The farmer answered barely. "I... I don't know."

The abrupt silence was then followed by an eerie humming of energy. The gunslinger later called the others for he found what they were looking for. He reached his hand to it and picked the glowing cube up, revealing it to them. "We have found it!"

But before they could celebrate even further, a beam of light struck the Earth and silhouettes appeared and emerged from the showering light. The Trioka faced their unexpected visitors. The gunslinger prepares his pistol while the swordsman pulled out his sword from his sheath. The spearman slowly walked towards the light and wait for the blinding light to disappear.

Once it did, it revealed the visitors to be the Valkyries the lovers of heroes and the chooser of the slain. Thousands of them appeared with their winged steeds and almighty armors and weapons.

They have come to stop the Trioka for obtaining the cube. One of them stepped forward and howled, "Drop the cube, mortal! You have no idea what power it has. It will end Reality as we know it." She raised her mighty spear and smite the ground, delivering a threatening power. "Obey our command or perish!"

Even when she showed them her power, the gunslinger chuckled.

Valkyries were threatened by his laugh. It appears he doesn't fear their power and presence.

The gunslinger then said, "It's funny. I only brought a six." When he noticed some of the Valkyries were confused of his words, he quickly draws out his revolver and fired six shots at them. With his great accuracy and his revolver's firepower, he managed to headshot six Valkyries. Once he did, the swordsman and the spearman attacked the army of warrior women.

The farmer and his family witnessed the battle and slowly, they leave their ruined farm before they get caught in the fight. However, one of his children stopped just to see the battle again. The mother pulled her daughter, telling her to look away.

But she couldn't.

As the farmer and family flee to safety, they encountered the samurai and the stranger. The farmer quickly recognized the prince and bowed before him. "My lord! My farm! It has been ravaged by demons! Please, save us!"

The samurai then gave the farmer a gold amulet. "For your new farm."

"I... thank you. Thank you, noble prince."

"Head to my kingdom and stay safe. I..." The samurai remembered the stranger. "We will handle this."

"Bless you, my lord. Let the gods bless you and your name!" The farmer and his family continued their escape. But then his daughter slowed down when she saw the samurai. The mother was amazed by her daughter's focus. "Ashi! Stop daydreaming! We need to leave!"

The young woman answered. "He looked familiar."

=X=