- Ryu -
Dark clouds hung in the sky over the Hayabusa village. They obscured the little bit of daylight left, it would be night soon.
Ryu was perched in a tree just outside the village. A thick fog permeating the air, preventing him from seeing much of the village. He could just barely make out of charred ruins of the temple on top of the hill.
"No sign of anyone"
Ayane appeared silently next to him.
"I haven't sensed any fiends either," Rachel called from below them, at the bottom of the tree.
Ryu hadn't sense anything either. However, his senses were dulled and he couldn't trust them. He disappeared then reappeared on the ground next to Rachel, Ayane following in his wake.
"Let's go." He said.
The three ran silently through the burial ground, the sight of the ruined head-stones and decimated graves made Ryu's blood boil, but he kept running. They ran down the stone steps, through the gate, and onto the large bridge.
On the bridge they encountered something. Three greater fiends, patrolling the area.
Ayane leaped into the air and landed on one of the fiends shoulders, she drove her butterfly knives into either side of the fiend's head before it knew what happened.
Rachel also leaped into the air, brandishing her war hammer in both hands, she smashed the fiend in the head sending it toppling over. Landing on the ground she brought her hammer down on its head, crushing it.
Ryu rolled under the third one, ignoring it. He ran through the gates on the opposite side. This was far too easy.
He ran up the short hill, leaped onto the deck of the small building, ignoring the steps. Past the side of the small building, and out into the courtyard. Nyx was waiting.
"You're surprisingly persistent," She said.
She was alone and her appearance had once again. A fully grown, wearing a back satin dress and purple robe stood before him.
"You like it?" She asking, stroking a purple jewel that was hanging from her neck. "This is my original form, how I imagined myself all those centuries ago."
"Where is Momiji?" Ryu questioned. He approached the goddess, his sword pointed at her throat.
Nyx clicked her tongue, not bothered in the slightest by the weapon in her face. "So impatient."
"Where?" He questioned again.
"Already dead."
Ryu thrust his sword forward. As soon as the blade made contact with Nyx, she melted into a cloud of black vapor. She reappeared ten feet away from him.
"Temper, temper," She chided mockingly.
"Where is she!?" He shouted.
"Not here,"
Ryu dashed forward, aiming a strike along Nyx's body. He wasn't thinking clearly anymore. Once again, the second the blade made contact, she disappeared then reappeared.
"Where is she!?"
"Ryu!" Ayane shouted she and Rachel had caught up to him.
"She's distracting you, look at the temple,"
The black clouds were conjoining above the temple. Lightning flashed in the swirling vortex. Torches were lit with purple fire giving the temple an eerie glow through the fog.
Nyx cackled and disappeared again. This time, In her place, stood a twenty feet tall monster. Black slime oozed out of its grayish skin. It stood on two stubby legs with two long arms attached to a giant body, it's small loppy misshapen head was nothing more than two beady black eyes and a large maw.
The grand fiend let out a tremendous roar. Spit and slime flew everywhere.
"That's disgusting," Rachel grimaced, flicking the black gunk off her shoulder.
The monster charged at Ryu, it brought its boulder-sized fists crashing down where he had just been standing. Ryu and Ayane ran up the length of its arms, they slashed at its face with their blades while Rachel attacked it's lower body.
With surprising speed, the fiend swatted at ninja attacking its face, forcing them to retreat. Ayane leaped off, cleanly avoiding the attack. It caught Ryu as he leaped away, throwing him off balance. He tumbled on the ground before regaining his balance.
The monster clashed with Rachel. The fiend hunter going blow for blow with the fiend.
"Hit it together," Ayane said, appearing next to Ryu.
With their combined strength the two ninjas formed a giant ball of ninpo energy. Rachel dashed under one of the fiends' attacks, smashing her hammer into its stubby knees. The grand fiend crumpled to the ground. Ayane and Ryu launched their attack at the monster.
The giant ball of energy slammed into the monster, sending it crashing into the far wall, crushing the gate leading up to the temple.
"We need to..."
Fiends started crawling over the walls before Ryu could even say "get to the temple".
Jumping off the buildings, pouring in from the entranceway. The trio were about to be surrounded within seconds.
"Get to the temple, we'll buy you as much time as we can," Rachel said as she and Ayane charged into the mob.
Ryu headed straight for the crushed gate, the grand fiend stirred as he stepped on it before running up the stone stairs. He cut down fiends as he dashed up the stairs at top speed. He found the entrance to the temple had been blocked by smoldering rubble.
The temple had a surrounding wall, he jumped on top of the nearest one, then jump on top of the roof, there wasn't any fog over the temple. He ran over and peered into the main courtyard.
Momiji was tied to an altar, the same alter from his visions. Ryu's heart started beating quicker, thunder rumbled overhead. Nyx was sitting next to her on the altar. Nyx looked directly at him, her eyes glinted and she smiled. She pulled out her knife, the same cursed knife wounded him. She drove it into Momiji's stomach.
Ryu stumbled, almost falling from the roof, he couldn't process what had just happened at first. Momiji didn't make a noise.
A pit formed in his stomach. For the first time since the Hayabusa village had first been destroyed and he lost everything, tears welled up in his eyes.
He leaped from the roof. Countless emotions he'd been trained to bury were running through his head, but right now, vengeance was the only one he listened to.
He let out his rage in a roar and lunged at the goddess.
Nyx raised her hand casually, a force field formed between him and the alter. Ryu hit the shield full force. It cracked. Another powerful strike with his sword and the shield shattered. He was running completely on adrenaline.
She threw up another shield, he shattered it. She threw up another one, he shattered it. Fiends came at him on all sides, he ripped through them in a furry.
He dashed towards Nyx, she crossed her arms in front of her, Ryu's blade met a shield inches away from her face. He applied pressure and sparks started flying from the collision.
"You really think you can challenge me?!" Nyx screamed in mirth.
A ripple of pure energy emitted from Nyx's body sending Ryu stumbling back.
Nyx hovered ten feet in the air, her robes billowed around her and her eyes glowed even brighter. A look of rage etched on her face. Her eyes glinted and the jewel around her neck flashed.
"I am no mere goddess,"
She blasted purple energy at him, he narrowly dodged it. The ground under him started to tremble and crack.
"I am the oldest living thing in this universe,"
Purple fire shot out of the cracks in the earth, Ryu leaped on to the roof of the temple. She sent another barrage of energy at him, he leaped from the roof avoiding the blasts. The temple imploded from the force of Nyx's attack and Ryu was caught in the explosion.
He landed hard on the ground next to the alter. He got to his feet if he could just get to Momiji...
With blinding speed, Nyx dashed at him. Her nails extended into razor-sharp talons. Ryu held his sword defensively in front of him. Clang! Sparks flew everywhere as talons struck steel.
"You..." Clang!
"Can not..." Clang!
"Hope to..." Clang!
"Defeat me!" She struck the sword with tremendous force, Ryu felt the sword slip from his grasp. It flew out of his hands and into Nyx's outstretched hand.
Before Ryu could react she drove the point of the sword through his chest until the hilt met his body. They were face to face. "Parasite."
She ripped the sword from his chest. Ryu collapsed to one knee, blood spilling out of the wound.
Nyx stood over him, a look of malice on her face. She held out the dragon sword, "With this, I will sacrifice what's left of that girl. Your bloodline will come to an end. I will use the eye of the dragon to awaken fully. This world Grudu sought after will be mine to do how I see fit,"
She laughed. "It's funny that Grudu's own power will be the undoing his creation he fought so hard to protect."
Nyx turned her back on him, laughing. He wanted to move, to fight back. To summon any energy he had left to stop Nyx and protect Momiji, but he didn't have any left, the adrenaline was spent. His time was up.
The dragon ninja collapsed in the dirt.
- Momiji -
White light. That was all Momiji could see.
She wasn't sure if she was dead or not. She didn't feel dead, actually, she didn't feel anything at all. Like a floating consciousness, her senses were all that remained.
Peaceful bliss wafted through her senses. Was this the afterlife? She wasn't sure. Maybe she was in limbo?
She couldn't really do much so she decided to wait.
And wait... And wait...
The white light that was the only thing she could see suddenly started getting brighter. It got brighter and brighter. Then dimmed revealing a clear blue sky.
She realized she was laying on the ground. She sat up, she had a body again. She looked around she was in a meadow, dense trees and shrubbery surrounded the meadow, creating a circle about fifty feet wide any direction. Soft daylight was shinning into the meadow. She stood up, she had been lying in a bed of ankle-high flowers.
In the center of the meadow, there was a large maple tree overlooking a pond. She walked over. It vaguely reminded her of the courtyard at the Mugen Tenshin temple.
The pond was a perfect circle, two fish swam together in unison forming a circle. It looked like they were dancing together. The water rippled out from the fish's motion.
She wondered if she was dreaming, maybe she was dead.
"You're not dead yet child," A voice spoke behind her.
Momiji turned sharply to see who'd spoken.
A man stood behind her. He was tall and he didn't look much older than thirty. Wearing simple gray robes, he had close-cropped black hair and a beard.
At this point, nothing really surprised her anymore. "Who are you?" She asked the man.
He smiled revealing smile lines around his eyes, it gave him a warm look. "I've had many names,"
She rolled her eyes, she hadn't expected a straight answer. She looked around the meadow. "Where are we?" She asked.
"I was actually about to ask you the same question." The man said. "Do you not recognized this place?"
"No, what is this place?" She asked.
He pondered for a moment, "I suppose you could say we are in a metaphysical space between your cognition and psyche."
Momiji looked at him blankly.
He thought for a minute, "We are inside your mind."
"Oh," And with that, she was convinced she was dreaming.
"So what exactly are we doing here?" She asked the man, half sarcastically.
"Oh, that would be my doing," He said cheerfully. "I brought you here. I wanted a chance to talk to you."
"About?"
"Before we speak, I think there are a few people who would like to speak to you first," The man said, he gestured towards Momiji. She spun around, behind her... Was Momiji's sister, Kureha.
"Hello, little sister," Kureha said in the warm tone Momiji remembered so well. She was wearing a simple white dress and her shoulder-length hair clouded her smiling face.
Suddenly Momiji didn't care if it was a dream anymore, it felt real. Tears welled up in her eyes, she threw her arms around her sister. Her heart ached, fresh guilt bubbling up.
"I'm sorry," She stammered.
"Shh, none of that," Kureha said, stroking Momiji's hair.
She pulled away, "How are you here? What's going on?"
Kureha glanced at the man, he was standing behind the sisters, not interrupting them. A faint smile etched on his face. "Our friend over here gave me the opportunity to come talk to you, even if only for a few minutes."
"But you're... I wasn't..." Momiji couldn't get the words out.
"I made peace with that, it's time you did too. Both of you." Kureha said, her voice turning stern.
A mutual understanding passed between the sisters, they embraced again. Kureha looked into Momiji's eyes, "Whatever happens, whatever you choose, I want you to know I will always love you."
"What do you mean? What choice?"
"I'm sorry, my time is up," Kureha said.
She started fading in Momiji's arms. "Remember, to look after yourself. And Ryu too."
"Wait! Don't go." Momiji shouted. She still had a million questions.
Kureha was gone. Momiji spun to face the man, "Where did she go? What did you do to her?"
"Calm down," The man said kindly. Her spirit simply returned to where it's supposed to be. She's not really supposed to be here, I had to bend a few rules."
"What do you mean where she's supposed to be?" She demanded.
"Before I answer that question, I think there's one more person who would like to speak with you." He gestured again.
She turned, wondering who she was going to see this time.
Hiroshi standing behind her. Arm and arm with a pretty young girl. He smiled, "Hello miss, it's nice to see you again."
Momiji's throat tightened. "I'm sorry, It's my fault you're here,"
"None of that nonsense now, I figured you would be beating yourself up about it." He said. "Remember our talk, I had someone waiting for me, you do as well."
They started fading. Momiji smiled. "Thank you,"
"Remember to trust your gut kid, you'll be alright." He smiled as the pair disappeared.
She turned back to the man, but he was sitting on a stone slab next to the pond that hadn't been there before. She walked over and sat next to him. "Thank you for that," She said quietly.
"It's my pleasure,"
They didn't speak for a moment. "What was that?" Momiji asked.
"Those were the deceased spirits that most wanted to talk to you, vice versa they were some of the deceased people you most wanted to see again. Your spirit called out to them, I simply opened the door."
"Why?"
"Pardon?"
"Why did you bring them here?" She asked. "Why did you bring me here? What do you want?"
"I wanted to give you a choice. It's a bit selfish of me, I'm terribly sorry." The man said.
The fish in the pond stopped their dance and swam over in front of them. They began circling each other again however this time Momiji could see an image forming in the pond.
She saw herself on the alter, Nyx's knife still impaled through her stomach. "You're holding on, but your soul won't hold out much longer." The man said.
The scene changed, Ryu was collapsed on the ground, he wasn't moving. "The dragon ninja has reached his limit."
The scene changed one last time. Rachel and Ayane were fighting off wave after wave of fiends. The fish broke their circle and went back to dancing in the middle of the pond.
"It's unlikely that they can defeat Nyx alone." He said.
"So that's it, It's over, Nyx won," Momiji said.
"Hmm," The man's brows knit together. "Not necessarily,"
"What can we do?"
"That's the selfish part, You could go back. I foresee that if you do go back the scales could be tipped against Nyx."
"Alright then send me back."
The man gave her a painful smile, "My dear you haven't heard your other option yet."
Momiji remained silent.
"You can move on. Your soul will move on from this world, you can be with your family again."
"What... like heaven?" Momiji asked skeptically.
"Hm, Truthfully I don't know exactly waits for you. I have never moved past this world. But I do know your loved ones will be waiting for you."
Suddenly this choice became harder, Momiji missed her family. "What will happen to Ryu?" She asked, "Rachel and Ayane as well."
"It's hard to tell, in the unfortunate case they are killed by Nyx. They too will move on from this world. It's likely they will join you."
"Is this a dream?" She asked. This all seems impossible to her.
"I can assure you this is real," He said kindly. "No one can blame you for wanting to be with your loved ones again, young one. Whatever you choose, choose freely."
Suddenly the ground shook and the sunlight dimmed. "But you do need to hurry, time is running out."
"Send me back," Momiji said without hesitating.
The man gave her a wry smile. "I had a feeling you would choose that,"
The ground shook again. The man jumped to his feet, "Whelp, It's time for you to go back, and for me to be on my way."
Momiji jumped to her feet as well. "You never told me your name."
Momiji's vision started going blurry, the meadow, the trees, the pond, everything was fading back to white. The man stepped into the pond, the fist began to circle around his legs. He turned back to face Momiji. "I have been called many names."
Momiji's vision went white.
"But you can call me Grudu."