Eternal Dragons ENG, a shaman king fanfic

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Major Character Death

Relationships: Yoh/Anna| Lyserg/OC | Horohoro/OC | Ren/OC | Hao/OC

This is a rewrite of my old fanfiction Eternal Dragons: "The Promise of Hikaru"; I'll be publishing it in English and Spanish.

For those who haven't read Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang and onward, do not worry, this prologue was intended to catch everyone and put them on the same page, for those who need a refresher I'm using the 32 original tomes of the manga and the Kang Zeng Bang 300 chapters ending to an extent.

Tags might change since this is a very long story but in any case, I would write in the chapter notes for any kind of important warnings, just to be sure.

I want to thank everyone who helped me with my story, each one of you has made it easier for me in difficult times, and that's huge, so think of me dedicating this to you. I also want to thank huntedwitch for being my BETA, all the kudos to her! And the genius that is RainonyourBack, if it weren't for them I wouldn't have been able to write Hao as I wanted, thank you!

Now, I hope you enjoy your reading.

Prologue. King of Stars

Everything started the day I died.

Wandering souls of the dead.

Forest spirits...even the ancient gods.

There are people who can communicate freely with these beings.

And evoke into this world powers beyond humanity.

They are the link between the physical and spiritual worlds.

They are called...Shamans.

You, Dōji Asaha, are a shaman.

Was that my name? Where am I? Who am I? I am but a mere speck of light floating in the nothingness.

You are the soul born as Dōji Asaha, you are in the highest society of the Great Spirit, a place of gods. Only a select few can be here. You, Asaha, are one of the few.

Welcome to your new domain

...Shaman King.

That was what I was told by the Great Spirits during my dream, or should I say, my sleep of death. To become King, you must die; this is what the ceremony of union with the Great Spirit is all about. I started as a soul without memories, but they reminded me of my past, my lives, my achievements, my failures, my names.

Asakura Hao.

A Heian onmyōji, a Patch officiant, a broken soul. Founder of the Asakura family bloodline, which I was later reborn into, my descendants, my killers. All of this for the knowledge, the power, the glory, to control those who had wronged me. The humans, the pests of the Earth, and that's when I remembered my goal...to kill them all.

All the knowledge and memories of the earth are now at your disposal; the many pasts, the many presents, and the countless futures. Omniscient and omnipotent creature of absolute power.

I was now a member of the G8, the group formed by all shaman kings of the past. They told me about many of the secrets a Shaman King should know, about my new abilities, how I would consume mortals if I were to be seen by them, because my powers would be too much for their weak souls, but something else caught my attention. Time. It was no surprise to know that the future wasn't set in stone, but what they said next was something that intrigued me:

For this point on, you are part of the selected timelines in which you are Shaman King. Many futures are ahead of you, but your actions will be the ones to act as catalysts to form your own future.

They sensed my confusion—my own future? They didn't say anything, but invaded me with images instead; flashes of lives I lived or could live, one when I didn't win, where my soul was complete but my body was cut in half. A flash of blonde hair was a constant in many visions, children who I didn't recognize but knew who they were. I could see the many lives my other half could live. Die young, die old, lives full of hardship or in ignorant bliss. I saw them all, and in many, I saw him. Even in flashes, I could recognize it—those eyes, they were up to something, attacking my descendants, killing my other half's allies, ruining my time on the throne.

YVS.

The Shaman King before me, the one who created what we know of the modern world, the one whom I stole the Spirit of Fire from. I supposed as much—my life after all was full of treachery, deceit, and backstabbing, but YVS was a dangerous enemy. His eyes, his followers, they appeared many times, like pests I would never get rid of. That won't do. But all of a sudden, I felt the need to wake up, to rise from the shrine I was left on, it was time to meet my other half once again.

The King of the Stars.

That was what I was called when I used the corpse to toy with him, when I absorbed his so-called friends, but he could tell it wasn't me anymore, that it was just a puppet sent to test him, to destroy his silly notion of ever winning over me.

Annihilation.

What came next was just nonsense even I couldn't believe. He knew he didn't beat me and still refused my offer to stay in the highest society of all. What a shame. Still obsessed with having a future living on Earth even when I offered him a Paradise, so naive. Then they came along, parading in my domains like they owned the place. Such disrespect.

The five elements.

They came all the way here to turn me into a "proper" King. The audacity. But they didn't relent, attack after attack they thought they could defeat me. They were nothing compared to my immense power, the power of the stars, the universe, the very forces of nature.

So small.

Then they showed up, they all showed up, in a ridiculous train filled with their friends and families, here to "help" me. Such nonsense. Saying I wanted them here, saying I was depressed. Then he shows up.

Ohachiyo.

He said I was back to my true self after that stunt they all did. They said my anger and sorrow kept her away. They said I lost my power to read people's minds after facing them, after meeting Yoh. Such nonsense. But then I finally, at last, after so long, I saw her. They brought her to me.

Mother.

And she told me to apologize. I couldn't believe she would think such a thing was necessary. She said to love my people. How, mother?

I'm so happy for you, nīchan.

Was what he said, my other half, my twin brother. He was so naive, full of himself, so impertinent, thinking that I would change my mind.

I would still like to kill every human on Earth.

I allowed them to leave, but not without a warning that I'll be watching them closely. They dare to think they can fix humanity, how naive. But I'll humor them for a while, see what they have under their sleeves. After all, I'm the one who can do that, not them.

I'm the fucking Shaman King.

At first, my job felt done. I was the king at last, but something kept bothering me. Dear Mother insisted it was impatience over my new responsibilities, Matamune just smiled and assured Mother that I would know what to do. I almost believed him. He was testing me, but it felt different this time.

After a while, I knew what was wrong: It wasn't impatience, it was irritation. I knew I could be doing my work but he was waiting for me to fail, the array of flashes of multiple timelines where he interferes in my rein haunts me—he will never live that down, will he? But his hatred towards me makes him forget two can play the same game.

I won't let you ruin all of my effort.

So, before I destroy the humans, and while my brother and his friends are on their delusional mission, I need to take matters into my own hands one last time. Clean the slate before any changes can be made.

What pains me to no end is the need to do it myself. I can't trust anyone to do my job, I have been betrayed by those close to me far too many times. No, this is a mission only I can do.

A clever solution came to me in the form of my mortal body, or rather a copy of it, and a small, minuscule fragment of my soul inside the new puppet. It was enough for me to leave Mu unnoticed and make the appropriate visits to those who needed my personal attention. The first one was quite easy, an appropriate transition, even, for what would come next.

My secret mission brought me back to Kyoto; regardless of the bad memories, I was there on business: The Asakura branch house was still alive. At first, it gave me a sliver of pride to know they kept with his teachings to this day. Living deep in the mountains with no TV, no radio, no school and no money, nothing that could distract them from what truly needed to be known about the world, and that's the only way of living he would allow for shamans.

I wasn't surprised when I met the current head of the branch, a sickly looking man called Yohkyo. Right away I knew he was the problem, but I kept him in the dark of my true intentions. He only wanted power to subjugate the main branch so they could be the ones representing the Asakura as my lineal descendants. Always with betrayals. I have plans for them, but not just yet... For now, my mere presence could keep the backstabber happy enough and away from temptation. Simple dreams easily crushed with promises of training and better standings. How disappointing.

His children were very young, pure enough to be saved by me. I made sure they knew their place and their ability, but you can only talk so much with a little girl and a baby. The little girl asked me something one day: What I was, how I was a king, a god on Earth.

"I'm the thousand winds that embrace this world. Which means that what you're looking at is only a small fraction of me. A mere fragment of my soul in this human body. I don't look like a king right now because I don't need to."

That kept her silent for the time being. Her name was Luka, a very submissive and quiet child. Her little brother Yohane was just a baby, his weak constitution forced the girl to care for him day and night. Her love for her brother was pure, I know as much.

Before leaving for my other endeavors, I made sure Yohkyo would stay in line with promises of returning to their training, small gifts for the children, a reward for his efforts to preserve my traditions...and a clear warning.

Don't you dare seek for powers you don't understand. If you slip, you'll die by my hands.

With my point certainly having come across, I left Kyoto for the one place I wanted to avoid the most but couldn't. Living on Earth was bothersome, but business needed to be taken care of. Lucky for me, my little brother received me with a smile.

At first, he was terrified, as I caught him right before leaving his residence with his new wife and baby son. I remembered that little spitfire, I'd seen enough of him in the visions from the Great Spirit to know he would grow to be a pain in my existence—he was his mother's son, after all. And speak of the devil, I had missed my dear sister-in-law; only few could understand me so. However, she didn't look as thrilled about my long visit as I thought she ought to have been.

Tension came to a boil around winter of last year. It was almost laughable—pathetic, really—when they showed up as soon as they knew of my presence in the old inn. All of them, little by little, even from overseas, the pests rushed in to see why His Majesty was among the mortals. Not telling them was enough to make their heads explode, and somewhat entertaining, but really, who did they think they were? Demanding answers from a god...

My plans that day had only involved gazing at a meteor shower on the rooftop of the cemetery temple, but, apparently, I couldn't do that anymore; not while I had my brother's watchdogs on me. My little brother and his collection of weaklings—now referred to as "The Legendary Warriors" by some frightful, boot-licking scum. I knew those well enough. One of them was missing—as it turns out, Tao Ren was too busy to grace the king with his presence, but I was inclined to believe he simply did not dare meet me face to face again—but it was one less bother to deal with. They interrupted me while I was admiring beautiful Aldebaran—the nerve—and badgered me with questions of my presence and my purpose, daring to remind me of the vow they made me to "fix things".

Please, if they actually managed to do something to change my mind, then I'd consider granting them my promised forgiveness, but that dream was, and always had been, as good as dead.

"I said I'd be watching you. So here I am. Watching you."

That shut them up. They remained nearby and I gave them the opportunity to admire the spectacle in my proximity; not many places were appropriate to look at the stars in this horrible city full of skyscrapers and pollution, but the rooftop of the temple suited my need for the night. The Taurus constellation certainly looked the best during winter.

That same night, a gust of wintery air swept past a young lady. The teenager was alone, sitting in an outdoor chair on a long terrace. Snuggling under her knitted poncho, she tried to warm herself, her hands were cold when she rubbed them on her cheeks. A sip of her drink could help, she thought.

It was cold. Hours outside would do that to the once-sweet-and-savory hot chocolate.

With squinted eyes and tongue sticking out, she put aside the cup and looked at the sky filled with stars. There was a shooting star again, and ecstatic she giggled while interlocking her fingers and closing her eyes, pleading at the stars with a smile.

"What are you doing?" A voice startled her from behind.

"Onēsan!"

The slightly older teenager scratched the drowsiness away from her eyes, ignoring the sudden outbursts. "It's past two, we have school tomorrow."

"Two?! Oh no, I won't wake up tomo— today." The older teenager patted her head and chuckled, but a long yawn followed.

"Here, let me help you. Let's just take all of it to the kitchen, we can clean it in the morning."

"Sorry, onēsan," The girl said, moving the chairs to the sideline and picking up her empty snack bags and a couple of dirty cups, "I just couldn't take my eyes off of the sky. Doesn't it look beautiful and grand tonight? Like a never-ending pool of stardust."

"Very poetic."

With a sigh, the teen looked into the distance. Even if they were in a big, secluded manor, the lights of civilization still managed to catch up to them. "Too bad we are still close to the city. I bet we could see more stars than these deep in the countryside."

"We are far enough to see some constellations, at least. Did you manage to find them?" The young teen nodded at the other enthusiastically.

"It was hard, but I think I saw Orion and the Pleiades, and so many shooting stars!"

"Taurus looks beautiful this time of year, too. Do you see that big star between Orion and the Pleiades? That's Aldebaran, one of the biggest stars in the sky."

"No wonder our ancestors looked for answers in the stars," The young girl said at the sky, enchanted by the new findings, despite being dragged inside by the other, "We waited for the Rahu Meteor around winter, wasn't it, onēsan?"

"It's too late to remember a meteor that announced the world's destruction of humanity," The other replied and yawned, "You've spent enough time wishing upon the stars, little lady."

Quiet as mouses, they made their way down to the kitchen. They left the cups at the sink and the evidence of too much sugar by the trash. The youngest quickly grabbed the other girl's hand the moment they were done, escaping from the dark as the lights turned off.

"Oh, onēsan, I didn't spend all of my time wishing to the stars," The girl whispered as they made their way up the stairs. The older teen stopped to look back at her with a raised skeptical brow. "...I did ask for good grades." The youngest admitted with a mumble.

"Which neither of us will get if we stay up," She chuckled in reply, dismissing most of her severity, "Shooting stars do mean change and good luck, but I don't think they are that powerful."

The ladies wished each other a good night and entered their rooms. The youngest organized her school bag, changed into warm pajamas, and turned off the light, leaving only a small night lamp on, which gave the room a soft, pink glow. Lost in thought, she looked at the ceiling from her comfy bed, thinking of the stars and how inconsequential she might be in the grand scheme of things.

Talking about Rahu left her nostalgic for a time when the most powerful beings gathered to fight. "The will of the Great Spirits" was a constant whisper in the crowds. She had been surrounded by people who could change the course of humanity with their strength, but she had been a mere spectator of their grandeur.

Had it been that long ago?

Life after that event continued as normal as it had been, but, occasionally, she would remember those times with more fondness than she should. Was it wrong? Perhaps. Nothing one could be concerned about, but still a secret that she kept well.

Sleep forgotten, she left her bed and kneeled in front of a white chest that was nearby. Slowly and silently, she opened it. It was filled with scraps of fabric, fake flowers, seashells, and other trinkets. She managed to find a pink metal box underneath the rest and she brushed her fingers over the flowers engraved at the top.

The girl got back up on her bed and opened the metal box. In it there were several mementos, some souvenirs, letters, and pictures, but what caught her attention was a rather unusual artifact. Some might have said it looked tacky, to others, creative; it had shiny claws and red-rose-colored straps, which decorated a small electronic screen of sorts. An oracle bell.

She looked at it fondly and made the artifact come back to life after playing with some buttons. She joked about the battery life to herself, maybe she should give it a good use, seeing that it was in such good shape still. Inspecting the craftsmanship and the simple options of the oracle kept her smiling for a while, until she caught a particular photo inside the box on the corner of her eye.

This one. This one she remembered well. Delicately, she took the photo in her hands—it was one of many that she had saved from that trip, but this one was special. Hugging herself into a ball, she started giggling into one of her pillows, trying to not make noise.

I wonder... As it came to her mind, she took the oracle bell again and clicked several buttons that sent her to a special menu. Her slightly shaken hands and her blushed cheeks distracted her, it was only a name. Pushing her nerves away and holding her breath, she typed it on the screen.

Searching for information...

She guessed as much. To keep her busy, she started to put away her treasures, freeing the bed from all the photos and many more things.

Suddenly, a ring sound startled her and made her drop the metal box with a loud ruckus. She closed her eyes and covered her mouth, waiting for the worse. A moment of complete silence followed...but not a long one. A simple knock on the wall made her automatically bow in their direction—Very sorry, onēsan! She couldn't exactly hear what was said back, but it was probably a 'Go to bed'. Tomorrow, she'd make sure to do something nice for her, the girl promised to herself. Letting out a tired breath, she collected all of her things, put away the box, and closed the white chest, but left out the photo and the oracle bell. She remembered she hadn't checked the results yet, probably that was what the ring was for. Her curiosity peaked but the answer left her speechless. It can't be...is it? She ran the name again and got the same reply, she introduced her own name just to make sure, but the information was correct nonetheless.

She took a moment to collect herself. Maybe, maybe the machine wasn't updated, but it tracked her own position, maybe she introduced the name wrong, but she checked it twice. Maybe...maybe. She needed to be sure; one last time, she introduced the name, his name, and waited.

Going to her window, she could still see the stars—how could a night of stargazing come to this, was this a sign? But what kind? One last ring from the oracle brought her back, and there it was, the same answer from before.

"He is...in Tōkyō," The girl whispered, at last, looking at the last shooting star fly out of the night as her eyes shone with stars of their own.

There was that dream again. A dream? A memory? Or perhaps a premonition. He couldn't even remember most of it, he just knew he had it again, a gut feeling it would mean something, but nothing came to mind.

Or not entirely.

He only remembered the constellations. Orion, The Pleiades and Aldebaran from the Taurus constellation—how very appropriate, just in time to remind himself of the joyous occasion that marked his mortal body aging another year. By this time tomorrow, it would be his and his dear brother's 19th birthday.

Thank you for reading, kind reader!

This story has meant a lot to me for years, since the days of back in 2003-2004, and now, with this rewrite, I'm giving it a refreshing new life to my dear Eternal Dragons.

I would be very happy with those who'll accompany this journey and hope you'll enjoy what I have in stores for you.

Comments are always a delight, please excuse my English, since I'm still not as good as I wish to be, but if you think of something I can improve I'm always open for criticism.