End of Story.
-
An explosion shook the halls. Ryuu picked up his pace, determined to find Ashura. he cagily heard Syaoran and Sakura behind him, calling him to wait, but most of his attention was on getting to Ashura.
'Ashura, where are you?' Ryuu continued running through the hall, looking each room he passed. A scream down the hall made him look up; he ran faster.
"Ashura!!" The room was mutated. A large, bulbous tree had grown through the middle, swallowing anything that stood around it: Pillars, furniture, anything that was there. "What's that thing?!" Ryuu ran to the crying servant girls. "What happened here?!
The older one calmed down enough to answer. "Sh… Queen Shashi is…"
Ryuu looked to where she pointed and gasped. The queen was a bloody mess. A hole in her forehead where her jewel used to be, and a stab wound through her chest. Blood dribbled out of her mouth. 'Ashura's mother!?' It didn't make any sense.
"Who…did this?" Ryuu asked nervously.
A weak voice called from the other side of the room. "My brother…" Tenou murmured.
Ryuu's head shot up in revelation. "Ashura!?"
-
Syaoran continued running, following the sound of Ryuu's footsteps. He felt something bad was coming, and he wanted to prevent it. 'Please, Ryuu, Ashura, please be alright!'
Behind him, Sakura ran with Mokona in her arms. She too wanted to make sure Ashura was alright. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes glazed over.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" Mokona asked looking up at her. Sakura didn't answer, but turned down a different corridor, and walked that way, her previous search forgotten.
-
Behind Ryuu, the tree was starting to part. A small sound caught Ryuu's attention. He turned as saw Ashura emerging from the tree, with the shura sword. "That's…" Ashura's eyes opened slowly and suddenly the limbs of the tree blew away, revealing him fully. He was grown, taller, stronger, infinitely more beautiful. Ryuu couldn't believe his eyes. "Are you Ashura?"
Ashura smiled, his eyes cold and cruel. "The seal has been broken, I've returned to my real form. I am Ashura!" He stepped out of the tree's embrace.
"Did you kill her?" Ryuu asked. "Did you kill your own mother?!!"
"So what if I did?" Ashura asked calmly, a cruel smile on his lips.
"Why!? After all the times you said you wanted to meet her!? Do you know what you did?!" Ryuu screamed at him, trying to understand how is friend could do this.
Tenou saw the glint in his brother's eye. "Brother, don't do it!"
Ryuu tried one last time to reach him. "ASHURA!!" Pain suddenly flared in his torso, a wet substance covered him. A sword has sliced through his body. He looked up to see the wielder of the sword. "A…shu…ra…" Blood fell from his lips. He reached a shaky hand to Ashura's face. "I'm… sorry." He apologized weakly. "I…promised you." His strength was gone, he was held up only by the sword through him. "Ashura. I… couldn't… protect you. I'm sorry, Ashura." Ryuu. smiled at Ashura, his bloody hand inches from his face.
Ashura yanked his sword from Ryuu uncaringly, watching as his body crumpled to the ground. "Heaven will be died red with the blood that flows from Zenmi castle. And all will burn in the blaze of my wrath." Ashura told the corpse.
"How could you?" Tenou finally found his voice as he stood in front of the servant women. Ashura turned to him. "I understand that you hated our mother, and if you can't forgive me, you could easily kill me." He looked now to Ryuu's body. "But was this many not your precious friend? Why are you so heartless? What is it that you wish for, brother?"
"'My wish'?" Ashura repeated. "To destroy everything." He answered simply. "That Ashura clan are the gods of War. We don't value life, we take. We had no mercy to begin with. When the seal on the Shura sword was broken, it activated the nature of destruction and slaughter in the Ashura clan's lord."
"That can't be!" Tenou reefed. "The past Lord Ashura guard heaven…."
"That was because the seal of his blood was not completely broken." Ashura smirked and then slashed out at Tenou, slicing his arm. Tenou sunk down to knees with a cry. Ashura leaned in close to him. "I won't kill you. You will be a witness to the events that unfold. Burn everything your eyes see into you memory. Witness how the stargazer's prophecy shall be fulfilled." Ashura hissed in his ear.
"Ryuu!" Syaoran burst into the room, panting from the run. He gazed at the room and froze. The room was filled with blood and just a few feet away from him… he gasped. "Ryuu…" He looked up and saw Ashura, he sword still covered in Tenou's blood. "Ashura…?" Through the haze of confusion and grief, he notice that Tenou and the women were in the same position were in the same places when he came in. Ashura smiled and walked towards him. Syaoran nearly took a step back, but steeled himself to stay where he was.
"Syaoran, it is good to see you again." Ashura said to him.
Syaoran's eyes widened. That wasn't the voice of the Ashura he'd known on this journey, it was the voice of…"King Ashura?"
"Yes." Ashura smiled kindly at him. "I have borrowed by other self to warn you. Time is frozen right now, when it starts again, he might kill you."
"But why?!" Syaoran was confused. "Why did he kill Ryuu? He was his friend…"
"I know, Syaoran, however, in this world, the Ashuras are killers. They will not stop killing even if it is their allies and friends. You must leave here, Syaoran. Princess Sakura's feather lies in the throne room, that is where she has gone, lead by the feather that calls to her. Find her, and your friends, and leave this world, before you get caught up in its battles."
Syaoran gave one last glance to Ryuu, send a swift prayer for his friend. "Is there nothing I can do?" He asked, knowing the answer.
"No, now go, before it is too late."
Syaoran bit his lip, bowed his head, and ran. He ran from Ashura, back the way he came, heading down the first side hall he found. He saw a glow that the end.
-
Sakura continued walking down the corridor in a daze. Mokona had long since stopped trying to get her attention, instead focusing on where they were going. Mokona gasped when they entered the room at the end. In it was…
"Kujaku!" Mokona cried when it saw the man. Only now, he had large black wings growing out of his back.
He turned to them, Sakura stopped before him. He smiled. "I was wondering when y ow would find me." He held out a glowing white feather. "I believe this is what you are looking for?"
Mokona's eyes went wide. "MEKKYO!"
Sakura's eyes remained blank as she stared at the feather. "My…feather…"
"Yes, Princess." Kujaku gently held it in front of her chest. "And you can have it back now." The feather sank into her, giving her back another memory. Sakura seemed to float for a minute, before falling unconscious, Kujaku catching her.
"Kujaku?" Mokona addressed him. Kujaku looked over in acknowledgement. "If you had her feather the whole time, why didn't you give it back to her when we first met you?"
Kujaku grinned. "Because I didn't have it then. It was sealed here, in the throne room. All I did was break the seal." Kujaku's grin slipped. "You have to leave. Take your friends and go to the next world."
"But-" Mokona was cut off by a cry back down the corridor.
"PRINCESS!" Syaoran skidded to a halt a few feet away from Kujaku, who still held Sakura in his arms. "What happened?" Syaoran asked, catching his breath.
"I returned her feather to her." Kujaku said simply, handing Sakura to him. "Your friends should be coming any minute now. I suggest you leave as quickly as possible."
"I don't understand why you're helping us," Syaoran started. "But, thank you."
Kujaku grinned, spread his wings, and flew up and out of the throne room right before Kurogane and Fai showed up, panting from the run.
"What happened, kid?" Kurogane asked gruffly.
"Sakura got her feather back." Syaoran answered, his voice somewhat off.
Fai nodded in understanding. "If that's the case, we have no more reason to be here." He turned to Mokona. "Mokona, will you take us out of here, please?"
Mokona hesitated, hearing the sounds of weapons clashing. But the look on Syaoran's face was the deciding factor. It nodded. "Right." It jumped into the air, wings sprouting from its back and a magic circle forming below their feet. "Mokona Modoki is ready to go!" It opened its mouth and swallowed them. "Ta Da!" And they were gone.
Just after they left, a huge rumbling shook the castle, collapsing the ceiling down to where they had been standing only moments before.
-
That's the end. I know it's rushed and not good, but I kinda wanted to end it before it got monotonous.