A/N: EDIT: Went back and improved the chapter. Hope folks enjoy it.
Not a lot of feedback this time around, but I suppose that's to be expected given the content.
Nearly retired with the site breaking, yet I'm still here...for now. We'll see how things shake out in the long term.
If this chapter gets a lot of feedback -hopefully- I'll move it to weekly updates with the rest. Do let me know if you enjoy it~!
In other news depression's starting to hit real hard these days. Like a sledgehammer paired with concrete. Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head anymore. I don't even know why I'm feeling this way! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. On and on, round the bend, forever and without end! Its rather annoying; as though I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes.
Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old and on this site for Fifteen Years already. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. Meanwhile, my doctor insists that I'm fine. Take a health walk he says. Go fishing. You'll be fine.
*siiiigh* Right. Suuuure. Don't bloody feel fine, doc.
In other news I have two new stories in the pipeline that I'm trying to keep myself from publishing.
One is "Upon My Name" which is essentially Naruto reincarnated as Godfrey/Hoarah Loux.
The other is "Let Them Rot" with our brash blond reborn as Malenia.
Both were featured in the Shards of Shattering plotbin, and somehow they've become full fledged stories. They're ready to go, I simply haven't posted them yet. I'm waiting to hear back from you on this. Really need to hear back from people on this; I'll not publish them as full fledged stories unless that's what the majority of folks wish to see.
Well? What say you?
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes contained herein. Not a wit or a one! Really, they're just tributes..
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
References and homages to the characters of Sekiro. Though they may not be as you remember them...
Likewise, the soundtrack for this chapter is Demon of Hatred from the Sekiro Soundtrack, on loop.
Oh, yes. You know of what this old man speaks...
"Hatred is often a dangerous, reckless thing.
Take care it does not consume you.
Lest you fall...fall...to...
...SHURA.
~?
Hesitation is Defeat
Isshin was a fighter.
Such was his sole purpose in life. His meaning. His reasons for being. There could be no higher calling for one such as he, forged in the crucible of battle. For the sake of Ashina-for his beloved home-he would gladly give everything for that wish. Much had been sacrificed already before he'd come to this tournament; his heart, his mind, his body, his honor and even his very soul. The enemies of his country were vast and numerous and they would not stop, they would not yield, they would not relent until it was crushed into dust
So too, had he sworn, that he would stop at nothing to defend it.
Which was why it came as something of a surprise, yes a very great surprise when his chosen target didn't die. It had been a clean thrust through and through. Isshin knew better than most. He was a master of the blade. Although he had first aimed for Godwyn's head and missed, he had pierced demigods lung in the worst of ways. It was by all accounts, a lethal blow.
And yet the godling did not fall.
On the contrary, he stood tall in the face of it all. Perhaps that was for the best. He already felt great shame for attacking a vulnerable opponent with his back turned to begin with; had he fallen without putting up a proper fight, he knew he'd never be able to erase the shame of his sin. But to his great delight, Godwyn could fight.
Better than that, he could fight well!
That strange slender spear of his could do more than pierce, it could cut and he knew how to use it.
More than once it stopped his Mortal Blade and halberd in their tracks. It did so now and-oh dear, he'd done it again.
The Sword-Saint's attention snapped back as a fist rushed in at his face. He dodged it by the merest of margins, parried the lance that nearly gutted him, and swung for the hand holding it. A grim sense of satisfaction filled his old bones. His opponent was wide open, his am extended just a tad too far. He would take it off at the wrist and further weigh the odds in his favor-
The blade bounced off.
Isshin's good eye bulged, unable to comprehend what he'd just seen. He'd slashed hard and struck true, but the blade had sparked and bounced off as though he'd struck metal, not godly flesh.
Godwyn's eyes were gold as ever, but now they almost seemed to glow, his pupils inverted to horizontal slits. Now it was he who was wide open.
Isshin tried to bring his halberd around to counter, though he knew it wouldn't be quite fast enough. Time unfolded slowly.
Parry.
Parry, now.
Parry yet again.
Steel clashed against steel in a furious crescendo, and each time, he felt his guard slip a little more out of place as Godwyn whaled on him. There was nothing he could do. To dodge was to die; to be struck was to assure his death. His body ached, his bones creaked, his wrists began to tremble until finally, one last time, the parrier became the parried. His arms were forced high, exposing his chest.
No time!
The Bolt of Granssax skewered his side. He took the blow with a grunt and felt his health dip.
An open palm swept in to finish him off. "Rasengan."
Isshin never saw the attack.
Not really; he only heard the name, the keening whine of energy that followed...and felt something slam against his chest.
The world lurched, Isshin's feet went up, and then he went back, crashing through foe after foe before momentum finally had mercy on him and smashed him into a wall. A lesser man would have died. Not he. Even as his spine creaked ominously, even as stone creaked and cratered and his wounds opened anew, so too did he refuse to falter.
He...he had to win.
Wasted and gasping for air dragged himself upright and planted his black Mortal Blade in the ground, leaning heavily upon it. Blood sluiced from his chest and spattered the ground. His dented helmet tumbled from his head, his open blue robe now reduced to little more than bloody red rags atop his shoulders.
He must win.
Hesitation was defeat in any form; he had not died and passed through fire and death to fail here. He refused to accept it. He had not sacrificed his dear grandson for nothing, slain Sekiro, nor cast aside all that he was, all trappings of decency and kindness just to fall short at the last. Not to lose! Not here!
WIN!
Godwyn was already stalking toward him, bloody weapon raised high. Scarlet lightning skittered across his lance.
"You did well to come this far, even if it was with a cheap shot." his smile was gentle, but his words weren't. "You've earned your rest."
His peace said, he turned and walked away.
Such a dismissal was as akin to a slap in the face for Isshin.
The shame. The dishonor of it all! "Don't turn your back on me, demigod! You...haven't finished me yet.
"It'll be fine." a blue eye glanced over his shoulder, half-lidded with decidedly dangerous mirth. "After all, you're weak."
Isshin's temper shattered.
Weak? After all that, he thought him weak?!
High above, the heavens darkened over their heads. A low roar filled his ears. The read haze descended.
"Don't underestimate me, boy!" he staggered upright, glowering at him with a bloodshot eye. "I'm going to enjoy swallowing up that smug smirk of yours!
His temper sparked and his legs tensed a split second before he leaped into the air. Godwyn watched him go with lazy grace, but he never once took his eyes from him. The clouds swarmed anew overhead and lightning swept forth to strike his sword. A second now. Followed by a third and a fourth, then a fifth, even a sixth now. Each stroke coated his sparking weapon and made his blade burn brighter, swell larger! Below him the fray froze, each combatant taking note of this, his last ditch technique.
"Godwyn the Golden!" He snarled down at his adversary, his voice rising over the crackling lightning. "Dodge this next attack attack if you can! But know this! Even if I miss you, your precious arena is going up in smoke!"
It wasn't something he wanted to do, but he would if he must, if it mean victory-
Godwyn lunged upright, caught his bolt in the air, brandished it in his face, and ran him right through. Isshin's good eye bulged in confusion. "How...?"
"Remember this moment." his killer declared, piercing what passed for his black heart. "Carve it into your soul, your very being, and die."
It was the last thing Isshin heard, the last thing he saw, the last thing he felt as it cleaved down into his collarbone.
But they were not his final thoughts. Even in his last moments, hope kindled in his wizened chest.
He may fall here, but there was hope. Ashina still had another...!
(.0.0.0.)
Emma watched Isshin fall from afar.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
After all ,he was not him.
This Sword-Saint was not the Isshin she had known, but one who wore the visage of a man she'd once respected and occasionally served. A man who not only let his ambition and the foolishness of his grandson bring him back from the dead, but one who laid waste to all she held dear. He was not Shura, could never be Shura, but he had reaped a bloody toll all the same. He sought immortality and upon failing to possess it, slew those who held it, those who dared stand against him, like the tyrant he was.
It was he whom she had followed into this world, not for the sake of his dream, but hers.
In truth, the Gentle Blade loathed the Sword Saint almost as much as she hated herself. Hated her powerlessness. Hated that she never stood a chance; yet here she was, fighting against gods and monsters for the sake of her wish, to restore her world. She had already killed so many. It disgusted her. There had been a time when she was gentle and calm; when she devoted herself to the healing arts and only had a passing interest in the blade. Those had been happier days. Before the dark times. Before she lost everything she once held dear.
How the Sculptor would've wept if he saw her now.
She was becoming the very thing she'd sought to destroy.
But she didn't know what else to do!
And so...she clung to her hate.
Hate, hate, hate!
Hate for herself, hate that Sekiro hadn't been strong enough all those years ago, hate that she was going to become this...thing, and there was nothing she could do about it. That hate only grew as Isshin's killer crashed down behind her. Isshin's body followed...what was left of it.
Every fiber of her being tensed as those keen eyes settled
"You're going to fight me, next then?" his voice was jolly, jovial, even. "You should probably surrender."
Her hands were trembling. Was it fear? Excitement? She no longer knew. Her fingers ran red with the blood of slain foes.
"You do realize you have no chance of winning, right? We don't have to fight." He might actually mean those words. "I have no quarrel with you."
She drew her blade and dared to face him, weapon in hand. "Even so...I will fight."
It was all she had left, now. There was no longer any other path for her.
"You've got spirit." Without warning, the the demigod's gaze lit up. "You wouldn't happen to have a wish too, would you?"
She hesitated. "And if I said yes...?"
"Mind tellin' me what it i?"
His cheeks dimple in a smile. "Tell you what, if you manage to land a single decent blow on me, I'll honor your wish, too."
Was this a trick of some sort? She frowned at him. "You've already declared your intent to do so for others."
Godwyn just winked her way. "Its going to be a very broad wish."
Her temper sparked. "Do you think this is a game?!
"If it is, its one I intend to win."
A snarl tore out past Emma's lips before she could think to hold it back. She palmed her face and shook her head. No, control her anger. master the flames. Don't fall to Shura. She was in control. She must be in control. She couldn't afford to lose control; because once she did, there could be no turning back.
Godwyn tilted his head, regarding her new. "So much anger...what happened to you?"
Not pity. Anything but pity. She dove at him. "Its none of your concern!"
They collided in a whirl of weapons, steel striking steel.
Emma realized the gap between them immediately. He parried her blade three times, swept her legs, then shoved her back with a lazy palm thrust. She felt nearly all of her ribs snap under the strain and then she was gone, tumbling across the arena. Oh, the pain! It was worse than anything she'd ever felt in her life. Was this what it meant to fight a god? She'd nearly blacked out!
"Look out below!"
Panic bleated through her and she tumbled to the side a split second before the Bolt of Granssax would've skewered her stomach. Instead the lance bit deep into the earth; the explosion of which blasted her yet further away from him. She didn't even have time to strike back before his foot cracked out, devastating the rest of her ribs. Emma choked on her own breath as much as the fire in her throat.
This time she let momentum carry her away, using it to gain precious time.
Numb fingers fumbled in her sash, drew out her healing gourd and took a long sip from her it to mend her wounds. Even then the ache didn't completely fade. It took a second draught just to restore her. This was her limit, the limit of humanity when faced with a higher power. It galled her like no other.
"What are you...?
The Golden Son shrugged. "No one special, really. Wanna continue?" he loped her way with a lazy gait. "No one will fault you if ya decide to bow out now...
Emma grit her teeth. Even now he mocked her. Did he think her a fool? Her anger mounted, and fanned the flames within him. No! She tried to rally her emotions. Calm down. Calm! She had to be calm. A placid lake, flat and undisturbed, smooth and tranquil and...and...damn...him!
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt the last thread of her self control snap.
Emma's self control slipped. Her world went red.
And she fell.
Fire flickered across her blade. Threaded up her arms, now. Bled into her chest. She clutched at herself and tried to hold it back, to no avail. Her eyes boiled seven shades of scarlet. Her hair tumbled free from where she'd pinned it up behind her head, spilling down her back in a wild mess. She tried to breath, but couldn't. The fire was in her throat, in her mind...everywhere and everything...!
"Hey, you alright, there?" Godwyn's voice ignited the kindling of her heart further still.
Her eyes narrowed upon him, bloody red pinpricks beholding nothing else.
Him. It was his fault. All Godwyn's fault. If only he didn't exist...!
Die. He should die. He must die. Diediediedie!
Emma lunged at him with a feral snarl.
A/N: Isshin may well be dead, and Emma's losing herself.
Is it too late for her to be saved? Only time -and the next chapter-will tell.
But can you blame the poor girl for breaking? This iteration of her of her lost everything.
She hopes to use the Wish to restore that which she lost. She needs it, desires it, craves it.
To be clear, Shura is a term from in Sekiro, a demon of sorts that you really, really don't want to mess with.
Aaaand there we go.
So, what say you? Should this continue?
Feedback is essential to all things, especially the Elden Ring stories.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself ain't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs, holidays are here too, meaning I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And here, have some previews I've been pecking away at.
As ever, a warning to one and all. Spoilers, spoilers, and SPOILERS~!
Previews are mostly the same, don't want to spoil things.
First one is condensed for a reason!
(Previews)
"You cannot save that woman. She's gone mad. Just look at her! She's attacking everyone in sight!"
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do. She needs saving, so I'm gonna do it.
Stop! Stop that! You can't befriend all your enemies!
...says who?
This was the moment.
"Now! Attack him!"
The ringleader laughed. "...did you really think I would be foolish enough to face you alone, Godwyn? I already told you. I brought friends. And you...you've made enemies."
Naruto exhaled slowly. Shrugged off his cloak. The navy garment fell to the ground, exposing his bare chest.
The Bolt of Granssax spat scarlet sparks in his grasp, eager for action.
Azure eyes shimmered into cold crimson.
"You should have brought more."
Clap.
They froze.
Clap. Claaap.
"No. How...?!"
Clap. Clap. Clap.
He stepped out of the shadows, still smiling, still clapping.
"You know what they say; what's dead may never die. Unfortunately for you, I've died before...
He should be dead.
Why?! Why wasn't he dead?!
...I know your kind. You never learn...unless you're made to learn."
As they looked on aghast, Godwyn dragged himself up onto one knee. A hand rose. Tore his bloody robe away.
"Very well." he exhaled slowly, a low burst of steam leaving his lips. They couldn't see his eyes, not with him hanging his head like that. "I've given thee courtesy enough...
His back glowed gold. Then a monster burst forth.
"Then we're all in agreement, then? All of us?"
He turned to face those sitting at the table. They were many.
Some might call this treason. Perhaps it was-no, it almost certainly was.
Such a ritual would undoubtedly grand her the freedom she so sought...but it meant he would die.
Ranni shook her head furiously, red hair swaying side to side. "No, no, no! I can't...!"
Do you hate them?
How could he hate the twins? Miquella and Malenia were his half-siblings and still much too young to know their true loyalties. Not even three years old and the poor tykes had their own illnesses to grapple with...
"Its over...What should I do now...they'll follow me...
Footsteps echoed, deep in the dark. "You'd be right about that."
They rounded with a yelp. Paused. Laughed now, when the saw the state of him.
"Look at you! Godwyn the golden! Wounded and bloody! What can you possibly do in that state?!" More laughter. "Ha! That's what you get for protecting others! Weakling!"
Low laughter filled the sewers. "If you actually believe those words, you're pitiful. Honestly, you deserve a hug. If my last life, I woulda given you one...
Their smile died an ugly death. "...what?"
"Its true I'm not in the best shape at the moment." The first of the demigods pushed himself upright, uncaring of his mangled arm. "I can't even feel my right side anymore. "However." He lifted his head and ran a bloody hand through his long hair. "Just because I'm a little weaker, doesn't make you stronger now, does it?"
He stepped forward. They flinched. He saw it. Grinned.
"Sorry. There's only one ways to proceed from here onwards." two steps now. "Cuddle up, tremble in fear...AND RUN."
"R-Run?"
"That's right. Run away. And never return." he paused. Considering. "Or you could try and kill me now. Who knows. You might even succeed...
EDIT: Hey, you made it! Thanks for reading!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning, if folks don't like this, it WILL remain onsite-but it won't be continued. I'm working two jobs with no end in sight and I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
R&R~!