Damien stood atop a mountain of ash with the world revealed to him. Around him was the forest that surrounded the tree, now wilting away from losing its power source. Damien held a now tangible dagger in his hand with all the apparent qualities of it being real. He could feel the weight of it tiring his arms and shoulders rapidly. If he didn’t do anything about it, he would lose grip and he had no idea what would happen.
‘I have to expend the technique out, but where!?’
Damien’s frantic despair was clear for Kyro to see. He could surmise what was going through his head, so he gave him a way out.
“You freak of nature! Just swing it at me!”
Kyro immediately appeared in front of Damien’s attack direction. Damien let out a sigh of relief and dropped down his arm, swinging it at Kyro. The dagger was never meant to hit Kyro physically, but the light wave emitted out surely was. A string of intense fire hot light shot out at unimaginable speeds. It seered the very air it traveled through, creating a loud whistling sound that carried over for countless kilometers. Kyro watched the attack come at him with a stoic smile. No matter how strong or special the attack was, coming from Damien meant it was of no consequence to him. Instead of meeting the attack head on, Kyro evaded with a speed that could only be described as supreme. Damien’s attack had reached a whole new level, but it was nothing for the Golden Crow, known to be the fastest creature alive.
Kyro turned into a beam of red light, circling Damien’s slicing light wave. Kyro did not even need to touch it to take care of it. He corralled it upwards with his mastery of his Dao. That attack went exactly where he wanted and redirected into the sky where it would fade away. Kyro reappeared to where Damien once stood. Damien was now down on his knees, gasping for air. Sweat trickled down his entire body as he felt the tension escape him. It took everything out of him to just carry that dagger for a few seconds. Clearly his new Dao exceeded the cultivation of his body. While Damien was trying to stay conscious, Kyro reprimanded him.
“You know you could have just aimed your attack upwards instead of bellowing like an idiot.”
Damien tried his best to hide his embarrassment. Due to the situation and all of the thoughts running through his head, it never came to him as an option. He also didn’t believe he would have been able to raise his arm to aim at the sky. He didn’t want to appear like an idiot and also someone who was too weak to do such a simple thing, so he made an on the spot excuse.
“I didn’t do that because I didn’t want others to be attracted to our position. With the tree gone or to them, Meteor Volcano, they will quickly come here hoping for a treasure.”
Damien shamelessly created a lie that somehow made sense. Kyro thought about it for a second and also agreed with his sentiment, making Kyro the dumb one here. Kyro couldn’t cope with a child outwitting him, so he did the only thing he could do and changed the subject.
“You effectively destroyed my home that I swore to protect, kid. What do you have to say?”
Kyro’s aura began to skyrocket, but it was only a show to forget about his stupidity. It was then Damein finally realized the true gravity of his actions, however he had no true excuse to give him. His only option at this stage, for the person who welcomed him to his home and guided him along, was to plop down to his knees. Damien slammed his forehead down to the floor without holding back. Just thinking about the hospitality he was given and how he repaid it back made his soul hurt to its core. Tears could be seen welling in his eyes, showing the true compassion and sincerity Damien held for Kyro in his heart.
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Kyro instantly lost all of his aura and intensity. He was only trying to scare him, but he did hold true feelings for his home. So although he wanted to be angry, he couldn’t muster up that emotion. It even confused himself to think he didn’t hold a more begrudging rage. Kyro looked around the surroundings with a clear mind, and that was when it finally hit him.
“Ahh… that’s right. I was far too attached to something I shouldn’t have. I brought it upon myself. No one asked for it, and I know my old buddy wouldn’t have wanted this. I created my own curse and now I feel free once more…”
Kyro spoke lightly to himself, but Damien was able to hear all of it. Damien raised his head with mixed feelings . His eyes were red from the tears and some snot hung from his nose. He still felt sorry so he waited to be called upon until then he would stay knelt. Kyro knew it would be unjust to let him continue on, so he picked him up from his position.
“You may believe you have done a great disservice to me, but it is quite the opposite. I was too blind to see I was withering away in my wallow, but now you have freed me completely. With my chains gone I can now live my life again and I know what I want to do now.”
Hearing it directly from Kyro aloud, Damien allowed himself to feel better. Everything he received here in the “short” amount of time would forever be in his gratitude. It was sad that such a perfect place of history and cultivation was gone from the world, however that was the cruel nature of the universe. Everything comes and goes, nothing will last forever in the grand scheme of things. Having thought everything over, Damien was more than excited to leave back to Gats and meet back with his friends. While raring to go their separate ways, Damien asked Kyro what he wanted to do.
“Kyro, I thank you for everything. Without you I would still be stuck in my path. Now that I am ready to go back, I wonder what you plan on doing.”
Damien bowed as he spoke to Kyro, waiting for his response.
“This is just fate and karma my friend. We are now intertwined by the machinations of the universe. My home, the Solar World Tree, has been absorbed by you. You have taken the essence of it within you, making you somewhat of its successor. Although I feel not bound by its presence, it is my true desire to accompany you and see what you accomplish. Plus I feel at home with you now.”
Damien was slowly becoming more shocked as he spoke. It was too much of a bombshell being dropped on him. The last thing he expected was for him to call him his friend and accompany him.
“Wait… what? Are you being serious?”
Kyro did not hesitate at all. He had clearly made up his mind and nothing could change it. He quickly made himself at home on top of Damien’s white messy hair. Kyro’s red lustrous color faded away into a deep black. This made him look more like a common crow that was more grandiose than others. He kept all of the sharp features that made him unique, but nobody would pay too much attention to a regular crow.
‘He’s being serious, he’s following me and making a nest of my hair!’
Kyro snorted as if he could read Damien’s thoughts of him being disgruntled in the moment. Seeing that there was no way out of it and he wouldn’t catch much attention from Kyro’s new form he just accepted it.
“Why don’t you just turn into a human form instead, Kyro?”
Kyro pecked Damien’s scalp with enough force to make him yelp in pain.
“This is my natural form and where I am the most comfortable! You wouldn’t understand how it feels to walk in a body that isn’t natural!”
While Kyro bickered over his preferred form, Aya appeared out of thin air. She was the same as ever with her cold demeanor imposing its presence on everyone. It chilled out Kyro and Damien, bringing their attention to her. She slowly sized up Damien, noticing how much he had grown out of his current clothes. His robe reached above his knees, and clearly he had not noticed. Besides that, she focused on his current demeanor. You could say Damien was the same as ever, beside his new hardened view of life that he didn’t let ruin his personality completely. Killing Tenzin changed something within him, but as long as he was having fun he would enjoy it. Aya didn’t think it was a bad thing, especially when she sensed a new wave of confidence infused his body language. Before Damien was timid and unsure of his place in the world, however this journey he took here solidified his position.
“You did a good job these last two years, Damien. Albeit a little slow in my standards, you still pass. Your life is now spared and I am positive that even if you are not a pure or half Combat God, you must be distantly related.”