With the blood loss, I somehow felt like I was both weightless and stuck to the ground at the same time. My limbs felt as though they worked against me as I raised my sword to the wrinkled old man. "I'm not here to play games anymore."

The Doctor smiled as he sat on the plush bed. "I'm surprised that you're still lucid with such grievous wounds. You should sit if you don't want to find yourself on the floor."

Slowly, I limped towards Amaterasu's body while still keeping my sword pointed towards the deranged man. As I got to the table, what was once my foot screamed at me to sit, so I slowly eased down to the two or three-foot desk and sat at her feet. As soon as I sat, my legs refused to budge. I knew the Doctor spoke only in falsehoods, but I couldn't help myself from questioning him. "Have you done anything to her?"

He shrugged, still smiling. "Nothing at all. We only just recently moved the corpse into this room." I looked to Amaterasu, then back to the Doctor, then back to Amaterasu. He spoke with such honesty that I couldn't tell if he was trying to fool me or if he was telling the truth. With a chuckle, the Doctor spoke while I continued to inspect her. "For having such dogmatic loyalty in your goddess, you're quite the skeptic when it comes to the word of your fellow man."

I shook my head. "I trust my fellow man. You're the exception."

"Oh please. From the first time I saw you walking behind the fat one those months ago I saw nothing but a confused and overly suspicious animal behind those eyes. You're still the same now, only you've replaced confusion with ignorance." The old man sat up, losing his smile. "She's dead. You could save the sick if you allow me to continue my research. We could save this world. Isn't that what you wanted?"

I shifted in my seat. The Doctor was trying to manipulate me as he would always try to, but I wouldn't be so pliable. "I saw what you've done to the Shogun. Is that what you call salvation?"

"That's what I call the first step to salvation. An unpolished glimpse of what's to come."

With an air of disgust, I countered the old man. "You aren't very convincing when that's your testament."

"True. He is a rather pitiful display at the moment, but there will always be unpleasant side effects to the first of many trials to come." The Doctor slowly reached into his bag and pulled out a vial of musky purple fluid. "With time... I could even bring the ones you love back." His genuine smile creased at the edges as his brows tensed.

The old man may have been experienced in deceiving, but it had become painfully obvious when he was lying through his teeth. "And how do you plan on achieving that when the only thing keeping you from dissecting her like some animal is me."

The Doctor grew a smirk and changed the subject, holding his syringe of yokai blood. "I could heal you with this. You aren't weak like the shogun, you could withstand it. Can't you?"

"You won't find success in stoking my pride either." My legs finally obeyed my commands, bringing me back to standing as best I could. I could feel my blood loss, I had no more time for the deranged old scientist's musings. On top of that, needed to finish this before I passed out.

The Doctor's smirk turned to grimace when he watched me hazily stumble closer. He spoke as he put the vial of yokai fluid back and rummaged through his bag of medical equipment. "What a pity. There was a time when you seemed intelligent enough to subside this feverish loyalty when there's nothing left. What are you going to do? Kill me and take the body where? There is no future other than my future..."

Getting closer, I pointed my sword towards the Doctor, his false image fading and showing anxiety in his eyes. "I don't care. There's always an alternative."

The katana's blade slipped through the air, thrusting towards the Doctor's heart. His hand slapped the sword off-target, sinking deep into his shoulder instead of his chest. The old man stared wildly at me, one hand bloodily holding on to the sharp blade of the sword, the other rummaging through his bag of medical supplies. Before I could rear back, the Doctor finally found purchase in his bag and swung the small and reflective scalpel at me. Slashing through my chest. Chuckling as I slowly pulled my sword from his shoulder.

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The Doctor held on to his wound, bargaining between his laughter. "I can still heal you. Heal everyone of the disease they're born with. But you must get out of my way... Save yourself, Kenshi. You've always done what was necessary to survive..."

My vision was fading. Time was running out. Damn it!

I lost balance and could only stumble back into the desk with Amaterasu laying atop it. My companions shouted in the distance, looking for me.

My choice was to finally end the Doctor or make sure Amaterasu was safe with my last breath. If I killed the Doctor, the Shogun would take charge again. She would be taken away and put on some display cabinet. The world would still rot like it would if the Doctor was left in control. There was only a singular option that left some sort of hope for the future.

Damn it all.

Ignoring the Doctor, I grasped the cloth surrounding what was left of Amaterasu and pulled it as best I could into a bundle. I pulled the knife out of my back and quickly sheathed my sword before grabbing the cloth between my arms. The Doctor shouted meaningless pleads as I limped to the balcony. If I killed him, I would die and Amaterasu would still be in the hands of the shogunate. What I could do was impede his plans. I didn't give a shit whether what happened next as long as my task was accomplished. Brutal efficiency is what suited my mind. Time to fly with what I came for.

The old man was too injured and frail to stop me as I shifted my weight and let myself roll over the railing with Amaterasu.

The scenery spun as I fell down those three stories. Everything moved slowly. I felt no panic. No need to shut my eyes. I simply stared at the sights in the distance. The places where this damned journey all began. Kamakura. The ocean. The summit of Mt.Fuji... Everything blended together before the sudden impact. All that purpose quickly doused out like a candle left out in the rain. All the immaterial possibilities of the future all finally decided their course of action.

A piercing pain rang throughout me. The ground was warm and wet where it should have been cold. Blood.

Her weight was pressed on top of me. That once felt comforting, but now I only felt like I was suffocating. Even in triumph, I was still a coward. I still resisted my oncoming demise deep within my core. Even the smallest bit of regret was too much. I was tired of living in it. Reveling in it. It was time for peace. All the anger finally flushed out of my body as I noticed my legs buzzed now that I had no more blood to give to them. The world started to grow fuzzy, leaving me to lay on the bloodied ground staring at the summit of Mt.Fuji. People were shouting and stomping towards me. It seemed like my companions had finally found me. How long had I been laying in the dirt?

The dead goddess. The sleeping dragon. The abandoned man.

Sleeping. Sleeping felt so desirable in that moment, but I couldn't let my eyes close. Not yet. I still had a final plan I needed to formulate.

The elder dragons fought in a cataclysmic battle, the scales on their backs scattering across the blackness and making the stars. Their Blood forming man. Their determination and will forming the soul...

Why remember these stories? Why was my mind drifting? I needed to focus before the lights went out. Surely all that pure determination hadn't expired just yet.

Figures formed around me. Hayato's voice called out, but I was too intent on thinking to answer. I still stared at the summit of Mt.Fuji.

Once the battle was over, the elder dragon came to see the people he had created from the cataclysm. He gave them the sun. Created someone to rule over that sun and keep life blooming. Once he was satisfied in his work, the dragon created Mt.Fuji around himself and slept...

"Wake him up..."

Hayato looked down at me. "What?"

All I had sought was redemption. To see her face again. Instead, I got the image I had seen in my nightmares... The Doctor filled my veins with his poison, but I had saved Amaterasu. No, I hadn't saved her yet. I hadn't saved anyone yet.

Ressurection.

My lips finally opened again to answer Hayato, forcing the last life in my body to hiss out my final ounce of determination and purpose. "Take her to the summit. The only thing we have left is a bargain."

Their faces were confused, but there was no more time for me to elaborate. I could feel myself fading.

I couldn't fight it. For so long I lived off of determination and a surplus of luck, but there was nothing for me anymore. Only blood and regret. Whatever my last plan was, was held on the backs of my companions.

My eyes shut as the voices around me grew louder. All the pain went numb. All the wounds I had accumulated on my journey had finally caught up to me. It didn't matter. The plan was in motion, and I was finally ready to get that rest I had promised myself once I had her safe.

Death by a thousand cuts.