In a matter of minutes, the entire city of Noh was in an uproar as each and every citizen diverted themselves from their daily lives to rush home and arm themselves.

Men, women, children, babies… monkeys. Even the birds and dogs returned to their residences and armed themselves to the teeth. Within a half-hour, the entire city’s population lined the main street in clean rows and columns like one massive army.

There was a narrow column of empty space left between the two centermost columns. The scarred man briskly strode down it, his arms outstretched so that his hands brushed against the shoulders and arms of those he passed.

Once at the front of the procession, he jumped up into the air and spun around as wind swirled around him, carrying him onto a hastily-prepared stage that had been placed just before the gates out of the city.

He took a few moments to soak in the moment, appreciate it. How many generations had his people, had this world… had he, himself, looked forward to this moment?

Then, he spoke, “You must all be wondering why I have called you to arms. It is an unprecedented occurrence, but I can assure you that it is for a most glorious purpose.

“I have received a message from the first Jonin that a warrior of Kaita, still in his original form, has made it to this accursed world!”

Excited murmurs spread through the ranks, which stopped immediately as the scarred man raised his right hand.

“You are all aware of the prophecy. Our hope. Our only hope. And so I know that you are all aware of what needs to happen, yes? Our most trusted scouts have already been sent out to find and relay the situation to the prophesied warrior.

“But of course, if we have found the prophesied warrior, then our despicable feline overlords and their agents must have as well. If allowed to scour this land freely, they will surely find the warrior before we do.

“As such, before they can rally their forces, we still initiate an all-out offensive! To battle! To the deaths of those damned cats and their damned slaves!”

“Death to the cats!” the entire city shouted in response.

WIth that, the city gates—with much grating—opened wide. With the scarred man leading the way, the first rows of the makeshift army marched through, only to come to a near-immediate halt.

A single person stood in their way, his sword unsheathed and at the ready.

The two sides stared at each other in silence for several moments.

Then, the scarred man strode forward, step by step, until he and Toku were face to face.

“You heard the speech?” he asked.

“I did,” Toku simply responded as he looked the scarred man up and down.

“Are you the one we are looking for?”

“Perhaps. But I’m not here to be a savior or anything. I’m just looking for some people.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Toku’s eyes narrowed as the two continued to size each other up. “Before we get to that, though, it seems we have something to settle.”

“It seems we do.” The scarred man pulled out his own sword.

As he did so, Toku eyed it. After a brief moment of contemplation, Toku fluidly sheathed his blade and returned it to his holding space.

“My sword is far superior to yours,” he said. “We will handle this with our fists.”

The scarred man’s eye glinted. “Confident, are you? Very well.”

“Three.” Toku counted.

“Two,” the scarred man responded.

“One!” they exclaimed in unison.

The two leaped forward, their fists colliding with great force. A shockwave exploded out from where the two made contact, creating a small indent in the ground beneath them.

Despite the intense clash, however, there was a clear victor.

The scarred man was knocked backwards through the air, his body crumpling to the ground and flopping over several times before crashing to a stop.

Despite that, though, he began to laugh.

“Hahaha! The new generation really is terrifying!”

With that, the scarred man flipped himself back upright and turned back toward the city. “Fortune has smiled upon us today and delivered the prophesied warrior to our very doorstep!! Get back in the city and prepare defenses! Those cat bastards will be here soon!”

With that, he gestured toward Toku. “Well? Are you going to just beat up your ancestor and leave? You said you’re looking for people—we need a savior. I think we can help each other.

“What do you say?”

***

“Under normal circumstances, someone of your ability would be introduced to our city of Noh with a feast, but this will have to do for now.”

“Not an issue.” Toku grinned as he lifted a small glass filled with a clear liquid.

The scarred man, despite not having introduced himself yet, had led him to where in Hon would have been his private dining room. From there, the scarred man had pulled out a small gourd and offered him a drink.

Of course, he’d accepted.

The two motioned their respective glasses towards each other, and with exaggerated movements, raised their glasses to their mouths and downed the contents.

The scarred man growled a bit as the intense alcohol burned its way down his throat, but Toku’s reaction was far stronger.

“Woah! Yeowh!” Toku coughed and sputtered at the unexpected burning. “What the hell is that? Poison?!”

The scarred man laughed at the top of his lungs and slapped the table, causing the gourd of alcohol to jump and topple over. “Close enough to it. It’s nearly pure alcohol, and what little isn’t, is certainly tainted. Still, once you get used to the burning, you really start to crave it.”

“I can certainly see that happening.” Toku gently placed his glass back on the table and looked around. This room was the same dimensions as his own, with nearly the same furniture—but the wood was different, the positioning of the furniture slightly off compared to what he remembered.

He looked back towards the scarred man.

“So why does this place exist?” he asked. “And who are you?”

“Cutting to the chase, eh?” the scarred man chuckled again, but this time it was tinged with a hint of sadness.

“I do suppose we are low on time. This place was originally a small city, built by our first generation king, based on what little he could remember of his previous life. Over time, as more of our people found this place, we continued to build it out with their memories until it became what you see now. As for me, I’m just an old warrior of Kaita who the people have chosen to lead them. Call me Shiki.”

“Good to meet you, Shiki. So, does everyone here remember Kaita?” Toku asked, intrigued.

“Of course not. Most have no memory of their previous life, and of those who do, most lived on other planets. But a handful of us do, and we tell tales of it to those who don’t. In a world like this… it gives people hope.”

The scarred man sighed heavily before continuing. “How long have you been here? On this side of existence?”

“A few weeks. Maybe a month or two at this point. I was snooping around when some assassins chased me out of a city and—”

“Yes, I’m aware. You killed them. It’s unfortunate, but they did not know of your identity at that time. The first Jonin said that it was only at the end that he realized who you could be.”

“The first Jonin?”

“The old man.”

Toku nodded in understanding. “The one who escaped. He’s quite skilled.”

“Indeed. He is a rare expert to have survived on this side as long as he has. Most do not make it past a decade before their existence is worn down.”

“Worn down?” Toku raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

The scarred man lazily reached for the gourd. “I will. But first, another drink.”