Arc 5: The Heart Within
Road to a Hero:
Three chances in another world
Chapter 26. Musashi Van Helsing
Black. Void. Death. Hell. Sin. Fear. This is what makes up nothing. And nothing is exactly what Ryo sees. But something appears in this infinite nothingness that is Musashi’s OD. A faint glow, a crack in the veil covering Musashi’s soul. Ryo’s spirit drifts towards it, being sucked into what he assumes must be Musashi. The area is white. Ryo finds himself back in his true body, looking around, trying to find anything. He turns his head to see that the area has changed completely. He’s outside, in what is now Gordon's training grounds. Leviathan soldiers training, and very young black-haired twin boys talking to their father, who has striking white hair.
Ryo {Could that be?}
Ryo ponders to himself for a moment, then has his thought answered.
Musashi: “Daddy, why did you name me Musashi?”
Ryo {This must be his first memory or at least a core memory. If that’s Musashi, and he only seems to be three or four, then that’s his brother Gotsu, and his father Gilius, husband of Flora Van Helsing}
Gilius: “Because, long ago there was a man who lived on the top of the mountain, right under heaven. A man with sword skills so great that he will be remembered for all time. Though this is just an old story…a confusing one at that since we don’t know where the legend came from though.”
Gotsu rolls around, not interested, while Musashi is fully invested.
Musashi: “Can I be a legend?”
Gilius puts his hand on Musashi’s head, with a small smile on his face.
Gilius: “Of course.”
Gilius coughs into his hand, shaking his head. A calming voice is heard from behind, and a tall woman with brown hair starts walking up to them with drinks in hand. Gotsu stands up, running to the woman.
Gotsu: “MOMMY!”
Ryo {Flora? That must be her. The daughter of Sultan the Lost. The first Helsing to marry a lower-class family, and the first female Helsing to rule the Leviathan army. So many famous people in one place. Gotsu the Monster Slayer, Flora the Grand, and Musashi, the once greatest swordsmen of the era.}
Everything around him freezes, then cracks appear in the ground, leaking a bright yellow light. Ryo holds his hand above it, then pulls the mana into his palm, creating a small ball of mana in his hand. The area around him changes once again. Now the grass is covered in snow, and Musashi is battling Flora in the yard of what is now Gray’s home. Flora's health has dropped significantly, and Musashi has grown in age. Flora screams with her scratchy throat, trying to force Musashi to kill him.
Flora: “MY SICKNESS WILL NOT TAKE ME, HONEY, MUSASHI BABY…I KNOW YOU DON’T WANT TO…BUT PLEASE, KILL MOMMY! TAKE MY LIFE!”
Musashi screams in denial while tears flow from his eyes. Ryo is horrified by the sight. Black blood stains on the snow poured from Flora s’ mouth. Her bloodshot eyes, pale skin, large black crooked lines randomly on his body, and dark blood pouring out of every orifice on her body.
Ryo: “This must be the mana decay. A terrible way to die.”
Flora tries not to fall over, wildly swinging his sword at Musashi. Musashi won’t swing back, can’t swing back, his mind won’t let her. Flora screams one last time.
Flora: “KILL ME!”
Musashi thrusts his sword through Flora's heart, causing her to throw up her last bit of blood. With a smile on his face, Flora's last words are inaudible, but the look on her face tells all that is needed. A feeling of respect, and that respect for her son grows even further when she watches as Musashi’s hair turns white. Flora’s soul leaves her body right as Gotsu runs into the backyard. Watching Musashi kill their sick mother, he's silent. Though Gotsu's petrified face wasn’t due to this, no it was because of something inside the house. Ryo walks into the house with the two. Musashi’s once terrified face has dropped and turned to a dead look. They walk into the living room, looking at their dying mother. He is suffering from the same illness that Gilius was, drowning in his own blood. Multiple adults try to get them out of the house, horrified to find Musashi covered in his mother’s blood. An elder demands that they are allowed in the room, being the only reason Gotsu is still in there and Musashi was allowed outside with his mother.
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Ryo: “That man, I’ve heard of him. Orm, the longest-living Helsing, until he died of mana sickness a few years after this. Andi t seems Flora died a more peaceful way than the more...bloody ending..."
He waves his sons over it, touching their faces. Gotsu has tears streaming from his eyes, continuing to mutter “Father”. The father's eyes go black when he looks at Musashi, rubbing the blood off his cheek. Blood flows from his eyes, then everyone in the room pulls Gotsu and Musashi out of the house. A loud noise erupts from inside out, with a quick burst of blood covering the inside of the house.
Ryo: “A horrific end, to say the least.”
A younger man with brown hair walks outside to comfort the boys.
Al: “Hi, my name is Alon, but you can call me Al. I’ve been tasked with housing you until you’re of age... if that's alright?”
The boys lack a response, and the memory ends once more. Ryo takes a bit of yellow mana, making the small ball a bit bigger.
Ryo: “It grew in half its size. I assume there are only a few more memories left, at least two or three. I hope Lincoln’s doing well.”
Ryo waits for a second, wondering to himself what the next core memory will be.
Death. The end of a battle. Blood-covered ground, mist-covered area. Ryo uses his spiritual sense to see through the mist, watching Musashi battle something with monstrous mana. Roars, screams, grunts, everything leaking out of the two. The mist clears in a blast of power, allowing Ryo to see Musashi fighting something clad in dark and sharp armor. A silver jaw connected to short silver ears, long horns on the sides of the helmet, glowing red eyes, and silver claws. It looks almost like a dragon, but more humanoid. Ryo whispers to himself. “Gotsu.” Then in one swift movement, Musashi shoves his sword through Gotsu’s possessed body, blasting through the armor and leaving massive gashes around his body before stabbing right through his head, killing him. Gotsu falls to the ground, dead. All the blood flows out of openings in the armor, then a wave of steam follows. Once the steam is gone, so is the body. The only thing left behind is a palm-sized charm, with the same design as the helmet on the armor. Musashi picks up the charm, and sits down. Ryo can only watch as Musashi begins to break down in tears at the loss of his brother, a truly saddening scene.
Once the memory finishes, Ryo takes the yellow mana, then the area changes once again. Snow everywhere, a white blanket instead of the ground. A dark sky, a full moon, and two fighters. Musashi, and another man dressed in attire similar to a samurai.
Ryo: “I remember this, the day Musashi battled the Devil's Shogun, the day he became the world's strongest swordsman.”
Musashi, covered in cuts and bruises, and barely able to stand, continues to fight the Shogun. The Shogun waves side to side, his blood pools out of the armor, and Musashi cuts through his sword, beating him.
Shogun: “Finish…me”
The Shogun chokes on his own blood, making Musashi groan. Though Musashi doesn't kill him, he simply watches as the fallen Legand. He looks over, noticing a small figure walking through the mist. Then, it's revealed to be a young girl with white hair and swirling golden eyes. Her sudden appearance in the area is both strange as well as mystical, especially when Ryo remembers who it is.
Ryo: "Kioshi. A girl blessed by the world and found by Musashi...or at least what the world thinks. A spirit, a hero, and a friend. I'll miss you...I'll miss you both."
Mist fills the surrounding area, so Ryo takes out the yellow orb, using the bright light to guide him through the mist, glowing brighter the closer he gets to whatever he needs to get to. After a while of walking, Ryo finds Musashi sitting by a fire, drinking tea. Ryo sits beside him, looking into his eyes.
Musashi: “What are you doin’ Ryo?”
Ryo: “Your body…it’s been…”
Musashi: “Taken? Yeah, I figured. For how long? I just got here.”
Ryo: “About…five months…”
Musashi stops drinking his tea, setting down the cup.
Musashi: “So now I assume you need to take me.”
Ryo sighs, feeling bad for Musashi.
Ryo: “Your body has started decaying…once I free you, you’ll die in mere seconds.”
Musashi gulps down the last bit of tea, signing at the news. However, he excepted his fate a long time ago.
Musashi: “Okay, whatever. You know…it’s kinda funny. The world's greatest swordsman, dying due to missing his sword strike.
Ryo takes the empty cup of tea, finding it filled once again.
Ryo: “Is it correct that my assumption…that you let yourself die?”
Musashi: “Maybe, maybe not."
Ryo: "The Truth?"
Musashi: "I spent my life rejecting it, but in my last moments...dying was the best option. And the happiest. I get be with my mother, my father, my brother, and my daughter. But don't make it seem more than it is, because I was really mad...Kioshi died and I was too late to stop it."
Ryo goes to deny this, tho try and make Mudashis feel better, but with the expression on his withered face, Ryo knows he should stop. They had all held Musashi to a high degree, so high that they all had figured he had to have died because he let himself. But they never thought the simplest thing. His daughter had just died, and even with Pandoras brain fog as well as her mama canceling abilities at play, Musashi did something as human as everyone else. He didn't know of Prometheus' ability to heal nor did he know that Lazarus could steal his soul in one swipe l. He made a rash decision in a heated moment, losing his life because of it.
He may have been a god, he may have known about his death far before it happened due to this strange world, and that may have lead him to choose hid end, but it still all stimmed from a split second choice. So Musashi stands up, and his body begins to crack, letting yellow streams of light flow from within.
Musashi: "I have faith they'll make it. All of them, but it's not set in stone. Guide them, because soon, very soon, they will be in charge of saving the world."
Ryo: "Ah yes, another bit of the Truth. As cryptic as it always is."
Musashi: "You got that right...but I think it's time to finish this already, I'm tired enough as it is."
Ryo fully opens his normaly closed eyes, looking at the soft tears flowing from his life long friends face. Ryo takes out the orb, letting Musashi flow into it. Then Ryo is ejected into the outside of his OD. Chains are wrapped all around it, with a dangling lock in the center. Ryo floats over to it, taking out the orb illuminating the are in a bright yellow glow. It turns into a key, a key that Ryo puts into the lock, unlocking it to free his friends tormented soul. The chains whip all around, freeing Musashi’s OD. Then cracks appear all over the freed OD, glowing a bright white. Ryo leaves Musashi’s soul, reentering his body. Ryo then quickly gets up and walks back onto the street, finding it decimated. The building crumbled, the street unrecognizable, and the sun starting to rise. Ryo watches as Lincoln, covered in dust and bruises, leaps at Musashi. Musashi leaps at Lincoln, putting all his strength into it.
Lincoln’s left arm bursts with blue mana, ripping at his skin, and decaying it. Their attacks clash, and the power coming off of the attack blasts wind pressure throughout the area, pushing all the buildings and houses away, and leaving the area to look barren. The fight is heavenly. The world's strongest swordsman, and the world's strongest man. Strikes that echo as loud as lightning strikes. Movements that could only hope to even be perceived by the strongest of fighters. But this is just a small sight of their strength, due to Musashi’s decaying body and Lincoln holding back to not completely wipe this section of the capital off the map. Lincoln and Musashi both stand up, breathing heavily. Lincoln has a grand smile on his face, finally fighting a somewhat difficult fight in such a long time. Though his fun is ruined when Musashi falls back, having been freed from his chains. Ryo walks up behind Lincoln, touching his shoulder.
Lincoln: “Did you finish it?”
Ryo: “Yeah, he’s free.”
Musashi’s blood turns to dust, leaving only his armor behind.
Ryo: “We need to go…it seems I was in there for a while.”
Ryo begins to walk away, having to stop and wait for Lincoln. Lincoln then uses Musashi’s cloak to grab all his things, and begins to walk with Ryo.
Lincoln: “So does this mean I beat the strongest swordsmen? And if so, am I the strongest swordsmen now?”
Ryo: “Well I am the one that caused him to die, does that mean I’m the strongest one?”
Lincoln: “We gotta ask Gray, he’ll give us an answer.”
End of Chapter twenty-Six