Prologue.
The legend of the cursed samurai is a legend as old as time. An urban legend that tells the tale of a lone swordsman who is possessed by the ghost of vengeance and doomed to forever travel the nine realms in search of monsters, evil spirits, and unwanted creatures to vanquish with a single slash from his trusted spirit sword.
It is said that this swordsman possesses a range of special abilities many of which are enhanced by the ghost of vengeance which plagues his mind and body. Super speed, lightning-fast reflexes, enhanced vision, smell, hearing, and strength. These are just a few of the abilities the cursed samurai is capable of. But his most prized possession, the most powerful weapon he carries on his person all the time, the one thing that ensures his victory in almost any struggle, fight, or battle, is his sword.
The spirit sword.
A weapon that was forged by the most powerful entities in the realms and was made from a metal substance known as Midnight steel. They say the sword is able to slice clean through the trunk of a tree, separating the tree in two halves. They also say the sword has a mind of its own which allows it to permanently choose and fuse with any person willing to touch it. That person is then possessed by the Black Spirit, AKA the ghost of vengeance, and is then forced to carry out the rest of his days traversing and extinguishing evil from within the nine realms. This continues until the swordsman eventually dies and a new soul is selected to take his place. Then the sword is passed down to another person and the cycle starts all over again.
But why am I telling you all of this.
Simple.
I think I might be the next cursed samurai.
1.
It started about 3 months ago. The very week I found the sword.
The day started off just like any other. With another nightmare. This time, I dreamt I was an old man walking through the forest in the middle of the night. I wore a pair of white robes and a hat, And I had my trusty long sword hooked to the side of my belt. There was a light rain. A drizzle. And the moon bright an imposing in the sky, illuminated every corner of my surroundings, trying its best to eliminate the darkness that settled behind trees, underneath rocks, and all around me. But unfortunately, it couldn't. Where there is light, there will always be shadows. And for that forest in particular, where they were shadows, they were spirits. Bad spirits.
I kept moving deeper into the forest for a little while longer, my head lowered and faced down at my feet as I walked. My clothes were drenched and my entire body was soaked from the tops of my hat to the tips of my toes. The bottoms of my shoes were a muddied mess. Any sane person in my situation would have immediately sought out shelter from the beating rain. But I didn't. More specifically, I couldn't. I needed to stay in motion. I needed to keep moving. I needed to stay as far away from the nearest village as possible while I tried to get the voice in my head under control.
Asper usual, it was trying to take over again. Even after 60 years of non-stop mental struggle the ghost in my head had never once given up on trying to cease control of my body whenever it could. I could feel my mind slipping as I walked. The whispers in my head were getting louder with every step I took. My hands were starting to shake and my breathing was growing ragged and intense. For a moment, I feared the day had come. The day I completely lost control of my mind and body to the Black Spirit currently possessing it. It was an inevitable truth. One that was destined to catch up with me sooner or later. However, all I could do in that moment was relax. Or at the very least try to. Because if I didn't, the alternative was something I did not like to think about.
Continuing on my path deeper into the forest, I was lost in thought, allowing my mind to reach out and collect details about my environment when all of a sudden, I heard something. The snap of a twig. Some several yards behind me. I stopped, turned, and glanced over my shoulder at a bunch of darkened trees. There was a flash of lightning. But there was no one there. Reluctantly, I kept moving. I made it twelve additional steps when all of a sudden, I heard it again. The snap of another twig. This time, it was much closer. I stopped and by reflex, placed my right hand on the hilt of my sword. I turned, but there was still no one there. I knew for a fact I was being followed. Hunted down to be exact. But I needed to play dumb. Dumb enough to appear none the wiser in order to draw my stalker out. So, again, I kept walking. I only made it a few more steps when my assailant finally decided to attack, giving away her element of surprise. Not like she even had one to begin with.
A dark spirit. Long and slender, shot out from a patch of bushes behind me like a panther and tried to slice open the back of my neck with its long and sharpened clause. But I already smelled her coming a mile away, so I simply stepped to decide and allowed her to fly past the side of my head, only missing my cheek by a single inch. She then came to a stop in front of me after performing a twist backflip in midair before landing on all fours with her claws dragging through the mud. Then she glared at me through ember colored glowing eyes, growling at the fact that she almost had me while also trying to discourage me from moving further.
Through the eyes and memories of my past lives, I instantly recognized the dark spirit as Akuno Shisha. A benevolent shape shifting demon who was one of the many spirits assigned to forever hunt me down throughout all of my existence. But the fact that she was still alive and coming after me, meant that she had somehow survived her previous encounters with my predecessors without getting herself killed. Which also meant, on my part, that I had to be careful.
Patiently, I continued staring down at Akuno waiting for her to make the next move. The malevolent panther-like creature was still locked in her predatory stance in front of me, still glaring at me with eyes that burnt of rage and malice. I calculated the distance between us and although she was ten paces ahead of me, I could easily have bridged the gap between us in less than two seconds. But in the state I was in, my mind and body being slowly taken over by the Ghost of vengeance, I couldn't use my full speed or risk operating at a hundred percent. So, I didn't.
I waited and after a little while, Akuno stopped growling and began stalking around me in a half circle, searching for a window of opportunity. Or maybe just buying herself some time. I stood still, kept my eyes trained on her, with my now relaxed hand still resting on the hilt of my sword. From some of her previous encounters with my predecessors, she knew very well not to rush me head on, especially not when I can already see her coming a mile away. Which means she was most likely waiting for some kind of diversion on my part, or possible reinforcements on hers.
The shape shifting demon continued prowling around me and when she thought she had an angle, she leapt towards my head again. This time, I responded with a swift pull of my sword. I dodged the attack stepping to the side, and immediately followed it up with a right-hand slash of my blade, slicing off Akuno's tail. The spirit let out a whimper as she fell towards the ground behind me, but instead of stopping she immediately got back on her feet, turned around, and sprang forward with her clause extended, in hopes of catching me unaware and tackling me to the ground. But with another quick step to the side and another slash of my blade, I sliced off one of her hands.
Akuno suddenly screeched from the pain and crashed into the ground by a tree. She tried getting up but thanks to her now missing limb She could not stand up straight. Standing in front of her with my spirit sword still drawn, I could have shot forward and gone for the kill then. Right then and there. Finally ending her life and giving my successor one less evil spirit to deal with. But just as I began walking forward to deliver the final blow, something else caught my attention
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Underneath the gentle patting of raindrops on tree leaves, and underneath the soft singing of sheltered birds within the trees, I could suddenly both hear and smell something. Breathing. Accompanied with a familiar stench of roasted metal and burnt flesh.
Akuno was not alone.
"Samurai."
A feminine voice, layered and uneven, suddenly called out to me. It sounded like a cacophony of a thousand mismatch voices all speaking together in a chilling unison. I turned my attention back over to Akuno, but instead of coming face to face with the panther like spirit who was on a verge of bleeding out from the stomp in its hand, I instead was now staring at a disheveled, dark haired woman with red eyes, pale skin, and one hand. She had on a dark blue traditional robe like attire and She was in some kind of kneeling, sitting position with her back against a tree.
"It's been a while." she said, her evil gaze fixated on me and her lips curving into a grin as she spoke. "I see you haven't forgotten how to cut me up in to tiny pieces." she added, briefly glancing at the stomp in her elbow That was spurting blood onto the ground.
Cautious at the fact that we were no longer alone, I walked forward the rest of the way then brought my sword to level with Akuno's face. Just as I thought, she was nothing more than a diversion, something to keep me busy while the real trap was being sprung. However, now that I knew I was being ambushed, I needed to get a sense of where my enemies were as well as their numbers. I wasn't about to let myself be pulled into a prolonged battle, so instead of piercing my blade through Akuno's skull just then, I listened.
To the rain.
To the wind.
To the trees.
And to the birds.
There. Among the trees. Hiding within the darkness of the surrounding canopy, was that familiar smell of burnt flesh and roasted medal staring down at me from a perch. Breathing. And waiting.
"You know I warned them that this wasn't going to work." Akuno said, breaking my concentration. "One does not simply sneak up on the samurai. It's just not possible." she added, still staring down the end of my blade. The stomp in her right arm was quickly healing itself, evident from the steam rising up from the wound and cauterizing the flesh. "Instead," She continued, " I suggested to them that we try a different approach."
Suddenly, the presence I sensed hiding within the trees was suddenly joined by another. Then another. Then another. Soon enough, the entire forest around me was densely populated by strange creatures hiding within the shadows. The stench of burnt flesh was overwhelming and the cold night air was now heating up despite the rain. I glance around in hopes of catching sight of one of these creatures hiding within the trees, and sure enough, I soon locked eyes with one of them.
Demonic. That was the best way I could describe the entity staring down at me. Ugly, and disfigured, the monstrosity I was looking at resemble something that was plucked directly from the underworld and placed on the surface to dry. It was clunked to the side of a tree, it's elongated head and Amber colored eyes fixated on me. Generally, it was humanoid in appearance. With the obvious main differences being its abnormally slender arms which ended in razor sharp clause, a body which was covered in some kind of burnt and rusted armor, and the pair of dragon wings connected to its back. A Dragon knight. Those were going to be a problem.
Glancing back over to Akuno, I lowered my blade and took a step back. I needed a moment to think. A single Dragon knight on its own wasn't really an issue. A well-trained swordsman in fireproof armor might be able to stop one. But when they come in groups of 20 or more, they become a serious problem. And from the way things were looking, I was quickly being surrounded by not less than 50 and counting. And although on a normal day this wasn't supposed to be an issue for me to handle, I still couldn't afford to kill or operate at full strength. So, things for me were about to get really rough.
"What seems to be the problem samurai?" Akuno ask from her sitting position, still glaring at me, still smiling. "Your hands are shaking." She said, causing me to glance down and find that my hands were indeed, starting to shake again. I tried to relax my mind and steady my breathing. But it was no use. The Ghost in my head was excited at the prospect of the pending battle, and I was all but certain that the next time I swing a sword to attack, it would be the voice in my head who swung it. Not me.
Just then, without warning, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my skull causing me to stumble on my feet. The whispers in my head started to intensify as some parts of my body began to tingle and go numb. First were my legs. Then my arms. Then my chest, shoulders, and face. My entire body was vibrating and it felt like my insides were starting to boil.
"You know what we want." Akuno said. "You know what we came for." she added, stealing a glance at the spirit sword in my right hand which I could no longer feel myself holding. "Give it to us samurai. And there will be no need for fighting." She lifted her other hand up, and the wings of a thousand dragon knights hiding within the shadows spread opened in response. "Refuse." she continued. "And today, will be, the day, you die." With her raised hand, she lifted a finger and drew a circle in the air. In response, some of the demonic creatures taking cover within the trees took to the sky’s and began circling the forest above me, screeching and growling as they swarmed. And in that moment, all I could do was watch.
Despite my efforts to resist, I was no longer in control. I had become a spectator. A second thought. A bystander in my own body. I couldn't even think. Thoughts of death, destruction, and revenge quickly flooded My mind and fueled my focus. I only wanted to kill.
"So, what will it be?" Akuno finally asked after a short time had passed with neither of us saying anything. And as a reply, I watched as my body lifted the spirit sword from my side and leveled it at Akuno's face once more.
"Very well." Akuno sighed, lowering her arm and drawing a sweeping line around her neck. Then, the entire night erupted with chaos as waves of fire breathing dragon knights dove down towards me. The last thing I remember from that moment was looking up and feeling a surge of energy traveling up my arm from the hilt of my sword, along my elbow, and into my chest. And as the Dragon knights drew closer from above, I smiled as the insides of my eyes turned black as a giant plume of fire Rushed towards my face.
That was when I woke up.
Screaming.
I immediately rose up from bed and began patting myself down, trying to put out the fire. But I could still feel a weight on me. I soon realized it was just my blanket covering my legs, So I hastily pushed it off me and kicked it aside, jumping out of bed and falling onto the floor in the process. Still rushing to put out the flames I began rolling back and forth on the carpet, desperately hoping that I wasn't being burnt alive. But then, after rolling around on the floor a couple more times and patting myself down some more, I soon realize that there was nothing.
There were no flames. There was no smoke. There was no fire. I wasn't burning. I was just Slumped against the foot of my bed, in my room, and freaking out from the dream I just had.
My heart was racing. My breathing was tensed. I was sweating. And my head was pounding. With the former three I guessed were as a result of the nightmare I just experienced, while the latter I was certain was as a result of Me falling off the bed.
"Ugh." I groaned, placing my palm on my forehead and closing my eyes. I briefly allowed myself to relieve a few snapshots of the dream I just had, reminding myself that it was just that. A dream. Nothing else. I've been having them ever since I was 9, and they only seemed to be getting worse. If I wasn't being chased by some kind of monster in the forest, then I'm being hunted down by some kind of spirit, or killed by demonic beings. The whole thing was just exhausting.
I eventually opened my eyes after resting a little bit then got off the ground to go splash my face with water. The water was cold. My reflection in the bathroom mirror after lifting my head up to stare directly at the thing, was rather normal. No scrapes, no bruises, no burns, no black eyes. Also, I wasn't an old man. I left the bathroom feeling a lot relaxed, but the moment I walked back into my room and sighted the time on my alarm clock, I nearly had a heart attack. It was 8: 25. School started in 10 minutes.
I ran back to the bathroom and stripped down including my underwear then got into the shower. When I was done, I got out, hastily dried my hair, and went to go brush my teeth with a towel wrapped around my waist. It was in this process when I thought I heard hushed whispers coming from within the bathroom behind me, which immediately caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. But after turning around and finding no one there, I realized that I was only hearing things because I hadn't taken my medication for that morning. So, I did.
5 minutes later I was in my uniform, out of the house, and on my way to school. I didn't even eat breakfast. I was already off to a shitty day thanks to the awful morning I had, and the depressing gray color of the cloudy sky wasn't really helping to better improve my mood. It looked like it was going to rain. Down below however, the rest of the city was starting to come alive with activities. Traders and local businessmen were starting to open up shops, and the roads were packed with vehicles on their way to work. I got a few side glances from people and neighbors who knew me, with some of them even going as far as to shut their doors and windows and pretend as if they did not see me. One woman in particular, immediately drew her daughter closer to her side when she saw me approaching in their direction down the sidewalk. However, I simply ignored all of them as usual and just walked past.
"You have one new message from Teenyma. “My phone buzzed with a notification shortly after I had finished crossing an intersection. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled it out then swiped upwards to unlock the screen. Although it was a singular message from Teenyma, the app indicated that she was still typing. For some reason, I enjoyed imagining her voice in my head while I read her messages.
"Hey!" the first message read.
"What's up?" the second one said.
"You at school yet? “The last one read.
I adjusted the handle of my backpack which was slumped against my right shoulder and began to reply.
"On. My. Way." Send.
She replied an instant later with a fearful emoji. "What! What happened?"
"Woke. Up. A bit. Late. Lost. Track. Of time." Send.
"Let me guess." she replied. "Skipped breakfast"
"Yes." I responded
As a reply, she first sent a pouty face emoji before attaching a message at the bottom. "All right. Just make sure you get something to eat during free period. And don't forget to drop by the house after school. Understood?" she added, attaching a girly light skinned teddy bear in an officer's uniform at the end of the message.
"Yes mam!" I finally replied, sending along an emoji of a sweaty teddy bear wiping his brow. It was the closest thing to a salute I could find.
She laughed. Sending back three rolling on the floor laughing emoji. "All right." she finally replied. "See you later."