The group was watching Silas fly towards the ground. William was the first to see the body, and he clapped Magnus on the shoulder. “Oy, look. ‘Ere he comes!”
Magnus stared up at the sky, his mouth gaped open. “Oh, this will not go well.”
The group watched Silas weave his shadow mana in an attempt to slow his fall. Strings of black goo mana connecting trees together and in thick blankets. He was falling from so high, though. They doubted anything he could do would be very much. William reached his hands out to Daiki and Magnus, signaling them to back up. It seemed like Silas was going to land right on top of them. The three and Hoshi all backed up and watched Silas hit the ground with an earth shattering thud.
“We are not strong enough,” was all Silas could say.
The group barely had time to react before a dark, thick fog rolled in out of nowhere. William and Magnus instantly readied their weapons. Hoshi just looked at them with a knowing smile, giving them one of those long, slow blinks he had. “Don’t be afraid, it seems the Kami is coming to collect his pupil.”
The fog drifted through the jungle, rolling on the ground quickly. It moved through the group’s feet while the three humans danced and tried not to touch it, to no avail. Hoshi just stood there, smiling. The fog didn’t last long, it just rolled through them and then past them just as quickly as it had come. When the fog was gone, they realized Silas was gone as well.
“So, now Silas is gone as well, oi,” William muttered.
“Man, you guys have some powerful friends, don't you?” Daiki spoke, looking at the Beggars.
“No, Kami Kenji is a friend to no mortal. He believes Silas can help him, however. I believe that’s why he’s taken such a special interest.” Hoshi spoke up, looking at the pair of Beggars now as well, giving a small smile.
“Well, if he’s with a Kami I guess we aren’t gettin’ ‘em back, are we?” William frowned and looked at Hoshi. He gave a heavy sigh and sent his swords back into his storage ring. William then moved through the clearing they already made back up the mountainside.
He was hoping they’d be able to make it back to the Kunlun Monastery before nightfall. This way they could sleep in a bed again before traveling all the way back to Mudpass. It only took a few minutes for the other to follow him, trudging through the jungle.
Hoshi took the rear, moving on all fours now since it made it easier for him to traverse the jungle floor. Once they got close to the pond that was Hoshi’s home, he bid them farewell and stood on his back legs before giving them a bow. The three bowed in return, with Daiki bowing the lowest, since the animal was so revered here on the island and by his sect.
“Come on, we’re almost there, I think.” Daiki looked to the sky, pulling water from his pack and taking a long drink. He still wasn’t wearing his robes. He had put them away earlier on the trek down, so when he dumped the rest of his water over his head, it hit more of his skin and cooled him.
Magnus and William didn’t stop moving, but Magnus looked over at William, ducking below a branch. “It will not thrill the Elder with any of this. Kio murdered, Maisy kidnapped, and Silas with a Kami who doesn’t like mortals.”
“Silas being with a Kami is probably the best news. He said we weren’t strong enough to deal with this group before that cursed fog came and ate ‘em up.” William responded, looking back a moment at Daiki. “What about this bloke? Is he going to come and join us?”
“I’m not sure. You guys seem to need all the help you can get. I don’t know about turning my back on the Kunlun though. We are a noble sect that helps protect people.” Daiki had caught up with the two, feeling a little refreshed after dumping the water on his face and body. The shirt he wore was soaked and clung to his chest and belly.
“Yes, but if you join the Beggars, you’re protecting more than just farmers and small villages from spirit beasts and raiders. You are protecting the world from dragons, and a devious Kami who is trying to take over.” Magnus answered Daiki before he stopped and slumping down into the grass, leaning against a tree.
“Yeah, that is true, but just leave my sect?” Daiki stopped talking and got a faraway look in his eye. When someone joined a sect, it became their family. Closer than their family most times. Moreso, if you lived in the sect's main branch like Daiki did at the Kunlun.
William looked at Daiki and didn’t push the issue. “How much longer you two think we got till we make it back? I don’t wanna sleep out here in this damn jungle.”
Daiki snapped out of his daze and looked up at the mountain. He could kind of make out the Monastery through the trees. Magnus stood and slung his pack back on. “No time like the present to get going.”
“We’re almost there.” Daiki pushed off the staff he was leaning on and started to head up the mountain.
William mumbled a curse, but stood to his feet. “It’s so damn humid here. How do you guys deal with it?”
Daiki just laughed, and they continued on hiking up the mountain.
______________________
“How do you expect to beat that man?” Kenji stood across from Silas, his extra long katana in his hand.
Silas had just charged the Kami with his hammer trying to land a blow on his chest. Kenji just knocked the war hammer away like it was nothing. He didn’t even bother trying to dodge. Silas stood there, doubled over and panted. “Well, he’s not as strong as you, Kami.” He let out in between heavy breaths.
They weren’t in the same open field of shadow as before. Now they were in a vast, open void of nothingness. It was dark here, and it messed with Silas’s senses. The fact he didn’t appear to be standing on anything but very clearly was. He looked around a moment, trying to take it all in, but he couldn’t comprehend it.
Kenji had told him the field and animals before were a sort of illusion to give Silas comfort before. The animals and creatures existed. They just didn’t obey the same laws of physics that Silas was used to.
“No, but there is my brat of a sister propping him up. If you take out the head of The Heavenly Dragons, what do you think Genki will do?” Kenji ran towards Silas, bringing the sword in for an attack, swiping the long blade towards Silas’s chest.
Silas growled out and met the blade with the staff of the hammer. He gripped the hammer hard and the sword’s blade came down on it like he was being struck by a boulder. Silas was thrust back, his boots being pushed through the ground backwards. “You said your sister was locked away!”
Silas then concentrated and raised his own shadow to help him in the spar. Silas’s ally rose from the ground, becoming an actual shadowy being. It didn’t wait for instruction. It knew instinctively what it needed to do. The shadow rushed towards Kenji, moving in to give the Kami blows with its fists while Silas had the blade occupied.
“You use the shadows against me?” Kenji laughed and looked away, raising his hand to push the shadow back.
This is what Silas needed, though Kenji distracted. Silas lifted the war hammer, throwing the Kami’s blade off. He sent mana flowing into the hammer, attempting to trigger the spirit stones inside the head. Would they work here in this realm? The hammer hit Kenji square in the chest, and in an explosion of power it knocked the Kami back. The stones held no technique behind the attack, but they did still contain a powerful Spirit Beast's power.
Kenji could disperse Silas’s shadow fighter before it knocked him back. It wasn’t far, and Silas knew it was only because the Kami was distracted. Still, Silas would take it. Kenji yelled out and flew backwards until he shifted into the shadows, gone from Silas’s view.
“Well then, let’s use our abilities.” Kenji's disembodied voice went through the air with a menacing tone to it. His scratchy voice carried through the air like an echo.
As soon as Silas realized what was happening, he cycled mana to his eyes, using the Shadow Sight. Instantly, his vision took on the purple hue. He didn’t even have time to react. Kenji's blade came sweeping at Silas’s midsection, slicing his slide. Before Kenji fell back and dashed away in an explosion of speed.
Silas yelled out and tracked Kenji’s movements as best he could. Silas may be considered a Master now, but Kenji was the embodiment of shadows. Tracking the Kami was difficult. Silas could feel the blood flowing freely in his robes. It wasn’t bad, but bad enough that he’d have to end this spar quickly. He knew the Kami wouldn’t let him die, or he had hoped anyway.
Kenji was already behind him now, Silas could sense it. Not in time, however. “You should heal that wound.”
Then Silas felt the boot hit him in the back, and he went flying through the air. How could he heal himself? He could slow the bleeding, but he didn’t know a way he could instantly heal himself in the middle of a battle. He looked up now, still flying and struggling to maintain the Shadow Sight technique. Kenji was running after him and then the blindfolded man grinned as Silas hit a giant wall of the gooey shadow stuff.
“Use your mana the same way you did in the forest, you fool.” Kenji spat at Silas before connecting a fist to Silas’s jaw. He knocked him through the shadow stuff wall and into the ground with a thud.
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Silas groaned and instantly knew what Kenji meant. He cycled his madra, weaving it outside of him. Again, it wasn’t a proper technique, but it was him using his power. Shadows bloomed from the wound on his side in the goo. Coating it and patching the skin. Silas wasn’t healed by any means, but it stemmed from the bleeding for now. It didn’t act any different from a bandage. It also didn’t help the fact Silas was now in a pile on the ground groaning.
“You’re pathetic. I’ve made a mistake.” Kenji spat once more in that cracked voice of his. “You’re not worthy to carry my power. I should have known you were fighting my power from the start. That’s what your problem is.”
“No…” Silas groaned from below Kenji, but he struggled to his feet slowly. Using the hammer as a cane, he climbed. Silas gritted his teeth, his mana still cycled through his channels. He lifted the hammer and held it in both hands, ready to go back to the attack.
Kenji sighed and shook his head, sheathing the katana on his side. “No. We’re done for today. You must heal and meditate. You have to grow your power, Silas, if you want to have any hope. Your friends may very well be a crutch for you to lean on, but against that illusionist….” Kenji trailed off and then turned and left Silas standing there.
Silas stayed standing until Kenji was gone from view, ducked away into the shadows. Once he was gone, Silas slumped back down to the ground, grateful for the break. He let his hammer fall and hit the ground beside him. Silas marveled at Kenji’s power and had to keep reminding himself that Kenji was a Kami. It made sense he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Then he remembered the helplessness he felt when he was in that illusion before. The head of The Heavenly Dragon sect toyed with him, throwing him through the air and into the glass. What was that large desert he was in? It looked nothing like The Desolation or The Wastelands. Now that was power. He needed a way to combat it, and he wasn’t sure how.
“He has potential.” Kenji stayed there deep in the shadows, watching his pupil. Kenji crossed his arms against his chest and now had Shu on his shoulder. “He just has to stop living by the same rules as the other Sacred Artists. He doesn’t play by their rules anymore, he plays by mine.”
Shu gave a squawk in response while he was sitting on Kenji’s shoulder.
“If only he leaned into his new powers like you had. He’ll get there, he has to.” Then Kenji turned and left the area, leaving Silas to his meditation.
Eventually, Silas could sit up. His wounds had healed a little thanks to being so far along in body cultivation. He looked around the open black void that was this shadow realm of Kenji’s. He folded his legs and sat in a lotus pose, closing his eyes. In this rich environment, it didn’t take Silas long to concentrate on the aura around him and he cultivated. He focused on it, brought it into his body and cycled it through his channels, letting it replenish and heal him even further.
He stayed like this, well... He wasn’t sure how long he was sitting there. Silas had lost track of time and eventually he fell asleep. He had an epiphany. Either before he fell asleep, or in his dreams. It was like the shadows began talking to him. They invaded his thoughts and dreams. This is what he needed. He needed to be shown the way. He was still trying to figure out exactly the sorts of things he could do, but now it was all laid out.
When he awoke, Kenji was standing over him with a sadistic grin. “Having a bit of a nap, are we? At least you’ve finally gotten the last bits of your old madra out of your system. Now you can almost really call yourself a Master.”
Silas moved to his feet and bowed before the Kami. “I’m sorry Kami, I had…” Silas trailed off and looked at Kenji with a grin. “I can fight you now.”
Before Silas had spoken the words, he had manipulated the surrounding shadows, pressing them in on Kenji. If he hadn’t done this, he might not have been able to dodge the attack. In one swift motion, Kenji went for the sword on his hip and swept out with the blade. Silas ducked and rolled moving towards his hammer.
Kenji laughed a little when Silas rolled back up to his feet, the war hammer in both of his hands. Silas stared at Kenji, the hammer in both of his hands in a readied position to either defend or attack. Then Kenji watched as Silas closed his eyes.
Kenji laughed maniacally now. “You think you learned something, do you?!”
Silas reached out with his eyes closed, feeling the shadows of the void he was in. Everything had a shadow. He could use this to figure out where his enemies were and what they were doing. Now, Kenji was still the embodiment of shadow, so it was still going to be a tough fight for him. The head of The Heavenly Dragon sect, however, was an illusionist.
The shadows sent a warning, and Silas ducked. It would be easier with his hammer to dodge to the side. Kenji’s sword was so long, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make a counterattack as quickly as he wanted to. The sword moved so quickly Silas could feel the wind above his head in its wake. Silas responded by thrusting the staff of the hammer out and dashed towards Kenji to try to knock him further back. Giving Silas room to work with the hammer.
The Kami wasn’t struck, but he did back up. He flipped backwards, away from Silas’s blow. He laughed once more, one of those crazy laughs that was only enhanced by his cracked voice. “Now you know why I wear the blindfold. Your eyes can deceive you, Silas. Don’t trust them.”
Silas was seeing it. Seeing the movements of Kenji. It wasn’t quite seeing him, more like an outline of him backing and then back flipping away. Silas now controlled the shadows better than he had ever been able to. He had manipulated them for a while now, but now he seemed like he was becoming a part of them, one with them. He didn’t give Kenji a chance to recover. Instead Silas charged at the Kami, pulling his hammer back and swinging it at him as soon as the man landed on his feet.
Kenji had moved to the side as soon as he landed, and he had mostly dodged Silas’s hammer. Mostly. It still connected with the Kami’s arm, knocking him back and away. Kenji growled as it struck his sword arm, but he held firm. The tip of that blade came up to slash at one of Silas’s arms. Silas fell back just enough, so it was only a graze. Silas cycled mana to his wound and let it blossom out once more, giving him that sticky bandage.
The two exchanged blows, Silas swinging his hammer and Kenji his katana. With the long handle of the war hammer, he could deflect and parry rather easily before attempting to swing in. Every so often Kenji would remind Silas that they weren’t on the same level and Silas would go flying backwards after a kick or a jab. Kenji never struck at him with that much power with the blade of his sword. Silas was thankful for that.
They either sparred or Silas cultivated. He slept little unless he fell asleep while he was meditating. He also had nothing to eat. Instead, Kenji gave a pill every so often. It tasted disgusting. It was a brown pill that was filled with some kind of sludge that tasted like mud, but it filled him up.
______________________
It took her a while to do it, but Genki could finally shift herself into one of those reapers. She had scraped and saved every amount of power she could grab on to. She even cultivated like some common mortal. Though the collar was still around her neck, she could force herself through it. She was a Kami. Her siblings couldn’t stop her from doing something she really wanted. Not forever. She was as powerful as they were, after all.
Now she was moving down that long hallway of marble, leaving the lands of her sister, Lilith. It was close. The Gatekeeper was there, but she could merge in with other Reapers going about their business to the mortal realm. She moved quickly in that black sack of a robe they wore. She had to work hard to keep pace with the actual Reapers. They didn’t have collars around their necks restricting their power.
She’d be able to break it off soon enough. Thanks to her pieces and the new one she had tucked away in her robe. At the end of the tunnel, the other Reapers faded away into the mortal realm. Genki, however, moved to the side and took off the robe she wore. They didn’t pay her any mind. They had their work to do. Genki stood there and doubled over and put her hands on her knees, panting. Lord, is this what it was like to be mortal?
She stood up fully and tugged on that collar around her neck. She then reached into the pocket of the purple robe she wore, a proper robe. There was a small ornate piece of wood that curled around, leaving a gap for something to go in through the middle of it. It was a snake, a beautifully carved snake, and Genki could feel the power coming from it.
Genki used a little of the power she had left, directing the Death mana and manipulating it to remove the collar. She heard a click on the lock, clasping it together. It didn’t come apart though, and she remembered that her damn brother Kenji helped make the collar. It had both of their powers locking her up. So she could deal with the one-half, but she’d have to get back to her little room in the cave. Then hope the siblings hadn’t retrieved their pieces of the wand yet. Then she could unlock the collar and be uninhibited once more.
Genki scanned the area. She already knew she wouldn’t find anything. There was no way for a person to just leave Lilith’s realm. They had to transport themselves. She sighed and then had an idea, her mouth hanging open in a wide grin. Maybe she could do it, she might have just enough power.
Finally, leaving the entrance, she ran up the mountain that they carved the statues of the Kami siblings in. Genki stood on her own and sat down in a cultivation pose and concentrated. She reached out with her spirit. She called to the Elder Dragon back in the mortal realm. The dragons could move between the realms if they were powerful enough, and he most certainly was.
The Elder Dragon was still sleeping in its cave chamber but it awoke suddenly, feeling his spirit being tugged by the Kami. It closed his eyes and gave a soft sigh. “Yes, Master Kami. What can I do for you? I thought you were locked away?”
Genki strained, trying to make sure she held the connection. The dragon thought and wanted her to be locked away. Why wouldn’t it? He would have free rein to do whatever he liked again. Damn dragons. They were supposed to protect the Kami, but the Kami didn’t need protecting, they were the Kami.
“I need you to get me. There is little power in me. I’m in Lilith’s realm.” Genki told the dragon through their connection.
“Going there is difficult, Kami, even for me.” The dragon responded.
“Yes, but you can do it. Then we’ll go back to the Mortal Realm and you can rest and I can get the damn collar off my neck. I can sense you from here, Elder Dragon, you are able.” Genki hissed through their connection. She didn’t have the power to keep this up for long.
“Yes, Master Kami.” The dragon sighed. “I’m coming for you.”
The only problem with this plan was that if Lilith was at all paying attention to her realm, she would feel a dragon and try to stop Genki from leaving. Genki had to hope Lilith was somewhere else, hopefully with that damn Kenji. They were always together, ruining her plans and plots. She really hated her siblings most of the time.
Or Genki could be lucky, and Lilith wouldn’t be paying attention. She hadn’t yet figured out her piece of the wand was missing. Such a silly, simple spot to hide it. It was practically out in the open in Lilith’s graveyard. In one mausoleum right close to the main castle. Genki just had to squeeze in between the gate and carry it out. Squeezing out the place was very simple for a snow fox. Genki laughed, and the dragon appeared.
It came into view slowly, swimming through the air as the dragons did. Genki was waving her arms around furiously, trying to get it to hurry. “Here Elder Dragon, here!” She hissed out.
The Elder Dragon pushed itself through the protections in the realm. It was difficult, but the dragons did have permission to come and go as they liked from the Kami’s. The dragon, of course, saw the young girl Kami jumping up and down waving her arms around. It flew over to her and hovered next to the statue's head so Genki could jump on his back and grab ahold of one of his horns.
“Hold on.” Was all it said to Genki before it floated off in the direction he came from. His body slowly turned invisible as it used the technique in order to transport between the realms.
“Take me to the Mountain of the Kami.” Genki instructed the dragon. “Then I shall leave you be. We both will need to replenish our power.”
Then the pair was gone, out of Lilith's realm of the dead.