Chapter 6

6

THE BEGINNING AND THE END

NOBORU

Dragon's fire engulfed the village as the people ran for their lives. Their screams of horror echoed into the night, a cacophony of voices that floated toward the heavens as they cried out for a savior. Smoke billowed across the sky, casting a shadow over the sun's majestic glow. But the harmony of the heavens was shattered by a darkness that even the gods could not ignore.

"Please, save us! Someone save us!" the villagers cried out. Mothers clutched their children while the men tried to put out the growing flames with water. The mortals moved with quickened pace as the sky darkened as if the cosmos itself recoiled from the impending calamity.

The dragon, an ancient terror of the deep in this region, descended upon the mortal realm with a vengeance, disturbed from his slumber.

In its wake, a trail of destruction unfurled—trees ignited in towering infernos, rivers boiled and churned, and the very fabric of the land seemed to writhe in agony.

The villagers, caught in the grip of this otherworldly terror, could only look on in helpless despair as their once safe haven was torn asunder. The dragon's wrath was a manifestation of nature's most unforgiving aspects, a reminder of the delicate balance between the gods and the mortals, and the consequences of disturbing forces far beyond human comprehension.

This day, recorded in the tapestry of fate, was supposed to be a calm interlude in the grand symphony of existence.

As the vision manifested itself in my mind, I emerged from the celestial portal, my presence a formidable blend of divine majesty and formidable power as I left Sumeru behind. As one of the guardian units of the Eight Legions, I had been patrolling the cosmic realms when the distress call from the mortal plane pierced through the veil of reality. The summoning was a magnetic pull, one that transcended time and space.

With each rumbling step, I observed the scene before me. The cries of the suffering, the anguish of the dying, and the relentless destruction reached me with a gravity that could not be ignored.

"A Karura!" one of the mortals shouted.

"Please! Save us from the Dragon!" Their desperate plea resonated with the very essence of my being but it was the familiar tug that brought me forth.

I scanned the chaos for her , my own rage unfolding when nothing but destruction, bloodshed, and flames greeted me.

Memories of her tears, her eyes widening in fear at the first sight of me wove itself into the forefront of my mind, wavering and dissipating with the heat of the flames.

With a resolute command, I unfurled my wings, vast and glorious in their span. Each feather coated in crimson—a foreshadowing of the bloodshed to come. I unsheathed my sword, its blade gleaming with an ethereal light. I felt the weight of sacred duty upon me. I descended upon the burning mortal village with purpose, my presence a beacon of hope amidst the darkness.

Screams, both feminine and masculine, pierced shrilly through the roar of the growing fire and the ominous cracking of collapsing buildings.

Stepping over the burning roofs with ease, I opened my beak and released my own controlled and purposeful flames of retribution. The dragon, sensing my arrival, let out a roar of defiance, a challenge to the force that dared oppose it.

"You have no say in what transpired here, Karura warrior!" he bellowed. His voice was reminiscent of thunder rolling across the heavens as he swept his wavy, concave steep horns in challenge. "These mortals reek of sin and darkened souls. Their cries are nothing but the echoes of their own transgressions!"

Memories of her dark, silken strands flowing with the breeze as she slowly turned to me whispered across my mind amidst the chaos. I savored the way her face softened as her smile grew like a crescent moon, her aura illuminating the darkest corners of my existence, bringing forth an unfamiliar emotion that threatened to topple all I had ever known—desire.

I flared out my wings, creating a shield of divine fire and feathers, pushing back the dragon's searing breath. "Your wrath may be ancient, but it is no excuse for the suffering you've inflicted!" My voice resonated with heavenly force, infused with the authority of the heavens. "I am Noboru, a guardian of the Eight Legions, and your havoc ends here!"

My opponent swung his scaled, serpentine tail in my direction. I leaped, twirling my sword before bringing it down with a wide arc that pulled the tails of flames with it.

With a hiss, the dragon dodged with calculated agility, snapping his jaws in the direction of the blade. Beating my wings, the short distance it moved me offered enough room for a bludgeoning kick into his frog-like belly, sending his body careening into one of the nearby buildings, crumbling its structure to the ground.

She summoned me unknowingly with her deepest despair, a divine warrior from Sumeru, one of the guardian units of the Eight Legions, with a gifted pendant.

I never anticipated the power her sorrow would have over me that fateful day. Her love had always been a quiet force, overshadowed by the havoc surrounding us, but now it felt like a tidal wave, pulling me under with its intensity. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, a reminder of everything I had overlooked while I tried to keep my distance for her sake.

The dragon emerged from the rubble, its snakelike neck rising beyond the flames. His eyes, burning coals of malevolent fire, narrowed as it regarded me with disdain as blood trickled from his maw. "You dare to defy me? I am the embodiment of nature's primal fury! These mortals are but ants beneath my claws, and their pleas fall on deaf ears. You of all should understand their insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe."

The invisible force tugged my soul once again, a familiar magnetic pull that drew me toward a voice that haunted me—a sound that had buried itself within me for the rest of eternity. Reluctantly ignoring its call due to the circumstances, I kept my eyes on my opponent as his scales shimmered against the billows of smoke.

"I am no mere guardian," I declared, my flames intensifying with every word, my mouth watering for a taste of dragon's flesh. "I am the divine will manifested. These people may falter, but their spirit is unyielding. It is not your place to judge them; your place is to face the consequences of your own existence! "

And the consequence of mine was separation. The gods made sure to reign in their fierce warrior, afraid of the changes she brought forth—afraid of the way I had grown to worship her love, distracting me from my purpose.

The dragon roared in anger as he climbed the rubble with his tiger-like claws. "You know nothing of their sins, Karura! I am their reckoning, sent to cleanse this world of its corruption!"

"The sins you speak of are not yours to punish," I retorted, weaving my flames into intricate patterns that formed a protective dome around the remaining villagers. "They are trials of the mortal realm, not reasons for wholesale destruction. I have sworn to defend this land from your kind of chaos!"

He lunged but I was ready for it.

With a swift, decisive movement, I slashed through the air with my sword, sending a cascade of fire that struck the dragon's flank. It howled in pain and fury, its long tail whipping the air with a force that sent shockwaves through the burning village. Opening my beak, I sent flames that painted the sky in oranges and reds.

A slash as fast as lightning struck, his claws scratching my inner elbow between my armor. With a hiss, I swung upward with my blade, striking the dragon's thigh, and spraying blood over the land.

"You will find no solace in the destruction you seek!" I continued, pressing the attack. The dragon parried my next swing, making me twist, and shouldered his form, taking both of us to the ground in a thunderous crash of titans. "The balance of the world is not yours to disrupt."

And neither is it yours, warrior.

Our bodies this close, the dragon strikes with his razor fangs through my shoulder armor, sinking into my flesh. With a hiss, I flip the hilt of my blade and slam it down, through the dragon's neck. The copper tang of his blood sprays on my face as a familiar feminine scream pierces my soul.

Whipping my head in the direction of the sound, all the calamity around me muffled, drowned out by her next scream.

My soul pulses as if searching for its other half.

"You think yourself a savior, but you are just another pawn in this cosmic game!" The dragon choked, gurgling on his own life force as it went down his throat.

I frantically searched the disarray of mortals scattering like insects to zone in on one figure being dragged to the middle of the destroyed village. Fury climbed as one of them kicked the back of her legs, forcing her to her knees.

I saw red.

The dragon's tail let out one final whiplash before his soul left the mortal plane. Dropping the corpse, I dislodged my blade and twirled it with my wrist, ready to exact destruction on the village I came to save.

"She's the one! It's her fault! She called upon the Karura! She's the reason our village is destroyed!" one of the men sneered as he grabbed her long black hair, jerked her head back, and placed a short blade to her delicate throat.

My pupils contracted, my sole focus on her worried expression. In her right hand, she clutched a familiar amulet tightly in her fist. Her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, stared directly into mine.

"With this sacrifice, we will be rid of the witch once and for all and send this monster back from where it came from!" the man sneered, his touch too familiar.

"Tread lightly, mortal. Your next move will determine the destiny of others," I snarled.

Memories invade my senses—her steady hand on my face, the way her eyes shifted from fear to something deeper, the way the organ inside of my chest tightened and… beat as if for the first time in eons.

"We're tired of our village becoming a battleground for titans!" the men roared in unison. Their voices echoed like a single entity, a mass mentality that blinded them to the complexities of our situation. It was easy to shout and rally against the unknown, but that same fervor only fueled their ignorance of the forces at play—forces beyond mortal understanding. They couldn't see the larger picture, the nuances of what was truly at stake, lost in their fear and anger.

The thunderous beat of my heart drowned out their voices, their words fading into the hot winds. Our souls reached for one another, urging me to move forward despite the dangers of a god mingling with a mortal.

Time stood still as a single tear tracked down her cheek while she mouthed my name… right before the ma le pulled the blade across her neck, sacrificing her in the name of their false beliefs.

Everything within me went dark as my flames surged with the might of the heavens, devouring everything in its wake. I battled the village as if it was my next opponent, each move a blend of both power and divine destruction creating a dance of light and shadow that echoed through the skies.

The cries of hope from the people began to transform into despair while I continued to raze the mortal plane into ashes.

I took my time with Matsui's husband, tearing his limbs apart and charring his flesh with the fires of my retribution. But as his last breath escaped his lungs, it wasn't enough, not for what they dared against a deity.

The flames devoured mortal flesh, filling the air with the acrid stench of death and char. My fires swept across the village with an insatiable hunger. My blade craved further vengeance as I swung relentlessly with celestial punishment. Buildings crumbled to dust, and the very earth seemed to buckle under the weight of my wrath. The skies, once bright, were choked with ash and smoke, blotting out the sun. Every hope, every dream of the people, was turned to cinders while I unleashed my godly fury upon them.

The screams of the villagers finally faded into a haunting silence, the last flickers of flame dying with them. A desolate quiet settled over the remains. I took a tentative step forward and fell to my knees.

Amidst the smoldering ruins, I found her—my one and only love. The sight twisted like a dagger in my chest, agony coursing through me when I took in the devastation around us. Flames danced in the shadows, but they paled in comparison to the fire of my despair. Every heartbeat echoed with the weight of what I had lost, and while I knelt beside her, the reality of her suffering clawed at my insides. How could I stand in the ashes of our dreams, knowing I had failed to protect her? The world felt impossibly heavy, and I was left grappling with the suffocating guilt and heartache that threatened to consume me whole.

The world had turned to silence as if the universe itself had paused in mourning with me. Gently, I gathered her lifeless body into my arms, the weight of my sorrow heavier than the ashes that surrounded us.

Cradling her in my embrace, the chasm inside of my chest widened, threatening to drown me in an unfamiliar emotion. Was this mortal grief? The voracious need to continue to reap destruction, coupled with the inextinguishable, impossible desire to be with her on the other side of the mortal plane.

My wings drooped while I sat there, holding an empty vessel—the body that had embodied for me the very essence of love.

Lost in the void of my grief, the air around me began to grow heavy with anticipation. From the smoldering haze emerged a figure—another Karura warrior, clad in the imposing armor of our kind. His eyes held a cold resolve .

"Rise," he commanded, his voice echoing through the ruins. "You have been summoned."

Reluctantly, I stood, the weight of my loss still pressing heavily upon me. He moved forward with a deliberate step, his expression stern and unreadable. With a solemn nod, he gestured for me to follow.

As we walked through the desolate landscape, the destruction seemed to deepen the silence. The warrior led me through the charred remains of what was once a village. My heart ached with every step, knowing that the divine laws I had defied were about to claim their due.

When they tried to remove her body from my arms, a primal rage surged within me. I fought against the very powers I was supposed to obediently follow, unwilling to let go of the only thing that mattered in this wreckage. Their hands felt like shackles, pulling me away from her, and I resisted with every ounce of strength I had left. My defiance echoed in the hollow air, a desperate plea against the fate that sought to tear us apart, even as the weight of my choices loomed over me like an inescapable storm.

Agony ripped through my body, but I held myself back in front of my superiors, forcing my features into a mask of composure. Each breath felt like a struggle, each heartbeat a reminder of the pain threatening to consume me. I could feel their disapproving gazes piercing through me, waiting for the moment I would falter.

Inside, a tempest raged—a whirlwind of grief and defiance that begged to be unleashed. I longed to scream, to fight against the injustice of it all, but I knew that any show of weakness would be met with swift retribution. So I stood there, a silent battleground of conflicting emotions, clenching my fists at my sides to stave off the urge to lash out.

Every moment stretched like an eternity. We approached a gathering of divine elders, their gazes fixed upon me with a mixture of judgment and sorrow. The atmosphere and tension in the air thickened, suffocating me—a prelude to the sentence I would face for daring to love a mortal.