Fan Fiction ❯ The Path to Adventure ❯ Unforseen Shadows ( Chapter 12 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Ravenz2008 
Shuijin battles the immortal Gate Keeper and must escape the Shadow Abyss.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.16.2004 | Updated On: 05.30.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 180 | Status: Completed
Shuijin battles the immortal Gate Keeper and must escape the Shadow Abyss.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.16.2004 | Updated On: 05.30.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 180 | Status: Completed
I...AM...SOOO...SORRY! Finally I’ve managed to find enough time to write one measly chapter! Please!!! Forgive Me!!! ...I’ll make it up to you all...by...writing the NEXT Chapter!! YAY!! CoughcoughANYWAYcough...please excuse me for a moment while I ran far away and finally let you read the next chapter! Enjoi! P.S. Expect an InCrEdIbLe FiGhT scene!!!
Chapter 12: Unforseen Shadows
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Kat started again, “he...is im...im..mor...tal.”
Just as this was spoken the Keeper summoned a wicked flame sword. And just before Shuijin spoke, the sinister Gate Keeper plunged his fiery blade through the chained Katsumoto’s chest.
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Katsumoto choked out an agonized cry as the scorching sword pierced his chest, badly burning through his red t-shirt and penetrating his skin. The wickedly smiling Gate Keeper removed his flaming sword from Kat’s pierced chest with one swift motion and held it in an upright position, greatly increasing his defenses.
Kat’s body went limp and hung loosely in its chained prison. The blade had gone right through Katsumoto and even partly through the wall. Smoke was billowing out from the burnt hole. Katsumoto was no longer breathing. He was dead.
Shuijin stared with no expression at the gruesome scene laid out so cruelly before him. A thousand thoughts invaded his brain in the next instant. Thoughts of his parents. Happy thoughts, slowly turning to horrible memories. Their murder. The scene was freshly imprinted in his mind now. His resentment was building.
Next thoughts of his early childhood, on the island, flooded over his consciousness. Him and Kira playing tag, having contests, and playing games with the other island kids. Now Kira and he were exploring the island’s nooks and crannies. They found a large clam which held a small sparkling pearl. Shuijin remembered taking the pearl and making a necklace for Kira. He never ended up giving it to her, though now he wished he had, for he may never get another chance to even see Kira. His sorrow was building.
His island, as a whole, forced itself into his mind. The beautiful sunset, the fresh smell of the sea, and the golden sands were vivid and easily rememberable. Then the darkness came. Black mists furiously rolled in from far out at sea, eventually consuming the island’s cheerful atmosphere and blocking out the sun entirely. Small, black creatures spawned on the vast beaches and breached the island like an enormous army invading a closet. The island was consumed. Shuijin painfully watched as everyone he knew on the island and Kira’s family was helplessly slaughtered while the heartless consumed the island’s heart. Then the island was gone, so too was his happiness. His sadness was building.
Shuijin came back to reality. He was standing in a tower within the heart of the Shadow Abyss. Across the room from him was the charred remains of his good friend. And beside him, a mere three paces away, was his murderer. His anger was building.
Shuijin thought momentarily about his times with Katsumoto. Then he thought about the times he wouldn’t have with Kat. The battle tournaments that Kat wouldn’t be entering. The questions about his heritage and his parents that he would never find out or understand. The times he would never have with all of his friends as a group. The times Katsumoto would never have. Shuijin’s anger was still rising, but his rage was filled up.
Something inside Shuijin snapped. The vary same thing that breaks when the quiet kid is bullied to much. The vary same thing that happens when someone is pushed too far. What snapped within Shuijin was similar to that of the quiet kid, but his was far more complicated. The rage of one thousand warriors, the resentment of the heartless he had slain, the pain his parent’s had endured just to give him a better life, and even darkness itself was stepping out its way to push Shuijin beyond his maximum limits.
Within these precious seconds spent thinking, Shuijin had evolved. It wasn’t the same as a lizard slowly changing into a feathered bird. No, it was different. If there was a higher level of power that the human body could borrow, Shuijin had just stolen it. If people were capable of transcending to the next degree of combat or prowess, he had just blew those limits away. For a brief time Shuijin experienced raw, never before used, power. And this was all because of his friend’s horrible murder.
The Gate Keeper smiled wickedly and began pacing towards Shuijin, sword now held at his side in his right hand. His black shrouded robe was swirling about as its owner approached. Nothing could be seen from under the Keeper’s hood except its shadowed mouth. The hand gripping the sword appeared to be flesh along with the other hand. His other hand gave off a distinct aura of darkness and gave off an purple black light that reflected off the walls of the tower creating an atmosphere of evil.
Shuijin’s breathing became slower and more calm as all of his senses and physical attributes like speed, strength, agility, and defense increased tenfold. Shuijin and the Keeper were in the middle of the room, only one step separated the two figures. The Keeper made the first move.
The flaming sword swung upward from his right towards the combatant Shuijin. Shuijin unsheathed his sword at the last possible second and parried the upward blow forcing the flame sword off to the Keeper’s right side leaving his chest unprotected.
Shuijin saw this opening and pulled his sword back for a lunge technique. “Featherstrike,” he thought customarily. His sword blade quickly flashed a light blue before Shuijin lunged towards the open chest with crippling speed. The sword just about reached its mark when it was stopped completely, just before the target.
The Gate Keeper’s shadowy freehand was gripping the cutting edge of the Shuijin’s sword and holding it completely still. Shuijin was utterly surprised and realized his guard was down. He barely ducked when the Keeper’s weapon hand swung the its sword for Shuijin’s head. Shuijin desperately tried to free his weapon from the demonic fighter’s grasp. With one more powerful tug Shuijin managed to pull his sword towards him and out of the Keeper’s clutches. The mighty pull also knocked the Keeper off balance just slightly enough to get in a counterattack.
Shuijin lifted his weapon to an upright position again and maneuvered it into lunging position once more. This time he counted on the Keeper intercepting his weapon. Shuijin lunged his weapon toward the awaiting opponent. When the Keeper’s dark hand flew to catch the blow, Shuijin ripped the blade downward, effectively severing the Gate Keeper’s shadowed hand. Time slowed as the hand tumbled through the singed air and hit the stone floor.
Shuijin expected to see the Keeper in pain, but his expectations were not met. The Keeper grinned mischievously as he lashed out with his sword from his right. The blade swung towards Shuijin’s left shoulder and struck true. Shuijin gasped as the wound began to produce incredible pain. Normally this injury would have crippled him or worse, but this was not a normal time.
Shuijin got into an offensive stance and watched in utter disbelief and horror as the Gate Keeper raised his chopped up arm. In the next moment, a new shadowed hand forced its way through the air to replace the one he had lost. The Keeper could regenerate limbs and supposedly he was immortal. This is not going to be easy, Shuijin thought.
Shuijin experienced another rush of power as he charged forward, his sword ready to inflict pain. He swiftly swung his weapon from his top left, slicing downward towards his bottom right. The Keeper was not expecting more retaliation from the youthful opponent. Shuijin’s blade hit its target, slashing a large cut across the Keeper’s chest and left side.
The Keeper stumbled for a brief moment before gaining more power. Dark orbs of pure evil energy formed from thin air and began orbiting the demonic Keeper. His body was on the ground, kneeling on one knee when it began hovering a foot or two above the cold stone floor. The Keeper’s entire form began rhythmically pulsating a pale purple light. Then, in a spectacular show of lights, the Keeper came to standing form on the ground and shot dark purple lights in all directions.
“You will feel the true element of Darkness,” the Keeper rasped in an evil leathery voice.
Shuijin shook with pent-up rage. “You have destroyed one of the few friends I have left, and for that you will pay with your life, or whatever is left of it.”
“You fool,” the Keeper spat viciously, “I cannot be killed, your acquaintance even told you that himself. I am, immortal. I am perfect, unbeatable, and flawless.”
Shuijin replied after some thought. “Nonsense, nothing is flawless and everything has a weakness,...Titan’s REVENGE!!”
The remains of the tower shifted and crumbled underneath the fighters. Lightning coursed everywhere as the very air was shocked with electrifying power. The ultimate power of an ancient Titan king was released. Shuijin’s blade was lightning itself as it struck full force at the Keeper’s chest. Shuijin’s shoulder wound was nothing compared to the scar that the immortal Gate Keeper would have. The blade cut deep into the Keeper’s chest and shot lightning throughout his entire shadowy body, following his veins and even going into his black heart.
The Keeper may have been unable to die from normal conditions, but he most certainly felt pain. His shadowy left hand clutched at his chest, almost seeming to reach for his dark heart. The pulsating from the Keeper’s body discontinued and the Keeper’s legs gave out causing him to fall to his knees. Shuijin walked a step closer to the demonic form, all the while ready to strike if the need arose.
The Keeper’s breathing began to calm and the shadowed hand fell to his side. Slowly he arose to his feet bringing his sword into striking position. He pointed his sword toward Shuijin and began speaking in a long lost ancient tongue. A bright orange ball of energy formed and the aimed sword’s tip.
Before Shuijin could react, the Keeper fired the projectile. It hit true, sending Shuijin off his feet and backwards into a wall five feet behind him. He hit the wall hard and fell to the ground in a heap. Smiling wickedly the Keeper continued reciting the ancient language and summoned another missile to fire at Shuijin.
Shuijin barely rolled out of the way as the new energy ball blasted a four by four hole in the stone wall. Sweat dripped from the teen’s brow as the Keeper shot a chain of three more missiles toward him.
He feigned backwards to avoid the first. The next was less than two feet away, but was coming towards his feet. He jumped to avoid this one. Unfortunately Shuijin failed to see the last one which was aimed for his head before he jumped. It nailed him hard in the chest while he was in the air, slamming him into the wall again.
Shuijin choked out as he hit the ground, almost four feet below him. Immediately afterwards another chain of three projectiles left the Gate Keeper’s sword tip. All three hit Shuijin while he sat against the badly damaged tower wall trying the get up. When the dust cleared out, Shuijin’s clothes were burned and torn. His sweatshirt was so burned it just disintegrated leaving his white t-shirt scorched and bloody.
The Keeper laughed and lowered his weapon. He began walking towards the badly beaten Shuijin. Shuijin’s head lifted from it’s position to look at his friend’s murderer. Scars of battle were evident on both fighters, but Shuijin was at the disadvantage. How do beat someone that can’t be killed?
“You have done well mortal,” the Keeper started, “far better than any before you.”
Shuijin spat at the Keeper’s black robe.
The Keeper drew his sword and brought it above his head, ready for the final blow. Shuijin found his sword on the ground, to his right. Before the Keeper brought the weapon down, Shuijin struck with a mighty combo.
First Shuijin lunged the sword through the Keeper’s open stomach. Next he was instantly behind the demon and lunged again, but this time in his upper back. Then Shuijin appeared to the stunned Keeper’s left side and a copy of him on his right side. From the left side he swung his sword from his bottom left to the upper right. Simultaneously from the right side Shuijin swung the weapon from his upper left to the bottom right.
For the finale Shuijin appeared in front and behind the Gate Keeper. From the front, Shuijin’s sword lit aflame as he lunged with lightning speed over twenty times into the Keeper’s chest and stomach. From the back his sword froze over with jagged ice crystals as unleashed a ten hit combo by hacking and slashing. The two copies of Shuijin combined into one form standing about five feet in front of the Keeper.
For the last lunge, Shuijin’s weapon tripled in size and radiated with pure holy energy. Shuijin’s body pulsated a bright yellow as he charged for the “Finis.” With his weapon facing the opposite way of the target, Shuijin ran forward at incredible speed. Just before the Keeper, Shuijin pulled his sword toward the Keeper in lunging position. He kept running straight through the demon as his weapon ripped a hole through the Keeper’s chest and stomach.
The demon fell to his knees again, but this time stayed there. Shuijin caught his breath slowly as he surveyed the opponent. His eyes widened in confusion and surprise. The Keeper was standing again, pulsating with purple energy. The hole Shuijin had just made was gone and he appeared to be completely healed.
‘Run’ a voice that wasn’t his own echoed within his head.
“Wha..?” he began.
‘Your story does not end here. You have many empty pages and have barely filled a chapter. Fate should not have brought you here. Something must be interfering with the natural tide of fate, but this is nothing for you to be concerned with yet. I will not be able to contact you for some time so listen well. You must escape from this abyss and find a fortress atop a cliff. Inside you will find many treasures. Take none of them! The item you seek is a sword. It is a useless decorative weapon unless the right person wields it. You must take it and use it to escape to your own world where your friends are in desperate need of your help. Be warned that the sword doesn’t go unguarded. The being known as the Dark Father is the ruthless tyrant of the World of Darkness. He most certainly knows of your presence and will attempt to convert you to darkness. Farewell until fate chooses another time I can contact you’
“Wait, who are you? How do I escape the abyss? Where is the sword?” Shuijin was left with dozens of unanswered questions. As the heavenly voice faded, the demonic Gate Keeper turned towards Shuijin with eyes of rage.
Shuijin looked about for the stairway down. Behind him he saw the doorway. With a burst of speed he grabbed Katsumoto’s body and shot out of the tower onto the spiraling stairway. Shuijin ran about fifty stairs downwards when he came to the area of the stairs that had been knocked out. There still was a good way to go and it would be certain death if he jumped.
The demonic Gate Keeper began summoning more horned heartless just like before. He used much of his remaining power to summon at least fifty of the horned demons. He also called upon a creature that Shuijin had narrowly avoided while he was looking for Katsumoto.
The heartless was around six feet tall. It had broad shoulders and walked with confidence. It wore a red cape that ran from its shoulders to the rough stone ground. Upon its shoulders was a head, but it wasn’t normal because it was half flesh, half skeletal. It, like the air itself, smelt of sulfurous gas. The flesh upon its face was partly melted away and produced an awful stench. The creature’s body was also skeletal and, surprisingly, it wore elaborate bone armor. Hanging from a leather sheath at its left side was an impressive looking skeletal bone sword.
Shuijin set Kat down and fought off a dozen horned heartless at a time, all the while regaining his strength. Eventually he destroyed all of the wild demons. Now he faced the familiar heartless he saw earlier. The creature withdrew its bone sword from its leather sheath and immediately swung at Shuijin who barely dodged. Shuijin counterattacked and took a big chip out of the creature’s bone armor.
The demon swung it’s sword again and hit Shuijin in his left side. The pain was extreme. Howling with pain and rage, Shuijin’s sword sparked with electricity. He struck the heartless with a seven hit combo, effectively destroying it. The demon vanished with a black cloud and a silvery glass heart could be seen leaving its body before the glass broke. Shuijin noticed that this was different from before because the hearts never broke. He shrugged it off just as the rest of the stairs gave way and more heartless were summoned.
Shuijin fell, along with Katsumoto’s body, through the air and finally onto the pile of rubble left over from the stairs. Shuijin fell extremely hard on his injured shoulder. This pain was immense as he clutched his wound. Seeing skeletal heartless forming around him, he quickly grabbed Kat’s body and ran towards a bright red door almost fifty feet from his location in the colossal cavern.
He flung the door open, not caring about the mild burn he received on his hand. Frantically he ran through the long halls before him and dodged hundreds of heartless. The amount of heartless he saw began increasing. The Gate Keeper did not want Shuijin to leave!
After almost twenty minutes of chaotic running and dodging, Shuijin came to a hallway that went uphill at an explosive rate. From the very end of the tunnel, almost a mile away, Shuijin could seen a small glimmer of light. Seeing this gave him hope. He put on an extra burst of speed and was at the end in seconds.
Sure enough, it was an exit. Excitedly he ran out and looked about. He was almost thankful to see the endless waters and the purple sky with three moons. He turned around for moment and noticed the huge crack which was the Shadow Abyss.
“That’s odd,” he thought aloud. It became even more bizarre when he saw the dangling bridge from which he leapt from. He gave it no more thought as he noticed he was on the other side of the abyss finally.
Off in the distance he saw a giant cliff. Atop of the cliff stood a towering fortress.
‘Just like the one the voice spoke off,’ he thought. He walked through the waters to the beginning of the cliff, while still holding Katsumoto. He set Kat down and began thinking about all of his friends. He was disturbed from his thinking when he felt the gem in his pocket pulsating and growing warmer.
Upon withdrawing it he saw a, now very familiar, phrase within it.
~Destiny is the key to Fate~
While pondering its meaning Shuijin covered his eyes as a blinding green light shot out in all directions from the tiny sphere. When the light cleared Shuijin couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing up, leaning against a giant rock, was Katsumoto perfectly fine and breathing.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Kat questioned keeping a straight face.
“In a way I have,” Shuijin said also keeping a straight face.
Both teens burst into laughter and were extremely joyous to see each other again. After Shuijin told Kat what happened after he fell off the bridge, including the strange voice, he showed Kat the sphere shaped gem he had. Kat questioned where Shuijin got it, but he only answered that he just found it one day, not wanting to talk about unneeded history. They concluded that the sphere is was brought Kat back.
They both thought it best to follow what the voice had told Shuijin and began climbing the immense cliff.
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Deep within the fortress the Dark Father sat in a throne fit only for a king. His black robe was on with the drawn upwards casting a dark shadow across his already shadowy face. Distinct ancient purple symbols were all over the black robe. A purple cloak hung from his shoulders.
Swiftly a servant of darkness, also wearing a black robe, came into the throne room before the Dark Father. He bent down on one knee and waited to speak.
“Speak,” the evil tyrant commanded.
“Yes Master,” it began, “They have been to the Shadow Abyss. The Keeper has defied you and almost killed the one.”
The Dark Father did not speak for some time.
Finally he spoke. “I leave it to you to ‘take care’ of him, I trust you will not fail.”
“It is your wish, I will not fail.” With that the servant nodded and walked off through the door he came through.
Dark laughter filled the fortress that made even the heartless and dark servants flinch with terror.
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Hehe! I hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter! I’m not quite sure when the next chapter will be out...it could be tomorrow...or two weeks (probably not tomorrow hehe). Please review and tell me what you think! Enjoi! ~Raven~
Chapter 12: Unforseen Shadows
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Kat started again, “he...is im...im..mor...tal.”
Just as this was spoken the Keeper summoned a wicked flame sword. And just before Shuijin spoke, the sinister Gate Keeper plunged his fiery blade through the chained Katsumoto’s chest.
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Katsumoto choked out an agonized cry as the scorching sword pierced his chest, badly burning through his red t-shirt and penetrating his skin. The wickedly smiling Gate Keeper removed his flaming sword from Kat’s pierced chest with one swift motion and held it in an upright position, greatly increasing his defenses.
Kat’s body went limp and hung loosely in its chained prison. The blade had gone right through Katsumoto and even partly through the wall. Smoke was billowing out from the burnt hole. Katsumoto was no longer breathing. He was dead.
Shuijin stared with no expression at the gruesome scene laid out so cruelly before him. A thousand thoughts invaded his brain in the next instant. Thoughts of his parents. Happy thoughts, slowly turning to horrible memories. Their murder. The scene was freshly imprinted in his mind now. His resentment was building.
Next thoughts of his early childhood, on the island, flooded over his consciousness. Him and Kira playing tag, having contests, and playing games with the other island kids. Now Kira and he were exploring the island’s nooks and crannies. They found a large clam which held a small sparkling pearl. Shuijin remembered taking the pearl and making a necklace for Kira. He never ended up giving it to her, though now he wished he had, for he may never get another chance to even see Kira. His sorrow was building.
His island, as a whole, forced itself into his mind. The beautiful sunset, the fresh smell of the sea, and the golden sands were vivid and easily rememberable. Then the darkness came. Black mists furiously rolled in from far out at sea, eventually consuming the island’s cheerful atmosphere and blocking out the sun entirely. Small, black creatures spawned on the vast beaches and breached the island like an enormous army invading a closet. The island was consumed. Shuijin painfully watched as everyone he knew on the island and Kira’s family was helplessly slaughtered while the heartless consumed the island’s heart. Then the island was gone, so too was his happiness. His sadness was building.
Shuijin came back to reality. He was standing in a tower within the heart of the Shadow Abyss. Across the room from him was the charred remains of his good friend. And beside him, a mere three paces away, was his murderer. His anger was building.
Shuijin thought momentarily about his times with Katsumoto. Then he thought about the times he wouldn’t have with Kat. The battle tournaments that Kat wouldn’t be entering. The questions about his heritage and his parents that he would never find out or understand. The times he would never have with all of his friends as a group. The times Katsumoto would never have. Shuijin’s anger was still rising, but his rage was filled up.
Something inside Shuijin snapped. The vary same thing that breaks when the quiet kid is bullied to much. The vary same thing that happens when someone is pushed too far. What snapped within Shuijin was similar to that of the quiet kid, but his was far more complicated. The rage of one thousand warriors, the resentment of the heartless he had slain, the pain his parent’s had endured just to give him a better life, and even darkness itself was stepping out its way to push Shuijin beyond his maximum limits.
Within these precious seconds spent thinking, Shuijin had evolved. It wasn’t the same as a lizard slowly changing into a feathered bird. No, it was different. If there was a higher level of power that the human body could borrow, Shuijin had just stolen it. If people were capable of transcending to the next degree of combat or prowess, he had just blew those limits away. For a brief time Shuijin experienced raw, never before used, power. And this was all because of his friend’s horrible murder.
The Gate Keeper smiled wickedly and began pacing towards Shuijin, sword now held at his side in his right hand. His black shrouded robe was swirling about as its owner approached. Nothing could be seen from under the Keeper’s hood except its shadowed mouth. The hand gripping the sword appeared to be flesh along with the other hand. His other hand gave off a distinct aura of darkness and gave off an purple black light that reflected off the walls of the tower creating an atmosphere of evil.
Shuijin’s breathing became slower and more calm as all of his senses and physical attributes like speed, strength, agility, and defense increased tenfold. Shuijin and the Keeper were in the middle of the room, only one step separated the two figures. The Keeper made the first move.
The flaming sword swung upward from his right towards the combatant Shuijin. Shuijin unsheathed his sword at the last possible second and parried the upward blow forcing the flame sword off to the Keeper’s right side leaving his chest unprotected.
Shuijin saw this opening and pulled his sword back for a lunge technique. “Featherstrike,” he thought customarily. His sword blade quickly flashed a light blue before Shuijin lunged towards the open chest with crippling speed. The sword just about reached its mark when it was stopped completely, just before the target.
The Gate Keeper’s shadowy freehand was gripping the cutting edge of the Shuijin’s sword and holding it completely still. Shuijin was utterly surprised and realized his guard was down. He barely ducked when the Keeper’s weapon hand swung the its sword for Shuijin’s head. Shuijin desperately tried to free his weapon from the demonic fighter’s grasp. With one more powerful tug Shuijin managed to pull his sword towards him and out of the Keeper’s clutches. The mighty pull also knocked the Keeper off balance just slightly enough to get in a counterattack.
Shuijin lifted his weapon to an upright position again and maneuvered it into lunging position once more. This time he counted on the Keeper intercepting his weapon. Shuijin lunged his weapon toward the awaiting opponent. When the Keeper’s dark hand flew to catch the blow, Shuijin ripped the blade downward, effectively severing the Gate Keeper’s shadowed hand. Time slowed as the hand tumbled through the singed air and hit the stone floor.
Shuijin expected to see the Keeper in pain, but his expectations were not met. The Keeper grinned mischievously as he lashed out with his sword from his right. The blade swung towards Shuijin’s left shoulder and struck true. Shuijin gasped as the wound began to produce incredible pain. Normally this injury would have crippled him or worse, but this was not a normal time.
Shuijin got into an offensive stance and watched in utter disbelief and horror as the Gate Keeper raised his chopped up arm. In the next moment, a new shadowed hand forced its way through the air to replace the one he had lost. The Keeper could regenerate limbs and supposedly he was immortal. This is not going to be easy, Shuijin thought.
Shuijin experienced another rush of power as he charged forward, his sword ready to inflict pain. He swiftly swung his weapon from his top left, slicing downward towards his bottom right. The Keeper was not expecting more retaliation from the youthful opponent. Shuijin’s blade hit its target, slashing a large cut across the Keeper’s chest and left side.
The Keeper stumbled for a brief moment before gaining more power. Dark orbs of pure evil energy formed from thin air and began orbiting the demonic Keeper. His body was on the ground, kneeling on one knee when it began hovering a foot or two above the cold stone floor. The Keeper’s entire form began rhythmically pulsating a pale purple light. Then, in a spectacular show of lights, the Keeper came to standing form on the ground and shot dark purple lights in all directions.
“You will feel the true element of Darkness,” the Keeper rasped in an evil leathery voice.
Shuijin shook with pent-up rage. “You have destroyed one of the few friends I have left, and for that you will pay with your life, or whatever is left of it.”
“You fool,” the Keeper spat viciously, “I cannot be killed, your acquaintance even told you that himself. I am, immortal. I am perfect, unbeatable, and flawless.”
Shuijin replied after some thought. “Nonsense, nothing is flawless and everything has a weakness,...Titan’s REVENGE!!”
The remains of the tower shifted and crumbled underneath the fighters. Lightning coursed everywhere as the very air was shocked with electrifying power. The ultimate power of an ancient Titan king was released. Shuijin’s blade was lightning itself as it struck full force at the Keeper’s chest. Shuijin’s shoulder wound was nothing compared to the scar that the immortal Gate Keeper would have. The blade cut deep into the Keeper’s chest and shot lightning throughout his entire shadowy body, following his veins and even going into his black heart.
The Keeper may have been unable to die from normal conditions, but he most certainly felt pain. His shadowy left hand clutched at his chest, almost seeming to reach for his dark heart. The pulsating from the Keeper’s body discontinued and the Keeper’s legs gave out causing him to fall to his knees. Shuijin walked a step closer to the demonic form, all the while ready to strike if the need arose.
The Keeper’s breathing began to calm and the shadowed hand fell to his side. Slowly he arose to his feet bringing his sword into striking position. He pointed his sword toward Shuijin and began speaking in a long lost ancient tongue. A bright orange ball of energy formed and the aimed sword’s tip.
Before Shuijin could react, the Keeper fired the projectile. It hit true, sending Shuijin off his feet and backwards into a wall five feet behind him. He hit the wall hard and fell to the ground in a heap. Smiling wickedly the Keeper continued reciting the ancient language and summoned another missile to fire at Shuijin.
Shuijin barely rolled out of the way as the new energy ball blasted a four by four hole in the stone wall. Sweat dripped from the teen’s brow as the Keeper shot a chain of three more missiles toward him.
He feigned backwards to avoid the first. The next was less than two feet away, but was coming towards his feet. He jumped to avoid this one. Unfortunately Shuijin failed to see the last one which was aimed for his head before he jumped. It nailed him hard in the chest while he was in the air, slamming him into the wall again.
Shuijin choked out as he hit the ground, almost four feet below him. Immediately afterwards another chain of three projectiles left the Gate Keeper’s sword tip. All three hit Shuijin while he sat against the badly damaged tower wall trying the get up. When the dust cleared out, Shuijin’s clothes were burned and torn. His sweatshirt was so burned it just disintegrated leaving his white t-shirt scorched and bloody.
The Keeper laughed and lowered his weapon. He began walking towards the badly beaten Shuijin. Shuijin’s head lifted from it’s position to look at his friend’s murderer. Scars of battle were evident on both fighters, but Shuijin was at the disadvantage. How do beat someone that can’t be killed?
“You have done well mortal,” the Keeper started, “far better than any before you.”
Shuijin spat at the Keeper’s black robe.
The Keeper drew his sword and brought it above his head, ready for the final blow. Shuijin found his sword on the ground, to his right. Before the Keeper brought the weapon down, Shuijin struck with a mighty combo.
First Shuijin lunged the sword through the Keeper’s open stomach. Next he was instantly behind the demon and lunged again, but this time in his upper back. Then Shuijin appeared to the stunned Keeper’s left side and a copy of him on his right side. From the left side he swung his sword from his bottom left to the upper right. Simultaneously from the right side Shuijin swung the weapon from his upper left to the bottom right.
For the finale Shuijin appeared in front and behind the Gate Keeper. From the front, Shuijin’s sword lit aflame as he lunged with lightning speed over twenty times into the Keeper’s chest and stomach. From the back his sword froze over with jagged ice crystals as unleashed a ten hit combo by hacking and slashing. The two copies of Shuijin combined into one form standing about five feet in front of the Keeper.
For the last lunge, Shuijin’s weapon tripled in size and radiated with pure holy energy. Shuijin’s body pulsated a bright yellow as he charged for the “Finis.” With his weapon facing the opposite way of the target, Shuijin ran forward at incredible speed. Just before the Keeper, Shuijin pulled his sword toward the Keeper in lunging position. He kept running straight through the demon as his weapon ripped a hole through the Keeper’s chest and stomach.
The demon fell to his knees again, but this time stayed there. Shuijin caught his breath slowly as he surveyed the opponent. His eyes widened in confusion and surprise. The Keeper was standing again, pulsating with purple energy. The hole Shuijin had just made was gone and he appeared to be completely healed.
‘Run’ a voice that wasn’t his own echoed within his head.
“Wha..?” he began.
‘Your story does not end here. You have many empty pages and have barely filled a chapter. Fate should not have brought you here. Something must be interfering with the natural tide of fate, but this is nothing for you to be concerned with yet. I will not be able to contact you for some time so listen well. You must escape from this abyss and find a fortress atop a cliff. Inside you will find many treasures. Take none of them! The item you seek is a sword. It is a useless decorative weapon unless the right person wields it. You must take it and use it to escape to your own world where your friends are in desperate need of your help. Be warned that the sword doesn’t go unguarded. The being known as the Dark Father is the ruthless tyrant of the World of Darkness. He most certainly knows of your presence and will attempt to convert you to darkness. Farewell until fate chooses another time I can contact you’
“Wait, who are you? How do I escape the abyss? Where is the sword?” Shuijin was left with dozens of unanswered questions. As the heavenly voice faded, the demonic Gate Keeper turned towards Shuijin with eyes of rage.
Shuijin looked about for the stairway down. Behind him he saw the doorway. With a burst of speed he grabbed Katsumoto’s body and shot out of the tower onto the spiraling stairway. Shuijin ran about fifty stairs downwards when he came to the area of the stairs that had been knocked out. There still was a good way to go and it would be certain death if he jumped.
The demonic Gate Keeper began summoning more horned heartless just like before. He used much of his remaining power to summon at least fifty of the horned demons. He also called upon a creature that Shuijin had narrowly avoided while he was looking for Katsumoto.
The heartless was around six feet tall. It had broad shoulders and walked with confidence. It wore a red cape that ran from its shoulders to the rough stone ground. Upon its shoulders was a head, but it wasn’t normal because it was half flesh, half skeletal. It, like the air itself, smelt of sulfurous gas. The flesh upon its face was partly melted away and produced an awful stench. The creature’s body was also skeletal and, surprisingly, it wore elaborate bone armor. Hanging from a leather sheath at its left side was an impressive looking skeletal bone sword.
Shuijin set Kat down and fought off a dozen horned heartless at a time, all the while regaining his strength. Eventually he destroyed all of the wild demons. Now he faced the familiar heartless he saw earlier. The creature withdrew its bone sword from its leather sheath and immediately swung at Shuijin who barely dodged. Shuijin counterattacked and took a big chip out of the creature’s bone armor.
The demon swung it’s sword again and hit Shuijin in his left side. The pain was extreme. Howling with pain and rage, Shuijin’s sword sparked with electricity. He struck the heartless with a seven hit combo, effectively destroying it. The demon vanished with a black cloud and a silvery glass heart could be seen leaving its body before the glass broke. Shuijin noticed that this was different from before because the hearts never broke. He shrugged it off just as the rest of the stairs gave way and more heartless were summoned.
Shuijin fell, along with Katsumoto’s body, through the air and finally onto the pile of rubble left over from the stairs. Shuijin fell extremely hard on his injured shoulder. This pain was immense as he clutched his wound. Seeing skeletal heartless forming around him, he quickly grabbed Kat’s body and ran towards a bright red door almost fifty feet from his location in the colossal cavern.
He flung the door open, not caring about the mild burn he received on his hand. Frantically he ran through the long halls before him and dodged hundreds of heartless. The amount of heartless he saw began increasing. The Gate Keeper did not want Shuijin to leave!
After almost twenty minutes of chaotic running and dodging, Shuijin came to a hallway that went uphill at an explosive rate. From the very end of the tunnel, almost a mile away, Shuijin could seen a small glimmer of light. Seeing this gave him hope. He put on an extra burst of speed and was at the end in seconds.
Sure enough, it was an exit. Excitedly he ran out and looked about. He was almost thankful to see the endless waters and the purple sky with three moons. He turned around for moment and noticed the huge crack which was the Shadow Abyss.
“That’s odd,” he thought aloud. It became even more bizarre when he saw the dangling bridge from which he leapt from. He gave it no more thought as he noticed he was on the other side of the abyss finally.
Off in the distance he saw a giant cliff. Atop of the cliff stood a towering fortress.
‘Just like the one the voice spoke off,’ he thought. He walked through the waters to the beginning of the cliff, while still holding Katsumoto. He set Kat down and began thinking about all of his friends. He was disturbed from his thinking when he felt the gem in his pocket pulsating and growing warmer.
Upon withdrawing it he saw a, now very familiar, phrase within it.
~Destiny is the key to Fate~
While pondering its meaning Shuijin covered his eyes as a blinding green light shot out in all directions from the tiny sphere. When the light cleared Shuijin couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing up, leaning against a giant rock, was Katsumoto perfectly fine and breathing.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Kat questioned keeping a straight face.
“In a way I have,” Shuijin said also keeping a straight face.
Both teens burst into laughter and were extremely joyous to see each other again. After Shuijin told Kat what happened after he fell off the bridge, including the strange voice, he showed Kat the sphere shaped gem he had. Kat questioned where Shuijin got it, but he only answered that he just found it one day, not wanting to talk about unneeded history. They concluded that the sphere is was brought Kat back.
They both thought it best to follow what the voice had told Shuijin and began climbing the immense cliff.
~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_* ~
Deep within the fortress the Dark Father sat in a throne fit only for a king. His black robe was on with the drawn upwards casting a dark shadow across his already shadowy face. Distinct ancient purple symbols were all over the black robe. A purple cloak hung from his shoulders.
Swiftly a servant of darkness, also wearing a black robe, came into the throne room before the Dark Father. He bent down on one knee and waited to speak.
“Speak,” the evil tyrant commanded.
“Yes Master,” it began, “They have been to the Shadow Abyss. The Keeper has defied you and almost killed the one.”
The Dark Father did not speak for some time.
Finally he spoke. “I leave it to you to ‘take care’ of him, I trust you will not fail.”
“It is your wish, I will not fail.” With that the servant nodded and walked off through the door he came through.
Dark laughter filled the fortress that made even the heartless and dark servants flinch with terror.
~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~ Chapter End~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~_*~
Hehe! I hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter! I’m not quite sure when the next chapter will be out...it could be tomorrow...or two weeks (probably not tomorrow hehe). Please review and tell me what you think! Enjoi! ~Raven~