Akuma Shijikazi is dead.
The news of the formidable Battle God falling spread like wildfire throughout the lands. The Battle God who had struck fear into the hearts of many. His name and weapon engraved in history for centuries as his title as the most gruesome and violent warrior.
But only recently it had been said that in battle, Akuma Shijikazi was defeated.
Some rumored it was an ambush while some said he'd met his equal, but no one knew the truth.
The legends about him and how with his sheer strength and will, he claimed the title Battle God with ease. Stepping and killing all those against him. His path to greatness built on the dead warriors he'd slain.
Asura, the blade that could slice through armies of men. Though the blade looked dull and ragged as it wasn't sharp as average blades. Only he could show the true potential of the blade. As once said, it is not the blade who creates a master, but it is the master who creates the blade.
Hundreds of men, warriors, and masters charge at him with their martial arts and mastery. But only for him to take them down with his ruthless fighting style. He alone truly deserved the title Battle God.
But one day, a battlefield flooded by the blood and sweat. Piles of corpses surround Akuma Shijikazi as he stands victorious at the tip of a cliff.
But suddenly, the mighty Battle God—
Drops.
Soldiers and warriors rush, confused on what happened. He had no scratch or injuries on him, which only layered the confusion.
As the soldiers get there, they search for his body below, some going down the cliff to get a closer view. But all their efforts gone to waste as they could not find him. And so they claimed him dead.
But of course, Akuma Shijikazi wasn't dead.
"What's happening?" he asks himself, his body weak, his limbs drained, his strength slowly escaping.
Then he gets to his senses. Akuma Shijikazi gets hold of a branch. "Did I fall?" he asks himself as he looks above him. Confused by his current situation, he tries to gain his footing by using what's left of his strength to pull himself up. But the branch that he was gripping broke.
He desperately tries to grab on to something. Reaching out for anything, but there was nothing to hold on.
"DAMN!!!" he shouts out of frustration.
Akuma Shijikazi in that moment thought, *"Am I... going to die?"*
Then he hits the waters, knocking him unconscious.
The river cold and cruel, a raging force crashing his body, slamming him against rocks and trees as the waters attempt to swallow him in its depths.
Suddenly he gains consciousness. "What is happening?" he asks as he tries to recollect his thoughts, but his chain of thoughts is cut off by a submerged rock that hits his chest.
He looks around as he goes against the raging water's currents, till his hand grabs onto a dead tree. He pulls himself closer to the fallen tree and tries to calm his thoughts and breath.
But he throws up water as he tries to catch his breath, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. "AHHH!!!" he grunts in pain. "Damn this river," he cursed. "Uhhhh..." he groans. Then a sudden flash of despair passes his mind as he looks at the raging waters, his current state—how could he get out of this situation?
But then he snaps out of it as he realizes—
What is he thinking? Is he thinking of defeat? Of loss?
How weak.
"What am I saying? This mere river will not be the end of me," he protested against his thoughts.
"I've fought stronger opponents. I've defeated armies."
"I will not die by some raging waters."
"I am Battle God!"
He proudly shouts.
He was too prideful to die like this.
But pride alone couldn't keep him alive. As he struggles to take a breath, he hurriedly tries to get up the fallen tree to get a better view of his situation.
But he overestimated himself.
He was too injured and beaten to be doing this. Then a strong pain that shakes his entire body makes him lose his balance and he slips.
And for the second time in his life, he felt an unknown feeling—a feeling he forgot after all his battles where he would easily destroy his opponents.
The fear of death.
A sudden "No" escapes his breath, his heart skips a beat, and his skin turns cold.
But suddenly someone grabs him.
A hand, small yet surprisingly strong, pulls him out of the water. Akuma Shijikazi's vision blurs, his head dizzy and a mess still affected by that thought.
He coughs out the water from his lungs. His body so weak, so broken.
"Hold on," a voice commanded, a soft but insistent tone.
As his vision sharpened, he saw a commoner—a girl.
Akuma Shijikazi tries to clear his thoughts, but he couldn't, as he is still shaken by his near-death experience.
"Are you okay?" the girl asks. But before he could say a word, a mixture of blood and vomit pours out of him. Then his body gives out. The girl gets squashed by the weight of his body and armor.
"What happened to you?" she asks, ignoring the vomit on her clothes.
"Well, that doesn't matter. I'm here now," she says as she slowly drags him to her cart.
"Damn, you're heavy," she says as she slowly loads him into her cart full of hay and eggs.
Moments pass as they travel the road back to her home.
The rain passed and clouds clear as they reveal a bright blue sky.
"Well look at that. Seems like I'll still be able to dry my clothes," she says, a smile on her face as she slowly cleans Akuma Shijikazi's body with a piece of cloth.
Then she couldn't help but notice the outside—
The path lush with tall grass and blooming sunflowers.
Seeing such a view, she couldn't help but take a breath in the fresh breeze.
Then the cart hits a rock on the road, waking Akuma Shijikazi.
"Whe...where am I?" he weakly says as he slowly opens his eyes. His vision blurry and his mind a mess. He looks at the girl—her face blurry yet familiar.
"Mother?"
"Oh! You're awake," the girl says as she's wrapping his wounds.
Then silence fills the cart. Only the sound of the occasional bumps on the road and steps of the donkey can be heard as he stares at her.
"Are you okay?" the girl worriedly asks.
After getting to his senses, he immediately pulls his arm away and kicks her in the stomach.
The girl, sent back, lets out a strong groan.
Then he tries to reach for his blade but notices he doesn't have it—nor his other belongings.
Before he could move, his wounds open up, sending shivers of pain.
He looks at his wounds. He's bloodied and has a few broken bones, but some parts of his body are bandaged and wrapped in herbs.
"Where am I?" he asks the girl while staring at her with a murderous gaze.
"She must be the one to bandage me," he thinks. Then his expression softens as he feels a mix of guilt—but he instantly vanquishes this feeling and raises his guard. His gaze less strong, but still murderous.
She gets taken aback by him, distancing herself as she notices his murderous aura.
"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you," she says, trying to calm him down.
"Name yourself, peasant," he commanded as he tries to stand up, ignoring his current injuries.
The girl looks—a mixture of surprise and pain.
But she takes a deep breath and slowly stands up—but before she could answer, Akuma Shijikazi drops from exhaustion, as his injuries were too much for him to handle.
Then she takes a deep breath of relief as she drops to the wooden floor of the cart.