Chapter 3: The Seal

"You're alive? I thought you were gonna die, but you're still breathing," he remarked, approaching Shikari menacingly. Glaring at him, his earlier smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression as he noticed Shikari's eyes beginning to open. 

"You ba-bastard!" Shikari whispered, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. His hands and legs rendered numb, he lay in a vulnerable state, the toll of the battle evident in his weakened condition. 

"My apologies for taking you down that early. I didn't know you had the shadow demon mask. I know you're strong, and you're just hiding your true color. Now, do you mind showing me that again? The demon mask?" he asked menacingly as Shikari grunted in pain. Surveying his surroundings, Shikari was puzzled to find himself in an obscure dimension, with the pitch-black sky devoid of stars and clouds. 

"Who the hell do you think you are? My boss?" Shikari retorted, taunting his adversary. The Deity chuckled at the response, turning around to survey the peculiar dimension. As he looked around, a sigh escaped him.

"Take a look around, swordsman. I could either kill you or make another one like you and infiltrate your home like nothing and kill everyone you love, same as your friend. I remember him shouting your name, Shikari, am I right? I wonder what's your last name and what clan are you from," he said, his words carrying a sinister weight. Turning around with the whimsy of a child.

"Do I look like I have someone to love? Keeping that out of the talk, you need to leave my friend out of this or you'll see what I can do!" Shikari exclaimed. Suddenly, he started feeling his right hand and slowly began moving his fingers, realizing that he hadn't fully recovered his strength.

"How sad, my apologies once again for not realizing. Your eyes, you must be a cold man. And once again I'd like to apologize, I had to kill your friend," the Deity threatened his friend, igniting a spark of anger in Shikari. His expression turned furious, and in response to the intense emotions, his right hand recovered its strength all of a sudden.

"You stay him out of this!" Shikari Gakure exclaimed, and suddenly, the mood in the air around them changed. The Deity turned around to stare at him, recognizing that Shikari's anger had intensified and the pain inflicted had only made him stronger.

"You haven't realized a single thing yet? Oh come on, do I need t—" he stopped speaking, noticing that Shikari's senses were far from dulled. With a mere glance, Shikari perceived the flow of blood within his own body, and the Deity realized that his opponent was rapidly regaining strength in a surprisingly short amount of time.

"What fight did you get into? Your senses, it's dull, yet you're still here, can fight, and teleport? Unbelievable!" The Deity exclaimed, shocked and unable to comprehend Shikari's capabilities. Shikari raised his hand and glared at the Deity. Suddenly, his widened eyes caught sight of another being behind the Deity.

He heard a growl that sent shivers down his spine, inducing fear and making him break into a sweat. For a moment, he realized he wasn't breathing due to the intensity of his fear. Clearing his throat, he shifted his gaze to the far distance, while the Deity in front of him began stepping aside.

He glanced into the far distance and saw a dark wall. A part of it looked like broken glass, though it appeared small, and from a distance, the creature beyond it emanated fear, sending shivers down Shikari's entire body.

"What the hell is that?! What are you trying to unleash upon us?" Shikari exclaimed furiously, pulling the chain in his right hand and almost punching the Deity in the face, but the chain was too short.

"That's what we call a Seal. It's the thing you humans call a barrier," the Deity raised his right hand, pointed his index finger toward Shikari, and smiled menacingly. "Pardon me, Shikari, but that is my lord. Put in a cage by humans who once stood above him, yet now, no humans can withstand him. Once we get what we want, we will be able to free him once again."

At a woods near the Mountain of Zigaria, Gakushin Gakure could be seen walking, holding a sword without a sheath in his right hand. Behind him were giant craters, and above him, clouds blocked the sunlight. He stared at the sword, feeling lost and empty, his eyes reflecting sadness, and the air around him weighed heavy with darkness. He walked in silence.

Suddenly, he heard someone walking, prompting him to come to a halt. Raising his head, he glanced in the direction of the sound, spotting an unknown swordsman wearing a dark hood. The unknown swordsman slowly removed the hood, revealing an old-looking face. A strange sword on his left waist caught Gakushin Gakure's attention, prompting him to raise his own sword in response.

"Looks like something terrible happened here. Terrible that I didn't even expect it to happen one day. Swordsman, do you mind saying what exactly happened here?" The unknown swordsman asked as Gakushin stroked the sword he was holding, which happened to be Shikari's sword.

"Who are you first? This is a strange place for a swordsman to travel, and you're old. You're a Deity, aren't you? Disguised as humans!" Gakushin exclaimed furiously as he began approaching him.

"That's a mistake, and to be real, I'm not that old. I have a wife and a son, yet also doesn't mean I'm that quite old. And what do you mean by Deities? Oh wait, don't tell me they came for the seal and those shiny stones," the swordsman said, making Gakushin fall silent, standing tall.

"You know what they're after?" He asked. Suddenly, Gakushin realized that the swordsman in front of him wasn't normal. He didn't think of him as a Deity but just a powerful human. He felt his presence that was hiding all along. He began sweating as he stared into his eyes, sensing a deep connection.

"I am quite disappointed that you don't know me. But I guess your friend does. Let me guess, his name is Shikari Gakure?" He replied. As soon as he heard his friend's name coming out of his mouth, he took a step back, realizing that he might have met the man he's currently looking at before, but he couldn't recall where.

"You're a chief, a high-ranking swordsman at a very young age. For that kind of age, being a chief, I am impressed," the unknown swordsman said menacingly as he began to approach Gakushin, who remained at his ground.

"Impossible! Only high-ranking swordsmen know me. Who are you?!" He exclaimed. Gakushin was taken aback, holding his sword tightly as he saw the man giggling all of a sudden.

"I'm Kiyoroshi Rigakure, a former Hashira of the East. I've heard, the east heads have orders, and I'm just passing by. I've recovered six dead bodies and have already finished burying their bodies; I hope they may rest in peace," he introduced himself, speaking menacingly as Gakushin started sweating intensely after hearing his name.

"Kiyo?! A friend of Hiroshi Gakure?!" He exclaimed. He immediately approached and shook hands with him. After they both shook hands, Gakushin set aside Shikari's sword and stood firmly.

"You on point, swordsman. Anyways, why are you alone? I saw countless swordsmen on your list that are capable and have the potential to become a Hashira," he asked in confusion as Gakushin Gakure shook his head left and right and closed his eyes. He sighed and took a step back.

"They don't have... What it takes, Kiyo, those swordsmen lack determination and mindset to go forward," Gakushin stated. That made Kiyoroshi take a step back, and a sudden silence occurred. He turned around and lowered his head while Kiyo noticed his sadness.

"You losing someone?" Kiyo asked, it startled Gakushin. He began taking steps forward, and Kiyo immediately followed him from behind in concern. He saw his fist closing and noticed anger in his presence.

"They got Shikari!" He said. "I was weak! That may have cost him his life! And now that will be unacceptable! I won't show any mercy to any single one of them!" He exclaimed furiously as all of a sudden, Kiyo tapped him on the shoulder, making him stop from walking.

"Anger, you're it. It's eating you, don't let it consume you. Anger doesn't take you anywhere but the void of pitch black. Watch yourself and calm dow—" Kiyo said in a low voice. Suddenly, he was interrupted when Gakushin shouted.

"How can I calm down?! They got him! He got him! He could be dead!" He exclaimed furiously. Kiyo looked at his face and saw tears dripping down his cheeks.

"Yet that anger you have, the rage, it's not good, and getting consumed by it. It's rising, you know the consequences of it and so is Shikari, he would know better. And he wouldn't like to see his friend turned into a violent beast," Kiyo remarked. His words calmed him down, and it made him sit on the ground.

Suddenly, a giant scythe came flying towards them at great speed. Kiyoroshi Rigakure turned around, drew his sword with his right hand, and swung it down. His sword's blade collided with the scythe's blade, making a great impact and destroying the ground he's standing on.

He was shocked by the force of how heavy the scythe was. It is also shocking that it's managing to push him back. Gakushin suddenly came to his side for aid and also swung down his sword. They pinned the scythe to the ground. They both glanced and saw no one in the distance.

"Whoever threw that scythe is gotta be big. Be wary, if we can't see its—" Kiyo said as all of a sudden the ground he's standing on began having giant cracks. Their ground began rising with them. An earthquake occurred, they looked into the ground and saw the earth splitting. They both immediately jumped up and landed on a giant tree branch.

Gakushin felt the magical presence intensifying as he looked around. He saw the ground where they had pinned down the giant scythe, but it was now gone. His eyes widened in realization. Glancing towards Kiyoroshi Rigakure, he noticed the intense sweat, a sign of terror. The earthquake continued to split the ground, creating a ravine as if the end of the world was unfolding before them.

"Gakushin! Get out of here!" He exclaimed as soon as he raised his head and saw Gakushin. Suddenly, a giant root of a giant tree rose towards Kiyo at great speed, grabbed one of his feet, and pulled him down to the ground. He grunts as he tries to swing his sword towards the root, but he can't reach it. He slammed to the ground and made a loud noise and giant rock debris scattered in the air.

"Kiyo!" He immediately jumped down towards him while showing an angry face. All of a sudden, a giant root came from behind him, surrounded his waist, and grabbed him. It then pulled him down to the ground upside down and hit his head on the ground, making him unconscious for a moment. 

He opened his eyes and all of a sudden he was free from the giant roots and saw Kiyoroshi grabbing his arm and dragging him. He dragged him behind a giant tree while the earthquake still occurring and the earth was still splitting apart.

"Hey! Wake up! This is no place to die! Get a grip of yourself! Gakushin!" He shouted furiously as all of a sudden, the giant tree on their side was cut in half. That made his eyes widen as all of a sudden, countless giant sharp roots came from all directions towards them. A sudden darkness occurred, Kiyo realized that there was no way out, and his life flashed before his eyes seeing that there was no way out.

Suddenly, Gakushin stood and gripped his sword tightly. Blood was dripping on the left side of his forehead. He stood motionless as all of a sudden, he breathed in and widened his eyes. He positioned his sword to his left and swung his sword towards the right with great force. 

A sudden silence occurred. Kiyo looked around and saw the giant roots had stopped. Suddenly, the countless roots were sliced into countless pieces. It falls to the ground like ashes. Kiyo immediately grabbed Gakushin who had lost consciousness and flew away from the ground he was on away from the giant ravine that was made.

He then touched down both of his feet to the ground and began running. For a moment, he sensed someone standing behind him in the far distance which gave chills to his spine. Gakushin was still gripping his sword in his right hand while Kiyo carried him.

In the midst of his run, Kiyo pushed himself until the distant tremors subsided, leaving him in the calm embrace of the untouched wilderness. Gazing at the serene landscape of grass and towering trees, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"That earthquake... A part of the seal is broken. That's what caused this entire upheaval. But those giant roots, I've never seen anything like it. Probably dark magic, but from whom?" His thoughts raced as he resheathed his sword, still carrying the unconscious Gakushin. An unsettling sensation surrounded him, sending shivers down his spine.

As he continued his journey, deep within an underground cave, an unknown being stirred from a stone throne. Rising with a measured grace, the being surveyed the surroundings, witnessing a white barrier with ominous cracks enclosing a mysterious purple-dark cube. The echoes of the earthquake reverberated through the cave.

The unknown being's expression shifted to a solemn determination as he approached the sealed purple-dark cube. Raising his left hand, a glowing white gem materialized atop his palm. Advancing toward the cube encased in the fading white barrier, he gently raised his right hand and pointed toward it.

"Seal of the Gods. You will be locked here forever. You caused these tremors, and now it won't happen again," he declared. A flow of white energy surged towards the sealed cube, causing the cracks in the barrier to vanish, and the earthquake came to a halt.

Satisfied, he sighed in relief. The gem on his palm disappeared, revealing bright white eyes and a lifeless black crown. Settling back on his throne, a radiant white sword behind him awaited its sheathing, emanating a glow akin to the vanished gem.

He stared at a sealed purple-dark cube in the distance. Suddenly, he felt something strange around him that bothers him. It was the silence. He thought that the silence wasn't sound always like it. 

He tried to grab his sword behind his throne with his left hand but he realized it was gone. That made him stand tall and take a better look behind his throne. That's when he realized that it was missing. That made his eyes widen in terror. 

He turned around and was about to scream when all of a sudden. He was stabbed by his own sword. He got raised violently by an unknown behind him with his own sword. He was stabbed in the back piercing through his chest making him grunt in pain. 

He grasped his blade tightly with both of his hands as blood began to drip on the side of his face. All of a sudden, he screamed violently, and starting from his back, he turned into ashes.

He dropped his crown same as the white gem. His ashes were blown in the air. The unknown who stabbed him from the back dropped his sword and its sheath. He kneeled to the ground and grabbed the gem. He threw away the crown and growls menacingly.

The unknown has red glowing eyes and fangs. The unknown gripped the gem tightly as it glowed brightly in his palms. He turned around and began approaching the sealed purple dark cube. He began smiling menacingly. The unknown appeared to be wearing a hood and a long dark coat that made him barely seen in the dark.

He reached the sealed purple-dark cube. He put his hand on top of it and gripped the white gem in his left hand. Suddenly, the white barrier began to dissolve. The white gem was absorbing the barrier. As it slowly disintegrated, the purple dark cube inside began vibrating. The white barrier was gone and only the purple dark cube was left.

The unknown lifted the purple dark cube and let go of the white gem. Suddenly, a shadowy violet monster came out of it screaming violently and went straight for him. The shadowy violet monster went in his mouth and black particles began appearing all around his body.

He got choked on his own and he was moving like having epilepsy. Suddenly, he stood tall, possessed by some kind of demon. His appearance changes all of a sudden. The purple dark cube vanished in his palms like energy flowing in his veins. He began giggling menacingly like a psychopath. A horn grew in the side of his forehead.