CHAPTER 24; THE JINN STATE…OR RYU

"It's not that Ryu didn't want to enter the Jinn State…but he couldn't!" the Dragon Lord declared.

"WHAT?! How? He could enter it at will after his battle with the Twisting Devil" Atlanta said.

"Just as other techniques are activated by feelings, the Jinn state is activated by one of the most important of them all. The Jinn State is gone thanks to the three of you…Michael, Nadia and you especially Atlanta" the Dragon Lord accused them.

"How's that our fault?" Atlanta yelled defensively.

"The feeling that is required to activate the Jinn State is the most difficult, absolute belief in yourself. By doubting Ryu, you made him doubt himself. You clouded his mind with guilt. Now, Ryu can never enter the Jinn State in time to defeat Shekan but…he doesn't have to anymore. That responsibility is yours now…" Dragon Lord said with a sly smile.

"Wh-What? What do you mean?" Atlanta asked in surprise and a little amount of fear.

"Since you care so much about the Jinn State…" the Dragon Lord said as he breathed a rainbow of elements in front of Michael, Nadia and Atlanta.

"Here! That's the special body that allows one to enter the Jinn State. Any of you can walk into it to receive its power however…" the Dragon Lord paused grimly.

"But what?" Michael asked.

"The covenant is broken. Ryu's pain is entwining with the weavings of destiny. I'm taking him back since none of you need him. After all, what you really need is the Jinn State" the Dragon Lord said.

Immediately, the Dragon Lord's breath of healing left Ryu and he stumbled to the ground.

"Take a good look. This is the last time you'll ever see or experience Ryu" Dragon Lord said.

Blood began to ooze from Ryu's chest as he trembled in weakness. He then collapsed on his back.

"Don't even think of returning to me! If you do, I don't care who will seal Shekan, I will destroy you all!" the Dragon Lord threatened.

"Ryu!" Michael called as concern he hadn't felt in a while began to fill him.

"Ryu, what is wrong?" Atlanta asked worriedly.

"You guys…" Ryu struggled to say.

"Ryu! Hang on! I'll try to use medical ninjutsu on you!" Nadia called as she stretched her arms to heal Ryu. Her technique wasn't working.

"Wh-What's happening?" Nadia asked in surprise.

Lee had gone to attend to a few injured villagers. He returned and saw Ryu on the ground. He ran towards Ryu in surprise.

"Hey! What happened?! Speak to me!" Lee spoke frantically.

"Stop this! You're killing him!" Atlanta screamed to the Dragon Lord.

"I'm giving him peace. Besides, there are many ways to kill a human being and if there is one thing you humans are proficient at, it is killing one another with cruel words. This is nothing compared to what you have done already" the Dragon Lord said.

"Molten, do something. Dragons, we need your help!" Atlanta called desperately.

Molten lowered his head.

"He's right Atlanta. We've seen Ryu's sufferings. We will only cause him more suffering if we ruin his only chance for eternal peace" Crystal said.

"I love Ryu. I'd prefer him dead than to see him suffer in loneliness. Dragons are harsh in that regard" Molten said.

"H-Hey bro! You can't leave! Remember our promise? We'll never abandon each other" Ken wept.

"K-Ken, r-really, even if y-you c-c-can't see me, I'll always be with you" Ryu struggled.

"You promise?" Ken asked tearfully.

"It's a dragon vow" Ryu said with a smile.

Ken nodded as he forced a smile.

"We don't care about his abilities! We only need Ryu!" Atlanta yelled angrily.

"Atlanta, honestly, you're really good at pretending. You've been with Nemesis too long. You nearly convinced me" the Dragon Lord taunted Atlanta.

"Pretending?" Atlanta muttered as tears began to flow down her eyes.

"The love you think you have for Ryu, even Shekan has that kind of love. It's called 'hatred'. If you had really loved Ryu because you all needed him, from the depths of your hearts, you would have proved that when he was with you. I'm only teaching you the first lesson in life, 'you never know how precious something is to you until you lose it'. You took Ryu for granted, today, you will lose him. If you hurt anyone you love like you've hurt Ryu and that act is born of hatred, and they cry out to me, I'll come and take them away and I'll keep taking away until you can prove to me that you humans can actually love" the Dragon Lord said.

"I now know why the Dragon Lord is scary…even amongst us dragons" Tornado said.

"He is heartless…in a good kind of way" Crystal agreed.

"But since you say you really do care for Ryu, I'll leave him with just a fraction of his life force. It will be so little that unless he truly wishes to live, he will most certainly die" the Dragon Lord said as he disappeared in a raging flash of elements.

"Ryu...br…" Michael was about to say when Ryu interrupted him.

"Before you say brother, think twice. I used to look up to you Michael but now I see the truth. Ever since Mom died, somewhere in your heart, you have always despised me. I see now that the only bond we ever shared was the bond of blood. I don't care about you, Nadia…or Atlanta. My only true friends are Ken and Rokkan" Ryu said sadly as his body trembled more with the pain.

"Ryu, you're not serious right? We're sorry. We were…" Nadia was saying.

"Wrong? Before you even say that, you three should have listened to my side of the story. Before you judged me, you should have believed in me. And I always thought you three knew me the most. It's ironic that the ones that believed in me were the last ones to join our quest. You were right Atlanta…'serves me right'. At least my conscience is clear. Your tears mean nothing to me now and I don't even want to hear your voice" Ryu growled with the last bit of his energy.

"K-Ken…Rokkan…tell…Still annoying…good" Ryu struggled to deliver a final message.

He could no longer speak so he formed a final seal and fiery words appeared over him.

"I HOPE I NEVER HAVE TO SEE YOU THREE AGAIN! I HATE YOU!!!" the message flared for a moment and then Ryu lost consciousness.

The dragon saints disappeared. There was silence all over the village. The wind stopped moving. Then there was loud mourning. Rokkan came back right about then and saw Ryu lying motionless on the ground. Atlanta tried to hug Ken to comfort him but he broke away from their company.

"I hate you guys too! At first I just didn't like you but now I really hate you! The pain you've caused doesn't even compare to the pain Nemesis has caused all the ryu put together!" Ken scowled.

"I did tell you guys. I'm not going to shed a tear. This…" Rokkan pointed to Ryu, "…is the result of your stubbornness. I won't weep, cry or feel sad because I know he is happy, away from you guys!" Rokkan said.

"I regret to tell you this. I just want all your hopes crushed but…Ryu is not dead…yet" Ken said.

The mourning ceased. Everyone stared at Ken in surprise.

"Yes, I want Ryu back too…even if he prefers to die. He's still alive and we can still fight for him. We can show him how much we care. To tell you the truth…" Ken paused.

"What is it Ken?" Michael asked sorrowfully.

"Ryu…he still loves you guys. That's why your doubt and anger hurt him the most, and that's why it seems that he hates you. Ryu doesn't want care from Rokkan and I but from you three. You are the only ones that can bring him to fight for his life" Ken explained.

Atlanta still had mixed feelings. After what the Dragon Lord said, she began to wonder whether all the time she had spent with Ryu, she had actually shown him care or if by any chance she was still pretending. She walked towards Ryu and knelt beside him. Then she placed her head on his chest and wept.

"The love you think you have for Ryu, even Shekan has that kind of love. It's called 'hatred'" the Dragon Lord's words rang within her.

"It's not true. I don't hate you Ryu. I don't have an excuse for how I treated you but…I really do care for you Ryu" Atlanta said.

Then she realized something. Ryu's heart was beating faintly and gurgling.

"We need to help him fast! The stab wound on his chest has opened!" she called desperately.

Lee and the others carried Ryu into the Temple.

"Let me try!" Ken volunteered as he placed his hands on Ryu's chest.

A raging wind blew around the wound. After a while, the wind stopped and Ryu's intense bleeding stopped as well. Ken took off Ryu's ceremonial vest. The blood had clotted.

"I held the bleeding of his heart with a pressure of wind but it will soon give out. We need to find a source from which Ryu can absorb energy" Ken suggested.