Chapter.34: The Stone Monarch’s Meeting

After the goodbye to Rina earlier, Koutetsu decided to nap for more image training to clear his mind. He was confused at what made her leave so sudden and the whole display of affection she did like it was a final farewell.

He needed to get it out of his system before he felt like he was going to do something rash that would put her in a bad spot or drive her away. This was the only thing he could think of without a negative outcome for the time being.

Koutetsu couldn't get Rina's face out of his head during his training, the despaired look she had troubled him deep in his heart. He opened his eyes briefly looking at the necklace she got him for Christmas. His thoughts were filled with questions about her safety and welfare.

'Rina, what exactly happened earlier? Why did you look like it was you telling me we would never see each other? If I was just better at reading the room maybe I could find a hint. What am I supposed to do to help?'

Koutetsu closed his eyes again back to his image training. He was picturing himself practicing the moves of the Hiyou Ryu in a shadow boxing routine, trying out new methods to improvise his style to his preferences.

It was a slow practice, he couldn't concentrate completely on the questions in his heart. He wanted to fight an opponent to help, he was going to imagine one regardless of who it was, but before he could, one already manifested and attacked him.

Koutetsu didn't create this, it was made of stone, like a perfectly carved figure of a bandit coming at him weapons and all. Koutetsu smashed in its head, but the figure repaired itself into two more stone figures. Koutetsu smashed both this time, and soon four were created. Every time he broke one of them another would come back, like the hydra regrowing multiple heads when its original was cut off.

He started to get frustrated at the situation, he shifted into Jushin Kakusei mode, he was fighting like Megumi now, with pure violence and anger behind every strike.

Endless enemies came after him, his battle cries became animal roars. For three hours he fought like that in his mind relentlessly just fighting with rage burning in his veins. Eventually, after all the fighting and near-endless enemies, they began to stop spawning, and the stone used to make them was diminished preventing further regeneration. The last one tried to jump him from behind, but Koutetsu sensed it. Instead of a strike, he used his bare fangs to bite the stone enemy's throat. The stone figure wailed its arms around till Koutetsu ripped its throat out with savage fury.

Koutetsu looked at the mountains of enemy bodies around him. Rina's face popped up again, he couldn't hold it in any longer from the fighting of sudden stone monsters attacking him, so he yelled out, his voice echoing in the endless space of his mind arena.

"WHO ELSE WANTS SOME!!!!!"

Koutetsu fell on his knees to the ground after his outburst. He was holding his head in his hands in agitation. He kept seeing it over and over, that broken look on Rina's face just like how Akane's death memory was when they used to invade before seeing her again.

'Why? Why can't I get it out of my head? Damn it, DAMN IT!'

Koutetsu howled louder, he kept throwing blows again at nothingness with all the frustration behind them. During his wild blows, the mist of Spirit World came over the area. He stopped his frustrated strikes when it happened, he knew what this meant. He remembered the sensation from when he died before seeing Akane's spirit.

'Something's coming. Where from?'

Koutetsu looked around, he sensed something coming his way. It was large, heavy, slow in pace, and powerful too.

'What is it now? Fine, come at me, I need to hit something I don't give a damn what it is just give me a reason.'

The stomping trudged its way to Koutetsu, soon a shadow-like figure came closer and closer to Koutetsu, it formed itself before his eyes. The figure turned into a turtle with its shell made of stone and obsidian, its neck with stone scales on its legs, and a beard of limestone on its chin. Wrapped around its body and shell was a serpent, grey in color with gold color eyes.

Before him was the Stone Monarch, the Lord of the Earth, Jado.

Jado's steps pounded the ground as he walked, if this wasn't inside Koutetsu's mind and was the real world it would feel like some tremors to anyone nearby. Koutetsu was shaking from the ground in his path, but he wouldn't run. He wanted to fight, he needed it. Jado continued his stomping till he was close to Koutetsu. He had no intention of fighting. Instead, he wanted to talk.

"Oh, young man. What's with that face, are you trying to look like Byakurai?"

'Byakurai? Who's that?'

Koutetsu's mind flashed back to the dream he had when he panicked, it was triggered by Jado mentioning Byakurai's name. The foggy image he tried to figure out earlier became clear now, he remembered Byakurai and the terror he brought onto him made Koutetsu cover his mouth, even if it was in his head, he didn't want to imagine himself throwing up in his own mind.

"Oh, you remember now doncha. No surprise, fighting that rebellious tiger must have been painful to you."

"Just who are you and what do you want? Why are you Kaiju-sized beasts messing with me, what did I do to deserve this?"

Jado's serpent hissed in annoyance at Koutetsu's remark.

"There there Naga, pay him no mind. I can understand his frustration. Well, I suppose I'm breaking a rule myself and speaking to you directly without Jabi present."

"Jabi? Who's Jabi?" Koutetsu asked.

"The woman who's been helping you. She gave you the bracelet to give to your friend so she is safe without you around in case your enemies come after her. She also gave that lovely lady Byakurai's last child to give to you."

Koutetsu remembered now that's what caused the fight in the first place.

"What is this last child I keep hearing about? And what do you guys want from me? I'm sick of this! I'm not some puppet people or Gods can play with when they feel like it."

Jado can see how tired Koutetsu was of everything. He wanted to talk to the boy and help, he knew the risk he was taking just talking to him directly.

"Boy, if you wish to know I will tell you. But keep in mind it may be the last time we speak for a while until you can take on Byakurai. That's why I sent my stone soldiers to you. To help measure your strength in the upcoming battle"

"You sent those after me? Are you insane? This my mind, mine! Why can't it be left alone."

Jado felt horrible, he wasn't trying to kill Koutetsu, he only wanted to help him in his training. Jado created a seat for Koutetsu to sit on for them to talk, along with a sand table, to create a visual story to display for the story he was going to tell.

Koutetsu grumbled after Jado tried to use this as an excuse for the surprise foes he sent after him. He changed himself back to normal deciding to hear his tale, he figured he could get some answers at least while he could.

"Ahem, well first off I'm Jado, the Stone Monarch, Lord of the Earth. This big snake around me is Naga, my other half and protector. You see, I am one of four of the Monarchs in charge of the East. We Monarchs were created by God as guardians of this world. There were many Monarchs who protected the four corners of the world alongside us. However, our numbers have dwindled over time, because of Jagan's schemes."

Koutetsu heard the name and shivered. The pale lady that attacked him mentioned it and how they summoned him.

"What is Jagan, why do they want me?"

"They summoned you as a means of destroying this world. You see like us, Jagan can't directly interfere with the human world unless the summoned being they bring forth becomes their vessel. Jagan has no physical body or real identity, they are a negative force born from the sinful actions and emotions humans have. Each vassal under Jagan is like that, every vassal possesses a host who exemplifies humanity to the sin they were born from. The one who attacked you was Shiro, the Evils of Youthful Murder. She went to retrieve you but your mother saved you in time before that could happen."

Koutetsu clenched his teeth remembering that. He knew Shiro's name now, he didn't remember it the first time because of how much in shock he was during that incident.

"What about that guy in black who took her away, the one she called her big brother."

"That was Viral, the Evils of Addictions. You see unlike them, Jagan doesn't want a host of this world they're trapped in. They bring one from another world where that meets their affinity. For Jagan, their affinity is suicide and incompetence. The strongest emotions humans emit that cause them to commit all accounts of evils to themselves and others. Once they find a host that fits them, Jagan summons them after the host's death, they reincarnate them to be stronger than their previous life so the body can grow to be unstoppable once they possess them. When they take over the host they assume their gender, name, and everything that once was them, Jagan steals. When Shiro came after you we realized Jagan summoned their host. We set up a barrier in the physical world to stop them from leaving their own dimension many centuries ago. However, our barrier is weakening, they're finding ways to slip out undetected in brief moments, we can't always catch them unfortunately and soon Jagan and their vassals will come back."

"If that's true, then why was that big cat trying to kill me, aren't you supposed to be the good guys?"

"Please forgive Byakurai. He's not an evil Monarch. But like you, Jagan has taken a lot from him. He's the youngest of us, only just turning into his 600 years of age. Originally he wasn't a Monarch, he was a Guardian Deity who blessed Samurai with righteous hearts in times of need. He met the original tiger Monarch and fell in love after helping her fight demons. That was Raimei, the Lighting Monarch, Queen of Storms. She was with us in the beginning, me, Suzuka, the Sun Monarch, Queen of Eternal Light, and Rekkamaru the Legend Monarch, Lord of Divine Beings. In time, Raimei and Byakurai lived in bliss, where they birthed many children and protected many lives. But Jagan laid a trap, the vassal Kouki, Evils of Cult Worship, gathered humans to trap Raimei and her children. Another vassal Orgullo, Evils of Death Duels, challenged Byakurai's previous Partner, a Ronin, to stop him from saving Raimei and Byakurai. In the end, the Ronin sacrificed his life to save a badly injured Byakurai and his only surviving child, the last child."

Koutetsu understood now why Byakurai was so angry with him. He lost his lover, nearly all his children, and his Partner who gave his life for him. He and Koutetsu were the same in a way. He felt sympathy for him now not animosity from the surprise attack.

"What happened after that?"

"After their deaths, Byakurai slayed the humans who killed his loved ones. He killed Kouki's previous host in retaliation as well. Although we were furious with him for his bloodlust, God forgave him and granted him his Monarch title so we had an ally on our side, we agreed to forgive him only if he wore shackles should he go out of control again. Since then we have tried our best to help guide humanity in the fight against Jagan, however, we can't intervene directly unless we find a Partner to bond with, once we do we can endow them with our power and be summoned to the world freely."

"If that's the case how did Byakurai have a Partner already if he wasn't a Monarch at the time? None of this is making sense to me."

"The Ronin was originally Raimei's Partner, however, she gave their bond over to Byakurai including her power of Lightning. She wanted to be a Mother, Byakurai her successor in protecting humanity and her children. That's why Byakurai used one of her attacks on you. If God hadn't decided on Byakurai yet, Raimei had already chosen him to be her replacement because she believed in his potential. Well boy, did that answer all your questions?"

Koutetsu was satisfied with it. He didn't feel anger at Byakurai anymore. He felt kinship in a way. It must be why he was destined for him, both were the same yet they needed each other to move forward.

"Can I ask you one more question before I wake myself up?"

"By all means."

"What's the last child? You said Jabi gave it to Rina for me, but the only thing I got from Rina was…"

That's when it hit him, he felt stupid in the moment. How did he not know to realize it was the necklace sooner? He held his face feeling like a fool for missing that small detail.

"Haha, I see you figured it out now. You see Byakurai's last child is special like that wolf cub your friend was given. Monarchs can give birth to divine animals, to fight alongside humans. Unlike us, they can manifest physically and aid in battle. That wolf you gave your friend was born from the late Wolf Monarch from the west. You can give birth to the last child as well to help you. It'll piss that tiger off but it'll be good for him to see his child finally have a body again, since she was a soul last he saw. The last child lost its original body during the massacre so now it needs a new one to be reborn."

Koutetsu thought of the necklace, if it was as Jado says, then he needed to give it life. He felt horrible that the child was trapped as a soul.

"How can I release the child? Is there a sacrifice or something for that?"

"Haha, no boy. Such a silly thing to think about. All you have to do is envision a body for her, an item of love so it is born from tenderness, and a name so no one can steal it away from you. Well times up boy, I have to go before Rekkamaru finds out what I did. Good luck in the future. You're going to be a good sibling soon after all."

Naga's eyes popped out of its head at its Master for saying that. Jado was not supposed to reveal future information.

"Huh? What was that?"Koutersu asked hearing that last comment confused what it was meant to be.

"Oops said too much. Well bye for now boy. I'd love to talk to you again someday. Maybe we can play chess when the time comes"

Koutetsu could feel that was intentional. He wanted to ask more but Jado already vanished before he could ask, leaving his mind at peace like he wanted earlier.

Koutetsu woke up from his nap after the meeting with Jado. He felt unease from all the talking with him, but at least he had some clarity now. Koutetsu held the necklace head in his hand gently. He thought of what Jado told him.

'This can be a big help to me to fight with, but mainly I can't let this poor soul stay bodiless forever. It must be lonely that way never to hold someone or be loved without a body. Let's see he said an image for a body, an item of love, and a name. I have an item of love inside it with Itsuki's ribbon. So I need the other two.'

Koutetsu concentrated hard, he thought of a body for the child. He didn't want to imagine a tiger, he didn't want a little Byakurai running around his house making his life miserable. He tried to picture another type of feline, with great speed, able to sneak up on enemies, can catch them from anywhere, not too big but just enough to be intimidating while able to move freely with great agility.

The image was forming in his mind it took a shadow shape, he couldn't finish it yet however without a a special characteristic to it. Koutetsu imagined Itsuki using her ice magic, how even with it being used on him it still looked pretty in his opinion. The image finished itself. It took the appearance of a snow leopard.

'Got it, now a name, since it's going to be born from Itsuki's ribbon and her ice magic I know what to name it. Tsurara.'

The necklace glowed, it was the same manner as Itsuki's bracelet did. The necklace shot out a ball of energy that formed in Koutetsu's lap.

A small snow leopard cub was asleep in his lap, its glistening white fur with dark spots. It had a blue scarf around its neck and a jewel on its forehead.

Koutetsu looked again at the necklace. It stopped glowing as the deed was done. Koutetsu smiled thanking both Itsuki and Rina for this chance. He petted his new family member in acceptance, Tsurara began to wake up, she let out a small yawn as she looked up at Koutetsu. Koutetsu was praying she wouldn't bite him like Tsukikage did when he was born. Tsurara didn't instead she instead rubbed her head on Koutetsu's stomach. Koutetsu picked her up and cradled her in his arms like a baby.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Tsurara fell asleep again in his arms. Koutetsu did the same, he wasn't going to image train right now. For a change, he was going to regularly nap this time.

In the Spirit World, Byakurai was still chained, he was sleeping as well as reminiscing about the good moments with Raimei and the Ronin. His eyes slightly opened filled with regret.

"Raimei, I swear I'll avenge you. I promise you, my love."