Revenant: Poison Master's Journey in Spirit Realm

The room was filled with murmurs. Some had tears in their eyes, while others were there only to bash their unsparing opinions. Ito Asahi was dressed in a full black hakama. He stood behind his grandfather's body, which was dressed in a fully white hakama, along with a few family pictures near him. 

"He never showed any kindness." 

"It's a surprise that he hasn't died yet." 

".. Hic... waa... hic.. Grandpa! Why did you leave so soon?" 

"My,my...finally, the seat for the head of the Ito family has become empty."

Such words were shared among all the men, women, and children who had joined the funeral instead of exchanging sympathies. Ito Asahi had his eyes half-gazing down, almost as if he possessed the samyak gaze. 

His entire appearance was flawless, his hands were steady, and his face was devoid of tears even when his only family member had died. He remained calm while the pit of anger and revenge slowly thirsted within him. 

People start to gossip about him, about how heartless and cold-blooded he was towards his grandfather. 

"We are very sorry to hear such news. We hope that Mr. Ito is now resting in peace, Asahi Kun." A woman in her late forties shared her condolences with Ito Asahi.

Like a diligent man, he gave her a ninety-degree bow. "It was a very unexpected and untimely death. Thank you for your condolences."

As expected, he had not shown a single etch of sadness or tear. While some people shared genuine sorrow, others were there to make cruel remarks. 

Raging thoughts churned through Asahi's mind more than anyone could have imagined as he continued to curse the yokai in his mind for taking away his only family. 

Revenge would be a simple word; he wanted bloody revenge where not a single one of them would ever even land on the surface of the earth. It all happened on that cursed Monday when Ito decided to exorcist the child. If only he had listened to his grandfather, he let out a frustrated breath. 

~

"Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo

Kan ji zai bo satsu. Gyo jin han nya ha ra mi ta ji. Sho ken go on kai ku. Do issai ku yaku. Sha ri shi. Shiki fu i ku. Ku fu i shiki. Shiki soku ze ku. Ku soku ze shiki. Ju so gyo shiki." 

Asahi was chanting the Hannya Shingyo, which contained the core of Buddhist teachings: emptiness and interdependence. Asahi continued to pray, his grandfather, Ito Ichiro and the child's mother, Miss Arima Miyuki, had their hands collapsed, hoping to send the child's soul to the heavens. 

It was a very small funeral held by a single mother for her son, who had died in the flood. The month of summer wasn't kind to everyone since the rain took away houses, fields, and sometimes even family members.

While they were concentrating on the prayer for just a single second, a big body of a man wearing a red hakama appeared before them. He had his face covered with an oni mask, and the very second, the child, who was shrouded and dead, was all of a sudden happily running towards his mother.

Though Asahi had quickly noticed the Oni's presence, he could not even turn his head as this sutra needed all his concentration. 

"Mother! I missed you so much!" The child was no older than six years old. His face was filled with flesh and lively eyes; he took subtle steps towards her, while Miss Arima had her eyes filled with tears. 

Her lips were parched, yet not a single word was audible. Her heart had almost dropped, and her breath had become shaky. Was it her son? It was a god-sent gift, she thought to herself, and her son was almost about to reach her arms when, in a swift move, Ito Ichiro threw an omamori towards the child. 

"AIYAAA! IT HURTS! MOTHER HELP ME! IT HURTS SO MUCH." the child cried heart wrenchingly while the talisman burned his skin. His shoulders started to become dark and crisp while the fire continued to burn and reach his elbows. 

Miss Arima could no longer keep to herself. She tried standing on her feet but then a hand was raised in front of her.

"It's not your child." He murmured, concentrating on the sutra, yet she was his mother. How was she to let her son be burned alive? 

"Heis! He is right in front of me." She spoke in a shouting manner. The tears started to fall from her eyes and breaking all the rules she slipped out of there and went to her son who was crying in pain.

"My child, I'm so glad you are safe. No one will hurt you from now on." She got on her knees and tried to wipe the tears from her son's cheeks. Her hands reached for the talisman on his back. With all her strength she tore off the paper. 

"Are you sure, mommy?" The little boy spoke in a terrified voice, and just as Miss Arima was about to nod while crumpling the paper, the boy raised his hands innocently, asking for a hug, but then soon, his hands started to elongate until they pierced through her chest. 

"aiyaa...my baby...why?" Miss Arima couldn't even be fazed since it was her son. The Oni then carried the woman in its arms and disappeared. 

Ichiro had his eyes closed when he stood from his spot. The moment he felt the presence of the Amanojaku, he started to throw the omamori sharply. While the old man continued to throw the talismans, the Amanojaku desperately tried to hide away from them. 

Asahi had only reached the 200 syllabus, and so he couldn't dare to even break off the sutra. He could only hope for his grandpa to hold off the Oni. 

Ichiro started to run around the room. With each step, he chased the Amanojaku, who was a Yokai (demon) who used to provoke a person's darkest and instruct them to do the wicket deeds, belonging to the family of Oni. 

Ichiro's legs had started to give up, and his heart had started to pound louder than he wanted it to, but he couldn't stop now. He had to save that young woman, and at that very moment, Miss Arima appeared before him in her fine physical form. 

"There you are." He muttered and chanted a sutra while throwing the omamori towards the Oni. 

"GRMAPS STO-" Asahi was just a second late, as the Oni (Amanojaku) had its hands pierced through his grandfather's chest, taking hold of his heart. Blood splattered throughout the entire tatami. 

Asahi could barely breathe. As if time had stopped for him, he continued to gaze at the horrible sight. Had he chanted just a syllable faster? He was furious. Toward himself and towards Oni. 

While murmuring the spell, he took out a few omamori from his pockets while the Oni disappeared from the room once again. He threw the Talisman in four different directions while chasing after the oni. 

The first one was almost about to touch its body, making it show its appearance. His calm demeanour was changed by a rather frightening bloodlust, as he, like a rapid fireman, started to throw the talismans on one by one, which landed on the oni's body. 

It showed its burning body in front of Asahi while placing the two dead bodies it carried on the ground. 

"Save me... I am returning these bodies to you." It spoke. 

Asahi could feel his hands clutching and his nose flaring up. How dare he mock those dead bodies! How could he even compare these two lives? He was almost ready to throw a punch, but that would be foolish. So instead, he took out a small box from his breast pocket and walked around the Oni. 

"Drink this or I shall use more omamori on you," he threatened. 

The oni was scared to its core. Asahi had a menacing glare along with very strong spiritual power so, the terrified Amanojaku reached its quivering hands and drank the unusual liquid. Immediately, the oni started to react as it clutched onto its neck. 

'Ahh… fire… ahh.. It's burning!" It continued to cry while the talisman burned its external body. The poison made from the nirvana leaves had caused an internal fire, and while suffering from pain, it had died, but even that too didn't satisfy him. 

~

The sun had started to set, and the night was about to arise. All the people had gathered, and the monks were called upon to pray for the soul of Ichiro before cremating his body. 

At the last golden hour of the sun, Ito Ichiro's body was carried to the shrine near the hill and cremated. Asahi got on his knees and placed two chopsticks at a 90-degree angle. Had someone paid attention to his face at that moment, they'd know the pain he carried because tears stung his eyes.

-------------------

The vocabulary list

1) Hakama - A traditional Japanese clothing

2)Samyak gaze - It's a perception free from impurities and symbolizes deep spiritual connection. 

3)Hannya Shingyo - the heart sutra mostly chanted in the funerals 

4) Oni - a kind of yokai, similar to ogre

5) Amanojaku - it's a yokai which has the ability to look into people's deepest thoughts 

6) Yokai - class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore.