A New Beginning

In the ethereal gloom of the netherworld, Ryujin stood within the shadowy expanse just outside the palace gates, waiting.

There was no sun or moon here that he could have used to determine how much time had passed; in fact, he had already figured it out that time seemed to flow differently here.

But based on his memories and newborn instincts, he felt he must have rested for an entire day at the least.

'If that's the case, then it would mean only about a month had passed since I first arrived here.' He thought to himself, chuckling amusingly at the 'him' who thought he had spent years back then.

"Ryujin, your time in the Nether Realm has come to an end. The Samsara Wheel awaits you." Yama spoke, appearing beside the latter almost in a ghost-like manner.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"I have awaited this moment, Yama. My soul is raring to embark on the adventure that beckons at me." Ryujin replied with an expression of excitement, anticipation and uncertainty plastered all over his.

"Let's do this."

And with that, the duo vanished from the spot.

Upon reappearing, Ryujin found himself in a part of the netherworld he had never seen or thought existed.

An ethereal landscape surrounded them; ghostly trees with silver leaves rustled in a strange wind that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

They happened to be in some sort of misty corridor, and the path beneath their feet shimmered like the surface of a tranquil ocean under moonlight, urging them forward.

"Your journey will be perilous, Ryujin.

You will not be reincarnated into Shangri La, and even I do not know where you will be sent to until it happens.

Are you prepared to embrace this destiny?" Yama asked one final time.

It's not like they could turn back now, but he wanted to know if Ryujin had any reservation towards the fate he was being thrusted into.

"I am, Yama. The tides of fate flows ever onward, and I am prepared to ride them wherever they may carry me." Ryujin replied in a heartbeat while Yama nodded contentedly.

They arrived at a clearing where the air vibrated with vast amounts of pure soul energy.

In the center stood an ancient gate, its pillars carved with runes that glowed with a spectral light.

The gate itself released pulses of energy that resembled ripples in water; giving Ryujin an inviting yet foreboding vibe.

"Ryujin, beyond this gate lies the realm of rebirth. Once you pass through, your soul essence will be woven into the tapestry of a new life, fate and karma." Yama revealed.

"You may step through once you're ready." He added and then took a few steps back, giving Ryujin time to gather his thoughts and reaffirm his resolve.

Ryujin gazed at the gate, his expression gleaming with anticipation.

With a slight nod toward Yama, he approached the gate.

Then the air began to crackle with mystical energy, as a brilliant light shrouded Ryujin's body, dissolving him into a cascade of motes that poured into the portal.

The portal swallowed every mote of light, as Ryujin's presence and aura vanished completely from the nether realm.

"Your new life awaits, Ryujin. I wish you moments of respite during chaotic times, and hope you grown into a powerful and dependable being.

KunLun will need every ounce of strength and prowess you can muster when it calls. "

Yama muttered to himself as he watched Ryujin's reincarnation process come to a successful end.

His part in the overall greater good had already been fulfilled, the baton has now been passed onto the oblivious Ryujin.

-------

Ryujin felt his vision blur as an intense sense of vertigo hit him squarely, threatening to suffocate him to death.

Then everything went dark as he began to feel a splitting headache, as though something was frantically grabbing onto and tearing at his brain.

His neck hurt, and his body was suffering tremendous pressure. It was almost as if he had been thrown into an undersized fleshy sack that allowed no airflow.

~Aaaiiiyyy~

The wail of a woman shook a grandly decorated chamber. One couldn't help but be shocked at the power hidden in her lungs.

Three middle-aged midwives sprinted as fast as their legs could carry them, rushing to and from the woman's bed side.

One carried buckets of water, another brought fresh towels to replace worn ones, while the last massaged the protruding belly of the wailing woman, her palms glowing as she muttered under her breath.

It was clear by the expressions of the three midwives that they had never dealt with such a severe labor.

It had already been three days since young lady had been appropriately dilated to begin actively pushing. Yet, in all this time, there had been no real progress.

This was supposed to be a happy occasion. The Chieftain's sister was finally giving birth after more than a decade of failure.

If they were on duty and became responsible for the loss of his kin, then execution would be the least of their worries.

They couldn't afford to fail!

The young lady pushed with what remaining strength she had as Ryujin suddenly felt the sack tightened around him with a bone-crushing force.

Ryujin struggled and pushed upward, trying to rear his head out of the sack nozzle, to take a large gulp of much needed air.

However, just as the struggle got fever-high, the space above him suddenly parted a little, and Ryujin wasted no time before jumping out in desperation.

~Hua~

He emerged in victory, taking as much air as his lungs could carry, causing him to choke heavily.

What followed shortly after was a momentarily sensation of ease that washed over his previously cramped body.

Then it came; a soul-shivering cold that licked his skin dry and pierced into his bones.

The pain and ache was so unbearable that Ryujin was forced to let out a shrill cry.

The cry of an infant.

The cry of sounded throughout the entire building, announcing he had indeed inherited his mother's vocal cords.

"A son! It's a son!"

"He's alive! I did it! I managed to save your boy's life."

Although his hearing was a bit distorted, and he could not understand what was being said, Ryujin could still understand what had happened.

After one of the midwives triumphantly said those words, the other two exploded in cheers and tears of joy, as they hugged each other and the mother in turns.

The commotion was followed by the abrupt opening of the chamber doors.

A man of imposing aura and will rushed into the room, ignoring all ceremony to reach the bedside of the new mother.

Ryujin opened his eyes moments later and saw that he was being held by a giant who wore a set of white fur clothes.

Then in the next moment, he realized that this person was a 'giant' only because right now, he was an infant being held by this man.

'Oh, it seems I've arrived.' He thought to himself as shivered slightly.

Grabbing a shawl of wool from the bedside, the man wrapped Ryujin twice, causing an euphoric level of comfort and warmth to assault Ryujin's senses, pushing him to the brink of sleep. 

"You can leave now," The man said with an expression as cold as a piece of glacial ice.

He wore a set of beautiful fur clothes, similar to the three midwives also were dressed in animal fur; however, theirs were clearly of much poorer quality.

"Yes," the three midwives said, bowing respectfully as they made their way out.

"Brother, where is Shin?" The woman asked lethargically.

"He will be here Rin... He will be here." The man replied his expression getting gloomier and colder.

Then as if on cue, the animal-hide curtain covering the chamber entrance abruptly parted as another man barged in.

The intruder was covered in blood, grabbing his knee as he tried his utmost best to catch his breath.

"Brother." He spoke to the man dressed in fur with bated breaths.

The latter heaved a huge sigh of relief, his expression softening significantly as he handed the baby back to his mother.

Then on his way out, he placed his hand on the intruder's shoulder before giving him a nod which the latter responded to in kind.

"~Shin~" The young lady called out, tears welling up in her eyes, as she extended her free arm for an embrace.

The man covered in blood rushed to her side and held her arm, unwilling to stain the mother and child with the blood that was all over him.

Ryujin managed to send a gaze towards the man, causing the latter to smile at him; but to Ryujin, the sight was anything but funny.

The man looked like as asura that just crawled out of a pool of blood, only to reveal a fiendish grin to a little innocent baby.

However, despite the scene it painted, the sheer level of affection and love rippling within the man's teary eyes was nothing to scoff at; it was palpable.

'Oh, there you are, father.' He thought to himself drowsily.

"Shin, can you check if he is all right? With all that happened, I am really afraid that something is wrong with him."

After those words, Shin's expression suddenly turned gloomy.

What the young woman just said cause some unsightly memories to resurface within his mind, causing him to seethe for a moment; but he swiftly regained his composure with a deep breath. 

According to what he had heard from the midwives he met on the way, her delivery had been one of the most difficult of their career.

The labour had lasted hours and they had been forced to cast healing arts multiple times to stop the bleeding.

However, upon seeing the baby's head, they knew something was wrong.

Apparently, his wife had fought with all her strength but the baby was limp.

So, they had rushed and pulled the baby out as fast as possible, only to discover that he was being strangled by his own umbilical cord.

But after untangling him, he choked and puked, clearing his airway and thus, breathe.

Healing arts were no miracle; they could enhance the life force of the patient making it easier to recover from an illness- or heal from an injury, but they could not create life.

Shin understood that his wife just wanted to be reassured of the baby's health.

"Worry not Lin; I'm sure he's fine. But, let's take a look just to be sure."

With a warm smile, Shin caressed his wife's cheek and took Ryujin from her arms, removing the shawl like she was revealing a treasure.

He carefully adjusted Ryujin into the crook of his left arm, before placing his index finger on his temple.

A small wisp of light came out of her finger, danced around Ryujin's temple before penetrating into his body and bathing him in a warm glow.

Shin, with his eyes shut, concentrated deeply, as he began to shake his head as if seeing a vision of some sort.

The energy flowing through Ryujin's body was making him feel empowered; he had felt like this only few times before.

The energy was coursed through every fiber of his being in a way that made him feel invincible.

So, when the spell started fading off, he was unwilling to let it go; and thus, he focused on the last strands of energy, willed for them to stay.

Though he couldn't cast any art at the moment, he could still feel the lingering power, and thus started feeding it in the same manner he had felt Yama's energy back when he had touched the Chrono-Cube.

Then the glow surrounding his body light stopped dimming and instead grew stronger and stronger as it forcefully snatched more from Shin.

Shin was dumbfounded. He had never seen anything like that before. That was not how the art was supposed to work.

Ryujin wanted it to last forever, but a second later he fell asleep due to euphoria, and the light vanished soon after, causing Shin to open his eyes and heave sigh of relief.

"Our little sun is fine, Lin." He said with a charming smile as he wrapped Ryujin up again and returned him to his mother's embrace.

"Shin, what happened?" Lin frantically asked.

There was something a little off with her husband's sigh of relief.