Fushi No Uragiru - Of Betrayal and Greed

[Sluggaholic]

PROLOGUE; The Tori and the Kyojin

 

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It all happened a great deal of time ago. That is, the happenings that are the reason creatures like the legendary phoenix and giants are no longer to be. It’s sad, to be sure, that such things had to happen, but such is the nature of man- that we let things like greed and vice consume us, wholly. We give in to greed, to promises, and even the most virtuous of men feel this snag in the river that is their purity.

 

Nobler man than Andeddo, the Priest of Fushi, have fallen prey to such things as lust and greed. So, it is unfortunate that such a revered and loved man would have to fall victim to his own vices, his own desires. However, to discuss such a man is to leap far into the future of this tale. Instead, let me tell you the tale that established our order, the Order of Fushin…

 

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A hundred, thousand years ago or more, there was nothing upon this world but barren, black rock. There was no life, no air, no sustenance of any sort; all there was were two figures- a figure of darkness and stone, and a figure of brightness and fire. We now know them to be the sun and our world, but back in those ancient times, they were mighty beasts. A great peacock of immense, star-like proportions spread his wings far and wide across the sky, his cry sending heat so searing that it glassed many a planet and turned comets to streaks of steam across the night sky. His cry, while destructive, was also loving and warm, and brought the mighty giant out of his shell. His reptilian head, much alike to a snapping turtle’s, peered, chary-like, from his hidden crevices to see what could have brought his heart to life. Of course, he was never dead- such beings like the peacock and the giant could never hope to ever pass on. They serve too grand a purpose to ever possibly lose their lives. Instead, he was simply sleeping.

 

Oh, and sleep he could! For an innumerable amount of years he’d slept before, for when he had awoken first, as a child, he was alone. Alone, cold, and afraid, just as any child without their mother would be. So, in order to escape his loneliness and sadness, he hid himself away within his turtle’s shell, crying, until his sobbing turned to soft, whispering breathing, and his quivering heart steadied. And so this way he stayed, a shell, floating through the vast reaches of the night, faraway beasts’ eyes glittering and blinking, watching and yet not disturbing him. He remained undisturbed for many a millennium, that is, until this happy young peacock woke him.

 

Suffice to say, waking the giant was not a good idea for the peacock. He was a creature of innocence, so he could not have possibly known what the giant was now. And even if he did, he would never have understood why he was like that whatsoever. For, while the peacock is now wise, then, he was but a hatchling. Much like the giant was when he was young. But right then, the giant was neither innocent nor young. He was old, and cynical, like an old man. So, when he saw the peacock happily playing on his own, he felt a deep, deep bitterness settle in his heart- the pain too much to bear alone. He needed a vessel unto which he could lay his burden. And the longer he stared at the peacock, which ignored him in his ignorance, the longer he knew what that vessel would be. And, ever so slowly, a cruel, toxic sneer grew upon the giant’s face. His plan was unfair, and vengeful, but was it ever so pleasing to think about.

 

With a gnarled hand, he beckoned the peacock over, his voice lost to the void. While also being wise, the giant was also an incredible actor, able to hide its true intentions better than any other creature. Perhaps it was not wise. Perhaps, instead, it was sly. Either way, he still beckoned the young peacock, and him being as he was, the peacock happily approached. He was confused as to why what he previously thought was a rock was now talking to him, but he was, despite his demeanor, lonely, and wanted a friend. And the giant looked more than happy to be his friend, so why wouldn’t he speak with him?

 

Ironically, the giant was quite nice. He spoke softly to the peacock, using gestures and the like to portray his meaning, as his voice would be lost to the void. This confused the peacock, as when he spoke, his voice spoke out loud and clear against the void. So, he voiced his concern. Was it simply that the giant had lost his voice, and it’d been burned out in those days being asleep? The giant laughed lowly (that, too, was lost to the void), and shook his head solemnly. He believed so. But that was not of importance. Instead, the giant wanted to know why the peacock could speak against the void, whilst he could not. Puffing out his noble chest proudly, the peacock proclaimed that it was because of his heart.

 

Your heart? Why, young one, what is so special about this… “heart” of yours? The giant croaked all this silently, his confused expression being more than enough to show the peacock what the giant wished to know.

 

“It is the Immortal Heart, old one! It will beat on, forever, no matter whether or not my form is lost!” Resting a wing against his bosom, the peacock looked down at his heart with great tenderness. “Even should it leave my body, it would beat on forever…”

 

This sparked the giant’s interest. Forever? It would beat on forever? The peacock laughed, and said of course. It would not be called the “Immortal Heart” if it weren’t immortal, now would it? And as the peacock launched on into some ramblings, the giant’s mind went elsewhere. Perhaps it would not have to impart its cynicism upon this wretched bird after all… Instead… why not just take his heart? Have it as his own? After all, he was getting on in age, so gods above know when he could die. The thought of death sent chills down the giant’s spine- he was a humongous creature, but he was not a brave creature. He was a magnificent creature, but also, a timid one. A coward. And as he looked on at the peacock, staring at his chest, he decided then and there that not only was he a coward, not only was he a fearful creature; he was also a thief. Just not now. The peacock would not trust him to touch him. He’d have to earn his trust.

 

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And earn his trust he did. For many, many years they spoke with one another, the peacock telling the giant stories of his adventures all throughout the cosmos- what wonderful and frightening creatures he met, what encounters he had, all of that. All the while, the giant acted quite amorous towards the peacock, almost acting as a father, getting closer to him every day. He told him how proud of his strength he was, and how much it humbled and made him happy to have such a wonderful friend as the peacock, and the peacock loved it. All, of course, was a ruse. A ruse to soon come to light.

 

One of those days was drudging along normally for the peacock and giant, with the latter apathetically listening to the former’s pointless ramblings. However, out of the blue, the peacock wrapped his wings warmly about the giant’s form. He had tears in his azure eyes, and he whispered to the giant how much it meant to him to finally have someone to talk to. He’d lived so long without knowing what it was like to trust and talk to someone. Truthfully, he’d not come here of his own volition. Instead, he’d been forced here, for if he’d left, he’d surely be killed for his Immortal Heart. 

 

Unfortunately for both the giant and the peacock, the giant heard not a word the peacock had said. So used to these ramblings of the peacock’s was the giant that he’d long tuned out the peacock, solely waiting for the moment when the peacock seemed the most vulnerable as he lay there against his chest, so he could steal his heart. And, as the peacock’s shoulders slumped, and his body relaxed, the giant struck. 

 

A screech echoed far and wide across the void, as the peacock felt a cold, dead hand shove itself through him- cutting deep into his warm, flickering body. It made its way slowly into him, grasping his heart. In a great deal of fear and pain, he wrenched himself away from the giant, and a great ripping echoed across the fabric of the void. The peacock felt a great wetness soak his back and feathers, staining them. As he glanced down at his brilliantly glowing form, he began to realize that he had begun to fade. In horror, he glanced back at the giant, who cackled silently. And that horror only grew, as he realized what the giant held- half of a golden, still-beating heart. And, faster than the peacock could blink, the giant swallowed the heart. And for once in an immeasurable amount of years, the giant’s voice spoke out against the cold void.

 

“I am become Kyojin! The first, and the last!” he roared, the heart burning brightly in his belly. Angered, and hurt by Kyojin’s betrayal, the peacock let out his own defiant screech, and laid waste to Kyojin.

 

“You are nothing, Kyojin! If you shall be so base to steal my heart, then I shall give you a form more befitting your disgusting nature!” With a single flap of his wings, the peacock washed down Kyojin with a wave of fire, burning him alive. His screams echoed out across the void, many a blinking eye shutting forever, as to not watch the gruesome display occur. And, once the floodfire was gone, Kyojin was no longer a turtle. No… he was… a man. His shell and scales had been singed, melted, and now cooled into a single floating orb of liquid stone. Horrified, he stared down at his hideous, naked body, and uttered a despondent, woebegone wail: his beautiful body had been reduced to a disgusting, wretched thing. Or, perhaps, this is what he was all along.

 

With the last of his strength, the peacock blasted Kyojin once more, his floodfire melting the giant’s body down into a ball of red-hot magma. Afterwards, as he looked down on Kyojin’s unrecognizable form, tears welled in the peacock’s eyes. These tears rained down upon Kyojin’s body, cooling him, and eventually covering him in water. And, before passing into a deep sleep, not unlike Kyojin’s first, the peacock had one last thing to utter.

 

“My friend… or whatever you were to me, really, I loved you… so dearly. Kyojin… a fitting name. I suppose I need one…” A wry, dejected smile inched its way across the peacock’s face. “I think… I think that if you were my friend… you would’ve called me… Tori.” And, as the life faded from Tori’s eyes, he curled into a loose ball, his head tucked by his bosom, dark spots splattering his yellow, fiery body. “Tori and Kyojin…”

 

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However, unbeknownst to either, deep, deep beneath the sea, there glowed the only remnants of the two behemoths. A single, ovular stone, with the luminescent, engraved shape of a feather, curled like a crescent moon, carved into the rock. The only connection now left between the Tori, and the Kyojin.

 

Oh, what a small, puny connection… But oh… what a connection it was...

 

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[spoiler=Notes]

 

So yeah. This is going to be a project of mine that I'll work on for however long it takes to tell this story. I don't know how long it's going to be, nor how deep into this lore I'll go, but for now, here's the prologue, so we all know what happened, before I get into the meat of the story. Hopefully I didn't make too many tense mistakes with my grammar. I think I fixed most of them, but a few might've slipped in here and there. Alright, that's all I wanted to say. Have a good day/night folks.

 

WORD COUNT: 1978

PAGE COUNT: 3

CHARACTER COUNT: 8839 (Spaces Excluded)