《Phoenix Rising: The Beginning》 Chapter 1: The Beginning Many, many, many years ago, before Lakshman, or any of his previous incarnations were born, there once lived a man who was known around the entire world as the strongest warrior. There was not a single person that matched him and no one had the nerve to dare challenge his authority. Even before the Emperor of the World united the world and ruled the world, there was another before him. That man is Asura and he was the first Phoenix Titan. This story will retell the great journey made by the first Phoenix Titan to becoming the strongest warrior in the entire world. Even the gods praised him for who he was and granted him and the Phoenix Clan special abilities and gifting him with the ability to reincarnate throughout history. Before all of his glory started, however, he was born to a woman of the Phoenix Clan ruled by his father. At that time, the Phoenix Clan was one of the few smaller clans compared to the other clans around the world. There was always skirmishes taking place between the clans to take over the other territories and increase their own impact on the world. At this time, only a few naturally born warriors were capable of using magic and much of it was predicated on the knowledge and wisdom left behind by the gods. They used them to their advantage in increasing their own military strength and aid them in expanding their land by taking over another clan¡¯s land. The Phoenix Clan was no except as they constantly engaged in battle with the neighbouring clans and taking over their clans before being pushed back by another clan. It was a dangerous time for everyone and especially Asura¡¯s father, who had come out of each battle while barely surviving them. ¡°My lord. Can we not constantly fight and just keep ourselves to what we are?¡± his wife asked, looking anxious during one of the days when her husband returned from the line of battle. He turned towards her in anger and disregarded her words by replied, ¡°Are you serious? For generations, my forefathers have constantly been trying to expand the Phoenix Clan. They dreamed that one day, our clan would become the top contender in the world and you want me to simply give up on their dreams?¡± She quickly shook her head, realising she had upset him, before saying, ¡°No. That¡¯s not what I meant, my lord. I¡¯m only suggesting an alternative to secure the life of our son. Please, put down the sword and attend your duties as a father.¡± Her husband saw his son being carried in her arms and furrowed his mouth before turning away and walking over to pick up the sword. When he turned around, she was shocked and stepped back hesitantly as he walked over to stop a meter in front of her. He held up the sword in front of her and his baby son before saying, ¡°I may be a father, but before that, I am the leader of our clan. If you ask me whether my son or my duty takes priority, I¡¯d say my duty does.¡± She widened her eyes in shock and turned to watch him walk out of their allocated room with her son crying from fright. He was an impressive man and was crowned the Phoenix Emperor like his predecessors over the leadership of their clans, but he was just a war-mongering madman. His overview of the world changed, however, when he suddenly had a vision while he was asleep in the middle of the night. The vision showed a man with a beastly face wearing godly robes and that man gave the man a critical warning. ¡°You must stop these battles before the people of the world face the consequences of your mistakes.¡± It was a dire warning and when the vision ended, the man woke up and let out a yell in shock. When everyone arrived and his wife awoke with a start, they saw how visibly shocked he was by a large amount of sweat on his body as shown from the glowing torches. ¡°My lord! What happened?!¡± his wife asked, her face filled with concern. The man shook his head and breathed a deep sigh before he saying, ¡°It was a dream. No. It was a vision, warning me of something bad that will happen.¡± The next few days, he and the Phoenix Clan worked on sending envoys to every other clan around the world to create, the first ever, Meeting of Clans. Many did not show interest because of their arrogance in their might but immediately showed interest upon hearing about the vision. To some, who had great belief in god and fate, feared what it might hold and quickly gathered at this meeting while others more sceptical and only came because of their curiosity. The Phoenix Emperor rose to his feet and addressed everyone by saying, ¡°You all should understand that this vision is something more than just a dream. It was a message sent to me by the gods and it was clearly a warning for us to put aside our differences and live together in peace.¡± ¡°Live together?! With the likes of you?!¡± ¡°How can you possibly expect us to do that when there¡¯s so much difference between us!¡± At their responses, the Phoenix Emperor sighed and said in a firm voice, ¡°We are not that different. Sure, we are from different clans and much of us are from different races, but we are all creatures in the same world. We must put aside our differences and accept what makes us equals.¡± There was silence within the room as a few nodded their heads in understanding to those words. The majority, on the other hand, were not so inclined to accept them and firmly denied any satisfaction. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t believe in this vision that you might¡¯ve seen! For all we know, it might¡¯ve been just a dream and you thought it was a vision!¡± One of the seated leaders said, scathingly. As a few of them laughed, the Phoenix Emperor stared at them irritably and replied, ¡°I know what I saw and if you don¡¯t believe the gods are angry, then no one can save you.¡± A wide grinning face snorted and said, ¡°The gods are angry? That¡¯s so hilarious! We stopped giving a damn about the gods a long time ago! The ones you pray to are nothing but stone carvings with nothing inside them!¡± As he and several others laughed, the Phoenix Emperor and a few others grimaced in frustration when something suddenly happened. The ground began to shake violently as if a powerful earthquake occurring and caused everyone to topple off their chairs and fall to the ground. Very soon, the fast blowing wind smashed through the glasses and buffeted everything inside as it threatened to take their lives. It was then they heard a powerful threatening voice say in a loud clear voice that was unmistakable. ¡°Heed the words of advice, or pay the penalty with your demise!¡± The wild blowing wind lasted for several seconds before it slowed down and breezed smoothly once more. Everyone inside and outside the tent rose to their feet and stared around with wild looks on their faces. None of them could believe what just happened, or that a powerful loud threatening voice had given them a dire warning. ¡°Now do you see what I mean?¡± The Phoenix Emperor asked, raising to his feet and dusting his clothes. ¡°The gods are angry with our behaviour and want us to come together and live in peace.¡± He glared at them and demanded, ¡°Even now you won¡¯t open your eyes and see reality?!¡± His words were met with stunned silence as every clan leader did not know how to respond. Very soon, they began to arrange former clan discussions about reconciling the key differences. It proved to be difficult but they were trying their best to fulfil the interest of everyone in each clan to bring them to one object; peaceful coexistence. Thus, the Union of Clans was formed and it continued on to keep the clans together for several years. During that time, Asura reached eleven-years-of-age and took blessings from both his parents. He was proved to be a quick study, very skilful and talented in using magic rarely found within the Phoenix Clan. Everyone was pleased and that included his father the most, but his mother became concerned. During these eleven years, the peace that lasted proved to on the verge of breaking because of the disapproving clans. They constantly argued with the other clans and they began threatening each other to the point of sending assassins to kill one another. Very soon, a battle was waged between two sides; one trying to keep peace and ones trying to conquer. One night, when the two retired in the Phoenix Clan, she addressed the issue by asking, ¡°My lord, is it alright for him to be recognised so globally amongst the clans?¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± he asked back in a puzzled voice. ¡°What I mean is, his slowly rising fame in our clan will surely spread to the other clans. If the unwilling clans learn of him and feel he is a threat to their clan, they will surely make them hire assassins to kill him.¡± He blinked at her in surprise and smiled a little as she patted her large stomach and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that why we have a successor?¡± She looked aghast by his dark humour and seeing her reaction made him wink as he said, ¡°I was joking. Coming to the matter, I am not worried. My son has always been surrounded highly trained warriors that are quite capable of taking care of themselves. I am confident they will protect my son and that nothing terrible would happen to him.¡± Her husband was clearly trying to reassure that nothing terrible would happen to him, but she remained unconvinced. Even so, she went into labour a few days later and safely gave birth to a baby boy, whom Asura came to visit one day after his training was taken care of. ¡°Mother?¡± He asked upon entering the room and the guards stepped back. She turned around and said, ¡°Ah. Asura. Come.¡± With a gesture from her free hand, he walked over and stopped in front of her while looking at the bundle of wrappings. There was a small creature and it was gazing slowly at its surroundings before turning back to face its mother. ¡°My brother¡­¡± said Asura slowly, feeling happy at the sight of the baby. He turned to her and asked, ¡°What will you name him, mother?¡± His mother pondered for a moment before smiling confidently as she replied, ¡°Chandra.¡± ¡°Chandra? You mean the moon?¡± he asked curiously and she nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes,¡± she said and she turned to point a finger at him as she said, ¡°You¡¯re the sun and,¡± she turned to the baby in her arms and finished by saying, ¡°he¡¯s the moon. Fitting for brothers. I¡¯m happy.¡± Asura was surprised by his mother¡¯s words, but he smiled nevertheless and thought, while smiling sweetly in return, ¡°I¡¯m happy mother smiles cheerfully like this.¡± Just like that, a few months went by peacefully within the Phoenix Clan while the battles raged on outside it. The Phoenix Emperor was trying his hardest to stop the clans from fighting each other, but he also eventually gave up and understood it was futile to stop them. Instead, he took up a firm stance against the disapproving clans and called them fools for not changing. ¡°You are fools to not change your ways despite hearing the message of the gods!¡± the Phoenix Emperor shouted, angrily upon having another meeting with them. ¡°Oh? I think you¡¯re getting it wrong, Phoenix Emperor! You¡¯re the fool to believe in stupid superstition!¡± the leader of the opposing clans said, glaring fiercely at him. ¡°Yeah! You¡¯re probably the one that caused that to happen that day!¡± one of his followers, who looked similar to him, said, looking angrily at him. ¡°It¡¯s a hoax! The gods have given up on this world a long time ago, which is why they left us to our lives and we¡¯re in our current state!¡± The man¡¯s words were treasonous against the belief of god and the Phoenix Emperor, along with the leaders of the supporting clans, rose to their feet and pulled out their swords. Following this action, the opposing clans also stood up and pulled their swords out, looking heated at one another. ¡°You¡¯re the bastard who brought us to this! Killing you will solve everything!¡± the man, from earlier, said and he moved forward to attack, sparking the battle between the clan leaders engaging in a desperate battle to kill one another. Their clansmen, stationed outside the room, heard the uproar and attempted to go inside but the opposing clansmen got in their war. Very soon, it became a spontaneous battle between the opposing clans and their clansmen fighting desperately to achieve a quick victory. During the chaos, the man that had supported the opposing clan¡¯s leader, dived hid under behind his desk. He was the one that started this chaotic battle and was waiting for his chance to fight back. At that moment, he saw that the Phoenix Emperor was fighting two warriors with a serious look on his face. Deciding to kill him and take his head as a reward to glorify his clan, the man sneaked past the warriors engaged in battle before reaching him in a few seconds. Just then, the two fighting the Phoenix Emperor were cut down one after another before the man jumped leapt at his foe only for his weapons to get parried by the opposing sword. ¡°With your death, the clans supporting you will fall and will come back under our rulership!¡± the man said, a mad glint in his eyes. Seeing the man¡¯s expression, the Phoenix Emperor narrowed his eyes and made a sharp expression on his face. In the next movement, he exerted his strength and pushed the man¡¯s sword into the air before lifting his sword up and swinging it down to the left of the man, aiming for his arm. There was a swooshing sound followed by a dull thud sound occurred as if something solid fell to the floor. The man blinked in surprise before looking to his left and found that his limb was completely severed. A slow seeping of blood began dripping to the floor and fell on top of the limb had fallen with blood spreading around it. ¡°GGGGAAAAAHHHHHH!!!¡± the man screamed, but he suddenly became quiet with a momentary groaning sound, ¡°GUH!¡± The reason to why he suddenly stopped became quiet was because there was a sword pierced through his jaw poked out of the top of his head. Seeing the man screaming, the Phoenix Emperor decided to end his life and swung his sword upward in the same movement to pierce the jaw from underneath his jaw and his sword came out of the top of his head.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Hearing the sudden scream and silence caused everyone to momentarily stop fighting and they turned towards the Phoenix Emperor. They widened their eyes in shock as he removed his sword and allowed the man¡¯s body to sag and fall to the floor with a crash. ¡°Brother!¡± the leader of the opposing clans cried out, his eyes wide and face filled with a horrified expression. The Phoenix Emperor look at the man and said, in a fierce voice, ¡°Take note from this experience that I and my fellow friends will fight you to protect the peace and not upset the gods!¡± The opposing clans¡¯ leader glared at him fiercely and attempted to attack him, but his people quickly caught him and began pushing him back. They knew of the disadvantageous position they had from losing the brother of their leader, and so they decided to preserve their leader¡¯s life to fight another day. ¡°I swear I¡¯ll kill you! I swear¡­!¡± the leader bellowed, getting pushed back to the outside by his people. On the outside, several of the warriors from both factions lay on the ground with blood spreading from their opened wounds. The supporting clans, including the Phoenix Clan, held back while they watched the opposing clans leave while glaring at them. Once they left, they rushed into the room to check on the situation and found only one dead body with its left arm missing, which was sticking out from underneath its body. That night, the opposing clans¡¯ leader made a request to the assassins for an intended target. The Assassin Clan are people who hunt down their targeted prey unseen and kill them before they knew what hit them. For the money, they are a group that are willing to do any kind of dirty job and that was the reason they arrived upon being called from him, their regular customer. ¡°Kill the leader of the Phoenix Clan! Kill the Phoenix Emperor and wipe out his entire family from existence!¡± the leader shouted, glaring angrily into space with tightly clenched fists. The kneeling assassins, who had covered their faces with wrappings, quickly nodded their heads in understanding before disappearing on the spot. They were exceptional in the use of magic that disguised their presence and hid their approach, allowing them to perform their assassinations. In years to come, their clan eventually became part of the Phoenix Clan and came be known as Phintex Rajas. A few passed with the Phoenix Clan working together with the supporting clans to suppress the dangerous activities of the opposing clans. The assassins followed their assigned target quietly and stealthily, waiting for the chance to strike and fulfil the contract to reap their reward. It took a bit longer than expected because the Phoenix Emperor hardly appeared together with his family, which was what their contracted state them to do; kill him and his entire family at once. The opportunity to assassin him presented itself almost by chance when he and his family decided to take a stroll around the Phoenix Clan area. Taking the chance, they tracked the couple and their eleven-year-old son and a few months old baby, waiting for the right chance to strike. That day, the Phoenix Emperor took a break off from his work and decided to spend his time leisurely with his family. His lack of spending was brought to his attention, stating that soon their children would forget to interact with their father and create a rift between why they grew up. ¡°Okay, okay¡­ Let¡¯s spend some time together¡­¡± he said, looking wearily at her but smiled all the same because he realised it had been a while since he had spent quality time with his family. So, on that day, he and his family decided to go for a walk around their home within the Phoenix Clan area. The guards wanted to accompany them, but the Phoenix Emperor told them off by saying they would interrupt his quality time with his family. Understanding this, the guards remained at their position and watched them walk off into the distance. ¡°Ah¡­! For some reason, the sky¡¯s looking pretty gloomy¡­¡± commented Asura, looking up at the sky with a saddened look on his face. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped since we¡¯re in times of war once more,¡± said his father, nodding in agreement while looking up at the murky sky. Then he sighed and said, ¡°I wish peace would come soon.¡± His wife looked at him in surprise and said, ¡°You changed so much in these seven years. Back then, you always in a rush to battle and fight to conquer more land for our clan.¡± ¡°Of course. I was single-minded at that time, but the vision I had and the threatening voice of the god we heard at our gathering¡­ I don¡¯t want to do something that upset the gods¡­¡± he said, smiling bitterly at his wife and caused her to chuckle. ¡°I like you better this way,¡± she said, putting her arm around his and leant on his shoulder while smiling blissfully while carrying her sleeping baby. Asura, who was walking beside them, smiled while making a side-long glance at them. For years, he had watched his father¡¯s back and thought of how proud and arrogant the man was because of his strength and power of authority. He was not a good father, though because he always concentrated on the battlefield and never shown any interest in him, only taking note of the recognition he earned recently. Still, Asura liked him as a fellow warrior and told himself many times to become a warrior like his father and become a great husband that stays close to his family. The last part was inspired by him watching the complex relationship between his father and mother, whose interactions were little to minimal until the last seven years since he changed for the better. ¡°Muaa¡­¡± the baby said, turning a little while waving a little with its small hands. ¡°Oh¡­¡± said Asura, looking cheerfully at his baby brother and thought he looked cute. They continued to walk around for some time while talking about the peace that the Phoenix Emperor and his allies were fighting for. He wanted to bring peace to the world by uniting the world on a common goal of living together in harmony. Asura listened intently and liked the idea, but he was completely surprised when his father turned and addressed him. ¡°If I were to fail, can you accept your selfish father¡¯s request of uniting the world and bringing peace?¡± his father asked, his eyes filled with hope and caused Asura to blink in surprise. ¡°I know I did you wrong as your father and I¡¯m sorry for my mistreatment of you. That¡¯s why, I am trying to achieve a peaceful world for you to exist pursuing other things instead of the sword like so many of our family members, but¡­ in case I fail¡­¡± ¡°You won¡¯t fail, father!¡± Asura quickly responded, looking worriedly at his father. His father chuckled and made a smile, saying, ¡°In case that I fail and you don¡¯t want to do it for me¡­ Then, at least, do it for the future generations to come. It is, after all, our responsibility to not burden the future generations with our mistakes.¡± Those words stunned Asura completely because he never thought he would hear such heartfelt philosophical words from his father. It moved his heart greatly and he smiled with a determined look on his face before replying appropriately to it. ¡°Of course, father! I would do it for you and for the future to come!¡± His father smiled and began saying, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m glad you¡ª!¡± Asura listened intently to know what his father was about to say when he suddenly stopped and formed a serious expression on his face. His wife was equally as surprised as her son to suddenly see her husband looking so deadly serious. The Phoenix Emperor began looking around wildly and spoke in a frustrated voice, saying, ¡°Damn¡­! How did they¡­?!¡± Asura opened his mouth to ask him ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± when his father shouted, ¡°Run¡­! Run!¡± His family was momentarily surprised before realising they must have been in immediate danger to suddenly start yelling at them. They turned around and began running back the way they came when, all of a sudden, several knives came out of nowhere, but they were skilfully deflected by the Phoenix Emperor, who had quickly unsheathed his sword. Seeing his father with the sword made Asura curse himself for not bothering to bring his own weapon along. He did think of bringing it with him, but his inexperience of seeing danger had caused him to leave it at home thinking he would just be going out for a family walk. ¡°Go!¡± the Phoenix Emperor ordered, pushing them to keep running. At that moment, several black cloaked figures jumped down from trees and engaged him in battle. Taking the chance, his family began running towards the encampment of the Phoenix Clan, trying to move as quickly as their legs could carry them. At that moment, another black cloaked figure materialised directly in front of them and raised his sword aiming for Asura. ¡°No!¡± his mother cried out, jumping in between and getting stabbed in the chest. ¡°Mother!¡± Asura shouted, shocked to see his mother impaled by a knife in her throat. His mother staggered backwards with the knife still embedded in her before she slowly collapsed and fell hard on the ground. There was a light of life in her eyes as she looked one final time at her son before the light vanished and left them looking cold. Asura realised his mother was dead and he stood there, feeling shocked when he heard the cry of his father from the distance. He looked towards his father and saw him stabbed several times in the back and chest. Still, he tried to fight his enemies with his sword when, all of a sudden, another black cloaked figure appeared and with one swung, sliced off the arm with a long sword he was carrying. As his father roared with pain and agony, the same man clutched his head and sliced off his head, causing the Phoenix Emperor¡¯s headless decapitated body to collapse on the ground. Asura was horrified by the scene of his parents getting killed right before his eyes, and he did not even know the condition of his baby brother. As he looked on at the head of his father held by the hair by the killer, he suddenly heard footsteps and ducked just in time to avoid the long sword that was aiming for his head. Reeling from the shock, he took a few steps back and stopped realising that he was surrounded on all sides. There were nine black cloaked figures that appeared out of thin air and surrounded him in an elongated circle with, leaving him with no chance of escaping. Thoughts of escaping did not come to his mind, though because he was still utterly shocked by the death of his parents. He stared at the dead body of his mother still clutching the bundle of wrappings containing his brother and slowly turned to look over his shoulder at the dead body of his father. The mother whom he cherished and the father whom he respected his entire life were snuffed out in a matter of seconds and this caused him to shed tears that slowly streamed down his shocked face. ¡°They died¡­ because I was weak¡­! I was¡­ powerless¡­! If I was¡­ experience, then I could¡¯ve¡­ I could¡¯ve¡­ helped father¡­! If only¡­ the world was a better place, then¡­ then they wouldn¡¯t¡­ wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± he thought, slowly falling to his knees and he closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly while shaking a little. The anger at his inability slowly worked itself into a boil and as his assailants slowly approached him, he began to mutter, ¡°I¡¯m going to die¡­ like this¡­ like my parents¡­?¡± He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth with firmer force while clenching his fists caused his arms to shake more. ¡°The people that killed my parents¡­ they¡¯re still alive¡­ they¡¯re still breathing¡­ I¡­ will not¡­ accept¡­ this!¡± His last thought burst out as a scream and surprised all of the attacks at his sudden maddening screaming. The next moment, he suddenly began to surge with wild power that ground to shake quite a bit and the wind picked up speed, buffeting the black cloaked warriors. They were surprised when the tension in the air thickened while they watched the son of the Phoenix Emperor screaming while surging with power. There was a sudden flash of light that caused them to pull their cloaks over their face to stop the blinding light. As it slowly died, they saw that he was kneeling on the ground while radiating a pure red coloured aura that surrounded him. The ground within the area cracked and got destroyed with debris thrown in all directions. Looking at the boy, they noticed that his hand, which was somewhat straight, had suddenly spiked up in a crazy manner that was unexplainable. Asura slowly rose to his feet while his assaults pulled out their weapons, which were long swords, and prepared to attack him. When he opened his eyes, they were momentarily startled to see that his pure black eyes had transformed and instead were blue with red crown-shaped eyes. It was strange for them to witness because all their knowledge did not prepare for such a transformation. The ground was still shaking and they prepared to attack him anyway when he suddenly disappeared on the spot. While they were surprised, he reappeared standing in front of the black cloaked figure holding the head of his father by his hair. Glaring up at the man and before he could do anything, Asura pulled his hand back and pierced into the chest of the enemy before pulling out his still beating heart. ¡°UGH!¡± the man squirmed, letting go of the head he was holding, which dropped with a thud to the ground, and he attempted to snatch the beating heart from him. Seeing the man reaching towards him in a vain attempt, Asura exerted strong force and crushed the beating heart. This caused blood to exit from the heart and fall some of it onto his face. Even so, the young boy did not bat an eye as he stared at the man slowly fall to the ground and instantly die. While everyone was shocked to see one of them die so easily at the hands of a young boy, Asura looked down at the man and dropped the crushed heart casually with his hands covered in blood. At that moment, another black cloaked figure appeared behind him and attempted to cut him down with the long sword. He quickly ducked his head to let the sword miss his head before backlashing his elbow into the man¡¯s chest. This made the black cloaked man to widen his eyes in shock before blood spurted out of his mouth from behind the wrappings covering his face. In the flowing movement, Asura swung the same hand over his shoulder and slammed his clenched fist onto his face of his attacker, breaking his nose and making more blood to seep out of his face. As he staggered backwards from the shock of the impact, Asura swung around and aimed his right hand, with an open palm, at the man and sent some sort of force of power that put a gaping hole in his chest. As the assault died instantly from the large in his chest and fell backwards, five of the black cloaked figures charged towards him with killing intent. Seeing them coming towards him, Asura placed his hands in front of him and gathered energy that formed into a small ball of light which he unleashed at them. A powerful wave of destruction was released and it completely engulfed them in it before soaring high into the air at high speed. As the wave slowly disappeared, Asura dodged as two attempted to stab him from the sides while managing to cut his shoulder. The two assaults straightened up and rushed toward him and Asura charged at them before grabbing the long swords they attempted to cut him down with. By exerting great strength and power, Asura controlled the right-hand man¡¯s sword to swung it around and cut the user¡¯s own head with his own sword. With his left hand, he turned the sword downward and made the user pierce himself in the chest with it. Asura released the man with his right hand and changed his grip on the left sword before lifting the sword and the man impaled on it high above him. The remaining black cloaked figures watched in horror from their widened eyes as the blood from the impaled warrior slowly dripped down and fell on Asura¡¯s face. Despite his face and body slowly being covered in blood, the young boy did not flinch or blink an eyelid, staring fixedly at the two remaining attackers, one of whom was the that took the life of his mother. Exerting energy into his sword, a powerful burst of energy wave soared from the sword and through the body impaled on it. The force of the energy pushed the body high into the air and as the energy slowly disappeared, the dead body slowly fell a few meters away from him. As one of the assaults attempted to make an escape, Asura swung his sword down and released a powerful slicing energy wave that soared towards the man and cut him into two pieces, which fell to the ground and leaked blood everywhere. Asura dropped the sword and turned his expressionless face to the remaining assailant, who was responsible for the death of his mother. I an instant, he disappeared and reappeared standing in front of the man, who was terrified and could not do retaliate back. Asura grabbed the shirt front of the enemy with his and with great strength, tossed him high into the air. As the man flew high into the air, Asura aimed his hand into the air slowly exerted strength into it. While he did that, the man suddenly stopped and floated in mid-air while screaming unbelievably from the pain he felt his entire body experiencing. It soon started to increase in size and mass, soon increasing to a size as if he was going to burst. Asura slowly clenched his fists and closed his hand firmly with a truly angry expression on his face. At the same time, the man screamed one last time before his entire body exploded into pieces. Blood slowly rained down on the ground where he and his dead parents lay, completely soaking him in it. As the rain of blood continued to fall, Asura started to laugh hysterically with tears streaming out of his eyes. He killed the assailants that killed his parents, he took revenge on them, but he felt empty on the inside. His family was gone, his purpose to live for someone was no longer existent, and he did not know what to do with himself. It was when he felt hopeless with his situation, he suddenly heard the sound of baby cries. They were familiar and it brought him out of his hysteria, making him realise something important. ¡°Chandra! Chandra!¡± he cried out loud, widened his eyes shock while shouting the name of his baby brother. He looked everywhere for the source of the crying and found that it was coming from his dead mother¡¯s body. Quickly rushing over and kneeling beside his dead mother, he heard the sound coming from the bundle of wrappings. He moved the covered and saw his baby brother wailing with his eyes tightly shut, looking unharmed. ¡°Ah¡­! Chandra¡­!¡± Asura said, and he lifted his brother with the wrappings before holding him to his chest. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright¡­!¡± He was truly happy to see that his younger brother was happy and he slowly swayed his brother back and forth while speaking soothing words to calm him. Once the baby settled down, he smiled up at his brother¡¯s face covered in blood and chuckled with a smile. Seeing that reaction made Asura smile wryly and look at himself before looking around at the bodies of his parents with a pained look on his face, but he quickly cheered up after remembering something important. ¡°Mother¡­ Thank you for protecting me,¡± he said, looking down at the dead mother as he put his hands on her face and gently closed them. He turned towards his father¡¯s decapitated head and said, ¡°Father, you may have failed, I will succeed you. I will fulfil my promise to you of uniting the world and create harmony so that Chandra lives in peace.¡± With a determined look on his face and holding his brother in his arms, Asura slowly headed back to the encampment of the Phoenix Clan. Chapter 2 - Clan Attack ¡°What did you say?!¡± a man¡¯s voice exclaimed, loudly. The owner of the voice was the opposing leader of the faction that did not believe in the peace. He was standing on his feet and glaring angrily at the lone figure kneeling before him with his head bowed. It had been several days since the man had sent the Assassin Clan on a request to murder the family of the Phoenix Emperor belonging to the Phoenix Clan. The reason for this action was because the Phoenix Emperor was opposing him and because he was responsible for the death of his brother. Since then, several weeks had gone by without a word or news about what happened until that day. The kneeling figure had arrived that morning, and the opposing leader sat down his chair to listen to the report. It took only a few moments for the man to hear the report before jumping to his feet and exclaiming at the kneeling figure with a shocked look on his face. ¡°You¡¯re telling me your people failed to carry out the mission?!¡± the man exclaimed, glowering down at the figure with a murderous look on his face. ¡°I beg your pardon, but we were able to kill the Phoenix Emperor and his wife, but their offspring survived. Two of them.¡± ¡°Two¡­?¡± he man asked, blinking in surprise and looking briefly puzzled before remembering something and saying, ¡°I do remember hearing as a passing that he had a child of eleven-years-of-age and that his wife was pregnant with another child. You¡¯re saying they both survived your assault?¡± ¡°Yes. They survived and even after sending another assassination team, the result was the same.¡± The figure ended his dialogue in an ominous tone that made the man raise both of his eyebrows. ¡°What¡­ did you say¡­?¡± the man asked, looking disbelievingly at the man. ¡°You¡¯re telling me¡­ that your team was wiped out, twice, and the two boys survived?¡± ¡°A few managed to escape and reported that it was the eleven-year-old-boy that had decimated the team.¡± The man was at a loss for words before he exclaimed, ¡°Ha?!¡± He shook his head in disbelief and asked, ¡°You¡¯re telling me a child defeated your men? Do you seriously expect me to believe that fairy tale?¡± As the figure remained silent, the man snorted and said, ¡°Maybe, your men were lacking and made up stories, but they fail are making it sound real.¡± ¡°My apologies. Do you want us to send more to eliminate them?¡± The man waved his hand and sat down wearily on the chair, saying, ¡°No. It¡¯s a waste of time and a big loss on numbers by sending them to foolishly end up losing again. The main objective is achieved when you killed the man and his wife. As for the brats, they¡¯re still young and will never rekindle the spirit of the Phoenix Clan that rested on their father¡¯s shoulders and died with his passing.¡± He turned towards the person standing beside him and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡± The assistant nodded his head once and replied, ¡°Yes, my lord. Our scouts have been reporting daily of the Union of Clans¡¯ activity and it seems they have stopped. They seem to be simply sitting around at their base and camping while just keeping just enough force to provide a perimeter of protection.¡± The leader smirked and said, ¡°They¡¯re making it too obvious. Their cautious of danger and aren¡¯t willing to risk their lives to move forward now that a powerful figurehead is gone.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± the assistant said, nodding in understanding before asking, ¡°Then, what do you suggest we do against them, my lord?¡± ¡°Well attack! The enemy have lost their leader and will be very distracted. They¡¯ll never see us coming until it¡¯s too late and we will finally crush those annoying bastards!¡± His secretary blinked in amazement at the ruthless plan his leader had sketched and watched him form a broad grin on his face. The leader was enjoying himself as he thought about battle plans on how to thoroughly enjoy the attack and savour the victory. At that moment, a loud bang erupted from somewhere outside followed by the screams of many voices coming from somewhere outside. The leader straightened up on the chair and looked at the disturbance being caused outside his living quarters. He thought he could smell something burning and it was soon followed by the sounds of weapons clashing against one another. ¡°Check what¡¯s going on,¡± he ordered his assistant, who had already moved towards the exit. He momentarily left the quarters and there was utter silence within the room as the leader and the kneeling figure did not open their mouths. A few seconds later, the assistant rushed into the room with a disturbed look on his face. ¡°My lord! We are under attack!¡± he reported, a grave expression on his face. ¡°What?!¡± the leader exclaimed, instantly jumping to his feet and staring back at the man with widened eyes. ¡°We¡¯re under attack?! By who? I thought the Union of Clans had stopped.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Phoenix Clan,¡± the assistant replied shortly. When his assistant nodded in reply, the leader decided to take matters into his own hands, and he marched out of there. As soon as he exited the buildings, an explosion erupted from somewhere followed by a fiery ball that fell down from the sky.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What the hell?!¡± he exclaimed, sharply. The forests around their encampment was burning and so were several of the buildings, causing severe damage. His warriors were scattered in all directions and were engaged in a fierce combat with the warriors of the Phoenix Clan, who were recognisable due to the crest of the phoenix on the side of their left arm. Just then, fierce balls of fire fell from the sky and injured several of his men, who were instantly cut down due to the distraction by the phoenix warriors. Looking up, he was amazed to see phoenix birds soaring in the sky that released fire attacks down on them. ¡°They brought their pets¡­¡± he snarled, an ugly expression formed on his face. He raised his voice and bellowed, ¡°Men! Shoot those birds down! Hurry!¡± Some managed to hurl their spears into the air and pierce several of the phoenix birds, enraging the Phoenix Clan further. The battle became fierce between both sides and loses soon presented themselves with the dead bodies lying everywhere. The opposing clan leader whirled around and stared at the spokesman from the Assassin Clan. ¡°What¡¯re you standing around for? Attack them, dammit!¡± The man stared around in silence for a moment before replying, ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not interested.¡± The leader was startled, and he blinked in surprise before exclaiming, ¡°What?!¡± He walked closer to the man until he was staring him right in the face before he snarled, ¡°I¡¯m paying you good money, so fight them back! Kill them!¡± He was literally spitting in the man¡¯s face, causing him to close his eyes while he spoke. When he was done, the man reopened his eyes and stared back at his employee with an emotionless voice before speaking. ¡°No. This has become a wild battle between two clans and as such, we¡¯re not interested to join in. Besides, we suffered losses by working with you with several of our numbers decreasing. So, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll be going now.¡± The leader was shocked at such words, and his eyes widened in disbelief before he became angry and shouted, ¡°You¡­ traitor!¡± He instantly unsheathed his sword and attempted to cut the man in front of him, but he suddenly disappeared and made the sword cut through empty air. ¡°I¡¯m no traitor. I only worked for you to achieve profit, but that is no longer possible. Goodbye.¡± In a mocking tone, the man¡¯s voice vanished as he left the place using his warp magic. The leader as fuming with rage as his shoulders rose up and down before whirling around to glare at the battle taking place before him. ¡°Damn them!¡± the leader shouted, and he aimed his sword into the air before yelling, ¡°Men! Kill them all! Wipe them out!¡± Spurred on by his commanding words, his clansmen roared in unison and charged at the Phoenix Clan warriors. The leader, and his assistant charged into battle and cut down several of the warriors that got in their way. As the battle raged on, it became a blood bath with both sides losing numbers fast. ¡°This is like a suicidal attack! What are they thinking?!¡± he thought, shocked at the numerous bodies littered on the ground with puddles of blood forming everywhere. ¡°It¡¯s almost like they don¡¯t give a damn about their lives but why? What made them take this drastic decision? I was so sure their will to fight would¡¯ve diminished with the death of their leader! So, why¡­? How did their fire rekindle?!¡± While fighting, he suddenly noticed someone standing stock still in the midst of the battle. It was a young boy around eleven-years-of-age and was almost as tall as a grown man. He was standing there and staring fixedly at the leader with unwavering eyes while ignoring the battle occurring around him. ¡°Who¡¯s that¡­?¡± the leader thought, narrowing his eyes suspiciously while staring at the boy. ¡°Why¡¯s there a boy in this battle, and why¡¯s does he look like he¡¯s oblivious to everyone around him?¡± Just then, the boy slowly pulled his sword out of its sheathe in a zing and began to walk slowly towards him. People died around him and their blood spluttered on his face and covered his body, but he completely ignored it. He walked with a mission in mind as his eyes stared unblinkingly at the enemy leader. ¡°What¡¯s that kid doing?¡± the leader thought, staring at him while cutting down several warriors that attacked him. The boy continued to walk silently towards him at a slow pace with everyone not even noticing him there, however, soon picked up speed. The small job quickly became a run as he charged at the enemy leader while holding his sword firmly in his hand. As he reached his target set by his eyes, the boy leaped into the air and brought his sword forcefully down on the man. Realising that his life was in imminent danger, the leader brought his sword up in defence, blocking the boy¡¯s sword. With the leap time over, the boy landed on his feet and gave the leader a truly hateful look. ¡°What the hell?!¡± he thought, glaring angrily at the boy. The leader pushed the sword away and attempted to cut the boy down, but the young man let his body fall backwards to evade the attack before jumping to his feet again. Straightening up, the boy glared fiercely at the leader with his sword held at the ready. ¡°I will not be humiliated by a child!¡± the leader yelled, glaring madly at the boy. At that moment, the boy charged towards his enemy at high speed, and the leader brought his sword down to cut him down. Instead, the boy parried the sword strike and changed its course that made it strike the ground. While the man was taken by surprise, his widened in shock as the young man planted a powerful kick in the centre of his gut. The blow was so strong, it pushed the leader away with his feet getting dragged on the ground. While sliding backwards, he suddenly lost his footing and tumbled over before coming to lie facing the sky. Blinking in surprise, the leader sat upright and stared at the boy slowly moving towards the boy that was slowly walking towards him with his sword sheathed. At that moment, several of the opposing clansmen arrived to attempt at the boy¡¯s life. The boy reacted by forming an energy ball into his right hand and releasing it at the one on the left. As the man got incinerated by the explosion, the boy aimed his other at the other man and fired an energy wave that destroyed the top portion of the man¡¯s body. The remainder of the body keeled over and fell to the side with blood seeping out of the large gaping hole in the body. The leader watched as his warriors were killed one by one with relative ease with the special powers the boy possessed. Several got destroyed, some were incinerated while others ended up getting a huge hole in their guts and chests. The boy got drenched in blood from all the killing and destruction, but he did not bat an eyelid and continued to stare unblinkingly at his target. By the time the boy reached him, the leader had already risen to his feet and stared at him with a shocked disbelief on his face. ¡°You... You¡¯re no ordinary kid¡­ You¡¯re different¡­ Who the hell are you?!¡± the man demanded, his face becoming the picture of someone that had seen a ghost. To that, the boy merely looked up and blinked once at him before replying in a low deadly voice. ¡°A dead man doesn¡¯t need to know my name.¡± Chapter 3 - Brutal Persona ¡°I¡¯m a dead man¡­? Did you just say I¡¯m going to die?!¡± the man roared, anger exerting out of him. Quickly leaping to his feet with remarkable skill and pulling out his sword from his waist, he rushed at Asura. Due to the amount of training and the many battles he had participated in, the opposing clan¡¯s leader swung his sword forcefully at his enemy¡¯s face. Asura stood his ground and raised his sword to successfully block the strike. Pushing forward with all his might, the enemy leader glowered at him and shouted, ¡°You think I¡¯ll be killed by a kid?! Think again, fool! I¡¯ll be the one taking your head!¡± Asura remained silent, but as the enemy clan leader started into his eyes, he got shocked upon seeing how sharp and cold they were. It was as if the young man was looking at a being that was far worse than anything he had ever seen, which was the assassins that murdered his parents. As such, he treated the man, who had ordered the deaths of his parents, as a scum that was far more than an animal that rampages in the wilderness. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare look me with those eyes!¡± the leader shouted, realising exactly what the young boy was seeing in him. He applied more pressure to his sword but it did not budge against the steady strength that Asura was using to block the sword. Deciding on his next action, Asura applied more strength than his enemy could believe and pushed him away. While he staggered backwards, Asura moved forward and in one swift movement, cut the man¡¯s front with his sword. The cut could be felt by the enemy clan leader, who looked down and saw that his shirt front was torn with a cut wound sported on his chest. Immensely angered by such an action, he lifted his head and glared menacingly at the young man, who swung his sword skilfully around before holding it in a ready position. ¡°You are so dead!¡± he roared, charging once again at Asura in blind rage. The moment he reached his enemy, the man began swinging his sword at him with the wild intent to kill. Asura retaliated back by swinging his own sword and soon, the two of them engaged in a close combat sword battle. Both were strong and showed off some impressive skill with the handling of their respective sword, but Asura had something else that his enemy did not have; his recently awakened powers. Subconsciously exerting his power, his speed momentarily increased, and he ducked his enemy¡¯s sword before going right underneath him. The moment he arrived on the other side, he leaped to his feet while spinning around and cut the enemy¡¯s back sharply with his blade. ¡°Ugh!¡± the enemy said sharply, his eyes widened in the sudden shock of getting suck from behind. He moved his left hand behind him to touch his back and winced when he felt the pain there as his cut wound started to ooze blood out through his shirt. While he was doing that, Asura straightened up, turned around to face him and began to slowly pace around him with a truly murderous look on youthful face. ¡°Bastard¡­! Once I get my hands on you, I¡¯ll cut you to pieces and feed you to the birds!¡± the enemy shouted before turning around and charging at Asura once again. They continued to clash several times with Asura coming out unscathed while his enemy continued to be cut at every given opportunity. By the time nearly half-an-hour had gone by, the enemy clan leader had cut wounds all over his body as well as his own blood that seeped out of them to cover his body. ¡°You¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ kill you¡­!¡± he enemy clan leader said, eyeing him while breathing a little quickly. Asura stared back at him without uttering a single word, but his deadly eyes showed his contempt towards him. With his newly found power and strength, Asura was confident he could easily kill the enemy leader, although the power was unstable and was not completely under his control. The reason he chose to drag the fight out by inflicting cut wounds on his enemy was because he wanted to torture his enemy and show him what it felt like being him as he watched his parents being killed in front of him. ¡°I must make him suffer more¡­!¡± It was the only thought that existed inside Asura¡¯s mind and it had a powerful conviction to it as he decided, once again, on his next action. Firmly holding his sword, he rushed at his enemy and began clashing forcefully while the man became unable to fight back and as such, only defended with all his might. That all changed when Asura, his sword moving at an incredible speed, smashed the sword out of his enemy¡¯s hand and in the next movement, completely sliced off the right arm and it fell a meter away after briefly flying in the air. For a moment, time seemed to freeze for the man as he did not immediately register what had happened and when he turned to glance at his missing lib, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of his missing limb while blood spurted forth from the wound. ¡°AAAAAAHHHH!!!!¡± The man began to scream as the agony of losing a limb hit him hard, causing the other fighting warriors to stop and turn to stare at them. Many on the same side as their leader saw the missing limb and gulped before being stabbed from behind by the Phoenix Clan. As for the clan that had come to take revenge for the death of their leader, the warriors were showing approval and delight at seeing the enemy clan leader separated from his limb. The enemy clan leader fell to the ground and knelt while crying in pain while clutching the area where his limb was missing. Blood continued to seep out through the opened wound and while he attempted to stem it with his bare hands, he instead got them covered in blood. It was an unimaginable pain that also affected him psychologically as his brain continued to think he had an arm while the nerves in his body went through shock as they triggered pain instead.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Asura watched the scene unfold with a truly ugly look on his face. Any normal man wound succumb to the urge of throwing up after witnessing such a scene, but he instead enjoyed the terrible scene. The madness of the chaos of losing his parents right before his eyes left a deep scar on his heart and made him seek out revenge. As such, he was satisfied by all the pain he could cause his enemy to experience. Even so, despite the path to madness right before him, the young warrior remained calm and composed as he said in a firm voice, ¡°Come on. Pick up your sword.¡± While the pain of losing a limb shocked his brain, his senses did not dim and hearing his enemy say such cold-hearted words, he looked up. His face was painstakingly distorted, which made Asura inwardly smile. Seeing that his enemy held his sword firmly in his hand, the enemy clan leader pushed himself up using his other hand. His sense of balance was a little lost, making his movement lopsided as he headed over and picked up his sword. Clutching it firmly in the hand, he whirled around and charging at his enemy while roaring like a madman. The two warriors clashed their swords firmly against each other with Asura clearly defending while the man bent on killing. Sparks erupted from their swords rubbing and deflecting one another whole they moved around restlessly. With a firm resolution in mind, Asura leaped away during the clash and Charged at him whole subconsciously activating his power. Racing at his enemy, the youth swung his sword at high speed that made it difficult for his enemy to block. As the enemy''s swordplay dimmed, Asura deflected it to the side and moved forward to the right while lowering himself to a kneeling level. While he moved, he swung his sword across and cleanly sliced off the enemy''s left leg. This time, the pain receptor of the enemy was strong due to already losing one limb. As such, losing another caused him extreme pain as he lurched forward from losing balance and collapsing on the ground. ¡°Ahhh!!! The pain!!!¡± the man roared, tears finally coming out of his eyes. ¡°Yes... Cry... Suffer... Feel the pain... Feel the agony... Feel the suffering... Feel everything I felt when you had my parents killed!¡± Asura thought mercilessly, eying the writhing form of his enemy with cold eyes. The man had lost one arm and one leg, causing his pain to substantially increase in intensity. Even the people that were slowly killing the opposition, merely glanced their way, nodded in satisfaction and turned away to focus on their battle. Once again, with a cold hearted merciless firmness, Asura said, ¡°Get up.¡± Those words vastly angered the man that was lying on the ground writhing in pain. It was these exact feelings that spurred him into a kneeling position, but it proved to be difficult because of the lack of balance and posture. Even so, he proved himself as a powerful warrior by getting up to his feet with sheer determination so that he can, somehow, kill the enemy causing him such misery. Grabbing hiss word and straightening up with one hand, he hopped around and faced in the direction of his enemy. ¡°I''m going to kill you!¡± he shouted furiously. ¡°Good luck,¡± replied Asura immediately without caring one bit. The man remained stationary as Asura moved forward and began attacking each other again. Unable to move around, he merely attacked him using whatever skill remained in his possession that he could execute with his remaining hand. It looked like he was putting up a good fight, but large beads of a sweat formed continuously on his face and flowed down his face like that of rain that soaked his face. Asura took pleasure in fighting his enemy while sweat and tiredness slowly began to weaken the man. Finally, recognizing that he could no longer figure much with his nearly depleted energy, the youth smashed his enemy''s sword to the side and successfully severed the remaining arm. With his pain sensors going up levels that was hard to believe, the man merely grimaced and glared fiercely at his enemy. He was completely defenceless with two arms gone and only one leg remaining to keep him upright. For a moment, he swayed from the great loss of blood and energy, but he still mustered what little strength he had left in his leg to keep standing. ¡°I... hate you...¡± he said, glaring at his eyes with a remorseless look in his eyes. ¡°Yeah. The feeling''s mutual,¡± replied Asura and in the next moment, sliced off the remaining leg. With nothing to keep him afloat, the man fell and collapsed with a minute thud that barely cause any dust to rise. There, he lay, unable to do anything other than speak, see and understand the proceedings as he stared up at his enemy. By this point, he was resigned to die, but he decided to die with his pride intact. ¡°Finish it!¡± he said fiercely and closed his eyes expectantly. As if to do just that, Asura stood over him with his sword raised with a clear intention in mind. With the next movement, he plummeted the sword down with incredible force that caused the ground to crack as it embedded firmly into the ground. For a moment, the man felt empty as he lay there and felt no pain that he expected he might face. Opening his eyes, he looked up and saw that his enemy had stabbed the sword firmly into the ground, which was right next to his head. He did not believe at first, but soon came to understand what just happened. ¡°You...!¡± he growled, glaring up at Asura with pure hatred. Asura knelt down to bring himself closer to his enemy''s face and said, ¡°Letting you have a easy death won''t satisfy me one bit. I''m going to have you cry til your throat burns up, suffer till the very end and meet a demise so horrible, you would forever be haunted by it!¡± The man began to swear curses at him while shouting, ¡°You... bastard...! I''ll kl you even if it''s the last thing I do!¡± Asura waited until the man finished screaming at him before replying in a cold-blooded voice, ¡°You have no arms, no legs, a stupid brain, and a mouth to blabber with. You''ve got real chance to attack me, let alone kill me. Have fun with that.¡± ¡°You¨C?!¡± ¡°Just to clarify; I won''t kill you. I''ll leave you like this. I''ll leave you in this state,¡± said Asura as he cut off his enemy''s speech. Leaning closer with a truly deadly look on his face, he said, ¡°Can you defend yourself? Can you fight back? Can you do anything? No! Your useless, both to me and to yourself! Die. Suffer the pain of being powerless. Writhe in agony as the vultures of the wild come after you, be scared as the predators of the area hunt you down and be powerless when your enemies come to take your head.¡± And wearing a smile of utmost satisfaction since his arrival, Asura rose to his feet while leaving the stunned for of the enemy lying motionless. Turning around, he began to walk away with parting words, saying, ¡°Enjoy your trip to hell.¡± Turning his attention to his clansmen, who had successfully decimated the entire faction of the enemy clan, and said, ¡°Phoenix Clan! We''ve won! Let''s head on home!¡± Cheers filled with joy rang across the open space with buildings burning and with dead bodies littered the ground. As they began heading back, they began to hear the loud screams of the only person still alive, calling out to their leader. ¡°Bastard! Come back...! Kill me...! KILL ME!!¡± His screams echoed and grew only lower, but nobody cared and no one bothered to turn around as they followed their leader out of the decimated campsite. The phoenix birds flying high in the air, fired wild fires and set the entire place a blaze before flying over to land on their trainer¡¯s shoulders to receive a treat. A short while later, smoke began rising into the sky as entire place being consumed by the flames, which signalled the end of their short-lasted battle.