*Ryuuji was in the middle of a field fighting a bunch of Eclipses. They posed no threat to him as he was easily defeating them one by one. However this all changed when one Eclipse appeared before him in the form of a human. Ryuuji charged at the Eclipse who blocked all of his attacks and pushed him back. The Eclipse managed to punch Ryuuji in the chest stunning him and then delivered jabs to his chin. After six jabs Ryuuji finally fell to the ground as the Eclipse gloated over him. Clenching his teeth, Ryuuji gathered magic into his right fist and quickly rose to punch the Eclipse with a fire punch. The punch managed to light the Eclipse on fire as well as the surrounding area. As the Eclipse stood there burning away, Ryuuji heard a scream and looked to the see Le-Fey being burnt alive by the flames*
(Ryuuji): Le-Fey!
*Ryuuji quickly ran towards his wife but was cut off by the flames. He then heard another scream behind him and turned around to see Erina and Ren also being burnt alive by the flames. With fear in his eyes and his heart racing, Ryuuji quickly ran toward his children. He quickly pulled them out of the flames and frantically used his hands to put out the flames but they weren’t going out*
(Ren): Why dad? Why did you burn me?
*Ren then burnt into ashes followed by Erina. Ryuuji was beside himself at what he just witnessed but he didn’t have time to mourn as he heard other screams of pain all around him. As he looked around he saw all the members of Shadow Eye being burnt alive by the flames and all of them blaming him as they turned to ashes. Ryuuji fell to his knees as witnessed everyone he ever loved die before his eyes*
(Ryuuji): What have I have done?
(Eclipse): What you were always meant to do.
*The Eclipse that Ryuuji fought earlier spoke and began to approach Ryuuji as it was still being burnt alive. As it walked toward Ryuuji, its face was burnt off and in it’s place was the face of a human man with crossed scar over his left cheek and looking at Ryuuji with a sadistic grin*
(Eclipse): You eliminated everything that made you weak. Just like I trained you, son.
*Ryuuji’s eyes went wide with terror as he saw the face of his father before being engulfed by the flames himself as he let out a scream*
***
*In his bed Ryuuji quickly opened his eyes and propped his upper body up. He was breathing heavily and broke into a cold sweat as he awoke from his nightmare. He looked to his right side to see Le-Fey still sleeping soundly and took a sigh of relief that she was still alive and unharmed. Ryuuji got out of bed and went to the restroom where he turned on the sink and slapped his face with warm water. After splashing his face, he looked at himself in the mirror and could still see the visible fear on his face*
(Le-Fey): You had another nightmare again, didn’t you?
*Hearing his wife’s voice, Ryuuji looked to his left to see Le-Fey standing in the door frame wearing a dark blue nightgown with a worried look on her face. At first, Ryuuji was going to lie and say he couldn’t sleep but knew that he couldn’t lie to her*
(Ryuuji): *Sigh* Yes. This time it was you and the kids. Being burnt alive by the flames I created. I saw our own children die in my arms and I couldn’t do anything to save them.
*Le-Fey went over and embraced him in a hug*
(Le-Fey): I’m so sorry sweetie.
*Le-Fey kissed him on the cheek*
(Le-Fey): Ryuuji, I think you should skip out on the mission today. This is the fourth night in a row you’ve had a nightmare. You need to rest and see a professional about this.
(Ryuuji): No. I have to go on this mission. This mission is too important for me to skip.
***
*Flashback*
*Yesterday at the Office of Internal Affairs, the members of Shadow Eye had gathered in a room with Morrison, Nate, and Mumen*
(Morrison): I’m glad you could all make it today. We have an important mission today. Nate, the floor is yours.
(Nate): Thank you. Over the last few days Eclipses have been attacking our settlements in the western front. At each of the locations, the knights discovered Red Eclipse being burnt.
*Everyone gained a look of shock on their face except for Gael who was confused*
(Gael): Uh, what’s Red Eclipse?
(Hibana): You’re serious? You’ve never heard of that stuff? What the hell did they teach you in Blood Moon? It’s an herb. On its own it’s nothing dangerous but crushed into incense it releases a scent that only the Eclipse can smell. They’re attracted to it like kittens to catnip. Once they get a whiff of it they’ll descend upon the area and kill anyone.
(Nate): Correct. Crushing it into incense is strictly forbidden and in order to burn it you would need a unique blue flame. A blue flame that can only be done by a Fire Monk.
(Ryuuj): Impossible! That blue flame technique was banned by the Fire Sages years ago. There’s not a Fire Monk in the world foolish enough to use it. . .unless. . .the New Sun. They’re here.
(Jin): The New Sun. What’s that?
(Morgan): A splinter group from the Fire Monks.
(Dust): To put it in simple terms, it’s a cult. They’re a bunch of lunatics who believe that in order to save the world it needs to be wiped clean of corruption and reborn under a new sun. The followers of this belief call themselves Citizens of the New Sun.
(Morrison): And their leader is this woman, Cinder Palic.
*Turning on a TV, Morrison showed a picture of Cinder. She had medium straight black hair and red eyes. As everyone stared at her, Ryuuji seemed to be the one who was the most shocked to see her.
(Morrison): She is a fighting prodigy who took over the reins after her grandfather stepped down as their leader and has been spreading their gospel throughout the world.
(Amarti): So why is she targeting Brister?
(Mumen): It’s not Brister she’s after, it’s Zegkirche she’s after. Not only does it house the herbs but Fire Sage Moona Feuerstein will be there. She was planning on visiting her family for the holiday and was staying at the temple in Zegkirche before departing.
(Morgan): I get it now. She wants the herbs and to kill a fire sage in the process. It’s all starting to make sense now. Cinder used the Eclipses to sneak past our defenses unnoticed and is now making her way to Zegkirche.
(Mumen): She’s already sent scouts into the area causing trouble. The people of Zegkirche have been good to me and I wanted to repay their kindness. I know that they are an independent settlement and you have no reason to step in and help them but, I request your help in order to protect the people of Zegkirche.
(Jade): I’m also requesting your assistance. Mumen’s an old friend from the temple. I owe it to him and the former head priest to help him out. Please, take on this mission.
(Raika): When you’re begging like that it’s hard to say no. I’m in.
(Dust): Same.
(Amarti): I’ve been wanting to do business with the people of Zegkirche for some time.
(Zia): I shall follow Amarti wherever he goes.
(Sanada): It would be my honor to help.
(Gael): I’ll help too.
(Jin): If there’s people in trouble then I’ll always lend a helping hand.
(Alita): A new experience awaits me. I’m in.
(Hibana): Sure. All my shows are on hiatus. I could use this to fill in the hours.
(Morgan): As if you need to ask. I’m always ready to assist you.
*Jade smiled as everyone volunteered to take on this mission*
(Dust): How about you, Ryuuji? You up for this?
(Ryuuji): Uh. . .yes. Of course. I will help too.
(Morrison): Well, with everyone onboard I see no reason to stop you. You leave tomorrow morning for the western front. Once you arrive in Zegkirche you will make contact with Fire Sage Moona, explain the situation and form a plan to counter the Citizens of the New Sun. Our mission will be to protect the citizens of Zegkirche. However, if possible I would like you to capture Cinder Palic. These cultists have trespassed into Brister territory and endangered the lives of our people. We will not let this go unpunished. Do what you have to do to bring them down. Make all preparations for the night and be prepared to move out tomorrow. Return alive. That is my final order on this matter.
*All the members of Shadow Eye stood up*
(Shadow Eye): Yes sir!
*End Flashback*
***
*Back in Ryuuji’s bathroom*
(Ryuuji): They don’t know how dangerous that group is. I have to be there to protect them.
*Ryuuji leaves the bathroom and goes to get dressed for the mission as Le-Fey looks on worrying about him*
***
*A couple of hours later the members of Shadow Eye were at the train station. While waiting for Amarti and Zia to show up with the tickets, Jin sat on the bench and watched the TV which was playing the news*
(Anchorman): Things have finally settled down in the western region just in time for the holidays. The Blue Dragon and Red Vermillion knights have eliminated most of the Eclipses in the area making travel safe for the western region once again. However, they ask that everyone travel with caution and avoid areas near the borders as Eclipses are still being seen. In other news, our satellites are picking up a possible winter storm moving in the kingdom. We now go to Brister’s number one weather elf, Nodoka McOak, with the story. Nodoka.
*The TV then shows an elf woman with pink hair tied up into a bun, green eyes, wearing glasses, and a dark navy blue skirt with a white long-sleeved button shirt and black stockings. She was standing in front of a screen showing weather patterns*
(Nodoka): Thanks, Albert. Yes, there is a possible snowstorm forming in the area and not just a regular one, but a big one. As of now it’s a coin toss on whether or not it’ll hit the kingdom or pass over us. If it does hit the kingdom the good news is we’ll have a white Faven Day. The bad news, it will more than likely shut down any form of transportation. So for those of you seeking to travel for the holidays in the next few days, I suggest doing it now before the storm hits.
(Jin): Oh man, if that storm hits, I won’t be able to get home for the holidays.
(Dust): Don’t worry too much, rookie. We’ll stop these guys in enough time to get back here and send you home for the holidays.
(Jin): I hope you’re right.
*Amarti and Zia then show up with the tickets and right behind them is Nate and Rika*
(Zia): We got the tickets, along with a gift courtesy of Morrison.
(Morgan): Morrison sent you guys to join us?
(Rika): He’s a little worried about this mission and wants to take extra caution.
(Nate): I also wanted to repay the debt I owe you for rescuing me. We’ll be sure to follow your lead.
(Dust): Well there is strength in numbers and with these two joining our manpower has definitely gone up. Welcome to the team. Let’s start moving.
*Everyone gets up where instead of going to the onboarding platform they go to an elevator much to the confusion of Jin and Gael*
(Jin): Uh~, isn’t the boarding platform that way?
(Rika): For regular citizens, yes. However, we’ll be taking a different train.
*The elevator doors open and everyone squeezes inside. Nate presses four keys in a specific order and the elevator starts to go down. Once again Jin and Gael were confused as they were previously on the ground level of the station. The elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal an underground boarding platform*
(Jin & Gael): Woah!
(Raika): Welcome to Franklin Beech Underground Railroad Station.
*Jin’s eyes went wide*
(Jin): The Franklin Beech Underground Railroad Station!? I’m standing in the Franklin Beech Underground Railroad Station!? It actually exists! I don’t believe it!
*Jin was starting to hyperventilate*
(Sanada): Deep breaths, Jin. Deep breaths.
(Gael): I don’t get it. What’s the big deal?
(Jin): What’s the big deal!? We’re standing in one of the Seven Mysteries of Brister. Franklin Beech was the one who developed and built the railway system all across Brister. However, it was rumored that he built an underground railroad system directly under Brister in order to travel privately. Nobody could confirm this and all possible locations on where the railroad turned out to be false.
(Rika): If you want to hide a tree you hide it in the forest. If you want to hide a car you hide it in a parking garage. If you want to hide a railroad you build it under another railroad. This railroad is mostly used to transfer supplies, deploy knights, and other resources throughout Brister.
(Jin): Amazing. Hey wait, why didn’t we use this station back in spring when I went on that mission with Raika?
(Raika): You were still green and we weren’t sure if we could trust you with this reveal. Not to mention the mission we were on didn’t call for us to use this railroad system.
(Nate): Let’s move everyone. The ride to Zegkirche is quite long.
*Everybody quickly boards their train. Upon entering they saw that they were the only passengers and the engineer was a middle-age man with grayish brown hair that was short and green eyes. He wore normal engineer clothing that was navy blue*
(Engineer): Take your seat folks, we’re ready to head out.
(Jade): How fast do you think you can get us to Zegkirche?
(Engineer): Depending on weather conditions and speed I say this afternoon.
(Jade): Is that good on time?
(Engineer): An average trip would have had you there by nighttime.
(Jade): Carry on, good sir.
*Everyone took their seats and after the engineer did a final check, the train took off from the station. In less than a minute the train was outside of the kingdom*
(Dust): Now, since we’re on a road trip how about we play some games, listen to music, tell stories about our past that might relate to this mission?
*Dust looked directly at Ryuuji who had a tired look on his face*
(Dust): You’ve been awfully quiet all morning.
(Ryuuji): So you noticed?
(Dust): I’m a very observant guy. It’s unlike you to be this quiet and tired. So what do you know about Cinder?
(Ryuuji): *Sigh* I guess there’s no sense in hiding it. We trained together. Back when I was a kid my dad used to train me and her. My dad would always take the occasional trainee in order to test my growth and would usually abandon them after they outlived their usefulness. I figured he would do the same thing to Cinder, but he didn’t. Out of all the people I trained with she was the only one who was able to keep up with me. I was happy. My father would often isolate me from other kids so to finally have someone my own age around made me feel normal for once. We got along pretty well. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that my father was up to something. One day after training he revealed to me that Cinder was to be my arranged wife.
(Everyone): WHAT!
(Ryuuj): It was arranged by my father and Cinder’s grandfather. When we became of proper age we would be married. I spoke out against this but he wouldn’t listen and forced me to live with her.
*Morgan quickly got up and pointed his wand at Ryuuji. He had a look of anger in his eyes*
(Morgan): Are you telling me you’ve had a secret wife this whole time and hid it from Le-Fey? I knew I should have sent you on more suicide missions.
(Ryuuji): No! We were never officially married. I swear. We lived with each for five months before she was taken away by her grandfather and disappeared. It was shortly after that time that the Citizens of the New Sun was formed with Cinder’s grandfather as the leader.
(Morgan): Did you do anything with her? Like have a possible bastard child?
(Ryuuji): What? No! We were ten. We never did the deed. I didn’t even know what the deed was back then. Le-Fey is the only woman I have slept with.
(Morgan): Does she know about this?
(Ryuuji): Of course. I told her about it when we started dating.
*Morgan lowers his wand and gets a calm look on his face*
(Morgan): Good. Please continue.
(Ryuuji): After Cinder left I lost all contact with her and always wondered what happened to her, until a few days ago.
(Dust): So we’re fighting your ex. Think you can take her?
(Ryuuji): Hard to say. In all the times we fought each other it always ended in a draw.
(Gael): Woah, someone was able to battle you into a draw? Must be one hell of a fighter.
(Ryuuji): I can only imagine she’s gotten stronger since we were kids and knows the blue flame technique.
(Mumen): What exactly is this blue flame technique? Some kind of teaching?
(Ryuuji): A forbidden technique in the Fire Grid. Blue flames are hotter than regular flames making your attacks a lot stronger. However, these blue flames cannot be controlled and will burn anyone and anything. Including the user. Using it too many times can result in the flames burning your body and damaging it beyond repair.
(Morgan): Even if we use healing magic?
(Ryuuji): Not even healing magic will heal it. My father wanted me to master this technique but my mom stepped in to stop him. Saved my life in the process. The two would eventually have a big argument and get divorced with her winning custody and my father left to go off on his own.
(Jin): Did you ever make contact with him?
(Ryuuji): Once. A few years ago. It didn’t end well. Let’s just say if I went my whole life not seeing him again, I would be quite happy.
(Dust): So why are you so hung up on Cinder if you have no romantic interest in her?
(Ryuuji): Because she was like me before I met you guys. I lived my life controlled by my father. If my mom hadn’t stepped in when she did I don’t think I would be sitting here today. I know we haven’t seen each other in years and I’ve got no moral obligation to save her but she was the first person I could ever call a friend and I want to save her if I can.
(Morgan): *Sigh* I said this at your wedding and I’ll say it again. You are a fool. But at the same time, that foolishness is your strength. It’s what led to guys like me, Raika, and Sanada being drawn to you. People don’t follow you because you’re the strongest but because you’re the kind of person who extends a helping hand out to others because it’s the right thing to do and you expect nothing in return. You have. . .a good heart, and it’s that good heart that drives people to achieve the best outcome where everyone smiles at the end. Alright, let’s go save your friend.
*All of a sudden a loud thud could be heard hitting the train, and everyone stood*
(Raika): What the hell was that?
*Sanada looks out the window and sees Eclipses in the shape of vultures*
(Sanada): It’s Eclipses! We’re under attack!
Author’s Note: Hey everyone. Hot start to this arc (literally), where our person of interest will be Ryuuji, facing the ghosts of his past. I wanted to show the mental struggle Ryuuji has been going through at the start of this chapter. It honestly is a reflection of the mental struggle I went through after my brother’s death last year. I was trying to be strong for my mom during this difficult time and didn’t take the proper time that I needed to process his death and how much it would affect me. I’m doing better now, but the loss still brings pain to me. Anyway, we once again get a peak into Ryuuji’s past. His relationship with his father, his training growing up, and his first possible crush. I hinted at Ryuuji’s relationship with his father in the first chapters of Shadow Eye so it was nice to revisit that situation once again and dive deeper into it. I know some people wanted me to dive into it sooner, and it just wanted the right time to do it in the previous arcs. I’m glad everyone wants to learn more about the characters and their past, but I need to explore these pasts at the right time in the story, so I ask that everyone be patient and enjoy the journey. Next week, we’ll be seeing the characters in action against the Eclipses. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.