A small wooden boat was slowly moving down the Tone River of feudal Japan. The fields surrounding the river were nothing but fields and farm land. On the deck of the small wooden boat, there was a large net full of fish barely moving. The sun was massive and bright in the sky, beating down onto the boat and the fish, so hot it was softly and slowly starting to cook them, filling the air with the fish smell.

Next to the pile was a young man only wearing a black baggy pants sitting on his waist while his torso was exposed, drenched in sweat. His body was covered head to toe in signs of hard work in the heat. Faded bruises and scars from the manual labor were obscured by skin that had been burned multiple times over. His hands were incredibly rough, like the skin had been bruised to the point that it was rougher than stone. His long and messy black hair was pulled back into a traditional bun, but this allowed the sun to beat down onto his already dark and burned neck and shoulders. He was hunched over while strumming away on a stringed instrument. His rock-like fingers moved softly and gracefully along the thin strings. The shape resembled a sword with six strings stretching out. He continued to pluck the strings before changing into a strumming pattern, then back to plucking.

“You didn’t say you were going to start playing.” Another man emerged from a small hole that went to the lower deck. Another man wearing similar pants came out, not as sweaty but still clearly feeling the effects of the heat.

“Just thought of an idea. Also I couldn’t find my Shamisen.” The young man said as he continued to pluck.

“Murahashi was practicing on it earlier. Besides, you sound much better on the Tonkori anyway.” The man replied.

The man playing had a warm and playful smirk as he looked down, continuing to pluck on the strings.

“Thank you Tahara.” The young man continued to play while Tahara stood at the stern of the boat, looking back towards the way they came from. He sniffed up into the air, able to sell the fish.

“Should we move the fish to the lower deck?” He asked.

“It won’t do much.” The young man continued to play his Tonkori.

The third man made his way up from the lower deck. He was by far the oldest, looking to be in his mid forties. He was also the most muscular, with visible abs and veins all along his arms. He had more bruises and scars than the other two combined, his hands so rough they could easily break wood without even trying.

“How much further?” He asked.

“We shouldn’t take longer than an hour.”

Tahara bowed to the man as he spoke.

“Good. Now Tahara, get some rest. I’ll watch the boat till we get to the village.” Murahashi said.

Tahara bowed again, but the boat suddenly began to shake violently. All three men got to their feet quickly and looked back at the river. The water was moving around wildly, like the ground beneath it was being shaken to its core. The whole world seemed to be shifting and shaking as the three men quickly jumped down to the lower deck. They each had large Kama sickles, farming tools they had sharpened to use for slicing thick animals or defending themselves from criminals. The sickles were sharp enough to cut through thick roping in a single slash. They all quickly made their way back up, but the young man who had been playing the Tonkori slipped and fell back onto the wooden floor hard. His head whipped back and he groaned in serious pain, able to feel a cut that was creating a pool of blood that was soaking into the wood. He looked up at the open square that lead to the upper deck. But the sound of the wild waves was drowned out by loud screams. His two friends and partners were screaming at the top of their lungs. The man looked up to see an large splatter of blood fly into the air, the dark red liquid crossing the bright blue and white sky. The man could hear the screams stop, but then he could hear the net of fish being moved around. The net being ripped open as the sound of the fish being eaten replaced the noise. It sounded like starving creatures gobbling away and eating wildly. The man sat up slowly and gripped the ladder rungs. He gripped his weapon tightly as he climbed up. He had gotten his head up through the hole and looked to one side. Both of his partners were laying on the deck, covered in so many bite and claw marks that their bodies looked like piles of messy meat. The man could hear the eating more clearly and turned to look the other way. These small little creatures were surrounding the net of fish, tearing into them like savages. The man squinted as he was staring almost right into the sun. Their silhouettes were small but wide. Large turtle like shells covered their backs with their arms and legs were short and wide, ending in hands and feet with large sharp claws. They all suddenly turned to look at him. They had razor sharp beaks dripping in blood, both human and fish. Their heads were short and wide with circles of thin black hair. The top of their heads were white and hairless. One of the creatures suddenly screeched loudly as they all ran towards the man. He screamed out loudly, his voice disappearing quickly as the sound of flesh ripping away made him drop dead as a pile of meat. The large and bright sun continued to beat down on the river. Beat down on the world that shifted into something unknown.

At the end of the river, the water went into the sea and stretched into a never ending field of blue. On the banks, there was a large village that was split between the river, two large collections of shops, restaurants, and homes that could see each other. Each side of the river was full of small personal boats used to cross to either side. Further up the river there were the signs of a bridge starting construction, the base built into the Earth and only needing to stretch out. The sun was gone, the sky pitch black with stars twinkling and creating a beautiful star map. Both villages were vibrant and full of life, small fires throughout to illuminate the people and buildings. Children running around, weaving between adults carrying boxes of food and supplies from one building to another. The small shops began to close down for the night while seemingly everyone that lived in each village were outside of their homes. Everyone had food in one hand and a drink in the other. They were all dressed in traditional and comfortable kimonos, all of which were clean and bright and vibrant, reflecting the flames into warm and peaceful colors that seemed to resonate from the fabric. The sounds of loud conversation and laughing, the sounds of stories being told between friends and family. It was peaceful and fun.

The people were happy.

The wooden boat slowly drifted down the river. The outside was covered in claw marks and pieces of wood being splintered and broken. The smell coming from it was disgusting and filled the air with a putrid odor that made people from both villages feel sick. The boat was aimless before running into another boat, causing it to smash into the riverbank and collapse. Villagers sprinted over and tried their best to stop the boat, but it bumped into another small boat and crushed it into pieces.

“What is all of this?” One asked loudly.

It took a few minutes for the boat to finally stop moving before one villager grabbed a piece of rope, throwing it up to the deck and climbing up slowly. The side of the boat was weak, every step potentially being enough to cause the entire wall to collapse in on itself. The villager made it up to the deck and screamed out.

“What do you see?” One villager on the ground shouted.

“Dead! They’re dead!” The man on the deck turned around and vomited, villagers having to run out of the way to not get hit. The man waited to feel better before quickly running down the side.

“Three people. Mauled. Dead and burned. It’s horrific.” The man was breathing heavily and sweating through his clothing.

A few of the other villagers looked at each other, but then people began to step aside and bow as a elderly woman walked youthfully through the crowd. Her kimono was white and gold, looking pristine and powerful as she looked across the villagers.

“Bring their bodies down here so we may give them an honorable burial.” She said with a powerful yet soft voice.

Without hesitation, despite the fear across their faces, they began to climb up the side of the ship. They struggled to collect the bodies, which fell apart at any movement. Other villagers went into their homes to grab sheets, holding them open and catching the bodies that were dropped overboard. The sheets were tied tightly and quickly around the pieces while other villagers went over to dig into the ground. Working together like this it only took a few minutes. The bodies were placed inside while the elder woman began to sing a song. Her voice was soft and warm as she started.

“When you remember me,

Please do not weep.

My body may not be there.

It has chosen to sleep.”

As the elder continued to sing, a few more of the villagers joined in with her singing.

“I'm not that far away.

My soul lives on,

Looking down, watching over

You and everyone.

And when you feel sad

And life seems so blue,

Just remember

That my spirit has its arms around you.”

Most of the village joined in, singing in perfect harmony as the bodies are almost completely covered by the dirt.

“And on those special days,

Times that you wish I could see,

That cool breeze flowing past you...

Well, that will be me,

So don't be sad.

Have no fear.”

It was silent for a few seconds before the entire village began to sing together.

“God has taken me under his wing,

But I'll always be near.

I still watch you

Every minute, every day.

My love and soul are with you,

And that's where they will stay.”

The last amount of dirt was shoveled on top of the bodies wrapped tightly in the sheets. The villagers stood together as a family, standing shoulder to shoulder as they continued to stare down at the unmarked graves.

“We must figure out what happened.” One villager leaned over to the elder.

“I will discuss it with him. He might know.”

The elder looked at the villager, whose face opened up with wide eyes and their jaw began to open up.

“But…he asked to be left alone.” The villager replied.

“All promises should be broken if it saves others.” The elder replied before crossing their arms. They turned and walked through the crowd, all of the villagers bowing until she passed by them. They all turned back to the graves, standing for a few more seconds before slowly and sadly making their way back to their homes.

The elder walked along the river, moving closer to the mouth that bled into the larger sea. The large expanse outside of the village was farmland. The crops were growing plentifully and stretched out to the elder’s chest. She continued to walk through the large and tall fields, eventually being unable to see her village. She stopped once she saw the end of the farmlands. Nobody ever went further than the farmlands. Past that was an expanse double the size of nothingness. No grass on the ground, only hard dirt. She took a deep breath before she stepped out onto the ground. The ground was like a desert, despite sitting next to the river. It was like the ground had been untouched in centuries. The elder kept walking through the moist air and dry ground. She was determined to make it to the person she needed. The person who could save her village.

She could finally see a small building in the distance. She sped up, going from walking to a light run as she drew closer and closer. She couldn’t hear anything but her own forceful footsteps into the ground. The air was quiet, the water and wind still. The sky was dark with the only light coming from the stars that sat further than could ever be explained.

She made it to the small hut that sat right next to the mouth of the river. There was a single small light visible inside. The elder began to walk closer to the hut, but as she moved she noticed a man sitting even further towards the sea. She caught her breath before walking over quietly, hoping to not disturb the man.

Next to him there was a sword stabbed down into the ground, only a quarter of the blade and the hilt visible. The ground underneath was cracked and uneven, but the sword seemed to be undamaged.

“Hyobanshi?” She whispered.

The man’s head slowly turned to look over his shoulder.

“Took you long enough.”

The man slowly stood up from his crossed legged sitting position. As he rose, warm and orange light began to peek out from the horizon, hitting the man from behind and illuminating him with an ethereal haze, making him appear as something from another world. His hair was long and free flowing past his shoulders. His long beard was well maintained and down to his chest. He reached down, wrapping his fingers around the hilt before pulling his sword up, the steel shaking and resonating with a heavenly tone as the sunlight reflected off and shined brightly in every direction. He spun it around before sliding it into a leather sheath tied around his waist. The man slowly stepped closer, the haze and glow disappearing as he moved.

“A fishing vessel was attacked. We aren’t sure what did it, but three of our people were violently murdered.”  The elder said with a deep bow.

The man lifted his hand up slightly.

“I will request that you never bow to me.” He said.

The elder looked confused but stood back up straight.

“My apologies. Now I know we agreed to never bother you, but…”

“All promises should be broken if it is to save others.” He replied.

Her eyes went wide.

“Yes. How did you know?” She asked.

“Why else would you have traveled this far?” He asked.

The elder stood in silence for a few seconds.

“However, I will not be helping you.”

He walked past her towards his small hut.

“But you are Hyobanshi.” She quickly tried to keep up with him, but he suddenly stopped and turned with so much force a gust of air knocked her back as dust kicked up into the air. He took a step forward before holding his hand up to help her.

“I am the man who holds that name, however I am no longer the legend that comes with it.” He said as the elder slowly grabbed his hand, being helped to her feet.

“We need you, whether that be legend or man.” She replied, brushing her clothing off.

“I no longer fight.” He responded as he was nearly at his hut now.

“The greatest warrior to ever live and you give it up? You give up protecting your people?” The elder said with a hint of poison.

He stopped once again.

“When I fought in the war, I fought blindly. I did whatever The Emperor asked me to do. Do you want me to tell you what I did?” He asked her.

The elder swallowed hard before starting to bow, but stopping. She held her hands together down by her waist.

“That is quite alright Hyobanshi. I give my sincerest apologies for bothering you. I shall make my return to my village empty handed.” She said.

Hyobanshi went into his hut without a word. She began to walk as the sun started to rise higher into the sky.

She passed by the hut and continued walking, but then heard something heavy hitting the ground behind her. She turned around and looked down at a large bag full of vegetables.

“Those are the freshest I have. Make sure you split them amongst your people.” Hyobanshi said before throwing another bag.

The elder swallowed hard before bowing down. Hyobanshi stared at her as she did so, a look of annoyance on his face.

“If you don’t stop bowing I’m taking the food away.”

The elder stood up and grabbed both bags. Despite being full to the brim of various vegetables, they felt quite light and manageable.

She made her way across the dry land, carrying a bag in each hand while her arms were stiff and strong. She began to breathe heavily, the dryness of her throat becoming more noticeable as her arms began to hang to her sides, the bags swinging around as she walked back and forth to the side, unable to maintain a straight path.

Farmers working on the crops looked up and saw her struggling to walk. They were wearing large circle shaped straw hats to keep the sun off of their heads and necks. Three of them ran over and tried to take the bags from the elder, but she pulled her weak arms away.

“No. I shall carry these to the village.” She replied.

The farmers backed away as the oldest one, the man who seemed to be in charge of the farms, walked next to her.

“What did he say?” He asked.

“He will not fight.” She replied through pained breaths.

“What will we do if there is an attack on the village?” The farmer asked.

“Our people are strong and determined. We will stand and fight to protect our homes.”

“Against something that we do not know.” The farmer replied.

The elder stopped speaking, walking into the village before dropping the bags to the ground. Other villagers ran over and grabbed the bags, quickly taking the vegetables out and handing them to other villagers. The elder limped her way to her small home, walking inside and flopping onto her bed. Her feet were burning and throbbing, her throat was as dry as sand, and her arms were pulsing and wanting to fall off and onto the ground.

While the elder was laying on the ground, she could feel her small hut beginning to shake. She lifted her exhausted head up off of her bed and looked around. The hut continued to shake as she slowly sat up, quickly limping over to her entrance. She looked outside onto her village, seeing that everything was shaking wildly.

“What’s happening?” A child screamed loudly as their parents ran to them.

The villagers were all running wildly and aimlessly around as the ground began to shake even more violently. The elder limped her way out and looked around, able to see the Earth beneath them beginning to shift and buckle. The farming fields split into multiple parts, creating an uneven land of hills and valleys all within the small area. The elder could hear screaming and limped her way to the center of the village. She looked towards the river, able to see the water shifting as small creatures began to crawl out, running towards the villagers.

Loud screaming filled the air as the small monsters oved faster than the human eye could keep up with. They were becoming blurs as splatters of blood would shoot out from villagers running around before they would drop down to the ground dead. Men, women, and even children were running and screaming before dropping dead with blood flowing out of them and onto the grass. The elder was still exhausted but ran back into her hut and looked for anything she could use as a weapon. She found a small knife she normally used to cut vegetables, running back out and seeing one of the small creatures running towards her. She stabbed the knife as hard as she could into the creature’s torso. It stopped, the creature coming more into focus to show its grotesque ugliness right in her face. The creature was bleeding, but it stepped back and screamed out. The knife seemed to have no effect.

The elder fell back and leaned against her hut, trying to crawl away. The creatures all let out a hellish scream when they began to hunt down the remaining villagers. The elder covered her face and could hear the one near her jumping for her, but suddenly she felt a large splatter of liquid cover her body.

She kept her face in her hands as she heard loud slashing and pained screams fill the air, but the screams were anything but human.

After the air went silent, she finally lifted her face from her hands.

She was covered in dark black blood, the creature laying at her feet in two halves. She looked around to see the creatures strewn all around, in two or more pieces with their black blood covering the buildings and grass.

Hyobanshi stood in the center of death and destruction. His sword was hanging low while sitting in his hand. The blade was covered in so much black blood the metal was impossible to see. Hyobanshi took his hand and ran it along the side of the blade, pushing all of the black blood off and leaving the blade looking brand new with how clean and shiny it was, the light bouncing off the metal beautifully.

“I thought you weren’t going to fight.” The elder said as she slowly got up to her feet.

Hyobanshi did not say anything, only sheathing his sword and turning to walk back to his small hut.

“That is all? You slay them and leave?” The elder asked angrily as she got to her feet.

Hyobanshi turned and stared at her with intense eyes.

“What if they return? This will not be a one time occurrence. You must stay to protect us.” She pleaded, but stood firm and crossed her arms.

“I have no loyalty to you or your village. You have no loyalty to me. Just because we are both human does not mean we must do everything for each other.” Hyobanshi replied, reaching down to pick up the biggest piece of one of the strange monsters, dragging it against the ground as he began to walk again.

“You are no great warrior! You are a man who lacks honor!” The elder shouted.

Hyobanshi was sitting inside of his small hut. The only furniture was a small wooden bed without any mattress or blankets, just the solid wooden frame. Next to the entrance was a small desk with a single shelf holding whatever Hyobanshi needed. Over by the wall sat a large iron pot full of boiling water and pieces of the chopped up creature. Hyobanshi was sitting in the center of the hut crossed legged, his arms down and resting on his knees. His blade was sheathed and sitting neatly on the wall, balancing on a single piece of iron jammed into the wooden wall. The boiling water was the only audible sound as Hyobanshi closed his eyes. After only a few seconds, the boiling sound began to stretch out, every bubble bursting becoming more and more spread out. Hyobanshi’s breathing was very slow and spaced out as well, like he was moving in slow motion.

Everything slowly began to speed up once again until he opened his eyes, the boiling water once again loud and rapid. Hyobanshi slowly stood up, his legs staying in place as he lifted off the ground gracefully and effortlessly. He moved over with long and silent strides along his wooden floor. He reached out and gripped the iron bowl by the rim. Despite the immense heat and boiling water as well as the immense size and weight, he moved it away from the flame as if it were nothing. He went outside through his single small door, placing the bowl down and sitting crossed legged next to it.

The smell of the cooked monster meat filled the air, smelling like a cooked turtle stew.

After a few more minutes of sitting next to it, Hyobanshi went back inside. He reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a small ceramic bowl with intricate art along with a large wooden spoon and a smaller silver spoon. He began to use the wood spoon and pour stew and meat into the bowl before sitting it inside. He left the large cauldron where it sat, continuing to fill the air. He walked to sit on where the river and the ocean met, sitting on the grass with his legs crossed and staring out into the expanse of water reflecting sunlight onto the quiet world. Hyobanshi barely made any sound, the only thing being a very subtle and quiet slurp when drinking the liquid from the stew. He sat with his back straight and his hair pulled back into a bun sitting on the top of his head.

While Hyobanshi was sitting, another man began to walk over with a small bowl filled with the stew along with his own silver spoon.

“Smells heavenly. What kind of meat is it?” The large man was wearing samurai armor while carrying his helmet and mask in his free hand. He placed it nicely on the ground before removing the sword attached to his hip, laying it neatly next to it. The man sat down with his legs outstretched next to Hyobanshi.

“No idea. Some sort of tortoise monster thing.” Hyobanshi replied.

The samurai shrugged before taking a bite of the tender meat.

“Very tough.” The samurai had to pull hard with his teeth to rip the meat in two, chewing harshly while using one hand to press into his jaw.

“Monsters have started to attack villages.” Hyobanshi replied, biting into a piece of the meat with ease.

“Shit. That’s not good.” The samurai replied.

“I don’t know where they come from, but they’re very hard to kill.” Hyobanshi said softly.

The samurai turned with a shocked expression.

“Wait…you…”

Hyobanshi lifted a hand up.

“I will not talk about it.” Hyobanshi went back to eating the stew.

“Hey, you’re out of bowls!”

Another man wearing samurai armor was walking over, having pieces of meat stacked up on a small plate with very little of the liquid. He was the youngest by far, a clean shaven and innocent face making it seem he was brand new to the role as samurai.

“I wanted to make sure you only took meat. You need to grow big at some point.” Hyobanshi said.

The samurai next to him gave a shocked face before bursting out laughing as the young man held back his own laughter. He sat next to Hyobanshi and began to eat the meat with his hands, his armored gloves tied together and hanging from his sword hilt.

“The **** is this anyways Hyobanshi?” The young man asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” Hyobanshi replied.

“Itachi, it’s monster meat.” The other samurai said to the young one, making Itachi nearly spit it out.

“Where’d you find monster meat?” Itachi asked loudly.

“Killed it.” Hyobanshi replied, taking a sip of the liquid.

Itachi’s eyes went wide, but the other samurai subtly nodded his head side to side, making sure Itachi didn’t ask any questions.

“Well…it’s pretty good.”

Itachi went back to eating with his hands.

The three men sat in silence as the warm sun continued to bathe the world, keeping it peaceful and quiet.

Hyobanshi slowly lowered his bowl to the ground, grabbing his sword and standing up. His eyes were locked on the water, which was sitting calm and still.

“Um…you okay?” Itachi asked.

Hyobanshi’s sword became unsheathed and stabbed down into the water so quickly that it took the other two men multiple seconds to react. Hyobanshi lifted the sword slowly out of the water, pulling out another of the turtle creatures who had been impaled through the head and all the way down to the other end of their body.

“What the fu…” Itachi started before crawling to the water and throwing up.

Before he could lift his head up, another one of the creatures jumped out of the water and attached to Itachi’s face, clawing away as Itachi screamed in pain. He fell back as the creature scratched the skin off his face until it got to the muscle, burying its beak in to try and pull it out. Itachi was still screaming when the other samurai drew his sword, slashing down onto it until the blade shattered against the large turtle shell. He looked shocked when the creature's head turned before screaming out loudly. It jumped off of Itachi’s face, but Hyobanshi moved as if he was made of air, shifting quickly, pushing the impaled creature off, stabbing up through the gut of the creature in the air, and holding it in place all within a single second. The samurai fell backwards and stared at the grotesque face with blood coming from the beak and pieces of flesh stuck in the razor sharp teeth.

Itachi was still screaming and covering his face.

“Yasuke, I have bandages in my home. Take Itachi and cover his face. I will be there soon.” Hyobanshi said, dropping the creature of the sword.

The river began to get incredibly violent with the water rocking like tidal waves. Yasuke’s eyes went wide as he ran to Itachi, forcing him to his feet before they both ran towards Hyobanshi’s hut.

Hyobanshi cleaned the blade of his sword with his hand while tilting his head far enough that it cracked.

“So much for peace.” He said to himself.

The river suddenly exploded as hundreds of the creatures flew into the air, the water becoming mist and shining from the sunlight as the wave flew closer to Hyobanshi. He gripped his sword hilt tightly and watched, feeling like time was slowing down. The droplets of water, the creatures flying through the air screaming, and the sun shining with a bright, burning light.

Hyobanshi lifted his sword high into the air, his blade managing to dodge every water droplet and slash through the creatures with ease, like a hot knife through butter.

Hyobanshi continued to move his blade so quickly it seemed to disappear to the ***** eye, before quickly reappearing just in time to cut through the monster flesh. Hyobanshi’s eyes moved creature to creature, able to catch every single one with his blade before anything had time to touch the ground. He moved so quickly that time seemed to freeze to him.

Hyobanshi finally slashed the final creature before holding his sword still. Everything quickly rushed into real speed, the water and blood creating a large wave that crashed onto him and the ground surrounding him. All of the destroyed flesh landed on the ground with thuds as Hyobanshi slowly looked back at the river.

The water was still. Once the last piece of monster meat hit the grass, there was complete silence.

Hyobanshi began to breathe in and out very slowly, trying to take in as much air as possible. The monster blood and meat cooking in the hot sun created a ghastly stench that quickly began to spread far and wide. Hyobanshi wiped all of the blood off his blade before sheathing it.

“Holy shit.”

Hyobanshi turned to see Yasuke standing, the amount of blood pooling up to his ankles.

“How did you do that?” Yasuke asked.

Hyobanshi didn’t respond, only turning to look into the giant sun sitting in the sky.

“Whatever these things are…I don't think they’re alone.” Hyobanshi said.

“Wait…do you mean…” Yasuke’s eyes were wide as he stared at Hyobanshi. The sun was mostly blocked by his body, creating a glowing aura around him. Hyobanshi turned to stare at his friend and companion.

“What I mean is that there’s going to be a war. And I’m the only person who can win it.”