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scene two, the fear of the world
Soft footsteps pressed the grass into the earth, leaving their marks behind as a shadow of a man strode through the meadows of the town, his eyes set to the temple he could see from the distance. Every town held a holy shrine, wherein each a sacred relic awaited its master's touch. The Wandering Samurai had begun collecting these relics, finding himself as the propheted holder of the items and, as such, also found the faces of evil attempting to slaughter him for the prizes.
He welcomed the challenge, however: it was the destiny of he who would hold the sword of the heavens.
He didn't, however, enjoy killing those he once saw as friends, nor did he take pleasure in striking down younglings; even if their hearts had blackened and the children they once were cast away.
Why couldn't he cast the demons away? Why must he kill those possessed all the time? Surely, there was a way to go against the curse of the samurai? He couldn't allow the darkness building within him for committing such acts to exist, for that was what drove many of the greatest samurai into madness.
Every samurai feared killing a youngling, for it would reign on their conscience for all time. The Wandering Samurai, however, held them on his heart; and now his heart was growing heavy.
Hundreds of younglings, sent to their deaths at his hands. By now, those who had envied the Wandering Samurai pitied him: he held the burden of the world on his shoulders, and with every town it only grew larger. He used his sword as a crutch to help ease the pain of that weight, striking down demons attacking families before they could possess the younglings of them, but he realized there was a master plan these things held for him.
To stop the wielder of the power of the heavens, they had to strike down the man destined to grow into him.
The Wandering Samurai closed his eyes to the sun setting in the sky; the day was finally coming to a close, and the memories of the youngling in the morning would soon mingle with the memories of the others dead by his blade. He had to reach the last temple soon... for even with his strength, this burden was beginning to grow tiresome to bear.
The pain wracked his body when he lay down to rest, and held him to the earth when he try and rise before the sun. It was becomming a time when he dreaded the act of sleeping yet welcomed the peace it brought him when he fought past the pain, only to dread then the act of awakening from his dreams.
Every step has began to fill him with pain in this life, and he longed for the day when he could hold the sword of the heavens high, and be cleansed of all the pain. To finally rise above that which had tried to bring him down for so long... that was all he wished.
Tan An liang, the samurai of the Black Cloud in the heavens... he had denied him this peace the first time, as according to the prophecy of the heavens. One last time would the age of shadows be allowed to reign, before being cut down by he who held the mighty sword. Tan An liang defeated the Wandering Samurai all those months ago to take the Sword of Gaea... and when he had been challenged again by the Samurai, he was overwhelmed.
Gua Zing nu had returned with his kingdom... a fallen samurai who had brought forth an army of darkness to challenge the emperor, and it was the Wandering Samurai who stood with the Emperor's Guards to take them down. Sword of Gaea held firm in his grip... the Wandering Samurai had not once faltered in battle.
This... this was the final village before he would go on to the holy shrine he still saw in the distance. Constructed as a temple to the mother earth, it was the temple in which the sword of Gaea was forged. On this day, the Wandering Samurai would pay tribute to the sword, and bless it in his hand. After this day... none could wield the blade as he.
Already, many samurai were training outside its sacred walls... preparing to stop the Wandering Samurai. They did not want his name carved in stone, for they themselves believed their name should be instead.
The Wandering Samurai turned his eyes from the temple, bringing them to rest on a small family he saw before him, whose eyes were drawn to these samurai intruders with a sense of fear masking their faces. He made his way over, and when the family turned towards him, he knew then that they were truly afraid.
For even in the presence of the Rising Sun of the Continent, they pleaded for their lives. The crowd which had gathered to watch the samurai outside the temple turned to see the Wandering Samurai before the kneeling family, and murmers began to circle about. He smiled softly down towards them and knelt as well, hoping to qwell their fears, as the child shivvered in its mothers arms.
"Please... do not be afraid, I will save this town from the impending darkness." came his soft voice, as he reached out gently to ruffle the child's hair. The family looked up at him as though they'd seen a ghost, and his warm smile was all that greeted them.
The prophecy must be completed... for all the world may fear as this family. Should that happen, all would be plunged into darkness, and the sword of the heavens would surely be cast in with the world it was once destined to protect so bravely.