The Story of Yeling Mah Pt. II

Prologue

"DANNY."

The two of us faced each other off, at the highest peak of Fa Shan.

"You came alone."

Danny turned around, revealing his fully restored body. It was as if I went in a time machine, seeing Danny again, before I unlocked Hinokami.

Before I became a mass murderer as the Tidalflame.

"I'm here to kill you." I snarled, as my hands burst into blue and purple flame.

Danny narrowed his eyes.

"Why? Why do you wanna kill me so badly, Yeling. You wanted to kill me once. You killed everybody I loved, all my friends in New Ulysses. You slaughtered them all. Now that I'm back, it's like nothing has changed. No remorse. You just wanna kill me again."

I aimed my palm at my old friend's face.

"You're right. I feel absolutely no remorse. To the man who betrayed my trust."

"So here we are again. To tell you the truth, Yeling, I never understood why it came down to this."

"You know exactly why. Invalidating my struggles like that. You were the only person I had to talk to. The only person in this world who I had. And you squashed my trust. Just like that."

"And you think you're the only one gets to feel this way, Yeling? I was in a bad spot myself too."

"So now you're making excuses?!"

"All I meant to say, and what I'm saying now, is that you're not the only person who is struggling."

"SHUT UP."

Level 1 Hinokami Stage Two: COBALT ASSIMILATION

My body transformed, the horn sprouting from my head as my flames became so violent, the clouds parted, the sky filled with a blue and purple glow.

"Every time I see your face, I get so mad. Every time. I was so vulnerable, Danny. Why couldn't you understand that? You said it yourself. I was among one of the few people you had. And you were the only person I ever opened up to. But every time. I opened up to you. You would squash it. But that day, when I felt like ending it all, and nearly did. It was you who saved me. So WHY. WHY DID YOU SAY THESE THINGS TO ME?!"

I blasted forward.

DEVIL'S STARSHOOTER

I slammed my fist into Danny's face, as he flew backwards. His flaming body smashing into another mountain, the snow vaporizing all around him.

But I wasn't going to let him off easy. I flew to his location and slammed my fist into his face again.

Over and over again, as the flames and heat of my Stage Two Hinokami swirled like a violent tornado of fire.

"ENOUGH." Danny caught my fist, his body regenerating. He seethed, red veins crackling at his arm.

"Ever since that day. You never gave me a chance to talk. To speak my side. It's always about you you you. Do you really think I was just going to let you kill me, after what you did to Duncan? To all of our classmates? I can't even die in peace. That's already bad enough. My body is a rotting corpse. But now, you're trying to kill me again."

Danny crushed my hand as I yelled in pain, going Intangible. But Danny threw his palm at me, releasing a giant torrent of wind that smashed my essence away.

"Not good!" I yelped.

If I flew into a mountain while Intangible and regained shape, I would die for sure.

I regained my shape as fast as I could, but Danny was right above me. His left arm was completely broken, as he charged up another Amplification strike with his right.

"I have every right to speak my mind too. And if you're not gonna listen, Yeling, then I'm going to force it on you."

DEVIL'S HURRICANE

I opened my arms, letting loose a massive torrent of flames, driving Danny back.

Danny landed on the rocks. The snow billowing and storm slightly obstructing my view. But my flaming aura was causing the snow to vaporize on contact.

"It was wrong of me to say these things. Sure. But you can't put so much pressure on me. How the hell was I supposed to do something that could light you up like a fuse?! Do you know how scary it is. How terrifying it is, knowing that your best friend could have died any day. And it could have been your fault. I'm not the smartest person in the world, Yeling. You can't expect me to say the perfect thing! BECAUSE I'M NOT PERFECT."

Danny put a hand on his chest.

"Every night. I was terrified. I was terrified of how to talk to you. Because while I saw you as one of my closest friends, sometimes, I wished it wasn't up to me to be in the place that I was. So much responsibility and pressure on me that I never asked for. Knowing full well that the slightest slip up that I say could lead to something I regret because my best friend was mentally ill."

Danny's hand dropped to his side.

"Yeling. All I ever did was try to help you. But sometimes, I didn't know what to say. How can I make him feel better? Maybe if he knew we were all suffering, it would make his pain feel less significant. But day after day, it was like everything I did to try to help you MADE IT WORSE. The pressure buildup. My family back in China pressuring me to return home. All this pressure. I can't be the perfect friend, Yeling. I'm human. So on that day, it was too much."

I clenched my teeth, tears running down my face.

I wanted to find a reason to hate him.

But after hearing that.

Was any of my anger justified?

"Dan-"

"I wish we could have had this conversation sooner. Rather than now. But..."

Danny reached behind his back, and pulled out two large weapons. A large sword, and a large axe.

"It's too late. You did the one thing that can't be undone. You killed people, Yeling. You became a murderer. And you killed me. And now, that I've been revived from the dead, I also killed. So now we're just two irredeemable killers."

Danny sparked with blue light, summoning Guardian's powers as he closed the distance.

"The only thing that's on my mind, is vengeance. For the people you killed. TIDALFLAME."

SLASH.

My eyes widened, as blood erupted from my chest. I stumbled back, as Danny slashed down with his axe. I narrowly avoided it, as the axe smashed right through the mountain, splitting it in half.

What was this ridiculous power?! No one in the Contingency Initiative or Realmwatch had this evo!

I launched another blast of flame at Danny, but Danny used the flat end of his axe and absorbed the flames. Then the flames transferred to his sword, as blood erupted from his undead body.

"We're both murderers. With no way back. I'll see you in hell, Yeling."

Danny fired a beam of Hinokami Stage Two flame at me as I stumbled back, the beam creating a massive hole in the side of another mountain.

Danny clutched his sword again, and this time even more electricity surrounded him.

"You may have stood a chance, as the God of Fire. But not anymore. Here in Fa Shan. Lies the artifacts of the old gods of China. With these relics, I'll destroy you. Even if it costs me my soul. My life force. My body. Because all of it doesn't matter. I'm already dead."

I looked at Danny's sword arm again, and realized it was pulsating. Occasional spurts of blood erupted at his veins.

I knew what these relics were. As a Chinese myself.

That blade.

It belonged to Yama, the god of death.

Yama's judgement.

"What... why do you have his sword!"

Danny regarded me with pure malice.

"Lord Yama's sword of judgement. For every strike I deal, seven times the pain will be inflicted on me. But it doesn't matter. I don't feel pain, Yeling. But you certainly do."

Danny sliced again, as I went Intangible, but Danny then reached to his side with his axe hand, and held out another relic, as the sky boomed with thunder, shocking and electrifying me as I screamed in pain.

Lei Shen 's relic! How many relics and sacrifices did Danny make?!

Danny closed in and smashed me into the ground with the flat of his axe with great force.

I fell flat on my back. I couldn't beat him.

This entire time, Danny was in Fa Shan. He was there collecting relics and destroying his body in the process by weaponizing the Chinese gods.

All to kill me.

I thought I could come to Fa Shan to take him on, thinking Hinokami Stage Two was enough.

But against something like this... how stupid could I be?!

I shot into the air.

"I can't fail this Elimination Op. I can't let Squad Four down."

I focused all of my power together.

Level 1 Hinokami Stage Two: Double Inverse Monsoon Release

Danny glared at the flame, his body covered in relics, weapons, and taboo from every god he had sold his soul to.

"It's too late, Yeling. I've become strong enough to take this world. You can't beat me anymore."

Danny put his weapons away, as he spread his legs and assumed a wide stance, replicating an ancient wushu movement. And to my disbelief, a projection of a massive serpent appeared, his head made of copper.

No way.

It couldn't be.

The god of water.

Danny unleashed Kanghui's power, as a massive blast of water flooded the entire place, swallowing up my flames and catching me in the face as I shot into the air.

No...

Danny...

I felt myself free falling, and the only thing on my mind, was the bitter taste of absolute defeat.