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.

Full Faced

"I'm home."

I opened the door, dragging the bags of groceries into the tiny living space, and plopping them onto the table.

"I fought through a ton of old ladies to get this discount fish. Count yourself lucky that I was around."

I glanced at the living room. Shia was curled up in the corner, crying.

"Let me guess. He rejected you."

Shia ignored me.

I sighed, as I put the vegetables into the freezer.

"Stop!" Shia shouted, as she ran up to me and snatched the spring onion from my hands.

"Idiot! If you put them in there, they will turn brittle! Ugh!"

Shia proceeded to take everything that I had put into the freezer and placed them in the correct spots.

"Yeling. I get that you're not from around here, but surely you know how to do chores and errands."

"I uh..."

My mind flashed back to when we had Flint basically do all the groceries for us. Lewis and Flint. Either Lewis had the groceries ordered online, constantly making new accounts and abusing the discount codes. Or Flint would go and buy them himself, walking through portals to wherever had the best prices.

The rest of us never really needed to worry about this stuff.

Shia took the carrots from my hands and sniffled. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was dripping with snot.

"It was for the best, Shia. Can you imagine the amount of controversy for a mere schoolgirl to be with her teacher? Even thinking about it feels weird for me."

Shia put the carrots away, staring at the ground.

"I love him, Yeling. He made me happy. He was the only light I had."

Shia closed the freezer, as she walked dejectedly with ice cream in her hand.

"You won't get far with that attitude, Shia. One is truly happy if they can sustain themselves with their own strength. Codependency makes one weak."

"HUH?!"

Shia turned around, her face looked more annoyed than ever.

"Says the weirdo middle aged guy who's freeloading off of said mere schoolgirl! Why did I even bother taking you in?!"

"Because I have nowhere to go. If you kicked me out, no one would take me in because of my face."

Shia frowned.

"It's not THAT ugly, Yeling."

Shia sighed, as she opened the lid of the ice cream and began binge eating it. If this was her way of coping with her emotional situations, I was honestly impressed at how her metabolism worked. Lewis told me once that certain girls could have all the weight go to their chest from binge eating their sorrows away. But then again... he got this knowledge from anime.

The fact that I was still considering Lewis' advice after all this time was alarming.

"If it wasn't that ugly, I wouldn't be here. You're the first person, much less girl to look at my face for the first time and not be repulsed. That means a lot to me."

Shia stopped eating.

"Yeling..."

I watched as Shia took out a handkerchief and wiped the snot off of her face.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I haven't forgotten that day you saved me from those bandits."

"I just needed a place to stay, honestly."

"I know." Shia smiled from within the bangs of her purple hair.

"The first thing you said to me, after you defeated the bandits and saved my life, was 'that moron said you have a place to live, can I stay the night?'."

I irked.

"I... I was extremely malnourished and tired."

"You saved my life, despite going many months without food or water, or even a bed to sleep on. I couldn't just let you go. Also, you passed out in my lap after taking two steps to try to help me up."

"OKAY." I exclaimed, trying to change the subject.

"What's for dinner, Shia."

Shia stared at me.

"You- I- I just got rejected by the man I loved and you-...."

Shia rubbed her eyes and stood up.

"Honestly, Yeling. Sometimes you need to learn how to read the room."

"But I'm hungry."

Shia poured some rice into the rice cooker and added water.

"A 22 year old man. Asking a 16 year old to cook dinners for him. It should be the other way around!"

She was right. But I glanced at my right sleeve.

If only I could...

Shia saw me staring at my right side.

"Sorry. I... I know you're still recovering. I didn't mean to."

"No. It's fine."

Shia began preparing miso soup, as I sat down on the ground, and turned on the TV.

"According to the United Nations, the ever looming threat of the Transplant remains ever at large. A recent interview with a negotiator who had tried to negotiate with the mass terrorist had this to say."

"Transplant won't stop. But he claims that he will only kill the people he believes deserve it. In his eyes, he is delivering a justice that no mortal can do. What are your thoughts?"

Shia clenched her teeth.

"Killing is killing."

I said nothing, as I rolled up my sleeve, revealing my missing hand that I had lost ever since I clashed with Danny the first time.

When he had hit me with Kanghui's tidal wave, my arms were still outstretched when I unleashed my full power IMR. The sheer force of the wave ripped my hand clean off, causing me to lose half of my power as I fell from the sky.

I clutched my head.

No.

No more memories.

I don't want to remember.

It's already been four years.

My time had already come. The Dogma had already stopped contacting me. I had no idea what was going on with my old Squad.

I didn't want to know.

Who I was, didn't matter anymore.

I glanced at my tattoos, which were so faded that I was hardly able to make them out anymore.

That's right.

My powers as the Hinokami... I haven't created flame for four years now.

There was no point anymore.

I lost to Danny at my peak of power. I managed to get Stage Two working, a power that contended with Urca the Slicer. But Danny was too strong. Danny was always better than me.

And now, he achieved what I had sought to do a long time ago.

He became the very thing that was moving the world into equality. But not by awakening The Great Akuma.

He had become the Akuma himself, by selling his soul away, and terrorizing the world. He became so powerful, that even Taras Legion Pax had gone silent.

But there was a reason why I was hiding here, and yes. I was relying on 16 year old girl to look after me like a total creepo loser.

I had to hide.

Wherever I went, Danny would find my Hinokami signature. I was obviously no match for Transplant, and whenever we fought, I would always narrowly escape, and innocent lives would get hurt.

Staying here with Shia, had so far been the most effective solution.

Ever since I lived with Shia, my life had become mundane, consisting of me running errands. Buying groceries, doing the laundry, and cleaning the house.

I was a mass murderer in the Contingency Initiative, but now I was a full time housewife.

But even with housework, I kind of failed miserably, and Shia always ended up doing everything again for me.

But this was my life now.

I never imagined myself to be like this, but I couldn't risk changing it around now. As annoying as this brat was, I got to know Shia for a while now.

I guess the only reason why Shia still kept me around, was because while she was able to live on her own, from the scholarships she won from her school and the subsidies they provided, her family had been involved in some shady business. Her parents were. And when you have parents who get themselves involved in criminal affairs, and don't have the money to pay them back, guess who they heckle?

Well certainly not them directly.

They heckle their cute little daughter.

And so, Shia had constantly run into attacks from bandits, who had come for her in her parent's place. She would get harassed, day and night.

Even when Shia's parents had died, most likely from the bandits themselves, they continued harassing her. After all, she was just a little girl. Who had no means of defending herself. The police wouldn't help. The government couldn't care less about one schoolgirl.

But ever since I moved in with her, the bandits stopped attacking. In fact, they avoided Shia altogether.

The people in this country were all really weak.

I didn't even need to use Hinokami to defeat them. Just showing them my face was enough to creep them out. And if they did manage to get past that, I would usually cut them up with Maika's katana, (no killing though, since Shia was against it).

"Those people from New Ulysses. Those superpowered humans. Why aren't they doing anything about Transplant? If I had an evo, I would dedicate my life to take down that psychopath. You can't make a good world from killing."

"They tried." I muttered.

"Hm?"

"Nothing." I said, as I got up and dragged out my futon, wrapping myself in it.

"I'm going hunting tomorrow. Hopefully, the storekeeper will like what I get."

"But what about dinner!"

"GODDAMMIT." I grumbled.

That night, Shia called it early, and went to her room and wrapped herself in her covers.

I went to the bathroom, the tiny bathroom, and stared at my reflection.

Four years does wonders.

I had gotten more chiseled, and I looked older.

Facial hair was growing, making me look more mature, and I didn't know if puberty hit me late, but I was seeing some serious gains.

Or I could have just been bulking from the fact that I no longer stressed by body as much as back then. And I had Shia cooking for me.

"Looking good, Mister Handsome." I joked at myself, in the mirror, as I ran a hand across my head, when suddenly, I paused.

"What the-"

I slowly rubbed the right side of my head.

It felt...

Prickly.

Like...

"Hair...?"

I gasped, as I turned up the brightness of Shia's mirror light, and stared at myself in the reflection.

"My... my right side, I don't believe it."

My right eye... was no longer bloodshot, and my face...

It was healing.

"Hah. Ha... HAHAHA!" I sobbed, as tears ran down my face.

"My face.... my face! My face! Oh god, my face!" My voice broke, as I continued stroking the healing skin on the right side of my face.

I grabbed Shia's skin care product.

She was going to flip if she found out I was using her beauty products without telling her, but I didn't care.

I had used tons of lotions back when I was Tidalflame. And I could never feel it. That was the curse of my Level 2 Dogma Bargain.

But the moment the lotion hit my skin, I could feel something cold, and soothing.

My skin was.... absorbing the nutrients.

I stepped back, and took off my shirt, revealing my toned muscles. I flexed in the mirror, and started posing like those action heroes I used to see on TV when I was a little kid.

"I'm... I'm not hideous anymore! I'm not! I'm not!!!"

I could hear sheets ruffling from within Shia's room, as I quickly toned it down.

"S... Soon I won't need to wear this anymore."

I clutched the black wig that I had always worn. Ever since I had joined CI.

I wore it whenever I didn't want anyone seeing my right side. I wore it when I was in public, or in disguise. And even for a while when Marcela had first moved in.

I paused.

Guys...

If only they could be there to see me like this.

Yeling Mah. Walking outside without his emo wig.

Confident about his appearance for the first time in his life.

But...

I stopped laughing like an idiot as I got up, calmly putting the wig away.

"Yeah. That's right. That could never work."

I walked to my futon, as I turned off the light.

Tidalflame is no more.

After all, according to Contingency Initiative, Tidalflame died fighting Transplant in Fa Shan.

KIA.

I was technically not supposed to exist.

Yeling Mah was pronounced dead.

"Yeling..." I heard a timid voice from Shia's voice.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come in."

I walked into the room, to see Shia huddled on her bed, staring at the photos of her and her teacher.

"Shia... you need to move on..."

"I know... but..."

Shia beckoned me to sit next to her.

I sighed.

One life ago, I would have freaked out. Like holy shit a girl is inviting me to sit next to her in bed. Who knows what would happen now?

But it was different with Shia.

She didn't see me that way, and I didn't see her that way.

Our bond wasn't romantic, it was more like...

I gave Shia a shoulder as she rested her head against it, crying.

"Stay strong, Shia. It might seem like he's the one, but you still have a whole life ahead of you. Keep moving forward, kiddo."

Shia sobbed, as she dropped the picture and clutched onto me.

"Thanks for doing this Yeling. Thank you. Thank you for not taking advantage of me like this."

"Well, anymore than I do anyway."

Shia let out a weak laugh.

"I hate you. Goodnight, Yeling."

I patted her head, as I left her alone, as she slowly fell asleep.

I looked at my hand again. The barely visible blue tattoos that made up the palm of my left.

If I had gone through as the Tidalflame, and awoken The Great Akuma, would someone like Shia be left alive?

But if she was alive, her precious sensei and love of her life would have died.

And she would have been even more devastated than before.

Just like Anna was.

I clenched my fist.

It should be this way. I have no regrets.

"Burn away to ash. Burn away, Tidalflame."

Storm Dragon

"I'm going to be heading out with some friends. Don't get up to mischief while I'm away!" Shia scolded me.

"I'm going to go on a hunt."

"I just said don't get up to mischief! What are you hunting?"

"Uh. Squirrels?"

"With that thing?!"

Shia pointed at my katana, which was strapped to my side.

I was wearing my dark green cloak, which was intended for camouflage.

"In case I run into anything bigger, we might score a surprise catch. Come on Shia. There's no telling you'll get another scholarship."

"I'll just study as hard as I can."

"But there's no guarantee. Every day I see you studying day and night, it's not good for you-"

"I don't need a lecture from you. Ugh." Shia rolled her eyes as she put on her shoes.

"Just don't set the place on fire, okay? Please. I'm begging you."

"I promise, nothing too crazy." I tried a smile, as my right side crinkled.

I lied.

I swung as hard as I could, as I slashed down at the minotaur's head, but the giant monster roared, backing way. I managed to clip off one of its horns.

Its voice rumbled in the forest.

"Hunter. Why do you not call upon the Devil's Flames?"

I gritted my teeth, as I tightened my grip on Maika's katana.

"How do you know."

The minotaur pointed at my tattoos, and within that split second decisions to get himself distracted, I sliced upwards, severing the monster in two.

"I don't call upon the Devil's Flames, because I am the Hinokami no longer." I seethed, as I watched the minotaur disintegrate into a pile of meat shanks and fur. I put them into my giant bag and lugged it along my shoulder.

This alone wasn't going to be enough to pay off rent. Now that there were two of us living in the place, I knew Shia's academic performance wasn't going to cover us both. It was barely able to cover herself alone, and that was with her pulling all nighters and sacrificing precious time just to study and work hard. With two people, it was impossible."

Shia had smiled at me, trying to keep down the stress.

"It'll be okay. I'll do my best."

Yeah right.

I didn't want her to suffer a mental breakdown all because she tried to keep a roof over my head. I had to balance it out too.

And so, every day, when Shia went out to school, or went out with friends (I forced her to go out with friends, yes, despite being a shut-in myself), I would go on hunts to try to sell off the spoils of high ranking monsters in The Wood.

Because God knows I'm horrendous with housework. And Shia knew it too.

I continued slaying the higher ranking monsters. Skipping the measly ranks. There was only so much space my satchel could hold.

Eventually, I reached a pond, and washed my face off.

From the reflection, I could make out myself. I looked like some crazy adventurer. Sword by my side. Huge sack on my back.

For a time, this was kind of what I looked like before I ran into Shia.

Except I was also malnourished and borderline dying from thirst.

When Danny had blasted me out of Fa Shan that day, I was sent hurtling into the air. Everything felt like a blur of events. And I found myself in the middle of nowhere. Just plain dying grass and fields. I had to find something, and I didn't have the supplies to cook.

The Dogma Bargain shall keep you alive. The Hinokami in you is far too important.

And so, I walked. For years. From one point to another. But while the Dogma had me sustained, my body was still human, and it felt weak, wracked with hunger and thirst.

I was alone for so many years, and as the Dogma continued sustaining me, the Bargain itself, was limited.

And by the time I reached The Wood, I found myself incapable of flame. It was there, I had to learn to fight with my weapons without my powers.

I struggled to my feet, staring at the katana that belonged to Maika Nagumo.

This sword was Japanese. And so was Shia's name.

But when I asked Shia about where I was, she explained that this place was known as Yon. It was actually in the far outskirts of Asia. Away from Japan and away from everywhere else. But due to the war between Japan and Illia, many Japanese immigrants ended up going to Yon. The reason being, that Yon was hostile to Illians. Even more than Chinese.

After all, the first settlers of Yon were in fact Japanese.

Since then, Yon had become a place for many Japanese people, and others of Asian origin.

When Shia had first found me, she thought I was Japanese, because of Maika's katana. But then she saw my face and instantly recognized me as Chinese.

I could tell she wanted to ask why some Chinese dude had a Japanese sword. But she didn't want to pry.

I was grateful for that.

"Back to hunting." I said, as I shouldered my satchel.

I continued making my way across The Wood, deeper and deeper, until I reached a large stone formation.

"A cave?" I muttered, as I peered inside, then stumbled back, as a roar erupted from within.

"What the- What's a dragon doing in this region of The Wood?!"

The dragon roared at me.

You dare disturb my slumber, child?!

This was bad.

I recognized his scales instantly.

But what was he doing here?!

"N- No!" I stammered. In ancient Chinese folklore, there were a bunch of gods. But one type of deity stood out. The dragons.

And with this one, we all knew, even I, who was whitewashed by New Ulyssian culture, knew, not to offend the great spiritual dragon of storms and rain.

Then why have you come here.

"I uh."

Think Yeling. Think.

At the end of the day, you were Chinese.

Think, Mah Ye Ling.

What was the one thing we knew to do, for the great spiritual dragon of agriculture?!

"I have come to bring good tidings. Um. To the mighty spiritual dragon, Shen. We have never forgotten about you. We are eternally grateful of your kindness and mercy to our crops... and... uh..."

I was obviously not going to tell him I went into the cave in hopes of slicing and dicing the shit out of him and sell his scales to pay off Shia's rent.

You lie! One such as you, dare to speak such dai wa to The Great Legendary Shen? If you have come to bring good tidings, why have you brought a sword?! Stained with blood?!

"Shit." I grumbled.

Shen emerged from his cave, until his entire azure scaled body was in full view, towering over me.

I readied Maika's katana.

Was I seriously going to fight the god of storms?!

Then come, humour me. Little boy.

Shen dove his head, as he tried to snap at me, but I leapt into the air, landing on his head and slashing down, but Maika's katana glanced off. And Shen wove around. I clung onto his horns with dear life as I smashed through dozens of trees.

"AAAAGHHH!" I yelled in pain, as I was flung off his head, slamming onto the ground and falling into a creek.

Shen went in to strike again, as I slashed at the Great Dragon with my katana, the swipe causing him to recoil as I rushed forward.

I was fighting the Spiritual Dragon. The Master of Storms and Bringer of Rain.

What the fuck was wrong with me?!

With only a sword?!

But I remembered Shia's smile.

I had to go home, and it was clear I was in too deep.

I had to defeat Shen.

"AAAAHGHHH!!" I screamed, deliriously, as I rushed forward.

I've had my fun.

Shen said, as he swiped with his claw. I widened my eyes as I flew back in a shower of blood, my chest erupted in pain. I was sent flying into the air until I was face to face with the giant spirit.

Shen opened his mouth, as energy pooled together.

Rain and storm.

I couldn't die.

I can't die.

I had to use it, but would he acknowledge me, after four years?!

I aimed my palm.

"I can't die here. I need to return to Shia. I don't want her to be sad because I died here. And most importantly...

My tattoos began to glow blue. For the first time in four years.

"I HAVE TO PAY HER RENT!"

Level 1 Hinokami: Inverse Tsunami Release

I fired a bolt of blue flame, as the fire clashed with Shen's storm ball.

Hinokami? You dare to use that wretched Japanese Demon's Flames against the superior storms of Shen?!

The storm ball began to breach my fire as I struggled to keep myself centred and balanced.

I couldn't win this clash.

The way I was right now, I was too weak.

It was a miracle I even had Hinokami still.

If you can't win the struggle, doesn't mean you lost the fight. It just means their power is greater than yours. So use it against them. Senkaku in theory is inferior to any Great Akuma Dogmas. It is only strong because I make it strong.

Matt.

I released my flame, as the struggle slammed into the ground. Giving me immense rotational momentum, as I sent another blast of flame which propelled me to Shen's direction.

What are you? You aren't The Great Akuma.

I clutched the katana with both my hands, as the blade began to glow blue with Hinokami's flames.

"My name is Mah Ye Ling. Shen, and right here and now, I'm taking you down!"

I slashed with all my might, when suddenly, my body exploded in pain.

"Wha-"

I yelled as I slammed into the ground, the blue flames dissipating from my arm as it began to bleed profusely.

"GRAAAH!" I yelled, as images of Squad Four appeared in my head.

Of Danny...

The sacrifice was your family. To call upon his flames once more, you must sacrifice again.

"No! Don't take... don't take Shia!" I begged, as I began to retch in pain.

Then I shall be merciful. Because you disgraced both the Hinokami and yourself by refusing to use that arm of yours, then the exchange shall be your arm.

My arm began to twist and corrode as I screamed in agony.

Shen lowered his head in front of me.

Who are you. On what grounds do you have to state such things in the presence of the almighty Shen.

The corruption stopped, as my arm began to recover.

There were two voices now in my head.

I am the Dogma. I am law. I am exchange. I am fairness in this world, on behalf of my master, The Great Akuma. This boy is mine to control. He is not your property, Master of the Storms, Shenlong.

Shen narrowed his eyes.

So you are second to another. You dare to speak to me such a manner, little Dogma?

The Dogma was quiet.

Should you choose to interfere, you will strike war against my master. It won't be me to make you regret your decisions, God of Rain.

Shen ascended into the air, his spiritual dragon body in full view.

There is none greater than Shen. You dare speak ill of my name?! Then I shall decouple this boy from your influence. By the name of the Great Celestial Dragon, Shenlong, the one known as Mah Ye Ling shall be free from his tribulations of a Dogma like you. He will yield his flames independent of your rules and law.

My body suddenly, lifted, as I green particles began to surround me.

You cannot do this. You will strike a war against the Great Akum-

The dragon began to shrink, as Shen appeared before me, in a human form. Flowing green hair, and a beautiful face.

"I will show you to speak to me with respect, insignificant Dogma. Do you enjoy exchange? Then in exchange of using my name in such a foolish manner, I will take from you, your precious Hinokami vessel. From this day forward, Mah Ye Ling shall wield my power along with his flames. Independent from you."

I stared at my hand, as wind swirled around it.

"Hey hey hey. You're kidding right?"

Shen pointed at me, and a powerful force shunted out of my body, as my faded tattoos, which were initially blue, became white.

HINOKAMI VESSEL, YELING MAH. DO NOT TEST ME. DO NOT GO WITH SHENLONG. I'M WARNING YOU I'M-

The Dogma's voice disappeared, as I stared at the ghostly apparition behind me, as he began to dissipate.

Shen stood next to me.

"Mah Ye Ling."

"Um... yes, Lord Shen?"

"I am now a part of you."

"That's great... I mean that's a huge honour."

Shen crossed his arms.

"Of course! Now..."

Now?

Shen turned to me, his face serious. I began sweating bullets.

"Do you have a place where I can stay?"

Focal

"Focal is at large again." Shia adjusted the volume, as Shen was absolutely astounded at practically every object in her home.

"Lady Shia, what is this?!"

"That's... a melon. Shen."

Shen slapped his hands against his face.

"Most astounding! From my eons in slumber, I have never encountered such a- by my name, what in the world is that?!"

"It's a rice cooker."

"A what? What are these unusual parts."

Shia sighed as she got up and started preparing rice. Shen, completely baffled and in awe.

"Lady Shia, from my many years as the great dragon of agriculture, you have my highest honours. To be able to prepare and transform the fruits of my rain, into such a beautiful delicacy, you shall see prosperous growth for millennia to come!"

Shia stared at Shen.

"I... Thank you, Shen."

Shen gave her a thumbs up.

Highest honours my ass.

Ever since Shen had struck up an alliance with me, he ended up transferring more than 90% of his power into my Dogma tattoo. When I asked him why, he told me it was because he had never done it before. His brother, Tian, the Celestial Dragon had told him about it one time, a thousand years ago, but Shen never cared because he had never imagined himself to ever be in this scenario.

He then went on a massive speel about how technically, by accidentally giving me almost all of his power, was because he was just too strong. He then laughed at the sky, as if he was proud that he lost all of his strength.

Basically, there man that was standing before me, was about as weak as those old geezers who tried to rip me off with those dried snakes on the street. And because he had spent millennia being worshipped, and sleeping all the time, he had next to zero social skills, zero practical abilities, and did not know anything about the world's customs.

He basically became a divine loser.

Ordinarily, if you unlock different powers from different Levels of the Dogma, your tattoo doesn't change much. The reason being, the most recent Dogma Level, especially if it is Akuma Grade, is most inherent to you. It is pure. And cannot be washed out.

But when Shen transferred me his power, my tattoo didn't just change to reflect that, it had gone from blue to white. But unfortunately, the side effects were... inconvenient to say the least.

"Lord Shen... surely, there's gotta be a way to unlock your power without breaking my limbs."

Shen shook his head.

"My dear child, my power is of the most divine. It is the gift of rain that blesses this world. It simply is not something you can weaponize."

"I used your power to make one tiny breeze and I dislocated my shoulder!"

"You should be honoured you have me as your precious companion!"

"I didn't even ask for it!"

Shia's eye twitched in annoyance as she let loose an annoyed shout.

"You two! Shut up will you?! Ugh! First it was Yeling. Now it's you! Awwwww jeez!"

Shia stormed into her room and slammed the door shut.

"Was it something I said?" Shen looked disappointed.

I facepalmed.

"Look, Lord Shen. I am honoured to have you as a companion. But I can't even use your powers without my limbs literally breaking off. I have to learn to figure it out. And even then, I'm not going to use it for anything special."

Shen raised an eyebrow.

"Similar to Hinokami?"

"Yeah." I said, as I inspected my hand.

"I won't ever use my powers again. There's no point. Someone has already fulfilled my life goal. There is no use of the Tidalflame anymore. I will only ever fight with my human hands until the day I die."

Shen watched me as I prepared the plates to dinner.

"Your life is not set in stone, Mah Ye Ling."

I paused as I made eye contact with The Great Dragon.

"You-"

"My oh my! The weekend is almost here! I wonder if we could go oversee the markets. Human trade has evolved greatly, since the time I was awake. And Shia's companions, they certainly are interesting!"

"Eughhh..." I made a disgusted face. I think the last thing Shia needed was for the two of us to embarrass her again. After the whole fiasco of me returning home that one day.

"Alright, Lord Shen. Since this place technically only has one bedroom, and that's for Shia, you'll be sleeping on the ground, in the living room, along with me. We don't have a futon yet for you, so you're just gonna have to make... WHOA WHOA WHOA!"

I grabbed Shen's arms as he struggled.

"What are you doing?!" I exclaimed.

"I am a great celestial dragon. Clothes is of no importance to me. Clothes shackles my greatness!"

"Stop stripping! We're living with a girl! Know your boundaries!"

Too late. Shen had already ripped through his shirt, and began unbuckling his jeans as I desperately tried to stop him.

"You idiot god! Not the pants! Stop!"

We continued struggling, until we heard voices outside.

"Oh my god, Shia, I didn't know you could sing!" A male voice resonated from the walls.

"Oh... well..."

"Shia.... you're blushing...!" A girl's voice teased.

I spun and glared at Shen.

"We need to hide ourselves. Right this instant!"

Shen gave me a confused expression.

"But why? More humans, means more mortals to see my grand immortal self. Consider it an honour, for this Shia's friends to be in the presence as someone as mighty as I."

"We can always visit a temple or a shrine or some shit. But now is seriously not the time."

"Can we come in?" The girl asked, as Shia began stammering.

"Oh... no... no please don't. My place is... a mess! A big mess! I haven't cleaned it."

"It's okay, Shia. No one will judge you." The boy said.

"Iwabe won't. But I will!" The girl laughed.

The door creaked open.

"Come on, Shia! Don't be shy!" The girl said, as she flung open the door, revealing Shen and I, wrestling in the center of the living room. Shen's shirt was completely torn apart, revealing his bare chest, and his pants were all on the floor, revealing his underwear, which he was trying to take off as well. But I was stopping him, with my hands near his crotch area.

It was until I saw the girl and Shia put their hands on their mouths, and the guy to stare at us with what I was guessing as pure horror�, surprise, disgust, and amusement...

Did I realize how easily misinterpreted this sight was.

"Y- Y-" Shia stammered.

"You idiot!" Shia squeaked, as she stumbled back, dropping her handbag on the ground.

"Um... hey Shi-"

"So this is the great Shia my Lord Yeling has spoken about! Indeed, a charming young woman!"

Shen got up, in his speedos, as he approached Shia's friends. The girl screamed, as she ran away, and the guy backed up and knocked over a bunch of stuff on the counter.

Shen then got on his knees and kissed Shia's hand.

"Lady Shia, for your hospitality, I will be under your care."

The guy stared at Shia in horror.

"Shi- Shia... I didn't know you lived with... such interesting roommates."

Shia's face turned stark white, as she pulled her hand away.

"N-No! This isn't what it looks like, I live with Yeling! He's acting as my Guardian."

I held up my hand, defeated.

"Hi. I'm Yeling. I'm a freeloader."

It took a while for Shia to get used to the new living arrangements. But after a while, she had gotten used to Shen. Of course, when Shen explained to Shia that he was the great God of Rain, Shia, like most sane people, did not believe him, chalking it all up as a mentally deranged individual who was somehow connected to me.

"As long as he isn't a pervert, it's fine." Shia grumbled.

And now here we were. Shopping for groceries.

Shia was busy with schoolwork, and so she tasked the errand to Shen and I. Well just me, since Shen was next to useless.

"Alright, Shen. We just need to find carrots, preferably on discount. Because we can't afford the fancy one- Shen?"

I looked around, and spotted the God of Rain spreading his word, to a bunch of crazy old bats who were trying to rip him off.

"Come back here!" I ran up to Shen and grabbed his wrist, dragging him away.

"But those mortals promised me their unwavering faith should I purchase their stocks!"

"Of course they'll say that!"

We continued shopping, as Shen was completely enthralled by every booth he saw.

Whatever.

At least Shen was enjoying this.

And I would be lying if I said I wasn't captivated myself the first time I was here with Shia. I was amazed myself, considering in New Ulysses, everything was technological, and thus all booths were indoors.

To go outside and shop their booths was amazing. I guess this was one of the many things that Yon had that New Ulysses didn't. Just old fashioned fresh air.

I walked past a newspaper stand, and an article caught my attention.

I peered at the front page.

Supercriminal Focal, still at large. Metahuman destroys entire German aerial fleet. Potentially working alongside the Transplant?

"Focal, huh." I muttered.

"Yep. Crazy guy. Dude is a psionic. Anything that gets in his way gets disintegrated."

"Do you think Focal would win in a fight against Transplant?" Another guy in the booth asked.

"No way. Transplant has an infinite regeneration factor. Focal can decimate him as much as he can. He'll just keep coming back. After all, you're talking about a guy who put Taras Pax in his place. And that dude, do you remember him? The Pax Incident that gave everybody in New Ulysses powers? Man, the good old days when Taras was the number one threat in the UN along with Contingency Initiative. Now it's Transplant taking over the whole criminal scene."

I guess ever since I went out of action, new superstars popped up.

"You two." The lady managing the booth put her hands on her hips.

"Talking about those two as if they're the most amazing people ever. They're terrorists! There's nothing good coming from people like them. Especially that bastard Transplant."

"I know that!" The guy responded.

"But there's nothing we can do. You either respect him, or you die to him. If even Taras and his company couldn't beat him. The only people who are trying is Realmwatch, and even they don't stand a chance."

I sighed, as I walked away.

This wasn't my life anymore.

I sat in a cafe, with Shen. Drinking tea.

"Tch. I overpaid. Great. Shia isn't going to like this." I muttered.

"Are you desperate for this Earth's riches, Yeling?" Shen asked.

"Well, in this world, we need to pay rent to live. So yeah."

"How peculiar, how you mortals do things."

I took another sip.

Maybe...

Maybe staying here was the right idea.

I didn't need to worry about Transplant, now that I've faded into the background. Supercriminals like Focal can be dealt with by the next generation of Realmwatch operatives.

And Contingency Initiative...

I stirred my tea, as my reflection rippled, momentarily flashing to when I was still Tidalflame.

That kevlar mask, that covered my face and revealing my human half of my face. The skull design and flames.

Seeing that made me uncomfortable.

To know that this monster was me.

"What will you do about those monsters?" Shen asked.

I stirred the tea, as Tidalflame rippled away.

"Nothing. Let the UN and Realmwatch deal with it."

"Based on the rumours of the humans around, that might not be possible. Your flames are special, they are celestial to The Great Akuma. And now you have the power of the Great Shenlong. In theory, you could-"

"No, Shen. You don't understand. What Transplant is capable of. Sure, I have the power of Hinokami and now, you. But Transplant... he has the powers of multiple gods. AND multiple meta humans who have faced him. My power is like a drop in the ocean compared to him."

I looked at my missing right hand. It was just a stump now.

"Even at my strongest, he just toyed with me. And in the end, I was never the strongest. There were people who far surpassed me. There's no point in me trying to pick it up again. I'll just be left in the dust playing catch up. Being the minor character. It's over for people like me, Shen."

Shen regarded me with those green eyes of his. His long elegant hair was tied back.

"Yel-"

KABOOM.

Screams erupted from the far end of the town as I shot to my feet.

"What is that? Did a monster from The Wood invade?"

Shen narrowed his eyes.

"No. If it was, I would have detected it."

Another explosion, as a woman screamed.

"Call the police!"

One man was dialling frantically, as a large crate was about to topple over him.

I drew Maika's katana and rushed to his location, slashing at the crate.

"Th- thank you, sir." The man mumbled, as I glared at the carnage. I couldn't make out what was causing it.

"Shen! Do something!"

Shen scratched his head.

"Technically, all of my power is yours to wield, mortal boy. I cannot provide much help."

"You useless god!"

"Take that back! Hey!"

I rushed forward, as I cut up debris, rescuing citizen after citizen, as I made my way to the carnage.

I heard gunshots left and right, but the sounds of their screaming was a clear indicator that they weren't strong enough.

What was a threat this powerful doing in Yon?!

"This place... it reeks of weakness." A heavily electronically distorted voice echoed from within the smoke and dust.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

A orange light appeared from within the smoke, as I instinctively brought up my sword to block it. It was a powerful concussion beam, as I slid back, trying my best to withstand the beam.

From within the dust, a man emerged. He was wearing a pure black combat armour suit. His face was encased in a black helmet, with occasional angular teal lights, which arced across the sides of his helmet, and across his suit.

"What is this? A defender?"

I yelled, as I redirected the blast.

More police came in to try to take down the man, but the man stood motionless, his visor on his helmet glowing purple. A massive blast of energy sprouted out, as multiple orange energy arms slammed the officers onto the ground, lifting them up and bashing them against the walls as they went unconscious.

"You a hero in this country?" The man asked me.

"Yeling!" Shen shouted, as he appeared next to me.

The man paused.

"What did you just say?"

I turned to Shen.

"Get out of here! Make sure Shia is okay!"

Shen nodded.

"As you wish."

Shen turned around and sprinted the other way, as I faced the meta human.

"I... I know who you are." I said.

"Do you now?"

"You're Focal, from the news. Why are you here? Yon has nothing."

Focal's visor glowed again, as a different colour energy blast shot towards me. I blocked it with the katana, but my hands instantly froze up with immense cold.

I yelped in pain and stumbled back.

"Why are you here?!"

Focal said nothing, as he clicked on the side of his helmet, revealing his eyes. They were glowing orange, as energy exited them, encasing his body and causing it to hover in the air.

"I should be asking you that. But clearly, you have abandoned who you are. That means you're nothing to me."

"What?!"

"Now. What was her name... Shia?"

My blood turned to ice.

"What... leave her alone!"

"Nah. I always knew you were soft. From back then. But... guess now I know why. Haven't I already told you before? Women are a waste of time, Yeling."

My heart stopped.

"You... Lewis?"

Lewis removed his helmet, revealing his aged face. There was a vicious scar running down the left side of his face, and his hair was bright white.

"Not Lewis. It's Focal now. You've been gone far too long for your own good. While you were busy playing house with this Shia, Squad Four was busy getting stronger to avenge you. We all thought you were gone, so we worked to the bone to take down Danny. But he was too strong. Did you even think about us at all these four years?"

I clenched my fists, as I tried to initiate flame, but the flames were so small and miniscule, as it only raced up the palm in my hand.

Lewis' eyes focused on my hands.

"Judging from how weak you've gotten. Jesus, Yeling. Your tattoos... they're not even blue anymore. And your face."

"What about it?!"

"It's healed. Don't you know what that means?"

"I'm free."

"No. It means you can't use Intangibility anymore, you idiot! And your fire. It's basically embers now. No. This is wrong. This is all wrong. You were one of the strongest members in Squad Four, Yeling! And now you've become this... this..."

Lewis clutched his face.

"Yeling, don't you know how much we've lost?"

"Danny... he defeated CI, didn't he? He surpassed Taras, right?"

Lewis glared at me.

"You ignorant fool."

His eyes flashed blue, as I wave of concussion force emanated from his eyes and slammed into me. I smashed into a food cart, as everything went blurry.

"You asked me why I came to Yon. It was because yesterday, I sensed a familiar energy signature. My Vision Evo had evolved since those four years to trace not just people, but their energy signatures. I couldn't find you, even with that. And I wondered why. Until one day, your flames. The Hinokami, appeared on my radar. I came here as fast as I could. Because of there was someone out there who could restore Squad Four, it had to be you."

Lewis descended, slamming his feet into my midsection as I coughed out blood.

"But imagine my disappointment, knowing the Tidalflame, the Level 1 Dogma Holder of Hinokami, has become THIS. I arrived here, but the moment I caught that signal I lost you again. You seriously abandoned us to become this weakling?! How could you?!"

I tried to fight back against Lewis, but he was too strong.

"I... I lost to Danny. He took away my hand. And... half my power was gone. I... I'm not strong enough. No matter what I do-"

"NO. I don't want to hear that from you, Yeling. Squad Four. We all fought Danny with everything we had FOR YOU. Do you know... do you know..."

A tear ran down Lewis' eye.

"Who we lost?"

I stared at my old Squad member.

"No... don't say it..."

"We fought Transplant. And Danny, in a fit of rage, discovered you were affiliated with us, like family. And so, he decided to take from you, what you took from him. He slaughtered us, Yeling."

"No.... stop!!"

"Maika is dead." My heart felt like it was impaled by a stake.

"Flint is dead." Another impalement.

"Whitney is dead."

I began to breathe shakily.

"Stop... stop talking, Lewis! ENOUGH!"

Lewis got up.

"The only people left, are Matt, Marcela, and I. Just us. We're all Taras has left. Everybody else has either died or disappeared. Either from fear, or from defiance, against Transplant. There's no point reviving the Great Akuma with Danny around, but this guy is not bringing fairness. His idea of people who deserve to live are too skewed."

Lewis got off of me.

"If you've given up your flame, then I'll reawaken it. Shia..."

"I won't let you-"

Lewis turned to me, as another wave of concussive force slammed me into a wall.

"Right now, I far surpass you. In fact, these four years, I've been training with Marcela nonstop. We've already surpassed you when you were Tidalflame, Yeling. Do you know what that means?"

I glared at Lewis, as my body felt like it was about to break from the sheer force of Lewis' evo.

"At the sorry state you are right now, you don't stand a chance against me. And you don't stand a chance against Danny."

"I know that... I know..."

"The pain of loss. That was what moved me to take action. We lost three of ours that day, and I thought I lost you too. That was what made me strong. So to make you strong, I'm going to do the same. I'm going to take your precious Shia."

Lewis' eyes flashed purple with his vision evo, just like those many years ago.

"Found her."

"LEWIS!" I roared, as Lewis took to the skies.

"Stop me if you can, Yeling. And if you can't, then both you and Shia will die."