Day 1 After Collapse:
Slowly coming to, Ran gripped his right arm tightly. Apparently, when he crashed against the wall, his arm had taken the brunt of the impact; his bones breaking into pieces. It would take an enormous amount of time to heal as he had no elixirs and that's if it can heal at all.
Feeling an excruciating pain coming from his arm, he gritted his teeth in anger. Turning back, he saw that the Cheetah was still out cold. He seethed with rage as his eyes flickered an ominous red-pink light:
"Hey!" Boom. He kicked the Cheetah in the stomach, causing it to immediately jump and stare at Ran. "Roar?" Hey, I'm sleeping over here, what'd you kick me for? The feline was confused at the scene before it, its sworn enemy and a beautiful pond. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Did you just realize what you did?! If not, allow me to enlighten you." Ran rushed slugglishy towards the Cheetah, sword in hand. The Cheetah was alarmed and tried to dodge, only to find that both its front paws were broken! As though a possum, it played dead instantly, with its tongue out and legs in the air! Its survival instincts told it to do whatever it can to live and this… was the best it could come up with.
Boom. Ran sent another kick to its stomach, sending it's big body tumbling a couple feet. Coughing some blood, the Cheetah was stunned. I'm sure I looked dead. How vicious! It could only cry in silence. It didn't even want any of this to happen. It was just hungry and happened to be running away from a huge, angered rhino when it found the cave. Smelling the food, it went to check things out only to find the malicious human who almost killed it back then. It didn't even remember how it ended up stalking Ran and attacking him back then as well. One minute it was just drinking water in a stream, and in the next, it was just behind him. Not that any of it matters now...
Knowing its life was truly in danger, it did the only thing left in its repertoire of life saving tactics. It prostrated! And prostrated hard. Some blood came from its head, indicating the strength of the impact as well the sheer damage Ran had done to its head. "Ro-meor…"
Ran looked at the feline prostrating and thought it looked quite silly. "Haha! Great. You're now officially my new sleeping pillow, congratulations!" Laughing coldly at the feline, he had conquered the walking pillow. And looking around, there clearly were no beds or soft places so he chose the next best thing.
"Roar?" Seeing Ran laugh at it, it could only weep silently. "Roar? You mean meow. That's the sound you are supposed to make now. Roars are for enemies. We're partners in crime now. After all, eating my own pillow will not give me a good night's sleep." You can't even tell what time of day it is here, much less what day it is.
Looking around, he stared at the pond and found himself to be thirsty. Walking up to the Cheetah, he patted its head. "Come on now, my pillow can't be dirty and bloody." He then started dragging the Feline. Seeing his trajectory, it tried to break out frantically. Ran smiled in his heart of hearts. Payback time!
Yet it failed to do so and could only watch as they both got closer to the pond. Upon closer inspection, the pond was glowing and its waters of a pure blue hue. It was weird though because it was such a saturated color, yet one could see it through to the bottom. What's weirder is that there was movement occasionally as well. As most of the pond was covered in lush, glowing flora. All of these sights looked alien to both Ran and the Cheetah.
As they neared, they found to their surprise, the flora would part themselves as they passed. Unsure of what was going on, Ran became curious. He wanted to know what was in that pond that would make splashing noises like it was having fun. Contrary to him, the Cheetah couldn't care less and was restless. Its instincts were telling it to get out of there! Of course, Ran didn't know about its pillows restlessness, because… pillows don't rest!
Finally, after walking for about 30 seconds, they looked at the ponds in full form. What appeared like different colored stars would shimmer and dim every now and then, appearing mysterious. Scanning the pond, they eventually found the source of the splashing.
A huge Koi fish, about 5 times as big as the Cheetah, was swimming happily. At first, they couldn't recognize it as most of its body is actually the same color as the pond, save for some splotches of white here and there.
"Ah, at last, the inheritor has bequeathed us with their presence."
A sigh of relief was heard afterward that sounded joyful and melancholic at the same time. The voice sounded extremely aged as the experience of time was mirrored in its words. Ran, however, could not find the source of the voice and looked around the temple. Finally he thought of something and looked towards the pond again. There, he locked eyes with the Koi fish that was staring at him. Looking at its huge eyes was like looking into the eyes of one's own grandmother who's on her deathbed. Soon, he found his eyes watery as he looked at the Koi fish. He didn't know why he felt like this… maybe because it's past was so recognizable from its eyes, that looking into them was like Ran was there as well. Waiting, waiting, waiting. And more waiting! When will this end? Being there, alone for thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years, waiting. Waiting for that day where your mission will be completed… only to find yourself waiting once more.
The Cheetah, however, was not entertaining the thought of looking into its eyes. Its spidey senses were telling it that it was a horrible creature, it could die just by looking at it. It found itself cowering behind Rans back as it tried to hide its presence.
"Um, are you talking to me?" "Why yes, who else would I be talking to, that pillow over there?" Despite its age, it could still trash talk. Glad to know at least it's got a sense of humor. Ran laughed, "Haha, don't mind it. Just my pillow-is all. So… you're quite big aren't you?" Ran was awkward as he couldn't find anything to talk about with a fish. "Chip, chip, chip. Why yes, I'm quite big indeed. You know, waiting for you for 9,000 years is no easy feat. Plus, I've got nowhere else to go… to do exercise! I'm a Carp after all, it's what we're known for."
Boom! Such a knowledge bomb left Ran blank for a good five minutes and the Koi fish just stood there… staring.
"9-9,000 years?!" "Yes 9,000 years." Looking at the human in front of it, it could finally rest in peace. It waited that long for a human to discover this place, but it never did. The only thing that caught its eye was a couple of stupid beasts that didnt know what true power was!
"This place… this place is… my home. Back then, I was just a small and insignificant carp, used for entertainment. Then… it happened all too fast." Recalling its memories, its eyes shimmered with a saddened look.
"THE DESTROYER, THAT DAMNED FUCKER! I SWEAR IF I EVER-" a sigh escaped its mouth as it could no longer tolerate its life.
"... point is, this place is yours now. All the knowledge my masters left behind is still safe, safeguarded by yours truly. They enlightened me just for this purpose." Once more, its eyes started to dim slowly as the life within started escaping its body.
"Why? Why didn't you leave?!" Ran said as streams of tears silently escaped and dropped into the pond. "Sigh… I couldn't. My master created me just for this reason. No matter what, I can't betray him. And you think I could be talking to you right now if it wasn't for him? Plus, I never feared death. You know, I wasn't supposed to be alive right now? A Koi, even if it is terrifying, doesn't have a lifespan of 9,000 years! In fact, almost no creature can live that long. No-" "But then…" He was confused and even more sad now. Does that mean it's actually dead right now? I'm so sorry Ms.Koi. "No, actually, I did die. And died, and died again... over and over again. I'm stuck in a cycle of reincarnation and it's all your fault!"
"Sigh… it's not your fault, sorry. Anyway, I think I'll finally die for good this time." Ran was bawling his eyes out now. I made her die countless times… over and over and over again. Suddenly he jumped into the pond and hugged the fish, all the while crying sorry.
"Don't be sorry. Truthfully, I'm also confused as to how and why I reincarnated… but that's all in the past now. How about this? While I cant watch you use all of this knowledge to grow stronger, I want to give you something in the hopes of helping you grow."