~jeiku~
i feel my ribs shatter and pierce my heart from the force of jo's strike, the world goes dark. i open my eyes and im back in king's palace, king sits on his throne.
"im disappointed number 9, you got your ass handed to you back there" king chuckles slightly
"why am i here" i ask
"to be quite frank i dont even know, must have been just a split second decision. but know that youre here id like to make the most of it"
"are you saving my life"
"in a way yes" king slouches in his throne "but also in a way ive taken more control over you" more control? "now where should i even begin-"
"tell me more about the 10" i blurt out
"well it appears that i am in a rather generous mood today so I'll tell you a bit about it" king laughs "although its much more fun to figure it out on your own. so, the 10, what exactly do you want to know?"
"everything"
"well jeiku thats a big ask is it not? but i guess a little exposition never hurt anyone" im finally going to get answers. "to understand the 10 you first must understand me, not to sound self centered but my existence is rather important. i understand that your friend mikku found some lab reports on experiments that took place many years ago, and the mysterious number 59 experiment that said king." king yawns, "well to make a very long and boring story short, an experiment went wrong and i lost my physical body. i gained the memories and knowledge of every being in existence, all except one. the experiment was to see if it was possible to manufacture a god, but meddling in such things isnt wise."
"so youre a god?"
"well yes and no, my vast all knowing knowledgeable and power to appear in peoples conscience at will and bestow upon them power they could only dream of does sound like the power of a god, but alas i am nothing more than a man cursed with eternal life. the 10 are beings of unmatched power, but dont get the wrong idea, you are not a god"
"how did you heal me when i became a 10"
"well i am able to manipulate things, i dont bother with any life form below a 10 but becoming a 10 connects us, makes us family if you will" king laughs, "a family is a rather interesting way to put it."
"what are you after"
"death. im after death, my own to be specific, and the 10 uniting is the only way thats possible, that combined power is enough to give me a body again, then i will be able to die"
"but why perpetrate so much pain on this quest?"
"to rile people up obviously, the more destruction and mayhem i cause the more likely the 10 is to uniting and bringing me back, the mist village massacre was unfortunately a failed attempt at starting war"
"but why are you saving my life and not the lives of yori and moritomo"
"well they betrayed me, i did not spare them because at the end i didnt see the potential in them that i see in you. now jeiku, ive told you enough-"
"who are the 10?" i interrupt him
"wheres the fun in telling you? besides i dont even know who number 1 is, he or she is the one being i am not able to see the memories of."
"cant you tell me anything else"
"well there is one final thing, since ive given you so much information i feel its only fair for you to give me something in return" so thats why he agreed to tell me so much, he wants something from me. "i will give you the power of the white flame, shiroi honō, this will transform you and give you amplified power, divine intervention is a system of transformations that in theory anyone can acquire but only those in the 10 are able to withstand the power. now jeiku, if you wish to live through the power of divine intervention i will awaken shiroi honōs first stage, it should be enough to get you out of the situation youre in."
"whats the catch"
"well, if your heart stops again i will not interfere and you will die just like any other being, divine intervention powers have several stages to them, if you crave more power you'll have to figure out how to awaken them for yourself. and lastly-"
"who else can use divine intervention?"
"would you stop cutting me off while im talking. do it again and i wont save you. but to answer your question, the current members of the 10 that can use divine intervention are number 10, and numbers 6 through 2, im sure number 1 can use it but i really have no way of knowing" i suspect jo is no higher than i am meaning i shouldn't have to worry about him using divine intervention, but the issue is king may give him the power during our fight.
"are you planning on giving jo divine intervention as soon as i defeat him?"
"nope, hes talented but he doesn't have the same drive for survival and power that you do. and now for the final thing i was going to say before you so rudely interrupted me, i will awaken shiroi honō for you on one condition, you must seek out all of the 10 and put them on your side, even number 1, and you must give me a physical body through the 10s united power so i may finally die. if you betray me i will have you killed, you have a deadline of 10 years, that may sound like a lot but that should give you enough time to complete this task. do you accept these terms?" i nod
"i accept"
"im counting on you jeiku"
the world glows brightly and im standing there, my body is pure white, it appears like im made of white flames, this is the power of divine intervention, the shiroi honō.
"what the hell are you" jo says in a scared voice, i dont respond and instead strike him so quickly its barely a blur, jo's arm is severed from his body and the flames of shiroi honō cauterized the wound instantly. jo falls down,
"i surrender! i surrender! dont kill me!"
"this match is over! jeiku wins!" the ref shouts and shiroi honō deactivates, the flames dissipate and im standing there staring at jo, i don't say a word and just turn around, leaving the arena, this power is only the beginning.