"Hello, my name is Yato... Yato Wang."
'Wang? Yato? 'How come that name sounds so familiar?'
Shiro fell silent as he quietly tried to remember where he had heard the name before. Shiro was adamant about not believing the image that had formed in his head.
"Martial God Yato?" Shiro blurted out, his wide eyes fixed on the handsome man in front of him.
Martial God Yato was one of the thirteen titled gods, a legendary figure who few had the opportunity to meet. As his name implied, he was a martial artist and a battle maniac who had spent most of his life time on the battlefield.
Shiro was taken aback; what was he doing here? How could this Yato be so different from what he remembered? Shiro once knew a Martial God with blonde hair, fierce blue eyes, and yellow colored beards that drew a circle around his lips. He always had this invincible aura around him which made it seem as if he alone could hold the sky.
His commanding presence made it difficult for anyone to approach him recklessly, and his power and might made him feared and respected by all the other gods.
But what exactly was this? What happened to the Martial God? What happened to the seemingly unstoppable champion whose unfathomable abilities shook the heavens?
Shiro's mind raced with questions as he stared at Eris's father.
He couldn't see Yato's face right now, but he could tell a lot had changed. Hell even his aura was different!
"I go by Yato Wang now"
He didn't know Shiro, but judging by the way Shiro blurted out his name, Yato knew Shiro was someone he knew, at least in the past.
"Let's talk in a more private setting."
Yato proposed as he led Shiro outside their house. Once they were outside and far from ear's reach, the aura around Yato changed as his eyes turned fierce staring deeply at Shiro, Yato released all of his stored in Ki condensing it around Shiro as he rooted him to the ground.
'So this is the Martial God's spiritual pressure'
Shiro thought to himself while he erected multiple Ki barriers to protect himself from the pressure.
"Wait! I-"
Shiro was about to explain himself when he was mercilessly cut short by Yato's next words.
"I do not care who sent you, nor do I care where you came from but I will have to ask you to leave this place at once!"
As Yato spoke he increased the pressure around Shiro instantly smashing his Ki barriers to bits. He didn't know Shiro, but the fact that Shiro came from the higher planes was a risk that even he wasn't ready to take yet.
He had spent over a hundred years hiding from the eyes of the heavens, he couldn't be sent back now, he didn't want to go back to that life of constant blood shed were the battlefield was his home.
Yato had spent most of his life on the warfront, he loved the thrills and the gore, but one day he was killed and reincarnated in the lower heaven, he didn't deem it possible, but just like Shiro, he was reborn in the mortal plane.
The battlefields in the mortal plane were too dull and easy for someone of his caliber, just by looking at the maps he was able to accurately deduct his opponent's plans, routes and battle tactics. There was no thrill, no gore, nothing.
Having lost his zeal for battle, Yato roamed the earth for something to do, at least until he found a new love, something to cherish and protect with his overwhelming power, he found family.
Shiro was a threat as far as Yato knew, and to protect that which he loved he needed to eliminate Shiro.
Shiro stared on blankly as he witnessed the Martial God's return, the friendly aura around Yato had vanished and was replaced by a fierce dominating presence.
His cultivation quickly rose before coming to a stop at the Blood tempering realm, the limit for what the lower realm could handle.
Shiro was petrified, he wasn't scared, but the sheer difference in cultivation left him speechless.
How was he supposed to face such a monster?
Shiro was stunned, one swing from the Martial God would instantly put him back on the path to reincarnation.
Fighting such a monster was impossible, even if they had the same cultivation base, Shiro still doubted that he could win. Body cultivation and martial arts were the Martial God's territory, they were his specialty, and it was an impossibility to even expect that Shiro, someone who just stepped into the path of body cultivation could best such an existence.
The non-human aura of the Martial God which had devastated countless battlefields came crashing down on Shiro.
Fear! Shiro was afraid, he probably hadn't realized it yet but his knees were already touching the ground, his back drenched in sweat as he stared at this unfathomable presence. He felt as though he was being stared down by something higher than the gods.
Escape! Escape! Shiro's whole existence screamed for him to run away but it was useless, his body had already given up, his mind broken and every other force pushing him to resist had already been destroyed.
'It...
Is...
Over...'
Having already lost hope, that was Shiro's last thought, there was no way to resist, no way to escape, nothing!
Shiro closed his eyes and anticipated an attack.
"..."
"..."
Nothing! Nothing happened, where was the life ending attack he was prepared for? Where was the devastating aura that had left him in this mess?
They were all gone, vanished into thin air like nothing ever happened.
Shiro felt frustrated, this was the powerlessness of the weak, the oppression one had to suffer just because someone else was stronger.
"The same thing all over again, nothing really changed, I am still powerless"
Shiro spoke as tears streamed down his cheeks, he felt bitter, and he felt angry, angry at himself for being weak, for not keeping to his promise, he had sworn never to cry again. Shiro had built some confidence after battling with the old man from before, he had felt happy, he felt like he had become stronger, but all that self-esteem vanished and left him hollow.
If he felt this powerless in the lower realms, just how would he feel when he goes higher? He wouldn't even be able to survive a fist fight much less get revenge on anybody.
Yato watched silently as Shiro cried from the beginning till the end, he felt an urge to help Shiro, there was no way Shiro was an enemy, he personally knew that the heaven's wouldn't send someone as weak as Shiro to come after him. Even if he had been gone for a long time, the heavens wouldn't underestimate him so much that they would send someone like Shiro.
"Tell me what happened"
Yato said after waiting a while for Shiro to calm down.