In the dead of night, Yohan woke up abruptly, drenched in sweat. The eerie silence outside only deepened his restlessness, and sleep seemed far from reach. He decided to take a walk, hoping the cool night air would clear his mind. As he wandered the roads near the outskirts of the village, something caught his eye — a towering figure sealed in stone, the faint moonlight casting a shadow over the ominous sight.
It was Ashura, frozen in a rocky prison, a seal placed upon him by Pyro long ago. A nearby wooden sign read, "If you possess his powers, do not touch." The warning sent chills down Yohan's spine, but confusion clouded his mind. Why does it mention his powers? he wondered. As Yohan stepped closer to inspect the sign, his foot slipped on a loose stone, sending him tumbling forward. Instinctively, his hand reached out to steady himself, but instead, it landed on the surface of Ashura's rocky seal.
The moment his fingers brushed against it, the air around him shifted. The ground trembled slightly, and cracks began forming on Ashura's stony exterior. A surge of panic rushed through Yohan as he realized what he had done. The cracks spread faster, a faint light emanating from within the statue. Yohan's own Siddhi powers began draining from his body, being siphoned into the very core of Ashura's seal.
A deep, menacing voice echoed through the air. "Long time no see, Yohan," Ashura said with a chilling tone, his voice dripping with malice.
Fear gripped Yohan as the rocky seal shattered completely, and Ashura stood before him in his full, terrifying form. Yohan instinctively tried to summon his Siddhi powers, but nothing happened. He stared at his hands, panic rising. Why isn't it working? he thought. It was then that the horrifying truth hit him — Ashura had absorbed his power. He had been using Ashura's energy all along, and now it had returned to its original master.
Ashura towered over Yohan, his crimson eyes glowing with dark amusement. He placed his hand on Yohan's head, a gesture that seemed almost casual, but Yohan could feel the immense power behind it. "Thank you for freeing me," Ashura said, his voice cold and mocking. With a flick of his wrist, Ashura hurled Yohan into the air like a ragdoll.
Yohan screamed as he was tossed, helpless and powerless, but before he could crash to the ground, two figures appeared in a blur. It was Pyro and Ethan. Pyro caught Yohan mid-air and gently lowered him to the ground.
"Stay back, Yohan," Ethan warned, his voice stern. The tension in the air was palpable as they turned to face Ashura.
Ashura smirked at the sight of the two legends standing before him. "Ah, Lord Pyro... and Ethan. It's been far too long." His voice dripped with mockery.
Pyro's eyes narrowed. "Stop this madness, Ashura," he commanded, though there was an underlying urgency in his tone.
Ashura laughed, a dark and sinister sound. With a snap of his fingers, the air around them began to distort, and from the very ground rose the full manifestation of the Ashta Siddhi. But something was different. They weren't the same forms Yohan had seen before. These were larger, more menacing, and radiated an aura of pure, unbridled power.
Yohan, still weakened from his encounter, looked on in disbelief. "This... this isn't the same as what I saw before," he muttered under his breath, confused and frightened.
Ashura grinned, his eyes glinting with dark pleasure. "What you saw before was merely a fraction, a diluted version of my power. This," he gestured to the towering forms of the Ashta Siddhi, "is the full form. My true power." He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Now, let's have some fun."
Ethan stood beside Pyro, tension in his posture. "We can't let this continue, Pyro. He's stronger than before."
Pyro nodded solemnly. "We'll need everything we've got. Yohan, stay back. This fight is beyond anything you've faced."
Yohan could only watch in awe and fear as the two great warriors prepared to face Ashura. His own body trembled, not only from exhaustion but from the realization that Ashura was far more dangerous than any of them had imagined. And now, without his godly powers, Yohan was powerless against this overwhelming force.
The battle was about to begin, and the fate of the world hung in the balance.