Finding Yang wasn't really hard since Yu already told me where she was. Also, a red haired girl with purple horns and holding a giant katana isn't really so hard to find when she's walking through the empty fields of the land.
"Hey, Yang!" I called out, making her stop before I landed in front of her and turned back to my wood element. "It's been a while."
It sure has. Its been a few years and now Yang was a woman. She was a bit taller than Yu now and her body developed well. Her hair was longer and it was tied into a braided ponytail. I guess she picked that up from Yu. She was wearing a chest plate and armor on her right shoulder while leaving her stomach and left arm bare. She developed quite a bit of muscle. She was wearing baggy pants that opened near her feet and wooden sandals.
"Hello, Zack," Yang greeted back as she looked at me.
"Listen, Yu said you started fighting humans. What's up with that?" I asked straight to the point.
Yang scoffed. "Those fools had no desire to live. If they had wanted to, they should have fought harder."
"So... you just killed them because they didn't fight back?" I asked. (Please let there be another reason) I wanted to beg.
"Some tried picking a fight, and some couldn't keep their mouth shut," Yang replied and I felt relieved. This is somewhat salvageable.
"Okay, why are you headed to the capital?" I asked the big question.
"To declare war."
I swear that anyone can hear my thoughts just freezing. "What?"
"I'm going to declare war on this nation," Yu repeated what she said.
"Why?"
"To give them a reason to be strong," Yang replied.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to explain in more details," I requested, really not seeing a connection.
"Humanity only bother getting stronger if they're faced with danger. If that's what it takes for them to stop wasting their time, then I'll gladly be that danger so these weaklings have a reason to become stronger,"
Yang explained without her expression changing even a bit.
"That's just wrong!"
Yang tilted her head. "Are you saying humans will just roll over and accept their deaths?"
"No! But you can't just torture humans because you want them to be stronger!" I yelled back at her.
She wasn't technically wrong from a logical standpoint but that doesn't mean she's right! This the kind of logic the Beasts of Humanity use!
Wait a second. I realised something. "Where's Bolin?" I asked.
Yang narrowed her eyes. "What does it matter? He has nothing to do with this."
"Call me curious. Where is he?" I asked again.
"I told you. It doesn't-
"Where. Is. He?" This time, I put far more firmness in my question.
Yang looked at me for a few seconds before speaking again. "Around two weeks ago he found out what I was planning and tried to stop me... So I killed him."
"... I see," I mumbled as my gaze turned to the ground. Third POV:
Suddenly, the entire area was engulfed by an explosion of flames. Yang flew out of the flames and flipped in the air to correct herself before landing on the ground.
As soon as she landed, Yang jumped away as Zack in his rock element at where she was just a second ago.
Stabbing his hands into the ground as he landed, Zack tore a chunk of earth and sent it at Yang.
The Oni hybrid pulled out her sword and cleaved the large stone in half, letting both sides drop at her sides as she looked on with a large grin.
"So that's it?" Yang asked as she held her sword forward. "You're going to stop me?"
"I can't let you do that, Yang. Just drop this and go away," Zack replied in pleading tone.
He knew that what Yang was unlikely to cause a Pruning since it doesn't affect Humanity as a whole but just China. That still didn't mean he wanted so many lives to be lost.
"I'll give those weaklings a reason to pick weapons and get stronger, and that's my final decision," Yang replied with a firm glare.
Yang charged and Zack changed to his Divine Metal form. Shaping his head into a sword, Zack attempted to block only for Shé to cut through his arm easily.
Narrowing his eyes, Zack turned to his wind element and let Yang's next attack pass through him. Zack then punched Yang in the gut and sent her flying away.
As soon as Yang landed, vines and wood burst from the ground and began tying her to the ground. Swinging her sword, Yang sent a wave of Orochi's poison which ate through the plant-life within a second.
Now that she was free, Yang managed to roll away from the wave of lava that Zack sent her away. Getting back on her feet, Yang immediately charged forward and swung upwards, managing to take off Zack's head.
A new head grew before the old one even hit the ground. Changing to his fire element, Zack waved his hand and the area exploded into fire again.
Yang was sent flying. Landing roughly but still managing to stay on her feet, she stood straight again as smoke came out of her body.
"You can't beat me, so just stop this," Zack pleaded as he walked out of the fire.
Yang smiled again. "I know. But, if I beat you, I'll be stronger. Stronger than anything in the world!" Yang span her sword a couple of times before stabbing it in the ground and her eyes glowed.
Suddenly, the whole area changed.
The sky was now a moonless night sky filled with stars. The ground was replaced by water that stood still where feet didn't sink and, the oddest part, many mirrors floated around in the air at random locations and directions.
"A Reality Marble?" Zack mumbled in shock.
Yang charged forward again. Zack turned to his water element and attempted to control the water that made up the ground but no reaction from it came.
(Whatever this stuff is, it's not water,) Zack realised before Yang reached him, Shé covered in Orochi's poison.
Zack jumped back and turned to his ice element, dodging the strike and sending a few blades of ice at the Oni Hybrid who smiled at him.
Suddenly, one of the mirrors floating around moved in front of Yang. The ice blades flew at the mirror... Before going right into it.
Zack's eyes widened before his ability to sense elements warned him of incoming ice turning around, Zack created a wall of ice to stop the blades that came out from another mirror behind him.
"Interesting. Since when do you have a Reality Marble?" Zack asked as he turned to look at Yang.
"Reality Marble? So that's what this is called," Yang commented, showing how she was not aware on the nature of this domain. "A few months ago I managed to make it for the first time. I have no idea what it is. I just can't keep it up for long so I decided to use it only against the strongest opponents."
"So, this is your trump card?" Zack asked.
Yang's smile turned feral. "No, I have something far more powerful for you."
Yang took the beginner's pose that she always used to take while training. Zack narrowed his eyes and turned his body to Divine Metal, ready to take in whatever she offered.
The whole area stood still as Yang raised Shé before swinging it down with great strength and speed. Zack didn't notice anything happening from the strike.
Until his vision began to shift.
The right side began going down while the right side began moving up. Zack noticed that this was because his body was completely cut in half vertically.
(Wait, what!?) Zack's body changed into water and it merged back together. (What did she do? Was it the Reality Marble? No, it was something else.)
It was then that Zack noticed the ground and how the reflections on it were incredibly clear. He also noticed that his reflection had been cut in half before he merged it together.
(My reflection. She cut me through my reflection. There was no mystical power. Her technique was just that strong.) Zack realised as he stared at Yang.
Somehow, the Oni hybrid had created a technique that cuts things through their reflection... And he was now in a field full of mirrors.
Yang took another stance and Zack immediately charged forward while changing to his metal element. Yang broke her stance to jump away as a mirror moved behind her and she vanished into it.
Reappearing from a mirror up above, Yang fell towards Zack with Shé raised high and covered in Orochi's poison. Zack jumped away from the sword as it was swung down, but still had some of Orochi's poison sprayed on him.
Parts of Zack's body began melting away, though he felt no pain from the process. It still was a hindrance because his leg was one of the parts that got hit with the poison and couldn't dodge completely when Yang came in attacking, cutting his arm off. Changing to his wind element, Zack let the poison fall of him before taking in the air from around and rebuilding his body.
Yang didn't seem bothered. If anything, her smile got wider. "Hahaha!" The oni hybrid laughed. "Most opponents I fought long have dropped by now!" Zack
did not say anything and simply looked at Yang with a firm stare. "Hmm... I suppose we should end things?"
Yang swung Shé around, covering the area in Orochi's poison. The poison began gathering as Yang took a stance with her sword horizontally next to her head and pointing to the ground. The gathering poison formed a giant snake that stood ready behind her. Zack stared at her, not saying a word before he charged forward and Yang did the same. The Snake from Orochi's poison was in moving right in front of Yang and would strike Zack first.
But, before it could, Zack suddenly created a shield of Divine Metal and let it take on the poison-snake. Zack threw away the shield as it began melting and pulled back his hand, claws raised as Yang stabbed forward.
For a single moment, the entire world vanished for Zack. In Yang's place, he saw a little girl with red hair and purple horns wearing nothing but rags and holding an empty bowl towards him. "More drinky stuff."
That image vanished as soon as it came, and Zack can see Yang again with her sword in his chest... and his hand in hers and coming out of the back.
They both knew which one was truly wounded. Zack pulled his hand as Yang pulled Shé and she stumbled backwards before falling to her knees. As soon as she did, the whole Reality Marble shattered like glass and the world returned to normal.
"You... Win," Yang coughed a pile of blood as she watched the hole on Zack's chest vanish. "I'm sorry."
"No, I'm the one that is sorry," tears began filling Yang's eyes as she dropped her sword to support herself with her hands. "I... Failed you. You wanted me to understand humans. That's why you allowed Bolin to travel with me, isn't it?" Zack said nothing while the tears began running down Yang's cheeks. "I tried. I really tried. But... I couldn't understand humans. No matter what I did. I could never understand why they just... accept being weak," she looked up at the Elemental with a pleading look. "Please... Please tell me why?"
"Because... They're scared," Zack knelt down and turned Yang around to lay her down. "Humans want power, but at the same time, they're scared of it. That's why they prefer hiding behind those who are strong instead of being strong themselves."
Yang stared up at Zack's glowing white eyes as tears kept falling from her own. "I still don't understand."
"You never needed to understand," Zack said, shaking his head. "I'm the one who failed to see how hard it was for you and pushed it on you. You were building up your resentment and I did nothing. I'm sorry. I'm the one who failed."
"You never failed me," Yang gave a sad smile as she reached up and held Zack's face. "I've always been... Happy with you. That's why I wanted to be the strongest. Because if I did... we can keep living together without worries," Yang's eyelids began dropping. "So thank you, for teaching me how to be happy... Thank you... Father."
And with that, Yang's eyes closed and her hand fell.
=========================
All credits to XanaShadow on wattpad
Stones and Reviews please