Jin II: Fire and Ice - Part 3

Jin breathed with a fog leaving his mouth to disappear into thin air. He scanned the demon’s tall, muscular body, seeing the smooth, orange, flame-like markings on the right side and the rigid, light blue ice-like markings on his left. His focus switched to Entei’s chest; he watched the orb of light in the center of his chest glow with a gradient mixture of the two colors.

The matching energies brightened from Entei’s transformed state, illuminating Jin. Jin’s skin tingled, and his cheek twitched from the mixed sting of the heat and cold. The temperatures were present together, yet one did not cancel the other. He saw the hairs rise along his arms, stopping near his shoulders, and the hairs on the back of his neck finished what they started.

The elemental energies left the demon’s body in glimmering specs flowing from his eyes.

As Jin moved, his body throbbed. Every part of him ached, and a great sting burned at the side where Shimotora had struck him. He quickly caressed the wound with his hand, placing it over the blood-soaked part of his tunic. He removed his hand and found his blood coating his palm.

“Dammit!” Jin said. He scanned the blood. While it did not paint his entire hand, it was enough to leave the upper half red. He looked down at his hip, finding it bare. Switching his attention to the floor of the temple grounds, he noticed half of his useless sword destroyed. “And without a weapon too…”

Jin lowered his hands to his side and closed his eyes with a sigh. In his closed view, all that faced him was blackness and emptiness. Only the winds and his heartbeat sounded in his head.

“The Eye…” a voice whispered. Its voice was a low, echoing whisper.

Jin’s eyes snapped open. “W-what?” He looked around but saw no source of the voice. “Setsu?”

“The Eye…” Sestsu’s voice whispered again.

Jin blinked at the voice. “I...”

A roar sounded ahead. Jin directed his attention to the noise. His body became illuminated by orange light that grew brighter as it drew closer. Jin’s eyes went round, seeing a massive fireball race toward him. Teeth gnashed, skin stung from the heat, Jin crouched and jumped to the side of the fireball’s path. It crashed into the floor with a fiery blast, sending Jin flying back higher into the air.

Jin fell and slammed hard onto the ground, tumbling onto his stomach. Smoke blew past him as rubble from the temple floor scattered around him. Jin shuddered with a great pain coursing through his body. His arms tensed, and he hissed with gritted teeth and rose to his knees.

His hair dangled over his face, and he sucked what little air he could into his body. He exhaled amid approaching footsteps and looked up to see Entei coming.

Entei stopped. He saw Jin raise himself and brandished a vicious grin. “You don’t have the luxury to afford quiet moments, swordsman. Or rather, former swordsman,” he chuckled.

Jin only stared at Entei. His brow knitted together alongside his breathing. He scanned Entei’s body, noting his horns, wings, and clawed toes. Entei looked at Jin’s disheveled appearance, hair unkempt, face dirty, his bottom lip stained with blood, and the side of his tunic torn.

“By now,” he said, reaching for his ōdachi, “you must realize you were never leaving this temple with the Eye of Genma.” He drew his sword from its sheath and wielded it to his side.

Entei walked toward Jin. His teeth came together in a sharp grin. One step after the other, the edge of his blade lowered to the ground. It scraped against stone, raising flashes of fire. Entei breathed, and a mixture of smoke and fog passed through his clenched teeth.

Jin gnashed his teeth. A low growl emerged from his throat, and he widened his stance. He rolled his fingers into trembling fists and clenched his eyes shut. Body shuddering, he shook his head, opened his mouth, and charged with a roar.

Entei stopped in his path and saw Jin run straight at him. Jin’s sandals clicked against the floor as he ran. He reached Entei, pulled back, and swung his fist, but Entei dodged the blow. Still gritting his teeth, Jin punched again, only for the demon to evade to the right.

Entei narrowed his eyes, gripping his sword with both hands. He raised it overhead and swung down. Jin jumped to the right, leaving the blade to slash the strands of his hair and carve into the ground. He hissed through his teeth as his body burned with another sting from his wound, causing him to stumble.

“You’ve truly gone mad, boy,” Entei said. “Only a fool would fight me with mere fists.”

Jin readied his hands as he said, “If you truly believe I would hand you the Eye and die without fighting, the only fool here is you!”

Entei growled through his fangs, with his mixed breath running through. He looked at his blade, seeing the moonlight beam on its surface. Entei tilted it, saw his reflection, and then looked at the claws of his other hand. His lips curled up, and he chuckled. He swiped his blade, slid the sword into its sheath, and closed it with a clink. Entei widened his stance with the blade in its home and raised his claws.

“Very well, boy. I have no problem breaking you with my bare hands before you submit. I will save ending you with my blade for last.”

Jin hardened his gaze. He trembled, the wound on his side aching, and realigned his stance. His breathing labored from the pain in his body as he faced Entei.

“He’s right,” Jin thought. “There’s no way I can stand against him. At least when I had my sword, I could defend myself. But without one, am I merely buying time?”

In front, Entei straightened himself. His large wings fanned out. The Moon cast a great shadow of their shape, and Entei brought his teeth together into a grin.

“Now, prepare yourself!” Entei said. He kicked off and vanished in a stream of blurred lines. Dust circled his previous position from his speed.

Jin shook and steadied himself. His breathing hastened. He looked around but saw only the vacant temple grounds. A sudden chill raced along his back. He looked behind him. Entei reappeared and crashed his fist into the side of Jin’s face. Jin cried from his open maw and flew from the punch across the grounds. Everything around him meshed into blurs as he soared. A shadow rushed past him through his creaking eyes, and Entei clutched his face into his hand.

 Entei flapped his wings and skidded his monstrous feet on the floor to stop himself. Growling at Jin in his hand, he flapped his wings and took to the air. Jin clutched Entei’s arm and struggled but could not pry himself loose from his grip. Entei pulled his arm back and dived down fast. His wings beat the air, and he saw the roof of a small building below. His gaze hardened, and Entei tossed Jin to the building.

Jin plummeted and smashed hard onto the roof. The ceiling caved under the force of the impact, and its tile pieces scattered from the crash. Jin cried out, eyes bugged with his body arched, as globs of blood left his mouth.

Jin’s vision blurred and quickly refocused, and he saw a large visage descend over him. Entei dropped down and stomped a foot on his chest. The wooden beams holding the roof together splintered and snapped as Jin smashed deeper through the ceiling, with large pieces crashing and breaking onto the stone floor below.

Entei looked over Jin, whose upper body hung down through the hole in the ceiling. He reached and grabbed his head into his right hand before lifting him up. Jin’s lower half swung over the roof.

“Is it sinking in yet?” Entei said. “There is no point fighting back. It only prolongs your pain!”

A wind blew over them. Jin’s hair and cloak swayed in the air. Another current passed, his eyes snapped open, and his teeth gnashed. He roared from his throat and punched straight at Entei. His fist hit flesh with a smack. Jin’s teeth remained gritted, and his arm buckled.

His fist trembled, clutched in Entei’s brutish hand, and continued to push against Entei’s strength. Entei tightened his grip and crushed Jin’s hand. Jin reared his head back with a gnarled groan. Entei bent back his wrist. Bones crackled, and Jin shouted in another distorted yell. He shuddered. A throbbing ache rushed through his arm, and heated pants left his body.

Entei released his hold on Jin’s head and lifted him by his arm. He drew his right hand and rolled his fingers, popping his knuckles as they squeezed into a fist.

“I already told you! It’s pointless!” he said.

He let go of Jin’s hand, swung, and slammed his fist into his stomach. The strike sent Jin flying further across the temple grounds.

Jin’s eyes dulled, and his mouth slacked open with blood-mixed spit leaving. He descended with a doll’s lifelessness and smashed into the ceiling of another building. Ceiling tiles flung from the rising cloud of dust and debris, broken into chunks and flew apart. The dust cleared with the wind, and Jin was on his back in the small hole cratered in the roof.

He laid, eyes shut, long hair sprawled, and cloak tattered at the end. A trail of blood ran down the side of his mouth. Dust and scratches riddled his face, and his eyes winced and fidgeted open, revealing their blue pupils shining in the moon.

A ring sounded in his ears. His vision blurred, forcing him to see everything in a blotch. It cleared; he came to see the moon become defined with the ringing’s end. Jin bared his teeth and raised himself with his elbows. He trembled, groaning as he rose to his feet. Jin panted with short, hot breaths and held his side. He wiped his mouth and spat out the blood inside, driving away the taste of iron from his tongue.

He lowered his head, closing his eyes as he continued to breathe. A cold wind blew past him, blowing his hair, and beating wings accompanied the wind. He looked ahead, and his eyes shot open to see Entei in the distance flapping his wings.

Entei faced Jin. His eyes shined their respective colors, and their signature wisps left them. He held up his left hand, and the markings on his body glowed. A light blue fog surrounded his hand, and a small spiral of icy whirlwind formed around his palm and quickly dispelled. The wisp around his hand brimmed, and tiny blue balls of ice and snow emerged over it. They quickly developed and sharpened into sparkling crystals.

Jin stared into Entei’s eyes, and he pressed his lips together. His body shuddered, and he held his injured hand.

Entei’s eyes trembled at Jin’s expression, barring his teeth. “Those eyes…” he said. “I despise that look. Even after being beaten, again and again, you look at me as if you think yourself my better.”

Jin kept his focus on Entei. His eyes hardened still, and his breathing shook. Yet, he stood in front of his foe.

Entei’s vicious scowl grew, and he barred more of his teeth. “Stop it…” he said. He drew back his hand with the ice shards and shouted, “WIPE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE!” He swiped his hand and threw the ice in Jin’s direction.

Jin winced and raised his arm over himself. The shards came fast and struck his body. They whizzed at him with the speed of bullets and sliced at his body, cutting his arms and legs, and he stumbled back from hit after hit. Blood spilled from the cuts, and more still as the shards hit his chest. The onslaught ceased, and Jin dropped to a knee.

Warm blood trailed in thin lines down his arms and legs, with wet, red spots emerging from his tattered tunic. Panting, Jin held his arm. He flinched with the wind hitting his wounds. He gritted his teeth and shook his head before he faced Entei.

Entei growled. His eyes flared; he lashed out with a strong flap of his wings. Jin flinched and stepped back, and Entei disappeared in blurred lines that dispersed. Jin looked around, and Entei reemerged with his fist in a blink and struck Jin with a heavy punch across his face. His head flung with a string of blood flying from his jaw and scattering into drops. Entei whipped his arm back. He threw his fist and punched Jin hard in the chest. Jin grunted with a garbled cough as the air left his body, and another blow struck his chin, shutting his jaw.

Jin soared backward off the roof. He flew over the ground. His battered body was lifeless, eyes shut, and blood leaving his mouth. His messy hair waved in his flight, and he plummeted and hit the stone floor in a violent slam. His body rebounded off the floor, and he dropped again to his back.

He rested on the ground, his entirety unmoved. He sucked what little air he could. His chest rose with his breathing, and his eyes creaked open. They flickered upon seeing the light of the Moon. His view blurred and dimmed with his eyes giving into their weight, and they closed to darkness, casting out the light.

There was nothing. Nothing except a void. No sight of light or even the voice of the wind. Time seemed to have stopped. The beating of wings broke the silence, and the sound drew closer and grew louder. Jin winced with a strong draft, hitting his face and stinging his cuts. A force hit the ground, and his body shook from the tremor. He coughed as what felt like a hand grabbed his tunic and lifted him off the ground.

He swung in the grip—a line of light cut through the blackness. The void flickered and gave way to the light as Jin opened his eyes. The light dimmed, and the world came into view. He saw a large, blurred smudge that cleared his vision, and he witnessed Entei holding him up by his tunic. Jin looked around and saw the main temple where the battle started.

Entei looked at Jin with glowing eyes. He held Jin higher, watching his legs swing as he ascended. Tightening his grip on Jin’s tunic, he turned and tossed him in the temple’s direction. Jin flew, and his body smacked against the stairs. He tumbled down and collapsed onto the bottom on the last step.

Jin slumped on his side, hair covering most of his face. He looked through his hair and saw Entei walk toward him. His breathing labored. His body ached with the rising of his chest. His tongue rested, stained by the blood that pooled within his cheek. The taste of iron assaulted his tongue, and he shuddered at his trembling body.

Entei stood before him. He scanned the beaten warrior. His vicious teeth joined into a smile.

“And so, it ends,” he said. “Just as I envisioned. But, then again, the outcome was obvious.” Entei gripped the sheath of his sword in his left hand and took the handle into his right. “I’ll admit, you lasted longer than I expected. But ultimately, a mere human could never match my strength.”

Entei drew his ōdachi from the sheath and swiped it to his side. The blade gleamed under the Moon. Its writing glowed with a red light.

“You played quite the game, human. But the game is over. And you’ve lost!” Entei held the sword with the blade facing away from him. As he raised his left hand, the markings on his body shined with his demonic power. Orange waves came off the right side of his body in glowing wisps, and icy blue ran off the left. The waves swarmed around him, coiling up along his arm. The energy joined together over his palm and formed a bright orb. It glowed with mixed orange and blue light, its energy pulsing. Tiny sparks of fire and chunks of ice orbited around the sphere.

Jin pressed his hands to the floor and raised his body. Arm’s buckling under his own weight, he turned his attention to Entei. His eyes shifted between the demon’s sword and the elemental energy in his hands. His vision blurred and refocused, and he pushed himself further up.

His hair dangled over his face. “I can’t withstand another of his attacks. But what can I do?” A great sting burned up his side and hissed through his teeth. “Master Setsu… Forgive me… You gave your life to protect the Eye, and I couldn’t get it away from the temple grounds.”

Jin’s brow creased with a narrow gaze at Entei. “But I will still protect it… even if I will be joining you soon.” He closed his eyes. His arms gave out, and his body collapsed.

Everything became black again. A calm breeze brought another wind. Jin breathed as his body rested on the ground. The wind died, and all around him went into a noiseless void.

A voice spoke through the silence, “The Eye…”

Jin’s body twitched at the voice. “Master… Setsu…?” he voiced in his head.

“The Eye, Jin,” Setsu’s voice whispered. Focus your mind, body, heart, and soul on the Eye, and prey to the Divine Dragon. Call… to Genma.”

Jin breathed as his thoughts continued. “The dragon?”

“To those of a worthy cause, the dragon will come…” Sestus’s voice said. It spoke softly and faded.

Silence returned. Jin relaxed his body. His thoughts grew quiet, and an image slowly formed in his mind. The magatama, the curved jewel of the Divine Dragon, became pictured. It brimmed with blue light, pulsing with the dragon’s power.

“Great Divine Dragon…,” Jin whispered wearily. “Great Genma, hear me.”

Entei took the elemental sphere and ran it along the length of his sword. The flames and ice traveled across the blade, coating it with their energy. It glowed in a bright, mixed aura. Specks of fire and ice danced around the blade as it glowed with their combined power, and Entei lowered to the side with its edge nearing the ground.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Entei said. He came closer, step by step. His sword moved closer to the ground until it touched the stone tiles. The blade scraped the tiles, and orange and blue sparks flew. “The imagery of the ice and flames rending your body puts a smile on my face. But I’ll find more satisfaction from prying the Eye off your corpse.”

Jin continued to speak in a calm voice as Entei approached. “If I am worthy, lend me your strength to… end this beast’s rampage. Many have suffered…,” his breathing halted and quickly continued as he spoke, “by his hands. Innocent people. Master… Master Setsu fought to protect your stone and gave his life. He has… trusted me, and I honor his trust.”

Entei approached Jin and towered over him. Looking down, he gripped his other hand on his sword and raised it over his head. “I don’t know what beetle prattle you’re mouthing about, but it won’t help you or anyone else. Once the Eye is mine, my power will have no equal. I’ll lay waste to anyone who stands in my way!”

Jin gritted his teeth and clutched his hand tight. “Please!” he hissed. “For those who were slain, for those at risk, lend me your strength to end this!”

Entei raised his sword higher, and the energies around flared more intensely. Orange and blue lights illuminated the area around them, enveloping Entei and Jin in their gleaming colors.

A different blue light pulsed within Jin’s pocket. It beamed again with a faint glow.

Jin winced. His head felt weighted. The image of the jewel appeared in his mind. A roar of a great beast followed, echoing throughout his subconscious, and the light in his pocket grew brighter.

“Give my regards to the old buzzard in the next world… Jin the Failed Swordsman!” With a demon’s cry, Entei swung his blade for the killing blow.

In Jin’s pocket, the glow erupted, shining brighter than before. It burst forth from the pocket, revealing the gem enveloped in its light. It flew over Jin and Entei’s sword against it.

“What?! What is this?!” Entei shouted.

Energy beams exploded and flickered in different directions like lightning bolts, looking for an escape. The intensity of the gem’s aura grew more by the second, and another surge of light exploded from the jewel, deflecting Entei’s sword, and he flew back from the force. He flapped his swings, stomped the ground to stop himself, and looked toward the lights.

“The Eye of Genma!” he said. “What is happening?!”

The jewel’s light grew, and everything became enveloped in his radiance.

*          *             *

His eyes opened to a world of blue luminescence covering every inch, and blue light particles danced around the air.

“W…What?” Jin whispered. Jin looked around, seeing only the bright, seemingly empty world. He looked down, finding solid earth underneath him.

He pressed his hands against the surface. His arms trembled under his weight, but he raised and supported himself with his knee. Slowly, he rose and stood upright. He looked ahead, and his eyes went round.

Before him stood columns of solid rock stretching across to the horizon. Some stood taller than others, protruding through and over the clouds. No Sun hailed the sky above but a canvas of endless blue.

Jin looked around and saw the endless columns of stones and stream of clouds, but not a single sign of life. “What is this place? And Entei. Where did he–?”

A rushing gale cut him off. He crossed his arms over himself as his hair and tattered tunic waved violently in the wind. The wind ceased.

Jin turned around as he said, “What in the world was–” His words ended with his mouth open wide and his eyes.

He looked heavenward.

In the sky was a dragon the size of a giant. Its belly body was white, along with its gleaming scales. Enormous leather wings rested on its back while its arms and claws were at its sides. Its long serpentine body coiled around the rock column where Jin stood, reaching down through the clouds below.

Jin focused on the creature’s face, gazing at its blue crystal-like eyes and the energy trails flowing from them.

The dragon looked down at Jin. Its breath left its nostrils as a glistening fog.

Jin stared at the dragon. He closed his mouth and opened it again, but he said nothing. Closing his mouth again, he breathed through his nose and exhaled as he spoke.

“The Divine Dragon. Genma.”

Genma remained silent. It lowered itself and neared his head and neared his face to Jin. Jin stepped back.

“You.” Genma’s deep but calm voice echoed throughout the area. Jin stood, eyes bugged at the dragon’s tone. “Young swordsman. Take my ki and use it to defeat this evil. But be wary. My essence is not of the mortal kind. Focus it with not your strength but with your spirit.”

Jin’s eye remained set on Genma. They trembled at the sight of the divine beast. And yet, his arms and legs remained still. His eyes stopped shaking, and his brow creased.

“I understand!” Jin said.

Genma opened its massive jaws, revealing the large set of its enormous diamond-white fangs. He raised his head and roared at the sky. His voice boomed, shaking everything around him, and Jin widened his stance to brace himself. Gemna flapped his incredible wings, creating powerful gusts as Jin crossed his arms over his body while his hair and tunic swayed in the violent winds.

With another beat of his wing, Gemna took off and soared higher into the sky. A light blue aura formed around his body and erupted into flickers. The energy grew brighter, and light developed throughout his body. The dragon ascended higher into the sky and bolted in a flash of energy. Genma plummeted toward Jin, who looked up from below. The dragon collided with him in an explosion of light.

A bluish hue shrouded Jin’s entire body. He bent at his knees, his entirety shuddering. Heat surged through him and housed itself in his chest. His upper body burned as though his heart had become a furnace. He shut his eyes as he clutched his chest, and an aura blazed around him like fire. Jin shook from power. He gnashed his teeth with a grunt and dropped to a knee.

“Focus…,” he said to himself. “Steady your spirit.”

Jin sucked in the air. The heat in his chest dimmed from the coolness overtaking it. He exhaled, and a cooling rush overcame the heat. He breathed again, and his trembling ceased. As his body settled, he stood up, lowered his arms, and raised his head. The aura around him glowed and flared, expanding into a massive tower of energy. It grew until it covered the peak of the rock column and rose to the sky.

*          *             *

Entei kept his arms crossed from the blinding lights. The lights died down, forming a halo of blazing energy. Entei lowered his arms and stared at the light. In it, he saw Jin standing on his feet.

Jin stood with his head lowered as the aura glimmered around him. His hair and cloak danced in its power, and he raised his head. He opened his eyes, and they glowed with flowing wisps of energy surrounding them.

Entei’s eyes widened. “No! How can he–?”

The wounds on Jin’s body and face glowed, and Entei gnashed his teeth at their radiance. The cuts on his side and arms and the ice wounds on his chest shrank and sealed, leaving only the blood behind.

“No! Entei hissed. “How are you doing this?!”

“Already told you, Entei,” Jin said. “I wouldn’t hand over the Eye and die without fighting!”

Jin opened his right fist, revealing the Eye of Genma floating over his palm. Entei’s eyes cemented their focus on the jewel. He growled through his gritted teeth.

A bright orb of light formed around the Eye and glowed into a pulsing sphere. Raising his hand, Jin clasped the ball of light. It squeezed in his hand, streaks of light shined through between his fingers, and Jin drew out and opened his hand.

The light stretched, shaping into an ōdachi. Its light illuminated Jin’s body, and he grabbed the sword’s handle. It continued glowing, and Jin swung it down. The light crackled and flaked away like molted skin, giving way to a long, single-edged, blue-tinted blade. The moonlight shined on the white and grey dragon scales on the blade’s back. In the center of the white dragon-themed hilt was the Eye Genma.

The aura bathed Jin in its glow. It retreated and wrapped itself around the sword, but the flowing energy in Jin’s eyes remained. He brought the blade to the front, widening his stance as he gripped his other hand on the handle.

“Now, Entei,” Jin said. He hardened his gaze at Entei. “Come take the Eye if you still believe you can!”