In a large hall of a house, two people could be seen engaging in a conversation.
One was a white haired man that sat cross legged on the ground, sipping tea leisurely as stared at the figure in front of him.
The figure was much younger than the man in front of him. In fact, the man was his father.
The figure had long, flowing black hair, wore a tight fitting long sleeve high collared shirt complete with white robes over it and his eyes gave off a frightening sense of calmness.
Just like the man in front of him.
"Soji, my son...do you understand what I'm saying? Your lack of power will only bring despair in the future."
The man sipped his tea, slightly tapping his finger on the cup as he tried to gauge his son's reaction.
With an unchanging expression, Soji continued bowing his head and replied, "It is as you said, father. I wasn't born with your abilities, so I'm unable to manifest the same talent as my brothers. But..."
Riki, the name of the man in front of Soji, raised an eyebrow as he heard this. He hadn't heard this particular son of his speak his mind in a long time. He was always quiet, observant and barely spoke unless it was necessary.
Just like Riki.
"...Send me to the lower worlds, father. I will gain my own strength there. I will return with my own power. I will not continue to fall behind."
While his heart was jumping with joy, Riki's facial expression was unchanged. Outwardly, he seemed unmoved by Soji"s resolve. But in his heart, he was proud of his son's growth.
Lightly putting down his teacup, Riki sunk his arm into the space beside him and retrieved a sheathed katana, turning his gaze to Soji as he extended it towards him.
"This is the Dragon Sword, a blade that i picked up off an opponent I defeated in my younger years. It's also the only blade that managed to completely cut through my defenses in my true form flawlessly. Now...it's yours."
Raising his head, Soji stood up and grabbed the blade, unsheathing it to have a good look at it.
Shwinggggg.....
The blade sung silently as it was drawn, it's sharp edge vibrating, seemingly looking for flesh to cut.
"I can tell, father. This blade will serve me well. So...do you accept my request?"
Sheathing the blade, Soji lowered his head once again, hoping that his father would say yes.
Chuckling, Riki stood up and laid his hand upon Soji"s head.
"Loosen up, son. Your rigid expression will scare off any potential wives in the future, heh. As for my request, why would I stop my son from getting stronger. Go. Go, my son. Go, and hone your blade. Return as the man, no, the demigod you were meant to be."
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{On the trail leading up to Mount Fujikasane.}
On a slightly windy, starry night, a bright shooting star could be seen rapidly descending upon Mount Fujikasane, illuminating the night sky.
BOOM!!
The explosion slightly shook the mountain, alerting all of the inhabitants there.
A figure suddenly appeared within the smoke, slowly emerging from it with his hands in his pockets, his blade attached to his waist.
"Hm...that landing could've been better."
Cracking his neck as he took note of his flower filled surroundings, Soji quickly made a decision about which direction he should go.
'I can hear chattering at the top of the mountain...the language sounds foreign to me but my ears will adapt soon enough. Those voices are definitely human though...those creatures always tend to be at the center of conflict.'
Turning up the mountain, Soji calmly ascended the stairs to the top, fidgeting with the katana on his back from time to time.
'Before now, father has never let me use a sword no matter how much i asked. To send me here with one after all this time...'
When he got close to the top of the mountain, near a certain Shrine, Soji noticed many swordsman standing there, all of them focused on two strange looking young children in the middle.
"Hm. What is going on here?"
The atmosphere was...somber, to say the least. The swordsmens' expressions were serious, most of them were nervous and sweat rolled down their faces.
It seemed as if they were going to a war.
Soon enough, the two children started to speak, their tone indicating that they were in the process of explaining something crucial to the swordsmen.
'Judging by their hardened expressions, there must be something that they must fight beyond that Shrine. What could they fighting? Monsters? Humans? Devils? The thought of it is exciting.'
When they were done speaking, the swordsmen began walking past the Shrine, causing Soji to nonchalantly follow behind them.
In no time at all, they were in a place where the beautiful purple flowers from before were nowhere to be found. The grass around them rustled furiously as if a litany of creatures were awakened by their arrival.
The swordsmen immediately split up and ran into the forest by themselves, seemingly eager to tackle his challenge before them.
Before he knew it, Soji was by himself. The moment the last swordsman got out of earshot, two semi-humanoid creatures burst out of the shrubbery, screaming as they rushed at him with hungry eyes.
Drawing the Dragon Sword from his back, Soji slowly held the blade in front of him with both hands, preparing to defend against whatever attacks the creatures could throw at him.
After all, this was the first fight Soji had ever been in throughout his entire life.
CLANG!! BOOM!
Barely managing to stop one of them, the other creature lunged at Soji and swiped him across the chest, sending him flying back through a tree with its incredible strength.
"Urgh..."
Chest bloodied and his clothing torn, Soji got back up with a calm expression, taking a deep breath as he focused on the incoming creatures.
"...I'm starting to get a grasp on your speed."
CLANG! CLANG!
This time, Soji managed to deflect the attacks from both creatures, but they instantly started increasing their tempo, overwhelming him before sending him flying back with another flurry of strikes.
WHOOSH!
The moment he was sent flying away, he instantly recovered and rushed the creatures down, slashing them in half in a flash.
Seeing their squirming, slowly regenerating bodies on the ground, Soji smiled.
"Oh? Regeneration? How interesting!"
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Dicing the torso and head of the creature's into bits, Soji looked down at them with a cold gaze as they disintegrated into nothingness, their eyes filled with agony.
Soji could hear them saying something in a foreign language, but he couldn't put it all together at once. The only things he managed to understand from his limited exposure were the words Curse, and Human.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what the creature was trying to say.
"Human huh? Tch."
As soon as that fight was over, a flash in his peripherals caught his attention, causing him to immediately glance in that direction.
And what Soji saw, was beautiful.
A lone teenager moving exquisitely, cutting down two creatures in a smooth but brutal fashion, decapitating them easily.
Observing his movements, Soji played that scene over and over in his head, trying his best to understand the essence of the boy's swordsmanship.
'I must follow him closely...my instincts are telling me that this is the right path.'