Chapter POV: Aki Miroku
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The warm rays of the early morning drove the chill out of my body. Millions of cicadas littered the local flora along the area. Their humming, annoying to most, soothed my nerves. I was walking towards a familiar destination, one I had visited many tis over the years.
It was here, at the Tama Cetery in Fuchu, that my mother, father, and brother were laid to rest. I arrived at our hakaishi after turning a familiar corner.
Unlike Western tombstones, the hakaishi were stone monunts that represented not an individual but an entire clan. Similarly, the Miroku hakaishi housed three deceased mbers of my family. I said a silent prayer before pouring so water in front of the monunt.
"Mother, Father, Haru. I hope you are all well. I have managed to return from my first night as a reaper. My fate is called {Eat}! Can you believe it? I ended up in Formless, but do not worry, I managed to find others like .
I will not let myself be bullied!" I said with a smile.
As the mories of enlistnt flashed through my mind, two faces stood out more than others. Robyn, a combat joey from Australia, and a man nad John. The forr reminded of my brother while the latter beca the reason I survived.
When Amari took command of the Reapers, many went against his will. Of course, I was the sa. The fact that I was Formless was sothing I tried to keep secret. My father often told about the discrimination they suffered.
This was proven true when Amari's group attacked a young Reaper from Australia. Robyn, who had poor social skills, responded to the bullying with force. When I saw that no one was willing to take her side, I went against my better judgnt and exposed my true nature. A reaper whose {fate} was without form.
As a result, Robyn's view of was that I was her ally. Liv Ivaldi, a Northerner, also joined, and the three of us bonded as Formless. After that, we were left to die and then rescued by John's group. Together, our combined group of Formless killed both bosses and returned to Earth.
While Robyn reminded of my brother, the two couldn't be more different. She moved as fast as the wind and had excellent martial arts capabilities despite her small stature. Haru, on the other hand, had a dical condition called congenital heart disease, which forced him to stay indoors.
I knew it was wrong to see Haru in Robyn, but I could not stop myself from wanting to protect her. After all, even though my family was involved with the Reapers, we abandoned my brother in the worst possible way. We left him to die alone.
"Haru-kun, I even t a child about your age. She was a bit crude and swore a lot, but the way she laughed reminded so much of you...carefree, devoid of worries, and full of life...I was able to sohow help her return ho."
Unconsciously, tears began to fall from my eyes. While I was able to save Robyn, Haru died in the hospital without anyone by his side. Such a truth broke my heart. In the back of my mind, I wondered why Haru was never reborn as a reaper. We had Reaper blood, so it was just a matter of regret.
'Haru-kun... don't you have any regrets? I miss you... How can you accept a life that ended so pitifully?! It is so unfair! How can such a kind child be denied a second chance when villains continue to walk the earth?!'
My clan was one of the shinobi houses that existed since the Edo period. When so of our ancestors died and beca reapers, our fate changed. They helped and guided the clan by using the resources from Hellsgate.
Unfortunately, although the Reapers never aged, most of them lived short lives. The family had grown tired of a life of servitude. So they decided to focus on Hellsgate instead of Earth. Thus, the Miroku bloodline was forcibly transford into a bloodline of descendants.
The Miroku continued to train as shinobi in preparation for Hellsgate. We began to work as spies or assassins by the age of sixteen.
As the clan began to beco a powerhouse in Hellsgate, the greed and ambition of our elders grew unchecked. Knowing that the Reapers had ample resources and influence, they began kidnapping and blackmailing their families.
"My greatest sha is to have the sa blood as these people."
Haru passed away one night while I was overseas on a mission. By that ti, my reaper parents had already gone missing in Hellsgate. When I returned, my brother had already been cremated. What was the point of all of this if you were not able to save the ones that you held most dear?
I begged the elders for soulgears to heal or at least ease the pain. I was even willing to trade my freedom or purity to get them. But they turned a deaf ear. One day, I was given a mission overseas to murder a reaper's family in the most grueso way possible. The reward? They would finally cure Haru.
I traded my honor to give Haru a second chance at life, but it was all in vain. All that was left of him was his ashes under this hakaishi. My sanity was broken at that very mont.
With my parents gone since I was eighteen, I lived for Haru. Everything I did was to earn money for his treatnt, yet it was not enough. The following week, my grief turned into bloodlust for Miroku. I hunted them to extinction. Even Reapers could be killed if you knew their {fate}. I just waited in their houses and bombed, trapped, or poisoned them all to death.
Why should these vile things exist when my brother could not? Humans were even less of a problem. As an unregistered descendant, I massacred them all. After standing on a mountain of corpses, I ended it all by drinking poison.
In my dying monts, I couldn't stop my tears as regret enveloped my heart. Who was to bla for my miserable life? What was my fault? Was it the Miroku Clan? The Reapers? Hellsgate?
My parents? No, it was sothing deeper.
Our lives were changed because of the Reapers. Reapers existed because Hellsgate remained open. Who was responsible for closing that Abhorrent doorway? Who was to bla for my parents' disappearance? Whose fault was it that Haru died alone?
"The Revenants," I whispered bitterly.
Revenants, the gods among n. Even with all their power, they were beyond useless, and my family paid for their stupidity.
"Sigh, I should have just eaten sweets with Haru..." I closed my eyes with these last words.
Against my will, I was reborn as a Reaper. Angry and frustrated, I wanted to die imdiately, but my survival instincts kept alive. When I t Robyn, I vowed that my last act would be to bring her ho.
But fate had other plans, for I t a man unlike any other.
'Follow or die.'
How rude! Judging by his features and enormous ego, he was probably an Arican.
"My loyalty is only to the Master," I replied. Of course that was a lie. I have yet to find one. Shinobi were trained to serve a worthy master, and I had never t anyone who could give a sense of purpose.
What happened next left speechless. The man's group saved us from death, but they did so by sacrificing their own, or so I thought.
'{SOUL BREAKER}!' x2
{Soul Breaker}, an ability that only Descendants possessed. Two people like were willing to die in his service. Why? What made this man so special? Serving soone so weak, what could they possibly gain? His other ally, a reaper nad Bella, tried to convince us.
It was her next words that piqued my curiosity.
'Both, I am his right hand and his woman. My king will be the 8th Revenant, the leader of the Formless and in the future the strongest Revenant. You saw the conviction of my sisters, right?'
I did, only a descendant would know how painful and excruciating it was to use {Soul Breaker}. A trump card in exchange for one's very existence. The pain was like setting your insides on fire while bathing in kerosene. Why did these won sacrifice themselves for him?
When we fought together, his antics were crazy in every sense of the word. But through all the trials, his eyes never wavered.
'Please make sure everyone cos down in one piece, Aki.'
Even when everyone lost hope when we failed to subdue the undead brute, he remarked the opposite.
'I feel it in my gut. It will be our key to victory.'
"Smith-san, you are asking us to gamble our lives on a feeling?" I rember asking in disbelief.
Victory? What victory? He was insane! But even though it made no sense, his won followed him without question. Even more intriguing was that Liv was beginning to do so as well. Was he using mind control?
Hypnotism, perhaps?
'Do not co here! Let them overrun ! Kill the ones that are not aiming at !'
Only Robyn and I continued to question his sanity. Why? Why? Why couldn't I take my eyes off him? The answer soon dawned on .
'Rules only apply to the weak. Do not expect to follow such nonsense. Choose John Smith. Do you want to die in their stead or abandon them to their fate?'
Defeating an undead brute was a feat worthy of celebration, but he soon challenged a Revenant! His reply burned itself into my mind and into my heart.
'FUCK YOU! DAVID THOMAS! YOU WILL NOT HARM THEM! GIVE YOUR BEST SHOT YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!'
Smith-san... followed only his own will and desire. He traded blows with a Revenant simply because he wished to. I began to wonder. What were Revenants? They were absolute beings, yet a lunatic weaker than was challenging one in combat.
Just the thought of it terrified . Why could he do it? I was stronger, right? So why?
Even when no one believed him. Even as he stood alone. The man refused to back down.
'{Regen}, {Withstand}, {Endure}. Understood. I am John Smith, Formless. Wraith of the North Arican Battlefront. On this day, I swear that I will beco a Revenant and beat the shit out of you and the other Revenants.'
Ah, this man was the one I longed for. I felt it in my soul. If I followed him, anything and everything would be possible. The master I was waiting for, the one who could take vengeance in my place... Unfortunately, we were not ant to be in this life.
I took out a picture I found by my bed yesterday morning. When I turned it over, a simple ssage shattered all my hopes.
[Haru is alive. If you want him back, bring us John Smith's head - Trinity].
"Forgive , Smith-san, I am so sorry," I cried in anguish.
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