The Life of Shu

“Hannah, please could you come and take care of the kids?” a nun called out to a dark-haired pregnant woman.

“Of course, I’ll be right there,” the woman responded.

She had dark flowing hair, sea-blue eyes, and a warm, heart-melting smile. Her skin was pale and flawless, free of any blemishes. To the townspeople, she was an angel — and they weren’t far from the truth. “Hannah” was the name taken by the fallen celestial of erasure. Several months had passed since her rebirth, and judging by her swollen belly, she only had a few weeks left before she would go into labor.

Back then, right after her rebirth, Hannah had nothing — no home, no money, and no allies. She was alone and pregnant, surviving off wild berries and stolen bread from the market. She slept beneath makeshift tents crafted from twigs, dried grass, and palm leaves. Life had reduced her to a shell of herself — a fallen celestial brought to her knees.

Then she fell ill.

Weak, starved, and with a child at risk, she knew she had to do something. She tried to find work, but her emaciated form — a skeletal figure with a swollen belly — was so disturbing that no one dared help her, let alone employ her. Death felt near.

Just when she was about to give in, she heard a soft, compassionate voice: “Come here, you poor thing. I’ll give you shelter and food.”

The voice was warm, kind, and motherly. Hannah struggled to locate its source — hunger had dulled her senses — but eventually, she spotted an elderly nun standing with a basket of bread and apples in her left hand, her right hand extended in offering.

Hannah dove at the food like a wild animal and devoured everything within moments. As she wiped her mouth, a bitter thought crossed her mind.

“So this is what I’ve been reduced to,” she muttered. “From a gracious celestial… to a ragged mortal eating like a beast. I swear, Shun... you will pay for this.”

She turned to the nun and bowed her head. “Thank you…”

The old woman smiled. “There’s no need to thank me. It’s my job to offer kindness when the rest of the world won’t. Besides,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, “I know who you are. Kali, fallen celestial of destruction.”

Hannah’s heart nearly stopped.

The world had reset. No one should remember her. No one should remember any celestial apart from Shun.

As if reading her mind, the nun gave a soft, knowing smile. “After we prayed for a hero, we were given a vision. We saw you… and your child. And a heavenly voice said, ‘The child that this woman bears will be your hero. To you who have seen this vision, it is your destiny to aid the boy on his path to divinity.’”

A single tear slid down Hannah’s cheek. “I knew it,” she whispered. “Humans do possess it. Even if in small amounts... they possess kantar.”

The nun — an elderly Black woman in her sixties — nodded with grace. She brought Hannah to the orphanage, where she’d been cared for ever since.

Present Day

Hannah sat surrounded by children, telling a story about a mischievous tortoise and a brave hare who finally brought his mischief to an end. Laughter filled the room — until suddenly, Hannah clutched her belly and gasped in pain.

The lower half of her garment darkened as water spilled down her legs.

The baby was coming.

Nearby caretakers heard her moans and rushed in. One stayed with her, helping her breathe through the contractions, while the other raced to fetch supplies and inform the orphanage doctor. They moved her to the medical ward as fast as possible.

What followed was the most painful hour of Hannah’s life — but when it ended, she held in her arms a child with skin like hers, dark hair, and striking red eyes. Her breath caught.

She knew.

The red eyes meant he had high levels of kantar.

More affection than she had ever known surged within her. She would give her life for this child without a second thought.

“What should we name our future hero?” one of the caretakers asked.

“His name shall be Shu,” Hannah said, eyes glowing. “For he will take both the position and the power of Shun.”

Twelve Years Later

Shu lived a relatively normal life. Hannah kept his destiny secret to let him enjoy a proper childhood — he had friends, attended school, and played games like any other boy.

In the celestial realm, however, Shun watched in growing frustration. Every attempt he made to end Shu’s life failed, blocked by the Enkairadion — a divine tome that kept rewriting Shu’s fate. Shun couldn’t touch the boy… not directly.

Still, Shu grew into a strong, athletic, and bright child — standing out amongst his peers. And he was happy.

“Shu! Shu, over here! I’ve got something to show you!” a boy about his age ran across the orphanage field holding a book.

It was Tobi — light brown skin, curly dark hair, grey eyes. Slim like Shu, but a bit shorter.

“I read that there’s a staff hidden in the mountains,” Tobi said excitedly. “It used to belong to a monk who beat all twelve of the Dragon Village’s great sages! The Dragon Lord only beat him using the Shikatsu Seal to trap him in the demon world. His staff disappeared… but the book says it reappeared in the mountains — and no one’s been able to lift it ever since!”

Shu laughed. “You still believe in legends, huh, Tobi? I doubt the staff’s even real. Nobody’s allowed near those mountains. The king says they’re too dangerous.”

He threw an arm around his friend. “Come on, I’m starving. Let’s get some food.”

After lunch, Shu returned to the apartment he shared with his mother. The orphanage compound was a large area with five stone buildings arranged in a rectangle, surrounded by tall walls and red iron gates. The central building housed the school and dining hall. On the right side was the hospital. To the left, the staff quarters. Behind the central building stood the chapel, where caretakers donated pieces of their kantar to the Enkairadion.

The final building — the children’s residence — was where Hannah and Shu lived.

“Mother, I’m back!” Shu called.

“Welcome home, dear,” Hannah replied, hugging him. “Did you have a good day?”

“I did,” he said, sitting on the mat in the living room. “Tobi told me about this old staff in the mountains, said it belonged to a powerful monk. I don’t know why, but even though I told him I thought it was nonsense… something inside me feels like it’s real.”

Hannah froze.

She knew the staff. She had forged it alongside the celestials of fire, earth, and matter, and gifted it to a great monk named Son Goku. The staff could shift forms, channel fire, and erase anything it killed from existence. Goku had been tasked with overthrowing the demon-lords ruling the Dragon Village.

And though he defeated the sages… the Dragon King was too powerful.

Without the ability to use Kantar, Goku was sealed away, tortured in the demon realm for eternity. The staff vanished.

The celestials, barred from intervening directly, could only watch. Then the war began. The world reset. The staff should not exist anymore.

Yet… here it was. In a book.

Hannah’s expression was calm, but inside she was reeling.

“Sometimes legends are pieces of history,” she said carefully. “I don’t know if it’s real or not. But listen to the voice inside you.”

She told Shu she needed to go to the market and left shortly after.

Dressed in her nun attire, Hannah walked the bustling streets. She tried to clear her mind, but one question haunted her:

How is the staff still here?

“It should’ve been erased in the reset,” she muttered. “Unless… the Enkairadion wrote it back into existence. And if that’s true… it may not have all its original powers.”

With that theory in mind, she felt more grounded. She continued her errands.

Meanwhile…

Shun, blocked from harming Shu directly, made a cruel decision.

He would break Shu from the outside in — starting with those he loved.

He opened a portal to the lower realm and released three lesser demons into the mortal world. Their first target: Hannah.

They stalked her in silence, hidden from mortal sight, as she moved through the market.

Unbeknownst to Shun… he had just ignited the very path that would lead Shu to his destiny