Chapter 2-The Earthquakes

“Strength isn't in the flash or fury.

It's in standing still—when everything else is shaking.” 

— Tsuchihara Ren

Ren stood firm, dust swirling gently around his ankles as the vibrations of the newly awakened Shizensei pulsed through his fingers. The blade—rough, bronze, jagged near the hilt—seemed to breathe with him, each inhale drawing from the earth beneath, each exhale pressing tension into the air.

The five figures stepped out from the trees, fanning out to surround him. The one in front—broad-shouldered, clad in soot-dark armor with faint burn marks running along the sleeves—wore a pair of tekko kagi. The metal claws hissed with flames, flickering unnaturally along their edges.

Kagatsuki. A name that stank of smoke and cruelty. His eyes, gold like firelight, gleamed with twisted glee.

To his left, another Fire wielder twirled a kama, the flame along its crescent blade pulsing with every movement. His name was Enzetsu, and his smile was even colder than the fire he wielded.

Behind them stood a man with seafoam-colored markings along his cheeks. He gripped a broad, fluid blade in both hands—it shimmered like liquid, sloshing unnaturally with every sway. This was Mizutsume, Wielder of Water.

Near the back, half-hidden, a lean man raised a fukiya – a blowpipe adorned with feathers and thin glyphs. Wind danced around his ankles, spiraling the air around his darts. His name was Kazegai, and the poison glinting at the tips of his darts glowed faintly green.

Finally, next to him, stood another Earth wielder. Short, jittery, breathing too fast. His jagged tanto, sculpted from raw stone, barely trembled in his hands. His role was clear: build walls, hide the killer. He didn’t look ready for this.

Ren didn’t move.

The wind carried dust between them.

He inhaled slowly, grounding himself.

Then, voice low but clear:

"Right here and now, I'll stand my ground."

He slid into a stance—a low crouch, knees bent, one foot angled behind. The Shizensei hummed. The tension in his legs coiled like a spring.

Instinct. He’d never used this weapon before. Never fought outside the few playful spars with Kazari.

But something about this felt right.

Kagatsuki raised an eyebrow.

Then smirked.

"Whatcha gonna do, throw rocks at us?"

A pause.

Then laughter. First Kagatsuki, then Enzetsu, then Kazegai and Mizutsume. Even the birds scattered from the trees.

All except for the Earth wielder.

He wasn’t laughing. He was shaking.

And Ren?
Still crouched.
Still silent.
Still focused.

Then he exhaled.

BOOM.

Earth erupted beneath him as the ground obeyed his will. Dust burst outward. Stones cracked.

He shot forward.

The space between them vanished.

Kagatsuki’s eyes widened.

"Wha—?!"

Ren slashed with the Shizensei. A clean, earthen arc tore through the air. Kagatsuki twisted, barely leaning back in time. The blade grazed his chestplate, tearing through fabric, leaving a glowing fissure beneath.

He stumbled back, breath catching.

His hands trembled.

"You little...! ALL OF YOU, ATTACK ALREADY! DAMMIT!"

The forest exploded into motion.

Flaming slashes from Enzetsu's kama arced toward Ren from the side, tracing burning crescents through the air. Kagatsuki roared and came from the front, claws igniting fully.

From behind, two darts whistled toward him, carried on a twisting spiral of wind. Kazegai had repositioned.

And from the left, liquid tendrils snaked in like ropes, the broad sword of Mizutsume sweeping horizontally.

Ren's eyes snapped wide.

He stepped forward.

No—he sank.

Into the Earth.

And the Shizensei began to move on its own.

The five attacks came in at once—fire arced, water slithered, poison spun, and wind howled.

But they never reached Ren.

BOOM.

The ground erupted upward, forming a dense earthen dome around him. The impact of the combined attacks echoed like thunder across the forest as fire scorched the surface, water hissed into steam, and darts clattered off stone. Flames danced and smoke billowed—until, at last, cracks ran across the shield.

CRUMBLE—

Stone fractured, chunks falling away in steaming pieces.

Kagatsuki raised a clenched fist.
“Cease fire!” he barked.

Silence.

He stepped forward, squinting into the haze.

“…Where is he?”

Panic flashed across his face. “Find the brat!!”

Then—

A patch of earth behind him burst open. A blur of movement. An elbow to the spine.

CRACK.

“GAAHH!!” Kagatsuki soared through the air and crashed into the distant woods, trees cracking from the impact.

Ren landed lightly, brushing dust from his shoulder.
“I learned that one from a mole,” he said with a grin, then chuckled to himself.

But the fight wasn’t done.

Behind a thick stone barricade, Kazegai narrowed his eyes.

He let fly three poison darts—one toward Ren’s head, one his heart, the last his back.

Ren’s expression didn’t change.
Three tiny pebbles hovered, then spun. With graceful motion, he flicked them each in turn—
Tink! Tink! Tink!
All three darts knocked from the air.

Ren smirked.
“Your aim sucks almost as bad as your hiding.”

“Why you—!”

Kazegai leapt high into the air, wind swirling violently around him.
“I’ll make sure this hits! A move beyond the likes of a rookie like you! It’s called…”

He inhaled, cheeks puffing like a frog.
“DASTARDLY GALE!!”

A single dart fired—spinning, shrieking downward at terrifying speed.

Ren exhaled and closed his eyes. Felt the soles of his feet. The trembling of the earth beneath.

“…Perfect.”

His knees locked. His stance rooted.

CLANG.

The dart stopped—flat—against his blade.

Kazegai’s jaw dropped.

“H-how… That dart could split a boulder!”

Ren flicked it aside.

“He distributed the shock evenly into the earth beneath him,” Mizutsume murmured, wide-eyed.

Kazegai never saw the rock that launched upward like a cannonball.

“GAHH—!”

WHAM. 
The projectile hit him square in the gut. His body arced, then tumbled through the air before slamming into a nearby branch and dropping like a sack of winded potatoes.

Ren didn’t even look.

Next came Enzetsu and Mizutsume, charging from opposite sides.

Fire swept in great arcs, water crashed like lashes. Ren remained still, blade steady, deflecting each attack from his unmoving stance—shifting weight, turning, pivoting with perfect economy.

“Are you even taking us seriously?!” Enzetsu roared, his flame blade elongating, scorching everything in its path.

Ren’s eyes flicked toward the treeline—
There, in the path of the flame, a spotted deer stood frozen.

“No…”

BOOM!
A massive wall of earth erupted between the deer and the fire.

Ren’s voice thundered:
“Your fight’s with me. Leave the creatures out of this.”

His eyes gleamed with resolve.

With a subtle motion, the ground beneath Enzetsu trembled—then gripped him. Stone shackles bound his legs.

“Wha—?!”

Before he could look up—

CRASH.

Ren’s fist slammed into his face.

Enzetsu flew backward, breaking free of the shackles, smashing through a cluster of trees before crumpling to the forest floor.

Mizutsume stepped forward, face calm.
“Now then,” he said, raising both water-blades, “I think it’s time I got serious.”

The water rippled unnaturally—his swords liquefied and spread out, turning into a massive pool at his feet.

From the pool, hundreds of tendrils rose, coiling and twisting like snakes.

They shot toward Ren like a hydra's rage.

Ren remained still.

Then—
He placed his hand on the ground and said,
“Sinkhole.”

The earth opened beneath him. He dropped into the underground chamber he’d carved for himself—and the tendrils followed.

Mizutsume cackled.
“Foolish boy. He’s trapped himself with my element—!”

But below the surface, Ren’s eyes snapped open.

He tightened the chamber, squeezing the water pressure.

Then boom—
He launched himself upward, using the very tendrils as a springboard.

“I think it’s time you got down to earth!!” he shouted, voice booming.

He flipped, came down, and—
WHAM!!
Struck Mizutsume on the head with the blunt end of his blade.

Thunk.

Mizutsume didn’t speak. He wobbled, eyes rolled back—then collapsed.

Ren landed, catching his breath.

“…Guess I went a little overboard on that one.”
He scratched his head.

Suddenly—

A scream.

From behind a wall of earth, the final henchman emerged—the trembling Earth wielder, screaming in a strange mix of terror and bravery, arms flailing as he charged Ren full speed.

Ren blinked.

He raised one eyebrow and made a slight motion with his pinky.

Thunk.

A tiny piece of rock popped from the ground, catching the attacker’s foot.

Trip. Roll. Crash.

He tumbled forward, rolling like a sack of potatoes until he landed, dazed and groaning, at Ren’s feet.

Ren squatted down, inspecting the boy.

…He looks young. Maybe three years younger than me—and I’m seventeen, he thought.

The boy groaned, face covered in dust and grass.

“What’s your name?” Ren asked gently.

“…S-sob… it’s Gan’i…” the boy mumbled, voice barely audible. “I just… wanted to help… my team…”

Ren tilted his head.

“You were braver than the rest of them.”

He smiled and patted Gan’i on the head, not with mockery, but understanding.

“Good job, kid.”

That’s when a gust of wind blew in.

“RENNNNNNNN—!!”

Kazari crashed into the clearing, staff spinning to a halt in her grip.

Her jaw dropped.
She stared.

Darts, blades, scorch marks. Bodies groaning, moaning, buried in tree trunks and walls.

And Ren.

Standing calmly, sword over his shoulder, next to a knocked-out henchman and a sniffling kid.

“…What in the name of the sky spirits happened here?”

Ren looked at her.

Smiled.

“Training.”