A Conflict Of Past Friends

Yasuhiro walked around ‘Treetops Hillside’ until arriving at the Sacred Tree that stood 300 feet tall and 300 feet wide. He got on his knees and began to pray. “May death be shattered. May life remain lit. Mother nature herself appeals to all. Power is granted in return for sacrifice. Thank you for your strength, you stupid trunk in the ground.”

He began to stand and turn, until a shadowy figure appeared behind him. Astro appeared from within Yasuhiro’s shadow. Swords clashed and sparks flew. Astro managed to scrape Yasuhiro’s right arm the best he could.

Yasuhiro: “Tch! Always that damn ability, Astro! What’s it been, 7 years? Still using the same petty techniques?!”

Astro: “Yasu! How far do you intend to fall? Killing innocent people? Is that what you wish?”

Yasuhiro: “Innocent? People were never innocent. Killing. Murdering. People have never been the ideal version that you believe they are Astro. Look at you. You kill just as I do in order to protect your values. This world is not built on peace and justice. It’s built on merit, and this tree has granted me the power to rid those that stain this world.”

Astro: “Maybe I’m not perfect. Maybe I don’t know what’s wrong and what’s right. Maybe I shouldn’t have walked away from you when you lost yourself. Maybe I could’ve helped…and I regret that. But! I just held a dead woman in my arms who smiled, laughed, cried, and got frustrated at me when I wouldn’t pay for my drinks. She had emotions like any human being. Yet…She would always welcome me with the brightest eyes…Always yelled at me to pay my tab, but never actually expected me to. You…You took that away from not only her, but me as well and everyone who loved her. I’m giving you one more chance. Abandon this stupid tree and come back to what you used to be before we were betrayed by this country or I’ll hunt you down for eternity.”

Yasuhiro: “And what would that do? I’ve made more enemies than you know. Cutting off my power would just mean my death by someone else. There’s a reason I’m a top swordsman. Besides, you were never there for me back then, so why would I listen to some pity story about a helpless whore bartender?”

Astro became enraged. His body fluctuated with dark purple and black mana lines. He couldn’t control the mana spewing out and into his scythe. He looked at Yasuhiro with a fleeting death in his eyes. He began to whisper something under his breath before speaking. “You’ve made your choice. I’ve also made mine…Death Bringer: Grim Reaper, Goddess of Night: Nyx’s Black Whip. Converge!”

Half of Astro’s face looked like a grim reaper’s skull. His scythe turned into a long black whip encompassed in a black fire. White keys ran down the side. Astro took all 7 keys off and a black fiery door appeared beside him with 8 keyholes. He inserted the keys into their selected spots and turned them. “Clairvoyance. Death Manipulation. Enhanced Condition. Necromancy. Telekinesis. Stamina. Immortality.”

Yasuhiro yelled out, “Fine! I’ll play with you! Limitless Creation, Activate!”

Thousands of different flowers began to bloom around them creating a dome encompassing the two closing them off from the town. He pointed his sword at Astro and cockily yelled, “Come!”

Astro jumped at Yasuhiro, striking the black whip at him as he evaded them. The whip was so heavy that the ground reshaped after every miss. Yasuhiro recited, “Devil’s Vines!”

Vines the size of trees attacked Astro. Thorns fired from the sides of the vines targeting the black whip. Astro quickly responded. “Clairvoyance Mark!” A big red X appeared on the chest of Yasuhiro. Astro then chanted again, “Spirit Summoner lock on!” Small black shadow looking fairies rushed at the X on Yasuhiro in every direction screeching the word, kill! over and over”

“Marigold’s Coffin. First shield. Second Shield. Enclose!” A circle of yellow flowers covered Yasuhiro completely. A second layer of orange flowers then came after, along with a green barrier with a tree symbol on the front. Moments later, the green barrier exploded, lighting the tiny spirits on fire and killing them.

“Invisible Silence,” Astro whispered. Astro and his weapons became completely invisible as he aimed his whip at the shields. The whip began to shatter the flowered cage and break through until the final layer. When the whip reached the final later, the flowers fluttered and nobody remained inside.

Yasuhiro stood behind him and whispered in his ear, “Where are you looking?” In the next moment, he sliced off Astro’s arm.

“Shit! AGHH!” Astro swung at him, but then both men backed off ready again to attack while Astro healed his arm. “Immortal Recovery.”

Yasuhiro: “You’ve gotten stronger, Astro. Maybe the royal family can use you as their dog for missions. After all, it can’t be any worse than your wife and child’s death.”

Astro stood with his mouth open. Tears ran down his face. “Y-You Bast…ard!” He regained his mind, but thought of nothing as he attacked next. “Telekinesis: Vision Sync, Activate!”

Visions and voices of Yasuhiro’s regrets began to flood into his memory. A little girl’s voice screamed over and over, “Help me!”

Yasuhiro: “Ka…ori. W-Wait! I can help you! I’ve grown stronger! C-Come back!”

Kaori: “You killed me! I’ll never forgive you, brother!”

Yasuhiro’s face flooded with tears. “Kaori! Wait! Don’t leave me! I already lost you once!”

A voice called out from outside his mind. “Black Whip’s Tangled Web!”

The black whip circled around Yashiro’s body and continued to squeeze him until he couldn’t breathe. However, Yasuhiro’s eyes fluttered to a bright green. A small white sword appeared in both of his eyes. His body encased in dark green mana that continued to grow. The sacred tree began to light up dark green as well.

“W-What is this?” Astro questioned. Yasuhiro still suffered in the illusion of his dead sister. “Ka…ori…D-Don’t leave me. Ple…as…e.”

He had no control over his body. He no longer possessed the knowledge of what was going on, who he was fighting, or where he was. The city lights began to flicker for miles. He screamed in agony, “Aghh!…Aghhh!…Aghhhhhhh!!!!”

Astros whip broke in half and reverted back to his scythe from the sheer intensity of the mana. His own mana lines on his body began to fade.

Astro: “This tree…it’s…taking my mana?”

The flower barrier surrounding them broke completely and the city began to shake as people ran and screamed. The mana continued to grow and crossed over the barrier around the royal castle. In the instant this happened, a green light similar to Yasuhiro’s came down in the middle of both of them. A boy stood with red hair and red eyes holding an icy looking sword with a blue snowflake connecting the blade and grip.

“Wow, brother. You leave the castle for 15 minutes and I have to come and stop your antics.”

Kouki sighed and pointed the sword into the sky. “Northern Blade of Aurora: Absolute Zero.”

Everything around Kouki within 5 miles froze besides the sacred tree. Astro and Yasuhiro stood frozen, unable to move. People of the city froze along with them. Yasuhiro’s mana stopped as well as Kouki walked over to the sacred tree.

Kouki: “Really? You hate me that much that you shut off my supply? I had to grab this stupid sword from the treasury…Tch! And you're supposed to help me protect this place, yet you let my stupid brother almost form a full covenant with his sword. Really? A double covenant? You know that would’ve killed him. We both already have one with you.”

Kouki began to walk away and the sacred tree released the dark green mana that surrounded it. He looked back behind his shoulder and in a serious tone spoke. “Oh, by the way. If you ever do this again, I'll slice you into a million pieces. I don’t care what happens to the world. I have people to protect.”

Astro could only stare at the events that occurred before him. He was helpless. “Absolute Zero: Release.”

The ice melted to water and then immediately went into the sky and formed a rainbow. Yasuhiro lay flat on the ground unconscious.

Kouki looked over at Astro and spoke formally. “Sorry for my brother’s behavior. He gets like this from time to time. I’ll be taking him back. Don’t worry. You won’t be blamed for anything that happened here, especially since it’s my stupid brother. However, if I find out that you had any intention to harm the royal family, I won’t forgive you.”

Kouki walked away with Yasuhiro. A familiar voice then called out his name from a distance. “Assstro! Hey, Assstro!”

Astro: “Dante? When did you get here? Sorry for leaving you. It won’t happen again. I’m a man of my word. I’ll stick with you until I get you what you asked for.”

Once again Dante thought to himself that Astro had no obligation to them, but he would take his help for now. Without it, he would be wandering aimlessly trying to find help. He played along.

Dante: “It’s okay. I walked a long time to get here and then I started coming out of the trees and the whole place froze in ice. I started running to the royal castle to get help and then I found you. What happened here?”

Astro sighed, “I’ll explain another time. Sorry for leaving you kid. Now that my head is all clear, let’s get Lucky back.” Dante was already accustomed to this world. He understood that he didn’t have enough power compared to the other people. This was clear to him with Astro, Yasuhiro, Kouki, and even Lucky.

“This way, Dante. Down these alleyways.” Dante followed Astro to a dead end with walls surrounding them. Astro yelled out in an embarrassing tone, “Hocus Pocus.”

The wall in front of them opened to a normal looking bedroom, but a surprise that awaited both of them.