Kin laid peacefully on a green hill just outside the forest, Reukin out in the distance back to normal with the sky returned to it's lush blue color. A calm breeze brushed across the boy's face before the boy snapped awake letting out a gasp as sweat ran down his face. "W-what happened!? I...I remember that bastard punching a hole through my chest and then it all went black..." 

Kin looked down at his stomach, the hole had vanished along with the rest of his injuries. He stood up looking out around. "What's going on here? The world seems just as it was before Veinxoth threw it into chaos and now it seems like all of that had never happened. 1st I need to look for Senku, Shiro and Kasuke, I think they were still alive just before I blacked out" 

Slowly walking down the hill to the Reukin capital, he noticed there wasn't any sign of people in the entire kingdom. "Hmm, could the world have reverted back to normal but not the one's killed by the tyrant?" He made his way over to the exorcist camp to find it just as it was before his seishin sphere obliterated it. 

That's when he spotted Kento, Shiro, Kasuke and Senku all standing by a unit of the camp talking when Kin walked over to them, hesitant to speak to them. "H-hi, what happened? I thought I died and you guys had been killed by Veinxoth" 

Shiro crossed his arms laughing. "Heh, it'll take more than that to kill us! When Veinxoth struck you, he attempted to absorb the power we gave you, only for it to be too much, causing him to explode it a massive explosion. Luckily after he died, the sky seemed to revert back to normal as well as al the damaged he caused" 

Kin looked at him, unhappy by the answer. "Well...what about my chest!? He punched right through me and I bled out how do you explain that!?" Kento stepped forward in his zombie form placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Because we all can regenerate, so giving you all our power must've given you some of our ability to heal at a fast rate" 

Kin wanted to believe them and just relax, but a growing unease built up inside him, as if something was off. Shiro suggested they'd go down to the tavern to get something to eat to which the others agreed. "Come on Kin, let's just relax and get some food" Shiro insisted as the trio started making their way towards the Reukin capital. 

That's when he heard Senku's voice behind him: (Kin...you must wake up) It was faint, but it was clearly Senku speaking to him. (What is this? Senku is right in front of me, isn't he? Or it could be another duplicate he made. Even so, I'm sure he'd speak through the clone to me...things just seem to be getting more and more strange. As if...this is some kind of dream) 

As they made their way back into town, the streets were lively with many citizens going about their day as usual like nothing had ever occurred. (No, it can't be...this place was completely deserted when I came over here just moments ago, now you're telling me that it's all lively and filled with active people!?) 

Kin felt as though he was losing his sanity as he stood still with a depressed expression on his face. His party turned around asking what's wrong. Kin clinched his teeth as his hair fell across his right eye. "You all...aren't real are you?" 

Shiro laughed responding: "What!? Of course we're real, you beat Veinxoth and managed to heal your wounds thx to all the energy you had" That's when Kin looked at them with a serious face. "If what you say is true...then why did Kento's life force vanish while I was training!? He never showed up when the others did...that can only mean he was killed and this Kento is a fake! All of you...this world itself...IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A MIRAGE TO KEEP ME FROM THE TRUTH!" 

The trio before him froze before turning into blue wisps of energy, the world around him shattered like glass as he realized the truth. "This world...it's nothing but an illusion I put myself in just before blacking out...I had used all my spiritual energy to create a world...one without death...one without fear...one...where I can live happily" 

Suddenly the young warrior awoke, laying on the ground within Veinxoth's massive dome that had almost completely consumed all of Reukin. Kin forced himself to his feet grip his wound as blood seeped out onto the pool of blood beneath his feet. (I-I can't die here...I must stop this monster once in for all, even if it means I die. He preached of creating a better world, well...one where he doesn't exist is a better one for sure. Now then...I'm far too weak to attempt to heal my injuries, but if I'm correct, I can absorb all of the spiritual energy around me to regain strength) 

Taking a deep breath, Kin slowly raised his hand up to the sky as a vacuum-like force began to siphon the dome itself into his palm, filling him with demonic spiritual energy. Not long after, Veinxoth could tell something was off as his massive dome was growing weaker each second. Soaring across like the sky like a shooting star, he spotted Kin whose wounds were nearly completely healed as the hole in his chest slowly closed as if it had never been there. 

"Blasphemous! How are you still alive you pitiful mortal!? My influence has taken over all of Reukin itself, I have a power far greater than you could even imagine. Why resist me? All you'll be doing is torturing yourself into a nameless grave where no one will remember your name" 

That's when a laugh escaped Kin's lips. "Heh, maybe you're right...maybe this all-in vein...but I'm not one to just sit back and let this world die when I know I could've done something. I've been given this chance to defeat you once and for all and I'm going to give it all I got!" 

Clinching right arm, he unleashed a fierce blue aura as the demonic dome around them suddenly changed to blue. The dome was now split between blue and red as the two forces prepared to fight for the power they needed to win. 

"Impossible, you copied my power siphoning ability!? It can't be! Only I may claim this world's energy as my own!" Without warning, Kin bolted towards his target, sending a fierce strike to his face, fracturing the tyrant's skull. "Just shut up already...you've done nothing but cause pain for millions of innocent people. I don't care what pain and embarrassment you went through to cause you to be so heartless. You said you felt like a mere pawn, a small piece in another's game. So what? In a way we're all pawns, it's an endless cycle of unfair treatment that will never end! But no matter what you went through...you have no right to force your pain onto others, you lost one person that meant the world to you so you assume the world should pay. Well here's how I feel...no matter your reasons...no matter the pain you've endured...no one has the right to take the life over another when that life had nothing to do with your misfortune. The moment you took your 1st life, you became just as terrible as the thing you despised" 

"N-no...y-you're wrong...I'm the one who'll fix this heartless world and create a new...one without pain or suffering, one where we don't have to fear foe our lives each and every day! This world is imperfect!" 

"Yes, it is...but so are all of us. No one in this world is perfect, any who claim otherwise is either a fool or a liar. Perfection is nothing more than a fantasy that none could ever hope to achieve no matter how strong they are" 

Tears began to fall from the man's eyes as he clinched his fist with mixed emotions. "Shut up...shut up...SHUT UP, SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU!" With all of his power, Veinxoth moved at light speed right for Kin throwing a fierce blow, Only for Kin to grab him by the face. 

"It's time you to endure the same fate as the millions of Reukin" His target struggled as all of his immense energy was torn away, sapping the life from him as he too became nothing more than a hollow shell. Kin dropped the skeleton to the floor before aiming his hand to the sky. 

"With one final technique, I shall fix this world and make it the way it should've been, however...i can't bring back Kento since he wasn't human. Sigh...Spiritual life energy" Converting all of his life force into pure energy, Kin released a vast wave of blue energy all throughout the world, the sky reverting back to blue as each particle was transferred to all of the deceased humans of Reukin reviving them. With small remnants of their souls remaining, Kin knew he could resurrect them. 

Kin's hair grew long and gray as his body rapidly aged into that of a tall old man. His wrinkled face smiled looking out on the revived world as he closed his eyes before his body began to break apart turning to dust... 

Kin awoke inside a large golden hallway, his body back to normal as if he had never died. Confused he slowly walked down the large golden hallway, large pillars on both sides as he made his way across before finding himself inside a large room with a golden floor and walls that looked like a purple nebula and stars. In the middle of the room stood a tall man dressed in black and gold clothing, a black cape reveling his muscular chest, black pants, wearing a gold necklace, a golden belt and golden headband. 

Holding out his hand the man spoke in a calm welcoming tone: "Welcome mortal...to the afterlife, or what you'd refer to as purgatory. Here you will either be reincarnated, or sent to the seven heavens to be with those who have passed on. I am Noromo, the god of all creation. I watch over this as well as a plethora of countless worlds. Not many have the grace of gazing upon my divine form let alone speak with me, but there are a small handful of those deemed worthy to have audience with me. Such as you Kin, you had your entire life ahead of you...yet you chose to give up your life in exchange to reverse the damage done to the earth and revive the millions killed in the madness. Such a selfless act is worthy of a reward from myself. Tell me mortal...what is it that you desire? I may give you anything in all of creation that you desire just name it" 

Kin stood dumbfounded, his mind blown at the thought of both standing in his youthful body before the god of creation himself. So much was happening at once that he couldn't even think of words. The deity smiled. "Take as much time as you need, I understand that this may be a lot to take in which is why only a small selection are permitted before me" 

Clinching his fists, Kin responded: "Actually...I don't have a wish...I saved all of the innocent people who died to that monster and chose to give up my live for all of them. I'm sure most would just ask to be brought back to life, but I'd rather let fate decide whether I'm reincarnated or sent to the seven heavens. So, please allow me to be judged to see which is my fate" 

Moromo looked deeply into his eyes before answering: "Very well. You shall be sent to the realm of judgment where all souls are judged. I bid you luck on either fate that is presented to you" A golden pillar of light shined upon the young boy as he was transported to another realm... 

Uncovering his eyes from the blinding light, Kin found himself in a large black room with a checker tiled-floor and a black chair in the center of the room. As he slowly approached the chair, a black mist flew over to him, reveling itself to be death himself, your typical grim reaper with glowing purple eyes wielding a large scythe. 

"Welcome to the room of judgment, here you will play a game to decide if you will be reincarnated or sent to the afterlife. Normally we'd be playing an actually game such as volleyball, but I'm feeling in the mood for something simpler yet adrenaline inducing. With a bony grin he reached into his black cloak pulling out a shiny gold coin that sparkled even in the dark room. "Now then Kin, I shall give you the honor of decided which side, heads or tails?" 

Sitting in the chair he chose Heads. "Hehe, very well...let us watch as your fate is decided by this one toss!" Filled with excitement death flipped the coin up in the air with a flick of his bony thumb as it spiraled in the air for several seconds before hitting the floor, spinning for a few more moments before finally lying face down. 

Kin could only sit and watch as death reached down, picking up the coin, reveling it to be heads. "Well now...seems you're a lucky child...though I would love to play another round with you, I must fulfill my end of the contract and send you on your way" Holding his scythe with one hand, he touched the sharp tip to the mortal's forehead as a blue light shinned from it, forming the letters: "再生" Which meant rebirth. 

"Allow your soul to prosper In your new life...for we shall meet again, under different circumstances" 

CHAPTER 6 The Age Of A New Era 

1,000 years have passed as the medieval era had finally come to an end with the pirate era emerging as the world government now broken, becoming it's own country in the center of the world while the four surrounding empires too became independent countries. Each country had also changed their name with the fall of their old empires: 

•Shujin was now called Lanbosa 

•Reukin had become Zingusta 

•Kaionen was now Hioden 

•The celestial empire was now Celestia 

While three of them seemed to have changed drastically from the new era, Celestia as well as the now referred to as world order hadn't changed much in the past 1,000 years had passed... 

In the far seas between Lanbosa and the first order, a large pirate ship sailed across the clear blue seas. A young man by the name of Azuma, he wore a dark-red velvet coat with black pants and boots. He had long black hair with hazel eyes as he stood looking out on the open sea as the sea breeze brush past him. 

That's when one of his crewmates jumped from the poop deck, landing behind him near the front of the ship. Azuma was deep in thought, looking out on the sea when his crewmate placed his hand on his shoulder, snapping him back to reality. "Hey captain are you alright? You've been staring out on the sea for quite a while cap, perhaps you need sleep?" 

Azuma turned to see his thief and 2nd mate Oda D. Roxie, he was a young man with pink hair, green eyes dressed in a white long-sleeve jacket with a dark-pink heart on the back. "Perhaps you're right, I'll head to my private quarters for now, please alert me if anything happens" 

"Aye captain" Oda saluted with a smile as Azuma made his way cross the ship through a wooden door just beneath the poop deck as he walked down a narrow hallway with a few red doors aligning the right side of the hall. In the 1st room was Roxie's room, the 2nd was hist 1st mate's room. As he passed by, a young woman with long blue hair and green eyes dressed in pale blue jacket with black pants stepped out the room closest to the captain's quarters. 

"Hello captain, I see you're going to your private quarters, allow me to come with you, I have nothing better to do hehe" She smiled at him seductively with her stomach visible. 

"Perhaps another time Naiomi, I've been awfully tired for a while and would like to get some rest before we reach port. Chances are something's bound to happen once we dock. Trouble seems to have a strange way of following us wherever we go, so it's best to be ready. By the way, where's Kenzu? I haven't seen him since we freed Oda from the prison just hours ago" 

"He's sleeping down blow with the cargo, apparently, he can sleep just about anywhere without much trouble. I on the other hand require a bed or some kind of soft surface, otherwise I'll be up all night" She sighed placing her hand on her hip looking at her captain who gave her a nod before reaching the end of the hallway where the captain's quarters was in the center of the hall rather than aligned with the other doors. 

Making his way through the black door he found himself in a large wooden room with a desk in the center, a large window behind it, a large bookshelf taking up most of the left side of the room with his bed on the right side of the room. 

His bed had a red quilt with black pillows. Lying down in bed it didn't take him long to fall asleep... 

As he slept...he began to dream of that day...the day he was betrayed... 

[Flash Back] 

Azuma stood out on the deck of his former ship known as the sailing sun, looking out over the open sea when his 2nd in command Saido Oranami walked over to him. Saido had white hair dressed in a black shirt with white pants "Captain what are you doing out here, shouldn't you get some sleep for tomorrow?" 

"I can't sleep, I want to find something rare, something no other pirate has found before. I Azuma Kenousa will become the next pirate lord" 

Few Hours Later... 

Their captain laid in a pool of blood with Saito pressing his boot against the injured man's cheek. "Sorry captain, I'm done following your orders, I and the crew agreed that we'll do better without you. I'm taking your crew and ship as my own, enjoy dying alone on this worthless island" 

[End Of Flashback] 

Azuma clinched the bed as sweat down his face from both the flashback and nightmare before him... 

The Following morning... 

Azuma awoke to the sound of seagulls flying past the ship as he let his vision focus before getting out of bed. He still felt tired from the nightmare, but brushed it off hoping it wouldn't affect his tasks. Making his way onto the main deck, he saw Roxie steering the ship as land could be seen off in the distance. Meanwhile Kenzu had finally come up from cargo sitting on a Barrer with a serious expression on his face as he sat with his arms crossed and eyes closed. 

Kenzu wore a black cloak with red eyes and a scar across his left eye along with black hair. He was Naiomi's body guard wielding a katana. With nowhere to go, Kenzu decided to stay with Naiomi wherever she went as well as take orders from her. 

"Sigh, let's hope this won't be a huge scuffle like what happened to Roxie, busting you out of jail was a pain in the ass, if you cause another scene to have the port's marines called on us again, I'll slit your throat with this very blade" He glared at Roxie intensely while the pink-haired pirate smirked leaning against the large sail folding his arms. 

"Heh, I'll do my best, laying low has never really been one of my strengths, but I'll do my best. I would hate for you to have to dirty your blade Kenzu" The swordsmen closed his eyes giving a frustrated grunt as the ship began to pull into the port of Celestia in the northern part of the world. They had begun their journey from Landbosa in the west before sailing up north to Celestia. 

As the ship docked, the crew made their way off the ship onto a small docking area just below the town that sat on a hill just above it. The sea breeze brushed over them as Azuma's coat blew in the breeze with his crew following close behind. Kenzu quietly followed behind the rest still with a frown on his face with his arms crossed while Naiomi stayed closed to the captain and Oda looked around, excited to check out the town. 

As they stepped onto the stone path leading through the town, Azuma felt as if something was off. "Strange, there's no sign of any citizens walking about and to think of it...no one met with us at the dock either. I feel as though something is going on here. Roxie, check out the area but make sure to stay hidden" 

"Yes captain!" Giving him a quick salute with a big smile, he leapt onto a small red home, swiftly running across the roof like a ninja, searching the era for any inhabitance, his pink hair blowing in the wind. Meanwhile Azuma gripped the blade at his side cautiously making his way through the narrow streets, colorful stone and brick structures on both sides of the street obscuring his view. 

"Hmmm, maybe we should-" Just then a sadistic female laugh could be heard from above as a woman with short black hair dressed in nothing but a swim suit came descending down throwing a punch right for the pirate, only to stop the coming strike with his cutlass as they clashed. She grinned with excitement while Azuma glared at her with a serious look. 

The others watched as the young assailant pushed off the blade landing before them, the fist she had struck with covered in some kind of red substance with parts of it floating around her palm. "Hehe, impressive, not many can react fast enough to stop my attack, however...thanks to the magika crystal I've eaten, I've gained the ability to manipulate the very blood that flows within me" 

"Magika crystal? What are you talking about?" She looked at him before bursting out in laughter. "Hehehahaha! Wait, you really don't know about magika crystals!? Wow and here I thought you were a fellow magika. Sigh...too bad, was hoping you'd be a worthy opponent, but if you don't have any abilities then I guess this will be a quick fight. Speaking of which, you may want to take a look at your sword" 

Looking down at his blade, Azuma realized she had left some of her blood on his blade, causing it to slowly spread across the blade nearly reaching his hand. "Shit!" Quickly thinking he threw the blade right at her, only for the fellow pirate to catch it with her blood-covered hand, the blade inches from her skull. Still smirking she consumed the blade with her blood before dropping it to the floor. "Hhehe! Come on, this isn't the best you can do, is it? How is someone as weak as you considered captain?" 

That's when Naiomi pulled out knifes, each in between her fingers as she swiped her hand to the side, sending the sharp projectiles right for the girl, only for their target to form a shield made of her own blood around her palm as it hardened, stopping three of the four blades as they pierced or sheild while the 4th flew past her. 

"Damn it, this is going nowhere! Kenzu, do your job and finish her quickly!" 

"Sigh, yes Naiomi..." With a sigh the swordsmen slowly walked past his crew gripping his blade as he looked as his target with disinterested eyes. "What's that look for!? You think I'm not worth your time!? I am Kadica, one of the crew members of the dark moon pirates!" 

Azuma thought for a moment... "Dark moon pirates? Wait...is your crew behind the disappearance of this town's citizens? I've heard that Celestia doesn't look at pirates to favorably, which mean if you're running freely, it means your captain must've done something to the townsmen!" 

Kadica began to laugh sadistically grinning at him. "Maybe we did, not like you can beat the rest of my crew, you're struggling against me, and I'm not even the strongest one!" That's when a flash of purple light zipped past Kadica as she stood shaking, her eyes widening before blood gushed from her throat causing her to collapse in the middle of the street. 

"Impressive work Kenzu" Their captain praised with surprise and relief. The swordsmen just looked away brushing off the complainant as he sheathed his blade back to it's side. "We should search for the remaining dark moon pirates before they realize we're here, or Roxie does something stupid" 

Meanwhile.... 

Roxie had made his way through the town where he reached the town hall, a large white building with columns aligning the entrance with large metal doors. He scouted from the roof of a nearby tavern before spotting a tall man wearing a black and purple pirate jacket also known as a fearnought, similar to what Azuma wore. He had dark-blue hair with golden eyes, his jacket open reveling his six-pack. 

"That must be a captain. If I can manage to sneak inside and catch him off guard, I might be able to get information out of him" Standing on the edge of a roof, Roxie leapt from the top, managing to grab the window sill on the 2nd floor while his target stood in the executive office on the top floor just one level above him. Pulling himself up, Roxie carefully lifted the window allowing him to slip inside. 

The young pirate found himself standing in a hallway with white stone walls and blue tiled floors. Carefully making his way down the hallway, he carefully opened each red door searching for any hostile pirates Or items of interest. That's when he could hear a group of men at the end of the hall right behind the corner. 

The thief crowed up against the wall listening in on the conversation. "I don't know why boss is having us guard the stairs, it's not like he can't protect himself. I'd rather be taking a nap" One of them complained in a deep voice. Oda slowly peaked out from behind the corner, seeing three large buff men wearing black vests and pants. They all had beards with serious expressions on their face. 

(Hmmm, they seem like generic goons, highly doubt they're a threat, best to just take them out quickly before they can alert their boss) Pulling out a single knife, he inspected the surrounding area around the trio, they stood shoulder to shoulder with the staircase just behind them. With no alternative, Roxie jumped out from the corner throwing the small blade right for the center of the middle brute's skull, piercing through their forehead as blood ran down their face as they died near instantly. 

"What!?" One of them cried out in both fear in surprise as their ally hit the ground in a pool of blood. With the two remaining goons panicking, Roxie darted straight for them, gripping their faces as he slammed them to the ground knocking them out. "Heh, I could kill them here, but one kill is enough, plus captain did tell me not to take things too far. Now then, let us see who their captain is. I'm intrigued to see what he's like" 

With a smirk Oda made his way up the dark stairwell, reaching a black steel door, it looked old and rusted as if it would just collapse on itself. (Hmm, I could attempt to break it down, but then their captain would be alerted I was here...Fuck it!) 

With all his might Oda kicked the rusted steel door as it swung open, reveling to be unlocked. There he saw the tall blue-haired captain with his back to him, his elbow resting upon his sword. He stood in a large room with a large bookshelf in the left corner of the room with a wooden floor and a desk beside the pirate. "Well now...didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to try and defy me. Hehe...surely you know who I am?" The pirate grinned, his golden eyes gleaming as he turned to face the intruder. 

"Not really, why would I know some random pirate?" 

"Heh, what disrespect is it for you not to know the great pirate captain Sirogen, better known as golden dragon. The pink-haired thief let out a slight laugh commenting: "Golden dragon? Sounds like you're overconfident in yourself, perhaps you think you're far stronger than you actually are" 

That's when his target's eyes grew brighter as a shockwave of golden light brushed over him. Roxie's eyes suddenly turned golden just like Sirogen's as he bowed before him on one knee. "Hehe, now then...end your poor miserable life with your own blade" 

Under the pirate's control, Roxie pulled out his blood-covered knife preparing to stab himself in the chest, only for another knife to fly through the doorway, knocking the blade from his hand as it spun across the wooden floor lying at the feet of the tyrant. "Hmph, more ants to get in my way I see, they're your friends, aren't they?" The hypnotized thief nodded still down on one knee. 

That's when Azuma and his fellow crew members barged through the doorway before the golden dragon. "Roxie are you alright? Why are you kneeling on the floor?" His captain questioned looking down at his controlled crewmate. 

"I'm afraid he can't respond, he's under my magika ability: Eye of absolution. For whoever looks into my eyes when it's activated, shall be forced to submit to one of the seven pirate lords of the sea!" 

Azuma and Naiomi gasped from the man's words. "A-a pirate lord? It-it can't be, what would a pirate lord be doing here!?" Their captain exclaimed in both fear and confusion. Kenzu turned to them with a plain expression as usual asking: "What exactly is a pirate lord?" 

Azuma took a deep breath, still shaken. "A pirate lord is said to be the title given to pirates by the one world government as being one of the strongest, as well as a great threat to either a country or the world itself. Since there's only seven pirate lords in the entire world, that just shows you just how much of a threat you have to be to even be worthy of the title pirate lord" 

Sirogen closed his eyes with a confident smirk. "Hehe, at least one of you seems knowledgeable of the fear that comes with being a pirate lord. I may be the weakest of the seven lords, but I assure you...I still am worthy of the title!" In a sudden move, Sirogen unsheathed his cutlass, making a fierce slash as he imbued his blade with golden spiritual energy. The three of them dodged the abrupt strike as it missed Roxie, piercing through the left side of the building, slicing it in half with the left half crumbling to the street in a pile of rubble. 

"Heh, by the look of fear in your ears, I assume you two had no idea I could use such powerful spiritual energy. Too bad for you, as I said before, I'm the weakest of the seven pirate lords, so even if you managed to kill me...there's still six more who are far stronger than I am. Oh, I almost forgot...You, attack your beloved captain, don't hold anything back" 

Azuma and the others watched as the emotionless thief slowly stood up, his pink hair covering his eyes as he lunged right for Azuma. Just before the young captain could unsheathe his blade, Naiomi slit in between them, sending a fierce blow to her ally's abdomen, knocking him back as he was sent staggering across the room, crashing into the desk as it collapsed to pieces from the force of Oda's impact. 

"You're not fooling anyone by the way pirate lord...there's no way you'd be here all alone without a fellow crew member to guard you. I might not have noticed before, but I assure you...you can't hide from my keen senses" Without hesitation, she threw a knife straight for the left corner of the room near the large bookcase, that's when all heard movement as a figure became visible, dodging the incoming blade. He wore a black hat with white hair and black formal wear. 

"My...I didn't think anyone would notice me if I just stood in the corner" The man smiled with his hand on his hat as he looked at Naiomi. "You certainly are a skilled assassin my dear, perhaps you'd like to go a few rounds with me" The blue-haired pirate frowned dashing straight for him reveling a hidden blade in her jacket's sleeve. "You want to go a few rounds? How about I cut your heart out to shut that cocky mouth of yours up!" 

"Oh, I'm flattered but I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment my dear, perhaps another time" The pirate held onto his hat jumping back as the girl threw her arm out with the blade fully extended, attempting to stab him through the heart. Just barely evading the attack, Naiomi struck the wall crating a crack in the wall while her target landed on the other side of the room still with a cocky smirk on his face. 

"Aww come now, surely this isn't the best you have. If you can't hit me like this...then what will you do when I use my magika ability?" She watched as the assailant vanished once again becoming invisible. 

Meanwhile Roxie leapt up back on his feet, his eyes still glowing gold symbolizing Sirogen's control over him. As Azuma pulled out his blade, Kenzu extended his hand in front of captain. "Don't worry captain, I shall handle this" 

The golden dragon grew interested, curious in the swordsmen's capabilities. "Very well, show me the exstent of your swordsmanship" Once more the controlled pirate charged forward, throwing a punch straight for Kenzu, only for the skilled swordsmen to bring it to an abrupt halt, his katana holding back the pawn's strike as he gripped his blade with one hand.

Moving behind his target, Kenzu struck the side of the thief's neck, causing him to pass out by the fierce blow to his pressure point. The golden glimmer in Roxie's eyes vanished as he let out a gasp of pain before collapsing. The swordsmen caught him just before he hit the ground and set him in the corner of the room near the door.

"Now then, let's finish things here. All I have to do is kill you and this bothersome task will be done with"

"Hehe, you're that sure of yourself huh? Then show me just how strong you are, by what I've witnessed, none of you have any experience with spiritual energy which puts you all at a great disadvantage"

Kenzu glared at him aiming his blade towards Sirogen I don't know what this "spiritual energy" you're going on about...but I shall cut you down right here" The pirate lord smirked tightening his grip of his cutlass as he slowly raised his arm into the air. "Allow me to show you just how powerful spiritual energy can be when used by one who's learned to harness it's destructive power!" 

Azuma watched from behind Kenzu as a golden light engulfed the pirate's blade. "Atomic dragon slash!" Bringing his blade down with a sudden slash, a devastating wave of golden energy surged towards them catching Kenzu off guard. The swordsmen put his blade up attempted to block the coming attack. The wave struck the man's blade, drilling against the sword like a propelling force.

"Tsssskk!" Kenzu clinched his teeth as the building shook rapidly be the assailant's immense power. The man could feel his feet being slightly pushed back by the fierce spiritual energy. That's when Azuma noticed his crewmate's blade was beginning to crack by the immense pressure. Finally, the pair watched as the golden light faded with dust and rubble all around them.

"Huff...huff...I-I've never witnessed such power before" Kenzu clenched his teeth in frustration as he could feel his very knees shaking in fear. The pair turned around to see the wall behind them gone, nearly a mile of the town destroyed by the attack's fierce power, with many buildings split in half. "H-he did that!?" Sweat ran down their face at the sight left by their opponent's single strike.

"Hahaha! Are you both now beginning to realize the power of a pirate lord? You all had no chance the moment you entered this room"

Meanwhile Naiomi had chased the invisible foe outside, focusing on the assailant's footsteps as she moved across the city's rooftops when she saw a golden flash of light come from town hall. That's when she realized it was Sirogen's spiritual attack headed right for her! Thinking quickly, she leapt out of the way, just as half the town was pierced straight through by the attack. "Captain!" Worrying about her captain's safety, she quickly made her way back to the destroyed town hall.

"Time for you to die samurai, I expected more from someone with such reflexes" Once more Sirogen imbued his sword with spirt energy as he prepared to attack once more. Kenzu gripped his blade preparing to defend once more, only for his sword to shatter to pieces with merely the grip left.

"Hehe it's over for you!" As the tyrant unleashed a piercing strike once more, Azuma jumped in the way without hesitation, throwing both arms out to use himself as a human shield. Naiomi jumped from a roof onto the top floor, only to watch as their captain took the full-force of the golden dragon's attack.

Azuma's eyes widened as a shearing pain rushed through him as blood gushed out from different parts of his body, a thick puddle of blood formed at his feet as he stood in place, breathing heavily before the young captain abruptly collapsed before everyone.

"No...CAPTAIN AZUMA!" Tears fell from Naiomi's face as she began to break down in both anger and sadness. YOU BASTARD! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" Roxie slowly regained consciousness, only to see his captain lying on the floor with Naiomi out of control. Her blue hair began to flow in the air as a blue flame-like aura swarmed around her body. "PREPARE TO WITNESS A HORIFIC DEATH SIROGEN!"

Kenzu was frozen in fear and surprise, Naiomi had never gotten this angry before and he could see a vast amount of spiritual energy rating from her body by her racing emotions. Naiomi's eyes glowed white as her irises disappeared. She advanced right for her target, sending a fierce blow to his abdomen, sending him smashing through what was left of the top floor, impacting the docks below near their ship.

"What is this!? That girl showed no signs of having any awareness of spiritual energy, now she has this much bursting out of her!? It's blasphemous!" He looked up to see her descending down like a meter heading right for him with another punch. "RRAAGGHH!" With one final blow to the ribs, Naiomi send the pirate lord soaring across the air before impacting the water in the middle of the ocean.

His body descended down unconscious, blue flames where she had punched him as they were put out by the water reveling a severe burn to his stomach... She stood on the small beach by the docks looking out at the water breathing heavily before taking a deep breath, her hair fell back to her shoulders as the fierce aura of blue flames faded away. "Tsk, take that you bastard, no one hurts my captain without getting the shit beaten out of them by me"

Making her way back to the top floor of the town hall, she found Azuma still laying across the floor motionless. She placed her ear to his chest, only to realize there was no pulse. "No! I won't lose you captain! Focusing on the painful emotions she felt, she managed to manifested her spiritual energy once more, beginning to pump the man's chest, each time sending a shockwave of spirt essence to his heart like an electric shock to restart one's heart.

"Come on...come on!" She repeatedly sent multiple surges of energy to his heart until after the 4th or 5th time, she could feel a pulse in her captain's chest. The crew watched as Azuma began to breathe again as he slowly opened his eyes. 

"C-captain, you're ok!" Roxie exclaimed, still inured from the blow to his neck. Azuma slowly rose to his feet, his injuries quickly closing into his body was fully healed. "Wait, how did you just heal so fast!?" Naiomi questioned in confusion.

"Sigh, I ate a magika crystal. I wasn't sure at first, but after that tyrant explained how they worked, I realized I have the ability to regenerate from nearly any injury. With that in mind I had hoped to use myself as a Sheild to protect Kenzu but it looks as though my body couldn't hold out against the pain and blood-loss causing me to go into cardiac arrest for a short time until Naiomi managed to bring me back"

[Flash Back] 

Azuma laid in a pool of his own blood within a cave, left for dead on a small island as the crew of pirates had left with his loot and ammo leaving nothing but his small ship, that's when he spotted a red ice crystal laying behind a rock. He crawled over to it, hoping it's ice would melt and hydrate him enough to stay alive. He was covered in bruises with his clothes torn and his hat taken by the savage pirates. 

He chewed on the ice crystal before swallowing it all. When he abruptly lost consciousness... 

After an hour of drifting through the empty darkness between life and death, he awoke back inside the cave still in pain though, not as much. He rose to his feet still drenched in his own blood. Azuma made his way out of the cave as the pain began to grow less and less. He opened his shirt to see his wounds closing at a fast rate. "How strange, but I don't have time to worry about this right now" 

Making his way outside, the healed pirate made his way across the beach when he saw a group of men in black suits carrying cargo to a large ship floating near the beach. (Hmmm, without my sword this will be difficult, but if I wait too long, I'll miss my chance of taking their ship and getting off this damn island) Azuma saw two men sitting by a campfire with swords at their side. 

The pirate charged in as the group of men spotted him. "The bastard's alive kill him!" The group of thugs fired their pistols right for the pirate as he slid under the coming projectiles. "You all need to work on your aim" The pirate knocked out the three gunmen when the pair of swordsmen charged right for him. 

"Hmph, I may not be good with guns, but swords are another thing" One of his assailants swung his blade right for the Azuma's face when it stopped in the man's grasp between his three fingers. "You need to work on your sword skills" Kicking his foe in the ribs, the thugs let go off the blade as it went flying into the air before it landed in the pirate's grasp. "Heh, finally I at least have a weapon now" 

"Rrrr, you bastard!" The other swordsmen charged right for him attempting to stab the young pirate when the man easily stopped the coming strike before head-butting the criminal and striking the other in the back of the head. 

"There, now to find their captain. A group this big is bound to have a captain" taking the 2nd sword from the unconscious goons he turned to the unarmed men asking: "So then, where is your captain" The crew of men stood their shaking in fear when one of them managed to grab one of the guns that was by one of the knocked-out men and fired a shot straight for Kenousa. With an abrupt movement, he deflected the bullet before sliding his sword back to his side. 

"I will ask you all once more...where can I find your captain" 

"No need to search for him, the captain is right here" Azuma looked towards the ship to see a tall shirtless buff man with black hair and black tattoos on his body wearing black pants. "I am captain Kazamo, consider it an honor to be killed by someone like me" 

"If anyone's going to die...I'd say it'll be you" Azuma pulled out his sword aiming it toward the captain. "So then, are you going to make a move, or should I?" 

"Tsk, if you want to die that badly then I won't stand in your way" Kazamo moved at incredible speed, pulling out his blade with a sudden slash, only to be deflected by Azuma's blade just before contact. "Sword slash: Sudden strike" Moving to the side, the pirate unleashed a barrage of sword strikes standing behind the captain with his back to him. 

Kazamo froze for a moment before blood gushed from his wounds but managed to remain standing. "Hehe, you're pretty quick aren't you brat? Looks like I'll have to show you who you're dealing with" The man stretched his hand out with his palm aimed at the ground. "Undead Revival" The crew members ran back onto their ship as a purple mist flowed from his Palm onto the ground as skeletons began manifesting all around him. 

"Now then, let's see how you fare against my undead horde" The skeletons pulled out their swords surrounding him while the captain watched with a smirk, crossing his arms as the horde of undead unleashed a barrage of sword strikes. However, pulling his 2nd sword out, he deflected each attack as sparks flew from his blade with each deflection. 

"You must really be underestimating me if you think these bags of bones are going to be able to defeat me" Gripping both his blades he spun as fast as he could, shredding through each one of them as their bones shattered before he came to a stop. The captain watched as his horde of undead cracked apart and fell to pieces all around him.

Kazamo clinched his fist enraged, advancing his target as he threw a punch as hard as he could. "You piece of shit!" Azuma moved his sword at immense speed before slowly sliding it back into it's holder. Kazamo hit the ground lying dead in the sand. "There, time to take his ship and make my way back to town. I will gather a new crew and hunt down the ones that betrayed me"

[End Of Flash back]

"After that, I met you all. It hurt knowing the crew I was once close to could betray me and leave me to die so easily. But if it wasn't for that, I never would've met you three. I feel as though our crew will be far better than that bastard's. We shall grow stronger until we find him and kill him where he stands. He should be given the same fate I was given. If I hadn't of eaten the magika crystal, I would probably be long dead. But enough talk, let's head further through Celestia for a place to sleep, I've missed the feeling of an actually bedroom rather than the ship for once"

That's when Naiomi commented: "Wait, what about that white-haired bastard that was with Sirogen? Shouldn't we find him before he can escape!?"

"Nah, he didn't seem like much of a threat, if he is somewhere nearby, just let him hide like the coward he is. It's not like we couldn't handle him if he does try something"

CHAPTER 7 The Celestial Kingdom

As the pirate crew made their way through the large valley path, the sun began to go down as they reached a large kingdom just below the hill. "Sigh, finally, we made it to the next town or kingdom I should say" Azuma looked at Naiomi who was carrying Roxie with his arm over her shoulder while Kenzu walked behind, holding the remains of his katana in his hand with an expression as if a part of him had died.

They reached a large stone wall with tall wooden doors as two knights in silver armor stood guarding the gate. "Halt! What business do you have here!?" One of the guards questioned in an angry tone. Azuma stepped forward answering: "Me and my crew are traveling through Celestia to find a place to sleep as well as gather supplies for our next voyage"

The knight kept his hand close to his sword deciding whether to let them pass or not. "Is there a problem?" Azuma responded in a serious tone, glaring at him. The knight finally backed off as they opened the gate letting them through. As they waked through the great doors, they saw a massive kingdom with a maze of stone streets with medieval looking houses and merchant stores, as well as the castle in the center of the kingdom where it's ruler lived.

Azuma looked around in both surprise in confusion." Hmmm, this place still seems like it's back in the medieval era. In my travels to Lanbosa, they seemed more advanced than here which seems trapped in the past. In any case, this place seems like somewhere we can rest for the time being. Hopefully we can find a bounty or two to earn some gold as well"

They made their way to an inn where Naiomi had some gold left and paid one gold piece for each to stay a night in the inn. Roxie and Kenzu were given their own rooms while Naiomi stayed in Azuma's room. Each room of the inn was a small wooden room with a window on the left of the room with the bed to the right. The bed had a white blanket with one pillow.

"Sigh, you'd think a kingdom like this would have higher quality places to stay rather than this minimal dark room. One day...I'm going to have an entire fleet with a large ship and more gold than I know what to do with"

Naiomi dropped her jacket only wearing a bra and black pants as she walked over to him wrapping her arms around him from behind. "I know you will captain, and one day we shall have an heir to your pirate legacy, one who will one day follow in your glorious footsteps"

The next day Naiomi awoke to see Azuma gripping his cutlass with both hands, looking at it intensely as if waiting for something to happen. "What's wrong captain? Is there something wrong with your sword?" There was a slight pause before Azuma answered: "I'm trying to figure out how this... "Spiritual energy" works. That pirate lord reviled just how powerful one's spirit energy can be when you figure out how to master it. Imagining just how powerful one can be with that much power is just boggling"

She put on her jacket walking over. "I can't remember much about what happened when I fought Sirogen since I was blinded by all my mixed emotions. But the one thing I realized about spiritual energy, is if you focus on an intense emotion, you can draw out that emotion in the form of spiritual energy. At least, that's how it was for me" 

"Intense emotion huh? Alright..." Taking a deep breath, Azuma gripped his sword, focusing on the pain and hatred he felt for his mutinous crew who left him to die. Sweat began to run down his face as his heart Spead up. Naiomi watched as a faint red flame-like aura manifested around the captain's hands as it spread to his blade. "It's-it's working!" That's when Azuma fell to one knee out of breath, causing the aura to go out like a candle as he huffed out of breath. 

“D-damn it...to think Sirogen was capable of manifesting his aura with such ease while I struggled to maintain it for mere moments” 

After recovering from the fatigue, they made their way outside the inn where Roxie and Kenzu were waiting just outside. Kenzu was leaned up against the inn’s wall with his arms crossed while Roxie was tossing a pair of dice up repeatedly. “Captain you’re awake! Glad to see you weren’t hurt from that bastard who took control of me with his magika ability!” 

“Thanks Roxie, yea I'm fine. I didn’t even really get a chance to fight but glad to know I have a crew willing to protect their captain. However, in the next fight, I will be the fun fighting. What captain would I be if I just stood by?” The crew made their way through the city when the kingdom abruptly shook like a faint earthquake. That’s when Azuma noticed it coming from a large doom just behind the castle. 

“Hmm, seems something interesting is happening over there, let’s go!” 

“Right!” The others shouted as the pirates ran through the streets towards the large stone dome across the large kingdom. They dodged many citizens on their way there with Naiomi and Roxie leaping onto the rooftops to avoid running into anyone while Kenzu and Azuma continued through the streets until finally making their way to the entrance of the dome. 

The entrance was a large open gate leading to a large square stone-tiled arena where they could see people fighting, one was a man wearing a black and purple royal robe with a fur collar. He had black hair with orange eyes. His opponent was a young woman with dark-blue hair and green eyes wearing a white cloak. The crew stood just inside a few feet from the stage as they dueled. 

“Heh, after all these years Sara, you still think you can win? This isn’t the 1st time we fought and I'm sure it won’t be the last!” The dark-haired man smirked with his arm out, his palming facing towards her. Sara brushed her blue hair out of the way with a matching smirk. “You’re sound a little too confident Exius, perhaps becoming the great mage has gone to your head!” 

Suddenly she clinched her fist as a pillar of ice formed around her target, incasing him within a thick block of ice. “So, are you ready to give up oh great mage?”  Just then, a red light lit up around Exius’ body as the entire pillar was shattered to pieces, revealing the man to have red flames swarming around his body. “Huff...huff. I must be getting rust if a mere ice spell of that level was enough to knock the air out of me. But we all know how this is going to end” 

Slamming his palm onto the stage, a fierce ring of flames surrounded them, trapping the female master caster within the arena. “Go ahead and try any spell you wish Sara, I assure you...I will counter it” 

The pirate crew watched with curiosity as Sara threw her left hand out unlashing a massive blast of water in his direction before using her other hand to send a current of lightning through the water right for her opponent. That’s when Exius used a spell to form a violent cyclone around him, keeping the electrified water from reaching him. 

With his body drenched in water, he flew over the blast of water before aiming his hand towards her from behind. "Divine magic: Time Seal” All watched as a bubble-like barrier formed around the pair as Exius walked over to her. She was frozen in time, as if she were a mere statue. With time frozen within the barrier, he struck his opponent in the abdomen, knocking the air out of her before releasing the spell. 

The flames faded as Sara was launched from the arena, landing in the dirt just a few feet away. “Haha! Looks like that’s a ring out Sara, I win again!” He put one hand on his hip with a confident smirk while the young ice caster slowly rose to her feet out of breath. 

“Come on Exius you cheated! How is it far you get to use divine magic!? You know only a small few can use such high-tier magic!” 

“Well, if you didn’t want me to use it you should’ve said that before the match. Our agreement was whoever submitted or was knocked out of the ring lost and you lost. Maybe next time we can do a no ring-out match” 

She gave him an annoyed glare before they both started laughing. “Haha, you never change...even back when we were mere 1st years in the academy you always seem to have such magical power that could match up to anyone that stood in your way. But after you trained with the former great mage of the celestial kingdom, your mana control has been unreal as if you have full control over your flow of magic” 

That’s when the pair noticed Azuma and the others. Exius smiled walking to the edge of the arena before descending down using flight magic, approaching the crew. “Welcome, sorry about that, if I knew others were watching, I would’ve held back a little to keep the battle more interesting” He looked at Azuma before continuing. “You four don’t seem familiar, are you new to the celestial kingdom?” 

“Actually, we’re new to Celestia all together, this is only our 2nd day here” Their captain responded. The magic caster studied him open and down for a moment before asking: “So why have you come to Celestia might I ask? Not many foreigners seem to come here. Either because we still live as if it’s the medieval era, or because unlike the rest of the world, magic is still very common here. Some see magic as evil or sadistic but in fact it can be quite useful for survival. Observe” 

Holding his hand out a green aura manifested around it as a small plant began to grow rapidly until it grew into a full pink flower. “As you can see, with nature magic you could rapidly grow plants and herbs to help towns and villages that are struggling to grow food. Not only that, but you can also use water magic to create water for Trouts. Many people fail to see the good magic can do for the world, they only see the harm it has caused such as the destructive power of fire or the demonic side of necromancy. Sigh, sometimes I feel society only can see the flaws and dangers of things rather than the good things as well. But anyway, you were saying?” 

“We’re traveling the world as well as gathering supplies here for our next voyage. We found a town just a few miles from here that had been taken over by a pirate lord by the name of Sirogen. He had the ability to control those around him like mindless puppets with his eyes” The pirate captain explained as the mage listen intently. 

Sara walked over as Exius crossed his arms to think for a moment. “Pirate lord huh?....the name Sirogen doesn't sound familiar. However, I have been hearing about the title pirate lord. I’m told it’s a term given to pirates that are a real threat to a certain country or the world. Though I've never met one of these lords, I've heard a few things here and there about them. Such as a pirate lord capable of manipulating time similar to my divine time seal. A pirate with that level of power is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Now then, how about I take you all to the celestial castle so we can continue this conversation further” 

“Exius, are you sure it’s a good idea to be letting strangers into the castle? How do we know they’re not just enemies of the kingdom attempting to assassinate you?” 

Exius looked at Sara with a slight laugh. “Sara, do you honestly think just anyone is capable of pulling-off such a feat? If all it took to kill me were four outsiders, I'm sure the job would’ve been done years ago” Manifesting a white rift before them, they all walked through it, finding themselves in a large lobby with the walls and floor made of solid gold as it sparkled with a stairway in the center of the Lobby leading upstairs with a large purple door and two hallways leading left and right. 

Exius showed the crew to their rooms as they made their way up the red carpeted stairs making a right down the east corridor that had a purple carpet floor with red walls and golden doors aligning the hall. Each of you may choose a room while your captain and I speak in my private library, feel free to join us once you’ve settled in” 

Kenzu walked into his room before shutting and locking the door while Roxie leapt onto his fancy bed with a cheerful grin. “This place is awesome!” He cried out. Each room had purple carpeted floors, with a gold ceiling. The bedframes were also made of solid gold with black quilts and red pillows. Roxie grinned with excitement looking up at the ceiling as he laid spread out on the soft bed. 

Meanwhile Azuma followed the mage back towards the lobby where they went through the large purple door just above the stairs where he found himself in a large library with rows and rows of book shelves and stairs leading to a 2nd floor of more books. “Welcome my friend, to the celestial library, here is where all history and info about this kingdom is stored. Would you like to hear about how the celestial kingdom came to be? This country used to be called the celestial empire around 1,000 years ago, but back then the so called: “One world government” Had a far tighter grip on this land” 

Azuma hesitated for a moment before answering: “Sure. If I'm going to explore this region I should know as much as I can” Excitement filled the mage’s eyes as he walked past the rows of book shelfs over to a desk where a purple book with gold symbols on it sat in the center. “This book is the history of Celestia, I read it every now and again because of how incredible it sounds when I read it” 

[The History Of The Celestial Kingdom] 

Many years ago, the world was thrown into chaos, the world’s population was decreasing at a rapid rate, that’s when a man dressed in a dark blue cloak appeared. He went by the name Abundus. The knights fighting to protect the city suggested he take refuge and let them handle it. However, the man walked past the squad of men toward the ravaging army of demons. Some were small red imp-like creatures with wings while others were much bigger and buff. “Are you insane!? Run now before you’re killed!” The captain of the knights cried out. The squad could only watch as dozens of small demons raced towards him. 

He stood motionless as he uttered the words: “Holy compression” Golden light surged around him before creating an immense burst of light, obliterating every devil that was in 20 meters of him. The small creatures let out hisses as they floated there, too scared to go any further. That’s when a large muscular demon with blood-red skin came charging at him. 

Abundus paid more attention on this demon type as more and more came rushing toward him. But once again the young mage had a counter: “Mystic seal” A ray of light lit up underneath a large crowd of them as they were trapped within a sphere of light. Clinching his fist the sphere imploded, sending them all in random directions. (I don’t have time for this, I must get to their leader) He looked past the army of demons to see a titan-sized one watching from miles away. 

“Magic boost: Speed and defense” Suddenly wisps of blue and purple mana floated around his body as he ascended into the air. He flew through the sky at an incredible velocity, but that didn’t stop the demon horde from tying to bring him down. A swarm of flying demons tried blocking his way, attempting to make him fall. Each of them scratching him with their sharp claws. 

Once more the mage unleashed his Holy compression, obliterating all the attacking demons like they were mere flies. (About half way there, might as well use one of my advanced magic spells to get there faster and buy time. “Multiplication magic” In a flash of light, three clones of Abundus manifested around him. One descended down to attack them from the ground while the other focused on protecting the real mage so he could reach the army’s master. 

Swarms of winged demons once more attacked him but were knocked away by his duplicates. Once the mage was close enough to the largest demon, his clones levitated on both sides of him waiting to attack. “Mmm, seems you were able to reach me in a short amount of time. I expected you to be mauled to death by now” The colossal demon announced with a booming voice. 

“Enough of this destruction, the people of this world do not deserve such chaos and torture. Since no one else will step forward I will be the one to finally end your madness” 

“Oh really? What does a single mage thing he can do against the strongest devil of this world? You might as well be a mere pebble in front of me” Without a word, Abundus threw both his hands out in the direction of the titan, unleashing a powerful Shockwave. The hundreds of minions watched as their master was pushed several feet away by the mere mortal. “Impressive, seems you have far more magical power than I assumed. But I highly doubt it will be enough to stop me” 

The large red-skinned creature with empty eye sockets aimed it’s massive palm in the direction of the mage, preparing to fire off an attack. Seconds before the massive blast shot out, Abundus sealed him and his clones inside a sphere of blue energy. “Colossal devastation!” abundus watched within his barrier as orange light lit up around him. 

His shield barrier began to crack apart luckily managing to stay intact just as the attack faded past him. Once the demonic creature’s attack faded Abundus clapped his hands together causing the earth around the titan to raise up around him ceiling them within a dome of rock. After just moments the dome shattered apart with large boulders flying in every direction. 

“You didn’t really think that would hold me did you?” It taunted. But when he looked in the direction of his opponent they were gone. (Damn it, should’ve known he only used that technique to buy himself some time) “Very well if you’re going to hide from me, I’ll just destroy this entire kingdom! in one move” The tyrant swiped his hand in front of him in the direction of the town as a wall of fire made its way towards the civilization. 

Finding himself having no choice, Abundus flew out in front of the wall of flames throwing his arm up in the air creating a wall of ice. The massive wall of ice instantly melted on contact but managed to cancel out the flames as well. “I knew you would show yourself as soon as I proceeded to attack. It’s time to end your pathetic life and take over this world. “Dark magic: Dimensional paralysis!” 

The magic Caster suddenly felt his body become paralyzed in place and unable to move. (Shit, there’s got to be some way I can break free of this technique) His assailant grinned with sharp teeth. “Foolish you thought you were strong enough to defeat me all on your own” But moments before the demon lord prepared his final attack, Abundus began taking in a long deep breath. 

“What is it that you think you’re doing?” 

“You'll see in just a minute” The Caster responded still holding in the breath before taking in more. His attacker finally couldn’t take anymore and once more fired an overwhelming project towards his target. Abundus unleashed an Abrupt wave of power out of his mouth in the direction of the coming threat. Both projectiles clashed pushing each other with equal force. 

“This can’t be, how are you holding my attack back with your mere breath!?” the demon ordered all of his thousands of minions to gather around him to unleash in all-out attack. The titans attack grew nearly twice as strong, slowly pushing back towards the magic user. But Abundus still didn’t give up even with his body paralyzed. (Time to use my final ability…Magic boost: Mana multiplication) suddenly a blue aura surged around the Caster as his power was multiplied. He could feel his body becoming sore from going past his limit but didn’t let up. 

“Divine magic: Universal obliteration!” with his magic capabilities multiplied, Abundus released a blast from his mouth, the aura multi-colored like a rainbow. The immense blast pushed all of his enemies’ projectile right back at them obliterating all of them. “Impossible! How could I be killed by such a puny caster!!!” 

The young magic-user smiled knowing that all of the demons were finally destroyed. Sadly going past his limit, the after effect of using so much power begin to affect his body, as he felt the last spark of mana leave his body his body suddenly became Stone as he fell from hundreds of feet in the air. Many people came out and watched as he fell from the sky before shattering apart on contact. 

The few elder magic casters ordered the civilians to try and find each and every piece putting him back together in hopes of reviving him. But even after hours of finding every piece the ritual used to revive people was unsuccessful. “I’m sorry my children, it seems I do not have the power to bring him back. But maybe one day our magic will evolve far enough for someone to bring this man back… 

Azuma closed the book placing it down on the table before looking at the mage with a confused look. “But wait, if a demon strong enough to endanger the world appeared...why don’t any of the countries add such an event to their history?” 

“I’m afraid I'm not sure, this happened long ago probably before even the one world government even existed. Though, no one really knows when the event actually occurred. All we know is the tales people have told us, as well as the book you read. Maybe it’s all just a child’s fairytale to motivate children of the kingdom to be powerful mages, or it’s a historical event that just seems too unreal to believe. I won’t force you to believe me, but I feel as though that mage once existed and without him, the entire world might’ve been destroyed by those demons. 

“Sigh, I want to believe you, but unless other the other countries back up your story, I can only see it as a mere fantasy tale. Now then, I had something I wanted to ask you...when I fought the pirate lord, he explained a power known as spiritual energy which he then used to decimate an entire town with just a mere swing of his sword. Do you think you can teach me how to use it?” 

The mage brushed his black hair out of his eyes as he held his hand out before the pirate. Azuma watched as a sphere of dark-red energy manifested in his grasp. “I’ll try to explain this best I can since you’re new to this. For wizards and magic casters, this is known as mana or magic energy. However, you and many others who aren’t affiliated with magic would know this as spirit energy or spirt essence. Though people see these as two different things, mana and spirit energy are actually one and the same just seen as different. Think of it like society, we have many different ethnicities, but those are just variants of the same thing which is a human. Many non-magic users especially ones of religion see magic as sinful when in reality, magic and spirit energy is nothing more than one’s own life force given physical form” 

Azuma nodded doing his best to keep up with the mage’s words. “Alright, but how does one manifest it? One of my crew said it had to do with focusing on intense emotion to draw out one’s inner power” 

“In some cases that could work, but it puts a great told on the person’s body. You’re trying to force it out rather than let it build up inside you. Not only that, but those who’ve never used spiritual energy before can get worn out fast by the new strain to their body. Similar to a person who has never exercised in their life and is suddenly working out without taking things slow. Both situations lead to the same result which is damaging or wearing out your body. So, my advice to you is to take it slow, try to focus on the life force within you and let it flow out of you like a moving stream rather than forcing it all out once. Doing something so reckless especially during a battle could ultimately get you killed” 

“Alright, thanks Exius, I'll try to use your advice to improve and master the art of spiritual energy” With that Azuma made his way to his room which was the furthest down the east corridor. He laid down in bed with his arms resting beneath his head when Naiomi walked in. 

“Are you alright Captain? You were gone an awfully long time” 

“I’m fine, just think that conversation would be that long, feels as though it’s already night. Our objective is still for me to become the next pirate lord as well as find my former crew and be rid of them. It feels as though each night I'm haunted with nightmares of the day I was marooned on that small island. Hopefully when the day comes that I take my revenge, the dark anxious feeling will vanish and I can finally sleep” 

CHAPTER 8 Magic VS Spiritual Energy 

As Azuma awoke early in the morning, he made his way to the arena to train, only to find Roxie training with Exius. He stood up against the wall a few feet from the arena, watching as his crewmate conjured a fireball in his grasp before sending it right for the great mage, only for the advanced caster to make a swiping motion with his hand, causing the flaming projectile to vanish into wisps of red energy. 

“Well done, Oda you seem to be a quick learner at fire magic. Back when I was a novice I too was highly-skilled in flame magic. When a magic caster is talented in a specific magic type or magic nature, we call this magic affinity. So, you and I have a fire affinity for short. However, in rare cases you can learn ice magic, but normally, the magic nature opposite to your affinity will be much harder to grasp since it’s the exact opposite of the nature your mana is used to. If you want to learn spells fast, I'd suggest learning all other magic natures 1st. But if you want to be diverse, you could practice ice and water magic to give yourself an elemental advantage” 

The pink-haired pirate nodded with a smirk, excited to learn all the magic he could and use them to help his crew as well as beat the crap out of enemies. That’s when they spotted Azuma stepping onto the large tiled-stage as he walked over to him. “Hi captain, didn’t see you were watching!” Oda waved with a big smile while Exius smiled as well. 

“Yea, I came here to practice using my spirit energy when I saw you both training” 

“Hopefully you thought about my advice Azuma, it’ll help you with using your spiritual energy more efficiently rather than straining your body trying to force it out” 

“Yea...we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” Pulling out his cutlass, Azuma gripped it firmly closing his eyes. Rather than focusing on negative emotions, he stood calmly...feeling the flow of energy within his body. That’s when a red aura began to manifest around his body. The other two watched in surprise as the power continued to build with his dark-red aura growing more intense before all of it flowed onto his blade. “Hmph!” In abrupt movement, Azuma slashed his sword towards the sky as a ray of red light traveled upward, splitting the clouds before fading. 

“I-I did it” Azuma exclaimed in both surprise and excitement. “Alright...now that I'm getting the hang of this, why don't you duel me Exius? It’ll be good practice to learn how to keep my spirit flowing through me continuously rather than having to stop and build up once more” 

Roxie looked at Exius who smirked manifesting a flaming aura around him. “Alright, but I can’t promise you won’t get hurt in the process” The mage’s hair and cloak blew in the breeze from his immense magical power while Azuma took a deep breath, trying to keep his energy flowing consistently. 

As Roxie jumped off the stage to watch in a safe distance, Azuma used the power flowing around him to boost his movement, advancing his opponent at super-sonic speed. (With my power flowing perfectly through me, I can use it to multiply my speed, attack power and defensive power!) Sending a fierce strike towards his target, the pirate watched as a transparent barrier protected Exius from the immense blow, sending a shockwave in all directions of the arena. 

“D-damn it! Even with my enhanced capabilities you can defend against them as if they were nothing!?” The magic caster looked him in the eyes with a smirk before responding: “Come on Azuma, you’re sounding as if you’re not making progress, you said a pirate lord was the only foe capable of using spirit energy against you, the fact you’re learning how to use it as well as keep it continuously flowing through your body just shows you have more potential than even the weakest pirate lord” 

Still forcing his blade against the magical barrier, Azuma thought about it than nodded jumping back gaining distance from his combatant. “Pfft, if I can’t attack you up close, then let’s see if you can handle a ranged attack similar to what Sirogen used against my crew. Focusing all of his spiritual power into his blade, he brought his blade down with a single slash as a wave of spirit energy surged across the stage right for his target. 

Roxie watched with his eyes wide with surprise as the long-ranged attack struck Exius’ the two watched as the caster’s bubble-like shield cracked but somehow remained intact. “Tsssk, seems I'll have to take it one step further. Sword art: fury slash!” In an instant slash of his blade, a barrage of red blade strikes begun striking the mage’s force field from all direction until finally shattering apart leaving him wide open. 

“Heh, finally broke your defense at least” Azuma could feel himself growing weak, it took all he had to pull-off such a quick and precise strike. “Huff...huff...your magical power is impressive Exius, but I'll surpass you and all of the other pirate lords one day until I'm seen as the strongest pirate! I may have been weak that day...but I will continue to grow stronger until I can protect my crew from any threat!” 

Exius walked over to the pirate as Azuma fell to one knee, using his blade to keep him from fully collapsing to the stage from exhaustion. “Don’t be so hard on yourself Azuma, you just started training to use spirit energy while I've had roughly 10 years to practice and perfect my magical capabilities. Rushing yourself will only slow you down. You can’t push yourself too far as I've said before. Just practice keeping your body’s aura flowing for as long as you can then do the same the next day, do that consistently and you’ll slowly see your body be able to sustain the heightened state for longer periods of time” 

“A-alright, thanks Exius, your advice has truly helped me as well as improve my confidence as a warrior. I will continue to improve my capabilities until I'm as strong as you!” Exius smiled with a nodded before Naiomi and Kenzu came walking through the large gate. 

“Hey Azuma! You didn’t tell me you were training, otherwise I would’ve come to spare with you!” She said excitedly as she jumped onto the stage rushing over to her captain who was still drained from using so much of his energy. 

Just then the sky begun to turn red as it began to crack as if made of glass. A large hole formed in the center of the cracks as millions of blood-red demons began pouring out from the hole, landing all across Celestia. Exius’ eyes widened in shock as he watched the endless number of demons fall from the sky. “It-it can’t be...this looks just as how the stories described how it was during Abundus’ time! You all get out of here! I’m going to try and stop the rift from bring more demons here!” 

As a white flame-like aura swarmed around his body, Exius took off into the sky towards the massive hole in reality. As he floated above the clouds, he put his fingers together forming a triangular shape as he prepared to cast a high-tier spell. “Celestial magic: Space warp!” A white magical sigil formed behind him as he clapped his hands together, causing the rift before him to be closed by forcing space itself to close in on itself. 

“There, that does it for the rift, now for the-” Just then a fist struck him across the side of his face, sending him soaring across the sky, impacting a tall belltower as it crumbled to the ground with the large golden bell rolling across the street with thousands of civilians running and screaming in fear. 

Sara the ice witch ran out into the center of Celesta as she threw both arms out in opposite directions. “Ice magic, ice chasm!” The city shook as a wall of ice formed all around the kingdom, ensuring demons couldn't easily escape and spread to other parts of the country. Meanwhile Azuma and his crew were about to leave and help the citizens, that’s when A demon lord manifested in a mist of darkness, standing in front of their captain who had just gotten to his feet. 

The demon lord had short spiky black hair, glowing red eyes wearing a black jet and pants along with black horns sticking out of his head. A grin grew across his face as he looked Azuma in the eyes. “Hehe, you...I can sense a familiar aura coming from you. You’re the descendent of the one who killed Osamaru aren’t you?” 

Before the fatigued captain could respond, the young demon lord manifested a black burning aura around his palm, sending a devastating blow to his chest. The force of the attack so immense, the wave of force went right through his body sending a gust of wind across the arena. 

“Ack!” All watched as Azuma collapsed to the ground with the sadistic demon picking him up by his collar. “Hehe, you’re all welcome to follow, but it will only result in your deaths” With that, the assailant dragged the pirate through a purple rift. 

“Rrr-AZUMA!” With tears in her eyes, Naiomi ran through the rift filled with rage as the other crew members followed after her. As they entered the demon realm, the rift behind them closed. “Shit! Now we don’t have a way back to our world!” Roxie cried out slightly freaking out. He looked at Naiomi who was unphased by being trapped within the new world. 

She frowned with a determined look in her eyes. “I don’t care whether we get back to the normal world or not, as crew members, it’s our job to protect or captain at all costs” The world before them had a blood-red sky with a long rocky path with a dark void below. Naiomi could see a large black castle at the top of the hill and charged forward towards it with the pair following close behind... 

Meanwhile in the human world... 

Demons began mercilessly killing the innocent people with blood staining the streets. Sara opened her hand manifesting a sword made from ice magic as she flew through the streets, piercing through demon after demon with a swing of her blade, splitting the mindless monsters in half, each defeated creature turning to black mist. The witch spotted a young boy with black hair dressed in a brown shirt and shorts crying out for his mother as a demon appeared behind him preparing to slash at them with it’s sharp black claws. 

Just before the boy was killed, Sara snatched the kid up, soaring through the sky before aiming her sword towards the demon, firing a blue beam from the blade’s tip, incasing the demon in a thick layer of ice. The child cried into the girl’s torso as she looked for a place to take the boy out of harm's way. 

That’s when Exius burst out of the rubble ascending into the sky. “Enough of this! You demons made the grave mistake of killing the poor humans who live in this peaceful kingdom! For that...you shall be forever obliterated by a high-tier holy spell!” With an angered expression, the mage held both hands out closing his eyes as a golden sphere of holy magic began to flow around him, building up more and more. 

That’s when a demon knight riding a hell horse made it’s way straight for the caster. The knight wore black armor with red glowing eyes, riding a black horse with flaming hooves. The entity charged toward him in mid-air as if running on air as it pulled out a flaming sword, firing off a blast of hell flames right for Exius. 

“No!” Sara caused the sword she was holding to vanish before throwing her free hand out towards her ally, forming a colossal ball of ice around him. The crying child watched as the black flames engulfed the sphere of ice beginning to burn through it slowly. That’s when the demon knight spotted Sara, heading right for her. She quickly dropped the kid onto the rooftop of a structure nearby as her target leapt off his horse, flying right for her. 

“STAY BACK!” Throwing both palms out she unleashed a powerful cyclone in her target’s direction, only for the demon to be unphased by the raging whirlwinds, piercing straight through her chest. “Foolish girl, what can a mere human do against the demon army? You would’ve been better off hiding rather than protecting one mere human” 

Her eyes widened from the immense pain running through her entire body. Her assailant pulled out his black blade as blood dripped from the tip. “Enter your eternal rest mortal, your struggle is now coming to an end” Sara placed her palm over the wound forming ice over it to keep from anymore blood from spilling out. 

“Y-you bastard...y-you won’t get away with this. Exius Cyrel is the most powerful mage in the world, h-he'll save everyone and make sure you and the entire demon realm pays for this” The knight looked deep into her eyes before aiming his armored hand towards her. “We’ll see if your prediction comes true...hell flame” Sara closed her eyes as she was engulfed in black flames until nothing of her remained. 

“There, now that she’s been delt with, it’s time to deal with our next target” The demonic knight said in a deep voice looking up at the ice barrier as it began to crack from the black flames continuously burning around it. Getting back onto his hell horse, the knight charged towards the dome when golden light began to seep through the cracks. “Hmph? What’s going on?” 

In an abrupt explosion, the ice dome shattered apart reveling Exius floating within a massive sphere of golden holy light. “With this spell...I shall erase all of you demonic creatures from this land. His eyes glowed in a golden light hiding his irises as he crossed both arms. 

“You fool, you won’t have time to cast your pathetic spell, die in the flames of hell!” Once more the armored demon unleashed a blaze of flames from his sword, only for them to die out the moment they made contact with the ball of light around the magic caster. 

“It’s inevitable demon...this barrier protects me from all magic... with all of the holy magic I've conjured, there’s enough to completely destroy every last one of you for good. Now watch, as all of your demon spawns are erased from this world!” 

Throwing both hands out in opposite directions, Exius sent a wall of holy magic in all directions as a dome of golden light covered the entire kingdom. The remaining citizens watched as every demon touched by the golden light turned to darkness as each let out demonic screams of despair. The knight attempted to block the golden wave of holy magic with his sword, only to watch as he as well began to turn into mere darkness. 

“YOU BASTARD!” He cried out before completely vanishing... 

CHAPTER 9 Trapped Within The Demon Realm 

Back in the demon realm the pirates ran up the narrow path where they reached the large black castle. The large gate was red with a red crystal in the center as two demons guarded the door. Naiomi without hesitation lunged towards them, stabbing one of them with a hidden blade as blood gushed from the creature’s chest before fading into mist. 

The 2nd demon let out a demonic cry reaching it’s sharp claws out to grab her, that’s when Kenzu moved past the monster at immense speed, sheathing his sword as their assailant fell to pieces before fading as well. “Sigh, this is going to be truly troublesome” The swordsmen groaned as they stood before the great doors of the demon lord’s castle. The three of them watched as the doors slowly opened before them revealing a large lobby with a red-carpeted floor and a single golden stairwell leading to a large golden door. 

“Come on you two! We have to save Azuma!” Once more Naiomi charged forward heading right for the next door as she struck the large golden door, only for it to have no effect. “Damn it” She shook her hand from the pain trying to figure out a way in. 

“Let me try, I might be able to break through” Roxie volunteered as he approached the door. “Haaagh!” Manifesting a fireball, he shot it right in the center of the large door as a burst of flames ravaged the door, only for it to leave mere scorch marks on it. “Damn...just how are we supposed to get it!?” The pink-haired pirate groaned in frustration. 

“I guess I could give it a shot” Kenzu commented gripping his new katana in it’s sheath before closing his eyes letting out a calm breath...The pair watched as Kenzu unleashed a sudden barrage of strikes. They watched as the gate broke from the frame, hitting the ground with a violent boom. 

Before them was a black shiny room where one of the 5 remaining demon lords sat upon his black throne. He had long purple hair with red eyes, giving off a seductive look towards them with Azuma on his knees, bound by binds made of darkness, it bounded his arms, feet and mouth. 

“Captain!” Naiomi took a step forward, only for a ring of pink flames to block her path. “Hehe, don’t think I'd make it that easy human. This one is a blood descendent of the one who killed the demon lord Osamaru. Though the sinner may be dead, I can still punish his kin for his crimes against the demon realm” The group grew uneasy by the seductive tone in the demon lord’s voice as he looked down at Azuma with a smirk. 

Azuma struggled to free himself from the bonds but to no avail. “Oh, you poor human, what makes you think you’re strong enough to escape the power of a demon lord? You’re nowhere near my level and I feel you never will be” The demon lord grabbed Azuma by his hair, holding him like a mere pet. 

Naiomi clinched her teeth in anger as her blue aura began to manifest once more. Her hair blowing in the breeze of her building power as she lost control of herself. “FIVE HIM BACK!” She cried out advancing through the flames, right up to the demon with a fierce blow to his cheek. 

All watched in shook to see the demon lord unphased by the attack as he just looked at her still smiling. “Oh, as much as I like the touch of a women, I'm afraid this isn’t what I had in mind” With his free hand the demon backhanded the pirate across the face, sending her crashing into the wall beside the doorway leaving massive cracks as she hit the ground. 

“I-I can’t move...just how strong is this demon!?” She coughed up blood shaking in pain on the floor. “You bastard! Eat this!” Roxie held his palm up into the air, manifesting a massive fireball, firing it straight for the tyrant, only for the colossal sphere of flames to stop mere inches from the demon lord’s face, as if an invisible force was keeping it from getting any closer. Fierce bursts of wind filled the room when Roxie decided to try a new tactic. Closing his palm into a fist, the sphere exploded right in his target’s face, sending Azuma staggering across thew room into the corner with minor burns from the explosion. 

“There, did I get him!?” They watched as the smoke cleared, only to find their target uninjured by the head-on attack. Roxie stood motionless, unable to think of anything. “Why is nothing working against this bastard!?” 

The demon lord smirked. “Probably because fire doesn’t really harm demons for one, and the other is just because you all are nowhere near my level, you’re nothing more but ants against compared to me. That’s when their target aimed his index finger towards Naiomi. “I am demon lord Asmodeus, demon lord of lust and you shall die like the pathetic mortals you are” 

almost instantaneously, a beam of pink energy shot from the demon’s finger, shooting right through the weak assassin's heart, killing her on the spot as the light left her eyes as she laid motionless. 

The sight of his crew member dying in front of him, caused Azuma to have a mental break down. His eye twitched as an immense blood-red aura began flowing around his body. “RRRAAAGGHH!” In loud scream Azuma broke free from his bonds as they vanished. He stood before the demon with his eyes glowing red, his body pulsing from both the sheer rage and power building up within him. 

“YOU MONSTER! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!” Asmodeus attempted to fire a beam right for the pirate, only for Azuma to lean his head out of the way at the last second as if anticipating the attack. “Well now, where were you hiding this much power?” The demon lord questioned still not worried about hi8s raging target. 

That's when Azuma formed a sword out of his spiritual energy. You won’t...get away with this you bastard...I'll have you pay with your own life...ASMODEUS!” 

“Ho, ho! This is actually getting interesting, but just how will a weak mortal like you beat an actually demon lord? The gap between our power is as great as the distance between the sun and the earth” 

Azuma frowned and placed his palm near his heart as a white light shined from it, his red aura now erupted in a fierce wall of red light. “Maybe normally I wouldn’t be strong enough to beat you...but using my very life force to boost my overall power, it should be enough to beat you” 

“Wait, you mean you’re actually willing to give up your life just to increase what little power you have? What a foolish decision. Even if you manage to reach my level, then what? There are still four other demon lords that will attack the earth just like before!” 

Azuma’s aura went from blood-red to pink from combing his entire life force and spirt energy into one power. Now then...how will this power fare against a demon like you?” Moving at light speed, Azuma sent a fierce blow to Asmodeus’ cheek, sending him smashing into the wall past his throne as the walls around them began to crack apart. 

Azuma’s hair began to turn white as he could feel the fierce power coursing through him. (This power is draining my life essence each second, I have to end this before I turn to dust. Funny...I feel as though I've been through this before) Roxie and Kenzu could only watch in shock by the power of their captain. 

“Kenzu, Roxie, you both need to get out of here before this place comes down...I'm going to finish this with one final move. I’m sorry it has to end this way my fellow crew...but I won’t let Naiomi’s killer live, even if it means I have to give up my own life to see it through. But then again...I guess that’s the risk I took when I became captain” 

As the pair ran out of the demon king’s castle, Azuma condensed all of his power into one area in his chest, preparing to use himself as a bomb. “Roxie...Kenzu...Naiomi, please forgive me. I failed you all as a captain, I didn’t even get to be a pirate lord...but I guess things don’t always go the way we plan...though I failed you all as a captain...please tell me...was I at least, a good friend?” 

The demon lord lunged toward him just as Azuma closed his eyes releasing the stored-up power in one nuclear-sized exsolution, wiping out the entire castle as well as Asmodeus in a blinding ray of light. As the light cleared, Azuma stood in a massive crater, wearing only a torn undershirt and pants as his vision began to blur before dying on the spot, his corpse lying in the massive crater... 

Azuma awoke within a large black room with a checker tiled-floor and a black chair in the center of the room. “What the, where am I? Just as took a step forward, he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see Naiomi. 

“N-Naiomi!? She smiled hugging him as tears filled his eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you Naiomi, I failed you all as captain!”  She placed her hand behind his head telling him it was ok. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, you were a fine captain. So many of power look down upon those below them, but you never saw your crew as lower...you saw them as friends, pepole you could rely on and when the time came, you were willing to give your life for those you cared about. Say what you will...but I think you were a great captain, even if we never got to explore the world. What matters is we had fun while we were together” 

Just then death appeared before them, his purple eyes glowing as he pulled out a 2nd chair from his robe for the pair to sit before death. “Welcome Azuma and Naiomi, I see that your journey sadly came to an early end. But fret not, there is a chance you could be reborn. As I have done many times, you both will be given a challenge, for those who pass it will be reincarnated, but for those that fail...will be sent into the darkness. For this challenge it will be simple” 

That’s when death pulled out four purple playing cards with a familiar symbol on the back. It was a red “R” Inside a silver sun. “You both must choose one card each, if it’s a red card you will be reincarnated, if it’s a black card you will be sent to the void never to return” 

The pair grew unease with Azuma trying to hide his unease as he picked the middle card pulling out a red card with a golden sigil in the center. The pirate sighed in relief before watching Naiomi pull out the furthest right card. They held their breath as she turned it over to see it was a black card with a silver sigil on it. 

“Looks like you’ve chosen your cards” Death slowly reached over showing them the face of the card. “With this card Azuma, you shall be reborn, be lucky you have another life waiting for you” He placed the card back in the deck before taking Naiomi’s showing them the black card. “This card symbolizes the end of one’s life...I'm sorry my dear, but you will be taken to the darkness where your soul shall never be seen again” 

Naiomi grew visibly scared as Azuma clinched his fists in frustration before shouting: “Is there a chance I can switch with her!?” 

“I’m afraid not, the cards have chosen your paths and from there...there’s nothing more I can do” Azuma turned to Naiomi as cracks began to form across her body with pure light seeping through until a dark rift appeared behind her as she was pulled inside. 

“Naiomi!” He struck the tiled floor before death Held his scythe with one hand, touching the sharp tip to the mortal’s forehead as a blue light shinned from it, forming the letters: “再生” Azuma vanished in a flash of blue light... 

(Sorry about part 2 ending earlier than expected, will try to expand it after the other parts are done)