Chapter 21: Acceptance
"Wait, wait, you trained Aziel?" Raijah said with a shocked look on his face.
"Why is that so surprising?" The old man asked, "are you shocked because you think I'm old?"
Before Raijah could respond, Aziel landed beside them.
"Hashira? You've already made it," Aziel said.
"Of course," Hashira replied, "do you think my speed has diminished because of my age?"
"N-no," Aziel stuttered.
"I'm just messing with you," Hashira smiled, "now give this old man a hug."
As Hashira embraced Aziel, he patted him on the back, "How've you been holding up?" Hashira asked.
Aziel let out a sigh as he said, "I've been doing well. But, we have a lot to discuss."
"Before that," Aziel looked around, "where are the others?"
Raijah dropped his head and, as he began to speak, he heard footsteps approaching.
"I'm here," Val said as she walked towards them while rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake herself up, "I'm not sure about the others, though."
"They were captured," Raijah explained, "It's my fault. I was too weak a-and."
"Stop," Val interrupted as she continued to rub her eyes, "you've done plenty and, you just recently unlocked your prana."
"Val's right," Aziel added, "you were visibly fatigued and, even while carrying Val and Cora, you kept fighting."
"I guess," Raijah said.
"I haven't seen you at the dojo recently. Have you been keeping up with your martial arts training?" Hashira asked in an attempt to lighten Raijahs mood.
"No," Raijah answered, "martial arts wouldn't do me any good against people with special abilities."
"You're wrong," Hashira said, "martial arts may seem futile when compared to people who use prana. However, that is not the case. When someone awakens their prana, their overall attributes are multiplied. After being awakened, someone with regular prana would have their speed, strength, and stamina increased by more than ten times.
"For those with elite prana, who are born with their prana awakened, this boost is even greater and is effective at birth. Your divine prana is a power that greatly surpasses even elite prana. That means that you've received a boost greater than even an elite would."
"Does that mean my martial arts would be way over ten times stronger than before?" Raijah asked.
"Yes," Hashira confirmed.
"Raijah knows martial arts?" Aziel asked.
"He does," Hashira said proudly, "in terms of martial arts, Raijah has shown more of a knack for it than even you did, Aziel."
"What martial arts do you know?" Aziel asked Raijah.
"I know hundreds. Some include taekwondo, karate, and even Muay Thai. But, my favorite is the art that Hashira taught me. Doragonken."
"What?" Aziel said with a shocked expression, "how could you teach him such a sacred art?" he said to Hashira.
"That art is passed down by the members of your family, the Shi family." Aziel said, "was it wise to teach Raijah such a dangerous art?"
"Don't question me," Hashira replied calmly, "I wouldn't teach just anyone the art of the dragon fist. And, no regular person would be capable of mastering it."
"H-he mastered it?" Aziel asked.
Hashira nodded his head, "Raijah mastered the art in less than two years. At just fourteen, he could use Doragonken flawlessly."
Val squinted her eyes as she finally got them cleared up.
"Grandpa!" she shouted as she ran towards Hashira.
"You finally noticed me, Val?" Hashira asked as he embraced his granddaughter.
"Wait, wait, wait," Raijah said, "not only did you train Aziel, but you're Val's grandfather too?"
"Yup," Hashira replied.
"Raijah, what's this talk about you mastering Doragonken?" Val asked, "that's quite the achievement. Grandpa hasn't even taught me that, and I'm a member of the Shi family."
"We should all talk about this later," Hashira said as he released Val, "when all of your friends are here with us."
"Do you really think Doragonken will be enough to beat those guys?" Raijah asked.
"Even if I said no, would that stop you from going to save them?" Hashira responded.
Raijah answered immediately, "no."
"You know I'm coming with you right?" Val said to Raijah.
Raijah nodded his head and walked towards Val.
"Hold on," he said as he reached for Val's hands.
"Wait, Raijah," Hashira said as he walked towards him.
"You've always said that you don't know who you are simply because of the missing years of your life. And, you always asked the question who am I? Back then I didn't think much of it because I honestly did not know how to answer that question."
"But, you are something Raijah, and your divine prana and your tattoo are enough proof. Whether you like it or not, you are a god. And if you truly want to go on the path to unlock your past, you'll have to accept the part of you that you do know. You are Raijah. God Raijah"
Raijah smiled and nodded his head, "thank you, Hashira."
Val held onto his hands and, Raijah looked up. "here we go!" he said as they began to fly towards Kaijo castle.
"I'll go too," Aziel said as he prepared to leave.
"Stop," Hashira demanded, "you can't do everything for your students. A time will come where they have to make decisions and fight on their own."
"But, what if they aren't strong enough," Aziel argued.
"If there seems to be a problem, we can interfere," Hashira answered, "but students need room to grow. Why do you think you're so powerful now? It's because I didn't do everything for you."
"Yup," Aziel said proudly, "and now I've easily won 200 open challenges without a loss."
"Don't get too cocky," Hashira joked, "or next awakening ceremony, I'll be the one to challenge you."
Holding onto Val's hands, Raijah guided them towards the golden castle.
There were guards on the roof and guards patrolling the outside of the castle.
The guards on the roof noticed an object flying towards them.
"9-o'clock!" one guard shouted.
The other rooftop guards turned their attention to Raijah and Val and aimed their swords towards them.
They fired their beams towards them and, Raijah guided himself and Val around the attacks.
"Drop me," Val suggested, "I'll take the ones on the floor and, you get the ones on the roof."
Raijah nodded his head and flew towards the ground. Before releasing Val, he stared into her eyes. "Stay safe alright?"
"I will," Val replied, "I'll meet up with you on the roof after I finish up with the ones down here.
Raijah nodded and released Val, who landed on the ground and looked around at the many guards surrounding her.
"Let's go," she said, daring the guards to attack her.
"What'd you want to talk about," Hashira asked Aziel as they stood in the forest, alone.
"David," Aziel replied, "he's after Raijah and, I'm sure many others are as well."
"I sensed David's prana earlier. I'm not sure what he's up to but, he'll probably come for Raijah soon."
"Does Raijah know about this?" Hashira asked.
"No," Aziel admitted.
"You'll need to tell him and the others," Hashira said, "and they'll all need training."
Aziel nodded his head in agreement, "we can discuss the rest when the entire group is here."
Raijah flew to the roof of the castle.
He noticed Kan and Rome were standing in the group of guards. However, he couldn't find Teo or Cora.
Raijah stared down at Rome.
Rome looked up at Raijah.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Rome said.
The other guards looked up, and unlike Kan and Rome, they had no idea what was in the air.
Red lightning bolts began to rain down on the castle. The ground below them began to rumble as one boy flew in the air.
"What is this red lightning?" an afraid guard asked.
"We're finished!" a different guard said, "I've never seen anything like it!"
"What's going on?" another guard asked, "red lightning? I-is this a curse from the gods?"
"I thought about what you said," Raijah said as he stared down at Rome, "peasants will live lives of peasantry, and royals will live lives of royalty. I'm here to tell you that I'll live neither. Even though I woke up in Avalon and, since then, I've been treated like a peasant. That is not my fate."
Raijah moved his dreadlocks, revealing his glowing red tattoo. "I was born a god, and I will live a life of divinity."
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