Yukimura

Matt suddenly found himself standing in a massive ivory castle. It seemed endless, and yet, somehow everything seemed close by. It was a slightly offsetting experience at first, but he found himself quickly going accustomed to it. As he looked around, he began to realize where exactly he was. His eyes widened and he looked to Enzeru.

"You are right in what you suspect... mostly. This is heaven, or rather..."

"We're in heaven?! I thought that require I be far more... you know... dead."

"You would be correct in thinking that, but this isn't actually..."

"Wait... if this is heaven, then does that mean I could see Stephen?"

"You speak of your brother. If he is here, you can see him. Whether or not that is the case, I cannot say. Finding him would be quite difficult however since..."

Matt didn't even bother to let Enzeru finish. He took off in a flash of a sprint. He instantly saw the same currents running over the ground as he had before, and was soon tearing through the castle at incredible speeds, calling out.

"Stephen!"

Time seemed to stand still. There was no room in Matt's mind to even process the passage of time. There was only the desire to find his lost little brother.

"Stephen!"

Then, Matt screeched to a halt. He saw a figure standing at the end of a long hallway that he recognized in an instant. Matt rushed over to him and crashed into him with a huge hug. He instantly knew the comfortable feeling of the arms that were squeezing him back far too hard, and he returned the favor as they crashed into a wall. The two could not seem to stop laughing for a moment, and then, Matt felt a deep pain in his heart. He turned to see Enzeru, still standing beside him, as though he had never left.

"It's not really him."

"As I was saying, this is not really heaven. Think of it as a video file of a program running. If your actions were well enough anticipated, the video file could perfectly replicate the program, the difference being that no actual changes to the computer would be made. In this case, the person predicting is you. I have placed in your mind certain unchanging truths about the nature of heaven, and you have filled in the rest yourself. So, the illusion has become quite accurate."

"So, I can't see my brother?"

"You can see him, yes. You cannot speak with him, no. Actually, it's very odd that you were able to find him at all without actually being dead yourself. For those in heaven, they can feel in their souls exactly where those they knew in life are. You are not actually in heaven. The chances of you seeing him here are astronomical. It is both a great blessing and a great curse to you that you saw him here."

Matt smiled a sad smile as he looked at his brother one last time. He punched him in the arm, and Stephen punched him back and waved, never speaking a word. He disappeared in a flash, and Enzeru put his hand on Matt's shoulder.

"Come, we have business here."

(Interlude: Let's have a poetry break! Title: Rainbows)

The leaves crunch softly under my feet.
My breath hangs white in the cold air.
I search for treasure oh so sweet.
I find nothing but my own despair.
The pot of gold that's at the end.
It's nowhere at all to be found.
Endless circles continue the bend.
The rainbow never touches the ground.
In frustration I walk away.
Sadness covers face and eyes.
The sun shines so brightly this day.
But looking down I don't see the sky.
I sigh and cast a wanting look back.
Tears of joy make my eyes full.
Never found that pot of gold.
But the rainbow is so beautiful.

(Okay, back to the story.)

(By the way, if anyone's actually reading this and wants to see more of it, just post something relating that desire, and I'll post longer posts more often. It's good motivation for me to know I'm writing for an audience.)

As Marc felt Matt's hand slip away, it seemed he fell in slow motion back down to the earth. He knew his demise was imminent, and there was a certain peace in him for a moment, then fear. It wasn't that he was afraid to die, he simply wanted so badly to live. Only just today had he felt this rush of purpose in his life, and now it had to come to an end like this? What kind of man dies at the beginning of his story? He simply could not accept it, could not be at peace. He would not accept it.

He felt like screaming, but channeled his energy into fighting for his survival. His mind raced for an option, something he could do to save his life, and then, just as he was about to be consumed, he realized he never hit the ground when he fell. He was slipping right through the earth beneath him. The fight for his survival still raced through his mind as he fell deeper and deeper, and then landed gently, somehow on his feet, in what seemed like absolute darkness.

He saw before him a pair of eyes that seemed to pierce right through the darkness, looking into his very soul. He got the feeling that there was life all around him, yet he could see nothing. He simply stood, gazing back into these piercing eyes. It was as though seeing them look through him like that forced him as well to take inventory of what was inside him, and slowly, the world around him faded in.

He saw the same man in black from before, still shrouded by his cloak. Surrounding him were fearsome looking knights in crimson armor that seemed to burn the air around it. He could feel their menacing looks on him, but he did not fear. He gazed back at the man who seemed to had brought him here, preparing himself for the event of a fight. Much to his surprise, the man dropped to one knee, and following his lead, the knights around him.

"Welcome, dragon of earth. We have been long awaiting your arrival. I am Amarth, assigned to be your guardian. Since you are here, I assume you've come to grow stronger."

Marc thought about this for but a moment. The concept seemed to catch him quite off guard. He was still trying to take in these sudden immense changes in his life. There was nothing normal about anything that had happened to him lately. Yet, the answer seemed so clear. He had almost died, his dreams never being realized. He was so close to being forgotten by the world that spawned him. He could not allow that to happen again.

"Yes. I will grow stronger. Where do we begin?"

Though Amarth's smile couldn't be seen, something in his eyes revealed his expression. He put out one hand, and in it began to appear a swirling mass of shadow. Something about it seemed to pulse energy, power of some kind. Marc knew that since he had seen this, his life was on a new course. He would master this talent.

"Let me tell you about spirit energy..."

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Maybe the answer is in the very light reflected off our blades. Maybe that's what it means to be this creature known as samurai.