Jominara asked me to follow her, and I did. She led me into one of the reading rooms — normally used for casting spells — but this time it wasn't for magic. We sat across from each other, and she told me to prepare myself for a nightmare. Then she began telling me the history of the Yin-Yang spirits.
"Before war broke out, Pansen was in harmony," she said. "Citizens of kingdoms, villages, and towns lived in peace. Then one day, the spirits broke loose. No one knew why. But everyone knew one thing: someone was tampering with the balance between this world and another. The spirits sensed the anomaly and went spiraling across the land.
Not long after, people realized that they could possess the Yin-Yang spirits for themselves. The desire for power led to arguments, and arguments turned into violence, which soon became murder. The spirits, feeling unease, chose their champions.
These chosen ones became known as the masters of Yin and Yang. Yanu Wenadow was the first holder of the Yang spirit, and Katan Lunar was the first holder of the Yin spirit. The spirits entrusted their power to champions who could end the war and restore balance.
But after the spirits sealed themselves inside them, the War of Pansen began. Kingdoms turned on kingdoms. Brothers turned on brothers. From teenagers to infants, people were slaughtered in the hunt for the spirits.
It was an era called the Dark Pansen. The scariest part was that it lasted for hundreds of years. The spirits went from host to host, hiding from greed while hundreds of thousands died. Then one day, the spirits vanished. The land fell silent.
What followed became known as the Gap — a time of repopulation and redemption. The population had to be rebuilt. War criminals were forced to atone. The slaughter had been catastrophic. And imagine if it all started again."
At the end of the story, Jominara asked me why she'd told me this. I replied, "I know how devastating war can be." She smacked me lightly on the head and said, "I told you this so you could be better than those people." I stood up, rubbing my head, and noticed the sky outside was turning red.
Jominara looked up too, then back down — and that's when the three leaders teleported in. Smoke drifted from their bodies as if they'd been in a battle. Jominara and I rushed to their side. Forge clutched her arm and whispered, "He's unstoppable," before disintegrating before our eyes. The other two followed, their bodies dissolving into dust as their souls were dragged upward into the sky.
Jominara and I stood frozen, petrified, as Issac, Forge, and the Voyager were pulled into the heavens. She had tears in her eyes; it was like losing family. I didn't know them well enough to cry, but the sight left me hollow.
She sprinted to the mountain council and reported the tragedy. They were stunned by the news and called for an immediate meeting. But Jominara was left out.
When she came out of the council complex, she found me standing there, fists clenched, power swirling around my hands. She placed a hand on my shoulder and said everything would be alright. I snapped out of my trance, lost, and asked her what she was talking about.
She looked at me strangely and said the purple was fading from my eyes. I asked her again what she meant. She looked at me with caution and explained that the council was in session.
"I know that," I said. "But what for?"
"They're choosing someone to replace Shengoku," she replied.
My eyes widened, and my fists unclenched. I grabbed her shoulders and told her I knew what I wanted to do. She looked at me like she'd seen a ghost.
"What is it?" I asked.
She asked if the Nekomata inside me had spoken to me. "No," I said — but then I heard laughter echoing inside my head. "Did you hear that?" I asked, but she brushed it off. I told her I wanted to bring my brother here.
Jominara reminded me where Manny was — and what had just happened to the mountain's leaders. I said it probably wasn't who we thought. She snapped back that my brother was probably the one who did it.
My hands lengthened into claws and, before I realized it, I had scratched her. She fell back. It was like something inside me had acted without my will.
Jominara leapt up and attacked, and we tumbled down the mountainside, locked in a brutal struggle. We each landed blows, the clash growing fiercer until Jominara created an orb she called the Last Sun — a swirling sphere of light like a sun being devoured by a black hole.
I looked at my own hand, feeling power form there. Jominara shouted that my training wasn't complete and that I'd never be able to create something from nothing. I wrapped my left hand around my right wrist and forced all of the Nekomata's energy into it. A shape began to form — a spiraling nebula like a Skilsaw, spinning violently.
Wind crashed against the region, pressing me down, but I stepped forward, determined. "I'm going to see my brother," I said.
"You're not allowed to leave with the Nekomata inside you!" she shouted.
"I'll do as I please!" I roared, charging at her as she ran toward me with her orb blazing in both hands.