Breathing to the west. All they wore were bottoms, clipping their toe nails whilst sniffing their fingers created a moment of nostalgia for the man. His strength was paramount to a thousand men, he called himself Lu Bu! Picking his nose to clear air ways left him with a sneeze in the windy pasture. His muscles tightened as his joints loosened, for all his mass, he was rather flexible. He stroked his chin to the east, then back to the west, his hair was like that of nine dozen pheasant feathers that draped past his shoulders. Eyes like a golden flame with brows too large to fit the frame of his face. His neck was wider than his chiselled jaw, a laryngeal prominence that rumbled even when he breathed.
"Ah, today I am quite manly," Lu Bu said proudly.
"As always, but sir, don't you think you've been away from duties a little too long?" Gao Shun said with utter admiration.
"Fool! These slimy bastards of the south wish to take everything from me. The easterners are my only blood brethren, and all they do is fight amongst themselves. The north is cursed with cowards, weak to the whims of money and fame. West, we must march west!"
"Sir, didn't you say a month ago that the west is, as to quote you, 'a cesspool of diminutive idiots that call themselves smart.' I question as to why we would travel there?"
"Gao Shun, my loyal aid, my advisor of sorts, how foolish are you? The west has one thing the others do not possess!"
"Ah, my Lord Lu Bu, what could they offer to be so grand as to entice you?"
"Women! Beautiful women!"
"Huh?"
"With our resources and influence, surely we can bank on women. Down south they're just too hideous, even the ones on market just aren't worth the coin. I'd rather steal a donkey than mate with one of them whores. The west has women of a classy nature, at least that is what I have heard. Hmm, what's with the face, Gao Shun?"
"Sir, that…is absolutely fabulous, surely you're a genius!"
"Hahaha! Gao Shun, you're too smart to handle, gegegege!"
"How much longer?" A rosy cheeked boy asked. Eidos, a man with a spotless appearance, walked behind the boy. His features showed mature beauty, but lacked the visage of age. Velvet lined his waistcoat, gold trimming his collar, with thigh high boots, and tailed shoulders that buttoned inside is under-vest.
"Boron, we must watch the stars, they are beginning to fall…"
"Where?"
"Towards the east my dear Boron."
"I am unsure what you mean Master Eidos?"
"Your siblings are taking their time. Speaking of time, I can feel the tremulations of time's distortion in these lands."
"What does that entail?"
"The planet's end, Gaianuma, its rebirth is finally taking shape. Take shape child, for the new age is about to begin. ______ is in the air, the soil is not the only taint partaken in these lands. Boron, we must be more cautious than previously thought, watch your shoulders, we enter the fog…"
Born anew, faced with all that he had created thrown away. Lamenting in the shafts of his cobbled mansion sat Sedric, a man blackened by failure. Cleansing his sorrows with the pint of poison by his side remedied his aching heart and drifting mind. In the shadows of his forlorn sight stood a figure vaguely memorable, Dante. Sedric's pupils shook, a grin that glistened his ruby lips with protruded gums. Snapping his arm chair had him rising with steam of unbridled rage.
"Dante! How nice of you to show your face!"
"I know your hate runs deep, so—"
"Shut it!" The air exploded, the crest of the dead sun marked his forehead. "I have obtained Sol Darr's blessing, I can touch the heavens now, just as legend has foretold…"
"And what is that?"
"A knight on a black steed runs onto a white prairie, in the clouds sits a nine headed dragon, this knight slays the dragon."
"Nice fairy-tale, now what was I going to mention? Oh, yes, that's right. Fate has placed our hands together, I will be challenging others outside of the east, now my true plan is underway. I will conquer the world, starting next in the west…"
"Dante…" Drooling, Sedric was beginning to lose his sanity, "Dante!"
"Let me help in relieving your pain, Sedric."
Sedric's head came clean off as it dropped into the pond of everlasting waste, never to be seen again.
Into the fields stood he who had no head, bogs of miasma plumed from his severed neck. A dark knight's armor shielded his skin from corrosion, the deadly virus unable to dissolve him. People began to drop, melting into puddles of acid. The hoarse cackle of a voiceless monster cried through the night; death was the busiest it had ever been in quite some time.
On a rather normal farm, was a farmhouse, a shed, and one big brown box the size of a castle, inside this box was the new undead's ride. The miasma soaked the land, in its absorption rose the Stallion. Black wings of bubbling taint, six eyes in the shape of lit candles, hands cracklier than a canyon. Depravity exuded off its frame, a rebirth surely arrived, rot collapsed the land. All fell in its growing decay, running too fast for any vehicle let its first night alive claim the most lives it ever will claim.
But on this night it/he would meet a man too frightening to end; the man's death was unable to be given. Chains had claimed both the man and the newly born creature. The Black Stallion could only surrender to the hold of the Salt-Water, for they had stepped ever so slightly on their land. Something the Stallion could have never imagined, let alone seen. An immortal weapon was held in the clutches of a man calling himself Ea'Sol. His blazing aura was coated in rusty chains that blemished its flaring beauty, a glory that could not be shown; as if the universe wished to shame him.
Brushing his hair with his hand, Ea'Sol looked east, salt was tickling his nose. Within the passing of his sneeze: five million women were impregnated, twenty thousand humans and alike dreamt of Ea'Sol's good looks, nine men saw their lives end by his hand. All life on the planet shuttered; one could only think it the passing wind, the cold breeze of a room, neuron malfunction, something akin to not being bothersome enough to worry over. Yet the chill stuck till Ea'Sol wiped his nose.
"I hate the ocean," Ea'Sol said with a sniff.
"What is this thing?" Lu Bu asked.
"A crying girl," Gao Shun replied.
"She looks ridiculous. Dispose of her," Lu Bu said with a wave as he continued on his stroll.
"Food! Please!" Selin pleaded, her once plump face thinned with her eyes slightly sunken and her rosy color somewhat lost.
"She pleads, my Lord?"
"Goodness, oh! I can not leave the pleading of a downtrodden lady. Come! We shall feed you, emaciated one!"
In an old restaurant not fit for a king, not even for an average man, sat the three. Lu Bu, a man too large to ever call small or little, Gao Shun, a trusty second hand, and the young girl who stuffed her face with rolls and salads.
"She eats like a boar, Gao Shun. What lady poses herself in such a manner. No one on the royal court, the Jade Palace would lose sleep in the presence of her!"
"I think it will be all right in this instance, no?"
"I suppose, all women are beautiful in my presence, but that is because I impose them with a level of obligatory class, yet she seems to see none of it. She is too young to be taken, or am I wrong?"
"I sit under the Dark Torrent of districts six and seven," she said, finally not starving.
"Shit! My Lord, we have accidentally invited an intruder."
"Be quiet Gao Shun, the Dark Torrent, that's the one with the Impulsive Tornado. So then why are you here?"
"A beast too mighty for us to handle came, everyone under our banner is gone…"
Gao Shun finally let go of his mask, and gave Lu Bu a serious look, a look more serious than their relationship allowed.
"This is worse than I thought, Gao Shun, let us eat, for it may very well be our last meal."
"What did it look like?" Gao Shun asked.
"I-I…"
"GAO SHUN!" The building almost collapsed, for the few who resided inside, they froze, stilled by the shaking exiting their bodies. "Sit and eat. If you speak not of the flowers, then speak not at all."
Gao Shun drew his stool closer and closed his mouth, the meal was from then on quiet. Once they left the establishment, Selin opened her mouth once again, but not to eat, rather she spoke in manner more regal than her disposition allowed.
"I believe I forgot to introduce myself appropriately, I am called Selin, I sit second to the captain of the Dark Torrent. If you don't mind, may I ask who my benefactors are?"
"Lu Bu, district five, I lead the Lu Bu association."
"Then…is this district five?"
"I am unsure, Gao Shun, what district do we reside in?"
"Haah, remember, 'we must march west.' We are in district eight."
"Seriously…?" Lu Bu questioned with a look as though trouble could occur. Selin looked the least pleased as she began to understand the situation.
"Vagabonds…"
"Indeed, we are in the territory of the "Mountain Slayers."" Gao Shun said as though reading Selin's distraught mind.
"That could be quite troubling even for me," Lu Bu added.
"Nothing could stop your incredible genius Lord Lu Bu!" Gao Shun exclaimed with glimmering eyes of admiration.
"No, one on one, or battlefield tactics are one thing. Outnumbered by this amount, coupled with a weak aid and girl, surely we are in the crux of a major disadvantage. How could this have happened?"
"My Lord, you said we must head through the cut throat patterned mountains to find the beauty in women, for only women on the other side of difficulty are the most soothing."
"OH! Gao Shun, write that down, that is good."
"I already have my Lord."
"Hahaha! Gegegegege!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
The two would not stop laughing till the sky turned orange. Looking at one another made them snap from whatever high they were catching, blinking to the girl between them. Lu Bu took her upon his shoulders, Selin sat so high she thought she could touch the tree tops. As scary as this all was, she seemingly found comfort in the odd situation.
"What will we do?" Selin asked.
"Where are you trying to head?" Lu Bu asked in return.
"The Azure Dragons. I heard most recently that they took over the east and bested the Zeroes in turn."
"Incredible…" Gao shun muttered.
"I would have to agree with my aid, it is indeed an incredible feat, sir Tak was a frightening individual, to best him in sport or battle is a testament to their strength." Lu Bu stopped, unblocking his senses allowed him to hear and see all things. After his awakening he could unleash both the sixth and seventh senses if given enough time to focus. "We are being followed," Lu Bu said whilst setting Selin down gently.
"What would you like me to do, my Lord?"
"Take care of Selin, I shall handle whatever danger may arrive."
Gao Shun wrapped his páo around Selin's shoulders; the robe swallowed her. In a stance ready to defend, a jade glow surrounded Gao Shun's palms, with the softest whisper cloaking his figure.
From behind a sleek fixture stood a slender woman in white, large eyes that mirrored the blue sky, lips that made Lu Bu drop his guard for less than a second. Assuredly he, that being Lu Bu, was enticed, his instincts were correct. "What did I tell you, Gao Shun, western women are where it's at!" The tan woman leaped into the air, within her grasp were two serrated blades large enough to fit inside each of Lu Bu's biceps. A minor dance later and Lu Bu had snapped her weapons into crumbling metal scraps. Palming her stomach sent her rocketing to the ground below. All happened so fast that Selin was unsure where what began, and where what ended.
"Wait!" Selin announced as she saw Lu Bu's halberd directed towards the woman's neck. "That is the vice-captain to the Mountain Man Goran, the leader of the Mountain Slayers."
"Hmm, I see, then killing her would be quite troubling. Enter! Now, before I decapitate this woman who dares point her venom towards the great Lu Bu!" From the shadows entered an array of tan skinned warriors clad in ornate clothes that covered their most vital spots; primarily where veins were to be most prominently seen. "Goran! I can smell your musk from here, don't be shy, I am sweet to all!" Although none could see him, they could feel Goran shudder. Skilled at being unseen, unqualified in the art of presence concealment, Goran the Mountain Man had the greatest intellect of the indigenous people. His vast knowledge of the land was what helped him establish claim of district eight for his people.
"We simply wish to pass through without trouble, nothing more. Unless of course you wish to battle my armies?"
"No, Lu Bu, scare my children less will you. They can't tell if you are joking or not. Let them be fearless whilst they are still young," said a man old enough to be the grandfather of Lu Bu's great-grandfather. Streaks of white plagued his thick black hair that knotted to his waist, nails like a rat's, with eyes gloomier than a war-torn land. His dark voice reverberated in the wind as if to carry a piece of him with it. How could a man such as him still be alive? Lu Bu wondered. "An undead stallion marked my dreams, in it I saw a pheasant and his chick cleave the sky, a blue salamander meets with a white rose tainted by black, light guides your way; one hundred and eight ways, but the first will always succeed, that is what he told me, Davron, the one who pulls and turns the wheel.
"One must wait, for Atlas, the arrow that splits the wheel will surely hit its mark. That is all Davron had spoken of. I sent Jael to make sure the little birdy was not too tainted by the ways, how lucky I am to see a righteous pheasant."
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahhahaahhahahahahahhaahahhahahahahahahahahhahah! HA!" Lu Bu maniacally laughed louder than he had ever before. "God is real, he must be if he can let elders like you walk with disturbing dreams. Goran, do you want to know my wish, my dream? I believe every leader has a wish, a dream, a goal to strive for. Do you wish to know mine? To be the most manly of all mankind, from here to eternity, from past to future gone. Not just under the sun, nor the heavens, but beyond the gates of hell, beyond time and space, I wish to be the greatest, the most glorious man; no, the most glorious being to ever grace reality!"
"That is indeed a dream to possess," Goran replied without much thought.
"See, that is the reaction all must provide, for it is innate to the lacking of drive in one's self. I know the size of myself, I know my potential, I know myself better than myself. I know the dream is impossible, but dreams are made to be possible, impossible or not. So I say it proudly, no evil shall encompass a world that has me in it, for if it shall oppose me, then it opposes greatness. Do you not agree, sir Goran of the Amevigt Canyon?"
"Your words are more dreamlike than any prophecy I have ever experienced. Be glad, you stand on a mountain assuredly separate from all the rest, I can see that clearly."
"Then join my armies, as one people we will battle against fate. With your wits and knowledge, with the gleaming hand of the west, we can put a stop to the south's growing ambition. Obtain land free from oppression, or the constant need to protect. Under my name, Lu Bu, be it thy liver, heart, or throat, I offer it to the vessels that follow my charge, adhere to my banner, and glory is guaranteed! The valley of death and uncertainty has no light, but in its darkness I shall be your torch! I shall guide this land to an era without war, without hunger or pain, this land we call the Amevigt State will no longer succumb to suffering!"
Goran understood well what Lu Bu was issuing in the guise of peaceful conquering. Both Goran and Lu Bu had knowledge of what was to come, both having different notes, but both understanding the same message. They were not going to survive on the strength of their own. Lu Bu's hand was not one of oppression, at least not in the moment of its offering, Goran shook it with the sight of the future being a conjoined alliance. They all thought it as if to know what must be done, the west must be conquered by us.