As Kenji regained consciousness in the world he knew, he jolted upright from the bed where he had been laying. His chest rose and fell rapidly, panic flaring in his wide eyes.
"Are you okay? You collapsed all of a sudden," Yasu's soft voice reached him from nearby.
Kenji, with a confused and distant look on his face, struggled to find the words. "I... collapsed?" he muttered, trying to piece his thoughts together. As fragments of memory began to surge back, the vivid hallucinations, the overwhelming sense of déjà vu.. he barely noticed when the door creaked open again.
Suzuki entered the room, a serious expression darkening his features.
"Yasu, excuse us," he said curtly.
Yasu, sensing the gravity in Suzuki's tone, gracefully left without a word and closed the door behind her. Kenji now recalled it clearly. He had seen Suzuki just before everything went black.
Before Kenji could even form a question, Suzuki's voice sliced through the tense air.
"Have you been hallucinating?"
Kenji's heart skipped a beat. Though stunned, he knew better than to lie. He nodded slowly.
"Yes," he admitted.
Suzuki sighed deeply, pulling a chair closer and sinking into it. His eyes, heavy with a strange sadness, fixed on Kenji.
"How much do you know," Suzuki asked, "about the Ten Warriors of BGB?"
Kenji blinked.
"Not much. Not enough," he confessed.
Another sigh from Suzuki, this time heavier.
He began to speak, his voice almost as if narrating an ancient tale.
"In the ancient times, before our history was written, there existed exceptional beings: people whose origins as humans are still unknown. They were beings of unimaginable power. So much so, they could have easily destroyed the world if they had chosen to. They were revered, feared, and eventually erased from memory."
Suzuki leaned in closer.
"There were ten of them, known simply as The Original Warriors."
Kenji listened, heart pounding.
"The first was Ryuzaki," Suzuki continued, "known as The Blade of the Beginning. A master of raw energy and swordsmanship, stronger than any being before or after him."
"Then came Ryukawa," he added, "the second in strength, known as The Unbreakable Shield. He commanded earth and stone; an immovable force."
Suzuki's voice took on a rhythmic cadence, almost like a chant.
"Shinra, the third: The Flash Fang, who moved faster than sight.
Daigo, the fourth: The Iron Mountain, who could shatter mountains with his fists.
Hajime, the fifth: The Silent Blade, who could kill without ever being seen.
Kaito, the sixth: The Whispering Tempest, who commanded the winds and waves."
He paused for a breath before continuing, his voice softer now.
"Among them were powerful women too.
Amaya, the seventh: The Veil of Night, who drowned enemies in illusions.
Renka, the eighth: The Crimson Fury, who danced with fire itself.
Sayuri, the ninth: The Dancing Blade, a shadow that could not be caught.
And finally, Misora, the tenth: The Spirit Walker, who communed with the realms beyond life itself."
Kenji was speechless, the weight of it all crashing down on him.
"Each warrior," Suzuki said, "was more than human. They were myths that bled into reality. And now... it seems their memories, their powers," he stared hard at Kenji, "are not as lost as we believed."
Kenji's skin crawled as the realization sank in.
"You," Suzuki whispered, "may be a vessel."
Before Kenji could speak, the door behind Suzuki slammed open with a violent force.
A figure stood silhouetted against the light: tall, unfamiliar, and radiating an intense, dangerous aura.
The stranger pointed directly at Kenji, voice like rolling thunder:
"I found you, WARRIOR."
TO BE CONTINUED