About ten years ago, a rumor emerged that brought about endless turmoil. A certain royal family of Musashi had adopted a boy from the slums, with hopes to make him into their bloody blade. He was prodigy even among killers, but was ultimately cast aside.
Why? Because his spite was too great to handle. Something that even lord Musashi couldn't ignore. Ever since then, the child had gone on a rampage. A bloody killer who burned his own caretakers and ended up killing his own mother with those cursed hands.
The entire land was aflame like a circle of hell. The little boy held a blade as his mothers body crumpled and wisped in front of him, except the boy held a smile. A wavering and cryptic smile splattered with the blood of his own kin.
A boy with one eye, whose body burned in endless hell fire, an insane smile on his face, and a maniacal murderer. That boy was known as the Stain of Musashi.
A mad dash of amber fury immediately sliced through the air, a glowing rock in his hand emitting a cinder arc slashed at the short brown skinned man. However, it never reached him, instead a barrier of squealing eels erupted into flames as several more shot out like javelins aimed at Cairo's chest.
Through the disintegrating eels, Dione could make out the mad smile of the one-eyed shinobi before him as he tried dodging by pivoted back, but still catching some stray jaws to his arms and legs. One even going right at his abdomen.
Immediately, Cairo increased his body temperature to an extraordinary degree, the air around him growing dry and brittle as a crisp sound became apparent. The eels clinging onto him erupting into sparks and embers as they washed away with the wind.
Cairo threw his elbow at the eel shield before jumping back. Midair, he took in a deep breath. The organs inside his body erupting into flames, the air in his lungs heated up to scalding temperatures.
The air leaving his mouth was so hot, it burned everything in the air: dust, moisture, even the oxygen itself—all igniting into a piercing inferno diving straight into the wall of eels, burning a hole directly into it, right into the man behind it.
The man had a gaping hole right through his chest, melting to the ground.
"Screw off."
Cairo landed on the balls of his feet, exhaling the last of his haggard breath. He rubbed his throat. He hated doing that, it left his insides feeling heated for a while.
He walked towards the wall of eel, staring at the hole that went right through, right at the man behind. Well it should've been a man.
Instead, a collections of eels filling up the shape of a man stood there, melting away, withering into the air.
Cairo whipped his head around, looking for where the short man had scattered off to. Just then, a wet slimy feeling wrapped around Cairo's legs pulling him into the ground. Above him, an entire betallion of eels came barelling down, dumping all over him.
Dione walked out from behind a wall of debris a couple feet away, not a burn mark on his body. He leaned down on a barrel.
"Why would I fight you when my pets can take care of it?...Well you were kind of underwelming for the great Stain of Musashi."
At that moment, the mound of eels caught fire, each and every one burning up into a wisp of embers. Something resembling a huge bonfire took place in the midst of scattered debris, a single man climbing out of it.
"You really just gon hide?"
Cairo's face held a devilish grin, as Dione's expression shook for a split second.
"How's that any fun?"
In the next second, Cairo threw a burning rock right at Dione, who summoned an eel to take a hit. When his eyes readjusted, Cairo was already in the air, lunging at him.
Dione created a platform of eels, blocking Cairo's attack, but instead of burning it, Cairo jumped off it, further behind Dione.
For a second, Cairo spiked his body temperature up. For just a second he let it simmer there before returning to normal. As a result, the water vapor in the air began to condense into a mist of haze, blocking his movements.
Dione flung his head around trying to conjecture where Cairo would appear from. But it was no use, there was no tell.
The one-eyed man emerged from behind Dione, a sharp piece of wood already swinging towards Dione's neck. But in the next second, an eel wrapped itself around Cairo's arm, dragging it to the left a bit.
Cairo immediately increased the temperated of his arm and the stake burning off the eel, but it was too late, he was already steered off course. The smoke blocked his view so he simply followed through, getting ready to repivot and attack.
What he didn't expect, however, was the burning stake drilling right into another barrel of oil.
A blinding flash of white followed by a deep gutteral boom.
Cairo flew threw the air as the debris around him began to scatter once more into a storm of stone. He landed on a terrace several houses down, right atop a poor soul.
As the dust cleared, Cairo staggered to his feet, his head bleeding. Despite that, his smile only grew more intense. In front of him was the same woman who had drugged and cast him in the dungeon. The same one who stole his precious blade.
Cairo pulled the remaining eels clutching onto him off as he took a step approaching the hooded woman.
"There ya are. Weed-head."
The woman stood up stretching.
"Here's your second job. Protect me."
An arm wrapped around his legs from behind. Glancing back, Cairo was met with a familiar curly red-haired boy. Another guy he wanted to beat senseless.
"Yo. How bout we both beat her ass."
Cairo tilted his head as he stared deep into Naren's golden eyes. Immediately he raised the temperature of his legs, burning Narens foot off.
Naren stumbled back, blowing on the ember of flame that had lit on his pant legs.
"The hell man."
As he continued trying to blow it out, his scarf touched the scattering flames, catching on fire itself.
Cairo dashed at the woman, flames dancing along his arms. But he came to an abrupt stop right before colliding with her. An equally familiar little girl stood in front of him, blocking his way.
"Stop. You said you wouldn't hurt us remember."
Cairo clicked his tongue.
"Not us. Just you."
Cairo pivoted around her, his hands going for the hooded woman's throat. Before he could though, she took out a cloth scabbard, once again stopping his movements.
She threw the scabbard right at Cairo, who stumbled around trying to catch it. Along with it she also threw several kunai and shurikens at him too.
"I have no use for these anymore."
Cairo titled his head, sharp grey eyes trying to see through the shadows of her hood.
"You think this is gon save you?"
The back heel of a foot drilled right into Cairo's shoulders throwing him staggering to the ground. Naren returned to the balls of his feet, his golden eyes in a cat-like predatory shine, wide open as they scanned Cairo.
"What's your problem?"
Cairo got up to his feet, putting his scabbard on his waist as he picked up a kunai from the ground.
"Don't play with me piss-eye."
Naren stepped forward, hopping on the balls of his feet, he faked a jab. Cairo instinctively flinched to dodge, but just as he did, Naren twisted his hips, shooting a straight right at his jaws.
As he took the straight head on, Cairo kicked off the ground, driving his left knee right into Naren's jaw.
They both stepped back, spitting blood out of their mouth.
"You don't just set fire to people's scarves, you prick."
"Like I give a damn."
Cairo lunged first this time, an amber arc following his glowing kunai sweeping through the air in a horizontal motion. Naren ducked right under, his eyes watching a knee aimed right for his nose. But he expected as much.
Naren dissappeared from under Cairo, appearing right atop the glint of reflection caste by the kunai. Midair, he flicked his heel back, letting his body follow the motion as he drove it right at the crown of Cairo's head.
Right before it connected though, Cairo waved out of the way, throwing a sharp elbow right at Naren's ankle.
Slipping through the air, right before he touched down, Naren dissappeared once more. This time reappearing right underneath the kunai. He clenched his hands tight, his fingers burning as it connected with the underside of Cairo's chin.
Cairo toppled over on the ground, rolling over his shoulder, springing to an upright stance. He twisted and cracked his neck, massaging his chin.
'Teleporting, huh?
"What a squirmy fuckin bug."
Naren shook off his own knuckles blistered from the abnormal heat of it all. Right as Naren drove his fists into Cairo's chin, he grabbed onto Naren's hands for a second, charring it black.
'Increasing body temperature.'
"What an annoying fable, you freak."
Just then, Theron and Dione both emerged from the edge of the terrace, standing atop a congregation of eels, floating through the air.
Ignoring them, Cairo and Naren both continued exchanging blows. The arcs of embers swaying along with the swishes of swift kicks and punches. They were both evenly matched as can be. As one took a blow, the other would sneak one in.
Exhausted and tired the two stepped back from one another sizing each other up.
Theron jumped down right behind Cairo, letting the ground shake with his landing. At the same time, Dione summoned an army of eels above him, flicking his hands and sending javelines piercing towards Naren. The silver bracelet on his arm glistening from Cairo's flames below.
Both Naren and Cairo clicked their tongues as their attention was focused on each other. Theron grabbed onto Cairo's head, his hulking arms wrapping around it entirely. He began squeezing. Dione, as well, summoned another set of eels directly above him.
Cairo instantly increased his body temperature, Theron erupting into a sea of flames.
Naren's bare feet touched down right behind the glistening bracelet. Three sharp snaps rang out as Naren's right foot whipped through the air three times. Once at Dione's knees, once at his ribs, once at his neck.
The malformed body of the short man crashed onto the ground, at almost the exact same time Theron's did.
Naren landed on the balls of his feet as his eyes resumed their golden attention on Cairo.
Vera watched her eyes quivered with a bit of fear as the hooded woman pat her head. Letting her fingers caress Vera's scruffy hair.
The twilight lights scattered about slowly picked themselves up and returned to the darkness. Bioluminescent blue hues filling up the lively town as a cold breeze blew through Lastlight.
"What a buncha monsters, right?"