"In the midst of everything falling apart… I was still trapped in my own delusions. Blind to my own foolishness. If I had seen things earlier… if I wasn't so stupid… would anything have changed? Would I have been able to live a normal life?"
A voice echoed out, filled with regret.
A scream followed, loud and desperate, as if everything had already been lost.
Then everything went silent.
Isshin suddenly woke up.
His body felt tense, like he had just been through something real. He sat there for a second, breathing slowly, trying to calm himself down.
"Was that… a nightmare?" he muttered.
The feeling lingered for a moment, but he shook it off and got up.
His house wasn't much. Just a small, worn-down shack with barely anything inside except a simple bed. Morning light slipped through the cracks in the walls.
Isshin stepped outside and stretched. The cold air hit his face, helping him wake up fully. He walked to the nearby river, splashed water on his face, then made his way toward the village.
His mother was already there.
"You're up?" she said with a soft smile.
"Yeah," Isshin replied, walking over.
She handed him a plate of food. Just potatoes and some soup. It wasn't much, but Isshin didn't complain. He sat down and ate quietly.
After he finished, his mother looked at him for a moment, like she was thinking about something.
"I have something for you," she said.
Isshin looked up, curious.
She pulled out a necklace. It wasn't anything fancy, but it looked nice.
"Happy birthday," she said. "I know it's not much… I wish I could do better."
Isshin shook his head right away. "No I like it."
He put it on and smiled.
He was about to leave when she called out, "Don't forget to say goodbye to your father."
Isshin nodded and went to find him.
His father was preparing to leave.
"Are you going hunting?" Isshin asked.
"Yeah," his father replied.
Isshin paused for a second. "You're not forgetting something?"
His father looked at him, confused, then shook his head. "No?."
Isshin didn't push it. "Alright."
Even though his father forgot, Isshin didn't let it bother him. He turned and left.
He soon found Takashi and Yui.
"Isshin! Happy birthday!" Takashi said with a grin.
"Happy birthday," Yui added.
"Thanks," Isshin replied.
Takashi leaned closer. "We're doing something today."
Isshin raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"We're going to the forest."
Isshin looked at him. "The haunted one? Are you sure? Mother will get angry."
"Yeah, It's fine we will say its cause of your birthday.!" Takashi said like it was nothing.
"How does that help?!" Isshin says. Isshin thought about it, then shrugged.
They headed into the forest together.
At first, everything felt normal. Animals moved around quietly, water flowed nearby, and the place didn't feel dangerous at all.
As they walked deeper, Isshin slowed down.
Something caught his attention.
He looked up.
The moon.
It shouldn't have been that visible yet. The sky wasn't even fully dark.
Isshin stared at it for a few seconds.
Then he noticed something.
For a split second, it looked like something moved across it. Something dark. Like a shadow passing over the surface.
His eyes narrowed.
"…D-Did you see that?" he asked.
"See what?" Takashi said.
"The moon," Isshin replied.
Takashi looked up. "What about it?"
Yui glanced up too. "It looks normal."
Isshin kept staring for another moment.
Nothing.
He blinked, then looked away.
"…N-Never mind," he said.
They continued walking.
Time passed quickly, and soon the sky started getting darker.
"We should go back, its getting late!" Yui said.
"Yeah, i suddenly don't like being here...." Takashi agreed.
Isshin nodded, and they started heading back.
When they got close to the village, they stopped by the river.
"I'll wash up first you guys go ahead." Isshin said.
Takashi suddenly looked toward the village. "Do you hear that?"
There was noise.
"We should check" Yui said.
"h-hey wait for me!" Isshin replied.
"we are going first!" they said before running
Isshin stayed behind for a moment, washing his face and hands.
He took his time, not thinking much of it.
Then he stood up and started walking toward the village.
As soon as he got close enough to see it clearly, he stopped.
Everything was destroyed.
Flames, broken buildings, blood everywhere.
Isshin's body froze.
Then he saw them.
Takashi.
Yui.
They were lying on the ground, not moving.
His mind went blank.
"Mom…?" he called out.
He started moving again, faster now, looking around.
Then he found her.
She was barely alive.
"Isshin…" she said weakly. "Run…"
His hands shook. "No…"
Before he could react, an arrow landed near him.
He turned.
Two figures were approaching.
"Oh? how did we miss this child?" one of them said.
"Kill him quickly!" the other added.
Isshin ran.
His legs felt weak, but he forced himself forward.
They followed behind him, not even rushing.
They were laughing.
"Help!" Isshin shouted. "Somebody help!"
His voice echoed.
Far above, something heard him.
A dragon.
At first, it ignored it.
"Is that a child's voice? children can be so loud these days"
The dragon didn't want to interfere, but due to his personality, he could not just do anything about hearing a child cry.
The voice didn't stop.
"…Fine."
It flew down.
"What…? these soldiers?"
It descended immediately.
Back on the ground, Isshin stumbled.
"You're dead kid!" one of them said, raising his weapon.
Then a loud crash filled the area.
Smoke spread everywhere.
Something changed.
The dragon had taken over Isshin's body.
One soldier died instantly.
The other stepped back, confused.
"What…?!"
Isshin lifted his hand.
With a single touch, the soldier's defense broke.
The man staggered back, fear clearly visible now.
"There's no way… this is not a kid! who are you?!"
Isshin looked at him.
"I am the Thunder King," he said calmly.
"The embodiment of storms… Raijin."