Episode 1 Epiphany of the Joukai

Kunai is sitting in a small wooden chair at the bedside of the girl from earlier. Her eyes are closed as she lays on the bed, her chest rising slowly in respiration. By her side on a small cabinet are her Thorns and Dark Seraphis.

Kunai sits still, listening to her soft breathing, his head pointed toward the ground in a thoughtful trance. He raises his right hand, equipped with a Black Scarab and removes it, flexing his fingers. He raises his hands to his forehead as well, taking off his Dark Identity and revealing a mat of disorganized black hair.

‘Two pupils…’

The doors into the small infirmary suddenly open as the tall red-haired man from earlier enters the room elegantly. By his side is his sword, held inside a silver sheath. “Girl still hasn’t awoken?”

Kunai turns his head to stare at the man. “No, Ryuu Sensei. She’s still unconscious.”

Ryuu’s eye twitches temporarily as he folds his arms. “I told you, none of that ‘Sensei’ crap. You can just call me Ryuu.”

“Uh…sorry, Ryuu…” Kunai replies. He turns his head toward the girl. “Ryuu. As I was taking her away, I noticed she has two pupils in her right eye. It can only mean…”

Ryuu’s eyes temporarily widen as he turns to look at the girl with newfound interest. “Two pupils, huh? So that can only mean she’s been attacked by The Paradox. Her soul’s been shattered.”

“Ah, right…I forgot, your soul’s been shattered too, huh?” Kunai replies.

Ryuu turns to stare at Kunai momentarily, poring into him with his cool green eyes. He slowly steps up to Kunai and widens his right eye, revealing three pupils in it. “Twice.”

“I’ve never been attacked by a Paradox before…tell me, what’s it like?” Kunai asks.

“Well, first of all, the Paradox are the only creatures on this earth who can touch your soul. And it hurts like hell when you do get hit. That’s why they call The Paradoxes the ‘Phantom Beasts.’ Technically they don’t really exist in life, because they possess no real signs of being alive. If a Paradox were to attack you, your soul would be shattered. The Paradox would then eat that fragment of your soul and assume the powers that that piece of your soul possessed.

“It’s dangerous to have your soul shattered; one hit too many and you’re good as gone. Ironically, only when your soul is shattered can you create the seal on yourself allowing you to become a Hybrid…like me.”

“Right, for example a Fire Mage and Crusader Hybrid like yourself…” Kunai replies.

“Exactly. Now, Kunai…are you sure you’re all right? After what happened in the Cursed Sanctuary…” Ryuu says, turning to Kunai worriedly as he does so.

Kunai folds his arms, staring down at the floor as he replies. “I’m…I’m…”

“It’s okay. We should’ve known that the Myougun had guarded the Triplicates with worse things than monsters. We were unprepared and foolish…and it unfortunately…cost your entire family’s lives,” Ryuu answers.

He turns away slowly, looking away from Kunai. “I’m…sorry I couldn’t protect them, Kunai. But the Myougun was too powerful. We didn’t stand a chance. But I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to defeat the Triplicates next time.”

“Will there really be a next time?” Kunai asks.

Ryuu turns to Kunai momentarily in surprise. “Of course! You don’t mean to give up, do you? I may sound unreasonable and uncaring for saying this, but we’ve got to continue as soon as we can. The Myougun Empire’s just gonna keep getting stronger and stronger as the Paradoxes multiply!”

There is suddenly a knock on the door. Both Ryuu and Kunai turn to stare at the door as Grendel the Really Old of Ellinia enters, followed by a grinning blonde-haired man wearing a Dark Enigmatic and a masked rearguard.

“Grendel!” Ryuu exclaims as he sees the new arrivals. “And…you,” he continues lamely, as he sees the grinning blonde-haired man.

“Uchida,” the blonde-haired man replies with a grin.

[Arai – approx. 9x Ice/Lit Mage]

Grendel looks from Ryuu to the blonde-haired man perplexedly for a moment. “Ah, so you two are already familiar with each other, huh?”

“Of course,” Ryuu replies with a sigh, “unfortunately…”

Kunai stares from the blonde-haired man to Ryuu to Grendel, blinking confusedly.

Grendel suddenly turns to him. “You must be Kunai…yes, Ryuu here is always talking about you, you being his close apprentice and all. Allow me to introduce you to Arai, whom I am proud to call my grandson and fellow Joukai Elite member.”

Arai suddenly turns to Kunai and waves cheerfully. “Hi, Kunai! Nice to meet you!”

Kunai turns to Ryuu and blinks at him. ‘I think I already know why Ryuu dislikes him…’

Arai suddenly turns around glancing through the room, and spots the girl lying on the bed beside Kunai. “Oh! And who’s this?” He skips to the bed suddenly, bending over the girl.

‘…He’s too damn cheerful. Definitely not Ryuu’s cup of tea.’

Ryuu folds his arms, glaring at Arai out of the corner of his eye. “Hm…anyway, Grendel, what brings you out here?”

Grendel leans on his staff, suddenly serious. “A very grave matter. As you already know, forty years ago Lith Harbor was destroyed by the Myougun. Since then no new travelers have come to Victoria Island, a major blow. Well, today, the Myougun have gone to Ellinia, and laid waste to it.”

Ryuu’s eyes widen as Grendel speaks. “Are you serious?!”

“I’m afraid I am. I am also afraid I’ve got worse news—with Ellinia destroyed, we’ve lost all contact with Ossyria. We’ve no idea what’s going on over there, nor at Ludibrium.”

“Dammit…” Ryuu whispers. He glances over his shoulder at Kunai, Arai, and the girl. “So what’s going to happen now?”

“Well, with the other three masters of Victoria Island long since gone, and Ellinia now destroyed, this calls for a greater urgency to destroy the Triplicates,” Grendel answers. “You’ve—”

The masked rearguard suddenly reaches out and stabs Grendel from behind with a Steely. Grendel coughs and stumbles forward, blood pouring from his back.

Both Arai and Ryuu cry out loud and take a step forward as the rearguard sprints from the room and out of sight. Ryuu leaps out of the room after him, but takes a step backward as he exits the room.

“Dammit, he’s gone…” Ryuu cries out loud. He stares down at Grendel lying on the floor. “And so is Grendel…”

“I wondered why he was masked,” Arai replies, suddenly serious. “So it turns out the rearguard was a spy from the Myougun. It looks like they’re gonna know what we’re up to very soon.”

Ryuu suddenly reaches out, punching the wall with his fists. “Damn, if that’s the case, we’re screwed.”

Arai looks up at Ryuu seriously, no longer grinning. “So we as the Joukai Elite have got to take care of this. With the four masters gone, it’s only up to us.”

Kunai suddenly rises, placing his Dark Identity around his forehead again and equipping his Scarab. “Please, tell me how I can help…tell me everything. It’s because of the Myougun. They’re horrible. They’re responsible for killing my family, and…countless others. Who are the Joukai?”

“The Joukai Elite are an underground organization whose members are, or were, solely appointed by the four masters of Victoria Island as a secret task force designed to help out in the background whenever there was trouble. After the rise of the Myougun Empire, the Joukai was restructured to solely combat the Myougun,” Ryuu answers.

“The four masters themselves of Victoria Island were part of the Joukai Elite. They were the ones who started the organization in the first place. They chose their best pupils to join the force. However, unfortunately, the Myougun were much more powerful than us, and picked us off one by one.” Arai continues.

“Out of the original 108 members, only three remain. And you’re staring at two of them right now,” Ryuu adds.

“Wait, so you two…are part of the Joukai?” Kunai cries out loud.

“That’s correct,” Ryuu answers. “Your father himself was a member. He died on the job shortly after your birth. It was he who asked me to take care of you and teach you all I knew.”

“And who’s the third remaining Joukai member?” Kunai asks.

Both Ryuu and Arai suddenly exchange glances with each other momentarily. “Well, there’s me, Arai, and…one other person.”

Kunai raises an eyebrow. “One other person? That doesn’t really answer the question.”

“Don’t ask questions, Kunai,” Ryuu replies sharply.

“Well…what about the Triplicates? What are they, exactly?” Kunai asks.

“The Triplicates is the term we use to refer to the Guardian Paradoxes the Myougun have stationed at the places that the Jr. Balrog, Zakum, and Gatekeeper used to inhabit. They’re like the keys to the Rift World, the separated world from ours that the Myougun inhabit. If we were to destroy the Guardian Paradoxes, then we’d be able to enter the Rift World and destroy the Myougun for good. But, of course, like you saw today, there are certain difficulties in getting to the Paradoxes in the first place…” Arai replies.

“So we pretty much know what we’ve got to do. The only trouble is getting it done,” Ryuu continues. “With only two of us from the Joukai left, it’s gonna be pretty tough.”

“You’ll have me. I’ll come with you,” Kunai replies.

“It’s too dangerous. But that’s not even the point. You don’t understand—” Ryuu cries out loud. He suddenly turns his head toward the bed in the room, along with Arai and Kunai.

There is a soft moan from the bed as the three of them turn to stare. “Heh. So you’re finally awake…” Ryuu says.