The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 68: LXVIII - Your Suffering and Your Power

Etienne stared up at Jeremy in confusion, still pushing against the Dragon’s Tail pressing down on his chest, "So what? Are you asking me if Guy Yamato had something to do with my training too?"

Jeremy pressed the weapon down harder, "I’m asking you a lot of things, but we can start with that one. Was he responsible, do you know?"

Etienne snarled, "No, he wasn’t. I was taught by Hattori Hanzo’s son, Hattori Matsunari, on a remote island in Japan. I wasn’t tricked by some imposter like you. That little story you told me was years ago, wasn’t it? Is this Guy Yamato even still around?"

Jeremy sighed deeply and lifted his weapon off of Etienne. He pinched his forehead, "Your ignorance is astounding. Have you really never heard of Guy Yamato before just now? You’ve never heard of the Sword Saint?"

"The name does sound vaguely familiar, but I’m not sure why..." Etienne thought to himself.

Etienne sat up and looked at him, "Guy Yamato...should I know who that is?"

Jeremy frowned and walked backwards, out of the rubble of the bakery, "If you cared even remotely about our world, you would. Guy Yamato is the number six hero, known as the Sword Saint."

Etienne’s eyes widened, "Really? Even though he’s running camps like that?"

Jeremy stood right outside of the bakery and nodded, "He’s excellent at hiding the bad ones I’ve found. He runs the largest martial arts school in America, there’s at least two branches in every state, there’s four in Oregon alone. I tried to tell the INHO as soon as I got the slightest amount of notoriety, but there was nothing. I tried to lead a team to the place where I thought it was. It didn’t help that I couldn’t even point to what country it was in."

Etienne stood up shakily and stared at Jeremy. He thought to himself, "I can’t even move forward. It’s taking all I have to stand up, and my body is still battered. What’s going to happen now?"

Jeremy stared at him and shook his head, "Since you’re still not displaying some amazing technique or transformation, and my anecdote did nothing for you, then I suppose I’m made my determination. Are you ready to hear it?"

Etienne frowned at him.

Jeremy held a flaming hand up in front of him, "You’re dangerous, Ninjaman. Too dangerous to let roam free. You walk around my town, masquerading like you’re one of us, but we both know its not the truth. You’re using heroism as a cover to fight and make yourself stronger."

Etienne snarled at him, still unable to move his body, "Your town? If this is your town, why did you leave your student here to defend it by himself? If me and Nairobi weren’t here—"

"I’ve made my decision, Etienne. Bringing up my perceived mistakes won’t change your fate," Jeremy’s face remained neutral, and he continued to hold his weapon out toward Etienne.

Etienne shook his head weakly, "You’re going to sentence me to death? You almost broke down crying not five minutes ago about how someone else did that to you, and now you’d do it to me? Don’t you get how hypocritical that sounds? Everything you do now contradicts everything you’ve been through. You’re the same as Guy!"

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. He whispered, just loud enough for Etienne to hear, "Flame Seeker, Seeking Flame."

All the fire surrounding his body began to gather and combine into the palm of his hand. As soon as it all combined, it shot out in a violent cone of flame like a fighter jet.

The flames seared and flayed his skin in an instant. The sheer pain caused Etienne to scream at the top of his lungs, but the flames drowned it out. He put his arms up in a meager attempt to defend himself, but it was unsuccessful. The flames burned away the skin and muscles of his arms until there was nothing left but bone. The skin and muscles of his jaw, still hanging agape in horror, burned as well, causing his jaw to hang on precariously.

After thirty seconds, Jeremy lowered his head and ended the assault, and Etienne immediately fell to the ground, face-first, his entire body smoking.

____________________________________________________________

6 Years After the Incident...

Etienne was tossed haphazardly into his small wooden cabin by two fellow ninjas. One of the ninja tossed a broken reverse-edged sword next to him.

"Master Masanari expects you at sunrise. Since you’ve failed to complete your training once again, your dinner will be withheld," One of the ninjas stated flatly. They both left immediately.

Etienne rolled over and groaned in pain.

"All of my r-ribs are b-broken..." He thought, the pain so intense he could barely form a coherent thought, "My lungs are full of bl—"

He let out a throaty cough and spat blood on the floor next to him.

He hit his head on the floor, "Full of blood. And my arm..." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Etienne looked down at his twisted and awkwardly bent right arm. He tried to move it, to no avail.

"My arm is all mangled. And the worst part is..."

He closed his eyes tight and focused on his core. A weak aura surrounded his body and disappeared just as quickly.

"I can’t heal any of it. I’m at a wall. I have been for years. My chi control is lacking severely, after a few techniques I’m spent..."

Etienne laughed weakly before sputtering out more blood, "I guess I’ve worn out my goodwill here. Hattori-sensei has went this hard on me before."

He closed his eyes unintentionally and nearly slipped into a deep slumber. He forced his eyes open and hit his head on the floor to keep himself up.

"If I fall asleep, I might die before my chi recovers and I get a chance to heal myself. But all I wanna do right now is sleep..."

Etienne rolled onto his back with a groan and looked at the ceiling. He exhaled, "Mom, Dad, can you see me up there? I’ve accomplished things I didn’t think I could; I acquired powers I didn’t know existed. But despite all that, I still might be joining you soon."

Etienne lifted his uninjured arm and slammed it into the ground. He shouted, "I won’t give up! Not when I’m this close! No one’s coming to save me, so I have to do this myself!"

Etienne punched the ground repeatedly as a violent aura surrounded him. He screamed out in pain as his arm twisted back into place, and he wheezed and coughed uncontrollably as ribs reformed themselves.

He gritted his teeth, "I have to do it myself. I have to survive. For them."

____________________________________________________________

Present day...

Jeremy paced around the front of the now-burnt bakery. All the confections and bread in the displays were now little more than ash. He talked on the phone, glancing back at Etienne every so often. After the attack, Jeremy’s body now lacked the fire surrounding it, though he still had the long horns.

"Yes Director. I’ve eliminated him. No, he won’t be recovering. He’s like me; it’s impossible for us to recover from a wound that severe without external stimuli."

Jeremy listened silently for a few moments before looking back at Etienne once more, "I couldn’t confirm it yet. There’s still a faint pulse, but..."

Etienne lifted his back up and sat on his knees. He turned his head slowly and stared at Jeremy, his jaw nearly hanging off. He lifted his singed arms as much as he could and watched as the muscle tissue and skin grew back, and the existing skin healed itself.

He rose to his feet like a reanimated corpse and clicked his jaw into place. Etienne glanced at his singed chest and watched as the muscle and skin regrew there.

Etienne tried to speak but coughed loudly instead. He rubbed his throat before finally speaking hoarsely, "Right. I forgot I had already got over that wall. My mind feels...really clear. There was a fog there that I didn’t even know about."

Jeremy staggered back and dropped his phone. He grabbed the Dragon’s Tail and wielded it shakily. He mouthed the word, "How?" Repeatedly.

Etienne grinned at him, "How? I’m not a fake like you. You should’ve killed me when you had the chance. Since you didn’t..." He grabbed his last Totska knife off of the ground and held it up, "I’ll show you the power you so desperately wanted to see."

Etienne and Jeremy stared at each for a long time, Jeremy refusing to make the first move. Etienne closed his eyes and smiled wider.

"The Dividing Line. I finally see it. How could I have this much power and forget about it?"

Etienne lifted his leg up to take a step and disappeared before Jeremy’s eyes. Jeremy’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes darted left, then right, scanning the space where he had just stood. Jeremy heard the sound of Etienne’s feet sliding on the floor behind him. Something moved through the air with a sound like silk being torn, and Jeremy’s hands flew up to his throat.