Chapter 5
No. A silent cry in the darkness. This can’t be it. I promised her that I’d return. I have to get up.
Ryu felt a burning in his chest. It suddenly became clear that he was not just a voice calling out to oblivion, but a body, lying in darkness. He could feel his body again. Slowly, the burning in his chest subsided.
“Toshiro!” A voice echoed through the halls of the empty castle.
Toshiro turned to see his fallen rival now standing, limply. The wound in his chest was gone. Toshiro’s smirk indicated that he somehow expected this to happen.
“Toshiro, tell me one thing before I cast you into the underworld.”
“Well, well, I see we have a newfound confidence.”
“Shut up, you snake! Tell me, what did you mean when you said that you had done all this because I couldn’t?”
“I suppose you want answers then.” Toshiro sighed. “Ryu, do you know what made you immortal? It was simply your way of thinking. Tell me, what were you thinking that moment so many years ago?”
“Well,” Ryu pondered. “I felt like a disgrace. I wanted to be a hero, to protect my people, because if I ever lost someone close to me like that again…”
“I see…Ryu, that is a very powerful way of thinking. It seems you believe strongly in your principles. The same goes for me. However, there is one major difference between you and I, Ryu…and that difference is a mental stability. You simply try to be a hero, however, those beliefs are hard to hold onto. You seem to forget them much. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have almost died twice now. Whereas, I have followed a different path. I believe in the true ninja way, that ninja are simply tools for killing. I show no emotion, even toward those close to me. Emotions, thoughts, feelings, they simply make one weak. Those who are weak do not deserve to live. You, Ryu, are weak. You are weak because although my principles are a way of life, yours are simply conditional thinking.”
“You’re wrong!” Ryu lashed out, aiming a trembling fist toward his foe. However, to no avail. Toshiro was gone in a flash, sitting with one leg dangling over the mahogany railing that circled the second floor balcony.
“Unfortunately, I must be going. Farewell, friend…” Toshiro hopped off the railing and, taking one final glance back at his frustrated rival, pulled open the wooden double doors to the second story hall.
