Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm

Chapter 5

It was an entire millennium ago in the Spirit World.

Thick, evil clouds seemed to frown down upon the land as they swirled and covered the heavenly blue sky. The earth was bare, dry, fruitless. The weather was frigid. Nobody ventured out into the open; everybody stayed inside the safety of their homes. Ha! "Safety" was a huge overstatement. There was no place that could truly offer safety at the time.

A dark, massive creature threw back its head in laughter and strode down the roads which led to the Imperial Palace. A beautiful woman clothed in fine robes peaked out of one of the Palace's window and gasped. "He's here!" she cried, aghast.

A man, also clothed in fine garments, approached the Lady and his eyes hardened. "I'll go meet him," he said firmly. The Lady grasped his hand in protest, her beautiful eyes brimming with bitter tears.

"Don't ... he'll kill you."

The Lord pushed the Lady's head into his chest and hugged her. "It is the duty of every king to remember the needs of his people," he said. "And I am much more than a king of a country - king of a world. I won't kill the Dark Spirit; I will imprison him. As you know, love, 'only mortal hands can cut his life.'"

The Lady cried openly now, begging the Lord to reconsider the choice. "But what if -?"

The Lord rose his hand as a sign of silence. "I trust you, love, to take care." With that, the Lord stepped back, put his armor on and took his sword, and left the palace without a second word.

The Lady watched as the Lord came up to the Dark Spirit. The creature let out another horrifying roar; which was its way of laughing. "Is this what I get for a competitor?" he jeered, standing at his full height - twice the height of the Lord.

"You have two choices, Dark Spirit. One, you leave in peace and under the bind of oath, never disturb us again. Or two ... a fight."

The Dark Spirit, again, roared in mocking laughter. "Let the fight begin with the 'oh so powerful' Lord."

Though the Lord was an excellent swordsman and he did his best to defeat the villain, the Dark Spirit was easily winning the game. After being constantly hit and tricked by the Dark Spirit, the Lord collapsed on the ground, exhausted; unable to continue the fight.

"What do all of you say to THIS?!" the Dark Spirit shouted, standing at its full height and picking up the Lord with one hand. "Your king is powerless in my arms!"

It was then that the Dark Spirit was proved wrong. When it wasn't looking, the Lord threw his sword for a nearby tree. Once the sword hit the invisible target, the ground cracked and opened, revealing the Abyss - the prison for the most vicious of monsters.

"You know the consequences, Lord," the Dark Spirit hissed.

The Lord nodded. "I do. In you go, and never to be released."

The Dark Spirit dropped the Lord, making him fall on the ground in a messy heap. A great, sucking force came from the Abyss; pulling in its desired prisoner. The Dark Spirit screamed in protest, grabbed at anything it could reach; but the Abyss was irresistible, and soon, the villain disappeared into the very depths of the dark prison.

The consequences were that the Lord died that very day. And he did.

As heart wrenching as it was, the Lord's sacrifice ended the Dark Ages. The Spirit World never knew such terror and misery for an entire millennium; they were safe, as long as the Dark Spirit was inside that dreadful Abyss. But now...

Escaping the Abyss, to begin with, was practically impossible. It wasn't the first time, however, the Dark Spirit did the impossible - he was the worst villain that the Spirit World ever knew! Come what must, but the creature had to be killed. Nothing, not even the Abyss (the most powerful prison) could withhold the Dark Spirit. And when the Dark Spirit was on the loose... like he was a millennium ago...