Kung Fu Panda Fanfic - The Rise of a Hero

(XIII) The Road to Heaven

Po opened his eyes with difficulty. His whole body ached, especially the area of ​​his left shoulder and chest, but when he checked in detail, he had nothing. The wound that Sun Wukong had given him was gone. At first it seemed quite strange to him, but when he looked around he could understand why.

Once again, Po found himself submerged in the spirit world. It seemed that he had lost against the Monkey King, and now it was his turn to accept eternal rest. Simply, the sensation that he felt in his chest was heartbreaking. The face of his friends and the screams of his beloved that he could hear with his last breath were a bitter memory that held his chest tight. To the point of not being able to control his emotions, which exploded inside her reflecting a deep cry.

But right now, there was nothing he could do. He had lost everything. Even the spirit world did not give him a warm welcome. The panorama was gloomy, and the same fog made his vision difficult. The floating rocks were covered in that viscous black substance, and the flow of the universe had stopped. Was remaining in that purgatory a punishment imposed on him for all eternity? It would be impossible to know. But to do things worse, a strange silhouette emerged from the shadows that Po knew very well.

His alter ego, that deformed and terrifying creature that claimed to be his true strength, was slowly approaching where he was through the thick curtain of mist. Po was kneeling on the ground, defeated, even so, the strange entity began to tear at a wound that was already quite painful.

Entity: - You are useless! Ignorant! I told you that you needed me! But your own pride only mows you down! - It yelled at him with contempt, looking at him with that terrifying face that was the spitting image of Po.

Po: - No! I'm not like you. You are not my true strength. -

Entity: - Many years have passed, but you are still as deluded and ignorant as a child. We could have won! We were able to make that demigod swallow his own pride! I! I could have won! But not. You should have played the hero. WITHOUT ME, YOU'RE NOTHING! -

The strange entity finished the sentence by giving Po a strong blow to the face, which made the panda fly until it crashed against one of the rocks that floated in the spiritual world. As Po tried to recover, the entity jumped hard and landed on the panda's stomach, destroying the surface behind him and launching him hard towards another of the floating rocks.

Entity: - Without me you are nothing. - He jumped and fell on Po, while hitting him non-stop. - Without me you are nothing more than a pathetic and ignorant panda. I am the power! I am who is invincible!... I AM THE TRUE DRAGON WARRIOR! -

As the entity continued to attack Po in a frenzy of blows, the panda could do nothing but cover himself with his arms to minimize the damage. He knew perfectly well that he could not defeat that monstrosity. But what hurt him the most were not the blows that destroyed his body, what hurt him the most, was that each of the words that creature said was true.

If Po had turned his anger to his hatred of those emotions that he had long buried deep within him... he might have been able to defeat Sun Wukong... but now it was too late. There was no turning back.

Po's heart ached with force, much more than his body, which was being torn apart, still, Po instinctively saw an opening in the entity's attacks. The underside of the entity was exposed. Surely if he hit it with all the Chi he still had he would destroy it.

Po leaped forward, avoiding the huge limbs of the entity, and when he was close enough, Po spread his arms as wide as he could, and hugged the sinister monster with all his strength.

The entity froze, in shock. Po's warm hug was a feeling it had almost forgotten. But before it could react, Po sadly told him with several tears running down his cheek.