The Ropen's Legacy

Rossiya 003. Soviet Soldier

Hoshi was laying atop the trees, looking at the peaceful day that had settled upon his forest. All creatures, animals and hybrids, were in peace, sharing of their water and food.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming closer. His enhanced hearing didn't recognize those footsteps. They sounded heavy, like those of a strong man.

Hoshi quickly jumped down from the trees and landed on the ground silently. He hid behind a bush, observing the direction of the footsteps. He saw a figure emerging from the bushes. It was a man, wearing a thick coat of armor and a plague mask that covered his face. Hoshi's eyes narrowed, recognizing the gear as military grade.

"Who are you? What do you want in my forest?" - As Hoshi screamed that, all creatures nearby ran away. They knew that the guardian was angry and that could be very dangerous for their innocent lives.

"I am Rossiya 003. Soviet Soldier." - That weird man answered without thinking. - "All I want is shelter."

"Prove." - Hoshi noticed how the man showed no emotion or humanity while answering coldly with a rough and deep voice.

"I mean no harm." - Rossiya 003 answered without any feeling on his voice. Could it be his heavy accent? No.

The guardian boy found something too weird about the man's mannerisms. - "That's a weak answer. You do not show any humanity with your voice. Gee, it's the third time this week that someone unwanted invades this place."

The man insisted in staying, seeming unbothered about the threat. Hoshi got annoyed and turned into his animal counterpart. The animal glew a bright blue color, that contrasted with its black skin.

Hoshi carried the man with his talons to the river with flat stones that served as platforms.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" - The man screamed, showing his first emotion; anger.

Hoshi threw the man onto a stone. Suddenly, a storm began, dark clouds surounded Hoshi and only his glow stood behind them. Lightning bolts appeared and hit the stones along with the raindrops, generating an electric current, shocking Rossiya.

Rossiya screamed in pain as the electric current flowed through his body, his armor providing little protection. He writhed on the stone, trying to free himself from the shock.

Hoshi landed on another stone nearby and watched, his eyes still glowing with electric blue light, but now in human form. "You dare enter my forest uninvited, and then you show no respect or humanity? You are lucky that I only gave you a warning shock. Next time, I won't be so kind."

Rossiya groaned as the shock finally subsided, his muscles twitching. He slowly sat up, rubbing his chest where the electricity had hit him.

"You little freak, how dare you do that to me? I demand to be let inside the forest immediately!" Rossiya spat out angrily.

Hoshi snorted in disgust. "You demand? You have no authority here. And you show no respect for the forest or its guardian. Why should I let you in?"

Rossiya's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "I have a mission to complete. I don't have time for your childish games. Let me in or face the consequences."

Hoshi tilted his head, considering Rossiya's words. "A mission? What kind of mission requires you to enter my forest uninvited and show no respect?"

"It's classified," Rossiya shouted through gritted teeth.

Hoshi chuckled. "Classified? That's not a valid reason to enter my forest and show no respect. Now tell me, what is your real intention here?"

Rossiya hesitated for a moment before finally relenting. "Fine, I'll tell you. I'm looking for a certain property from this forest. It's said to have the power to bring the dead back to life."

Hoshi's eyes widened in shock. "That's impossible. There's no such thing in this forest or anywhere else."

Rossiya gritted his teeth in frustration. "I don't believe that. I have to try, no matter what it takes. My comrades, Qazaqia 021 and Kartvelia 005, died in battle. I need to bring them back to life."

Hoshi's expression softened a little. "I'm sorry for your loss, but bringing the dead back to life is not the answer. Your colleagues are dead. So will everyone alive be one day."

Suddenly, Hoshi's expression changed, as he heard footsteps in the bushes, not much smaller than his own.

"Hoshi, what is happening? Everyone back at the forest is worried..." It was Haru, asking worried for the safety of others, joined by Juancho, scared and covering his ears.

Hoshi jumped a few stones down, his eyes were now back to the usual golden color. "Just an unwanted visitor. You and Juancho should go back to the forest and tell everyone that all is okay."

"Hoshi, who is this guy?" Juancho asked, fearful of the big, dark figure that suddenly stood behind the guardian.

"This guy?" Hoshi answered with a simple question, before jumping to escape a sudden punch from Rossiya.

Haru didn't think twice before warning Rossiya of who he was trying to fight. "Big one, fighting the guardian is a huge mistake of yours..."

"Why so?" Rossiya seemed confused.

"The one you're trying to fight is a literal deity." Juancho said. "He's worshipped by all those living in the nearby towns."

Hoshi made an intimidating pose behind the fog with his eyes glowing and it started to rain again.

"A deity? You have to be kidding!" Rossiya laughed loudly, getting confused looks from Haru and Juancho. "How can a pathetic brat like this be a deity?" The man continued to laugh.

Haru got angry that his friend and protector was being made fun of and turned into his counterpart. The Welsh Dragon came to be behind the smoke. He motioned his head for Juancho, telling him to go away before the fight got real.

Soon enough, Rossiya had himself surounded by a wall of fire and lightning bolts, if he tried to escape, he'd get either shocked or burned.

Rossiya, desperate, agreed in leaving that place. "Stop this! I will leave you alone!"

The Ropen and the Dragon came back to their human forms. "Great." Said the guardian.

"But only if you tell me where the property to bring the dead back is." Rossiya insisted.

"It doesn't exist. It never did, it never will. Not even me, the guardian of this land, has what it takes to bring the dead back, because it's impossible." Hoshi became angry again.

Rossiya left without questioning, completely silent. Hoshi and Haru found that weird.

The weapon man walked into the high bushes of the forest, slipping and tripping into some wet rocks as he walked. Upon reaching the high grass field that was after the forest, Rossiya felt a sharp pain in his spine, it was a lightning bolt that Hoshi sent to follow the soldier through the wet path he left as he walked away. He fell to the ground, still alive, but passed out from the struggle and the electricity running through his veins.

A vine covered in rose thorns and flowers grabbed onto Rossiya and made leaves all around him, the figure of a very curvy woman appeared as a shadow, covered in roses. "You will be very useful to me, big one..."