Genshin Impact: The Origins

Lion Vs Dragon Part 2

(From Ei's point of view)

I have no idea why that idiot always gets into fights. I mean, who in the world goes for a duel on his own birthday? But I hate to admit their duel was something to watch. The speed, the power—they went toe to toe at first. I need to train more. I think I'm on par with Shahasra now. After creating my weapon under his guidance, my abilities have improved significantly. I'm still learning how to use Raibatsu Akuyou no Me (The Eyes of Stormy Judgment) and Thunder Step. Thunder Step is a technique that allows the user to walk on the sky.

"Wow, these two are really something, aren't they? Neither of them has vision, but they're far more powerful than ordinary people," Saiguu said.

"Yes, but how?" Tenryou asked.

"I don't know. I think they were born different," Takashi replied.

We watched them fight, and then suddenly—

"Don't hold back!" they both yelled at the same time. After that, they both started to laugh.

"Oi, don't tell me..."

"All this time they were..."

"Didn't even use their full power, but..."

"Fighting like two gods..."

"What does their real power look like?"

The crowd started to chatter. I kept my eyes on Shahasra, wondering what he was going to do.

"My Majesty, you can't 'Limit Release!'" the boy with blonde hair—Dainsleif, as I remembered—yelled at Prince Indra.

"Don't bother, Dainsleif. My Majesty won't listen. Nothing can stop him from limit releasing now," the white-haired man, Pierro, replied.

"But Pierro, the Majesty is risking his life..." Dainsleif yelled back.

"Can't you see? Majesty is smiling after such a long time. This isn't just a duel for him. After all this time, he has finally met his rival and best friend. The Lion meets the Dragon," Pierro replied calmly.

"Umm, sorry to bother, but what does that mean?" Takashi asked, having overheard their conversation.

"Do you know the story about the Lion and the Dragon?" Pierro asked. We nodded our heads.

"Let me explain then. The Lion and the Dragon are both kings. The Lion is the king of the jungle, ruling all the animals, while the Dragon is the king of legendary beasts and monsters. But unlike the Dragon, the Lion is just an ordinary animal—no magical powers. Yet he is still a king. That's why we Khaenri'ah people use the Lion as our symbol. We have no gods and no vision powers, but we are a powerful nation. The problem is that the world doesn't need two kings. If two kings exist at the same time, one must perish. They can coexist, but most of the time, it doesn't work."

"Don't tell me they're going to kill each other now," Yashiro said.

"I don't think so. They both look happy about this," Saiguu replied.

I looked at them. Indra had transformed into a mechanical human, and Shahasra drew a line in front of him with his index finger and said,

"Raibatsu Akuyou no Me: Azure no Kuroi Meiō." It was an ancient Inazuma language, but I understood it. What he said was "Eye of Stormy Judgment: Dark Emperor of Azure" or something like that. After finishing this line, a circle of chakra appeared behind his back.

"It can't be! The young master has mastered the domain technique perfectly at such a young age."

"And what is Prince Indra wearing? It looks like armor!"

The crowd began to chatter again. I couldn't believe my eyes. He had mastered the Eyes of Stormy Judgment in such a short period of time—not to mention that it was perfect.

Shahasra drew his black sword, Shinigami. He was going all out. His stance was unusual but familiar to me. Wait, he placed Shinigami in Isshin sword form and Raijinsakabato in Musou style. What was he planning...? Don't tell me! He was going to use both styles.

"Narukami no Nitō, first form: Raijin no Mai!" he chanted and charged at full speed—a speed I couldn't even see clearly. He looked just like a thunderbolt.

"Brother, did you see what Shahasra just used?" my father asked my uncle. They both looked terrified, and it seemed even my uncle didn't know about this.

"Is it bad? I mean, it's pretty impressive to use both styles at the same time," Makoto said to my father.

"Honey, I'm not sure 'bad' is the word I should use. It's more than bad. Shahasra is killing himself right now," my uncle replied.

"What do you mean? Stop scaring us!" I yelled.

"The Musou style and Isshin style are originally based on a two-form sword style called 'Narukami no Nitō,' which means 'Duel Swords of Narukami.' It is the original form and foundation of the Musou and Isshin styles created by your grandfather, Narukami himself. The thing is, no single person can use this style. Let me explain why: as everyone knows, when you use the Isshin style, your breathing becomes very calm. But if you are using the Musou style, your breathing will be much faster than normal. Musou style is very agile and incredibly fast," he explained.

"Pure Dragons, like my father, have two pairs of lungs, so it's not a problem for them to use the original form. But if you are human and try to use the original form, Narukami no Nitō, it will destroy your lungs. That's why your father and I created two forms based on the original. Even though we are half-human and half-dragon, we only have one pair of lungs," he explained further.

"So, you mean Shahasra is fighting while his lungs are getting destroyed? Then why the hell is no one stopping him? He's going to die!" Makoto yelled.

"Well, I think we shouldn't, because his lungs are healing while they're being destroyed," my grandfather Akihiko joined the conversation.

"Oh, I see. That's how he's doing it. He's using your healing power to mend his lungs while fighting. That's smart," Uncle Isshin said.

"No, that isn't smart, you idiot! Our son is dying! Now stop that fight right now, or I'm going to kill you and that idiot too!" Aunt Shinano yelled at Uncle Isshin.

"And you, you stupid egghead!" She pointed her finger at Grandpa Akihiko. "You... you..." She started to stutter in anger.

Makoto stood up to calm Aunt Shinano, but that's when we heard the blast. It was the biggest explosion I had ever seen or heard. When we looked at the training ground, Prince Indra was flying in the sky, his seven gun barrels releasing smoke, signaling they had fired at full power. The place where Shahasra had been just moments ago was now filled with a cloud of black smoke.

Indra started to speak in an amused tone. "Man, that attack was enough to take down a level 90 monster in a single strike. You took it directly and are still unharmed. What kind of monster are you? I'm pretty sure you're not human."

As the smoke slowly faded away, we heard a voice. It was Shahasra.

"Narukami no Nitō, seventh form: Rairyū no Hitotachi (One Slash Conception of the Thunder Dragon)."

Shinigami scattered into pieces. A huge purple dragon avatar, with lightning crackling around it, appeared. Shahasra was in the dragon's head, as if he were the dragon himself. He wielded Raijin with both hands. A giant sword appeared in the dragon avatar's mouth, making it wield a massive katana. When Shahasra moved his sword, the dragon avatar moved its head in sync with his movements. There was also something wrong with his left eye—it had turned into the symbol of the Electro element.

"Human or monster, I'd like to find out who I am too. So, come at me!" he challenged Indra.

Indra sighed. "I guess I have no choice then." "Rise, Singhagiri!" A huge golden lion avatar appeared around him, crackling with yellow lightning bolts everywhere. Like Shahasra's dragon, it wielded a sword on its right arm. Indra's spear transformed into a sword as well. The lion avatar roared at the dragon avatar.

"Let's find out then..." Indra charged at Shahasra.