Chapter 58
-The Shrine of Chaos
Shizake finally reaches the end of the path Maka sent him down. He steps across an invisible barrier. At first the ground cracks beneath him before coming to a full stop. All goes silent save the ringing in his ears.
No wind, no echoes, nor the faint humming of chakra. The silence is so full that the boy even hears his own heartbeat pulsating in his skull. Maka appears next to him just as silent as the world around them. She bows her head before the ground begins to rumble.
A blackened stone obelisk rises before them. Shards of stone and pebbles orbit the formation unnaturally held almost in stasis. It is not grand nor is it imposing. It bears no markings, no carvings, no symbols representing gods or beasts. Shizake approaches the obelisk. He runs his hand along it. The stone is shiny and smooth, he notices.
He sees his reflection staring back. For the first time since stepping into the chasm it looks wrong. Almost uncanny. Maka stops several paces behind him, watching as he observes the obelisk.
"This is the shrine of chaos," she begins. "Your first trial. You will face yourself unbound by the chains of status. The shrine does not care for rank, bloodlines, clan, or strength. It is raw and untethered," she explains in static reverbs.
"What exactly will I face?" he asks curiously.
"Even I cannot say. Everyone's experience is different. Whatever makes you, you - emotion, instinct, hopes, and dreams - will all be stripped bare. The shrine will force you to see just who you are beneath the surface. You pass this trial and we can begin working on control of nature energy," she says. "Whenever you are ready, focus a bit of chakra into the obelisk."
"And if I fail?" He asks.
Her silence says all he needs to hear.
Shizake closes his eyes. He thinks of every path he's taken that's brought him here. He thinks of his dead clan, his mother and father, Sasuke, Itachi, Sakura, Naruto, Nitatchi, and Azumi. Of the village itself. Of promises not yet fulfilled.
He draws chakra into his palm and carefully focuses it into the stone. The reaction is instant. The obelisk devours it. The smooth blackened surface fractures not physically but visually as if something inside has awakened. The orbiting stones stop. The ground vanishes.
Shizake falls.
His body comes to a halt. There's no impact or hard landing. Almost as if he is held in stasis. Just darkness. A void. Voices creep into his ears. At first soft murmurings. His eyes try to pinpoint a location but they cannot. Darkness swallows his vision. The whispers grow louder, heavier, pounding against his ear drums.
"You hesitated."
"You weren't fast enough."
"You enjoyed it."
"You're not doing this for them."
The darkness shifts.
An ashen soaked battlefield materializes before him. Torn banners, cracked earth, blood soaked stone. He recognizes it but at the same time it isn't familiar. Almost like a dream he's once had. Figures begin to emerge from the haze that surrounds the battlefield. Faces of civilians, shinobi, enemies, and friends.
They aren't whole. Their features are blurred like smudged ink across paper.
Azumi steps forward, eyes hollow, light protruding from her throat.
"Why do you fight?"
"Why do you fight?"
She asks.
Shizake gulps,"To protect-"
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Paths of Divergence
FanfictionThe end is on the rise. The truth isn't what it seems anymore. It's covered by lies that are covered by more lies. In this ninja world everything is a facade, almost a fake place to be where peace is unattainable and murder is the norm. A survivor...
