1- Destroy Yourself
Planet: Equus
Country: Equestria
City: Ponyville
Location: Ponyville's General Hospital P.G.H
Month: Whinnuary
Day: Stablesunday 8th
The hospital room stood quiet, the only sound present coming from the heart monitor, the one he had disconnected from himself not even two minutes ago.
The man stood silent, he wore casual clothes, and although he had been fed during his brief coma, he still lost 3 kilos.
But that is not important, the important thing is what is in front of him, or more specifically what the Yellow Pegasus said.
Ah, but perhaps it would be better to go back in time, seven days ago more precisely, at least, according to the doctors that is.
It was then that everything began.
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August 6th, 2016, Earth, Japan
Stretching himself Dean sat on his bed and quickly rested his head, he's exhausted, the work at the construction site always manages to not only tire him but take a few drops of blood too.
There is not a day in the past month when he has not returned with bruises.
"Low income, paycheck to paycheck streamer Caseoh found dea-"
Sighing tiredly he gets up, walking to his stand he blocks his cell phone, and puts it to charge, moving back he lays his head on his pillow and closes his eyes, sleep would come easy this time, he is already tired after all.
Before he could rest however images appeared in his mind, the same ones that kept popping up for the past 2 entire days.
He sighed.
He was there when it happened, that, that… fight, no, could it even be called that?
A Father and a Son mauling each other with their bare hands, moving faster than sound, faster than his eyes could ever hope to follow, each blow powerful enough to shake the earth, the buildings, and the bones of any who were near.
The entire damn city kept trembling, such was the intensity of the impacts the shaking could be compared to an earthquake within the 8th scale, windows broke, the ground cracked and metal bent under the force of mere flesh.
Even worse, the bodies of these monsters were absorbing most of the impact, the quakes were caused by mere aftershocks of their attacks.
Only God knows what would have happened if one wanted the city gone, no, maybe even the country.
Most of all that… presence, those visions, even after two entire days he wasn't sure if he was just hallucinating.
After all, how in the seven hells could that boy, 5 years younger than him ever just… summon/become a damn triceratops out of nowhere?!
The things he saw that day evoked many, many feelings, mainly however he felt… ridiculous.
Above the amazement, admiration, and even pide, he couldn't help but feel truly and utterly pathetic.
It didn't matter that those two were absolute monsters, exceptions to humanity as a whole, seeing that 17-year-old boy hit with enough force to cause city-wide earthquakes made him feel like he did absolutely nothing of worth in his life.
As a boy, he always dreamed of having superpowers, who didn't? Flying, super strength, laser vision, he doubted any child on the planet never had such dreams.
As a man, he had the same dream, one buried below the weight of reality.
Being strong enough to rival a tank? Don't be ridiculous, flying? Not under your own power, Laser eyes? The best you can get is a flashlight, super speed? You won't even reach Usain Bolt much less the flash you imbecile.
Get those fantasies out of your mind and go work you damn tramp, dreams are for children, get back to reality.
'Reality really is disappointing, or maybe it would be better to say, it was.'
He sighed.
Who doesn't want to be strong enough to impose their views on the world? To be powerful enough to move the planet in a direction they feel is right? To never be helpless in the face of another?
War, corruption, greed, racism, injustice, abuse how many people wish they could end it all? How many tried? How many still do? He certainly did, but… he never thought it possible.
What could he do? He's just a single man, an 80-kilo, overweight, 5'5 -1,67 meters- foot tall man who wasted his intelligence on nothing and ended up working at a construction site in Japan of all places.
If not for his father helping him he would never see himself leave this place.
Heh~ who'd have thought? The monster mellowed down and decided to help the Pig.
Sighing once again he turned in his bed, suddenly he felt… something press on him, the only thing he could compare it to is a certain feeling he had years ago.
During an accident caused by his oversight, his room caught on fire, by the time he woke up it was almost too late.
The pressure of the heat was enough for him to feel as if something was pressing onto his entire body his eyes in particular had the worst.
It felt like something was trying to crush them, inside that room he was practically blind with how much he had to squint just to stop the pain
Curiously enough he would later learn that the eyes of someone would melt long before the fire actually reached them.
And that's what it felt like, the impending threat of being crushed long before anything could even touch him.
He is accustomed to it, the fear is still there make no mistake, but even then, he ignores it, fear, if nothing else is something he is proud to say to have surpassed.
Constantly fearing for one's life while inside their own house for years tends to do just that.
He may freeze for one second but not two, he may tremble but not for too long, he may want to run but even then, he stays his ground.
Death or not he will not give proof to his self to call himself a coward.
'Ain't that a tongue twister?~'
Lifting himself he looked at the nightstand on the side of his room.
The pressure grew bigger, he ignored it.
Jumping out of his bed he walked toward his stand, each step only made the looming presence grow more and more.
His body trembled, he ignored it.
Fear will not stop him, not again, never again.
Reaching the stand he looked down, extending his trembling hand he took the cylindrical object and brought it closer to his face.
Instantly, the pressure receded, and the trembling of his body stopped.
He showed no sign of relief
In his hand stood a single 10 milliliter blood vial filled to the brim with blood.
Glowing crimson blood, more specifically the blood of the man known as The Ogre.
He got it only after that… fight ended, he was not joking when he said the two combatants mauled each other, teeth, skin, blood, and muscle were torn apart and discarded to the ground without a second thought.
It was brutal, inhumane, insane, it was a battle between monsters and most of all… it was beautiful.
Everything was done with such mastery and emotion behind it that he couldn't help but admire it from the bottom of his heart.
Their moves, their words, their souls, everything, every minute detail told of a history, of struggles of dedication.
He never hated his eyes more than that day, they alone could never hope to show him what those fighters passed through to achieve that level.
That day he decided it, one day he would be able to see it, all those shadows behind their back will one reveal themselves to him.
Dean was not a religious man, neither did he believe in the supernatural, but that fight changed him, it changed everyone who saw it in fact.
It is not every day one sees a soul spontaneously come back from the afterlife and talk to their family after all.
The fight by itself was life-changing, something he couldn't help but feel honored just for having the opportunity to witness it.
But what truly changed his life came only later.
After the fight was over and everyone began to dissipate he stood there for some minutes, thinking, reviewing his life, only after noticing how barren the place had become did he turn around and start walking to his home.
He was on autopilot, his head was down, looking intently at the ground while his mind kept turning, and so, he slammed his head on an ambulance.
He'd find the whole thing funny if something inside that very same ambulance didn't make him feel like he was starting at a goddam lion about to eat him alive.
He froze, unable to move or even make a sound, he was sure that if he hadn't gone to the bathroom an hour prior he'd have pissed himself right then and there.
All he could do was move his eyes, reflexively he looked at the source of that feeling, at the time he just wanted to know what was about to kill him.
Dean Tyronus Starfield might be a pathetic man, but let it not be said he is a coward, no, he had beaten that part of him to death years ago, he'll never again go back to being that boy.
If he'd die, then let it be with dignity.
Then, he saw it, the thing, the one that exuded so much anger and killing intent his very cells believed they would die, and after seeing it, he had to take a second take.
It was insane, but... Even then he could feel it, killing intent, coming off from, from…. blood?! That is what his very cells were afraid of?! The thing that had his heart quivering?!
At the time he did not understand what was so special about that small vial of blood but later that night and the next day he had searched for everything he could get his hands on while not working or sleeping he continued to research everything about that man, and those around him.
Oh, he knew the blood belonged to one of the two men -well a man and a boy- but even still, to be so absurd as to release killing intent? That de did not.
Making his research later on he didn't know what to expect, but he found insanity.
Most of it happened there, in that arena, videos of every fight could be found, honestly had he not known someone who knew how to navigate in the dark web he'd never have found it.
The Underground Arena, Chika Tōgijō, also known as Kourakuen or the Holy Land of Fighting, Kakutō no Seichi, a place under the surface of the Tokyo Dome.
There are two fighter corners in the arena, Byakko (White Tiger) and Seiryuu (Blue Dragon).
It was built in 1985; 6 floors underground, 320.000 cubic meters, 1500 seats.
The people gathering in the arena are selected through special routes to maintain absolute secrecy.
To be invited a recommendation is needed, even then, it's not cheap 1,476,600 yen or 10,000 dollars per seat,
He saw many fights, Koushou Shinogi vs Kureha Shinogi, Jack Hanma vs Baki Hanma, Doppo Orochi vs Yujiro Hanma, Retsu Kaio vs Baki Hanma, well, there were many, many fights.
And many techniques, one in particular was his favorite, even more than the demon back itself, the technique was used in his second favorite match Katsumi Orochi vs The Prehistoric Man Pickle.
A punch with the speed of Mach78, no, maybe even more, that punch... Was beautiful, a testament to Katsumi's will and talent.
He wishes he could be like that man, maybe one day he will.
Even after destroying Katsumi's arm and doing absolutely nothing against the ancient man that single attack made him realize that yes, the only reason for him not to be at the same height as those incredible men, is himself.
If a man can give himself more joints with imagination alone what the fuck is his excuse not to do the same.
If he can do it why can't he?
More importantly, he came to learn something about Yujiro Hanma, that man... is nothing short of cruel and evil, a monster said to be immune to even humanity's strongest weapons.
A being that surpasses the power of even nuclear bombs, the peak of every living creature that has ever stepped foot in this world.
Even then, even knowing all this he couldn't help but admire him, Yujiro Hnama is after all, in some aspects someone he wants to be.
But to have his mere blood release killing intent so powerful he couldn't even move? That was insane, crazy, beyond logic, but above all, it was… exciting.
Maybe that was why no one even came near the ambulance, why nobody bothered to even protect that treasure.
But at the time he didn't notice, the sheer aura emanating from the ogre's blood was enough to freeze him in place.
He felt himself dying, saw himself dying, it was the scariest moment of his life, nothing else could compare to it, not even, ridiculous, impossible scenarios made up in his brain could ever compare to what he experienced that day.
But above all, above his trembling body, above his fear, above even death a small, perhaps even insignificant thought for most couldn't help but worm its way into his mind.
A thought directed a himself, a thought that he had many, many times before, one that he never disagreed with.
One that never stung more than at that single moment.
'Pathetic.'
Yes, while near death, with his heart about to give out on him he couldn't help but think that, at that moment, he had never felt so humiliated in his 22 years of life.
And that, simple thought is why he moved, why he survived, beyond his terror he saw a chance, one to not be himself anymore, not to be this… thing he hated so much.
He couldn't live like this anymore, like himself, like this thing, but neither could he take his own life.
Not because he is a coward, no, he can very well put a knife in his throat without an ounce of hesitation but… doing so would go against everything he believes in.
He hates himself, yes, he hates his situation, yes, he hates many, many things, but even while doing so, he works towards fixing it, even while being a lazy man he still works to improve.
No, that's a lie, and he is not a liar, at least not to himself.
He doesn't work to improve, he works to give himself the satisfaction of thinking he does.
Yes, Dean Tyronus Starfield is a lazy man, an undisciplined man, a hypocritical man who holds himself to a belief he knows he can't sustain.
But even then, he dreams of one day reaching it… the impossible.
Calling him a daydreamer wouldn't be wrong, always in his fantasies, never in reality.
But it's not exactly like that, is it? No, in the past, and perhaps even now he passed years alone, in solitude, with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him.
And so he pondered, in his life, his actions, his thoughts, his friends, everything, 2 years later Dean Tyronus Starfield left his home knowing exactly what he was, who he was.
And still, he complained, because that is who he is, a lazy, idiotic man with grand dreams, but devoid of the discipline to make them real.
He told himself that the only reason he wasn't in a better place or even a better person was because opportunities were denied to him, taken away by things outside of his control.
'It isn't my fault!' He'd think 'It's the world's!'
Even to him that only sounded like excuses.
That day, he was proven right.
In his years of solitude, he gained the ability to ignore his problems, ignore who the person in the mirror is.
How much time has it been since he looked at his own reflection?
1 year? Maybe more? He doesn't know, all he does know is that every time he did so he wanted to kill the man staring back at him.
He remembers a saying, Before creation, comes destruction, oh, and how much he wants to destroy that man staring back at him.
Looking at the vial he carefully took a small cord from his nightstand and proceeded to tie it around the thing, forming another knot he created a necklace and tied it around his neck.
He doesn't know why, but he took the damn vial, put it inside his coat, and ran the fastest he could toward his home, that day he discovered that as long as he was motivated enough he could run 2 kilometers without a single break.
It was only when he arrived at his home that he realized what he had done, consciously that is.
His subconscious had long since understood his desire.
He wanted to be like him, Hanma Yujiro, The Ogre, Arrogant, but rightfully so, Powerful, but only due to his years of training, most importantly of all he wanted to be someone he could be Proud of.
He is tired, of hating himself, of having justifiable reasons to hate himself, very tired so, so tired.
And so, he decided.
If his mind and Biology are the only things holding him back from becoming who he wants to be, someone his inner child always dreamed of being then he has no choice but to change.
Destroy the old, so he can rebuild anew.
Hanma Yujiro's blood can either help him or kill him where he stands.
Some would call the idea stupid, perhaps even retarded, and maybe they are right.
Injecting himself with the blood of the ogre in hopes that it will somehow alter his biology enough for him to be able to have the mere possibility of obtaining their strength via training?
What an idea huh?
He'd have thought the same, had he not seen that fight.
He isn't someone who speaks in certainties, if someone asks him if he will do it, he will say he will try, he can't see the future, so, he can only try to do it after all.
Due to that simple mindset, he never believed there was something beyond the physical, beyond matter.
Yujiro, Baki, and Yuchiro Hanma proved him wrong, and for that, he cried, cried at being given hope for the first time in 8 years.
The strength of these men comes from more than just muscles, more than training, it comes from their minds, their spirits.
Katsumi Orochi didn't manage to make his imagination reality because he has a superpower, no he managed it because he worked tirelessly toward it.
If he can be described as 'Only dreams and no action' Katsumi Orochi can be described as a man with impossible dreams and the will to make them real.
That's why they are so strong, their ambitions, their wills are so far above normal or even humans at the Olympic level that they become reality.
Their muscles, even if at the same size as a decade ago grow impossibly in power to the point they could kill their past selves in one hit.
It is such an absurd thing Baki Hanma managed to break a man's finger by using his eye, His. Fucking. Eye.
Dean breathed deeply, looking to his left he saw… himself, through a full-body mirror he brought the day prior, and for the first time in a long while, he didn't immediately feel anger, no, he felt determination.
No more, no more will he torment himself.
Tomorrow, tomorrow he will buy a syringe, and inject the ogre's blood into his veins, and then… either everything will change, or he will die.
No going back, either he becomes what he always wanted to be, or he dies trying.
Anything is better than being the thing that he is now, even death.
For one second he felt the pressure around him increase, it was not comparable to the last time, not even near it but… it felt just as horrible.
The ogre's blood was eager, eager to kill him.
If he didn't know better he'd say the thing could read his mind.
He doesn't.
Turning his head towards his bed he calmly walked forward, his heart kept beating crazily inside his chest.
He ignored it.
Sitting in his bed he rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, in mere seconds he was asleep.
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Dean suddenly opened his eyes, around him he could only see blue and black.
"Wha-?!"
He tries to get up, failing as he suddenly realizes that there is nothing below him.
Looking down he sees the same thing, lines of black and blue, blurring as if he is moving at a quick speed.
His eyes widened while his heart began to beat even quicker, remembering something he acted quickly and pinched his leg, sure enough, he felt pain.
'This isn't a dream.'
Dozens of possibilities passed through his head, was he abducted or being abducted by aliens? Was he dead and going to either heaven or hell? Was this just a cosmic mistake of infinitely low probability?
'No, it doesn't matter.'
His heart kept beating as he calmed himself, he may not be good at not getting scared but he is good enough at not keeping being so.
Moving his eyes around he noticed something, first his body was moving in a straight line, not tumbling or turning, whatever was sucking him through this place was doing so in a controlled manner.
Second, he was not alone, shadows, 4, maybe more appeared and disappeared just as quickly, beings being transported with him? Habitants of whatever place this is?
He was about to shout to them when suddenly everything exploded in white light.
He felt the suction force strengthen to the point his skin started to hurt, the next second, the light of the sun hit him.
Uff!*
He groaned as he landed on the grassy ground.
Acting quickly he got up, the world still spinning in a blur of colors as he did so.
Thump*
Thump*
Thump*
His heart beat quickly in his chest as he got his breathing under control.
Widening his eyes he suddenly started to slap himself until finally, his hand touched what he was searching for.
Signing in relief he looked at his palm and saw the blood vial, he could feel… curiosity coming out of it.
He ignored it, he saw a man's soul talking to his living relatives, sentient blood didn't really surprise him anymore.
Looking around himself he let out a breath, from what he could see there were trees both to his right and left.
On his left side, he could see a swamp, the forest behind it was… weird, no, it was beyond weird, terrifying would be the right word.
Maybe he is seeing things but the entire forest seems to distort the air around it, as if space itself is being pulled in all directions.
He didn't need to think for more than a second to find a comparison, he remembers seeing something like this happening before.
He saw it with his own eyes.
In that fight, the auras of Yujiro and Baki Hanma distorted the very space around them, everything besides those two seemed to turn into mush, moving like a particularly chaotic piece of taffy.
Being in their very presence suffocated him, at the time he had to remind himself how to breathe so as to not die of asphyxiation.
This isn't the case now, no, although the area of the distortion seems to be much bigger than those two he feels nothing coming off the place.
No, his terror comes from his knowledge, if Yujiro Hanma's aura was of that size then what the hell is causing that thing?!
Fortunately, he has the impression that whatever it is, it's being contained, at the very least, he hopes, whatever being is strong enough to cause that, is far, far above him.
Unconsciously he smiled.
Thump*
Looking down at the vial in his chest he ponders.
'But not forever if I have anything to say about it.'
The last time he saw what a human was truly capable of he decided to reach it, knowing what is possible now, he doesn't mind adding other creatures to that list of possibilities.
'If they can do it, why can't he?'
Looking forward he sees a gorge, a big one at that, a river flows directly through it, the air around it feels cold, he has to admit, it is beautiful.
And now that he notices it, isn't the air… cleaner?
Shaking his head he turns around, as he had seen it the ground behind him has train tracks, walking in their direction he began following their trail.
He doesn't know what hour is it or even where he ended up in, but he certainly doesn't want to stay in this wide open space when night falls.
His heart calmed down as he continued to walk forward, it has been a long, long time since panic managed to grip him for more than a few seconds.
Unfortunately for it, today would not be the day it would grip his heart, 8 years ago was the last time, and he'll make sure it stays so.
He made a promise to himself after he decided to put the Ogre's blood in his veins after all.
He'll keep moving forward, until death rips him apart.