Chapter 12 - 12: Rise of the Crimson Dharma

England Era 321

📜 Prologue: A Kingdom Reborn

After six months of brutal war, the Lusitanian threat was crushed. Arslan, now 15, ruled not just England but also the lands of Pars and Maryam. His vision of a world without slavery was taking root. Temples were rebuilt. Chains were melted into tools. For the first time in centuries, the world tasted liberation.

But peace is never without shadows.

Far to the East, within the Crimson Highlands, a long-forgotten order stirred once more—the Crimson Dharma. Not content to let the world change without their hand guiding it, they had waited… and now, Ashva, their most enigmatic weapon, returned.

🩸 Scene I — The Return of the Demon General

A border village on England's eastern frontier burned to the ground. There were no signs of enemy troops—only corpses, twisted by unnatural flame, and the symbol of a bleeding lotus carved into the earth.

A spy returned to the capital with trembling lips.

"It was… Ashva," he said. "He's alive."

The court gasped. Erza's knuckles tightened. Nico's eyes narrowed. Arslan's gaze darkened.

"But we saw him fall during the Sindhura campaign," said Kagura.

"He didn't fall," Lucy muttered, her spirit sense flickering. "He was waiting."

Orihime's voice trembled with realization.

"He's come back… as a Dharma Ascendant."

🕯️ Scene II — Crimson Dharma: The Forbidden Order

Once thought extinct, the Crimson Dharma was a secret sect of warrior-monks and occultists who had long operated outside the bounds of kingdoms. They believed in "balance through destruction"—that the cycle of kings and empires must always end in ruin to restore universal harmony.

Each generation, they anointed a single avatar with cursed blessings.

Ashva—the Bloodflame Heir.

Now enhanced through forbidden rituals, Ashva wielded:

Hellbrand Chain: A red flame whip that feeds on spiritual energy and wraps around souls, not just flesh.

Lotus Mirage: An illusion technique that replicates himself endlessly in battle.

Cinder Step: Movement through smoke and fire—making him untouchable in heated conflict.

Soulbrand Rebirth: Revives once if slain, in a berserk cursed form.

Thousandfold Curse Sutra: A technique that tears open "karma scars" in enemies, forcing them to relive their worst sins.

And worst of all…

He'd begun recruiting rebels and survivors from fallen kingdoms—former slaves, disgraced nobles, and even ex-mages who rejected Arslan's rule.

🌪️ Scene III — Arslan Responds

At the Royal Throne Hall of Everwhirl, the Wind King addressed his court.

"He has chosen fire.

We shall answer with the storm."

He turned to Erza, Kagura, Lucy, Orihime, Rangiku, Nico—and now Farangis.

"You are no longer just my shadows.

You are my judgment. Go, find the cultists. Cleanse them."

Farangis bowed.

"What of Ashva?"

"He's mine," Arslan said coldly. "I will meet him at the Eye of the World—the place we once clashed. And this time… only one of us walks away."

🔥 Scene IV — The Gathering Flames

Across the continent, Arslan's agents report troubling news:

The Crimson Dharma have infiltrated cities posing as peace preachers.

Villagers have gone missing—used in ritual sacrifices to empower Ashva's return.

The Crimson Womb, an ancient temple of cursed power, has been reactivated.

Ashva is forming a New Order, one that rejects both slavery and Arslan's kingdom—proclaiming that "no man should rule over another."

Arslan's court receives intelligence: the Crimson Dharma has reawakened five ancient temples across the continent—each representing a twisted element of their philosophy: Suffering, Rebirth, Rage, Deception, and Sacrifice. These temples are not just ritual grounds—they are power conduits used to strengthen Ashva's cursed magic.

To stop Ashva's rise, the temples must be destroyed—and Arslan's five most trusted warriors each take on a temple, unaware that each is tailored to break them psychologically.

⚔️ Erza: The Temple of Suffering

🏯 Location: Blackstone Fortress, surrounded by poisoned black snow and iron trees.

Inside, Erza faces Ashdai, the Crimson Dharma's torturer-priest. He traps her in an illusion chamber where she relives the lives of every slave she failed to save during her years in Pars. Chains of guilt form around her body, draining her will to fight.

"You think pain makes you stronger," Ashdai hisses. "But yours is borrowed pain. Try carrying the weight of a thousand deaths."

Breakthrough: Erza uses her newly unlocked Titan Form: Valkyrie Wind Armor, blending wind magic with celestial steel, shattering the illusion and tearing through Ashdai's fortress.

She burns the temple down while whispering,

"Their pain made me who I am. You only wore it like a mask."

⚔️ Kagura: The Temple of Rebirth

🏯 Location: Hidden within the Hollow Lake—an underwater temple breathing with corrupted spirit energy.

Inside, Kagura faces Revah, a Crimson Dharma mystic who uses memory water to flood her mind with "alternate lives" where she never met Arslan. In these visions, Kagura is a common soldier, a slave, a princess—all versions twisted by self-doubt and regret.

"You exist only because of him," Revah says. "Without Arslan, you are nothing."

Breakthrough: Kagura activates her signature ability—Soul Slash: Wind Reincarnate—cleaving through her alternate selves and unleashing a storm underwater that erases Revah's existence.

"I chose this life. And I'd choose it again. I am Kagura of the Stormblades!"

⚔️ Lucy: The Temple of Rage

🏯 Location: Deep in the volcanic spires of Mount Karthra.

Lucy enters a burning labyrinth guarded by Dhorga, a berserker who feeds off rage. His curse forces Lucy to re-live her deepest fury: the night her family was burned alive by nobles when she tried to free a group of child slaves.

"Give in to your anger. Kill them all. Burn the world that took everything."

Breakthrough: Lucy channels her wrath into a focused state called Wind Sear: Tempest Core, forming a focused lance of concentrated wind energy and piercing Dhorga's heart.

"My rage isn't blind. It sees clearly—and it sees you gone."

⚔️ Orihime: The Temple of Deception

🏯 Location: A shifting forest of mirrors, known as The Whisperveil.

Here, Orihime faces Liyara, a Crimson Dharma illusionist who traps her in false realities where Arslan is the villain—enslaving people, sacrificing innocents, betraying his own companions.

"Would you still love him if you saw the monster he could become?"

Breakthrough: Orihime's Sacred Wind Petals: Mirrorbreaker Form unlocks—a healing-detection fusion that disrupts illusions by resonating with truth in the heart.

"I don't just see Arslan with my eyes… I see him with my soul."

She shatters the temple from within, leaving no illusions standing.

⚔️ Rangiku: The Temple of Sacrifice

🏯 Location: The Bone Fields, where lost warriors' corpses are stacked like towers.

Rangiku is ambushed by Maara, a Crimson Dharma priestess of blood, who tempts her with a vision: a perfect future with Arslan—peace, love, no more war. All she has to do is let him die by not warning him of the betrayal in the prophecy.

"One sacrifice. And you get everything you ever wanted."

Breakthrough: Rangiku burns the vision away with Crimson Hurricane: Lover's Pledge, a magic born of love and fury, declaring:

"I'll build that future with him alive. Even if I have to kill a thousand of you to do it."

She collapses the temple and walks out bloodied but unbroken.

🌪️ Final Scene: Back in Everwhirl

Arslan stands at the balcony as storm clouds gather over the eastern skies.

All five women return, bruised but victorious. The temples are gone—but the real battle is yet to come. A sixth location appears in Nico's secret intelligence: The Lotus Maw—a cursed floating fortress where Ashva prepares to complete the Dharma Ascension ritual.

Nico warns:

"We destroyed the roots. But now we must pull out the heart."

Arslan steps forward.

"Then the final hunt begins."

And perhaps the most dangerous truth:

Ashva once trained under the same wind spirits as Arslan.

They were brothers in fate—but chose different paths.

Ashva vs. Arslan – Final Battle at the Lotus Maw

"To defeat a god, you must become more than mortal."

📍 Setting: The Lotus Maw

Floating above the Dead Sea of Swords, the Lotus Maw is a colossal, obsidian fortress in the sky, powered by the lifeforce of the five Crimson Temples now destroyed. With the temples gone, the fortress begins to bleed energy, cracking at its seams.

But Ashva is ready.

Clad in blood-drenched crimson armor, his eyes burning with divine rage, Ashva awaits atop the Sky Altar, the storm-splitting peak of the fortress. Dark Dharma magic howls around him—his ascension nearly complete.

"You took the world by wind," he says. "But I will bury it in blood."

⚔️ Prelude to the Battle

🛡️ Arslan arrives with his dragon, Dragonstorm Tempest, and the final squad:

Nico, at his side, leads a magical battalion of spies and seers.

Erza, Kagura, Lucy, Orihime, and Rangiku take positions to disrupt the fortress's soul-core.

Farangis stands quietly near Arslan, arrow nocked, gaze intense.

Arslan steps forward alone to face Ashva.

"You were my shadow," Arslan says. "Now I'll be your end."

💀 Ashva's Final Form – The Crimson God-Killer

Ashva fuses with the dark remnants of the five temple priests, his body becoming a seraphic horror of red wings, multiple arms, and burning seals across his chest. His voice echoes in layered tones.

"I am the answer to your peace. I am what the world deserves. I am Judgment."

He unleashes a blood tidal wave of cursed energy. Arslan meets it with a god-tier spell:

🌪️ "Divine Wind Annihilation: Eternal Cyclone"

A vortex so vast it splits the fortress's sky into day and night.

⚔️ Round One: Will vs. Will

Ashva teleports across space with Crimson Shift, striking with soul-piercing lances that erase memories.

Arslan deflects with Air Force Wall and Spirit Eye, predicting Ashva's moves before they happen.

Ashva tries to drown him in despair:

"You've united the world, but you're still alone. No throne changes that."

Arslan counters, furious:

"I'm not alone. My people, my women, my purpose—that's my kingdom."

⚔️ Round Two: Divine Seal Breaker

Ashva seals the wind with Absolute Crimson Silence, nullifying Arslan's entire wind arsenal. For the first time, Arslan stumbles, blood dripping from his lip.

Just as Ashva is about to strike—

💘 Farangis fires an arrow laced with spiritual memory, awakening Arslan's divine core.

His Divine Seal breaks.

🌀 "True Wind God Form: Sovereign Tempest Avatar"

Arslan becomes a being of flowing air, radiant light, and divine judgment. Every word he speaks now changes the battlefield:

"Winds of freedom, rise."

The fortress begins to collapse under the weight of pure, divine air.

⚔️ Final Clash: Judgement of Kings

Ashva uses Blood Requiem, a sacrificial final spell that would take both him and Arslan—and the world—with him.

Arslan counters with the ultimate spell:

🌌 "Spatial Isolation: World Sovereign Domain"

He traps Ashva in a timeless void battlefield—outside of reality—so their fight harms no one else.

There, they clash endlessly for three days and three nights of compressed time.

In the end, Arslan pierces Ashva's heart—not with rage, but mercy.

"You could've ruled beside me. But your path was soaked in suffering. Rest now."

Ashva smiles bitterly, his body dissolving into red petals.

"Maybe… I was just the storm before the calm."

🕊️ Aftermath: The World Reborn

The Lotus Maw crashes into the ocean, becoming a holy ruin.

Crimson Dharma is shattered.

The world, though scarred, begins to heal.

Arslan is crowned not as King of England—but as the Liberator of All Lands.

His women return to him. Farangis approaches and whispers,

"So, will you finally rest?"

Arslan turns to the sunset and answers:

"Soon. One last journey. Then I'll rest—with all of you."