In the Seventh Dimension.
The Pantheon of the Red Samurai was a group of Gods which were devoted to the Astral Deity of War, Conflict, and Blood whose real name was none other than the Red Samurai. Every Astral Deity which is an Eight Dimension Being has a pantheon of Gods underneath them. The Castle of Gods was where occasionally all the Pantheons met yet during their last encounter only the Pantheon of the Red Samurai came.
In the Pantheon of the Red Samurai there were the Goddess of Stars, The God of Souls, The God of Time, The Goddess of Reality, The God of Sages, The Sword God, and God of Shadows. Their headquarters were in the mystical lands of the Barrow Region in the Seventh Dimension, a place where the plains stretched on out in their golden color until the universe's edge and the stars above them were nothing more than the schemes of the Outer Deities or the Astral Deities or energy cores waiting to be conquered.
Inside a gigantic cathedral there were multiple chairs with a statue of the Red Samurai on the huge platform in front of the chairs. 'He' had a black katana with crimson armor and a crescent moon engraved on his chest.
There was a secret room behind the statue inside the walls where a click of a button which was secretly hidden on the corner of the platform would open a door which led deep underground where the miasma of the buried souls of the Fifth Dimension and the schemes of the Angels and Demons could be heard.
Today the Pantheon of the Red Samurai met.
"This is confusing," said the God of Souls with his green eyes reflecting the shape of the souls surrounding him.
With a snap of his finger all the souls and the vicious, chaotic voices disappeared or retreated back to the depths of where they came.
"Xu…Danso…And our Deity. How are they connected?" asked the Sword God.
"It isn't as confusing as you all think of it. Xeno and Xu's fates have been intertwined since birth due to Diablo's plans. Xu is the Demi-God of the Black Emperor God and he is the most notorious Demi-God to walk in the 6th Dimension. When Xu died due to the betrayal of Xeno, his best friend, Diablo needed something…To keep Xeno to himself since the contract to kill Xu was over and Diablo wanted to transmigrate into Xeno as his vessel. In order to reawaken a slumbering Xeno, he created Xu's Vessel or Danso Narahara as bait," explained The Goddess of Reality.
"Then why is this such a big issue for us Gods?" asked the Shadow God.
"It's an issue because Danso has potential to be 'Him' as well. He is a vessel of 'Him' and Xu. There was probably an unknown tampering when he was born that caused him to become a candidate for 'Him'," explained the Goddess of Stars.
"Oho, how are we sure this Fourth Dimension nobody is going to be 'Him' anyway?" questioned the God of Time.
"Because he used the 'Title' of 'Him' without any cosmic intervention. 'He' is at a level of an Astral Deity enough to rival the Outer Deities beyond the Dimensions and in the Void. A mortal with a Soul Well should not be able to withstand the drawbacks. It's like how if you say a God's True Name then the core shatters and the species dies. Yet, this is with only one title. That is the level of our Deity," explained the God of Sages.
"What should we do now?" asked the God of Souls.
"There will be a Gold Rush to kill or capture Danso Narahara once Diablo fully awakens. The reason why they aren't doing it now is to make sure that he really has potential to be 'Him'. Everyone has Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder after what the Red Samurai did to them in the Holy War of Outer Deities and Gods," explained the Goddess of Reality.
"Therefore it's our job to protect him," ordered the Goddess of Stars.
"The Black Emperor is part of the Sauron Pantheon…If a war between Sauron, us, Nyx, Mancer, Wyrm, or Astros explodes that could shake the pillars and recreate the Apocalypse," explained The Goddess of Reality.
"The event that ended the Pre-Era…The Ascension of Sebastian Alcori Kalburg that ended the Dark Era, The Holy War of Gods and Outer Deities that ended the Holy Era, The Northguard Incident that ended the Old Era…The New Era I wonder how it'll end," pondered the God of Time.
In the Hospital of the Veiled Village.
Hiroshi woke up as he groaned in pain and slowly stretched his body. The shades above him protected him from the sunlight as he was dazed by the effects of Aurora and was slowly regaining his senses and consciousness. Next to him were multiple other patients laid in a horizontal manner and nurses treating them by feeding them herbal medicine or food.
Outside the hospital there was a commotion of multiple people hoarding to the village campfire. It was the next day after the Raid on Fort Fjord. It was the day of Leonard's, Cole's, and Everlin's funeral. Lucia, Auro, the DMMS, Yvette, Takahashimi, Ozamu, and Nicole stood horizontally in front of the crowd acting as a border as Leonard's family and Cole's family wept as their bodies were burnt and turned into ashes, the smoke mixing in with the atmosphere around them.
"You don't seem fazed?" asked Chiro to Lucia.
Lucia kept a brave and straight face almost as if she did not care if her comrades and leader had died.
"It's part of the job they died fighting for their purpose," explained Lucia.
"One day, it'll happen to you as well if you treat yourself as a weapon," explained Chiro.
"I'm ready for that day," replied Lucia bluntly before walking away from Chiro and disappearing within the crowd.
"What happened to Xeno after you killed Everlin, Suzumi, and Lavenus?" asked Danso as he walked beside Chiro.
"It is a major blow to him of course, losing three calamity level avatars. Yet, he should still be out there running wild," explained Chiro.
The rest of the funeral went by smoothly and without any drama.
Danso walked with a sad and dull expression on his face. Cole was the type of person who could cheer up the room when it was serious. He was a good guy. Leonard was not talented when it came to Ritualistic Magic but he tried his best to make everyone proud. Everlin…He ended up on the wrong side of fate to begin with. He ended up going corrupt with power and being a puppet in someone else's schemes. Danso gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in anger. Sparks of the Aurora started to form around him as he let out soul energy and aura.
"Xeno. When I find you Xeno. When I find you for killing my friend. My classmate in Everlin's class. My dear archer. And killing my sensei and the one who saved me in the Frozen Everglades. I will find you. I will kill you," promised Danso.
Then Danso felt a warm hand on his tense shoulder. The touch loosened his shoulder and he looked back.
It was Emily.
Her brown hair waved with the breeze of the early morning sky and her brown eyes reflected the warmth of the sun. For someone who is normally stoic, cold, and smart it was refreshing to see her in a different light.
"We should talk…It looks like you are in a pickle," said Emily.
"I am fine, I'll be fine," said Danso.
"The fact you just repeated "I am fine," two times means you aren't Danso," said Emily in a witty way.
"I AM FINE!" screamed Danso as he clenched his fists and took a step forward.
Emily said no words as the silence was her response. Danso halted after taking his step, turned back and with a paused and sniffled voice said "I'm sorry," before walking off.
Normally Emily would not mind about the other person especially if they do not need help. After all you cannot save a person who is not willing to be saved. Yet, a spark was lit in her heart. Danso was there for her multiple times and she even cried a waterfall of tears as he held her in Rein and when they first met Danso helped her from the thugs. She was sure he would have done that no matter who it was in that situation. Ever since she met him she felt that she was growing as a person. She was now a Third Stage Sorcerer strong enough to take care of herself. So this one time she wanted to care about another person. This was her repayment to him.
She took a deep breath and ran towards him. There were no people on that small road as they were all in their houses, where the sun peaked above the horizon.
Then, she hugged him. Tightly. As tight as she could. Danso turned back and hugged her and started to break down in tears.
"Ah, in a way it's good to see you like this…You don't have to keep a strong face right now," said Emily in a soft voice.
His grasp caused both of them to fall on the road and Danso started to crash out with tears. He cried for around two minutes. After he was done he wiped his tears and got up gently and helped Emily up.
"I guess I cried quite a lot didn't I?" asked Danso.
"It's normal don't worry about it, in a way it was refreshing to see it happen, you must've been through a lot Danso," said Emily.
"Yeah…I want to go back to Akuza already," said Danso.
For the first time in Danso's life he smiled genuinely and started to feel his heart start to heal and the loneliness in his mind disappear.