Tengen moved his hands dramatically, and the red stars swirling across the ceiling responded. They shifted and formed little stick figures, walking through a dense forest made entirely of glowing red starlight.
Tengen smirked and asked, "Colen told you about the same boy, right?"
Maxi nodded, sitting a little straighter.
Seeing that, Tengen's smirk widened into a full, mischievous grin. "Alright, since you like Colen's storytelling so much better, Young Master Maxi... I'm going to leave you on a cliffhanger so bad you'll either beg me to continue or sprint as fast as you can to your dear brother Colen."
Maxi immediately shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
He didn't like the sound of that at all.
Still, instead of protesting, he took a deep breath, already mentally preparing himself to bolt for the main castle library the moment Tengen finished.
There was no way he was going to beg.
Tengen laughed under his breath and turned back to the stars. With another wave of his hand, the red figures shifted again, weaving into the next part of the story.
"After the Fox Oni and the human girl built their kingdom," Tengen said, as the stars shaped a rough castle surrounded by forests, "the Shark Oni decided he wanted a kingdom of his own too. Somewhere deep underwater. I think he actually managed it... and I think the kingdom had a name, but—sorry, Maxi—I didn't exactly have time to prepare a perfect retelling, so bear with me."
Maxi nodded along, though inside he thought grimly,
Him not knowing the little details is going to kill me later... especially when that stupid cliffhanger hits.
Tengen continued, voice low and serious:
"So, the Shark Oni went off to make his kingdom beneath the oceans, the Fox Oni and the human girl were busy introducing new people into their kingdom — setting up alliances and starting trades with the locals. Most of the locals were demi-humans and elves, a real mixed bunch."
The stars showed a bustling town filled with crude shapes of different sizes, showing the mingling of races.
"Everyone had something to do," Tengen said. "Everyone... except for the boy."
Maxi leaned forward instinctively.
Tengen's voice lowered even more.
"The boy... he wasn't blessed by any gods. He couldn't participate in the Blessing Awakening Ceremony. He didn't even have passive blessings."
He paused, letting it sink in.
"So, he just wandered. Doing small jobs. Exploring. Surviving.
Until... everything changed."
The little stick figure boy walked alone beneath the swirling stars.
"He started hearing a voice," Tengen whispered. "First in his dreams. Then in the corners of his mind. Then, even during the day. Everywhere he went, the voice followed."
Maxi stared at the ceiling, fully locked in.
"But no matter how hard he tried... he couldn't understand what the voice was saying. Until one day... he finally did."
The red stars shifted again. The stick figure boy stood in a clearing, facing a single giant red star floating in the middle.
Tengen continued:
"The voice led him into a hidden forest. There, he found a golden star. And when he grabbed it... the truth unraveled before him."
Maxi's hands gripped the sides of his chair unconsciously.
Tengen's next words came like thunder:
"The golden star revealed his origins.
It told him... his father was the King of Power.
It told him... the Fox Oni and the human girl killed him."
Maxi's jaw dropped slightly.
wait thats how he finds out?!
Tengen smirked, seeing his reaction, and waved his hand again.
The boy's figure trembled and flashed red, stomping angrily toward two larger figures — the Fox Oni and the human girl.
Tengen narrated:
"Outraged, he stormed over to them, screaming and shouting. Accusing them of betrayal. How could they hide it from him? How could they lie all this time?"
The stars twisted into another scene: the boy arguing with the two larger figures, the boy flashing red with anger.
"The confrontation ended," Tengen said, "with the boy declaring he would have his revenge. Revenge for taking away his father. Revenge for slaughtering humankind. Well—" Tengen winked at Maxi, "—except for himself and the human girl, of course."
Maxi silently mouthed, What the—
but Tengen just chuckled and pressed on.
"As he turned to leave, the boy shouted the truth to everyone — exposing the Fox Oni and the human girl.
Told them they were traitors.
Murderers.
Liars."
The red stars above showed stick figures gathering, some stepping away from the castle, some moving toward the boy.
"He said he wouldn't stay in a kingdom built by those kinds of people.
He said he would build a new kingdom.
A kingdom that protected truth.
A kingdom where no wrong could be done."
More and more stick figures joined the boy's side.
"And... a lot of people listened."
Tengen's voice lowered even more:
"In just a few days... he had enough followers to form a real kingdom.
And that kingdom—"
He stopped talking.
The stars above froze in place.
The room went silent.
Maxi opened his mouth instinctively to ask what happened next
but then he stopped, remembering Tengen's warning about the cliffhanger.
Tengen leaned back casually, smirking like the devil himself.
And Maxi sat there, fists clenched, heart racing, dying to know what happened next.
Tengen laughed suddenly, his voice echoing through the dark room, "Just kidding! A little bit more!"
Maxi slumped in his chair, clutching the sides like a sailor bracing for a storm.
Tengen, completely unfazed, continued weaving the red stars above.
"So after the boy started building his own kingdom, he realized some of the people were blessed by gods. So, naturally, he held the Blessing Awakening Ceremony for them. And once he had enough soldiers... oh, he got an idea."
The stars shifted again. Tiny stick figures formed lines and shapes, mimicking sword stances and spellcasting drills.
"He paid a ton of people to train all the new recruits in weapon techniques," Tengen said proudly. "Once they were all trained up, he led them himself. He stormed the Fox Oni and the human girl's kingdom—charged right in!"
Maxi's eyes widened slightly. Maybe this time they'd succeed?
"But..." Tengen grinned wickedly, "they didn't make it far. They were wiped out immediately."
Maxi's whole body deflated in his chair.
"They didn't even hurt anyone," Tengen said, shaking his head. "The Fox Oni and the human girl just knocked them out. Real nice and tidy."
When the boy woke up, Tengen explained, he realized something: brute force wasn't going to cut it. So he made a decision—he left someone else in charge of his kingdom and went traveling across the Demi-human lands.
"And that's when he found him," Tengen said, his voice dropping low for dramatic effect. "The strongest mage in all history... the Ancient of the Blossoming Kingdom."
The stars shifted, showing the small boy meeting another small figure glowing with arcane light.
"The boy and the mage were about the same age. After the boy poured out his anger—how the Fox Oni and the human girl killed his father and betrayed humanity—the mage agreed to help."
Tengen raised a finger like a wise old teacher.
"And so, the strongest mage taught all the unblessed people how to use magic. They trained hard. Harder than before. Until they were ready."
The stars showed scenes of mass training—stick figures throwing fireballs and conjuring barriers.
"And this time," Tengen said, grinning, "when they attacked, they broke through the walls. Magic destroyed the defenses. Blessed soldiers poured in from every side."
Maxi leaned forward unconsciously, the story grabbing him despite the agony of Tengen's chaotic storytelling.
"It was chaos," Tengen said gleefully. "The Fox Oni and the human girl had a harder time. They couldn't just knock everyone out without hurting somebody. They had to personally deal with everyone."
The red stars twisted into a new scene—small figures darting everywhere, two larger figures chasing them.
"But by the time they finished knocking everyone out, guess what?" Tengen smirked. "The boy and the strongest mage were missing."
Maxi's hands gripped the sides of his chair harder.
"When they went back to the castle," Tengen continued, "there they were. Waiting for them."
The stars showed two small stick figures standing proudly before the castle gates.
"They fought. Oh, they fought hard. The strongest mage used everything—teleporting, going invisible, making shields—but in the end..." Tengen made a slicing motion across his neck, "they still lost."
Tengen sighed, flopping dramatically into his chair.
"But! After that beating, the strongest mage realized something: he was good at defense, but he sucked at offense. So he started training. Hard. Like, really hard. He created a whole new level of magic. Continental-level. World-level. Maybe. Honestly, I don't know," Tengen said, waving a hand lazily. "Depends on who's telling the story."
Maxi slumped against the chair, praying silently to every god he could remember to save him.
Tengen kept going.
"The boy trained too. They both got stronger. And this time—oh this time—they didn't come crashing in like idiots. They slipped in like ninjas. Black Sword Kingdom style."
The stars showed figures creeping through shadows, burning houses, scattering soldiers.
"They caused chaos from the inside. They fought people. They burned supplies. And when the Fox Oni and the human girl came running to stop them?"
Tengen leaned forward with a wicked grin.
"They were already gone. Teleported away. Poof!"
Maxi stared blankly at him, his brain scrambling to follow.
"And when the Fox Oni and the human girl split up to search for them... they each got ambushed," Tengen said dramatically. "One by the boy. One by the strongest mage."
Tengen shrugged, stars swirling lazily overhead.
"I don't know who fought who. Honestly, my memory is fuzzy. But what I do know is—the boy won his fight. Somehow. Maybe luck. Maybe skill. And then he rushed to help the strongest mage."
He paused dramatically.
"And together... they lost again."
Maxi buried his face in his hands.
"Apparently," Tengen said, chuckling, "one of the Fox Oni or the human girl recovered faster than expected. Knocked them both out with one or two hits."
Maxi whimpered quietly.
"And then..." Tengen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Maybe they made alliances after that? Or maybe before? I don't know. Sorry, Maxi."
Maxi looked at the ground, soul crushed, wondering what ancient curse he had triggered to deserve this version of history.
He thought bitterly, How did Tengen get worse at storytelling?!
Did someone hit him over the head too many times? Why me? Out of all the people who actually care about history, it had to be me suffering through this... And it's even worse than Colen's sighs...
He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or both.
Tengen laughed suddenly, his voice echoing through the dark room, "Just kidding! A little bit more!"
Maxi slumped in his chair, clutching the sides like a sailor bracing for a storm.
Tengen, completely unfazed, continued weaving the red stars above.
"So after the boy started building his own kingdom, he realized some of the people were blessed by gods. So, naturally, he held the Blessing Awakening Ceremony for them. And once he had enough soldiers... oh, he got an idea."
The stars shifted again. Tiny stick figures formed lines and shapes, mimicking sword stances and spellcasting drills.
"He paid a ton of people to train all the new recruits in weapon techniques," Tengen said proudly. "Once they were all trained up, he led them himself. He stormed the Fox Oni and the human girl's kingdom—charged right in!"
Maxi's eyes widened slightly. Maybe this time they'd succeed?
"But..." Tengen grinned wickedly, "they didn't make it far. They were wiped out immediately."
Maxi's whole body deflated in his chair.
"They didn't even hurt anyone," Tengen said, shaking his head. "The Fox Oni and the human girl just knocked them out. Real nice and tidy."
When the boy woke up, Tengen explained, he realized something: brute force wasn't going to cut it. So he made a decision—he left someone else in charge of his kingdom and went traveling across the Demi-human lands.
"And that's when he found him," Tengen said, his voice dropping low for dramatic effect. "The strongest mage in all history... the Ancient of the Blossoming Kingdom."
The stars shifted, showing the small boy meeting another small figure glowing with arcane light.
"The boy and the mage were about the same age. After the boy poured out his anger—how the Fox Oni and the human girl killed his father and betrayed humanity—the mage agreed to help."
Tengen raised a finger like a wise old teacher.
"And so, the strongest mage taught all the unblessed people how to use magic. They trained hard. Harder than before. Until they were ready."
The stars showed scenes of mass training—stick figures throwing fireballs and conjuring barriers.
"And this time," Tengen said, grinning, "when they attacked, they broke through the walls. Magic destroyed the defenses. Blessed soldiers poured in from every side."
Maxi leaned forward unconsciously, the story grabbing him despite the agony of Tengen's chaotic storytelling.
"It was chaos," Tengen said gleefully. "The Fox Oni and the human girl had a harder time. They couldn't just knock everyone out without hurting somebody. They had to personally deal with everyone."
The red stars twisted into a new scene—small figures darting everywhere, two larger figures chasing them.
"But by the time they finished knocking everyone out, guess what?" Tengen smirked. "The boy and the strongest mage were missing."
Maxi's hands gripped the sides of his chair harder.
"When they went back to the castle," Tengen continued, "there they were. Waiting for them."
The stars showed two small stick figures standing proudly before the castle gates.
"They fought. Oh, they fought hard. The strongest mage used everything—teleporting, going invisible, making shields—but in the end..." Tengen made a slicing motion across his neck, "they still lost."
Tengen sighed, flopping dramatically into his chair.
"But! After that beating, the strongest mage realized something: he was good at defense, but he sucked at offense. So he started training. Hard. Like, really hard. He created a whole new level of magic. Continental-level. World-level. Maybe. Honestly, I don't know," Tengen said, waving a hand lazily. "Depends on who's telling the story."
Maxi slumped against the chair, praying silently to every god he could remember to save him.
Tengen kept going.
"The boy trained too. They both got stronger. And this time—oh this time—they didn't come crashing in like idiots. They slipped in like ninjas. Black Sword Kingdom style."
The stars showed figures creeping through shadows, burning houses, scattering soldiers.
"They caused chaos from the inside. They fought people. They burned supplies. And when the Fox Oni and the human girl came running to stop them?"
Tengen leaned forward with a wicked grin.
"They were already gone. Teleported away. Poof!"
Maxi stared blankly at him, his brain scrambling to follow.
"And when the Fox Oni and the human girl split up to search for them... they each got ambushed," Tengen said dramatically. "One by the boy. One by the strongest mage."
Tengen shrugged, stars swirling lazily overhead.
"I don't know who fought who. Honestly, my memory is fuzzy. But what I do know is—the boy won his fight. Somehow. Maybe luck. Maybe skill. And then he rushed to help the strongest mage."
He paused dramatically.
"And together... they lost again."
Maxi buried his face in his hands.
"Apparently," Tengen said, chuckling, "one of the Fox Oni or the human girl recovered faster than expected. Knocked them both out with one or two hits."
Maxi whimpered quietly.
"And then..." Tengen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Maybe they made alliances after that? Or maybe before? I don't know. Sorry, Maxi."
Maxi looked at the ground, soul crushed, wondering what ancient curse he had triggered to deserve this version of history.
He thought bitterly, How did Tengen get worse at storytelling?!
Did someone hit him over the head too many times? Why me? Out of all the people who actually care about history, it had to be me suffering through this... man one the one time the one time i start to actually care about history it has to done so fricking horrendously man I would rather my previous live fith grade math teacher then this And it's even worse than Colen's sighs...
He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or both he felt like he was going to feel like this for entire duration of the story.
Tengen shrugged and chuckled awkwardly.
"Colen can explain it better, right? So don't worry about it—he'll fix up my mistakes."
Maxi shot him a look so sharp it could have cut steel. His eyes clearly said: I hate you.
Tengen shivered slightly but smirked and brushed it off, pretending not to notice as he continued.
"Okay, after they made alliances with the other kingdoms, before the small boy could go on and attack again, he got a letter. Now—" Tengen pointed lazily, "—your family actually has that letter from all the way back then. I was able to read it but... uh... I kinda forgot what it said."
Maxi sighed, looking as if the life was being drained from his body. He pressed his hands together and whispered like a dying man,
"How did you become worse at remembering?"
Tengen chuckled again, scratching the back of his head with an awkward smirk.
"I have no idea... maybe I'm still sick?"
Maxi sighed once more, the sound of a man losing all hope in humanity.
"But the main thing you need to know," Tengen pushed forward, "is that the letter told the small boy to meet up at a mountain to discuss peace treaties. He had to come alone. And... he did."
Tengen leaned back as he spoke, getting more into it now.
"There, at the mountain, he saw them—the fox oni and the human girl—walking up toward him. They discussed stuff, but it went nowhere. It was all just words. And just when the boy was about to leave... he got stabbed. Right in the heart."
Maxi's eyes widened.
"Ohhhhhh," he thought, "that's why we're called the Bloodheart... and that's why our family crest is a stabbed heart..."
Tengen nodded like he could hear Maxi's thoughts and continued:
"After they stabbed him, they used their blessing powers to bind him with unbreakable soul chains to that mountain. He was stuck there, chained forever. But just before he lost consciousness he managed to pull the sword from his own heart. He called out to the star who had once told him the truth and asked it to sacrifice his blood.
With the sacrifice of his blood, he created the new human race... and even revived the old humans who had died."
Tengen stood up, growing dramatic.
"He ripped out his own blood vessels, raised his fist high into the sky, and let the blood drip onto the earth... as he finally passed out, trapped in that position forever. His body never rotted, never moved. And from his blood came the people of the Burnt Peace Kingdom... the Fire Swords Kingdom... and the Shining Match Kingdom."
Tengen slowed down, lowering his voice.
"Millions of years passed. Generations came and went. And then..." Tengen paused, smirking devilishly, "from the grave... the small child—now the Ancient of the Bloodheart family—woke up, with the help of-"
He leaned even closer.
"-to be continued."
Maxi's eyes dilated. He bolted out of his seat.
Tengen barely had time to register what happened. He only saw Maxi's shadow blur past him, and the door slam open. Stretching out his hand helplessly, Tengen called out:
"Wait! Aren't you gonna beg me first?!"
He slumped back into the chair, defeated.
"Dang... is Colen's storytelling that good?"
Turning his head slightly, Tengen noticed Angelina standing nearby, her mouth half open, stunned by the whole thing.
"What are you looking at?" Tengen snapped weakly.
Angelina sighed, walked to the door, and before leaving, said flatly,
"And for the record—Colen's storytelling is a thousand times better than yours."
She closed the door behind her with a soft click.
Tengen slumped deeper into his chair, stretching his arms out.
"Man I need a nap," he muttered to himself.