The skies of the mystical kingdom of Aether grew dark and gloomy. Rain poured down to the earth like there was no tomorrow, and thunder and lightning clashed and flashed in the clouds. In the one of the many forests in the land, stood a hut with hints of traditional Japanese architecture.

Within the hut, Valt, Aiga, Drum and the Asahi brothers as well as Valkyrie and Spriggan sat on the floor, enjoying some food and resting while waiting for the rain to stop. The bladers sat on one side of the room while the two spirits sat on the other side. Brightening the area was a single candle lantern in the middle.

"Thanks for inviting us here, Spriggan!" said Valt as he munched on a beybread. "We would've been soaked out there if you didn't show up."

"It is my pleasure." Spriggan said.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to live in a hut. I've always thought you lived in a cave or something." said Aiga.

"Nah, I prefer a wooden hut. It's warmer and cozier than a cave. Most dragons prefer caves though."

"Eh? But it's all rock! How's that cozy?" Hyuga said.

"Probably to show that they're tough. Dragons can be a bit boastful sometimes." Spriggan said, crossing his arms and leaning against the room's wall.

"Or maybe cuz rocks don't catch fire. Ya know? Since they breathe fire and all." Drum said.

Aiga suddenly snorted. "Wow, Drum! Since when were you this smart?"

"I'm smart at anything that has to do with dragons!"

"Yeah..right..." he said sarcastically. "But if that's the case, why does Spriggan live here? He has fire powers too, right?"

Then Valkyrie responded, "He's just good at keeping his abilities in check. The reason why Spriggan lives here is because...well, it's his job."

"His job?" the boys asked in unison.

"She's right. You see, I descended from a long line of oni but not the malicious type that humans seem to think of us as. My ancestors have been guardians of this kingdom's forests for centuries. We treat the forest and its inhabitants like family. If anyone seeks to harm the forest, they shall feel our wrath." Spriggan explained, clenching a raised fist when his tongue reached the word 'wrath'.

"Woah, that's so cool!" Hyuga said.

The boys were amazed by the story. But then Valt's expression turned into that of confusion. Wasn't this fearsome yet generous spirit the same one that caused his best friend to turn against him and commit horrible acts upon the beyblading world four years ago? He needed answers.

"Um...Spriggan, can I...uh ask you something?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, what is it that you need, Valt?" Spriggan asked back.

"Well...uh..." was all the bluenette could spit out. He didn't know how the fire spirit would react. Will he get angry and start swinging his axe in a berserk manner? Will he feel sadness and guilt and have a breakdown? No one knew. The two spirits saw the hesitation on his face. Then Valkyrie spoke, as she had read her blader's mind;

"This is about the Requiem incident, isn't it, Valt?"

Valt looked at Valkyrie in the eyes. Then he turned to Spriggan who surprisingly had a worried expression. Finally, Valt nodded. The red and blue spirit glanced at each other before Spriggan promptly sighed.

"If you want the truth, then I guess you will get the truth." he said. "Prior to Shu joining the Snake Pit, there was only one thing on his mind, revenge. Specifically on Lui, whom you may know as the one who gave Shu his scar. Let me tell ya, he was really hellbent on crushing that flame head. I too was angry at Lui because of what he did to my master."

"You're not angry at Longinus?" Drum asked.

"At first, I was. But unlike his blader, he actually apologized. Because of that, I have some respect towards that dragon. Anyway, because of this, Shu joined the Snake Pit. I was dragged in along with him. Once he put on that Red Eye mask, he turned into a completely different person, like he was no longer the kind and humble blader I know. Shu endured many sketchy experiments by that Theodore Glass. Every time he failed something, he would hurt himself. I tried to talk some sense into him but it seemed that Shu was too far gone, to the point that he can't hear me. I was forced to obey every command he gave."

The bladers listened carefully to Spriggan's story. While listening, Aiga thought back to the time when he was corrupted. Was this the reason why he didn't hear Achilles? That he was so far gone in his thirst for victory that he ignored his partner's pleads and cries?

Spriggan continued; "Now skip to a few weeks and this is where things start to go downhill. The Requiem project was in full swing. Shu had fallen further than ever before when he created Requiem. He abandoned me, causing our bond to sever and my bey mark to disappear. I fear that Requiem might go after me, so I went into hiding deep in this forest."

"Wait, so...you did not possess Shu?" Valt asked.

"No, Requiem and I are separate entities. Requiem took my form to get closer to Shu which intern allowed him, or should I say, it, to take control of Shu's actions. Fortunately, the project came to an end when you and Valkyrie defeated Shu. This caused Requiem to lose its bond with the bladers who took part in the project."

"You mentioned about bonds a lot." Hikaru pointed out. "I mean...they're important for us but, what about for you guys?"

It was Valkyrie's turn to explain. "You know those times when your beyblade gets broken into pieces? When the beyblade is broken, we die along with it. This death by broken bey is what we call vessel death. This is where the bond comes into play. By rebuilding your beyblade, you resurrect us. This cycle will continue until we lose our bond with you."

"Is that why you were scared when Shu abandoned you, Spriggan?" Hyuga asked.

"Correct." the oni answered. "I was scared that Requiem would hunt me down and end me for good. It knew that I had just lost my bond with Shu. When the Requiem project ended, Requiem attempted to rampage around this kingdom for more power. With the help of our king, we eliminated its existence from this world so that he can't come back. So, yeah. That's my point of view of the whole incident."

Spriggan ended his story there. Silence took over the room as the boys tried to take in all the information that they had received. The sound of rain still rang out from the outside. Suddenly, Valkyrie stood up and walked to the door. She slid the door open only to find that it was now night time, the rain still pouring down heavily. She closed the sliding door and turned to her companions.

"Well guys, I guess we're staying here for the night." she said with a soft smile.

"Oh, no wonder I feel sleepy! It's night already." Valt said and yawned.

"Yay, sleep!" Hyuga exclaimed. Hikaru only sighed at his brother.

The bladers got their sleeping bags ready and went to sleep.

~~~~~<>~~~~~

The next day, the five boys and Valkyrie were ready to continue their journey to Suria Castle. They all bid farewell to Spriggan. Before leaving the hut, Valt had something to say to his best friend's partner.

"Hey, Spriggan. I just want to apologize. All this time I thought you were responsible for making Shu evil." he said.

Spriggan smiled and put a hand on the bluenette's shoulder. "It's alright, boy. You didn't know the truth back then. Now you do. And if there's anyone you can blame for all of that, it's Theodore."

Valt chuckled at this. He said goodbye to Spriggan for the last time before he left, leaving the oni alone in his peaceful abode.

~~~~~<>~~~~~

Deep within a dark cave, 13 figures stood around a fire. They chanted repeatedly in an unknown language. They did this in front of a wall with the drawing of a monstrous, shadowy being edged on to it.

Yep, there's a cult. But are they good or evil? Only the author knows it but I ain't giving it to ya...yet :)