" Legend has it that a long time ago, war was the order of the day in ancient Japan. Man killed one another in the kingdom of Zanruh. A war, the deadliest and fiercest ever known in history, entailed the deaths of many. Men plunged their swords into the hearts of their own kind, molecules of dust that had life breathed into their nostrills. Women and girls were either raped or killed or sold off as slaves, as well as any who were lucky enough to survive through the dark plagues of war.
     " The king of Zanruh rode on horseback to his kingdom, accompanied by five scores of men, all in armours and on horseback. They wore heroic and yet concerned faces, each person thinking alike with everyone else. The king himself looked thoroughly worried. His expressions, scars and fresh wounds would convince anyone that he was returning back from a deadly battle. Isn't he still alive and ought to be celebrating, you ask. Indeed you are right. He ought to be wearing smiles and singing praises to his ancestors, isn't he? But a king who fought against his enemies with a hundred thousand men and came back with only five scores of them has no reason to celebrate at all. Indeed, it was a pyrrhic victory.
     " The people watched the king as he entered the kingdom and passed them by. No cheers from his subjects welcomed their arrival. The sight of them was enough to quiet down their tongues as the king and his men wore strong but long faces. They arrived at the palace, where the king, Lee Min Hwa the elder and a few officials went and sat on their seats before a large round table in the War Council. The king knew that his enemies had joined forces with their allies of the north and south, mastering an army that would ravage the whole kingdom and turn it into a pile of ruins. Confused and saddened, with fear having a strong grip on his heart, he begged for advice, because hope was now a thing not worth anything to him.
     " The Lee Min Hwa rose and urged the king to make supplication to Mother Earth for help. The king agreed and ordered that everyone, including himself, must pray to Mother Earth for mercy and help. Mother Earth heard their cries and pleas and felt for them. So in order to help them, she created warriors armed with mazon swords, the strongest substance from the gods. It was believed that a mazon could tear through a moumtain and utterly destroy whole cities if energized. These warriors were given special abilities such as strength, speed, agility and great stamina. These warriors were called Shen-shu's.
     " With their help, they destroyed the king's enemies like a flood. Although they were clearly outnumbered, they were too strong to be stopped. And thus, the war was won, and Zanruh lived in peace and prosperity.
     " But years later, the king died....".
     The story teller, a man in his thirties, having few wrinkles on his face, wearing a light blue pyjamas, stopped talking and cast his eyes on his right arm. A silvered wristwatch worn on the arm indicated that the time was ten O'clock. He was seated on a brown wooden chair beside a small bed. A little Japanese girl was lying on the bed, enjoying the man's story but started complaining as he stood up to take his leave.
     " Daddy!", she complained," Finish the story first!".
     " Later Min Yin", replied the man who walked towards the door without looking back," It's getting late".
     " Not again!", Min Yin complained and put a white pillow on her face.
     " Good night dear", was the man's reply as he turned the door knob, opened the door, switched off the lights, exited the room and closed the door behind him.
     Min Yin placed the pillow on her chest and mummbled with a frown," Good night dad", before placing the pillow behind her head for a good night sleep.
     The man went to the living room and examined the large boxes that housed most of their belongings. He stretched his back and concluded that he was going to sort them out after Min yin would leave for her new school tomorrow. He went to one of the boxes which was opened and picked up a trophy that had a silver round cup with his name, Lee Yong Soo, engraved on it. Below the cup showed that he came second in a two hundred metre hurdle race. He smiled and dumped the trophy back into the box. He picked up an item frame that held a photo of him beside Min Yin on the right and a woman who stood at the left. All of them wore happy faces and were smiling happily together as a family, a family that Yong Soo wished in his heart that didn't lose the mother of the home. Those bad memories were ever fresh in his mind. Min Yin's mom had died a year ago from ovarian cancer, which by the way Yong Soo knew that it wasn't really the cause of her death. It left a big hole in Yong Soo, leaving him as a miserable man.
     Yong dropped the item frame in the box, grabbed a photo of his late wife, switched off the lights, left the living room and then walked into his study.
     " My lovely wife, I'm going to avenge you", wept the silent Yong Soo.
***
     In a place far-off, a portal opened. Emerging from it was a man wearing a black cloth that covered his whole body, except his shoulder, arm and part of his chest, with a black belt across his waist. A black weaved cone was on his head, while a daisho was strapped on his left side. A fire-like dragon emerged from his arm, circled in the air and re-entered back into the arm.
     " Hail Mother Earth", said the man.
     He walked for a while, then spotted a house and walked towards it with a devilish smile.
***
     " Min Yin! Breakfast's ready", Yong Soo said," You don't wanna be late for school".
     " I'm coming daddy!", yelled Min Yin as she packed her books in her bag.
     " Hurry honey", called Yong Soo again," You don't wanna be late dear".
     Min Yin walked down through the stairs and entered the kitchen.
     " Good morning daddy", greeted Min Yin as she hugged him," What are you doing?".
     " Preparing breakfast", he replied, " Eat now and let's roll".
     " Okay dad", she said and sat down on a wooden chair while her father served her with a bowl of plain rice. She didn't complained at the sight of the food, but rather ate it with delight.
     This brought a smile on Yong Soo's face. Ever since his wife's death, he was always making sure that he would protect Min Yin until she was all grown up and ready to cater for herself. She was now thirteen years of age, about to attend the fifth grade.
***
     In an apartment of the house, the man with a long bloodstained sword drawn and held in his right hand stood in the middle of two bloody bodies. The sight of the bodies made him happy, and he wanted to kill more.