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It had been awhile since Strife visited the Jade Palace. Home to not just Chinese Pagan gods, but all the Pagan Gods across Asia. It was ruled by the Jade Emperor, who ruled over the Pagan gods and other creatures of Asian mythology regardless of place of origin. Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, once stole a powerful gem that was once locked up in the Counsel’s vaults. The gem granted its owner power of every element, earning the name “Elemental Stone.” Of course, Wukong refused to give the Stone back once he learned of its true power, so the Counsel dispatched Strife to retrieve it. In the ensuing battle, many of Wukong’s friends tried to aid him, but Strife killed them all and brought total devastation not just to the Palace, but to the surrounding Realm as well. Despite Wukong having total control over the elements, Strife was the victor, and Wukong begged for mercy. Strife, knowing of Wukong’s popularity, and that he might need to return, granted it. After he was given the Stone, he returned it, but not before he heard every Pagan God promise the vilest of fates should the White Rider return.
Strife didn’t want to materialize immediately into the world, as he had before, knowing that would give the wrong impression and it would bring down the full power of every Pagan here. And that would be an inconvenience. So he decided to take the official road, the one full of blooming peach orchids. And the road was blocked by Guan Yu, the Saint of War, and owner of the most epic beard ever.
“Hello Yu.” Strife greeted as the Red Hare, the greatest mortal-and Yu’s personal-horse, and Mischief approached each other.
“Is it hubris or arrogance to think that you can walk in here without repercussions?” The coldness in his tone was almost enough to form a frosty mist when he spoke.
“Well, I’m not walking, so if you would let me pass…”
“Last time I did, you almost burned down the Palace and killed Sun Wukong in the name of your precious Balance!”
“Yu, if Wukong hadn’t stolen that damned Stone, then that wouldn’t have happened. Besides, I warned all of you what would happen if I was denied. So you tell me who has hubris and arrogance here.”
“Even if I wished to see you pass, I’ve been ordered to prevent anyone from leaving or entering, no matter who, or what it may be.”
“I’ll dare to assume all is sunshine and rainbows in the Jade Palace?” Strife asked with a heavy sigh.
“Of course not. The Jade Emperor wanted to give the clue freely to the first one to claim it, to keep us safe and out of the Cosmic Race, but there were some among us who say this as an opportunity to expand our power, to rival Heaven and Hell and reclaim our spots as gods in the Third Kingdom. The Emperor refused, saying we’d be ants in a clash of titans. But one of us, Xing Tian, did not listen, and now, the Jade Realm is in chaos. And it’s only a matter of time before said chaos spills upon the world below us, and the innocent in it. Which is why I’m here; to stop said chaos when it comes.”
“Oh yea, you have trouble reading my sarcasm. Well, I’m off. Have fun.”
Guan Yu got in the way, steel determination in his eyes. His glistening battle armor scattered across his fine robe shined proudly in the sun and moonlight that poked through the clouds, with his signature weapon, the Guan Dao, at Strife’s throat. Now, Strife was getting annoyed. He pressed his throat against the weapon, daring Guan Yu to kill without cause. He then spoke in a tone that demanded attention, which it got.
“Listen carefully, and listen well. Even as we speak, your home is under siege, your master may be dead, and you sit here, on your ass, doing nothing about your faithful servants and friends that are fighting tooth and nail for their lives. You know that you’re needed, and that I am too, whether you like it or not. Now, I’m going to give you a choice, but know this; I’m going to the Jade Palace. You can either stand by my side or get crushed under my heel. But you will not stand in my way. Now make your choice. You have to the count of three. One.”
Strife reached for Mercy and Redemption, knowing he might have to carry out his threat.
Fortunately, he did not, as Guan Yu yielded and removed his weapon.
“You speak the truth Horseman. Regardless of my orders, I swore an oath to put the people first. If my inaction causes an innocent to die today, I would never live with myself. Now, let us ride for the Palace.”
And ride they did. With unimaginable speeds, the two horses carried their owners far up the mountain the main road lead to. Within a few moments, they had arrived to the peak, and by extension, to the outskirts of the Jade Realm. The Realm itself was beautiful, underneath were golden clouds, with several mountain peaks poking up, each one home to a Pagan and their most valued servants. Here, the Sun and the Moon shone together, and they rotated clockwise in a circle, causing the Realm to have both endless night and day skies, all of the Realm getting 12 hours of both. But they both shined on ruins, burning homes and looted sanctuaries. Guan Yu looked in total horror as apparently the situation had worsened since he left.
“The Emperor… he was so sure he and the Loyalists could drive back the Usurpers. He ordered me to prepare for their inevitable retreat and to stop reinforcements. How did his forces fall so easily?”
“Your Emperor’s arrogance reminds me too much of my brother Death. Let’s go. No point in ogling the carnage.”
The two dismounted, as the bridges that connected the mountain peaks were too narrow for horses as large as Mischief and Red Hare. They moved with silent quickness, passing through the battlefields and choke points littered with corpses and rubble. Off in the distance, Strife saw the peak that used to have Sun Wukong’s home, but it was already burnt to the ground. In between the space that separated the moon and the sun was the mighty Jade Palace. Standing at twelve stories tall, and as wide as a football stadium, and decorated with several lanterns, statues, and paintings. And it too was under siege from ballistae and archers armed with fire arrows. Each of the soldiers were dressed in crimson samurai armor with snow white trims. In the Palace itself, archers returned fire dress in jade green with golden trims. But as the two warriors approached, a few soldiers dressed in the armor of the former stood in their way. Their faces were even redder than their armor, with two white fangs dropping down, eyes as black as Strife’s hair, with an eye symbol burned into their foreheads, and standing at seven feet tall. As for weapons, they each had two katanas, curved blades, with orange runes inscribed on them.
“Oni? Here? “Guan Yu asked, more than surprised at the presence of the Japanese demons.
“No, Yu, these are clearly well respected scholars who came all this way to shower us with gifts.”
“Horseman, run on back to your masters. This has nothing to do with you.” The center Oni declared.
“First off, speak more clearly, you sound like you’ve been gargling nails, and second off, tell me what you did with whatever the clue was pointing to, and I’ll be on my merry way.”
“Sun Wukong was able to get the scroll into the Jade Palace, but you will never reach there. Not alive anyway. We have come for the Saint of War, if you interfere-“
The Oni’s face was blown apart by Mercy’s bullets, as if the final three words were a que for Strife. It was followed by the left one falling to a headshot from Redemption, and the right was tossed over the ledge by Guan Yu and as Strife put away his weapons.
“We must move quickly. If Xing Tian could get Oni demons past the wards, who knows what other monsters he brought into this sacred place.”
Strife had heard of Xing Tian. According to legend, he was the best warrior of an emperor that was fighting for a lost cause. Again and again Xing Tian went to battle, and again and again he slowed, but not stopped, the seemingly infinite numbers of the enemy. Finally, rallying the army of his lord, he launched a desperate attack the very palace that housed the enemy’s leader. He met the would-be emperor in single combat, but in the end, all the battles had taken their toll, and the enemy emperor had beheaded Xing Tian. But somehow, some way, Xing Tian rose again at the very spot, without his head, animated by an unknown force, and fought yet again, but this time, he returned home to see that his foe won. Refusing to accept defeat, Xing Tian fought his way through the palace of his former lord, only to watch him be beheaded at the hands of his enemy. Xing Tian fought, enraged that his sacrifices had been in vain, and this time, emerged the victor. As reward for his relentless courage, honor, and loyalty, the Jade Emperor rose Xing Tian to godhood. And now, he was the enemy of the White Rider.
Suddenly, a woman in a filthy and tattered robe, known as a kimono, appeared, clawing from the ledge of the mountain peak they were on. Instead of a face, she had a massive mouth on her head with rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth, and even her gums were replaced with teeth that matched the others. This was a Yama Uba, a female demon that preyed upon weary travelers in the world below the Jade Realm. The woman bent over and got on all fours, turned around, and charged at Guan Yu, scuttling like an insect at alarming speed. But at last second, it changed course and pounced on Strife. But it would have had better luck with Yu, as its many fangs shattered against the steel protecting his left arm due to the force it brought with its bite. Before it could react, Strife shoved his right hand into the monster’s gut and hoisted it above his head. As the mouth released its grip he spun it around with a slap of his newly free left hand, and started balancing the spinning creature on his middle right finger. Strife then pulled out Mercy and shot the Yama in the face when it appeared right above the weapon, blowing the skull to several pieces. The two warriors went along the path, but not before a scout had alerted everyone to the possible flank attack.
A man dressed from head to toe in ordinate green armor, surrounded by a pale green mist, only turned his helmet and barked orders at a few squads of Oni. The man was undoubtedly Xian Tian, the Relentless Warrior. But Strife first concern were the squads, as each of them, led by a scuttling Yama Uba, began to come to the two across the only bridge that lead to the Palace. And they would have had a lengthy battle, had Strife not blown the wooden pillars that was wrapped around by the ropes that held the bridge with Mercy, plummeting the monsters to their deaths.
“YOU FOOL!! THAT WAS OUR ONLY WAY TO THE JADE PALACE!!” Guan Yu roared.
“I find it funny that I know the Realm better than you. During my battle with Wukong, we went over there-” Strife pointed to a dome structure that was a memorial to the mortal friends of the Pagan Gods.
“-and he fled back to the Palace via underground tunnels he reached after running down some stairs. I followed, and, unless you changed it while I was gone, can use my photographic memory to navigate to the tunnels that lead straight under the Palace.”
Just as Strife said that, a beautiful, but battered, bloodied, and bruised woman dressed in golden, but tattered samurai armor and a coolie hat pulled out a massive katana and began to chant, charging it with divine energy. The leader of the hoard charged forth and attempted to attack her, but a massive red pole struck him, sending him flying. Strife knew that pole as the Ruyi Jingu Bang that belonged to Sun Wukong. The staff retracted to the wounded Monkey King, and around his belt was a scroll. That must be was what the Oni were referring to. The woman plunged her weapon, now gleaming as if it were made of energy, into the ground. The area around the Palace trembled as yellow lines went from one end of the mountain peak to the other, and when they faded, the entire part that held the Jade Palace toppled, taking the building with it, as well as the now unconscious woman.
“NOOO!!!” Guan Yu shouted as the building that housed everyone he called friend fell, dragged by the clutches of gravity.
“Don’t worry, the staircase leads to ground level. If we find the ruins, we’ll find survivors. If there are any, that is.”
“They survived. They had to.”
“Yu, they looked like they were pushed to the limit. They had trouble standing. If I were to guess, that was a last resort, what I call a Denial Move. If you can’t win, make sure the enemy can’t either. Now come on, I have a friend in the world below that can help us.”
“You have… friends?” Guan Yu’s mocking tone couldn’t be more obvious.
“No, I think you misheard me. I totally meant leprechaun.” Strife returned in an equally mocking tone.
Strife began to make his way to the memorial, and Guan Yu followed suit. As they began to descend, Strife knew that this Race was only just beginning.