Mystic Eyes of Destruction

The deck rocked beneath me and storm clouds writhed above. Rain splattered against my skin as I lay on my back, limbs tingling with phantom shocks of pain dancing through me. Memories of a similar moment came over me, of me looking up in confusion at my parents for the first time, their huge blue faces alight with wonder. Papa and Tousan. Ostracized by the village for loving each other, for bringing life to a doll like me. Like everyone in the village, they were meant to take on Oni wives so they could have more Oni children that would continue the lineage of mystic eyes our village was known for. To keep the supply of warriors coming, to feed the constant wars between other lords that used our warriors as mercenaries.

A muffled roar cut through the crashing waves and rain. Briefly, the rain stopped as a shadow flew overhead, then it returned in a deluge. The ship shuddered and people cried out in panic. I pushed myself to my feet with the help of a railing, the sea alarmingly close as the ship plunged down the back of a wave.

“Honoka!” An Oni woman stumbled toward me, holding a bow with a snapped string. “Thank the gods you weren’t thrown over!”

I gripped the woman’s shoulder to steady her. “I’m okay! How’s the rest of the fleet?”

She shook her head, tears mingling with the rain running down her face. “They’re gone, Honoka! That damned dragon sank them all! We’re only still here because of Masahiro’s barrier and it’s failing!”

Gone. Papa. Tousan. Everyone left from our village that had managed to escape the forces that wanted to wipe us out. My grip on the railing tightened, my delicate looking, porcelain skin splintering the wood with frightening ease. And with the failing barrier, we would be next. How was it possible the Ryujin had something this powerful? Dragons were a myth, a legend. There shouldn’t be one crushing our armies or sinking our fleet. It didn’t matter, it was here and it was killing us. Killing my family. My eyes burned, the technique that I had painstakingly learned flaring to life. The pride of our village.

Eyes of Destruction.

Our warriors were infamous for being able to cut down men from dozens of paces with just a glare or destroy anything we settled our gaze on. It was why we were in demand. And it was why we were being destroyed.

The dragon descended, a flying mountain of scales and rage. A flare of light erupted from its maw and shattered our barrier and it dove toward our helpless ship, to crush us. Then something impossible happened. We weren’t crushed and thrown into the sea at the mercy of the storm. The dragon shrank, collapsing into a man, a Ryujin in pristine armor. He started speaking, denouncing our family. Our clan. That our destruction was the will of the Emperor.

He was good with a sword, his katana flashing as he cut down the battered crew and disoriented fighters. He gleamed, honey gold light flaring around him like a sunrise. I met him in the middle of the ship and his surprise let me deflect away the killing blow on a young boy, not even an apprentice.

“A doll?”

“I am a Tokiha warrior.”

He seemed startled to see the gleaming crimson of my eyes. He took a step back, suddenly less confident in his reduced state. He seemed to be regretting not just destroying the ship while he was a dragon. The golden light around him flared brighter and I could see the shadow of a dragon looming behind him. My eyes shone and then the world briefly lost all color. And Void claimed his transformation. He staggered in shock and barely deflected away my sword. But he couldn’t deflect my gaze. My eyes shone and he choked, his throat cut by an invisible blade. I cut his head off, just to be sure, and kicked his body overboard.

But the damage was done. With so little crew left, with so much damage, we couldn’t weather the storm. We fought just as hard against any enemy, but it was futile. And I had to watch as my friends, my family, sank and drowned. And as I stared up at the swirling storm clouds, I let myself sink beneath the waves, hoping that the crushing depths would let me join my family in death.