These Ephemeral Eternities

Chapter One: Prologue

Shu is searching for something; frantically, tirelessly.

But he just can't find what he needs. His soul is still a broken part of a separate whole, the splintered half of an unconnected balance. His mind is confused and cluttered, a chaotic disarray of incandescent lightning without the soft pitter patter of rain, a storm without the calm, a red, hot current of magma distraught and out of control.

Then suddenly, Valt is here, smiling at him, and a gentle rain starts to drizzle from above and calms the storm within, before the scent of petrichor fills his nose and the rain-wet earth embraces his body to put the lava back to sleep. A once broken electric current connects, and all is fine.

-

Shu wakes up, and the sun begins to crawl out from the valleys.

-

The sky is blue and bright today.

It is a warm, sunny morning, but there is no one in sight. It is as if Shu is the only one in this little village. The only creatures accompanying him are the cicadas, chirping clearly like the clinking of shrine bells and coins being thrown into porcelain ponds. There are some occasional ribbits from the side of the dirty yellow pavement, not coming from the nearly empty, old houses, but from the densely scattered patches of grass that leads deep into places his grandmother once told him that gods reside.

Kami are everywhere, she had said. But be respectful of the grass and the trees, for every piece of nature is a temple of a god.

His grandmother was right; this place indeed is touched by the gods. It is a quiet town with only one narrow little dirt trail that serves as the main road, with all sorts of tiny wildflowers blooming on each side. And the butterflies- beautiful, sacred things, as his grandmother would say- dance around the petite plantations and waltz with the gentle cicadas in their quiet little haven.

The bright voice of a shop owner who sells candy rings out from a stall next to the trail of old houses as he sings a folk song about sweet mochi and sweet spring, and Shu spots two young children rush towards the store from nowhere with pouches of yen in their tiny hands. The birds sing with the old man, tweeting in a warm, familiar language. How curious it is, that when you had been too far away from home, even unintelligible coos can remind you of your mother tongue.

It's been so long since he's been home.

In retrospect, home isn't as serene as this. Home is a never ending hot-blooded battle between people with dreams as big as himself. Home is the screams of hundreds of supporters and fans, so loud that he can barely hear his own shout before he launches his bey. Home is a young, hungry race for glory- a never ending chase for strength.

But somehow, in this quiet village, he feels like he belongs.

The feeling of déjà vu lingers like the ghost of his dream before dawn broke and washed the memory of it away like faded ink. There is something just so familiar about this place, even though Shu doesn't recall when the last time he'd even been to such an ethereal place. But every rock on the pavement, every flower in the cracks of the ground, every corner of the mountains above- they all seem like they had once appeared in a pleasant, forgotten dream.

Amidst the blissful silence, the sound of footsteps is particularly noticeable. The butterflies part and the frogs hop back into the bushes to make way for the person approaching Shu. He wears a giant beam on his face, and Shu can't help but mirror his smile. The sun shines brighter, lighting up every corner of the person's delighted face.

"Shu!" Valt exclaims excitedly before rushing towards the other teenager to tackle him in a hug. Shu let out a choked laugh at the attack, before bursting out into giggles at his best friend's cheerful antics. He hasn't changed, not one bit.