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Chapter 20: Uzima's Conscience
I remember Tengen walking out of the village. He said he was going to bathe and train in solitude, but the entire day had past, and I had not seen him. I told the others to remain in the village and I would go alone to find him. Minutes turned to hours and the sun set in the sky. The sky was dark and the stars were not yet visible. I walked, alone in the woods. But I could not find him. However, as if answering some unspoken prayer, I felt a chakra nearby. "It can only be Tengen," I thought to myself as I ran in that direction.
I weaved my way through the trees, but as I moved, the chakra I sensed grew more potent with every step. The chakra was enormous, and yet, I felt compelled to follow whatever it was. With every step the chakra grew more and more out of proportion, and as the stars came into view, I felt an uneasiness in the air. As I stepped past the trees, I saw I was out of the forest and was in view of a massive ravine. However, it was not the ravine that concerned me. It was the massive, tail that laid over it's edge. I looked down, and sure enough, from the bottom came a glare from that one red eye.
I noticed that the sealing shell I put on it still held, and the beast remained contained by it's power. It raised it's hand up and took a hold of the edge of the cliff where I stood. I jumped back and prepared for it's attack. But what came next surprised me. The beast did not move to attack, but instead merely looked over the edge with that one massive eye. I moved to use Mokudo, but just as I brought my hands together, the beast did the unexpected. It flinched in fear and closed it's eye.
I was taken back by the strange action of the beast. I thought it was an unholy bringer of dominion and an eternal force of nature, and yet it cowered at the sight of me. I looked at it and at the wooden seal I had created to surround it's entire body.
"Do you fear my powers?" I asked it. I almost expected it to answer. It looked at me timidly. I paused for a moment.
"I could kill you in an instant. I could end you and you would never be a threat again. In your sealed and timid state, it would be easy. You would never be a threat again. So many lives I could spare. But...why?...why do I not want to do it. With that single technique. I could end you. But I don't have it in me. I know you are evil and I know you are a monster. But I am not god. What right do I have to take the life of another? Even one as you. All things have a right to live," I said, as if the monster understood.
The creature reacted to my softer tone of voice and looked at me cautiously. It squinted its eye and whimpered. I noticed upon closer inspection that a huge red cut went across the eye. I looked at it unsure, then realized it was a result of my attack on it. I looked down.
"I will never know if this works if I don't try it," I said as I concentrated chakra in my palms. I brought my hands closer to the beast until I was close enough to the wound to affect it. My hands began to glow green with chakra as the energy of life entered it and began to heal the wound. The beast remained still and unsure as I moved along the wound and healed it. I finished my work and stepped backwards. The beast opened and closed it's eye, as if inspecting it. It looked at me one last time before it crawled out of the ravine and ran off once again. I watched it leave. I sighed, and questioned my choice, before making my way back to the camp.
Chapter 20: Uzima's Conscience
I remember Tengen walking out of the village. He said he was going to bathe and train in solitude, but the entire day had past, and I had not seen him. I told the others to remain in the village and I would go alone to find him. Minutes turned to hours and the sun set in the sky. The sky was dark and the stars were not yet visible. I walked, alone in the woods. But I could not find him. However, as if answering some unspoken prayer, I felt a chakra nearby. "It can only be Tengen," I thought to myself as I ran in that direction.
I weaved my way through the trees, but as I moved, the chakra I sensed grew more potent with every step. The chakra was enormous, and yet, I felt compelled to follow whatever it was. With every step the chakra grew more and more out of proportion, and as the stars came into view, I felt an uneasiness in the air. As I stepped past the trees, I saw I was out of the forest and was in view of a massive ravine. However, it was not the ravine that concerned me. It was the massive, tail that laid over it's edge. I looked down, and sure enough, from the bottom came a glare from that one red eye.
I noticed that the sealing shell I put on it still held, and the beast remained contained by it's power. It raised it's hand up and took a hold of the edge of the cliff where I stood. I jumped back and prepared for it's attack. But what came next surprised me. The beast did not move to attack, but instead merely looked over the edge with that one massive eye. I moved to use Mokudo, but just as I brought my hands together, the beast did the unexpected. It flinched in fear and closed it's eye.
I was taken back by the strange action of the beast. I thought it was an unholy bringer of dominion and an eternal force of nature, and yet it cowered at the sight of me. I looked at it and at the wooden seal I had created to surround it's entire body.
"Do you fear my powers?" I asked it. I almost expected it to answer. It looked at me timidly. I paused for a moment.
"I could kill you in an instant. I could end you and you would never be a threat again. In your sealed and timid state, it would be easy. You would never be a threat again. So many lives I could spare. But...why?...why do I not want to do it. With that single technique. I could end you. But I don't have it in me. I know you are evil and I know you are a monster. But I am not god. What right do I have to take the life of another? Even one as you. All things have a right to live," I said, as if the monster understood.
The creature reacted to my softer tone of voice and looked at me cautiously. It squinted its eye and whimpered. I noticed upon closer inspection that a huge red cut went across the eye. I looked at it unsure, then realized it was a result of my attack on it. I looked down.
"I will never know if this works if I don't try it," I said as I concentrated chakra in my palms. I brought my hands closer to the beast until I was close enough to the wound to affect it. My hands began to glow green with chakra as the energy of life entered it and began to heal the wound. The beast remained still and unsure as I moved along the wound and healed it. I finished my work and stepped backwards. The beast opened and closed it's eye, as if inspecting it. It looked at me one last time before it crawled out of the ravine and ran off once again. I watched it leave. I sighed, and questioned my choice, before making my way back to the camp.
