Post by Havoc on Sept 6, 2021 13:41:17 GMT -5
A hooded figure lays their hand on the shrine in front of them, made to honor the Shoguns of the past. A Shrine Maiden steps into the frame, wearing the accustomed Kimono, as she greets the hooded visitor.
“Are you here to pay your respect to Shogun Ashikaga’s shrine? He was a warrior like no other. It’s a shame that we do not see the warrior’s mentality be instilled into the minds of our youth. While the Shogunate had its problems, there is a lot to be learned from their ideals and morals. I apologize if this comes off rude-- But what brings you here, visitor? Today’s generation isn’t interested in relics of the bygone era.”
The Shrine Maiden inquired as the hooded figure unveiled themselves to the horror of the Maiden. She stumbled backward, falling to the ground as she laid her eyes on the Nightmare King.
“Why are YOU here?”
She screamed as Havoc responded to her with a devious smirk on his face.
“It seems like my reputation precedes me. You need not fret for I am not here to cause any trouble. I was told to pay the shrine a visit by a certain man you might know. Arata Asakura. Or perhaps it was Raijin’s idea, to begin with. I was surprised when Arata reached out to me, even though we had never seen eye-to-eye on any matter. Seeing that the Land of the Rising Sun has been the background to many shows for Project Honor, it made sense to align with Raijin’s favorite toy. So-- Why am I here? I have been asked to meet somebody here and judging by your reaction, it isn’t you.”
The Shrine Maiden pulled herself together, getting back to her feet and adjusting her dress before looking at the visitor in disdain. Reluctant to initiate any further conversation, she points at the Shrine’s entrance leading the way as Havoc follows suit.
The Shrine is rather gloomy on the inside with a giant Bodhisattva statue situated in the middle of the room. The lighting is dull and the walls have been damaged over the years, showing signs of leakage.
A lady steps out of the shadows, with bright pink hair and matching priestess attire. She dismisses the Maiden with a hand gesture before walking up to the Nightmare King.
“I know that Raijin had a plan of conquering the world. But I didn’t think he’d enlist your help, Havoc.”
Guuji Yae, also known as the Chief Priestess of the Grand Ashikaga Shrine, was a known devotee of Raijin, the Godly entity that had taken interest in Arata Asakura. Havoc and Raijin had a shared history that dates back to thousands of years. Regardless of their history, Arata and Havoc themselves haven’t been the best of buddies over the past couple of years.
“Well, he can conquer the world in his own free time. I am not here for that. Arata laid down a proposition to team up at the upcoming Collision Course Tag Team tournament held by Project Honor. I was hesitant at first but I was told to come here in hope that it would change my mind. Needless to say, I am intrigued.”
Guuji Yae smiles as she grabs Havoc by his hand and walks him along the hallway filled with murals of the Ashikaga Shogun.
“Ashikaga was the biggest devotee of Raijin and his ways. He dedicated his entire life to follow the path set by Raijin before him. The greatest Shogun in Japanese history-- The bravest of warriors, was nothing but a mere pawn in Raijin’s game. But there was one man that stood up against Raijin. The mortal body that you possess may be hindering your memory but that man was none other than Havoc. You dared to raise your voice against the injustice carried out by the Gods and that cost you dearly. You were banished from the realm of the Gods and cursed to wander aimlessly amidst the Earth with no purpose of your own. But your will made you find your purpose. You became the man that you are today through your hard work and sheer undying will. But you used to be a lot stronger! When you were banished from the realm of the Gods, your power was stolen away from you leaving you with a ghost of a shell. While you have managed to free a fraction of your power, there is a lot yet to be desired. Raijin has found a way to infiltrate today’s society through another warrior. Another vessel. Arata Asakura. If you were to align yourself with Raijin, he could help you gain back the rest of your power that made you a threat to the Gods. Look at these murals, Havoc. They tell a story. YOUR story.”
Havoc is enamored by the bright colors that bring his story to life. From his journey as a God amongst men to a lost soul cursed to haunt the world for the rest of eternity. He runs his fingers through the paintings, seeing flashes of light trigger repressed memories back to him. There was some truth to what was being told.
“You seek destruction for the centuries of pain that you had to endure, don’t you? This is your opportunity to free yourself of that burden. Raijin doesn’t want you to change who you are. He recognizes that you have grown far beyond God’s expectations. He just wants to enlist your help for taking over. In return, he promises to return a fraction of your sealed power back to you. A fraction, right as of this moment. And the rest will follow suit when you and Arata prevail at Collision Course.”
Havoc shook his head in disbelief.
“Let’s say for a second that there is truth to what you’re saying. How do I know that I won’t be used and thrown away as I have been before? And what does Raijin want to accomplish with Arata anyway? Arata seems to have his own goals-- Wanting to kill all gaijins or whatever. It doesn’t align with what I want to do. I have moved past those years that you speak of. I only deal with the present and right now, the only goal that I have in mind is to bring true equality to this world. Not the kind of bullshit or corporate jargon used as a social statement these days. I don’t think Raijin can help me with that. So, I will bid you adieu.”
Havoc begins to walk away but is interrupted by Guuji Yae.
“You don’t need Raijin’s help, to begin with, do you? But you sure can help yourself if you’re better equipped for the task at hand. If you do not believe me, take this pill. If words can sway you, then actions will.”
Havoc is hesitant to take the pill in Guuji’s hand but the idea of having more power does play in his mind. After consideration, he grabs the pill and swallows it whole as Guuji is heard reciting a prayer. She places her hand on Havoc’s head with her eyes closed. Havoc clenches his fist and tries to make sense of what just happened as suddenly his eyes begin to glow crimson red. Havoc falls down to his knees, letting out a demonic scream as his entire body begins to convulse. But his screams turn into laughter as he slams his fist onto the marble floor of the shrine, cracking it in the process.
“That bastard! Oh he’s good, isn’t he? I feel INCREDIBLE! I don’t remember the last time I have felt this good. I can’t wait for all of this to be taken away from me again.”
Guuji scoffs at the remark.
“That is just a TASTE of your true potential, Havoc. You are inherently stronger when you are on the same side as Raijin. Now, all you have to do is help Arata Asakura in becoming champion in Project Honor. I know that you have a match of your own to worry about at Night of Honor. But Arata wasn’t afforded that same opportunity that he deserves! So, he has no choice but to ask his biggest rival to put their differences aside for one night only. Arata Asakura and Havoc together will be an unstoppable force! Arata cannot do this without you. Join him and make history. Help Raijin vision come one step closer to reality. Arata Asakura HAS to be champion. Of course, you will reap the benefits of this partnership. A chance of walking out of Night of Honor with TWO championship belts. A chance at gaining back your FULL power. A chance of immortalizing yourself in the annals of wrestling history JUST as you imagined it. You cannot change the world by being just another spoke on the wheel. You have to be the one steering the engine. And for that, you need GOLD to be wrapped around your waist. You won’t push out these corporate suits by being at the bottom of the totem pole. Money drives this world and if you’ve got something that the company values in your possession-- Then they’ll be forced to listen to you. The Noble Championship won’t be the only piece of gold that you conquer, Nightmare King. Stand alongside Arata Asakura.”
Havoc mulls it over as Guuji awaits in anticipation. Moments pass before Havoc pulls his hair back and looks Yae in her eyes.
“Fine. I will team with Arata. I will get him the Project Honor Tag Team Championships. But Raijin better hold his end of the deal. Or else--”
Before Havoc could finish, Guuji raised her hand.
“You need not worry about that. Concentrate on your opponents. Evaluate their every move. Guarantee your success. I know neither you nor Raijin deal well with failure.”
Guuji sarcastically remarked that irked Havoc.
“Failure isn’t an option here. The combined might of myself and Arata is more than enough to topple any force of wrestling. I would have taken part in this tournament WITHOUT a partner and still found success but the Project Honor management wouldn’t let me do that. I know what the people are going to say already. They will bring up the fact that Arata and I are sworn enemies. We have been through a war on different sides before. There is no reason for us to trust each other. And while there might be some truth to it, they don’t realize the individual capabilities that we possess far outweigh anything these teams have to offer us. I don’t have to like Arata -- But I do like me some gold. And while the Noble Championship is almost a guaranteed lock for me at Night of Honor, a chance of having more than one piece of gold is enticing. Especially seeing how Project Honor operates. The Ascension champion Slade Castle has an opportunity to win Noble contendership. Prime Champion Jason Long is contending for the Legacy Championship. They seem to LOVE giving people a chance to win more than one piece of gold. Why should I be denied now? I am well aware that there are other people in this match that share that opportunity. One of them being my opponent for Night of Honor himself. But I do not worry about that and neither should you. Or Raijin for that matter. I will hold my end of the bargain and give it my all to get the tag team championships. We need not be brothers or childhood friends to succeed here. Our individual talent combined is a NIGHTMARE for anybody to deal with. As long as we work towards a single goal, that being the championships, there is NOBODY that can stop us.”
Guuji nodded in agreement.
“I have seen the lineup of challengers that will be involved in this tournament. They simply do not have what it takes to pose a threat to us. Individually OR on the same page. They can channel their inner heroes and try to bring us down, or break us apart but there is no bond to broken. Just a deal that is being upheld by two parties. If Raijin or Arata does anything to break their end of the deal, I will walk away from the match without blinking an eye. I do not share any concern for Arata’s well-being. As long as he concentrates on being the best that he can be-- Who in their right mind could even challenge us? It’s nothing short of stepping up to GOD himself and hoping for a miracle. What is a miracle to a GOD? They simply do not have the tools, despite their YEARS of working together or being bound by blood. We will crush them like the pissants they are and that is to be expected. If anybody now thinks that Arata and I are not winning this whole tournament, they are either delusional or simply blind to the truth. I mean… Just look at the competitors. I am sure Arata chose to compete in the first place seeing the joke of a competition that wishes to contend against us.”
“I am glad you mentioned that. I’ve got their faces plastered on the walls. These are stories waiting to be told when Arata and Havoc claim the right to be called the Project Honor Tag Team Champions.”
The first name etched onto the wall belongs to the Phantom Troupe.
“The Phantom Troupe. Oh, where have I heard that name before. Ah yes! A group of mindless buffoons who have failed to accomplish a single goal they set out to achieve. Does PWN really think they can contest with the likes of Project Honor or OWA? Their best had already fallen to the likes of myself and Stephanie Matsuda. And who do they send? Kyle Valentine and DJ Hunter? Who the fuck are they? I myself have stumbled down to the lands of PWN and never realized that these two people existed. And they carry the name of The Phantom Troupe? What’s so phantasmagoric about two rookies with zero talent? They’ve got a chip on their shoulders and a tournament such as this does seem like a good idea on paper. But now that Arata and I have been enlisted for the Collision Course, I believe teams such as these should have an option of stepping down. It would be a shame if two young careers end before they could ever start. I am out for blood and I am sure Arata can agree. I do not mind gutting grizzled veterans of the business because they have nothing else to offer at this stage of their lives. But two young talent such as The Phantom Troupe? It’s a shame that it must come down to this. I hope that they get lucky and get eliminated early from the tournament without ever coming face to face with us. Because we’re going to rip them into pieces. I do not want to eat a rookie for dinner but I sure will devour their souls to feed my appetite if it comes down to it. The Phantom Troupe should back out for their own sake. Or die.”
Guuji lets out a chuckle at the final comment before running her fingers through the images of Brothers of Balance.
“Wow! The Masked German Monster-- sounds ferocious! After tasting each other’s cum, the two Raab’s in the world of wrestling realized that they were built from the same cloth. Which one do you think was sent for adoption? My vote is on the German Monster guy. That nickname already speaks volumes about his hygiene. The last good thing that came out of Germany was Hitler’s ashes. So, I am not particularly looking forward to sharing the ring with the Raabscals. Extreme Hardcore Wrestling Federation sounds intimidating till you realize they’ve all hit each other far too many times in the head and now share a single brain cell amongst the entire company. It seems like Collision Course was their Make A Wish as they find themselves clearly outmatched. While the whole world is happy that these two morons have reunited and accepted each other as brothers-- Who I am kidding? Nobody fucking cares and nobody will miss them if they end up in the cemetery. I feel like we’d be doing the world a favor by putting them six feet under. Probably increase the average IQ of the locker room by 60 after these two morons bite the dust. The Raab brother may have taken years to realize they’re twins-- But they have about three days to realize how FUCKED they are if they end up facing ANYBODY with a fucking functioning brain in this tournament. Let’s just move on before I get dumber by simply talking about them.”
Guuji points at JÖRMUNGANDR.
“Oh right! That team with a very difficult name to pronounce. Must be of Nordic origins… What do you mean they’re not?! Did they just google a difficult name to pronounce to throw their opponents off? That’s genius! But the name aside, I do find one of these two interesting. Sorry Swindle. Man, they really have a way with names. Regardless of that, I am aware of Crowley’s past. He is like a blank canvas that I could shape into something beautiful one day. I sense the pain in his eyes but he’s incapable of expressing that pain because that’s how he was told to be. He was told to repress it all in and for that, he is now treated like a sociopath. It’s not his fault he lacks emotions. Society beat him down to that point and my heart pours out for him. He shouldn’t be teaming up with a no-good, directionless nobody like Shelldrake. He’s got Swindle in his name-- He is the last person anybody should be trusting. Crowley has the potential to grow as a human being. He has the potential to channel his hatred towards a good cause and maybe I will whisper into his ears and talk some sense into him. And if that doesn’t work, maybe a boot shoved down his throat might change his mind. Either way-- I am intrigued to a certain degree.”
Next on the list is Rulers of the Underground
“Angelo is a clown. Give me a fucking break. And Thorberg is a giant piece of trash that is taking up space on Fallout. It’s overdue already so someone needs to take him to the curb-- AND STOMP HIS FUCKING HEAD IN! I volunteer for the task. Angelo should run the fuck away before he suffers the same fate as his buddy. The only thing underground about the team is that they’re like the pieces of shit floating in a sewer. They’re stinking the joint up and I do not see them succeeding. I don’t want to waste my time on them any longer. As a matter of fact, let’s group up Antithesis and Steel and Venom while we’re at it. I would talk more about them but that would simply be a waste of time. Antithesis looks like a group of people that watched Twilight far too much. While Steel and Venom are the antitheses of what their name stands for. See what I did there? They suck and their skulls will easily be mushed under my feet is what I mean.”
Guuji shrugs as she moves on towards the final three names on the list. The Heritage, The Massacre, and Fire & Ice.
“There are no teams that could even contest with us but if I was held at gunpoint and asked to pick three-- I’d probably go with the last three remaining names. The Heritage comes first with a familiar face in Rebecca Brookes and The Messiah, Ryan Young. Rebecca has seen firsthand what I am capable of. In fact, she was once an honorary member of the Ashes when she was sucking up to Jason. It seems like she has moved on to bigger and better things! Like losing to Hana in the Athena’s Cup. A man voted most likely to succeed a few years ago. Well, success hasn’t come knocking for Ryan, has it? It’s a shame really because, with a nickname like The Messiah, my interest peaked until I realize it’s another cookie-cutter wrestler that he thinks that he’s God’s gift to the business. I know that Rebecca can fight-- But as Hana proved, it’s just not enough against someone like me. Rebecca has a long way to go. But she made a step in the right direction by dumping Jason Long. Moving on to The Massacre. I really hope our paths cross. I do not find any solace in hurting innocent people but seeing that Lazarus and Charon might share my interest in brutalizing their opponents, I think we could get along. I’d love to get my face carved before Halloween as long as I can play jump rope with their insides. If nothing else, I know my inner sadomasochist will be satisfied after an encounter with these two. While they seem to be working well as a tandem, only time will tell if it’s enough to slow down the combined might of two monsters. While their style is brutal and riveting, there’s only so much a human body can take. Raijin and I are not held back by these mortal tendencies. So, I welcome a Massacre but there’s only ONE team that can walk away from it with their bodies and souls intact. And it’s not Lazarus and Charon.”
Guuji smiled as Havoc stumbled upon the final name on the list.
“Fire N Ice. Classic name, must I say. A true testament to the genius of the two men involved. After all, what is more creative than being a mirror image of a guy you saw on TV and base your whole personality on him. Despite all that, Julius does have the talent in the ring and I’d be stupid to deny that. He’s bested me through nefarious means before but there is no way that he can sneak another victory here. Even if he tries to fool the system, I’ve got Arata Asakura waiting to stop it from happening. So, he cannot pull an upset victory out of this one. I am not alone this time. As for Pyro? I have so much to say about him but I am going to save my energy for my match against him at Night of Honor. He and I have a unique opportunity where one of us could potentially be double champions at the end of NoH. While he finds himself teaming with a Sam Jackson tribute act, I have a literal GOD at my side. The scales are not balanced to begin with, and it isn’t fair for ANY team involved. But I have a personal vendetta against Fire N’ Ice that wants me to make them suffer. It would be a shame if Pyro or Julius couldn’t even MAKE it to Night of Honor, wouldn’t it? Even if they do, I know for a FACT that Pyro isn’t making it out of NoH with his limbs intact. I am tearing him piece by piece and serving him up with his own kink. His ashes would have to be scooped up after my hand is raised as the NEW Noble AND Tag Team Champion. Does that suffice?”
Guuji lets out a chuckle, nodding in agreement.
“If we are done here, I will be taking my leave.”
Right as Havoc was about to walk away, Guuji grabs him by his arm.
“We have put our trust in you, warrior. The Shinigami no Tensei has taken their position as the Harbinger of Death. Win at any cost.”
Havoc sneered at Guuji before brushing past her as the scene fades to black.
