Leaves rustled in the dead of night as a man with six arms burst through the foliage. Ashborn crashed to his knees beside a towering oak, chest heaving, sweat streaming down his face.
"Damn it all," he hissed, one hand pressed against a bleeding wound on his side. "Every hero in the city's after me. Who knew killing that woman would have so many consequences?"
His eyes darted between shadows, ears straining for any sound of pursuit. Satisfied he was alone, Ashborn formed a complex hand sign with two of his arms while the others remained tense, ready for combat.
The air split open. A blinding flash consumed him, the forest vanishing as his molecules scattered and reformed elsewhere.
When his vision cleared, Ashborn stood before a massive feudal fortress carved into a volcanic mountainside. 'Ill never get used to that teleportation seal that the old wizard guy made.'
Lava cascaded down ancient stone channels, illuminating the night with hellish red light. Ash fell like black snow as geysers of flame erupted periodically from fissures in the earth.
Home.
Silent sentinels lined his path – warriors in bloodred armor with ornate demonic helmets concealing their faces. They bowed in unison as he passed, but Ashborn felt their judgment behind those empty eye slits. News of his failure had preceded him.
The great hall stretched before him, its ceiling lost in shadow. At its far end loomed a massive throne hewn from obsidian and draped with trophies – fragments of hero armor, weapons, and more disturbing relics.
Ashborn dropped to one knee, head bowed.
"You failed."
A voice filled the chamber like rolling thunder. Ashborn's skin prickled with fear as sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Father, the Black Guardian appeared! I couldn't possibly–"
"SILENCE, YOU WORTHLESS WRETCH!"
The boom echoed off stone walls. Ashborn pressed his forehead to the floor, trembling.
"One simple task," his father continued, voice dropping to a dangerous rumble.
"Kidnap the Hero Association's chief engineer and have her build me an enhancement suit. Instead, you not only killed her, but you made it embarrassingly obvious it was you."
Ashborn swallowed hard, his throat dry as sand. "The woman was... resilient. No torture broke her. I..." he hesitated, "I let my anger take control."
Pressing his forehead harder against the cold stone, Ashborn shouted, "Please grant me another chance! I'll find you someone even better to build the enhancement suit. And I swear on my life – I'll bring you the Black Guardian's head!"
Silence stretched like a drawn blade. Slowly, Ashborn raised his eyes.
There he stood, Ryujin Ashura, the Crimson Overlord, in all his terrifying glory.
Four powerful arms extended from his massive frame, each encased in blood-red armor that appeared to weigh tons.
The metal was ancient, carved with symbols that hurt the eyes if studied too closely. In his right hands, he clutched a naginata whose blade gleamed with an unnatural hunger.
His face was a nightmare – part man, part oni – with tusks protruding from a mouth that rarely smiled.
Ryujin snarled as he rose from his throne, the metal of his armor grinding like tectonic plates. "Very well. But remember this – return empty-handed again, and you'll lose two of your six arms."
His eyes narrowed to burning slits. "The public still believes you're merely a freelance villain. Use that misconception to your advantage."
***
"The world as we know it is about to change, ladies and gentlemen."
The expo hall hummed with excitement. Rows of plush red seats faced a stage where a young woman with vibrant purple hair commanded attention. Behind her, massive screens displayed schematics of what appeared to be revolutionary technology.
"As you all know, my father and I have been developing something that will forever transform hero work as we understand it."
The crowd leaned forward in anticipation. Camera flashes illuminated the hall like lightning. In the third row, Kairo slouched in his seat, the fresh burn scar on his face partially hidden by his hair.
It was her – the same purple-haired girl who'd stood by while her boyfriend had beaten him into the mud.
"The Flux Enhancement Suit will enable even heroes with mediocre abilities to face A-Class threats as equals," she announced, voice brimming with pride. "A new era is dawning!"
Kairo's expression darkened at "mediocre abilities." His hand unconsciously clenched the armrest.
Beside him, John Halden shifted uncomfortably, clearly out of place among hero enthusiasts and tech journalists. He glanced at his son's scowl.
"You could at least pretend to be interested," he muttered. "I got these tickets because I thought you loved this hero stuff."
Kairo's eyes darted away, a droplet of sweat rolling down his temple. "I am interested, Dad. I just... don't like her."
John studied his son's face, recognition slowly dawning. "If you didn't want to be here, you should've said so." He lowered his voice. "What's the story with you and this purple brat, anyway?"
A small, bitter laugh escaped Kairo. "It's nothing. Let's just go home."
With a grunt, John stood and headed toward the exit, Kairo following close behind. At the door, something made Kairo pause and look back.
"My father, Dr. Remi Nakamura, has dedicated his life to this technology," the girl was saying as a distinguished man with steel-gray hair joined her onstage, waving to enthusiastic applause.
Dr. Nakamura adjusted his glasses before speaking. "The murder of our previous chief engineer by the villain Ashborn was a terrible tragedy." His voice hardened. "But I promise you this – with our technology, we will bring him to justice."
Kairo nodded slightly before slipping out the door, thinking, 'At least her father seems decent.'
***
School the next day was almost normal. There were the usual whispers about the burn scar marking the right side of his face, but Kairo had started to tune them out.
Then she appeared, blocking his path to class.
"And here I was thinking you couldn't possibly get any uglier!" Shuri Nakamura's voice carried through the hallway, drawing attention from passing students.
'The daughter of the world's greatest scientific mind, and she acts like this,' Kairo thought, keeping his face blank.
Without a word, he walked past her, deliberately brushing her shoulder as he passed.
Shuri scoffed, watching him go with a sad look on her face, before rejoining her friends clustered by the lockers.
"How'd your little chat go?" asked a girl with bright orange hair, her tone dripping with mockery.
"Can it, Sam," Shuri snapped. "That idiot needs to learn his place. Especially after being attacked by a vil-
Shuri got cut off as the bell rang, sending students scurrying to their classrooms.
***
Kairo slid into his seat just as the teacher began taking attendance.
He tried focusing on the lesson but found his mind drifting, retracing the strange sensation he'd felt in the hospital. Floating. Untethered.
Could he still...?
"Mr. Halden!"
Kairo snapped back to reality. The math teacher, Mr. Voss, glared at him through thick glasses.
"Since you clearly find my lecture on derivatives so engaging that you've mentally transcended this classroom, perhaps you'd like to solve the problem on the board?"
Snickers rippled through the room. Kairo swallowed hard, standing slowly. As he approached the whiteboard, a voice whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
"Try not to burn down the classroom, scarface."
Something inside Kairo shifted—a fluttering sensation beneath his skin, like electricity searching for ground. His fingers tingled. The marker trembled slightly as he raised it to the board.
'Focus,' he told himself.
But as he finished the equation, he noticed, his feet weren't quite touching the floor. Just millimeters off, but enough that he felt the difference.
Panic surged through him. He planted his heels down hard and returned to his seat, heart thundering in his chest. Luckily no one seemed to notice.
After class, Kairo hurried to the bathroom, locking himself in a stall. He closed his eyes, trying to recapture that weightless feeling. Nothing happened.
"Come on," he whispered, "I know that wasn't a one time thing."
He concentrated harder, picturing himself rising. The tight knot of frustration in his chest began to unwind, replaced by something warm and electric. And then—
His knees bumped against the stall door. Kairo's eyes flew open. He was hovering nearly two feet off the ground, suspended as if underwater but not just him, his backpack was floating as well.
'This...is...so...cool!'
But before he could continue his phone vibrated, startling him and sending both him and his backpack onto the ground.
Slowly rising to his feet with his head in his hand, Kairo checked his phone to see a text from his dad: "Meeting ran late. Can you walk home?"
Perfect. Kairo had been itching for some more privacy to experiment. He'd take the long route through the park and see what else he could do.
As school ended and he exited the school building, Kairo didn't know that this decision would lead to him witnessing something incredibly peculiar.
***
Info cards
Ryujin Ashura- The Crimson Overlord: 7 feet and 6 inches tall, weighs 340 pounds and he's 58 years old.
Flux Anomaly – Stockpiling: Ryujin Ashuras Flux anomaly "Stockpiling" works by allowing Ryujin to gain greater and greater strength through "eruptions" in his body. To explain at base Ryujin on the first eruption and the next eruption can be activated once 5 minutes has been spent in the previous one.
Ryujin Ashura technically has access to infinite power but the downsides are that they come in sequences (eruptions) and the time limit that he's has to spend in said erupted state.
The eruptions also don't affect his speed, only his strength, durability and endurance. This means that he can be out sped although his natural reaction speed can usually make up for that
Although with the enhancement suit, Ashura can skip the sequences and proceed to next stage at the expense of his mental fortitude. Although he'll still need to go through the eruptions in order.
Threat Level: Unknown
Affiliation: Leader/Founder of the Crimson Dynasty
Time spent with Affiliation: Ryujin became a villain at the age of 17 when he awakened his Flux anomaly.
He was already a member of a big crime family before his awakening, but after awakening, Ashura slaughtered most members of the original family and turned the rest into members of the newly made Crimson Dynasty.
He had a good run for about 24 years before eventually losing to a certain hero and being forced to go into hiding where he stayed until 9 months ago where he had his son Ashborn go into the public eye and further Ashura to his ultimate goal "World domination."
Favorite Food: Jelly donuts