(Awakening Third Eye, Sokushinbutsu training)

Ayato had travelled far to reach one of this world's gravest points, the road was long and full of dangers, the blazing heat at one point Ayato thought to be melting her down into little but a puddle. Having finally arrived and looking down upon the blazing heath which was once the coal mines of Sunagakure. Ayato could feel the suffering of those who had died echoing across the plains in this area, oxygen reaching the flames and eternally stoking them to burn harder and longer, within them she could still hear the screams of the lost and those whom the fires had consumed. Gaki were known to prey in these wastelands, feeding upon the souls of those whom had lost their way, the Gaki were the followers of no path, the pathless, who sought to free themselves from mortal bodies only in a desperate search for power only of the self. The result was an ever burning scar upon the world, ashes and soot rose high into the sky before falling and mingling with the discoloured sand. The grey sand. Carbon dioxide had risen high into the clouds here for the longest while, any rain that fell here would be acidic, and had long washed away the lime and silt compounds from the sands beneath her, bleaching it, and staining it.

Ayato's mind, and her heart listened to the roaring fire, her mind feeling dreary, as she'd travelled so far to see what the people of Sunagakure called the gates of hell and it seemed the rumours were well founded. The earth was broken here, and the kharmic wheel torn and slowly repairing itself, a process which could take but a few months, or up to hundreds of years. Closing her eyes she found herself soon sitting on the blighted ground, the warmth within the sand form the heat carried for miles and was warm to the touch. Clapping her hands together Ayato bowed her head in prayer, the mantras slowly began to escape from her lips in an attempt to clean the kharmic imbalance here. Such was not an easy task, though it was her duty, honour, and right to at least try and find absolution for these poor unfortunate souls, and attempt to pass them on in the wheel of reincarnation. Though such a task was not often seen as a righteous quest for the Amida clan, as the wheel is often seen as an undesirable outcome, though being trapped in Yoma, or Gakido, were by far worse, so to eliminate the suffering, or even alleviate or lessen it for a time needed to be done.

This junction, as far as Ayato was told was made by an Asura, an Asura named Trilby. A demonic deity sealed within human flesh, guaranteed power but at the sake of never being able to find true harmony and absolution in all things. Asura bore a cursed, selfish fate which has also only furthered the Amida's opinion of the naturally wrathful Uchiha, also creatures of destruction, and beings which oppose the heavens with their ties to destructive divinity. Their black flames able to sweep the landscape and empty it of life revered as unholy, their crimson eyes heralding the tomoe; broken yang symbols only furthering the depiction of their kharmic imbalance as a corrupting force, which continues to turn the gears which wind the wheel of reincarnation further. Many Amida believed the Uchiha are tools of nothing but death, but nothing is so absolute in this world... Ayato only wished she could understand the deep, inner workings of the universe, and why they created such pain and suffering to the life that walked its surface.

Ayato's lavender eyes however, were considered a symbol of deep tranquillity amongst the Amida, as well as the pure white of the hyuuga clan's Byakugan. They were called Tulku, and where the Uchiha were Asura, they were Daeva, equal and opposite forces eternally spiralling around each other...


The chant continued in its monotonous tone which seemed to grow and expand over the area, the flames seemed to waver for a second as a convenient, or perhaps suspiciously strong gust of wind blew at the flames. lessening them for but a moment, but due to the deep rift was far from physically blowing out the fire storm. But it was in that moment that a cry pierced the heavens. Ayato's eyes snapped open to the harrowing scream, looking around for the source of its direction, as the howl penetrated her ears, body and mind once again, an impossible cry... IT WAS COMING FROM THE FIRE! Ayato rose to her feet in utmost disbelief, as the cry fell on deaf ears for a third time. The cry became less of a scream and more of a deranged gurgling growl. From the flames Ayato could see a shadow moving, swaying, burning but not falling, little more than charred skin attached to a skeletal husk. Warped with malevolent chakra the creature swayed toward her, upon its back new bones and tendons seemed to be growing at the back of its shoulder blades, as if wings were attempting to grow. Upon the creature's brow was a long burned away headband, but the steel plate bearing the insignia of Sunagakure had melted itself to its skull. Stepping out onto the sand, it seemed to weigh more than it would seem, the pressure and the heat given off by the creature was enough to melt the sand.

Ayato drew her sword, there was only one word on her tongue muttered under her breath with rage. Gaki... It was at that moment Ayato already knew what she had to do, leaning forward and allowing her weight to fall, she bent her knees and angled her feet forward as the creature before her did the same, its fanged maw and the incredible sum of heat it gave off were but symptoms of its fearsome condition. But in the process the poor being had lost its mind, driven insane by the forces that bind it to this place. Ayato's blade held firmly in one of her hands, as she charged the creature at full natural speed. Waiting for the beast's inevitable lunge. Its claws lagging behind it as it ran trailing plumes of smoke, flame, and the scent of burning flesh and bone, one of its claws lashed out for the head of Ayato, with enough force to shatter her skull, and probably its own fingers with that strength.

Flourishing her blade she could not take the hit, she had no idea of the creature's bone density, so colliding with the strike head on could be dangerous, gripping her blade in two hands she ducked and stepped past the creature, raising her blade and striking down diagonally as she did so to attack the creature's upper arm, in an attempt to sever with the force of the blow. But to little avail, her sword sunk through the flesh, muscle tissue, tendons, and bit into the hard bone. But though it left a mark, it failed to sever with the strike. Recieving a blast of heat as the creature let out another howl. Spinning one hundred and eighty degrees, ripping the blade out from the wound and striking with its other hand in an attempt to catch Ayato's back, to little avail. The ninja was faster than the creature had at first anticipated, rolling through with the strike for distance after the attack to face off, inherently dodged its response.

The creature's arm looked a little weaker, but otherwise the beast was unhindered, molten oxygen burned within what little remained of its throat as without hesitation it leapt once more, high this time with the intent of no doubt pinning and eviscerating Ayato with fire and claws. Spinning to a side and swinging the blade high on an axis to build momentum, after 360 degrees the blade rose high into the gut of the creature, blood made fire weeping lightly from the wound as her blade and its force glided through it. Stepping back and keeping the creature in sword range it kicked off from the ground, striking for Ayato's vitals, and especially her eyes. Though with each incoming attack Ayato defended with strikes of her own, not blocking in the conventional sense, but striking at the creature's swings while moving back, her blade hewing everything but the beast's bone, only leaving deep notches with the force of their combined impact.

Ayato on the defensive, it was time to counter attack, though the beast had managed to land no strike the heat of its presence had taken more than its toll on Ayato. The fire pelting and hammering against her skin in such close proximity. The force of the repeated colliding strikes were like striking stone with an axe, jarring her hands even through their padding, but her resolve held firm. Chakra flowed through her blade as the beasts next strike attempted to bring all of its weight down in a clawing attempt for her face. The strength of her blade amplified, gritting her teeth as she felt the blade penetrate the beast's bone for the first time. Removing one of its arms at the elbow. Not seeing the other claw coming from the other direction for her side, too late having no choice she stepped in, taking the blow and exposing herself to the beast's flames. Hit, and knocked for over a meter she rolled across the bleached sand to come to her knees.

The monster howled in anger and rage at its lost arm. Attacking Ayato head on this time. Ayato could not move but reacting was a little bit different, as the monster drew close she could feel something boiling within herself, a heat, a light, a pressure and a feeling. Gripping her blade she gave into her gut instincts, telling her to open her arms and surrender to the beast before her. At first she denied it, but with faith, the same faith which coursed over her to scar her body, she dropped her blade, opening her arms wide to embrace the falling creature. In that moment, there was a sense of absolution, her eyes were closed, but her third eye opened with a roar of flame. Her chakra like light reflected through her body like a house of mirrors before exploding through the new source of vision on her forehead. Four orbs of flame appeared instantly around the beast, its trajectory with only moments to spare catching it with one of the large solid orbs.

Converging on their target the fire began to eat away at the beast and destroy its body. At that moment Ayato clicked, the fire which burned within the beast was its life source, the other fire was diluting it, stretching it too far. As she was thinking she could feel the eye on her forehead shifting, adjusting, like it was a muscle with moving parts, or a joint. The surge of chakra flowed through her once more as she picked up her sword with a three hundred and sixty degree spin, picked up her blade, and with her eye casting a ball of nothing but the epiotome of hot air before her, striking it the air was cast out in the slick stream of the blade, and the fire which roared over the surface of the thing caught inside of it increased in potency a significant sum.

The squeal from the beast was deafening, until it finally stopped, crumbling into nothing but ashe. Ayato opened her eyes, her normal eyes, looking down to the reflection of her blade as she realised the vertical slit on her forehead was opened. A beautiful, complex blue eye within it, the gift of the Amida clan had been bestowed on her. Looking around she was in a seated position, almost exactly where she had started, what little glass the beast had made was swept under the dunes to never be found as evidence to what happened. Nobody saw, but Ayato knew, this place, was a little safer, and she could feel the fires burning a little lower. She'd be back here one day, until then...

Turning on her heel, she headed back to the City.

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