The Generation Series: REBIRTH

After a night crossing the open sea, the gentle fingers of dawn painted the sky with hues of gold and pink. Sam watched as Sakura and her pack gradually stirred from their slumber, each emerging from within the ship to start the day early.

Sakura stood by herself, the comforting embrace of a steaming mug of tea in her hands. She approached Jack, who assembled a medicine dispenser and carefully deposited the morning's dosage into her waiting palm. After Sam installed a working fridge, Michael offered her fresh fruit from the ship's kitchen below deck.

Settling at the vessel's stern, the boys sat with Sakura on the cushioned seating area. On the other side, Sam joined them on her wooden stool. "Sakura, has anyone told you how The Generations came to be?" Sam asked.

Athen rubbed his face with the pals of his hands and whined, "I don't want to hear this story for the hundredth time."

"Sakura is the Alpha Leader, Athen. She needs to know this information." 

"Fine," Athen whined. 

Within the hush of the morning sea breeze, Sam unraveled the origins of the island's tricky history. Her voice told the tale of an aging scientist, Hiroshiro, who once roamed the cobbled streets of the Edo period in the year 1657 with his beautiful little girl, a daughter named Hoshiyo.

Years ago, Hiroshiro and his daughter Hoshiyo moved to Paradise, once known as Nishinoshima, seeking peace after the tragic loss of his wife to a deadly illness. Hoping to escape the judgment of others about his parenting, Hiroshiro settled in a quiet village in the northern part of the island, far from watchful eyes. Hoshiyo, a spirited girl with stubborn moral values, devoted herself to selflessness and spreading joy to those who shared her ideals. However, her boldness often clashed with societal expectations, embarrassing her father. To avoid the whispers of the village, Hiroshiro chose a secluded home at the base of the mountains.

One night, as Hoshiyo lay in bed, she awoke in a surreal dream. She was atop the mountain above their home, wearing a white yukata that shimmered under the moonlight. Fear gripped her as she wondered if this vision was punishment for her defiance against a Samurai earlier that day. Yet, in the dream's eerie stillness, a haunting melody reached her ears, accompanied by the soft chime of a distant bell.

Summoning her courage, Hoshiyo climbed to the top of the mountain, following the sound to a clearing at the cliff's edge. There, bathed in moonlight, stood a majestic dire wolf with glowing red eyes. Though terrified, Hoshiyo felt an unexplainable pull, as if the wolf had summoned her to this place. The creature's gaze softened, and to her surprise, it spoke to her—not with words but through a telepathic connection, sensing her fear and seeking to calm her spirit.

The Dire wolf, its expression calm, whispered to Hoshiyo through a telepathic connection, "Come, child. I won't hurt you."

Demonstrating its innocence, the Dire wolf gently touched a bed of resting morning glories. The flowers responded, sparkling as they awakened to the moon's radiant light. A white aura shrouded the majestic beast as it gazed toward the sky, releasing a haunting howl. An aurora of cold colors danced across the heavens; its gentle opacity allowed the bright stars to shimmer through.

Hoshiyo darted into the clearing, her mouth wide open in awe as she watched the celestial display. The enchanting light painted hues in her eyes, and the starlight reflected off her pupils. She extended her hand toward the stars and said, "The stars are so pretty. I wish I could watch them forever."

Lying beside her, the Dire wolf calmly replied, "You can stay as long as you like, child."

Turning her gaze to the wolf, Hoshiyo asked, "Why do you have red eyes?"

"It helps me see what humans cannot," the Dire wolf responded.

Hoshiyo dramatically surveyed her surroundings and inquired, "See what?"

"Would you like to see?" the Dire wolf proposed.

Eagerly nodding, Hoshiyo replied, "Yeah!"

Once again, the Dire wolf began to emanate a soft glow. Tapping its nose on Hoshiyo's chest, her eyes slowly shifted from dark to bright red. Her vision blurred momentarily until a new world came into view.

Suddenly, she saw hundreds of colorful creatures, each varying in shape and size. Some resembled deer wandering through the forest, while others twinkled like miniature fireflies. Overwhelmed with amazement, Hoshiyo was at a loss for words to express the extraordinary sight before her. She asked, "What are they?"

"These creatures are Kami and Yokai alike, living in harmony," the Dire wolf said.

Hoshiyo trailed a calico cat with two tails to the cliff's edge, where a mythical staircase led toward the sky. Swiftly, the Dire wolf rushed to her side, positioning itself to block her path. "No, child. Beyond these stairs is the floating world, a place you are not yet ready for."

"What's up there?"

"Fields of golden wheat and pools of crystal-clear water. It's a world you can't put into words," explained the Dire wolf.

"Can you go up there?"

As the sun rose, casting a gentle glow across the sky, the Dire wolf, eyes fixed on the horizon, responded, "Of course, I am a Kami. Someday, you will learn to understand that nobody was wrong about the world after life."

"What's your name?" Hoshiyo asked.

"It's almost daylight. It would be best if you departed before you become one of the Yokai. Go, child." With a tender gesture, the beast lifted her from her Yukata and gently propelled her back into the forest, guiding her to return to the human world from whence she came.

Weeks later, Hoshiyo and her father set out for the village festival, dressed in their finest attire. Hoshiyo wore a shimmering starlight yukata that seemed to catch the glow of the evening, while her father wore a deep blue yukata. Together, they joined other families in the lively celebration. Among the many traditions, they wrote their wishes on colorful strips of paper and tied them to the branches of bamboo trees.

Hoshiyo's wish was heartfelt and ambitious: She longed to help people someday and ease the suffering of others. Her vast and boundless dreams reached far beyond what most could imagine.

As the evening unfolded, Hoshiyo felt a pull to see the fireworks atop the nearby cliff. Her father, ever supportive, agreed to walk her up the mountain. The climb was steep and arduous, and exhaustion nearly made her father give up.

Breaking through the trees, she saw the grassy fields leading to the cliff. The moon shone as big and bright as the stars that twinkled around it.

With his formidable strength, the black Dire Wolf stood majestically at the cliff's edge.

"Why me?" Hoshiyo whimpered.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi raised his head proudly, and with a deep voice, he replied, "Child, I chose you because you have the purest heart of anyone I've ever known. My time here has ended, so you must take my place as the Kami of the stars and save our worlds."

"What are you talking about? How am I supposed to do that?" Hoshiyo exclaimed.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi ascended the stairs slowly to the clouds, bringing shooting stars to remember the earth before passing on. Tearfully, Hoshiyo reached up to the shooting stars and the Kami of stars, shaking in fear of the unknown future that suddenly awaited her.

Meanwhile, Hiroshiro finally made it through the trees to the opening. He bent over, holding his knees to catch his breath. "Hoshiyo, you can't leave me behind like that," he panted.

As he looked up, his eyes widened in terror as his daughter seemed to be floating in the sky, reaching for the stars. Hiroshiro rushed to the cliff's edge to go for Hoshiyo to bring her back, but all his efforts were in vain. All he could do was watch his daughter fade into the sky as if she were meant to be there. He lay on the dirt, screaming and begging the Kami to bring back his beloved daughter, as she was all that he had left.

Hoshiyo vanished from her father's sight within the celestial clouds above. As she ascended, she observed Amatsu-Mikaboshi's spiritual, translucent form crossing the threshold to heaven, leaving behind his physical form to descend. 

Suddenly, Hoshiyo halted her climb, a tightness gripping her chest. Struggling to breathe, her heart and lungs strained under the increasing pressure. The weight became unbearable, pushing her body beyond its limits.

"Daddy," Hoshiyo uttered weakly.

At that moment, the Dire Wolf's lifeless body collided with hers, propelling them both back toward the earth. The two intertwined in a spiraling descent until Hoshiyo's spirit seamlessly merged with the Dire Wolf, returning to the world from where she had originated.

Sam recounted how Hiroshiro was forever changed that fateful night. The entire village had searched tirelessly for Hoshiyo, but weeks passed before her body was discovered, washed ashore by the tides. The villagers were convinced Hiroshiro threw his daughter off the cliff. No one believed his stories.

Grief-stricken and alone, Hiroshiro carried her lifeless form to the mountaintop where she had vanished, preparing a traditional cremation ceremony.

Soon, his no longer human daughter stood before him as a majestic dire wolf, her piercing red eyes glowing in the moonlight. She gazed at him with an otherworldly calm, standing guard over the lifeless body that lay upon the funeral wood and straw as if bridging the gap between her two worlds.

Sam paused, her gaze drifting upward to the stars. She needed a moment to steady herself, knowing she was about to recount the most heartbreaking chapter of the tale. This story had lived on for generations, passed down through the children of Paradise Island, and it would undoubtedly endure for centuries to come.

Sakura leaned in, captivated by the tale of her ancestors. Her heart raced with anticipation as she asked softly, "What happened next? What did he do when he saw her for the first time?"

Lost in thought, Sam answered, "He sat and listened to his daughter for the first time. Somehow she had matured for her age, and that fact broke her father's heart. She asked him to create clones of her so she could be everywhere at once. Her father agreed, so he could keep his little girl at his side again. However, the moment together did not last very long..."

Sam continued the tale. A restless mob of villagers emerged from the forest's shadows. Shouting voices filled the air, accusing Hiroshiro of negligence and spreading false stories of cruelty. Their faces contorted with wrinkles from frowning and screaming, painting a disturbing picture of resentment.

Caught off guard by the sudden onslaught, Hiroshiro struggled to comprehend the accusations hurled at him. He exclaimed, "What is this sudden rage against me? I have never harmed my daughter. She meant the world to me. How dare you accuse me at my daughter's funeral of all places where I'm mourning."

A male farmer from the village, gripping a hand-forged rusted knife with a curve designed for farming, raised his weapon and bellowed, "You don't have to lie to us. We know you threw your daughter off the cliff."

"What? No, that's insane," Hiroshiro cried out.

A female in the crowd added fuel to the fire, shouting, "Liar!"

Driven by misguided anger, the mob closed in, their shouts drowning out the gentle crackling of the funeral fire. Sweat drenched Hiroshiro's face as he raised his hands in a futile attempt to defend himself.

With a small plow, one villager struck Hiroshiro, causing him to fall back onto the ground, wincing in pain. Hiroshiro held out his arms defensively, pleading for them to stop. No one in the village came to his rescue or chose to show pity. It felt like he was alone in his predicament, but he wasn't.

From behind the flames, Hoshiyo's eyes glowed bright red. She yelled, "Leave my daddy alone!"

Standing up with her four legs spread out defensively, she released a blaring howl. Though unheard by humans, her voice brought a massive gust of wind that blew the flames out of the pit containing Hoshiyo's ashes. The wind whipped the fire, causing third-degree burns over the villager's bodies. Hoshiyo's echoing howl carried the fire straight through the forest, down to the village, and it spread quicker than anyone could form a thought. Those who survived screamed in horror, scrambling or crawling back down the mountain.

Hiroshiro turned his head, mirroring his daughter's wide-eyed reaction. Her ears flattened on her head, and her mouth dropped in shock at witnessing the unintended havoc she had wreaked, but at least her father was unharmed.

In pain from the blows he endured, Hiroshiro pleaded, "Hoshiyo, help me."

With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Hoshiyo sprinted to her father for the first time. She bit down on his arm, managing to throw him onto her back.

Trees stood as torches, and the underbrush transformed into a sea of embers. Hoshiyo sprinted down the mountain, her powerful legs propelling them forward. Together, they burst through the final veil of smoke. Hoshiyo, breathing heavily, gently set Hiroshiro down, and their eyes met in a silent acknowledgment of their shared survival. The animals dispersed into the surrounding area, leaving Hoshiyo and her father to witness the devastation, which consumed everything they held dear.