#dragonzen

At the end of the path, a clearing in the forest opened before the boy’s curious eyes. The mountainside appeared in all its immovable majesty, sharp stones polished by the endless rain.

As he looked up, the clouds hung low and heavy in the sky above. A storm was coming. How strange. The boy remembered it had been sunny when he had entered the forest. But here, at the foot of the mountain, the weather was different. It felt oddly fitting, as if the lightning simply wanted to strike but could not.

He saw more paper seals wrapped around the wooden pillars of yet another torii. The cave entrance yawned open into the darkness of the depth. And this time, the boy hesitated. He was curious, sure, but his father had told him to be careful around this mysterious place.

Some considered the old shrine to be sacred, others considered it cursed. His father, however, knew the truth about it. It was a prison, not a cave. That was why all the seals were there, meant to keep the spirit trapped inside, never to leave again.

Against his father’s will, the boy came here today seeking the help they so desperately needed. Because in his heart, he knew his dad could have been wrong.

Every living being deserved a second chance.

When he passed through the gate, it felt like crossing some invisible barrier. The lingering coolness surrounded him like a ghostly veil. The air inside the cave was humid but charged with electric sparks. It clung to the boy’s skin. The source of such a strong, almost frightening presence had to be the infamous prisoner himself.

The boy descended, trying to keep quiet, but he had the impression his arrival had already been noticed. His steps, though light, echoed in the deafening silence. The darkness itself was watching with invisible eyes.

The red hemp ropes were tied to the stones, hanging from the cave walls and long stalactites. They carried more seals, suppressing the power that lay inside. They all pointed to the center of the cave, where the giant torii marked the final threshold.

It was the point of no return that the boy was not supposed to cross. And yet he did, stepping bravely inside the circle of sealing spells.

Something shifted in the darkness.

The boy held his breath.

A long, serpent-like shape moved toward him, slowly drawing closer. One golden eye opened lazily, shimmering like a cold, distant star. There was a sense of dread in simply being seen by that ancient gaze.

“H-hello there,” the boy managed after gulping down his fear. Somehow he still stood upright despite the overwhelming pressure. Not frozen in place. No. Standing his ground. “I’m Ku…”

“Kurosaki,” the voice came from the darkness, from the giant, menacing shape in front of the boy. It rolled through the cave, calm and monotonous. Not overtly frightening. Still, this single word demanded absolute attention.

“I know who you are, boy. I can smell the blood running through your veins. Tell me, did your insufferable father send you here instead of coming himself?”

“No,” the boy answered respectfully, shaking his head. “It was my own idea. My name is Kurosaki Kazui. I came to ask you for a favor, Ichimokuren-san.”

Without a single sound and faster than expected, a long, snake-like neck slid across the cave. A huge reptilian head of the imposing black dragon emerged from the shadows. A mouth full of dagger-like fangs halted inches away from the boy.

“A favor?” the monster asked with a hint of mockery.

Kazui could feel its hot breath stirring his orange hair. The head itself was bigger than he was. The black scales glimmered faintly with a purple sheen.

“How amusing. Humor me with your request, boy, before I crush you as easily as an ant.”

To say Kazui wasn’t scared would be simply untrue. But the fear mixed with something sadder as the boy took a better look at the beast before him. The dragon’s right eye was completely missing, leaving only a dark, gaping hole in its place. So that was why everyone referred to the creature as Ichimokuren, but the One-Eyed Dragon had a real name that Kazui didn’t dare to speak aloud just yet.

The spirit was known for having its domain in the sky, among the storms and lightning. Yet, Ichimokuren hadn’t seen the outside world for the past twenty years. The golden horns on its head, once pristine, were now bound in red ropes and seals. Its claws, sinister and sharp, were in chains.

“I want you to help me save my father.”

The words left Kazui’s mouth before he could think them through.

A deep, humorless chuckle escaped the dragon’s throat.

“Do you think I have any interest in helping your father? The one who cut me down and sealed me away with the assistance of that wretched priest, Kisuke Urahara?”

“I know you are angry…”

“I’m not angry,” Ichimokuren interrupted, tilting his head and giving Kazui an intimidating glare. “I’m at peace,” he explained in an even tone. “I no longer have to bear being part of this broken world.”

The long neck moved again and the serpent-like body slithered back into the darkness, deeper into the cave.

“Wait,” Kazui called after him, reaching out a hand. “Don’t you miss the sky? The daylight? Don’t you want to breathe the fresh air again?”

A note of desperation rang in his voice, and the dragon must have caught it. That was why he ignored this attempt.

The boy stepped forward, his right hand outstretched toward the beast.

“Please, Ichimokuren-san,” he tried to plead. “I need your…”

“I refuse.”

The chains suddenly rattled as the dragon’s jaws snapped at the boy, mere inches from ripping off his arm.

The boy didn’t flinch. He didn’t know why. His hand was still extended as though to calm the monster down.

“I refuse to be a tool in someone else’s war,” Ichimokuren told him with a dangerous, low growl.

Kazui was able to sense it, the despair, the bitterness, the loneliness, and anger radiating from the being who had been humiliated and banished to rot in this silent tomb for the rest of its days.

“That is not why I came here,” the boy whispered softly. His hand stayed where it was, too close to those deadly fangs and the scaly head. “I don’t intend to use you. I will set you free. And look, I even brought you a gift…”

He paused, searching for the object with one hand.

Then, “Here.”

He bowed low, holding out both hands.

Resting in his left palm was a small, purple jewel. Its edges were polished smooth, shaped like a curved tear with a hole in the middle. A faint violet glow flickered inside the precious stone, making it look rather otherworldly. But it was not the air of luxury itself, it was the gravity that came with this jewel. The artifact vibrated with magic, with power and pressure, as though it wasn’t an object but something alive.

Ichimokuren narrowed his single eye, staring silently at the boy’s offering. “So you have it… Yasakani no Magatama, the Jewel of Benevolence,” he named the artifact. There was a sense of wisdom in the way he spoke that name. The silence that fell was filled with unspoken questions.

Kazui presented the jewel to the dragon once more, waiting for Ichimokuren to take it.

“You think you can buy my service with it?” the monster inquired, apparently not trusting Kazui’s intentions.

The boy shook his head. “No,” he replied with a smile. “I’m giving it back. I know they took it from you. But now you can be whole again.”

The dragon paused, visibly reluctant.

“Do you know why they took it?” he questioned, observing the boy with its unblinking eye.

Kazui only shrugged. “Because they didn’t find your actions benevolent enough?”

The joke landed awkwardly between the two.

“They meant well,” Kazui added, seeing that his sense of humor wouldn’t take him far. “I’m not saying that it makes them right, but I don’t care about the past. I care about the present.”

Without thinking twice, he extended his right hand.

“Let me set you free.”

He reached toward the dragon. It made Ichimokuren flinch away.

Kazui realized then that the creature didn’t trust the touch.

So he waited, without a word, allowing the gesture to speak for itself. He didn’t command, didn’t demand obedience, he simply offered his kindness and patience.

It took a very long time but the suspicion and tension began to ease.

Only when Kazui lowered his eyes humbly did Ichimokuren finally decide.

Slowly, the scaly head of the giant dragon closed the short distance separating it from Kazui’s hand. It stopped half an inch from completing the motion, but the intent was there, clear to both of them.

Kazui’s fingers moved but before they could touch… A spark.

He pulled his hand back, afraid of pain and electric shock.

But then he mustered the courage again. So what if it would hurt? He was not backing off now.

He closed his eyes and… made the first contact.

The charge passed through him, causing his hair to stand up. He nearly withdrew his hand instinctively, but he quickly noticed that the power didn’t harm him. The sensation was weird, but it was safe to touch. The dragon scales felt so unique under his fingertips. They were neither cold nor slick and slimy, nothing like he had imagined. Instead, the skin felt rough and pleasantly warm to the touch, as though the electric current ran beneath its surface.

The boy’s heart skipped with joy. He ran his fingers against the scales, careful not to disturb the dragon. The golden eye watched him very closely. Still, Kazui’s lips curled into a smile.

For some reason he could already tell that the moment Ichimokuren had accepted the touch, the future had changed for the better.

The jewel in Kazui’s left hand started to glow. The air around it swirled and thickened with the ancient magic. The boy closed his fingers around the artifact. He let the spell flow through him and into the dragon.

And as the cold blue flames began to consume the seals on the dragon’s horns, Kazui had no doubts anymore. He patted the beast’s head one last time. Giving him freedom was the only right choice.

“When I’m free,” Ichimokuren warned him, “you will have no power over me.”

The gentle smile remained unchanged on Kazui’s face.

He had no power, sure. But he had something more valuable.