Hanzo Blackstar was seventeen when it all happened.

He sat by the bank of a small river, tossing pebbles into the stream, grumbling things to himself.

The calm flowing water bounced distorted rays of sunlight on his contemptuous face.

Days into the valley between these mountains gave him nothing but trouble.

He’d already had many life threatening bouts with several beasts with fangs and horns and sometimes the other kind like that Syquarius, the little levitating larvae type creature that could glow in the dark.

The biggest issue had been the bears.

The bears were huge and intelligent.

Hanzo knew he’d come to the wrong place when one of those behemoths picked up a large rusty sword and started belting him with it.

Survival on the boy’s part seemed totally unreal and he wasn’t sure if he’d really be able to hold out too much longer.

Doubts and all the built up frustration from all the past events messed with the rusty kid’s mind.

He flung another pebble into the water, hoping to hit one of the little slippery fish gliding upstream.

Then something peculiar happened.

The same pebble he threw in pounced right back out and landed by his feet.

For a second he just wanted to ignore the strange occurrence but out of curiosity, he picked the rock up and studied it with a frown.

Couldn’t think of a good reason why it hopped back out. He had to be imagining things.

He chucked the rock back in the water but to his surprise, it popped back out again the size of a golf ball.

The hair on his neck rose.

He picked up the stone one more time and flung it back in then peered over into the shimmering stream to see what the hell was down there throwing it back.

The young man was bombed by a great splash and staggered back in surprise as a huge boulder burst out of the water.

He rolled out of the way just in time, as it hurtled into the ground with a quaking boom.

“What the—who the hell?!” He cried.

Somebody had to be playing magic on him.

Sure enough there sat a man on the other side of the river who had not been there before.

He was dressed in fine layers of leather armor, cloaked by a long tattered hood concealing his eyes. Beside him stood a rather tall but completely black broadsword which had yet to catch Hanzo’s attention.

The rattled youngster rose to his feet and walked toward the edge of the riverbank, his voice hot with accusation.

“Hey, punk! Did you do this??” He jerked his thumb to the meteorite behind him.

The bralic looking man, made an uncertain gesture with his head.

“Why don’t you come over and find out?” He rasped in a deep voice that matched his bold presence.

“What???” Hanzo snapped. Who the heck does this guy think he is? Does he wanna fight??

But Hanzo knew that he was in no position to fight any more creatures, especially a tough looking bastard like this one but he couldn’t shake the urge to slug him.

At that moment, the man beckoned the boulder and it rolled back, knocking the tempered boy right into the gushing stream.

Overwhelmed, he spun and spat as he tried to lift himself above the rushing water but found it rather difficult. Yet, he already found himself on the other side. “You-you son of a…” he tried to find insults to hurl at him but too fixed in shock to speak sensibly. Then the man spoke.

“Rise, foolish child. I can see the truth within you. You wish to become warrior, do you not?”

Hanzo staggered to his feet and hurled a fist at the man but was struck down by a hand that he couldn’t even see.

He felt a tremendous ache in his collarbone where the warrior hit him. The pain travelled through his entire body, sapping his strength.

“Enough, fool” The earthly dressed warrior continued, “You think you can defeat a being such as myself with that kind of skill? Do not waste your time.”

The warrior spoke firmly but without pride.

“So, I ask you again...do you wish to become warrior?”

Hanzo glared at him while water slid through his thick layered hair and over his face but his jaws were locked. Who the hell is this clown...

“If you wish to become warrior, you must be capable of pulling that sword out of the earth and only then will I consider teaching you.”

Hanzo looked to see what the stupid old man was referring to.

His eyes suddenly beheld a marvelous jet black sword with a polished gloss that actually captured his reflection.

The blade was wide and almost as tall as he with one long groove running down the middle. A mural of thin engravings were drawn into the base with the finest needle work that Hanzo had ever seen. The cross guard was thick, with deeper engravings and was just as wide as the blade, supported by what looked like two shorter guards separating the two.

In the dead center lie a bright emerald gemstone whose light seemed to bleed into the delicate engravings like threads of water. The handle was wrung in black dragon leather and the pommel was gnarly but in a symmetrical fashion.

The sword was, in it’s entirety, a dangerous sense of architecture. Hanzo wouldn’t have been able to describe it as he saw it.

He shot a hard glance at the muted warrior and got to his feet to approach the beast of a sword. Another slayer blade. He thought, wrapping his fingers around the generous handle. At this point, he nearly forgot about how the man had wronged him, captivated by this new weapon.

Hanzo’s eyes were always brown, but not anymore. They now shone as green as the brightening gemstone as his fist closed around the black steel.

Expecting it to be difficult to lift, he ripped out of the ground with devastating force.

The surrounding trees were swiped clean off their trunks and went tumbling to the ground with deafening booms.

Hanzo, who wound up spinning in circles, righted himself and arched his brows in astonishment.

“What the freak...?” He exclaimed.

All those heavy trees around him came down like nothing and not a single one was anywhere near him.

A chill burning sensation poured through Hanzo’s body like an avalanche. Something similar to adrenaline.

It was the surge of spirit pressure.

“Well then!” He went to gazing at the sleek gunmetal blade.

“I pulled it out. Now what?”

The young man turned to see the warrior sprawled out on the ground with his bloody head rolling off his shoulders and bulging eyes gazing right up at him.

Hanzo screamed in shock and bolted away like a stray cat with the sword dragging behind him.

What hell happened!!?? His thoughts screamed as he charged into lush overgrowth. Did I just take his freaking head off?? How??

Something told him he probably should have stayed and buried the man but the shock of seeing the guy’s head in such a grotesque manner sent him in a frenzy.

He plunged through fat green leaves and old branches until a root caught his foot and sent him sprawling to his knees.

His gasps were heavy. Water dripped off his afro. Things were starting to make less and less sense.

The very man who just offered to train him got his head accidentally chopped off? The man who looked to have a lifetime of experience in the arts?

It was retarded.

Hanzo, still gasping, picked his leg up and rose to his feet, wobbling slightly.

His gaze flickered to and fro as if he expected another odd event.

He glanced back, not sure if he really just experienced what he experienced but the vibrant sword in his hands was proof that he did.

What in the world... he huffed.

Perhaps the man was just a phony who just happened to have an expensive looking slayer sword in his possession.

If that was the case then all of the karma he built up from swindling good folks finally took its toll on him.

“Damn swindlers..” Hanzo grumbled, scratching his scalp.

At least on the bright side, the sword belonged to him now.

The ruffled young lad decided to forget the whole incident altogether and started to walk on, praying his journey wouldn’t be plagued by more ravenous trouble.

He’d taken no more than a few steps when a massive black curtain suddenly appeared in the middle of the dense forest.

“Oh boy...” he grumbled, craning his neck up. The more he looked, the more his eyes widened.

This wasn’t just some random curtain, this was a man. A giant. A goliath wearing a long cloak towered above the trees, staring down at the petrified boy with eyes of steel.

He was immense.

His skin was bronze. His shoulders were broad. He wore his long, obsidian black hair in a tight ponytail with several lengthy strands falling along his face.

His monumental physique was harder than titanium, bulging with gigantic muscles carved deeper than the great trunks of sequoias.

This man was a literal mountain of muscle.

His gaze alone was so strong that it could have silenced an entire battlefield.

Hanzo was completely numb.

He knew well of giants. He’d even met a few before but this man was no mere giant. He looked to be one of the titans.

The titans were a race of powerful beings that once dominated the earth in ancient times.

Nowadays they were nearly a myth. Rarer than diamonds. Never before would Hanzo have believed to make an encounter like this.

The sting of piss started to well up but he fought it back.

He wanted to run as fast and as far as his nimble little frame would spring him but his legs were locked solid.

Besides, what use would it be? The goliath would destroy him either way.

If Hanzo was to die, he wanted an honorable death. But then again, why die an honorable death when you could just not die at all?

The weight of eternal silence seemed to subside as Hanzo swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and forced his rigid fingers to animate. Alright...Still alive.

“W—what’s up.” He croaked, unable to pull away from the demanding gaze of the intense titan.

After another silence that might have lasted a year, the giant finally spoke.

“That was my student you killed back there.”

His dark voice had bass that made even the leaves on the trees quiver but his tone was oddly neutral. All the more unnerving.

Hanzo hadn’t realized how tightly he was squeezing his sword. The monster was going to murder the hell out of him now.

“How do you intend to repay me for his death?” The warrior titan continued without malice.

The boy opened his mouth but his lungs were nonexistent.

“So you want to become a warrior.” The giant said, “If that’s the case, then you should follow me.”

Then he simply turned around and dipped off under the swaying trees and disappeared.

Hanzo blinked. Wait—what???

That massive buffoon took up nearly the entire forest with his presence and just vanished under the bushes without a single sound. It was as if he was never there in the first place.

Regardless, the young warrior was speechless beyond comprehension.

His heart pounded like a cannon.

What...the hell...

He breathed.

Did I eat the wrong mushroom for breakfast today or something?

He tried to relax his creaking limbs after being completely statue for so long.

Then he stared ahead blankly.

I killed his disciple..?

Scratching his head, he looked down at the badass slayer sword in his hand and suddenly found himself trying to remember how he’d gotten it.

Then he gazed into the dark woods where the giant walked into, leaving not a single footprint behind.

With that, he spun around and started tip toeing away, careful not to upset the branches at his feet.

“Come.” The giant’s voice boomed from the depths of the forest.

The boy almost jumped out of his skin.

“If you go back out there you won’t survive.” The giant said.

Hanzo took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

I am officially screwed...

He grimaced, lurking deeper into the woods with his new slayer sword on guard.

Maybe I should have just stayed home on that god forsaken two hundred acre farmland with those dumb kids and their parents.

Suddenly, the whole world changed in the blink of an eye. It was as if someone had turned the lights off.

The trees were now simple pines shooting up into a starlit sky. Hanzo’s boots were pressed down into gravelly brown dirt, rather than the moist grass and swampy leaves from literally five seconds ago.

Ahead of him was a small fire burning in an opening and there sat the great titan on the other side watching the spitting flames in meditative silence.

His cloak was off, folded and set aside so Hanzo could finally get a good look at the man’s bouldering physique.

“Have a seat.” He gestured.

The lad nearly lost his mind trying to understand what was going on.

Did I just... he exhaled, staring at the dark sky and the spacious forest and the long shadows cast by the campfire.

He’d just been teleported.

His unease became overshadowed by awe once the shock ebbed away.

Whatever the hell was going on, he would just have to go along with it.

He approached the fire, eyeing the titan suspiciously. Somehow he seemed less intimidating than before.

Again, he motioned for Hanzo to sit.

After another long pause with anxiety burning him, he set his sword down and knelt before the fire still wearing a bewildered expression. The two sat there for several moments, neither making a sound until the titan finally broke the silence, “So, you wish to become a warrior, am I right?” he asked, scanning his fingernails.

“How did you figure that?” He replied.

“Is that not the very reason you pulled the sword out of the ground?” The giant replied with a dull gaze.

“Oh.” The rogue answered.“Right...”

Things fell silent again. It was unusual that the giant had so little to say. What was even more unusual was his nonchalant attitude overall. He generally just sat there almost as if he were bored, prodding the fire with large stick that was a twig in comparison to him.

“So uh...” Hanzo cleared his throat. “...Who are you exactly?”

The giant gave him a short glance and continued to stoke the fire.

“Odyssey.” came the reply. “Odyssey Reigonasz.”

“Odyssey...” Hanzo echoed. Very fitting name for such a mysterious character.

“So...what exactly do you want from me?”

“Nothing in particular.” came the rumbling reply, “I am merely an observing factor in which I happen to be aware that you are searching for a master.“

“Yeah...Well, I was really just trying to get into Ultimate Soldier and get that special training and move my way up the ranks, make big money and then go from there I guess...”

“The training I offer far surpasses that of the U.S.”

“Really...?” Hanzo arched his brow.

“Of course.” The titan continued, “We know all the shortcuts, possess all the power and techniques necessary to harness the secrets of your true potential.“

“You mean, you’re willing to teach me the arts...despite the fact that I just...killed your student?”

It was a risky question but better to hear the consequences now than have it come up as a terrible surprise later.

“If you become my disciple then you will have already filled the gaping hole in my heart.” Odyssey said without appearing the least bit heartbroken. There may have even been a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Uh, o—kay. I suppose that’s a fair deal.”

Truth be known, Hanzo didn’t really see how starting almost entirely from scratch with a new student was a fair deal but he decided to leave it in the past as he hoped the giant would as well. Let bygones be bygones.

“So what will it be, Hanzo?” Odyssey looked the youngster dead in the eye.

His reaction was of stifled shock.

“Man, how the hell do you...” Hanzo trailed off dragging a hand across his perplexed face. The big oaf even knew his name.

Just who was this guy?

“Will you rise to the challenge and become my disciple or will you decline?”

After a long moment of nothing, the youngster sat up and took a deep breath.

He looked at the black sword and then back at the colossus.

“I mean...I ain’t come this far just to chicken out. I don’t really see a way out of this anyway so, why not? I’ll be your disciple.”

The edge of anxiety started to cut into Hanzo’s chest again. This was probably a horrible idea. But to hell with it.

“Very well.” The titan nodded slowly. “You will sleep out here tonight and tomorrow, your life won’t be the same.”