The Four Heavenly Kings

Prologue

The four kings and the four heroes.

"Long ago, in the land of Japan, there existed four individuals. A young courtesan, a samurai's apprentice, an archer, and a scholar. Though they each lived different lives, they were all connected by fate to something much bigger than their own world."

These were the first lines of the book The Four Heavenly Kings The first in the line of a book series written by Tatsuya Suzuki, which was one of the most popular in the world. Or rather, worlds.

There were multiple timelines, some of which wildly differed from one another, but each one of them had one thing in common: this book series. Part of this was due to the series biggest secret: The events that were portrayed in the book were nonfictional. The author Tatsuya Suzuki was rather a pseudonym used by the authors of the book, the kings themselves.

The books told the story of the king's adventures in a land of magic, which was threatened by waves of calamity. Each king had a weapon, a sword, a spear, a bow, and a shield. While they couldn't travel together, the four kings always kept in touch through their weapons, which would allow the kings to communicate with each other.

Currently, four young men in alternate worlds were reading the first book of the series, unaware of the fact that they would begin the adventure that was described in the books.

…

A young man was busy reading the book in his local library. He had shaggy black hair and handsome features, with emerald green eyes and wearing a hoodie as green as them. His name was Naofumi Iwatani.

Naofumi was what one would call an Otaku, a man who liked to divulge his time in anime and video games. Though he did have one constant love: The Four Heavenly Kings book series. He had eaten up all the media involved in the series, including the game based on the books, Last Odyssey, as well as the anime based on the game. He loved all the characters, though his favorite would have to be Ichika Sato, the Shield Hero, who constantly defended his comrades to the bitter end, despite having no powers. He was a true hero, a man Naofumi liked to admire.

Naofumi looked up at the clock and realized it was about 8 at night. "Oh crap, I stayed too long! I need to get back home, my parents are probably worried sick about me!" Naofumi then rushed towards the exit of the library, though in his rush, he bumped into a mysterious young man with the same eye color as him, but with his black hair in a bowl cut, and he was wearing coke bottle glasses and a business suit, causing both to tumble over.

"Ow…" Naofumi then saw that he was on top of the young man, his glasses off to the side "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir!" He apologized to the man.

"Think nothing of it," the man replied as Naofumi helped him up and he retrieved his glasses. He then put his hand on his chin in thought "Actually, I do suppose I could use your help."

"Huh?"

"I'm actually looking for a book to read, do you know of any novels that might suit my fancy?" The man asked Naofumi.

"Look, I don't think I can help you, I don't even work here." Naofumi said as he raised his hands in protest.

"Nonsense, I can tell just by looking at you that you'd give me a great recommendation." The man then held Naofumi's hands "Would you please help me?"

"Eh, fine." Naofumi shrugged as he led the man to the fantasy section. "I personally enjoy these types of books, the ones involving magic and monsters and adventurers." He then showed him the Four Heavenly Kings. "This is personally my favorite book, it's The Four Heavenly Kings, ever heard of it?"

"Oh yes, I most certainly have." The man smiled, almost as if the book series brought fond remembrance. "Well, you mind helping me search, I already own a great number of books."

"OK," Naofumi then helped the man search for a book he could read. Though this proved to be a daunting task, as each book they came across, the man either said he already read or owned.

"What the hell?!" Naofumi thought in disbelief "We're nearly through the section, and this guy's read them all?! How much time does he have on his hands?!"

Naofumi's eyes then landed on a book, one whose title he was all familiar with.

"The Record of the Four Holy Weapons? That sounds like the book that summoned the four heavenly kings to that world!" Naofumi, out of curiosity, picked up the book and inspected it. The author's name was nowhere to be found, which confused him even further. He then shrugged and began to read it.

The book detailed a world that had been heavily bombarded by waves of calamity, which threatened to destroy the world. To stop this, four heroes would be summoned from other worlds, each one wielding a different weapon: A spear, a sword, a bow, and a shield.

"Definitely sounds like the book that summoned the heroes. Maybe this is a tie-in to the book series?" Naofumi then read further.

The shield hero faced peril from the princess, who would try to toadie up to him, but would betray him at a moment's notice. The spear hero had a champion who seeked the ultimate challenge and would fight him constantly again and again. The sword hero had a bandit who would steal everything precious from him, and the bow hero had a noble who had put a price on his head for the death of his brother. The spear hero seemed to be rather thoughtful and trusted his friends, while the sword hero was rather dashing, and the bow hero was Robin Hood-esque, working to take down corrupt nobles and helping the poor.

"Sounds different from the real book, is this book plagiarizing The Four Heavenly Kings?" Naofumi then got to the section on the shield hero but found that the book was blank from there on. Turning the pages to see if there was any mention of the hero, Naofumi suddenly found himself feeling drowsy.

"What's…happening?" He said before he lost consciousness, the last thing he heard was the man's voice.

"Hope you have fun on your grand adventure, my friend!"

…

Motoyasu Kitamura was what you would call a lady's man. He was a young man whose handsome features helped him attract women, with ruby red eyes which complimented his red jacket, and long blonde hair in a ponytail. He was in the middle of reading The Four Heavenly Kings in his apartment, when he was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" Thought Motoyasu as he opened the door. Suddenly, his mind went blank. In front of him was an indescribably beautiful woman, with long brown hair and red eyes and wearing a white dress and carrying a brown purse. She was quite possibly the most beautiful person Motoyasu had seen in his whole life. However, there was also a silent grace with which added to her charm, something Motoyasu had read about in Hitomi Takahashi, the spear hero of the four kings.

"Hello, do you mind that I come in?" Asked the woman.

Suddenly, Motoyasu's brain booted back on. "Of course not! Not at all!" He said with a smile as the woman walked in.

"Thanks. Do you have anything to drink?" The woman asked as she sat on the couch.

"Just bottled water," Said Motoyasu, going to the fridge and getting a bottle for him and the woman to drink. The woman looked around the apartment and spotted the book Motoyasu had been reading. "The Four Heavenly Kings, huh? That book brings back memories."

"You a fan?" Motoyasu asked the woman as he returned with the bottled waters.

"You could say that." The woman shrugged.

"I also play Emerald Online, you know, the game based on the books?" Motoyasu said as he opened the cabinet to look for some snacks for them to enjoy.

"Really? That's cool." The woman then opened her purse "I actually have a book that I've been reading which I think you might be interested in if you like that series so much."

"Oh really?" Motoyasu then sat on the couch and took the book the woman had offered him.

"The Record of the Four Holy Weapons? Isn't this the book mentioned in The Four Heavenly Kings?"

"Just read it," the woman told Motoyasu "you might like it."

"OK," Motoyasu shrugged as he read through the thing. To be honest, he didn't like the idea of reading a potential knock-off of the series he loved, but he couldn't refuse the offer from a pretty woman. Though what made him sad was what befell the shield hero. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, he wandered the kingdom, angry and distrustful.

"Poor guy, wish someone would be kind to him at least once." Once Motoyasu reached the section on the Spear Hero though, he felt sleepy all of a sudden.

"Why am I so tired?" Thought Motoyasu as his head fell into the lap of the woman. While he would normally be filled with glee at this moment, he was too tired to care. Before losing consciousness, he heard the woman's voice.

"You will do many great things, oh chosen hero."

…

Ren Amaki was sitting in the police station, about to give a statement on what happened earlier that day.

He had been walking home with his best friend Takumi, when a man came out of an alley and tried to stab Takumi. Ren intended to stop the man, but before he could, a man he had never seen before hit the man in the back of the head and knocked him out cold.

Said man was sitting across from him in the police waiting room, having gotten back from giving his statement. He had a diagonal scar on his face, as well as blue eyes and brown hair tied into a messy ponytail. He was wearing a hoodie and jeans, as well as sneakers.

"That scar makes him look like Eiji Watanabe." Ren thought, his mind thinking of the sword hero of the four kings.

"Hey, what are you reading?" The man asked Ren.

"Hm? Oh, it's the The four Heavenly Kings, I'm a big fan."

"Oh really? Haven't read that book in a long time." The man replied. "You also play that VR game they made from it? What was it called again?"

"Bravestar Online, and yes, I play it, although I mostly solo." Ren said, causing the man to frown.

"Hey, kid, you shouldn't rely on yourself the whole time." The man put his hand on Ren's shoulder "There will come times where you'll have to work with others, and others want your help too. Just remember that we're all in this together."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Ren said nonchalantly.

"You better," the man said before reaching into his hoodie pocket and pulling out a book. "I actually was reading this before I stopped the guy from stabbing your friend. You wanna look at it?"

"Hm? Fine." Ren then took the book and raised a brow at its title.

"The Record of the Four Holy Weapons? That's the book that transported the four kings to that world." Ren shrugged and began to read. He liked the two other heroes but felt sorry for the Shield Hero. When he reached the section on the sword hero, however, he began to feel tired. Suddenly, without control, he found himself flopping down on the floor, about to pass out.

He would never forget the words the man had said to him.

"Remember what I said about working with others, kid!"

…

Itsuki Kawasumi was a boy with little friends. Though he had features that others would find desirable, such as a boyish face with curly permed hair, and yellow eyes that matched his private school uniform, he had the unfortunate luck to be born as an E class esper, and as a result, he was often bullied and lacked friends. He just wished that he would wind up where people would admire him and respect him. That way, he'd wind up with a lot of friends, and he'd finally be happy.

Right now, he was reading The Four Heavenly Kings, and was so busy focusing on a chapter that was all about Aiko Yamamoto, the bow hero, that he didn't notice the truck barreling towards him. However, before the truck could hit him, he was pulled out of its way. Looking up to the woman who had saved his life, Itsuki saw a young woman with yellow eyes and shoulder length brown hair, wearing a black business suit.

"Hey, you OK?" The woman asked Itsuki.

"You saved my life" Itsuki managed to say through gasps of air "thanks."

"Hey, don't mention it, just pay attention next time, OK?" She let go of Itsuki, then looked at his book. "You must really love that book to not pay attention to where you're walking."

"Yeah, It's one of my favorites."

"Hey, if it's The Four Heavenly Kings, then I understand completely." The woman said as he laughed. "That book brings back memories of happy times to me. I also tend to play a little bit of Dimension Wave, though my favorite hero in both versions of the story has got to be Aiko Yamamoto."

"Really, she's mine too!" Itsuki said, "She's so brave and always looking out for the little guy! I wanna be a hero of justice, just like her!"

"Is that so?" The woman said, putting a hand on Itsuki's shoulder. "Remember kid, heroes of justice don't do crap like that to receive praise. They do it because it's the right thing to do."

"But, if I become someone like her, then maybe people would finally treat me with a little bit of respect."

"Look, I get wanting to be respected, but you can't do things for selfish reasons. That's not a hero, that's a glory hound."

Itsuki then began to think about what the woman was saying to him. While he did want respect, Aiko always did things without looking for admiration. She did things because the people needed help.

"Anyway, I myself am reading a book based on the book series." She then pulled out a book from her pocket and gave it to Itsuki "It's called The Record of the Four Holy weapons, and before you ask, yes, it's based on the text that the four heroes found."

"Really?" Itsuki asked before taking the book and reading it. While he was reading about the book, he came across the four other heroes, the shield hero in particular struck out at him, having been accused of a crime he didn't commit. If he wanted to be a hero of justice, he would need to stand up for people like him.

He then reached the section on the Bow Hero, which was blank. Curious, he flipped the pages back and forth, and then he suddenly felt tired beyond all belief. He then toppled over onto the concrete of the sidewalk.

Before the darkness overtook him, he heard the woman speak to him.

"If you wanna be like me, you'd best not think of yourself."

…

Somewhere, in an enclosed space, the man Naofumi helped suddenly appeared. Then came the woman Motoyasu met, the man Ren talked to in the police station, and the woman who saved Itsuki.

"So, do we have all of our successors?" Asked the glasses wearing man.

"We've gathered all of them, Ichika." Replied the red-eyed woman.

"Though for all of them to be gathered in one place" the man with the scar, said "They should be scattered, like we were."

"Maybe somebody wants to hog all the heroes to themselves? What do you think Hitomi?" asked the yellow-eyed woman.

"I think somebody is going against the natural wishes of the populace." Said Hitomi.

"Dammit, it shouldn't be like this!" The scarred man slammed his fist on the wall. "If Melromarc keeps all the heroes for themselves, then the world will be in danger!"

"Settle down Eiji," Hitomi then put her hands on the shoulder of Eiji, calming him down. "Anyway, what should we do, Ichika?"

"I propose we all go down and join the parties of our successors. That way we will nurture them and let them grow to become greater heroes than we ever were." Ichika proposed.

"I'm all for that," said the yellow-eyedwo man.

"I agree with Aiko." replied Hitomi.

"I as well" remarked Eiji.

"Very well then, it's decided." Suddenly, the four were bathed in light, and disappeared from the room, leaving nary a trace of them.

…

Naofumi, Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu suddenly found themselves waking up. They found themselves in a room with a stone floor which had on it a magic circle, glowing with magical power. Getting up, they looked around and spotted men in robes, who looked like monks belonging to a religious order.

"It worked!" One of the men remarked. He then took his hood off, revealing a man with brown hair and brown eyes. "Oh brave heroes, please save our world!"

"What?!"