"Where Wind Meets Steel” [Part 4] Tengu Origins - An Infinity Kingdom Story

🔷 Introduction

Welcome to part 4 of my new Tengu series. 

This will be inspired by the new release of Tengu in our game and incorporating his legend within the realm of Norheim. His story will be roughly based on his historical legend with a twist from within the game we know and love.

I will be bringing 1 or 2 new episodes per week so stay tuned for more!

🔷 Recap Part 3:  “The Warrior Who Did Not Strike”

El Cid climbed Kurai no Mine alone and challenged the Great Tengu not with aggression, but with restraint, forcing him to confront an opponent who refused to strike first. Through days of controlled sparring that felt like both instruction and rivalry, Tengu evolved beyond pure defense, only for Cid to depart with quiet arrogance, convinced he remained the superior warrior.

🔷 Part 4:  “Where Wind Meets Steel”

Dawn did not break gently over Kurai no Mine.

It arrived sharp and clear, as if the mountain itself wished to witness what was coming.

The Great Tengu stood at the stone torii, wings folded, sword resting at his side. The air around him did not spiral as it once had. It held steady, restrained, waiting for command rather than reaction.

Footsteps approached along the mountain path.

Measured. Confident. Unhurried.

El Cid emerged from the thinning mist, cloak shifting lightly against polished armor. His sword hung loosely in his grip, not raised, not lowered. His eyes held no anger. Only certainty.

“You have changed,” Cid observed.

“I have learned,” Tengu replied.

Cid gave a faint nod.

“Then let us see what you have learned.”

This time there would be no circling half strikes. No interrupted lessons.

Cid moved first.

Not reckless. Not wild. A clean forward step with a diagonal cut aimed at Tengu’s shoulder. It was honest steel.

Tengu did not wait.

He stepped inside the arc just as he had practiced, blade rising to intercept before the full force developed. Steel met steel with a sharp crack that rolled down the cliffs.

They separated instantly.

Cid’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Good,” he said.

The second exchange came faster. Cid feinted high and cut low. Tengu pivoted, redirecting the strike outward rather than absorbing it. The mountain wind shifted with him, not exploding but guiding, trimming the edges of impact.

Leaves lifted from the ground and spun around their feet.

They closed again.

A rapid sequence followed.

Cut. Parry. Turn. Advance.

Neither warrior overcommitted. Each tested timing rather than strength. Sparks scattered against stone. The torii gate trembled with the rhythm of their blades.

Cid pressed harder.

His strikes grew heavier, layered with subtle traps meant to draw Tengu into overextension. But Tengu no longer waited for violence to crest. He read intention through breath and shoulder movement, through the tightening of a wrist.

When Cid launched a powerful descending strike, the same type that had shattered Kurogane’s blade, Tengu did not simply return it.

He shifted his stance and redirected the force sideways, sending Cid’s momentum carving into the earth beside him.

The ground split.

Cid rolled through the motion and rose smoothly, blade already in guard.

For the first time, the faintest crease touched his brow.

“You are no longer only a shield,” Cid said.

“I am what the mountain requires,” Tengu answered.

The wind answered with a low hum.

Cid inhaled slowly.

Then he smiled.

“Then endure this.”

He advanced with full commitment.

No testing. No restraint. A storm of disciplined steel. Each strike linked to the next with ruthless efficiency. He gave Tengu force to return, but in measured waves, never allowing the counter to fully bloom.

Tengu responded in kind.

He stepped forward between attacks rather than backward. He met pressure before it peaked. The wind swelled and tightened around him, not chaotic but controlled, striking only where he directed it.

Their blades locked at the center of the torii gate.

Power surged between them.

Stone cracked beneath their feet.

For a heartbeat the world narrowed to breath and resistance.

Cid pushed.

Tengu answered.

The mountain wind roared outward in a spiraling column that tore dust and leaves into the sky. Cid was driven back three steps, boots carving trenches in the earth, but he did not fall.

He steadied himself.

He lowered his blade slowly.

The wind settled.

Silence returned to Kurai no Mine.

Cid studied Tengu carefully.

“You have surpassed the lesson,” he said at last.

Tengu remained poised, blade angled but not advancing.

Cid turned his sword in his hand and rested it upon his shoulder.

“But understand this,” he continued, voice calm and edged with pride. “In my homeland, victory is not measured by endurance. It is measured by conquest.”

His gaze sharpened.

“You defend well. You adapt quickly. But I am the greater warrior.”

The words were not shouted. They did not need to be.

Cid stepped backward toward the mountain path.

“When next we meet, there will be no mountain beneath your feet to steady you.”

He turned and began his descent, confident, unhurried, certain of his superiority.

High above, the Great Tengu remained beneath the torii.

The wind did not celebrate.

It did not rage.

It waited.

📄 Recap Questions

1. If two masters of the counter strike clash, is victory decided by patience or by pride
2. When removed from the mountain, will Tengu’s strength remain his own or fade without its foundation

🔷 Conclusion

Steel has tested wind, and neither has broken. But arrogance now walks down the mountain path, and the next battlefield may not favor the guardian who stands still.

See you next week!

🔷 Hades, Press Officer.

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