The nuclear flames scorched the land, to bring the end of an age. It was the dawn of a troubled age where power clashed with power, and rivers of the blood of men flowed. One man advanced down the path he believed, to become ruler and bring peace to these troubled times: Raoh. However, he wasn't the only one attempting to rule. Another man was attempting to carve his place in history. His name was Souther, a practitioner of the South Star phoenix fist who was born under the star of command. And fate had drawn these two men together to face off before the Fist King's castle!

I Walk the Path of the Heavens!

Sakuya thinks that she is now out of ideas, as a confrontation between Raoh and Souther was the one thing she'd wanted to avoid. Reina tells Raoh to stop, but is then attacked by two of Souther's soldiers. She kills them both and tells them to get out of her way.

Raoh asks Souther why he has invaded his territory when he's barely finished swearing allegiance. Souther says an accord is nothing but a scrap of paper, something Raoh should be aware of. He says that he merely agreed to Yuda's plan, but it appears that this task was too much for Yuda to handle. Raoh tells Souther to surrender to him.

Souther points upwards, and says he was born under the command star, so he will bow to no other. He says he'll defeat Raoh, and rule the world -once he defeats Raoh, nothing can stop him from doing ruling! Raoh says he will crush Souther's unbefitting ambition with his fists. Souther thinks Raoh appears to believe his fists are the strongest. He gets up and says that the North Star divine fist won't work on his body, and that this fight will be nothing like the sparring they did as children.

Reina kills some more of Souther's men, as Sakuya drops down. Reina tells her to stop Raoh and Souther, but Sakuya says it's impossible. Two kings can't rule side by side, and both have determined that the time of reckoning has come. Sakuya then seems to suggest there is a way to stop them, but when Reina questions her, she says again that it's impossible. Souther and Raoh prepare to fight.

After the two think about their sparring from years ago, Raoh says he'd yet to master the North Star divine fist's secret techniques back then -but things are different now. Souther says that mastery won't help him now.

Raoh asks Souther why he isn't preparing himself. Souther says his style is the fist of the emperor, and a true emperor has no need for defensive stances. He simply overwhelms his opponents. Raoh thinks he's being pretentious, but Souther says that as Raoh won't come to him, he'll come to Raoh. He suddenly appears right before Raoh, and starts making many rapid swipes.

His attack cuts up part of Raoh's armor. He does a jumping spin kick, but Raoh ducks it and does a punch. Souther blocks it, and gets pushed back.

As Souther lands, he tells Raoh he did a fine job of seeing through his barrage. Raoh is impressed that Souther avoided his North Star point chime technique.

HOKUTO ITTENSHOU

(North Star Point Chime)

Raoh is about to attack again, but then part of his shoulder slices open. Souther moves forward, but then part of his forehead bursts open. Raoh laughs and tells Souther that whilst he may have guarded against his fist, he couldn't guard against the flow of chi. His point chime technique was able to seize his mobility pressure point.

Raoh tells Souther he now can't move, and then hits a pressure point on himself which stops the bleeding from his shoulder. He laughs and tells Souther to feel ashamed for being foolish enough to call himself the Holy Emperor, and goes to punch him.

But Souther leaps up high into the air. He wonders what Raoh is talking about regarding him not being able to move, and then tells him to take this:

NANTO HO-OH KEN OUGI: KYOKUSEI JUJI KEN

(South Star Phoenix Fist Secret Technique: Command Star Cross Fist)

Raoh is losing a lot of blood, but he's more concerned as to why the pressure point failed. Souther reminds him that the North Star divine fist doesn't work on his body. At Cassandra, Toki thinks that Raoh cannot win.

The North Star divine fist is a technique which attacks the pressure points with chi, but Souther's pressure points on not in the normal positions -they're reversed. Toki thinks that if Raoh doesn't know this, he'll be defeated. Back at the castle, Yuda gets up and says the North Star divine fist doesn't work, but Raoh was unfortunate enough to have humiliated him. He leaps towards Raoh, and performs a technique:

NANTO KOUKAKU KEN OUGI: TENKETSU BAKUHA

(South Star Crimson Crane Fist Secret Technique: Pressure Point Blast)

But before he can do it, he's stopped by Ryuga and Soga. Yuda does some kicks to get them off, but Ryuga hits him away.

Before he can get up, Soga stomps his head into the dirt. In the distance, everyone sees that the Fist King's army is on the way. Soga says it took a while, but they managed to catch up. Yuda gets up and tells Soga he should have fallen for his plan. Instead, he's come here to die. Soga says he won't die, as they're still in the process of their rule.

Soga flips forward and uses some kicks, once of which knocks Yuda high into the air. Soga leaps up after him, and part of his fake leg opens up, revealing a booster. He uses this to do a jet kick...

...which smashes into Yuda's face, and send him crashing into the ground. Souther says that was an entertaining distraction, but an unfortunate one for Raoh, since he's had to suffer during that time.

He dashes forward and tells Raoh this is the end, but before he can attack, he has to stop when he suddenly coughs up blood. Souther thought he's avoided Raoh's attack, but it seems it was able to hit him this hard. He thinks despite his body's secret, Raoh was still able to hurt him this badly.

As the two square off, Raoh thinks a long battle will be to his disadvantage. Souther thinks he can't let his guard down for even a moment. But both think that they can't back down!

HOKUTO SHU RENDA

(North Star Collected Barrage)


NANTO HO-OH KEN YUUSHOU GAKU

(South Star Phoenix Fist Distant Soaring Peak)

The two batter each other with attacks. Reina tells them to stop and moves forward, but the Black King gets in her way. Sakuya says that men only know how to fight.

The two break parts of each other's armor off, and their fighting spiritual energy is released. They both get pushed back.

Souther says he's not impressed, as Raoh hasn't seen through his secret. He says that Raoh will be the one to bow down before him. Raoh says that when the South Star is in disarray, the North Star appears. The North Star divine fist will command the South Stars, and he can defeat him without learning his secret! Souther asks him how long he can go on with his wounds, as he can barely keep himself standing. Raoh yells out that he won't bow down to anyone!

Souther says that he won't retreat, he won't stop and he'll never surrender! The two charge towards each other, and Souther tells Raoh to die.

Raoh tells Souther to shatter to pieces, and the two make their last strikes. But Sakuya suddenly makes a move, and is punched by Raoh...

...and stabbed by Souther. As she falls down, Reina runs up to her.

Reina asks her why she did something like that, and Sakuya asks to be forgiven. She says she couldn't think of any other way to stop them from fighting. Souther thinks she is a fool, but she tells him to laugh if he wants. But there was no point to him and Raoh fighting. She tells Souther he can't rule without learning love, and tells the Fist King he cannot rule without learning sorrow. She then thanks Reina, and tries to say something else, but her words can't be heard.

As Sakuya dies, Souther laughs -this woman was meant to be the greatest strategist in the world, and she's sacrificed herself for love. He thinks that he's never seen such idiocy. He then tells Raoh that whilst he wasn't convinced by Sakuya, he wants Raoh to ally with him. Raoh asks why he should join forces with someone who has already betrayed him once.

Souther says if he does betray him again, it's because he deemed him too weak. As long as he remains strong, he'll never betray him. He won't join him, but he'll follow his lead. Raoh asks him if he's going to strike out on his own if he loses his power, which he thinks is ridiculous. Souther tells him if he refuses, they'll continue fighting until one of them is dead. But that wouldn't be the result Sakuya wanted. Raoh looks at Sakuya, then tells Souther that whilst he can forgive the first betrayal, he won't give him another chance. Souther says he understands, but he has a favor to ask: he wants Yuda. Raoh asks why he'd want to save such scum like Yuda.

Souther says Yuda has his uses. Raoh tells him to do as he wishes, so Souther picks Yuda up.

And so, the Holy Emperor's army led by Souther allied with the Fist King's army. Neither would invade the other's territory while aiding in fighting each other's enemies.

As Souther and his forces leave, Yuda wakes up and asks Souther if he intends to be content with following the Fist King's lead. Souther says he does -for the time being. But Raoh's rule relies on fear, so it won't last long. For now, he'll allow Raoh to subjugate the petty nuisances. Yuda asks if this was because of Sakuya, but Souther thinks she was worthless. He says to think of a tree bearing fruit, you have to climb it to obtain the fruit. But that's not a job for someone born an emperor, it's a job for Raoh. He'll get the fruit without expending any effort.

Back at the castle, Reina and Soga have constructed a grave for Sakuya. Raoh walks over and asks what they're doing, as the council is about to start. As he walks off, Reina is about to tell him that Sakuya loved him, but Soga stops her. Sakuya died without telling Raoh her feelings, so they should respect her wishes.

Reina looks back at Sakuya's grave, and thinks that one day she'll cross that river that separates her and Raoh, that'll be the way she honors Sakuya. But for now, it's the time to fight. Later on, Reina tells Raoh that Souther is dangerous, as a person who betrayed him once will betray him again. Souther is not the kind of man who'll remain satisfied under another person. Raoh tells her not to fear, he's well aware of the danger that Souther presents. But it wouldn't be wise to deal with Souther right now. Soga then walks in, and says that Cassandra has fallen!

He says that Uighur has been killed, and Toki has been released. Reina asks who did this, but Soga is reluctant to speak. Raoh asks him what's wrong, and tells him to speak, but he then works out who it was: Kenshiro. Raoh starts laughing, telling Reina and Soga not to worry, and have faith. The heavens are right here with him!

Raoh and the Black King leave the castle. They ride into the night, and then as the sun rises...

...Kenshiro can be seen. Raoh yells out his name, and Kenshiro starts to turn around. As he does, Raoh charges towards him...

The End