According to Japanese Buddhist mythology, Ashuras (or Asuras) (阿修羅) are supernatural beings, often described as "titans" or "anti-gods." They are depicted in Buddhist cosmology as being engaged in conflict with the gods. They can be considered a type of "anti-god" who opposes the divine beings.
"Are you familiar with the term Ashura?" Shiro asked me.
Ashura... I've heard the word before, in certain videos or shows if I remember correctly, but I don't particularly know what it means or what it refers to.
"No, I don't," I answered.
He said nothing.
"Kami, have you ever heard this word before?" Rose, the woman with bright red hair, asked me.
Again, just like 'Ashura,' I've definitely heard this word before, and if I remember correctly, it's the Japanese word for 'god.' So with this knowledge, I answered, "Yes, I have."
"You say you're familiar with the word kami, and with what we've experienced together, you should know that the Kamikakushi, the being who is trying to remove man from this world, is one of them—a kami, or more accurately, a god," Shiro said to me, looking into my eyes with a serious expression.
When he said this, the mood of the entire room suddenly changed from a normal atmosphere to a more chilling one.
"The Ashura are sometimes used to refer to the Buddhist god of war, and sometimes it's used to refer to certain demigods or titans with multiple arms who possess supernatural strength different from that of a human. They are commonly known to be engaged in conflict with the gods of the land. They're non-human beings with supernatural powers akin to that of the kami—gods or deva—whatever term one uses to refer to the beings who supposedly rule over this world.
"And just as the term god or kami is used to refer to beings with otherworldly power like the Kamikakushi that is after you, the term Ashura has been used to describe those who fight against these gods—beings who can't sit back and let the gods do as they please. The Ashuras I'm referring to don't necessarily resemble the ones from the Buddhist mythology I mentioned earlier, but they're just as terrifying.
"In the former present, whenever I didn't refer to myself as human, you always stared at me with a confused look on your face. But with all I have said, you should now understand why I don't consider myself, these people, and even you, to be human. You should know that the moment you were cursed by the Kamikakushi, you were no longer human. The ancient demigod said to be engaged in battle against the gods—that is what you are," Shiro said.
The moment I was cursed by the Kamikakushi, I was no longer human? What does he mean by this? I asked myself.
And at that moment, I remembered what had happened in the past round when the oni rushed to attack me. Normally, I shouldn't have been able to dodge its attack. Yet I was able to see it and move out of the way. At the time, it never occurred to me that something was wrong with my body since I was consumed by fear.
"For a while now you've been able to sense the presence of non-human beings. Did you never ask yourself why you were able to do that? Why an ordinary human was able to do that?" the man with multiple tattoos said to me in a cold tone, his face ever serious.
Confused by what I was hearing, I started wondering, How is it that a human was able to turn into a supernatural being? With this thought in my head, I looked up at Shiro, the white-haired man who had saved me before, and asked, "How? How was I able to turn from a human being to this being you call an Ashura?"
He returned my gaze, looking straight at me with his bright red eyes—it almost felt as if he were looking through into my soul—and he said:
"In this time and age, the majority of the Ashura who roam the world with a grudge against the gods, trying to bring them down, were once human. Most of the pure Ashura from before have all been killed by the gods many years ago, since they couldn't stand the constant challenges from these beings.
"Now, in this modern day, there are two ways one can become an Ashura. The first is the method most Ashura of today use—the same method you used.
"This method, being the predominant cause of people becoming Ashura in the modern day, doesn't quite have a high success rate. Most people who undergo it—whether willingly or unwillingly—die from it.
"When said with words, the method seems rather simple. But in reality, it has caused thousands of people to lose their lives. This method requires the influence of one of the kami, the original gods. A human being can become an Ashura if he is capable of resisting the power of a god—that is, if he is able to lift the curse of a god or, by unforeseen circumstances, is able to live with said curse for a long period of time until his body becomes immune to it.
"He will essentially become a god himself, because the only way to fight against a god—or even resist their influence—is by being one yourself.
"Ashura—gods in the form of man—is another way I like to describe them.
"Now, do you see what I mean when I said this method, being the most common, isn't necessarily successful most of the time? Like in your case—you were cursed by the Kamikakushi, a god, a kami—and without my interference, you would have been erased from this world.
"Or was there a way for you to stop the oni from targeting you?" Shiro said to me, with the same blank and empty expression he normally wore.
"No. I doubt I would have been able to survive the oni's relentless pursuit if not for the interference of you and your allies.
"So, a human being can become an Ashura—a sort of demigod—by surviving a god's curse. So all of you here were able to survive the curse of the Kamikakushi. But the way I see it, it's almost impossible to survive an oni's pursuit.
"Even if you manage to touch it and it stops according to the rules, it will just continue its pursuit on the day you first saw it. So let me ask you a question of my own: how were you people able to survive the curse of the Kamikakushi, an ancient god, if there was no one to lift the curse from you?
"And Shiro, how are you able to remove the curse of the Kamikakushi? You never mentioned that Ashura gain the power of the god that cursed them," I answered.
Rose looked at me with a smile on her face and said, "So you still suspect us after we saved you from the Kamikakushi?"
"It is true that someone here aside from you is an Ashura," Shiro added, "but since we started talking, at what point did I ever mention that I was an Ashura myself?"