It was only a week before his birthday. A legend that had swept away the martial arts community with his exceptional skill died tragically to a heart attack on a morning jog.
Many argued that he was the greatest public fighter in his era.
Now the world only felt that he had gone too soon and even though they didn't know him personally, they grieved for him and sent condolences to family and friends.
Just a week before his birthday, a mother had to bury her son, a father lost his son, a sister lost her brother, and friends had to farewell their friend. Unexpected and without a sign of illness a good person left the world behind.
In hindsight his weird behavior on the day of his death made sense to his closed ones. They would never have imagined that he was saying goodbye when he spoke to him, maybe he himself didn't know that he was saying his goodbyes.
It had taken only a few hours until his family received the news of his demise. A devastating hit for the happy family. They just wanted to spend their time with him on a family trip and it turned into a nightmare that they couldn't wake up from.
The following days towards the funeral were difficult but they pulled together and weathered the devastating news as good as they could. Sending him off, while promising to look ahead for the future.
For each of his girlfriends he left behind a child of his. A last gift for the young women. In the end, despite the wishes of friends and family, they decided to marry Leonidas Thompson in name and declared themselves widows. Shortly after they withdraw from the public eye.
In the following years Leo's family and friends with Lenny at the helm became a dominating force in their city which would become a stronghold in the face of humanity's greatest challenge.
Sarah, Laura, and Shunlei had raised their children in these difficult years and after withstanding the apocalypse they moved with their children and Lenny and Rosy to Orbis to build a new life. The parents, however, were unwilling to leave earth and Leo's grave unattended.
However, they supported Rosy's choice in building a new life on Orbis with her husband, Lenny, with the condition that she visited them occasionally.
Once in Orbis Leo's women never married again and instead started to frenziedly find a way to pursue the way to absolute power in hope of finding a way to revive their dead husband like in the many stories he had told them about.
Leo's death had almost broken Lenny. To receive the news of his death a second time was almost too much for him to handle. Even though, he had promised he would ensure Leo's survival this time, he failed once again.
As guilt ridden as he was, his love, Rosy, pulled him out of the gutter and reminded him that Leo would never have allowed him to look this pathetic. With her support and the reassurance of friends and now extended family, he tried to look forward.
To honor his promise Lenny protected Leo's wives even when he disagreed with their pursuit knowingly that Leo would disapprove of their obsessive pursuit as well, he still supported them. Lenny just couldn't help it. He wasn't willing to destroy the last sliver of hope Leo's family had.
As a result, Leo's children were mostly raised by Sarah as she was the one less likely to reach the land of the gods.
Jack and Bella, and most of Leo's other friends survived and lived happily on earth with the support of Leo's family. Inevitable becoming some of the most respected people on earth.
5 years after Leo's death, Mang Tou, Leo's martial combat mentor, sadly succumbed to his injuries when he successfully protected his disciples.
Alina Magenda, the late mentor of Leo, was saddened by the news of his death. However, she wasn't surprised as many geniuses had left the world before they could realize their potential, though in memory and as a thank you for the inspiration Leo gave her in the short tutelage under her, she supported Leo's wives, which in turn became one of the most important actions she would ever make.
Leonidas Thompson had left before he could really live and left behind devastated friends and family, which later became heroes of humanity and much more. A legend that would be remembered by his family for the years to come.
A memory from which his family would take their strength from because they knew if he were in their shoes he wouldn't give up, no matter what the world would throw at him.
Leo on the other hand left behind a world that would later rather than sooner become just a distant happy memory of his.