Stepping out from the shadows, a sturdy figure came into view. The moonlight gently touched upon his toned body and rugged face, revealing a subtle grin.
His eyes seemed to glow, or maybe they were just reflecting the bright moonlight—Zenil couldn't discern due to the fatigue from the prolonged fight.
Zenil looked at the figure with his eyebrows knitted.
Before long, the man made use of the slide, gliding down effortlessly. "Hey!" he exclaimed upon reaching the slide's end.
"Oh, easy there," the man replied with a smirk. "I'm flattered, but just to clarify, I'm not auditioning for a role in your dreams. Trust me, I am not that guy pal." the mysterious man added with a chuckle, "Not that there's anything wrong with your dreams – they've got their perks, but I'm just not interested in a leading role in yours."
"What?" Zenil said with a puzzled expression on his face.
"You are batting for the other team right?" The man said nonchalantly.
"What? No! I am straighter than the straightest line you have ever seen!"
***
The man and Zenil were now seated at a bench in the park, feeling the chilly winds of an October night. Zenil had cleared the misunderstanding with the man and had also told him about all the tragedy in his life, and why he was here.
Just like the last time they met, Zenil could still feel that strange feeling of being weak in front of this man. He could feel just how strong this man was.
"You are a bright kid, Zenil. Have some confidence in yourself." The man said as he patted Zenil's back.
Zenil looked at the older man, "Now that I told you everything about me, why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"I go by many names, but the most prominent name is Ryong." The man said after clearing his throat.
"I know you are curious about the sudden surge in strength you experienced this evening. All I can share for now is that I merely gave you a gentle nudge; the rest, Zenil, was all your doing." The man said with a calming smile on his face, a sincere and trustworthy expression on his face.
Zenil nodded, "I-I Understand."
"But, can you at least tell me as to why you helped me in the Alley?"
"Fate."
Zenil looked at Ryong with a puzzled expression and was about to say something.
"It was fate, my friend. Fate orchestrated our meeting. I extended a hand because I, too, faced the torment of bullying back in the day," the man revealed, his words carrying the weight of shared experience and understanding.
Zenil took a deep breath. His body was fatigued. All he could do was think about taking some rest. The thrill had faded some time back.
"How did you know where I was?"
"Oh, I sensed you, after all a good chunk of my power resides, umm no, used to reside within you."
Zenil looked at Ryong with a perplexed expression on his face.
"I injected quite a bit of my Marma, umm now, my power into you. And, I can sense you because of that."
"No, what do you mean by resided?" Zenil asked as he yawned.
"Throughout the day, it slowly depleted—first in the alley fight, then during our little showdown here, and finally, it just evaporated. Oh, and fourth, I'm currently reclaiming all of my Marma that still lingers within you." Ryong explained, shedding light on the gradual diminishing of whatever mysterious force had been at play.
Zenil looked at the man with drowsiness swirling his eyes, "What do you mean you are taking it back?"
"Aren't you feeling sleepy out of nowhere?"
Zenil silently gazed at the man, not uttering a single word. He was shocked, but the fatigue prevented him from even widening his eyes properly.
"What?" He said.
He sensed that the man had withdrawn his hand from his back just before slipping into a deep sleep, resting his head on Ryong's broad shoulder.
Ryong looked at the teenager sleeping on his shoulder with a calming smile.
"Power reveals the real you, better than any adversary ever can."
***
"Student."
"Wake up, child."
"Wake up!"
As Zenil gradually regained consciousness, he could vividly feel fragmented words reaching his ears. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself looking at the familiar ceiling he had seen the last time he woke up—he was back in his classroom.
Two elderly cleaning staff members stood beside him, they were relentlessly trying to wake him up for the past few minutes.
"You finally woke up? Get up from the cold floor child, you might catch a cold." One of them said.
"Why were you sleeping here?" The other asked. "You know how long and hard it is for someone like me to rush to the second floor from the third floor? God, why is the cleaning room on the third floor!"
"I rushed here as soon as Arnold called me!"
Zenil, who was still in a half-asleep state, scratched his back and ignored the question he had just asked. Instead, his eyes fell on the warm, red-orange sunlight piercing into the room from the three windows in the room.
Zenil looked outside and saw it was daybreak, and school was about to begin. His eyes finally widened after a few hours of sleep.
He swiftly stood up, said his thanks to the two people who woke him up, and rushed to his home. He had to take a bath, have breakfast, do some homework, and whatnot.
Once he was done with everything he needed to do, he came back to the school as soon as possible. Clad in the school's cyan blazer he made his way into his class.
Oddly, his class was in a state of absolute silence, devoid of the usual low murmurs. The air hung heavy with extreme tension.
Upon entering the room, all eyes locked onto him. His "ordinary" classmates looked at him with astonishment, while the gazes of the group of five were filled with dismay and displeasure.
Zenil gulped and slowly made his way towards his allotted seat in the last row.
Soon, the group of five surrounded his seat.
Zenil made his usual poker face and looked down avoiding eye contact.
"How did a weakling like you achieve this?" A girl from the group asked in a condescending tone.
"You beat Kyle Jenkins, that's quite commendable," Gary said as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair.
'Kyle?'
"Oh, you won't know who Kyle is. I am talking about the host of yesterday's event."
Zenil's eyes widened. He had forgotten about all the stuff that took the day before due to the morning rush.
Zenil was pulled back into the memories of yesterday. The pain, the rage, and the thrill of that day all flooded back to him. No longer attentive to his bully's garbage, he chose instead to focus on the words Ryong had shared.
A smile appeared on his face.
"You are feeling quite happy, aren't you? Now that I can't beat the shit out of you?" Gary screamed
"Yeah" Zenil said with a smile on his face, still zoned out.
Consumed by anger, Gary punched Zenil's face, snapping him out of his thoughts while simultaneously causing his chair to topple backward.
Zenil gasped. He slowly stood up.
"Fight me! Show me how you fucked up Kyle!" Gary shouted
After Zenil was pulled back into reality, he felt the pain on his face, his muscles were still sore from yesterday, and the power he felt within him yesterday was nowhere to be found.
All that was left were the hazy memories and the stance he was taught yesterday.
He instinctively took his stance. Zenil looked at Gary with no expression on his face.
A smirk appeared on Gary's face as he rushed towards Zenil with his punch ready to strike.
Zenil simply stood there, with both his forearms joined together like a shield, protecting his face.
'God, protect me!'
"Gary!" Suddenly a voice came from the room's entrance.
The moment this voice reached Gary and his crew's ears, their eyes widened. They didn't even need to see the source; they already knew whose voice it was.
A few fourth-year students entered the classroom, intensifying the already ominous atmosphere. These students were notorious bullies, their bodies adorned with tattoos and piercings.
They all trailed a tall, slender fourth-year with black hair streaked with red highlights.
Max, the top-ranking bully in Zenil's school had entered his classroom with his boys.
***
In a classroom, two boys wearing deep green colored uniforms stood, one was looking out the window, while the other stood opposite to him looking at him.
"So? Who do you think will be Jin's successor?"
"I don't know. From all the information I know, it will be an import, no one within Aurelian Academy is even close to the level of Jin. After all, he was the only one who even stood his ground against the leader of the org." The boy looking out the window said, still looking outside.
"You are right, Aaron, but, I don't think there is anyone who could fill in that position."
"A dark horse will always appear in the race. No one even knew of Jin before he was recruited. That girl, she is on a different level." Aaron said with a smirk on his face.