With my eyes closed, I saw green lines escaping from my heart and then swirling around it in circles, like ribbons.
Meanwhile, I noticed that Jack had his lines extended from his heart, branching out into his limbs like veins of light. But unlike the continuous flow I had observed in Rick, Jack's lines retracted back into his heart after briefly extending into his limbs.
I felt pressure on my chest, as if someone were trying to resuscitate me.
Then, sharp blows rained down on my face, one after another. Eventually, my eyes fluttered open, and I gasped for air, feeling disoriented and sore.
I attempted to rise to my feet.
"Oi! Wait! Don't get up for now," Rick's voice stopped me.
Reluctantly, I settled back down. I was still in pain and I was a bit confused as to what happened
"Congrats. You have awakened your Kainen," Rick announced.
"Is he okay?" Emily's concerned voice reached my ears.
"Yeah. He will be fine." Rick reassured her.
Jack crouched down beside me, his expression serious. "I've never seen an Awakening like this. You're definitely not your average guy, Young Master."
"What is it usually like?" I glanced at Jack, curiosity evident in my expression.
He shrugged slightly. "For me, I just got a bit tired and needed to sit down for a minute," he replied casually.
Before Jack could say anything else, Rick spoke up in a stern voice. "You almost lost to your own Kainen, Graham. Without our help, the next time you woke up, you would be in a hospital."
Jack walked over to the edge of the ring, grabbed a bottle of black soda, and returned to us. He uncorked it with a satisfying pop and took a long sip, letting out a loud breath.
"Aaaaah. Much better," he said, sounding refreshed.
Rick shot him a disappointed look. "Why do you keep drinking soda? Get a bottle of water next time," he scolded.
"I know someone who drank cola all his life and is now a Pioneer," Jack retorted, grinning mischievously
Rick's face turned ugly. "Yeah? If he drank water instead, he would be a Leader already."
Lying on the floor, I had had enough of their banter.
"So... what do I do now?" I interjected.
They both glanced down at me.
"With your Kainen awakened, you might be able to qualify for the next Pioneer title competition next month." Rick addressed me seriously.
Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I've been training for years for that," he exclaimed.
Rick turned to Jack, "You're not him," he said bluntly.
Then he turned back to me. "Jack will be competing as well," he informed me.
I could see a mischievous glint in Rick's eye as he glanced over at Emily. "Now that you have a girlfriend, you'll probably need funds and resources," he teased, "The fastest way to get rich is to become a Pioneer."
I raised an eyebrow. "What about equal rights, huh?"
Rick chuckled. "Anyway."
"One more thing," Rick said, pointing his hand at Jack. "Jack will be assigned as your guard from now on."
"Why would I need a guard?"
"Now that you have your Kainen, other Mafia families might see you as a threat. They could try to get rid of you early if they notice your potential or figure out who you are. Knox is enforcing punishments for fighting outside of the competitions, but that would never stop them."
"Then why are you giving me a guard only now?" I was confused.
"Don't worry. Your father already had a few Pioneers keeping an eye on you from the shadows before you awakened. Jack is someone that I want you to build a connection with more than just being your guard."
I turned to Jack. "Do you want to do this?"
Jack's expression was serious as he responded, "I will gladly do it, Young Master."
"Stop calling me 'Young Master.' Just call me Graham."
He nodded in agreement. His hair was cut short on the sides, but the top was longer, styled with subtle green highlights running through it.
"Nice hair, by the way," I said.
He looked at me with a hint of confusion, maybe thinking I was swinging both ways.
"Um, thanks," he replied cautiously.
"I want a haircut like that too. What hair salon do you go to?" I clarified my intent.
His expression relaxed. "I can write down the address for you."
After a while, I got out of the ring, and I could still feel the energy in my blood. I got some extra weights for my calisthenics routine so I could do some strength training.
As I pushed my body to its limits, I could feel my energy rising instead of depleting. But something strange happened when I got to punching and kicking the bags.
With each strike, the bag seemed to retreat further and further away from me, as if I were gaining strength with every punch.
Rick quickly rushed over when he saw what was going on and stopped my barrage of blows.
I was once again lying on the ground, too tired to move. It was clear—I still had much to learn about Kainen
...
Later, I sat down with Rick in the same room where we had our initial conversation.
Emily was beside me on the sofa, her head resting on my thigh as I absentmindedly played with her black hair. She had finished her training, taken a shower, and changed into tight blue jeans and a white blouse. I was tired, but being with her made me feel better.
Rick explained that to use Kainen effectively, I needed to first learn how not to use it.
He compared the process of using Kainen to imagining wind flowing through my heart, awakening the energy within me like branches stirring to life in a strong gust.
When I needed to use Kainen, I was to direct this "wind" so that the Kainen energy would be pushed out of my heart and into one or more of my limbs.
The stronger the wind that I imagine, the more Kainen will be moved out of my heart. I must learn how to dose it appropriately because running out of Kainen will lead to exhaustion and, in the worst case, death.
On the other hand, in my free time, I must practice stillness and meditate. That will make it easier for me to use Kainen when I want to and not when it takes over.
I must make Kainen mine and not let it control me instead.
I also asked him why, in his case, his Kainen seems to always extend into his limbs. I wanted to know if he always imagined the wind blowing through or if it worked differently.
He told me that there are certain breakthroughs to reach in Kainen practice, and at some point, I will get to know different techniques. At later stages, Kainen worked differently for each person and he encouraged me to explore mine.
Finally, he asked me what my decision was—if I would follow in my father's footsteps
This made Emily stand up from the sofa and look at Rick with a questioning gaze.
Right... she didn't know.
Well... there wasn't much to explain.
I decided to tell her about my father, whom I hadn't even met yet and she seemed thrilled, as if she had just won the lottery.
Seeing her happiness filled me with warmth. I thought back to my previous life. So much was different here. My heart began to fill with emotions that I had never experienced before.
I was really having fun.
I decided not to dwell on it anymore.
As I reclined on the sofa, casually draping my arm around Emily's shoulder, I met Rick's gaze.
"Count me in, Rick. I will be the Boss of the Maxwell Mafia."