After his abduction, Evan was brought to the main building of the factory and bound to a chair with thick ropes.
They abandoned him there and departed to guard the premises.
Judging by his slight build, they assumed he was too weak to free himself, yet they still sent someone to check on him regularly.
A few hours later, Evan began to wake up and found himself bound, with no one else around. He was startled as he remembered that in his past life, he was confined with others in a dark room, where approximately 100 people were present.
However, as he scanned the area, he found it deserted, not even the thugs who had overseen them before were in sight.
"Why am I here, and where is everyone else from before?" he wondered aloud while searching for any sign of the others.
"It seems like the perfect opportunity to escape and seize that artifact," Evan murmured, reaching for the hidden button to release the blade, but then he heard someone approaching.
"Oh, looks like you've woken up, huh?" A deep voice came from behind him, and when he turned, he saw a bulky man approaching with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Who are you, and why have you kidnapped me? I don't recall ever meeting you, let alone wronging you," Evan said, trying to discern if there was a specific reason for his abduction or if it was some sort of butterfly effect at play.
"You ought to know this, so listen up. I've kidnapped you because one of your friends has stolen something valuable from me, and now I'm going to use you to retrieve it," Jacob declared, settling into his chair beside him.
"Huh, my friend stole something from him? I don't understand why he would say that; my only friends are Rey and James, and I don't think they would do such a thing. Or perhaps he saw me with someone who did it, and now I'm implicated," Evan thought, as he began to weave his own narrative to quell his confusion.
"Sir, I think you have misu..." Evan was about to speak when suddenly an object whizzed past his head, leaving a small cut on his cheek.
"Don't tell me I misunderstood when my people have seen you and your friend talking like buddies," Jacob said, his face angry and eyes red.
"Sir, I believe there's been a misunderstanding; my friend would never do something like steal," Evan replied, mustering some courage, his face etched with fear.
"Look like you don't understand your position right now as you don't have any choice to say anything, and I promise that I will kill your friend very brutally as possible because he causes that man to beat me up like a dog and I don't feel that humiliation ever and I promise that I will make him pay." Jacob said and instantly came in front of Even and with a single punch he makes him lose consciousness.
{A/N: That guy means the one, butler who beat Jacob into a sh*t.}
"Chi... What a feeble child. In my day, I was so formidable that not even ten men could best me, and now, it seems children are weaker than ever," Jacob remarked, surveying the boy's frame. Finding none of his henchmen around, he walked off in search of them.
******************************************
Fast forward to the present.
"Hey Rey, what are you doing? We need to leave," Aiden urged, attempting to pull him away, but his strength had waned significantly.
"Wait, he's my friend. Don't you remember him? The one who always had the geeky look. He's trapped here; I have to rescue him," Rey insisted, scanning the area for any sign of the thugs.
"Rey, we must go. We lack the strength to save him, and frankly, I'm only concerned with the well-being of my host. Others' fates don't concern me. Please, let's leave and return when we've regained our strength," Aiden implored, his expression grave.
"I don't care about your opinion. I refuse to abandon my friend in this nightmare," Rey declared, readying himself to approach Evan.
"Listen, kid. I understand your desire to save him without any real power, but you're no hero capable of defeating their boss," Aiden reasoned, looking for a safe path with minimal risk of encounters.
"I'm neither hero nor villain, but as I've said before, I need the power to protect those dear to me. He is the most cherished friend I've made in my life, aside from all of you. My life is of no consequence; I will save him with or without your aid," Rey affirmed, moving towards the unconscious Evan after ensuring they were alone.
"Ha, alright, I'll assist you. But if danger arises, don't hesitate to flee. We can always return if we survive. And by the way, what you said earlier was incredibly gutsy," Aiden conceded with a chuckle.
"Listen, I think he was kidnapped because of those guys who saw you and your friends, the ones I mentioned before. So please, be cautious with your words if you meet him, and don't reveal your identity too easily, as there might be a chance to escape from here," Aiden cautioned him.
He approached with careful steps, closing the distance in seconds, and began slicing through the ropes with his blade.
A few moments later, he had managed to cut through one of the ropes binding the hands and was about to sever the other when Aiden halted him and told him to look back.
"Oh, it looks like you're the one who's come to rescue him, huh?" Jacob remarked, emerging from behind.
"Why did you capture this guy, huh? I don't remember him being with me during the robbery," Rey said, tilting his head, attempting to befuddle the man in front of him.
"Well, I know who you are, boy, and I even have a photo of you, so there's no need for any trouble," Jacob retorted, showing him the picture of him running away in a street.
"I don't care what you want, just let the boy go and we can discuss this matter," Rey said, attempting to secure Evan's safe departure.
"There's nothing to discuss. It's either you die or I do," Jacob retorted, vanishing from his spot only to reappear in front of Rey, aiming a punch straight at his face.
"Duck, Rey!" Aiden shouted, seizing partial control of Rey's body to mitigate the damage, knowing the boy was too frail to dodge or block the attack.
"You think you can get away?" Jacob shouted, sending a kick towards the boy, who ducked with Aiden's help.
Aiden was ready, quickly placing his hand against the kick. With a bang, Rey's body flew a meter and fell to the ground.
"Ahhhh, it hurts, it hurts... Ahhhh," Rey screamed, clutching his hand that blocked the attack, rolling on the ground.
"It's not the time to cry, boy. Get up; he's coming again," Aiden urged him.
Rey rose and faced Jacob, who was grinning demonically as he approached.
"Now, boy, looks like your cool attitude is gone, huh? After a single kick, just wait a minute, and you'll lose all will to fight," Jacob taunted, advancing on him.
"Rey, prepare to fight. I'll help you dodge. Take out your dagger so you can attack," Aiden shouted.
'No, I can't kill someone,' Rey thought to Aiden.
"But if you don't, he will kill us. So don't be a baby and take it out," Aiden insisted. Before Rey could draw the dagger, Jacob leaped towards him to punch again.
Aiden was prepared and dodged, and they began dodging again, which drained Rey's stamina, and he started to tire.
Jacob noticed this and waited for some time before delivering a massive blow.
After a few minutes, he punched Rey again, sending him flying into the chair where Evan was sitting.
Evan and Rey were both on the floor, groaning in pain.
Rey rose once more, pain-stricken yet prepared to defend.
The session resumed, with Jacob on the offensive and Rey countering.
During this time, Evan, who had been writhing in pain on the floor, regained consciousness and surveyed his surroundings, puzzled by his position on the ground.
"Huh, why am I on the floor, and what is that noise?" Evan muttered. After a bit of effort, he noticed Jacob and another man engaged in combat.
'This is my opportunity,' Evan thought as he discreetly retrieved the blade with the concealed button.
He quickly cut the rope and get away sneakily and start finding the artifact and after some few minutes with past memories he quickly finds the spot and saw a few boxes in some distance.
"I found it," he said, rummaging through the contents until a strange box caught his attention. Upon opening it, a peculiar spell rune circle materialized beneath him.
"It worked!" he exclaimed, and in an instant, he disappeared from the spot.
Meanwhile, in the same location, Rey and Jacob were locked in combat.
Aiden's attention was drawn to the site of the teleportation, and seizing the opportunity, Jacob, with a strange glow emanating from his hand, struck him in the chest. The force sent Rey's body flying into a rack.
He hit the ground with a thud and began coughing up blood, the last hit being far stronger than the previous ones.
"It seems you're finished now. No one who has taken a punch from me with this much Qi has ever survived, and you, being a mere mortal, won't either," he declared, turning to check on the man tied to the chair, only to find him gone.
"Ah, and look, your friend who you came to rescue you has run away without you," Jacob taunted, grinning down at him.
Rey was becoming unconscious, and from his pocket, the strange relic also fell to the ground where his blood was flowing.
"Rey, don't lose consciousness; wake up," Aiden urged, trying to keep him awake, but he failed, and Rey began to lose his life as his internal organs were damaged.
"Oh, is this the same artifact you stole from here? What luck that I caught you and even got the thing I wanted," Jacob remarked, eyeing the odd item in the blood.
Seconds later, Rey finally lost consciousness and suffered significant blood loss.
"Hey Zero, I know you're there. Please help this kid; he is our last hope. Hey, answer me; I know you're there," Aiden pleaded, attempting to rouse Rey, but there was no response from either Rey or Zero, the Spirit of the Relic.
Jacob started moving towards Rey's unconscious body with slow steps.
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{1800+ words}