Rey observed that the entire area was being cleared, and large machines had been brought in to demolish the building where the incident occurred, in an effort to put an end to the matter.
Once the area is cleared, it would only be a matter of time before the news is buried in the sands of time, never to resurface.
"It looks like the work of someone from high society or one of the big families, those who were kidnapping people for some reason," Aiden remarked, suddenly appearing beside him, which startled Rey enough to nearly cause him to fall.
"You should have told me beforehand about coming outside. One day, you're guaranteed to give me a heart attack."
"Oh no, that's never going to happen. We three are going to ensure your body is so strong that no one will be able to lay a finger on you," Aiden said, tapping his chest a few times.
"What are you going to do about what's happening here?"
"I'm just heading to school, then I'll think about what to do for the rest of the month," Rey replied, walking away from the area. Minutes later, he emerged safely and began running towards his school, exerting great effort as he was running late.
Only ten minutes remained before he would be late and the school gates closed.
He tried to run faster, but something seemed to hold him back until it suddenly gave way, and his speed increased by fifty percent, which surprised him.
His speed continued to increase, but his body struggled to keep up, and his stamina was nearly depleted.
Just as he was about to collapse, the school came into view, his speed decreased dramatically, and the overwhelming sensation he had felt subsided.
His legs were sore from the ordeal, and he struggled to stand. Over time, he managed to regain his stamina and wiped the sweat from his face.
"Hey Aiden, what happened to me?" he asked, feeling a newfound strength and was about to check his screen when Aiden appeared.
"You never cease to amaze me," Aiden began, ready to elaborate, but...
"How did you manage this, kid? I didn't think you could achieve something like this at Rank 0 or even Rank 1..." Victor started, but a look from Aiden halted him.
"What are you both talking about? I don't think I've done anything super cool, or that my feet or body are on fire," he said, glancing down at his feet.
"No, what we're discussing is something only a few can achieve on average, and all geniuses are capable of, but sometimes even ordinary people can do it," Aiden explained, urging him to check his stats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Rey Shadowthrone
Age: 17
Physique: Shadow Physique (Upgradable)
Title: Self-learner, The Psycho, The Killing Manic
Class: None
Subclass: None
Level: 01
Rank: 0th Rank
Core: Mane Core (Rank 0) {Not formed}
Talent: None
Trait: None
Law: DEATH {.00001}, SOUL {.0000001}, DARKNESS {.01306} [Will be explain in later Parts]
Intent: None
*************************************************************
{Stats}
Health Points (HP): F- [Dependent on Vitality]
Mana Points (MP): F- [Dependent on Intelligence]
Strength (STR): F- [55/100] --> [56/100]
Agility (AGI): F- [58/100] --> [59/100]
Stamina (STA): F- [48/100] --> [51/100]
Intelligence (INT): F- [49/100]
Vitality (VIT): F- [48/100]
Endurance (END): F- [44/100] --> [45/100]
Luck (LUK): F- [Dependent on core]
Free Stat Points: 0
*******************************************************
[SKILLS]: - None
[ABILITIES]: - None
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was astonished to see his stats increase so suddenly.
"What the hell did you just say? Am I seeing this right?" Rey exclaimed, his face a mask of shock. He knew that such a rapid increase in stats was impossible, and he began scrutinizing his screen for anything new—any skill, talent, or trait—but found nothing aside from the stats, which left him slightly dismayed.
"Listen, kid, we call this state 'Zenith Drive'. Only a few have managed to harness it into skills by activating it more than ten times in their lifetime," Aiden explained, sending shivers down Rey's spine upon hearing its name.
"But why now?" he questioned, not feeling like any kind of genius.
'But wait, do I possess some hidden power or special talent, aside from these three?' he pondered, but...
"No, you don't, and I know why he entered the Zenith state," Victor interjected, standing beside them, unable to resist correcting their naive assumptions.
"Oh, so you knew, and you're only telling us now, after all this time?" Aiden retorted, noticing there were only four minutes left until the school gates closed.
"I was going to, but your glares silenced me," he said, his voice fading away.
"What did you say? Say it again," Aiden demanded, cupping his ear for emphasis.
"Nothing. It's just that you and I have resonated with each other, or what you call a bond, which allowed you to take my ultra-secret special skill that I only use in death matches, even at death's door," he explained, leaving Aiden shocked.
"So, you're the one who was regarded as the first to master the skill," Aiden said, astonished.
"No, I was the last, the fourth, and it was you and our old master who did this to me before I could even react," he said, pretending to wipe away tears.
"What did you and your former master do to him?" Rey inquired, puzzled.
"Nothing. Just continue before you have to go through that ordeal again," Aiden said, his words causing Victor's body to pale and his spine to shiver slightly.
"As I was saying, when you and I formed a deep bond, having lived together for so long, my personal trait, which I had embedded into the deepest part of my soul, merged with me and came into this state. This boy's body took it from me and shared it with his soul, causing this resonance. Now, he needs nine more pieces until he can acquire my skill, which I created with the utmost difficulty, as if strolling through a park," he explained, feeling envious of the child and suspecting him to be the secret child of fortune's goddesses, switched at birth with their real son.
Meanwhile, light-years away in a majestic palace, a lady whose body was sculpted from jade and whose beauty defied all measures sat on her throne. As she watched some people fight, a cold shiver ran down her spine.