Steven Tardi & Brahma Madhani

Silence enveloped the forest. The ground and the small animals on it are bathed in the sunlight that breaks through the leaves, peacefully devoid of human disturbance. However, the tranquil atmosphere of this forest is not a sign that it is perfectly safe, instead, it is a testament to the shrewdness of ferocious predators in hiding.

Soon, the tranquility is disturbed by the chirping of a flock of birds that leave the occupied tree at the same time, just before it falls.

The culprit was none other than an anaconda that was now behind a young man with tan skin, wearing a high school uniform, and running fast. As if he were a thief on the run from a village, his pace did not slow down at all. Instead, he was running faster and faster. The sound of his feet hitting the ground became louder and louder, shaking the surroundings until it reached the point where the trees he passed collapsed one by one.

In fact, he was not the only one with the locomotive power to move so brutally in this forest, for an anaconda accompanied him. The giant reptile swerved quickly, chasing after the young man who almost peed his pants in fear of becoming the beast's lunch, crashing into all the trees in front of him until they collapsed without any effort.

His left hand stood guard beside his head, in case he needed to fix the ten-center-high cap that had repeatedly fallen off because his master was moving too fast, while his right hand was busy removing all obstacles such as wild branches and small snakes that suddenly jumped out from behind the shady leaves that shaded the jungle land.

In silence, he found what he had been looking for to escape; a glimmer of light in the distance. Welcomed by the bright light, which bathed it in dazzling white, the anaconda chose to stop its pursuit and retreat slowly.

As the light dimmed, it became apparent that the landscape had changed to a brown savanna. Tall weeds caressed the young man's feet, as he limped painfully towards another young man in the same high school outfit. In both of his hands, which were as white as pangasius, was a celurit.

"Now it's your turn, Brahma. Don't let the snake eat you, Dad," said the young man with the cap.

"Don't worry, we'll beat it this time," Brahma replied with a big grin on his face.

The young man with the cap suddenly collapsed on the grass behind his friend Brahma.

"Try to imagine yourself on a soft mattress, don't forget to enjoy the cool air so you don't get tired again," Brahma suggested, stepping away.

At the same time, as predicted, the anaconda chasing the young man with the cap emerged from the same direction, although it made a tactical retreat. Still maintaining its unfriendly demeanor, no matter who was in front of it, the giant snake immediately slithered quickly towards Brahma, opening its mouth wide.

Waiting for the distance between them to remain below one meter, Brahma jumped. As an ordinary human, normally, he wouldn't have been able to reach the height where he escaped the reptile's mouth. However, in Single Origin, Brahma was able to use his Pour Over; wind manipulation.

With the help of the wind, which drastically increased in intensity, Brahma was catapulted into the air, levitating.

"One move only!" Brahma screamed, positioning the celurit in front of his face while fixing his position in the air to land on the snake's body while planting two thrusts simultaneously.

If only his body hadn't been struck by the anaconda's tail.

"It hurts!" Brahma, whipped, shot toward the ground. A loud thud echoed as the one who inflicted it rolled left and right, trying to drown out the pain.

As a predator, of course its prey's fatal mistake was not wasted on the giant reptile. The anaconda faced Brahma, again trying to pounce on him.

"Cok," cursed Brahma. The celurit he had been holding slipped out when he fell earlier and was nowhere to be found. All hope lost, he closed his eyes.

Luckily, when Brahma opened his eyes, he was still alive. Roots sprouted from the ground, twisting around each other to form a cage that protected him. Making the snake's teeth sink into them.

"Ouch, man, I thought the temperature was lame!" Mocked the young man with the cap who had been standing between Brahma and the anaconda since who knows when. "I'd rather continue fighting this snake, Steven Tardi is the best, five minutes is enough!"

"Relax first, Di"

"Relaxed to Slaughter? you're hilarious," said Tardi, laughing.

"Alright, want to work together to fight this snake?" Brahma asked, watching the anaconda squirm, soon to release its fangs.

"Sure."

Hearing Tardi's answer, Brahma got up, took a stance, as the surrounding roots returned to the ground.

Brahma and Tardi, fully prepared, faced the anaconda head-on.

While on the other side, they were both asleep. On the sofa in the karaoke room, Tardi was asleep with his cap covering his face, while Brahma was sprawled out on the table, snoring loudly because he had a microphone next to his mouth.

They woke up five minutes later, and without any eye-rolling or 'life-gathering', the two young men jumped up in their respective places as they cheered.

"Well, it's easy to defeat the snake outside the forest," Tardi explained, bragging to Brahma as he tapped his right temple with his forefinger. "Fortunately, with my three-digit IQ and theory, we can defeat the snake in five minutes." Tardi continued, bragging to Brahma by pointing at his right temple while squinting one eye.

"Well, Di, it's just your luck, that's why you won," Brahma replied, trying not to acknowledge the success created by Tardi.

"Hahahaha, let's continue tomorrow, Ma. I'm going home first, because I'm already looking for my beloved mother," said Tardi, showing the screen of her cell phone, which was full of incoming message notifications and missed calls.

"Whoops!" Brahma rolled over to where he had put his things, stuffing everything into his bag in a hurry. "Let's go home now, I might get your mom angry too!"

"That's why!"

Tardi then helped Brahma pack, and once done, the two ran a race with the karaoke room as the starting line and the street in front of the cafe as the finish line, making the baristas who were delivering coffee to other customers in the cafe walk backwards so as not to get hit, almost falling over, letting out a few curses in the process.