A Righteous Path

"Let this be a lesson to you as your soul heads into the afterlife kid, unless you're strong, there is no chance for victory. Only the strong will survive, never forget that."

Turning his back away and departing from the scorching battlefield, the man sighed in disappointment. Part of him didn't want to kill Roy, all this could have been avoided if another person was responsible for his twin brothers death.

"There's no such thing as villains huh? And here you are attempting to kill a child." A familiar voice spoke from within the scorching flames.

"What!?" The man turned around swiftly, only to see the flames from his attack dispersing at a fast rate.

"J-Jin Zhen!" He exclaimed, his eyes met with that of Jin Zhen who stood directly in front of Roy with his usual habits of inserting his hands into his pockets.

"Yo, are you the one who caused that explosion earlier?" Jin asked calmly with his eyes closed and with a smile on his face.

"J-Jin Zhen." Roy mumbled softly, the flames which turned the ground to ash instantly stopped flowing towards them. Appearing as though an external force was keeping it out.

"At last! You saved me the trouble of finding you! Jin Zhen!" The man exclaimed with happiness, his mission all along was to find and capture Jin Zhen.

"Yoichi and Jiro, the Infernal brothers. Also members of Black heart, now what could Black Heart possibly want from me? Hehehe." He said.

Black Heart was a small criminal group who terrorized the city occasionally, they were driven by certain ideals which fueled their resolve for vengeance.

"Judging by your words previously, I take it your now deceased brother is responsible for the hole in the city?" He added.

Jin had been listening in all along, attaining total mastery of his Soul-Core and Soul-Energy, he knew how to supress it so no one could sense him.

"Watch your mouth! You damn bastard!" Raising his Soul-Energy to it's limit, the ground beneath their feet trembled at the influx of power caused by the Yoichi's Soul-Energy being raised to the maximum.

"I will fulfill our mission to honor my brother's death and I will capture you! Even if it means dishing out everything I've got! Flame Soul-Core: Super Nova!"

Engulfing his entire body with immense flame energy which burnt even his clothes to ashes, Yoichi was determined to capture Jin even if it costs him his life.

"Your mine! Jin Zhen!" He rocketed his entire body towards Jin in a suicidal attempt understanding his chances of winning wete close to zero.

Jin smiled softly, it was the perfect opportunity for him.

"Listen kid, I know you've had a rough childhood and I understand your hate for heroes and villains. But, a hero is not someone who just saves people."

As he spoke, Yoichi approached them in the blink of an eye harnessing the power of the sun which completely turned every house in the battlefield to dust. However, just like his previous attack there was an external force preventing him from reaching the two individuals.

"Yoichi was right, we humans are cursed with the cycle of pain and suffering. However, when we endure that pain, fight through that suffering and rise above it, that's when a hero is born. When one fights through that pain and rises above those obstacles, that's who we call a hero."

Facing his right palm forward at Yoichi, he uttered softly.

"Gravity Soul-Core, Spatial Manipulation: Gaia 5."

Manipulating his immmense Soul-Energy, Jin summoned a black hole underneath Yoichi and it sucked him in swiftly before dissipating, Jin knew it was highly dangerous to let someone who could harness the power of the sun ravage freely in the city. So he trapped him in the most suitable place for such high levels of energy, an endless void.

"Well that settles that, good grief look at the damage he caused! It's gonna take a fortune to get this part of the city fixed. Oh well hehehe." He chuckled.

Roy was stunned, he was unable to move not only because of his injuries but because of what he felt, Jin's Soul-Energy was exactly like the technique he just utilized. Endless. Trying to sense that much level of Soul-Energy was similar to trying to breathe in the depths of the ocean.

"Now then." He spoke aloud, turning to face Roy.

"Will you rise above those obstacles, pain and suffering or will you let the darkness swallow you?" He asked, stretching out his right fist for a fist bump as he offered Roy a fresh start.

Part of Roy was influenced by Yoichi's speech, his tone of voice, the pain within it. It became too similar to his and a realization dawned upon him, they were basically the same.

He realized now, some villains are those who can't fight the pain and suffering, therefore they succumb to the darkness in order to find the light. In a sense, he was broken.

While heroes, true heroes are those who rise above those obstacles and fight in order to prevent anyone from experiencing it. In reality that his goal all along, in order to change this cycle of suffering and pain. That was what he needed to do.

"You cannot drive out the darkness with darkness, it only gives rise to a greater darkness." Jin added.

"..." Remaining speechless, he could see the truth in what Jin said. He had never once considered why all these happens in life, for some it could be unfortunate circumstances. While for people like him, it could have been a test. Perhaps that's the reason he was chosen and given a second chance. To be the one who stands above the cycle of hatred, and save mankind from themselves.

"All my life, I've had series of bad shits thrown at me, some I could overcome, others I couldn't. Maybe taking vengeance isn't the way after all." Smiling softly, Roy got up to his feet as he looked Jin in the eyes.

"I guess you win this time." He responded, colliding his right fist with Jin's for a fist bump.

"With this second chance I've been given at life, I wanna protect everyone from this cycle of pain and suffering ." He added.

"I guess that settles it. I'll show you, Roy Hiroto, what it truly means to be a hero." Jin proclaimed with a radiant smile on his face.