Kai awakens I
Blood splashed on the boy's face and bits of flesh splattered across the room, he fell to the floor, and the gun dropped from his hands. The man who stood before him was now nothing but a pair of legs. As the adrenaline started to wear off the boy began losing consciousness before drifting into slumber.
.
"So, Kai, how do you believe this situation influenced your mental state as you grew up?" inquired a pale woman. Kai gazed emptily at the woman; she marked the third therapist employed by the school, and he was growing weary of these conversations.
"I don't know, it bothered me for a while when I was younger, but it doesn't affect me much anymore," Kai said, showing disinterest in the conversation. The woman adjusted her posture and asked, "When you say it bothered you, how exactly do you mean?" Kai closed his eyes before responding, "Well, it was hard to sleep at first. I couldn't even close my eyes without reliving it. I constantly blamed myself for what happened, thinking if I hadn't hesitated, maybe he would still be here."
Kai opened his eyes as he concluded his thoughts, noticing a shocked expression on the woman's face. She quickly composed herself and remarked, "So your regret doesn't lie in taking a life, but rather in the fact that you weren't able to save your father." Kai acknowledged her surprise but chose to ignore it. "I don't see why I should regret it. He not only killed my dad, but he was going to kill me. I didn't have a choice; it was either him or me." He locked eyes with the woman, maintaining a stone-faced demeanor. Her expression changed again, but she quickly adjusted and continued, "So how did losing your father so shortly after your mother's passing make you feel?" An annoyed look crossed Kai's face. "Please don't ask dumb questions; it's already bad enough that I'm forced to be here." The woman didn't bother hiding her reaction this time, her face displaying irritation. "I can't help you if you're not willing to answer my questions," she retorted, still visibly angered. Unfazed by the woman's anger, Kai responded, "I'm sorry; I just don't see the point in me coming here. I haven't needed this since I was twelve." The woman cleared the frustration from her face and took a deep breath. "I can see you're in a bad mood, so how about we wrap up for the day?" Kai stood, grabbed his belongings, and simply said, "Bye," as he left, sparing only one word.
Leaving the therapist's office, he headed towards the train station. His day had been decent until the therapist managed to sour his mood. Despite it being the beginning of summer vacation, the school insisted on him seeing a therapist. Kai had successfully avoided it during his first two years of high school, but his uncle insisted it would be beneficial. As he entered the station, he paid his fare and boarded the train. Seating himself, he put on his headphones, effectively blocking out the sounds of the Nova City subway.
Screams erupted throughout the entire train, jolting Kai's eyes open. A man stood in the middle of the train, wearing a demonic-looking mask made of tree bark, its glowing green eyes fixated on the horrified passengers. The masked man extended his arm, and four large tree branches sprouted from his hand, ensnaring four people attempting to escape. Green energy surged through the branches as life was drained from the victims. The man dropped them and moved on to his next targets.
Before he could seize another victim, a branch was swiftly severed in half. Another masked individual intervened, his metallic mask covering the bottom half of his face with red lines running across it. His badge read A.M.I. The new arrival rose and assumed a stance, warning, "Stop what you're doing now; I'm from the Alliance of Masked Individuals. If you continue your rampage, I will have no choice but to use lethal force."
The man in the wooden mask scoffed at the threat, launching another tree branch. The A.M.I. member sidestepped, slicing the branch to pieces. Three red orbs floated from the A.M.I. member as he declared, "Mass reduction technique." With incredible speed, he sliced the man's throat. The mask on the now lifeless body turned to green energy and floated away. The A.M.I. member tapped on his badge, and a beam of energy enveloped the corpse, teleporting it from the train.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, ladies and gentlemen. I wish I could've reacted a little faster; civilian casualties could have been completely prevented," the A.M.I. member apologized. The train pulled into the station, and the traumatized passengers hurriedly exited. Kai joined the rest of the passengers, and as he walked towards the exit, he overheard the A.M.I. agent being reprimanded by his superior for reacting slowly. It struck Kai as ironic since the superior hadn't acted at all; he was convinced the superior had been cowering in the corner with the other civilians.
Continuing his journey out of the station towards home, he made a pit stop at a corner store for a drink. As he approached the store, a loud noise echoed in the distance, prompting him to rush out. A towering blaze had consumed a building in the vicinity, and to his dismay, it was his own house. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the fiery scene, the distance not too far. Upon arriving, he discovered the perpetrator—a tall man levitating above the burning building. Cloaked in black, he wore a purple mask that concealed his face.
The man himself had not ignited the fire; instead, a woman emerged from the ravaged roof. Her entire body was engulfed in flames, and her mask resembled an ogre with glowing orange eyes. Emitting small orange orbs from her body, she propelled herself forward and vanished in an instant. However, the man effortlessly extended his arm, halting the woman in her tracks. Purple energy enveloped her as she struggled against his grip. With a wave of his hand, the woman was forcefully pressed to the ground, denied the chance to rise. In a swift motion, the man unleashed a wave of purple energy, crushing her head
Kai felt utterly powerless as he witnessed the unfolding events. Despite his helplessness, he kept running towards his house, desperately hoping that his uncle hadn't been home. Aware of his uncle's past involvement with a gang, he prayed that this incident had nothing to do with it.
He finally reached his home and entered, relieved not to find his uncle's lifeless body awaiting him. Kai breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the burning house. Just as he reached safety, he felt his feet leave the ground, pulled into the air with a mighty force. In an instant, he found himself face-to-face with the masked man.
"Where are you running to, child?" the man spoke, his voice distorted by the mask. Kai made a futile struggle to escape, but he found himself stuck. "What does that have to do with you? No one told you to start blowing stuff up," he retorted. A small chuckle escaped the man's mouth. "You're a brave one, aren't you?" The man continued to squeeze Kai, and just as he was about to lose consciousness, a large black serpent-like dragon grabbed the man, interrupting his focus. Kai plummeted, only to be swiftly caught by a second purple dragon.
A man swiftly approached, riding a third red dragon and wielding a spear. "Come on, nephew, is that all you're made of? Getting caught that easily?" He raised his spear and launched it. The man in the purple mask broke free from the black dragon and dodged the spear. However, the man riding the dragon flicked his wrist, causing the spear to execute a one-eighty and clip the man's face as it fell back into the dragon rider's hand.
The man in the purple mask finally spoke, "You finally decided to show yourself, filthy traitor." He launched a wave of energy at the man on the dragon, but the latter simply swung his spear, causing the energy to disperse. "Triple Dragon Rush!" The three dragons lined up and charged at the cloaked man. Although he attempted to put up an energy barrier, it was shattered by the black dragon, and then he was seized by the purple dragon. The red dragon transformed into golden energy, melding with the man's spear, creating the appearance of the dragon overtaking it. The man with the dragon spear thrust it forward, and a beam of brilliant gold energy shot from the mouth of the spear.
The man in the cloak took the full brunt of the attack and was slammed to the ground. The man controlling the dragons landed on the ground next to Kai. "Sorry you got caught up in all this," the man said sympathetically. Kai stood there with a shocked look on his face for a while before snapping out of it. "Uncle Rick, what are you doing here, and why were you on a dragon?" Rick turned back in the direction of the man in the cloak. "I'll explain everything; let me handle this guy first."
Rick spun his dragon spear, and it returned to its normal state. He then lifted his hand, and the large red dragon reappeared. Jumping on its back, six red orbs were expelled from his back as he rushed in the direction of the cloaked man, moving faster than Kai could perceive.