“He actually fucking did it. HE FUCKING DID IT!” The changing room was in a frenzy, the gang members who had bet on Sel throwing a myriad of items into the air in pure jubilation. However, before they could even begin the celebration proper, the door swung right open, revealing a frantic Sel. He hastily rushed into the room and grabbed the nearest gang member by the shoulder, shaking him violently.

“WHERE’S CHIRA?! WHERE’S MASON!” Sel bellowed with all that he could muster into the member’s ear, frightening him.

“What…? Chira… I don’t know? Boss Mason said he’ll be out for a while.”

“Chira… shouldn’t he be at the temple, guarding it?”

The confused gazes of the gang members told him all he needed to know, rage swirling in his chest as he immediately jabbed his finger, marking out three gang members.

“You, you and you – drive me to the temple now! Chira kidnapped the Shaman!”

“WHAT?” The members were flabbergasted, their eyes darting in between themselves in shock and confusion, some trying to figure out what was happening.

“Why the fuck would Chira do that? He was ordered by Boss Mason to guard the temple, not take the Shaman hostage!” One member protested.

Sel had no time to waste, instead storming towards a gang member who he knew had a car. “We need to go, now!”’

“NOW JUST HOLD ON A SECOND!” A burly gang member hollered out, squaring up in front of him just as Sel tried to forcibly push the driver along. “The fight is already over, Sel, and you’re not our boss – not even our vice boss! Why the fuck do we have to listen to you? Nobody fucking moves until we hear from Boss Mason!”

“Fuck it, I’ll go myself then!” Sel shoved the gang member aside like he was nothing, causing the burly member to stumble. However, instead of facing an empty doorway, three arena guards were blocking his path.

“Calm down, kid.” An old stern voice wafted in from behind them, the arena guards stepping aside to reveal the owner of the arena, one whom Sel had locked eyes with. “You haven’t done the award ceremony!”

Sel didn’t reply, instead about to force his way through before the nearby gang members latched onto him, dragging him back.

“Are you fucking crazy? He’s the owner! You can’t just go against him!”

“GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” Sel roared, immediately twisting his arm and body away from the gang members, smacking all of them away from him.

The sight of Sel’s brimming energy despite just having gone through a ‘finals’ match surprised the owner, who only grinned even more. The moment Sel stepped forward towards the arena guards, he felt a wave of fear wash over him like a crashing tide, a primal fear suddenly bursting forward in his heart. Me, afraid of the guards after winning a fighting tournament? How-

“You’re exactly the man I’ve been looking around for. An indomitable spirit with a stamina bordering on a miracle.” The owner tapped his cane, the soles of his polished oxford shoes rasping against the concrete floor as he walked up to Sel, examining him.

“Let me go.” Sel barely was able to muster the words together out of his mouth despite the crushing sense of fear and horror emanating from the owner. It took nearly half of his willpower to not kneel or run away.

Behind him, the gang members were already bowing in respect to the owner, none daring to stand up.

“Not until you accept your prize in the award ceremony. You’re the winner! The hero of the hour! Humans need heroes, Sel. To give them hope! Surely you wouldn’t want Mason’s efforts to go to waste?”

Sel hardly cared that the owner knew his name, looking for an escape route. He racked his brains, his gaze locked on the guards and the owner, trying to calculate how fast he could take all of them out. But before he could even make a move, the arena guards already were flanking him, threatening to surround him. Each of them wielded a baton, ready to deliver pain.

“How long is the award ceremony?”

“Impatient, are we? The ceremony starts in three hours.”

“Like fucking hell I’m waiting three hours.”

“Tie him up.” The owner snapped his fingers, and the guards immediately pinned Sel down to the ground in a heap of bodies as Sel squirmed, his face pressed against the floor, desperately trying to struggle free.

Locking his arms, the guards hauled Sel up to face the owner once more. There was something unnerving about the owner’s face, his wrinkles and sagging skin looking as though it could melt away at any time, yet his eyes were as vigorous as a child, their pupils glaring into Sel’s soul.

“There seems to be a certain… miscommunication. A facet of human language. You.” The owner jabbed the tip of his cane into Sel’s body, the nondescript golden tip suddenly searing into Sel’s chest, evoking a pained cry. “You don’t get a choice at all. You think you can fuck up the tournament and get away with it? You’re mine now.”

Sel’s eyes remained defiant, his brain immediately joining the dots. Fucking Chira and the owner of the arena are in on it!

The owner’s words were heard by everyone in the room, the gang members confused. Yet none of them dared to stand up against the owner and his guards. Sel could sense the hesitation in the gang members, locking eyes with the burly member from before, whose face was a mix of befuddlement and anger at Sel being taken away.

“I don’t follow anyone else but Mason!” Sel shouted as loud as he could, stirring the hearts of the gang members, half expecting them to stand up for him. However, no one made a single move, causing the owner to chuckle.

“Fool, no man dares to stand against me. Especially not Mason’s small little ‘boys.’ Drag him under.” The owner sharply turned around, leaving the doorway with Sel struggling against the dragging force of the guards.

Aura of Perseverance!

With the owner leaving the doorway slightly, coupled with the newfound surge of defiance and tenacity blooming in their hearts, a boost of courage coursed through the gang members’ veins.

“HEY! Sel ain’t going nowhere. Mason didn’t say anything about Sel joining you! He’s one of us!”

“Yeah, he’s one of us! Not your fucking toy!”

The owner was slightly surprised at the sudden defiance, watching the gang members immediately starting a fight with the guards, the changing room turning into a mass brawl of a dozen gang members versus three.

Yet the arena guards were well equipped, easily blocking and shrugging off any punch or kick that came in.

Capitalizing on the chaos, Sel broke free of their iron grip, immediately delivering a solid punch into the ribs of a guard, causing him to keel over in agony. Scrambling towards the doorway, Sel soon came face to face with the owner.

“Get out of my way, old man,” Sel warned.

“Impressive for someone as young as you. Barely a year old even.” The owner surprisingly stepped to the side, allowing Sel to freely escape. Sel wondered whether it was a trap, but the gunshot from the earpiece was still ringing in his brain.

“You three, go with him! We’ll hold them off here!” The burly member roared as he rugby tackled a guard, crashing into a pile of metal foldable chairs and water bottles cracking, while Sel, the driver, and two other gang members made their way out of the arena.

Sel half-expected to have to fight his way out, but the arena guards simply stood aside, letting him easily reach the carpark where their ride was waiting a standard four-seater sedan.

“Are you sure the car ain’t rigged to hell?” The driver frowned, but Sel didn’t have time to check.

“No time left - just drive! Drive to the damn temple!”

The tires skidded as the driver raced out onto the road, dodging traffic and lane swapping as well as he could, earning horns and shouts from other drivers. Yet Sel was laser-locked on only one thing: finding Chira.

As the car turned the corner, entering the road that led right to the temple, a loud bang was heard, followed by the windscreen of the car being pockmarked by bullet holes, the fragmenting cracks blooming outwards like a flower.

“I can’t see a damn thing!” The driver complained as he swerved to avoid the gunfire, weaving to and fro on the road.

“Where are the weapons in the cars? Where are the guns?” The members in the backseat scrambled to find anything that could help them.

“We only got crowbars and bats!”

Sel ducked as the windscreen fully broke apart, the shards of glass flinging into the cabin of the car as the outside wind shoved against them. Bullets sang above them, pelleting the bonnet and roof of the car as the driver blindly floored the accelerator, charging straight for the temple.

Peeking over the dashboard, Sel could see three of Chira’s men shooting at him with handguns, trying to take out the driver. “Keep your fucking head down!” Sel yelled over the din of gunfire and engine revving, reaching his hand out to pull the driver’s head lower.

Yet, instead of feeling any resistance, the driver’s body slumped as his head lolled onto the gear stick to which he was still gripping. Sel’s hand was marred in blood, a gunshot tearing cleanly through the driver’s skull. The driver was already dead.

The car roared as the accelerator was floored, the inertia pulling all of their bodies back. Sel quickly reached out to grab the wheel before the driver’s body could turn it, but it was far too late, with the car hitting the steps of the temple at an angle before launching into the air, flipping over.

The world around Sel spun as his seatbelt was the only thing keeping him in his seat, watching the temple turn upside down before his head was immediately smacked by the cabin’s roof caving inwards, the sharp metal dent nearly puncturing his brain while the car’s engine was still running.

Concussed, Sel wildly grabbed onto anything he could see on the floor, which was now the cabin, his breathing haggard as he tried to escape the car crash. “hey….Hey! You alive?”

“Urghh…” A gang member groaned in the backseat, a sign of life, while the other was out unconscious. God damn it.

Sel’s body was now only dangling by the seatbelt, the cabin that was now the floor. Disengaging the latch of the belt, his body collapsed onto the cabin, quickly crawling around for any weapons. He reached up for the glove box, opening it to reveal a combat knife that nearly scraped him as it fell beside him in a loud clattering noise.

“They’re still alive in there! Stay sharp!” Sel heard Chira’s men approaching the crashed car. He looked towards the backseat, noticing the groaning gang member was bleeding from the forehead as well, having smacked against the front seat in the crash.

Sel hastily slapped him, knowing he could not fight alone. “Get up!”

Yet the gang member did not respond, leaving Sel alone in his attempt to escape the car crash. He could hear the footsteps approaching his side of the car, so he scrambled over to the driver’s side, shoving the dead driver’s body aside in desperation.

However, the driver’s side door was completely blocked, and the cabin crushed in towards the front and preventing it from opening. Sel instead hurriedly clambered over to the backseat, where the side door was still functional. But instead of opening it and making a ruckus, he crawled through, ignoring the shards of glass grazing against his skin and drawing blood while he squirmed his way out.

Sel drove his elbow into the soft soil, hauling his body forward as quietly as possible, before crawling behind a tree and into the bushes nearby. He noticed something moving in the bushes, an animal of sorts, but this wasn’t the time to figure out the endemic life of the city.

Propping himself up against the trunk out of sight of Chira’s men, he channeled Resurgence. He had not used it during the finals, so he still had a full 300 seconds to use it. His wounds healed up quickly, the bleeding stemming immediately while his skin rejuvenated itself, tightening up.

“Step out of the car if you want to live! Nobody has to die!” Chira’s men hollered at the remaining passengers but soon noticed that everyone inside was either incapacitated, unconscious, or dead.

“Something’s wrong, there’s one person missing. The guy riding shotgun.”

“Where did he go? Did he jump out before the crash?”

Sel’s heart hammered, and he grabbed the combat knife he had close to his heart. He didn’t have any training with the knife, but he clung to it with blind faith, his ears perking up to hear the footsteps.

Each footstep seemed to bring them closer to Sel’s position as they circled the crashed car, looking for any tips. Nothing was spoken for a minute. Sel almost believed that they were about to give up when suddenly one of them cried out. “Over here! There’s a blood trail!”

“Into the bushes and the trees? Fan out and search for him!”

Sel slowly stood up, his body more than ready to fight. Yet despite all his strength, there was no chance in hell he could win against three men who wielded handguns. Perhaps he might be able to heal the wounds, but the pain would be immeasurable.

Instead, he hugged the tree trunk with his knife at the ready, waiting for the closest men to approach him before lunging out. However, he could hear two pairs of footsteps slowly converging towards him, following the trail of blood that he left when he crawled out. Their steps crunched against the dead fallen leaves and nuts scattered around, each crack coming closer and closer.

Taking a deep breath, Sel’s muscles tensed up, the blood thumping in his ears as the adrenaline built up in his body, raring to go. Left or right?

Suddenly, a loud rustling sound erupted from an adjacent bush, causing Chira’s men to immediately turn in suspicion, eyeing the swaying of bushes and branches on the ground, seemingly heading towards the furthest shooter.

“What the hell is th-“ The closest shooter to Sel couldn’t finish the sentence, his words garbled. He confusedly looked down at himself, seeing the cold black metal blade of a combat knife sticking out through his neck from behind, slicing deep into his Adam apple and vocal cords.

With a gurgle and widened eyes, the shooter crumpled to the floor, earning the attention of the second shooter, who snapped and fired at Sel, the bullet tearing through the air with a bang.

The bullet ripped through the flesh on Sel’s left arm, drilling into the bone as Sel tumbled out of view, only leaving the voiceless shooter’s body twitching on the ground in spasms, choking on his own blood.

“Over here, he’s over here!” The second shooter hollered, prompting the furthest shooter to run over, cornering the last known location of Sel. “Corner him!”

Sel hurriedly channeled resurgence, but not before gingerly pulling out the bullet lodged in his arm. Sharp excruciating pain erupted as his fingers dug into the wound, pinching the shell out while he gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to scream and give away his location.

Yet he knew it was only a matter of time before the game was up. With two shooters cornering him he would be shot the moment he stepped out. I need a distraction…

As if on cue, the rustling bush from before suddenly erupted in a flurry of motion, a single small shadow leaping out and lunging for the third shooter, digging its sharp claws into the skin.

“AHHHH WHAT THE FUCK!” The third shooter yelled, distracting the second shooter and allowing Sel to charge out from his hiding spot behind the tree roots, closing the gap in three strides.

Before the second shooter could raise his gun to shoot, Sel used his palm to knock the gun hand upwards, the gunshot ringing up into the sky before Sel drove his left fist as hard as he could into the guts of the second shooter. The moment the second shooter’s body doubled over, his nose crumpled from the impact of Sel’s knee jabbing into his face, knocking him out cold for good.

While the third shooter was struggling with the unknown animal, Sel quickly grabbed the handgun dropped by the second shooter, aiming it at the third shooter and firing two shots into his legs. Sel was taken aback by the sudden recoil, having never fired a gun before. The first shot hit the leg, but the second shot tore a hole through the leaves of the tree, cracking a branch.

“Guh!” The third shooter limped onto the ground, the animal still ravaging his face and clawing furiously. Sel didn’t have time to ‘save’ him, instead checking the bullets in the handgun. Realizing the second shooter’s magazine was half empty, he swapped it with an extra magazine tucked away in the second shooter’s pocket, reloading it.

He struggled a bit with the safety catch, but soon got the hang of it. He had never used a handgun before, but he had watched plenty of movies with guns in them, though he never knew the recoil would be that high.

That did not mean he was not going to use what was available to him. Retrieving his combat knife from the still twitching body of the first shooter, Sel didn’t bother wiping the blood off the blade or himself, walking right for the temple’s double doors, gun in one hand and knife in the other.

Before he could open the door himself, a gang member stepped out, intending to go see what the ruckus was all about. Instead, he came face to face with a gun barrel aimed right at his forehead, along with a bloodied knife pressed against his neck, the sharp edge already grazing the skin.

“Where the fuck is Chira?” Sel spoke with a calm rage, ready to kill at a moment’s notice. “Where’s the Shaman?”

“He’s in the main hall.”

“Good. Turn around slowly, and nobody has to get hurt. You got me? Nod for yes.” Sel ordered. He could sense the gang member thinking about retaliating, so he pushed the gun barrel and knife further, threatening him even more.

The gang member nodded, slowly turning around while Sel aimed the gun right at his back, following the gang member into the main hall. As soon as he cleared the doorway, a slow clapping sound echoed through the familiar hall where Sel had spent his childhood.

Sel grimaced, looking at Chira’s eight remaining men all fanning out, guns at the ready while Chira sarcastically clapped at the altar. It wasn’t until Chira moved that Sel realized who was at Chira’s feet, bleeding profusely.

“Mason!”