Godfire: The Split Soul

Shadows stretched on the ground as Kai lowered his head. The metal of the necklace tapped on his skin when he raised his head.

Lena's smile replaced Corvin's face as Kai focused on the guy's grin.

'Don't belittle yourself.' A voice that wasn't his own lanced into his head. And when he blinked, he saw himself on the platform that had felt distant.

"What are you waiting for, human trash?" Corvin screamed, then clapped once.

The sound vibrated in Kai's bones as he tried to push himself up.

"Look how weak you are." Corvin laughed, then turned, flaunting to the crowd.

Whispers and insults got hurled at Kai when he finally stood on his feet.

"Fight me!" Corvin whirled around and slammed his boots hard on the ground.

Half of the crowd joined in the insults, but the other half remained calm, almost as if they were the ones who really knew what Yung Chin K was capable of doing.

At the fourth empty row at the back of the strong civilian section, Cassy turned a shocked expression on Jinx after someone had whispered the name 'Yung Chin K'.

"Isn't that your brother?" She turned and squinted at the second participant, who was kneeling.

Jinx positioned herself well, yet she couldn't see the face clearly.

Inside the platform, two beads of blood dripped from Kai's lips as he breathed sharply.

Dust spiraled upward when Corvin slammed his boots on the ground for a third time, then clapped.

Kai wiped the blood from his lips with his right thumb, then stood up. He gurgled, spat out the remaining blood clinging to his teeth, and clenched his fist.

Corvin's expression shifted from a smile to a grim grin. "This is the version I craved for."

Kai assumed a boxing stance, then remembered the times he trained, covering his eyes.

The memory of that training flashed into his head the moment he slowly closed his eyes. In his memory, he saw Lieutenant Gray as vividly as he remembered him.

"See through your other seven senses." The words from the memory sent the hair on Kai's skin standing on end.

When he calmed his fast-beating chest, a smile spread across his face. A subtle laugh escaped as he saw Corvin replicate the boxing stance.

He opened his palms, then closed them in sync with his eyes.

"Whoa!" Corvin paused, stared at Yung Chin K, confused. "Well. The souls of your parents will be awaiting your arrival once I'm done with you."

Corvin loosened his jaw, then dashed forward at great speed, breaking his stance.

The loud slamming of boots pierced the ground and seeped into Kai's bones as distant, spiraling vibrations.

His mind plunged into a dark space where he could see sound, hear emotions, and feel shapes.

Countless sounds he was never able to hear dashed toward him like rain, followed by a rolling dust ball.

For a heartbeat, a sharp sound flew past his left ear, but he sidestepped before it struck. Another came for his right ear, which he dodged, then panted.

Before he could process it all, a bang exploded around him. And from nowhere, a kick landed in his stomach and sent him a few meters back.

He whirled in the dark room, clutching his stomach with his left arm. His eyelids blinked, trying to open, but he forced them shut. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

When another strike surged toward him, a distant voice erupted in his head: Don't fight with anger. Fight with the flow of the wind.

The punch hovered over his head when he ducked and threw an uppercut.

Outside the darkness behind Kai's eyelids, Corvin stumbled a few meters back, his hands gripping his jaw.

"Fuck!" he cursed the moment he removed his hand and saw blood dripping from his jaw.

His voice alone stopped the crowd's cheers. But Jinx and Cassy stood, clapping loudly.

Corvin threw a sharp glance at them, yet they didn't even seem to see the fear that dwelt on everyone's faces.

With regret and anger filling him, Corvin turned and dashed forward at high speed.

Just as he neared Yung Chin K, Kai's eyes snapped open. He blocked the speeding punch, then hurled Corvin to the side.

Though his massive punch was blocked, Corvin continued his flurry of punches, but none even scratched Kai.

After five minutes of back-to-back punches, Corvin paused, then crouched down, panting heavily.

"You said you killed the Titanaboa. Killed the Wingreapers…" he paused, then stood up and dashed forward.

"Fight back if you're a man, as they say." His screams came before his punches, all of which Kai blocked while pushing him aside.

Kai caught the punch, which was meant for his nose, and bent the arm, forcing Corvin to kneel.

Around the platform, the crowd regained their souls and stood on their toes, swallowing hard.

"There is only one reason," Kai stated, increasing the grip on the arm. "You're not the enemy."

Corvin's eyes widened with confusion. The dreadful grin and the boasting he had built for himself all vanished and left him with an unresolved question.

Kai loosened his grip and stepped back three times. Joy exploded in his chest when he saw Jinx smiling in the crowd.

…

That night, when everyone had gone back to their allocated rooms, Jinx sat on her bed in the medical ward.

The wooden sword felt like a real weapon as she slowly placed it on her lap and fixed her gaze on it.

Through the open window of the room she was in, chilled wind flew in and seeped into her spine.

"I've missed you, all of you." She said in a low voice, then slowly placed the wooden sword under her bed.

She smiled when she saw Cassy, deeply asleep, sitting opposite her bed.

"Sleeping beauty." Jinx teased, then turned and covered herself with the blue blanket she had used since moving from the critical patient room to a confidential one.

As sleep slowly swallowed her, tears dripped from her eyes as she remembered the look on Kai's face.

In her head, a dream of standing in front of the Sword Sect Barracks of Bion City formed, with Kai by her side. And at their front was a figure.

He was a 2.5-meter-tall man, impeccably groomed, with long, smooth blue hair that fell to his shoulders.

"What you went through is just the surface training. The actual and real training begins in two days. You're dismissed!"

Then, as slowly as the dream came, it dissipated.