High school. For many, it's a time filled with the best memories: wild adventures, cherished friendships, and the giddy excitement of teenage love.
Normally, encountering faces from those years should evoke a rush of nostalgia, perhaps a fond recollection of shared escapades.
However, this wasn't the case for Fai. These familiar faces, were far from bringing back fond moments, instead the dug up a torrent of horrifying memories.
They were memories of unrelenting torture, excruciating pain, and soul-crushing agony.
He vividly recalled his helplessness, the way these very individuals treated him with an almost animalistic cruelty.
Their sheer barbarity left an indelible mark. All these painful recollections washed over him, like a bitter cup of salty water spilling down his face.
"If this isn't destiny, I don't know what is," Keal sneered, stepping forward with a casual arrogance that made Fai's blood run cold.
His grin widened. "And I have to say, you really went all in trying to run from your punishment. Dyed your hair black and everything."
Fai remained silent, his jaw tight and fists clenched. The familiar rush of old anger threatened to overwhelm him.
"But guess what?"
Keal continued, a smug smirk twisting his lips. "You can't outrun what you destiny."
Johnson, who had been observing the tense exchange, leaned in close to Fai. "You know these guys?" he asked quietly, his voice laced with concern.
Fai gave a slow, reluctant nod. "Yeah… I do." The low, strained tone in his voice was enough. Johnson didn't need a detailed explanation; it was clear these people were anything but friends.
"I see you've made a new friend," Keal remarked, his eyes dissecting Johnson.
"But tell me, Fai does he know?"Keal asked.
Fai didn't respond, his gaze remaining fixed on Keal. "Does he know what you really are?"
Keal's voice dripped with mock innocence. "The pathetic, crippled loser who used to beg us for mercy back in school?"
"Keal, shut up," Fai snapped, his voice sharper than before, betraying the composure he had maintained all day. Johnson's eyebrow rose; something had clearly rattled Fai.
Keal chuckled darkly. "There it is. That spark. I remember it. Right before we put it out again and again."
"Who are these guys?" Johnson pressed, his tone firmer now, sensing the rapidly escalating tension.
Fai couldn't answer. His mind was a tempest of anger, perhaps fear, or some complicated mix of both, consuming his thoughts entirely.
Keal stepped closer, his eyes glinting with malicious intent. "Or are you scared? Scared that when he knows who you really are, he'll leave you, just like the others before him? Because you're nothing but a piece of shit."
He looked at Fai with an expression of pure disgust. "Let me help him out. At least he deserves to know the truth, right?"
Keal glanced toward Johnson. "You know what? I will spill the beans," he said, then turned his attention fully to Johnson.
"Hey there. I don't know what our dear friend promised you, but I can promise you one thing: I can give you double." Keal smiled, confident in his offer.
He knew Fai had no means to pay anyone, so he was trying to win Johnson over with money, a tactic that almost always worked.
"I don't think Fai will even be able to give you any good offer. He's nothing but a poor orphan who has made it to this present moment by luck.
He has no backing, no power, nothing. And to top it off, he's a weakling ." Keal relished in ridiculing Fai's low status.
"Plus, my family has connections with one of the great seven guilds. If you make it through this assessment and follow me, I could put in a good word for you, and you'd be in one of the strongest guilds out there,"
Keal said, a bright, self-satisfied smile on his face. He was clearly proud of his family's influence.
Although Keal's family didn't possess the strongest or most fearsome name, they held extensive connections to numerous guilds and factions, primarily because his mother possessed a rare healing mutation ability, something highly sought after due to its scarcity.
"What are you expecting from me?" Johnson asked, his gaze unwavering, devoid of fear. "Although kindness still exists, I doubt you're going to do all that for free."
"All we ask is for you to step away from the orphan. Trust me, being with him will only bring you more harm than good. We've got unfinished business with him, things we have yet to conclude,"
Keal said, his face contorted with boiling anger. Johnson saw the rage, and for some reason, he wasn't surprised.
"So, in summary, you're telling me you're willing to pay me so that I should step away and allow you to beat him up?" Johnson asked, a hint of incredulity in his voice.
"Perfect, that's exactly what we want you to do," Keal confirmed. "And as a reward, I'll even give you something now."
Keal reached into his pocket and pulled out three golden coins. He then tossed them toward Johnson, who caught them smoothly.
Johnson caught the coins, his fists clenching.
"You're proud of that?" he asked, his voice cold. "You're willing to stoop so low that you gang up on a single, weak individual?"
Keal shrugged. "Proud? Well, that might be another way to call it. I prefer 'satisfying.' Yeah, that's the word, satisfying."
Fai's fists curled tightly. Memories he had desperately tried to bury resurfaced like fresh, open wounds.
Each word, each sneer, triggered vivid flashes of a darker time. But this wasn't the past, and he wasn't that same helpless kid anymore.
Prime, the male twin, stepped forward. "What's wrong, Fai? Not so confident now?"
"You're so stupid that you even refused a pill, the only thing that could give you an advantage in this world. Now, with how weak you are, how will you fend against us?" Brine added, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"You don't know anything about me," Fai said coldly, his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, but we do," Keal replied with that same infuriating grin. "You're still pretending. Pretending you're someone important. Do you think your little tricks of training make you something special?"
Keal scoffed. "Wake up to the reality Fai,unlike you, we were born with real talent; we don't even need to waste our time training.
Even if you spend years training, we would still best you.that's just the nature of life,people like us are meant to rule, while people like you are meant to be right here " Keal said pointing towards his feet.
" Under my foot "
Fai stiffened.