The masked man left the old man's house, carrying the mysterious book close to his chest. His steps were firm, but the weight of the old man's words echoed in his mind: "Give this only to someone truly worthy."
As he moved toward his hidden base, the silence of the night shattered. A group of ten figures blocked his path, their eyes glinting with greed.
"Hand over the book!" one of them demanded.
The masked man's deep voice rumbled in reply, "Try if you can."
The attackers lunged. Blades clashed, and sparks flew. Even wounded from a previous battle, the masked man fought with incredible strength. Each strike showed his determination; he could not let the book fall into the wrong hands. He knew its secret: somewhere in this world, a truly worthy person existed, and the book must reach them.
But his injury slowed him down. Realizing he could not overpower all ten, he made a difficult choice. Instead of fighting to the end, he leapt back and disappeared into the shadows.
He traveled to Aethris —a hidden place shrouded in mystery. Legends said anyone could enter, but only those who fulfilled the creator's rules could claim an item from within.
There, the masked man buried the book, hiding it from his pursuers. As he sealed it away, he whispered, "The worthy one will come, and they will find it."
The morning sun streamed through Leo's window. He sat cross-legged on his bed, intensely focused on his game. The sound of clicking filled the room until his mother's voice broke through.
"Leo, go take a shower. I'll make breakfast and get everything ready for school."
Reluctantly, Leo paused his game, stretched, and headed for the bathroom. Soon after breakfast, he left the house, backpack slung over his shoulder.
On the way to school, he bumped into Damian. "Morning," Damian said with his usual confident smirk. "Walking together?"
"Sure," Leo replied, and they began heading toward school.
Suddenly, Alex came running up, panting. "We're going to be late!"
The three of them sprinted toward the school gates, laughter and shouts mixing with their urgency.
Inside the classroom, the teacher was already present, her eyes narrowing at the slightly out-of-breath trio. She handed out the day's lessons and gave a sharp warning:
"If this happens again tomorrow, I will call your parents."
Finally, break time arrived. The trio huddled together, whispering excitedly about their secret plan: they would sneak out to the small wooded area behind the school, a quiet little forest patch perfect for some mischief.