Assad didn't waste a moment. The instant Kiichi steadied himself, Assad lunged forward again fast, precise, slicing through the air like a blade.

  But Kiichi merely tilted his head slightly. The strike whiffed through empty space.

  Before Assad could regain his footing, a fist like iron slammed into his chest. It wasn't wild or flashy, it was calm, almost gentle in its execution.

  But the power behind it sent Assad flying back across the octagon, his boots screeching against the floor before he crashed into a pillar with a heavy thud.

  Dust rained down from the ceiling.

  Taura gasped from the stands. "He just—!"

  But Assad was already on the move again. He spat out copper-tasting blood, dug his heels in, and launched himself back at Kiichi with double the force.

  His fist sliced through the air and landed squarely. Kiichi's head jerked to the side, his body stumbling back a step from the impact.

  For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then that laugh came back and was deep, guttural, and completely unfazed. Kiichi straightened up, rubbing his cheek where Assad had hit him, his grin growing wider by the second.

  "Now that…that one actually tickled a bit.I'll be generous and give it a solid…two out of ten."

  he said, his voice echoing around the room.

  His eyes sparkled with wild excitement,the crowd erupted again, half groans and half cheers. Pixia rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath.

  "This idiot's having way too much fun."

  Meanwhile, Assad's face remained unchanged.

  He can take hits and be as cocky as he wants by the way that every person who does not like rookies does, which is to mock.

  'To hell with this, I'm going to beat the living daylights out of him.'

  The air crackled as fists met flesh.

  Assad lunged again, his movements sharp and unpredictable. His strike slammed into Kiichi's ribs, sending shockwaves across the arena floor.

  Kiichi staggered back a half-step, coughed once then grinned, wiping the blood from his lip.

  "Mm… I'll give that a 3 out of 10. You're getting better, rookie."

  Assad's eyes narrowed, his muscles coiling like springs. Kiichi bent backward at an impossible angle, Assad's heel barely grazing his nose before Kiichi snapped forward with a palm strike that sent Assad flying back across the octagon.

  Assad slid, teeth gritted, before charging forward once more another punch, this time aimed at the jaw. Kiichi's head snapped sideways, blood spraying from his lip.

  He laughed through the blood. "Hah! That's a 4 outta 10! At least you've stopped tickling me."

  Assad didn't let up. His fists moved like lightning jab, cross, elbow, knee. Each blow pushed Kiichi back, shockwaves rippling from their collisions.

  Finally, a clean strike landed on Kiichi's cheek,the crew in the viewing stands leaned in, eyes wide with disbelief. Kiichi spat blood onto the floor, his smirk still intact.

  "…Five outta ten."

  "FIVE? That was at least an eight, you smug bastard!"Taura shouted from above, slamming her fist against the railing.

  Pixia cackled. "He's just playing with him."

  Sévon leaned forward, eyes fixed on Assad, silent but intense. Assad exhaled sharply, sweat trickling down his temple. His knuckles were red and raw, but his glare remained unwavering.

  'Doesn't matter what score you give me. I'll break through you.'

  Kiichi licked the blood off his lip and raised his hands again, almost teasingly.

  "Come on, rookie. Let's see if you can even hit double digits."

  The rhythm of fists and kicks was deafening now. Assad's fist connected hard with Kiichi's temple, snapping his head sideways.

  The sound of the hit drew gasps from the viewing platform. Tasia nearly dropped her drink. But Kiichi just laughed again, spitting blood onto the pristine white floor. He steadied himself, rolling his shoulders with a casual shrug.

  "Not bad, rookie. Not bad at all." His grin widened, sharp as broken glass. "I'll give that a seven outta ten."

  Assad froze for half a second, chest heaving. Seven?

  Kiichi stepped closer, his voice dropping, dripping with mockery.

  "But let's be real, you're still just a stray dog swinging blindly. Every punch you throw? Just scraps. Every move? Amateur hour. You could train a thousand years, and you'd still be nothing more than the crew's charity case."

  The words cut deeper than any physical blow. Assad's eyes narrowed, a flash of silver catching the arena lights. His fists shook not from fear, but from a barely contained fury.

  Kiichi leaned in, a smirk playing on his lips, close enough for only Assad to hear.

  "You'll never be part of the family. You're just a guest at the table, rookie and guests… they don't stick around for long."

  The arena fell into a heavy silence, every spectator holding their breath in anticipation. Then, with a thunderous stomp, Assad's foot hit the floor. He lunged forward, quicker than ever.

  His fist shot out like a bullet, aimed directly at Kiichi's smirk.

  Assad charged forward, his fist slicing through the air like a cannonball, fueled by all his weight and fury aimed straight at Kiichi's smug grin that punch alone should have shattered bones.

  Should have sent him sprawling. But it came to a sudden halt, caught with ease by just one finger.

  Kiichi's middle finger pressed against Assad's knuckles, stopping the blow mid-air. In the same breath, he flicked his finger upward, the gesture so nonchalant it felt like an insult like he was swatting away a pesky fly.

  "Oh? Is that really all you've got?" Kiichi tilted his head, his smirk growing wider as his hand remained steady. The middle finger, bent against Assad's fist, slowly curled until it stood tall, giving him the finger.

  The crowd above gasped in unison.

  Kiichi's voice dropped, dripping with smugness.

  "I heard you had some of the water in you… but you're just raw. Untamed. If you'd gone on a few missions, shown you weren't dead weight, I would've been happy to sharpen you help you unlock it."

  His grin turned sharp, almost cruel. "But what a shame. Looks like that never happened."

  He tapped Assad's knuckles lightly with that same finger, a lazy, almost playful gesture.

  With that he says the words with a quiet whisper next to Assad's ear.

  "Buransuta."

  The word was soft, but it exploded the moment it left his lips. A flurry of strikes erupted all at once, faster than the eye could see, faster than sound.

  Fists, knees, elbows Kiichi's form blurred into afterimages, his attacks raining down from every direction like a storm.

  BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

  Assad's body jolted violently with each hit, blood spraying into the pristine air. His guard shattered, his ribs screamed, and by the time the final blow landed, he was already crumpling.

  The world spun, the white floor rushing up to meet him.

  When he hit the ground, it was with a sickening thud Assad lay there on his back, coughing up blood, his chest heaving in ragged bursts.

  Above him, Kiichi stood unscathed, brushing off imaginary dust from his knuckles, his middle finger still raised like a flag.

  "Negative million outta ten,not even worth grading."he said flatly.

  The arena was silent with only the sound of only Assad's labored breathing, blood pooling beneath him.

  Everyone was in shock at the display that just happened right in their own faces. Taura and Tasia quickly ran off the top spot to come check on Assad as he was not in a good condition at all.

  "Kiichi you bastard, why did you use your ability on him? This spar was supposed to be with no powers." Taura said with some anger on her face.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "Like that concerns you at all, I was just testing the newbie that's all nothing else."

  Taura scoffed, "But like that at least you would have beaten him to a bloody pulp not with your powers."

  "She's right Kiichi and you know that." Tasia said.

  "Yea sure whatever I did wrong but it's not my fault."

  Taura's fists were clenched so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms.

  "Is this what you call testing? He's bleeding out, Kiichi!"

  Assad tried to move, but his body felt like it was made of lead and every breath was a searing pain in his lungs. He could hear the others arguing, but their voices were distant like echoes underwater.

  'Tch... I can't... even lift my arm.'

  Tasia knelt beside him, her hand pressed against his chest, fingers shaking. "We need to get him to medical right now!"

  Kiichi simply turned away, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "Then hurry up. Don't waste time blaming me."

  Shuren let out another puff of smoke, this one heavier and darker.

  "You crossed a line, kid. You might've just crushed his spirit… and if he wakes up, you'd better hope he doesn't remember any of this."

  "Yea sure I get it damn." Kiichi said with an annoyed voice.

  The soft hum of machines filled the air, accompanied by a slow, rhythmic beep… beep… beep that echoed nearby.

  Assad's eyes fluttered open. For a brief moment, all he could see was a blinding, sterile white. The sharp scent of antiseptic stung his nostrils.

  As his vision adjusted, he began to understand his surroundings. He was in the medical bay. Bandages were wrapped around nearly every inch of his body.

  The last thing he remembered was Kiichi's voice… and an overwhelming wave of pain. Endless, crushing pain.

  He attempted to sit up slowly, groaning as his muscles protested. His hand instinctively moved to his ribs, but to his surprise, there was no pain.

  "What…?" he whispered, his voice coming out dry and raspy.

  He carefully peeled back a section of the bandage on his arm. The skin beneath was flawless. Not a bruise but some scars but they are not that much of them, His heart raced.

  'That's impossible.'

  Then, a flash of memory struck him. The burning sensation from that night, the moment he fell into that old well, teetering on the edge of death after being publicly burned alive.

  He froze.

  "It's the same feeling. Just like when I was about to die from the flames."

  As he was pondering this the door of the medical bay opened. It's Taura and Shuren. Taura is holding a tray with food and a drink, while Shuren is smoking her cigarette.

  "Looks like our rookie sleeping beauty has finally awoken." Shuren said.

  Assad looks at the both of them with confused glazes, still trying to understand what the hell is going on? But he had to act normal; he can't let them see him as suspicious. He had to maintain the original Assad attitude.

  "Oh hey you two."

  "You look good already, did ya sleep well?" Taura said.

  "Yea I did thank you."

  Shuren takes a chair and sits down crossed legged next to Assad's bed still smoking as usual.

  'She is never gonna let go of that cig isn't she.'

  Assad is eating the food that Taura gave him slowly. He still wants to act like he is injured so that it does not bring unnecessary attention to him.

  "Taura can you leave the room for a minute? I wanna talk with Assad alone." Shuren said.

  "Yea sure thing hope you get better Assad."

  Taura leaves the room with a wave of goodbye and closes the door. Assad gives the same see a later wave back, but one thing confuses him.

  When did they give me that nickname Ace sounds kinda weird.

  "Now then, you can stop pretending."

  Assad froze.

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "Don't act so dumb I know your wounds are already healed, you are just pretending, at first I actually believed you when you were acting but then you slipped up when you took the food off from Taura."

  Assad had no words he knew that he was busted, there was nothing he could do. Lying was useless as Shuren's eyes already show that she is telling the truth, not a single lie on sight.

  Assad felt his mind go blank for a moment, his fingers twitching slightly as they still gripped the spoon. She noticed it too.

  Shuren let out a puff of smoke, the white haze curling up like a ghost hovering between them. "Relax," she said. "If I wanted to report you, I would've done it already. But I'm curious."

  Assad narrowed his eyes. "Curious about what?"

  Shuren leaned back in her chair, flicking ash into a small tray. "How the hell are you still alive?"

  Her words struck him like a knife to the chest. Assad fell silent and every part of him screamed to deny it, to laugh it off, but there was something in her tone… she wasn't just bluffing. She knew something.

  She smirked when he didn't respond.

  "Don't give me that look. I checked your medical chart myself. Second-degree burns, fractured ribs, punctured lung any normal person would be in a coma, not sitting up and eating porridge."

  Assad glanced down at his hands, then clenched them tightly under the blanket. "So what are you saying?"

  "I'm saying…" Shuren's eyes locked onto his, sharp and unwavering. "...you're not normal. Are you?"

  Silence enveloped them. The steady beep… beep… of the heart monitor suddenly felt overwhelming.

  Assad managed a faint smirk. "Normal's overrated."

  Shuren chuckled softly. "Yeah… that's what they all say before things start burning again."

  Assad's expression turned serious. "What do you mean by that?"

  She stood up, stretching her arms before making her way to the door. Her cigarette burned low, leaving wisps of smoke trailing in the air.

  "You'll find out soon enough, Assad. This place has a way of revealing people's true selves."

  Shuren starts walking to the door and opens it as she attempts to exit

  "Shuren."

  She halted mid-step, her hand resting on the door handle.

  Assad's voice was steady, almost unnervingly so. "How can I prove myself?"

  Shuren turned slightly, one eyebrow arched in surprise. "Prove yourself?"

  "Everything Kiichi said was spot on, I was reckless, but I'm not useless. If you really think I'm worth keeping around… just tell me when I can get my first mission."Assad pressed on, his gaze locked onto hers.

  The air between them thickened. Shuren scrutinized him, her cigarette burning low between her fingers. The smoke curled in the air like a barrier between two predators.

  Finally, she sighed, flicking the cigarette into a nearby tray. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

  Assad remained silent, his silver eyes unwavering.

  Shuren approached him again, her boots clicking against the tile floor. She leaned in close, her expression icy and unreadable.

  "Listen Assad,you might've survived something that should've taken you out but that doesn't make you special."

  She straightened, crossing her arms.

  "Stay put for two days and let your body rest, even if you feel fine. After that…I'll fill you in. You'll get your mission."

  Assad nodded faintly. "Understood."

  "Good." She turned to leave again, pausing just once more at the door. "Oh and Assad?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Next time you pull a stunt like that… I won't cover for you"

  The door slid shut behind her. Assad leaned back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, a slow grin spreading across his face.

  He could feel the heat beneath his skin again subtle, pulsing, alive .Whatever was happening to him… it was growing stronger.