—Hey, you won’t believe what happened to me last night on my way home —Damien told Edward.

  —What happened? —Edward asked.

  Damien proceeded to tell him everything about the monkey and Yu-Han.

  —And then the old man walked me home —Damien concluded.

  Edward, with a look of disbelief, eyed him suspiciously.

  —Bro, are you on some weird stuff?

  —I’m not making anything up, dude, that all happened —Damien replied, a bit annoyed.

  Edward, still not fully buying the story, gestured for him to calm down.

  —Relax, chill. Come on, let’s go to a party.

  —Where’s the party? —Damien asked.

  —It’s at Layla’s place. We’re just waiting Yulian to show up, then we’re off —Edward answered, excited. Everyone knew his love for parties.

  Knock, knock.

  —That must be Yulian —Edward said as he went to open the door.

  —Hey guys! How’s it going? Ready? —greeted Yulian, a 17-year-old, dark-skinned, taller than the rest, and with a build similar to Damien’s.

  Let’s go —Edward said, impatient.

  Layla’s house was packed. She often threw parties; her family had money, but that didn’t stop people from all walks of life from sneaking in.

  —Damn, look how many people... Where’s Mason? I —Damien said, anxious.

  —Hi boys, what are you doing outside? Mason’s waiting inside —greeted Layla, a short, tan-skinned 15-year-old with dark brown hair.

  Edward stopped. He noticed Damien’s eyes fixed on someone inside the party.

  —Dude, you good? What are you staring at?

  —That’s... her, right? —Damien asked in a trembling voice.

  —Sarah Iris. Yeah, that’s her —Edward replied.

  —Do you guys know Sarah? —Layla asked, curious.

  —Actually, she’s Damien’s ex-girlfriend —Albert answered with a mocking grin.

  —Let’s just go inside —Damien said uncomfortably.

  Inside, they greeted Mason, the last of the group to arrive. He was a lanky guy, the tallest of them all, with black hair.

  —Hey, my bros! All good? —Mason greeted, cheerful.

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  Later that night, Damien remembered he had to call home.

  —Guys, I need to make a call. Won’t take long —he said, stepping out.

  Two blocks away, at a quieter shop, he dialed on his cellphone.

  —Yeah, mom, I’m fine. I’ll be late. Bye.

  —Hey... are you Damien?

  The voice froze him. He turned, and there she was: Sarah. Slim, 16 years old, blonde, blue-eyed. His eternal love.

  —Sarah... how have you been?

  They began walking back toward the party, down a quieter street.

  —I heard you’re a mom now... is that true? —Damien asked with a look of curiosity mixed with sadness.

  —Yeah, I’m a mom to a girl. But to be honest... I don’t remember much about when I got preg—

  The sentence was cut short.

  —Caught you, slut! Weren’t you going to the store for a juice?

  The furious voice came out of the shadows. A guy with neck-length hair stormed toward them.

  —Hey, it’s not what you think. Calm down —Damien said, angry at the way he spoke about Sarah.

  —Shut the hell up, fat ass! —Jonathan barked, pulling out a knife and stabbing Damien several times, leaving him seriosly injured on the ground.

  —Jonathan, stop! He’s a friend I hadn’t se... —Sarah screamed, desperate.

  —Shut up, whore! —he yelled, slapping her so hard she fell to the ground.

  Damien's body began to be enveloped in a strange aura. The abuse he had suffered Sarah seemed to have awakened something within him, a energy that sought to destroy everything in its path.

  "Sarah...?"

  A few blocks away, Yu-Han was patrolling the streets as he had the night before.

  "Wait a minute... Koa? From that direction..." he said, and ran quickly

  —This fat piece of trash doesn’t learn.

  Suddenly, Damien had a knife. No one had seen it form—his Koa had acted on instinct.

  — Sarah...? —he muttered in a trance.

  Jonathan lunging at him.

  Damien charged at him too.

  —Die... —he whispered.

  A precise blow knocked him unconscious.

  —Phew, just in time. —Yu-Han said, lifting Damien’s heavy body.

  —Hey old man! Why are you butting in? —Jonathan roared.

  Yu-Han smiled calmly.

  —Just someone passing by... hehe.

  —I was want cut him a bit more —Jonathan said smugly.

  —Hehe... boy. I prevented was yours death. —Yu-Han replied calmly.

  —Old bastard, watch your mouth...

  A knife whizzed grazing his shoulder and embedding itself into a wall.

  —What the hell was that...? —Jonathan muttered, now genuinely scared.

  —Sarah...

  Unconscious, Damien had managed to throw his knife.

  —Impressive —Yu-Han thought to himself—. This boy uses Koa.

  —Fat motherfucker —Jonathan growled, rushing at Damien and Yu-Han.

  Yu-Han, landed a precise Koa's sphere blow to Jonathan knocking him completely unconscious.

  —You must be the Sarah he mentioned? Come with me. —Yu-Han said seriously.

  Sarah nodded, still shaken, and they began walking. Halfway, they ran into Damien’s friends. Albert immediately assumed the worst.

  — Why is he covered in blood!? —he shouted furiously, throwing a punch at Yu-Han’s face.

  Yu-Han stopped the punch effortlessly with a single finger.

  —What the...? —Albert froze in shock.

  —This kid has incredible strength. He could get much stronger... —Yu-Han thought.

  —Wait, stop! He’s helping Damien —Sarah quickly interfered.

  —Why’s your face swollen? —Yulian asked, noticing.

  —There’ll be time for that later. Please, all of you, come with me. We need to heal Damien. —Yu-Han insisted firmly.

  The group agreed without further argument. Layla had to stay to attend to her party.

  They left for the old man’s residence.

  Meanwhile, on the block where the fight took place, a strange figure watched from the shadows, savoring every second of the conflict. With a crooked smile, he put the phone to his ear.

  —Boss, it’s me... hehe. You were right. The guy showed up around here and got involved in a fight —he said in a raspy, mocking voice.

  —Tell me everything. I want every detail —replied someone on the other end, with an authoritative tone.

  —Well, boss... it was a fight between two punks over a chick. Pretty entertaining. One of them used thaumaturgy, he created a knife with his Koa. Then the old man stepped in and, bah... ruined everything.

  —What happened to the thaumaturge and the other kid? —the boss asked.

  —Well, the oldman, the thaumaturge, and the girl left together. The other one was left unconscius.

  —Bring me the one they left behind. He may be useful. I want to make him an offer. Goodbye.

  In the dimness of his office, he muttered to himself:

  —Yu-Han... we’ll meet again soon. I hope you’re ready.