On a night when the full moon shone brightly in the sky, a figure with glowing eyes approached a mother and her six-year-old child.
The mother did everything she could to protect her son, but her attacks didn't leave even a single scratch on the evil monsters known as Dangerers. Trembling, she looked at her son and said,"Zam, you're still young. You need to live. Please… run from here."
Her son cried out, "Mom, will you come back?"
"I don't know, Zam," she replied, tears filling her eyes. "But please run. Your father was a great fighter, so you must become the greatest fighter of all time, okay? You may not have aura, but I swear… you have something powerful inside you."
Zam ran as fast as he could. But when he looked back, he saw his mother's body torn apart by the Dangerer. Screaming in despair, he kept running, never looking back again.
Eight years after his mother's death, Zam was now fourteen years old. He was working harder than ever to become the King of Fighters. In a world where aura was everything, he was the only one without it.Still, he never gave up.
Zam was doing pull-ups on a tree on a large hill. After his hundredth pull-up, he dropped down, took out a water bottle he had brought from home, and drank deeply. When he finished, he began walking back.
On the way, he passed a group of kids his age practicing aura to become fighters.
"Look, isn't that the kid who can't use aura?" one girl said."How can someone like him even survive in this world?" another added.
The kids burst out laughing.
Zam didn't react. He had heard those words his entire life.
He reached his home — a small, old house his father had built when he was still alive. It wasn't much, but Zam was content. He made himself some coffee and drank it quietly. Later, he went to the supermarket to buy vegetables and basic household items, using the little money the government provided for children without parents.
On his way back home, Zam accidentally bumped into an old man. The man had a calm yet powerful presence.
"My bad!" Zam said quickly.
"Wait," the man replied. "You have great muscles for your age, kid."
"Th-thanks," Zam said awkwardly. "No one usually notices."
"You're welcome," the man said with a faint smile. "Tell me… what is your dream, young man?"
"Don't laugh… I don't have any aura, but I want to become the Fighter King," Zam said anxiously.
The man smiled calmly."I won't laugh at that. A young man with a big dream — that's perfect." He paused for a moment. "If you want training, I can help you."
"I am a former EX-rank fighter," the man said."Urakaki Karuka."
Zam's eyes widened. "Really? You will?"
"Of course," the man replied with a gentle smile. "If you're serious, come to my house tomorrow morning. Tenhan."
"I will definitely come. Thank you," Zam said firmly.
Urakaki thought to himself:What a hardworking boy… Even without aura, he refuses to give up. He will definitely reach great heights.
Zam reached home, made a simple dinner, took a nice bath, and lay down on his bed. He switched off the light and stared into the darkness.
"Maybe tomorrow will be the first step toward my dream," Zam said softly, full of hope.
Tiredness slowly took over his body, and before he realized it, he fell into the deep void of sleep.
The next morning, his alarm rang earlier than ever. Zam jumped out of his bed without wasting a second. He took some cereal, poured milk into a bowl, and ate as fast as he could.
After that, he put on his shoes and ran straight toward Urakaki's house.
Zam arrived at Urakaki's dojo. It was actually the backyard of his house, but it was large enough to be used as a proper dojo. Zam expected to see many students training there, but to his surprise, there wasn't a single person inside.
Urakaki welcomed Zam warmly.
"Isn't there anyone here?" Zam asked.
"They're all gone," Urakaki said with a grin.
"Oh… then can we start? I'm really excited," Zam said.
"Sure. You're an active boy," Urakaki replied.
That day, Zam learned how to punch properly.
The next day, Urakaki said, "Zam, practice the punches you learned yesterday."
"Oh, okay, Master!" Zam replied.
Ten minutes later, Urakaki returned with a boy who had orange-colored hair and orange eyes. He wore a dragon-styled overcoat and carried a dragon-themed katana.
"Zam, meet your new friend. His name is Rolio Zoku. He is the only living user of Dragon Misoma, but he doesn't even know how to use it corre—"
"You old hag! Why are you mentioning all this here?!" Zoku shouted.
With a smiling face, Zam walked toward Zoku.
"My name is Zikodi Zam. Let's be friends, okay?" Zam said.
"Okay… whatever," Zoku replied.
Zoku was the only living user of Dragon Misoma. He used a sword called Dracoska to wield that power. Both the Misoma and the sword were family treasures, passed down through generations. Even though his Misoma was extremely powerful, he couldn't use it properly yet. He was also not very good at learning about aura and Dangerers.
Long ago, the Rolio family killed the Dragon King, Shichiki, a giant dragon sent by the God of Dangerers. Instead of completely destroying him, the Rolio family tamed the Dragon King under one condition:
Only someone with willpower equal to Shichiki could awaken the Dragon Misoma.And only someone with willpower strong enough to overpower Shichiki could summon him.
The Dragon Misoma was passed down only through the men of the Rolio family, while the women of the family became the teachers who trained them.
Zam worked hard for almost two months. Urakaki was surprised by his determination. On the other hand, Zoku was also trying his best, but he still couldn't fully master Dragon Misoma.
One day, Urakaki called Zam over.
"Zam, I have taught you every technique I know in these past two months," he said.
"Really? You have nothing more to teach me?" Zam asked.
"No. I have taught you almost all the techniques that can be used without aura," Urakaki replied. "You can become a fighter now. But remember—only experience makes a real fighter."
"Okay, Master Urakaki," Zam said.
That evening, Zoku was training with his sword at the back of the dojo. Zam walked up to him and said, "Zoku, I'm starting my journey as a fighter. I'm going to create a fighter club named Zambrox."
"You really don't know when to give up, huh?" Zoku said with a smile.
"NAH!" Zam replied, grinning.
"Then count me in. Just don't slow me down, Captain!" Zoku said.
Watching them, Urakaki thought to himself, They are not prepared for what they are about to face… but they surely will be.
And just like that, the first two members of ZAMBROX stood side by side, unaware of where their path would lead.