Nic prepared to dive into Kyu Kazumi and Shin Meilin's past.
In the blink of an eye, Nic was instantly transported. His vision blurred, then slowly cleared, and Nic found himself at the Kyushin border river.
"Hm, I'm starting from the border... what's going to happen here?" Nic said.
Nic looked around and saw a young Meilin sitting on the riverbank, practicing martial arts alone.
"Is that Shin Meilin? She looks so innocent."
Nic moved closer to get a better look. Even though she was small and cute, Meilin's movements were hard and powerful; every stomp made a heavy impact.
But then Meilin let out a very heavy sigh, looking bored.
"What's next? It's so boring just training alone... why won't they let me train with the others?" Meilin said.
At that moment, Meilin looked across the river and saw Kyu Kazumi there, also training alone. They stared at each other because they felt the exact same way.
"Is she from Shin territory? Is she alone like me? Let me go over there," Kazumi said.
Without thinking twice, she crossed the border bridge to approach Meilin. Seeing that, Meilin immediately panicked and blushed, confused about how to react.
"Oh my god, she's really coming here! What should I say... Come on, brain, think!!" Meilin said while hitting her own head.
When she got there, Kazumi was confused seeing Meilin hitting her own head. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Eh... um, nothing, just a headache, hehe..." Meilin answered stiffly.
Kazumi laughed out loud and continued talking quickly, "Ahahah, you're so funny... seriously, you have a headache? Let me massage it."
Kazumi went behind Meilin and actually massaged Meilin's head. "Ugh, what are you doing! No, I was joking, I'm not dizzy!"
Meilin shook her head quickly, which made Kazumi find her even more adorable.
"Haha, sorry, sorry. By the way, nice to meet you! I'm Kyu Kazumi from Kyushin territory across the river!" Kyu Kazumi extended her hand.
Meilin, for some reason, reflexively took her hand, and they shook hands. "My name is Shin Meilin... from Kyushin territory here."
"Wow, so we're neighbors! Sorry for approaching you suddenly. I was bored because I was told to train alone to focus... even though it would be more fun with a friend," Kazumi complained, pouting.
"Huh? Same here... I was also told to train alone like you, and I'm not allowed to train with others because they say it's distracting," Meilin said.
Kazumi was shocked. "Are you also called an 'important asset'?"
Meilin nodded. "If you ask that, it means you are too, right?"
Kazumi nodded, and then they suddenly laughed together because they truly shared the exact same fate.
Nic, watching this, immediately understood that they were actually best friends. Then Nic sped up time, and as time passed, Kyu Kazumi and Shin Meilin became closer. They would come to the border to train and play together.
But when they turned 12, they were finally caught because Shin Meilin accidentally mentioned Kyu Kazumi's name, saying how amazed she was at how great Kyu Kazumi was.
Hearing that, the new Elder immediately forbade Shin Meilin from leaving the territory. Kyu Kazumi waited every day, confused why Shin Meilin never came.
Curious, Kyu Kazumi wanted to force her way into Shin territory, which had now been separated—unlike when they were kids and the border was still open.
However, Kyu Kazumi was stopped. Kazumi's family said Shin territory had changed and considered their territory, Kyu, to be weaker and refused to accept Kyu residents anymore.
"What the hell is that? I don't care, I want to go there to meet Meilin," Kazumi blurted out.
"Meilin... SHIN MEILIN? Hey Kazumi, do you want to die? I heard Shin Meilin is a Phenomenon like you, and she is terrifying because she is so fierce!" said Kazumi's father.
Kazumi thought, "Since when is Meilin fierce? She is actually very calm and shy".
Nic, invisible beside them, just smiled. "That's because of the influence..."
Even though Kyu Kazumi wanted to force her way, she was still blocked. Even the residents warned her, and then a single photo silenced Kyu Kazumi.
The residents showed a photo of her best friend beating someone until they passed out and were battered. The photo showed Shin Meilin with bloodied hands and someone lying below her.
Kyu Kazumi was silent, unable to believe what she saw. But the crowded talk and the general consensus that Shin was cruel influenced Kyu Kazumi as well.
Nic immediately went back to Shin Meilin to see her POV.
Before the photo spread, it turned out the victim was actually a Shin resident. The photo was taken when Shin Meilin tried to force her way to the border very early in the morning so no one would stop her, but one resident saw her and kept holding her back. At first, Shin Meilin was patient, but the resident started talking about Kyu Kazumi being cold and cruel, claiming she even cut off a Shin resident's hand.
"DON'T TALK TRASH ABOUT KAZUMI! JUST DIE!!" Meilin screamed until she finally beat the resident to a pulp out of anger. That moment was photographed by a Kyu person from across the river who used it to their advantage.
Then the situation in Kyushin started to heat up. Slander was everywhere, and the title "Phenomenon" was immediately given to them for successfully taking down bad people in the East.
"So far, I understand the plot... the generation in Kyushin territory is indeed regressing, not progressing... the root lies in their power-hungry leaders who love conflict, and their pride is way too high," Nic said.
Nic asked Zeta to speed up to other important moments.
Nic entered a time 2 years before the present. It was when Kyu Kazumi and Shin Meilin wanted to declare their duel. The two territories even placed bets, and the tension was at its peak. They met again at the Kyushin river border, not to play, but to fight.
They approached each other and wanted to say something before they fought.
"Kyumi," Meilin said briefly.
"Shinmei," Kazumi said briefly.
They smiled and immediately fought, shattering the surrounding area. The river water went chaotic, the bridge was destroyed. Their battle was intense, yet neither of them was injured at all.
"Wait... Zeta, rewind to before they fought... there must be another moment before this," Nic said.
And sure enough, Nic almost missed the most important moment if he hadn't paid attention to the small details between them.
It turned out that, unbeknownst to anyone, they met not at the border but on Mount Kyushin, which was very high and rarely visited at midnight.
Nic saw Kyu Kazumi and Shin Meilin staring at each other in silence. Then Kyu Kazumi opened the conversation, "You wouldn't do that terrible thing without a reason, right?"
Shin Meilin's lips trembled, her eyes holding back tears, and she looked down. "A-and you couldn't possibly be a cold and cruel person either, right..."
Then Kazumi immediately hugged Meilin, and Meilin hugged her back while holding back tears.
"I know... from the start, they never cared about our feelings... we are just their tools," Kazumi said with a tired voice.
"Right... it's all just fabrication and slander to make us enemies..." Meilin replied.
After that, Kazumi released the hug and held Meilin's hands. "Before we fight later, let's make a special pact just between the two of us!"
Meilin nodded. "What's the pact?"
"We will keep wearing the masks the public sees. Let them see us like that... but when we meet someday, we have to be just like this and never change!" Kazumi said.
"But that means we will continue to be enemies on the outside...? Can we really meet with things being like they used to be?" Meilin asked doubtfully.
"What are you talking about, Meilin... of course we can... because we are childhood best friends who will never change!" Kazumi said with a bright smile.
Meilin nodded. "And about the fight... how about it? Are we really going to fight all out there just to satisfy their egos for the sake of the 'strongest territory' title?"
Kazumi shook her head. "And this is the second pact... we will fight as hard as possible, but our attacks will miss on purpose so no one gets hurt! We fight fast and destroy the surrounding area!"
Meilin laughed; it was a great idea. They both agreed and hugged one last time before parting ways.
Nic watched this, smiling while looking at the sky. "The friendship I always dreamed of... they really deserve their rights as best friends..."
After that, Nic exited their past and returned to the real world.
Nic used the God of Paint skill to paint something and showed it to Zeta.
"Can I use a form like this with the Fusion Disguise skill mode?" Nic said while showing his terrifying drawing.
[ Great drawing, Master Nic. It is very logical for uniting the two of them. And the answer is yes! ]
"Okay... time to use the The third embodiment."
To be continued...