Keal and Johnson had been locked in battle for some time now, each of them giving the best of themselves. The only problem was, in this fight, giving your best wasn't always sufficient. Sometimes, luck was needed.
That was why Johnson kept lamenting his wrong decision—why didn't he wear his lucky underwear today?
And now, that simple mistake, something he had done unknowingly, was going to cost him far more than anyone would expect. A real punishment, all because of the wrong underwear.
"With this mutation, I can change the state of any battle into my advantage—into my win," Keal declared, a triumphant smirk spread across his face.
"I don't even need to be strong. All I have to do is touch, and just like that, it's a win for me."
Keal began to laugh, finding his own words far too amusing.
Johnson lay sprawled across the ground, gasping as pain surged through his ribs like waves crashing against the shore. His breathing was ragged, uneven. The impact of Keal's blow was nothing to joke about.
His fingers clenched into the dirt beneath him as though it were the only thing anchoring him to this world. Everything hurt—his back, his stomach, even his pride.
And Keal… Keal stood over him like an unshakeable mountain, wearing that large, smug grin.
Even in his battered state, Johnson heard every word Keal said. From the explanation, he began to piece things together. Now he understood why he couldn't use his powers.
It was because he had allowed Keal to touch him.
Keal's mutation was powerful—seeing the future itself, predicting outcomes, and bending them to his favor. Rare, but not impossible.
The way the world was changing, the word "impossible" had been losing its place. Maybe some things couldn't be done yet, but nothing could truly be said to be beyond reach anymore.
And Keal… not only could he glimpse the future of a battle, but with his glowing hands, he could rewrite it into his favor. If he was meant to lose, all he had to do was touch his opponent, and the tides would shift completely.
Still, there was a condition. He had to touch his opponent.
If his opponent was faster than him, it wouldn't be so simple. And if they were aware of the condition, they would never let him touch them in the first place.
But even so—it was an incredibly strong mutation to possess.
If Johnson had known, he never would've let Keal lay a finger on him.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. And now Johnson was cut off from his ability—his "blink."
For how long, he didn't know. Maybe forever?
That would be the worst outcome, Johnson thought.
Tears rolled down his cheeks, not from the pain of his body, but from the crushing fear of losing his power.
Keal saw the tears, but he misunderstood them. He believed Johnson was crying because he knew he had no chance.
Unbeknownst to Keal, it was for a much deeper reason.
"Come on, get up," Keal sneered, cracking his glowing knuckles slowly.
"I know you've still got some fight in you. Or are you already done? All that talk, and now you're just a bug squashed under my boot… No. A crying bug."
Johnson's vision blurred, his tears mixing with sweat as he looked up. His body screamed to stay down.
But something inside him—something raw and unrelenting—wouldn't allow it.
Fai.
He remembered why he stayed in the first place.
It wasn't about winning anymore. Or even about collecting coins. It was about loyalty. About not abandoning someone the way he himself had been abandoned so many times before.
He wasn't fighting just for himself—he was fighting for something greater than survival.
Johnson pulled himself up, legs trembling beneath him. Not from fear, but from a storm of emotions, anger most of all.
"I'm not done…" he muttered, coughing blood. "Not yet."
Keal chuckled, amused. "Aww, so cute."
And then Johnson did something reckless. He charged.
It was wild, dangerous, but it was driven by heart—by a promise, by loyalty, by sheer will.
Keal sidestepped easily and countered with a brutal backhand, a strike that cracked across Johnson's back like a whip. It might have looked like a mere tap, but the force behind it sent Johnson tumbling across the ground again.
Yet he rose.
Bruised, battered, coughing blood—he still rose.
Again. And again.
Every time Keal knocked him down, Johnson got back up. With his mutation sealed away, this was the only thing he could do—stand and endure.
His body was breaking. His face swollen. But that stubborn flame in his chest refused to die.
And that… that persistence was starting to gnaw at Keal.
"You should be unconscious by now," Keal growled, his patience thinning. "Why the hell won't you stay down?!"
"Are you stupid or something? Can't you see you're only going to suffer more? And for what? A stranger you've barely even known for twenty-four hours?"
To be fair… Keal had a point. Who would risk their life like this for someone they'd only just met? Not even a full day of knowing each other, and Johnson was enduring all this pain? Count most people out.
"That's your point of view? A stranger?" Johnson spat blood, then smiled through his broken lips. "No… I don't see Fai as a stranger. Maybe it hasn't been twenty-four hours, but I see him as a friend. And I made him a promise—we are going to make it through this assessment together."
His teeth were red, but his grin burned with defiance.
"I might be stupid, but at least I know promises. They… they are made to be kept."
The words thundered from his mouth, carrying a weight greater than fists.
They didn't stop Keal, but they cracked something inside him.
"Says the one who just walked out on a deal," Keal snarled, his anger rising.
And that was the moment—
Fai arrived.
––––––––––
Fai had been running at full speed. Every step was agony.
His HP was a whisper away from zero, and one wrong move could kill him. But he didn't care.
Because Johnson was still fighting.
And he wasn't going to let him fall alone—not after dragging him into a battle that wasn't his.
The guilt weighed heavy.
The fact that he had even considered leaving Johnson behind tore at his conscience. Now, with everything in him, he was running forward—to help the one who might just be his first true friend.
********
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