"The fuck is going on up there?"

  Kai thinks to himself while looking up the mountain, where Cain, Teon, and Kaia are training right now.

  "Stop the daydreaming!"

  Hearing the words, Kai looks in the direction of their source, just to see Rumis's fist moving towards his face and connecting with full force. He is sent flying deep into the forest the field is surrounded by. In the same moment Rumi kicks in the opposite direction, where Lloyd was just about to attack. He barely manages to block the kick and slides a few meters over the ground and goes down on one knee. Near them Max is crouching on the ground, panting and sweating heavily.

  "Why is Percy not here?"

  She asks with a sore voice. Rumi answers.

  "Lucius sent him away this morning to further expand his arsenal."

  "That's not fair!"

  Max protests.

  "Stop whining. Be happy she isn't going as hard on you as on me and Kai."

  After he finishes the sentence, Rumi kicks him right in the chest, shattering the armor plate there. He grits his teeth and grunts as the cracks slowly close again.

  "Stop whining yourself, or I'm going to go even harder on you."

  Rumi sneers before getting ready for another kick. But before she is able to, Kai lands between them, bites himself, and grows to a gigantic version of himself. With a flat hand bigger than Rumi herself, he slaps her, sending her crashing into the mountainside. Kai turns back to normal immediately.

  "You're really doing well."

  He says while helping Lloyd to stand up, a genuine smile on his face. Lloyd smiled back at him.

  "Thank you. Means much to hear that from you."

  "Your companionship is really nice to see."

  Rumi says, suddenly standing behind Kai; both of the boys didn't notice her at all. She kicks Kai in the back of his knee, forcing the leg to give in and making him fall. As he falls, she swings right over his head, aiming for Lloyd's face. Just before the impact, a mask of bones grows over Lliyd's face. Then the fist connects. The mask shatters. The attack sends a shockwave over the whole island. But Lloyd didn't move from the spot he stands in.

  "Now that's impressive. I fully intended on knocking him out and across the whole island."

  Rumi pulls her hand away and looks at Lloyd's face. It's disfigured; in some places the skin and muscle are completely gone, and his skull looks through, with his nose completely broken. His expression is unfazed for a second. Then he stumbles backwards and spits out. Teeth and blood land on the compacted dirt ground with a silent sound. Kai, Rumi, and Max look at him shocked and somewhat terrified. Tense, they wait for what comes next. Lloyd grits his teeth, which makes a horrible noise. Slowly muscles and skin grow back, and his nose cracks back into place. After everything is back to normal, he looks at them and wipes blood from running out of his nose.

  "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "How are you still standing?!"

  Max asks in return.

  "What do you mean? The hit wasn't even that hard."

  His statement just makes them all more surprised.

  "Lloyd, look at me."

  He turns his face towards Rumi.

  "Yeah?"

  "The hit had enough force to knock someone like Kai or Nova clean out."

  "N...no, you're joking. You have to! There is no way..."

  Rumi studies Lloyd's face while thinking to herself.

  "Maybe the constant use of his ability raised his pain tolerance, and that's why he didn't really feel the attack. But that doesn't explain how he didn't move an inch."

  She scratches her head before speaking up again.

  "I think that's enough for today. Do what you want. I'm going to go. I have to talk with Lucius."

  Lost in thought, she leaves in the direction of the estate. Excited, Lloyd turns towards Kai.

  "Fight me. Don't hold back."

  Kai grins and nods eagerly. The two get ready for the fight as suddenly a naked Cain lands near them, breaking the ground below his feet. The three look at him surprised before averting their gazes.

  "Uahh, why are you naked?!"

  Lloyd yells at him. Meanwhile, Max mutters under her breath that she could've been spared this horrible sight. Disgusted, she turns and hurries in the same direction Rumi has gone. Kai rubs his eyes while looking at the ground.

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  "What's going on with all of you? As if you had never seen a baked person."

  Cain shakes his head and just walks off into the forest, no particular destination in mind. After he is gone, Lloyd and Kai look at each other and get ready to finally battle.

  A short time period after that inside the estate. Teon is still holding the crying Kaia in his arms.

  "Lucius, where are you?"

  He yells. Kaia winces and covers her ears.

  "Oh sorry, was I too loud?"

  He asks in a much quieter tone. After carrying Kaia into the living room and setting her down on the couch.

  "Wait here and try to calm down. I'm going to find Lucius."

  Kaia curls up on the couch, tears running down her cheeks, soaking the sheets.

  "Lucius, where are you, old man?"

  Teon yells before storming into the control room in the basement. Lucius rubs his ear with his pinky.

  "You don't have to yell at me like this."

  Teon doesn't tone down his tone and explains what happens while yelling. As he explains, Lucius begins to look angry, and it doesn't take long for him to walk past Teon. Together they go to the living room. As the two are about to step through the threshold, they see Rumi sitting next to Kaia, gently rubbing her back. She turns her head towards the two.

  "Lucius! Kaia will never train with this monster again! Do you understand me?"

  Lucius is taken aback by her outburst and only nods.

  "I'm here to talk with Kaia about what happened."

  "She told me already. And I think she does not want to repeat herself. I will tell you. I wanted to talk anyway."

  After standing up from the couch, she drags Lucius away. Teon sits down next to Kaia.

  "Did it help talking about it?"

  "A bit."

  "That's good."

  After just sitting there in silence for a while, Teon stands up again and asks if Kaia would like something to drink.

  "Water, please... thank you."

  Teon leaves. Looking around, Kaia spots the TV remote lying close to her on the coffee table. She turns it on and just mindlessly watches. Then she hears a voice and winces.

  "Sorry I didn't do anything earlier."

  It's Ragnar's voice, coming from the doorframe behind her. He walks inside and sits down at the far end of the couch.

  "You... you have to know, my history with Cain... it's filled with trauma. I know that doesn't justify not doing my job and stepping in... but maybe you understand it a bit..."

  He stands up again without waiting for any response. Not that he wants one.

  "I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm doing right now."

  He leaves again. In the hallway he comes past Teon. The boy, holding a glass of water in his left hand, glares at him. Without hesitation and with all his strength, he punches Ragnar in his side. The man who is known as the strongest being of his universe just lets it happen. He coughs out in pain and holds his side.

  "Wait?! He didn't use his ability to reduce the impact of my punch?"

  Without changing words, Ragnar walks past Teon, still holding his side. Arriving back in the living room, Teon sits down next to Kaia and hands her the glass. She thanks him and takes a sip.

  "Ragnar was here just now."

  She murmurs and puts the glass down on the coffee table.

  "I know. I met him in the hallway."

  "He apologized. Or at least he tried to."

  "Oh... that's a good thing... I guess."

  After a short moment, Teon tries to change the topic.

  "What are you watching?"

  "I don't know. I just turned the TV on."

  "Want to watch a movie or something to get our heads free?"

  Kaia nods wordlessly and hands Teon the remote.

  "What do you want to watch, Kaia?"

  "You can decide."

  Teon starts to switch through multiple streaming services. After finding something, they watch in silence, and after a while, Kaia succumbs to sleep. Smiling, Teon stands up and gets a blanket to tuck Kaia in. He sits back down and turns his attention back to the big screen. In her sleep Kaia murmurs something and rolls over, closer to Teon. Her back slightly rubs against him, causing her to wince and tense up. She quickly calms again. Teon smiles down at her, his hand cautiously moving to stroke her hair gently.

  "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything like this ever happen again. Even if I have to become stronger than this world itself!"

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