"Well, I kept my promise." A man chuckled and stared at the picture on the counter.

Strangely two pictures of similar-looking guys were placed on the counter, but both were facing the man behind the counter: they were Holo pictures, almost lifelike. There were old electronics around and at first glance anyone could have mistaken this place as something of the bygone era. But it wasn't.

​​

There wasn't anyone else in the store and it was quite early in the morning too.

"But just between you and me," The man went closer to one of the pictures. "I recognized him the first time I saw him. The brat has your eyes." The man chuckled again. "Maybe I'll invite him for dinner sometime." He bemused himself. He had a nagging habit of talking to himself. But there was no denying it, he was very happy to see that 'brat'. "Nah!" He started laughing again.

The door's bell rung.

He had customers.

"Welcome!"

***

It was burning hot, and the air itself was fuming: sulfur was everywhere.

There was boiling lava covering the rocky ground and a massive mountain range surrounding the whole place like a stadium.

And within that lava ran a flying lizard. It had the body of a t-rex and the head of a snake, a python to be more exact. A dragon type!

"Hey! Who said, you could run from me!" And behind the dragon was a man who casually walked on the lava, barefoot, shirtless. He wiped the sweat off his chin. "Boy, Annie wasn't kidding when she said this place was a bit hot." His hair was golden and his smile was confident, his goatee wasn't.

He jumped ahead and grabbed the lizard's tail. The lizard screamed in agony and quickly switched to attack mode instead of letting its tail go. It knew it couldn't outmaneuver the man.

Beep!

The man got a message on his Holo. "Hel-loo?" His tone was almost comical.

The lizard immediately took action and bit the man solidly on his shoulder. But the man didn't even flinch.

"Oh hey, finally reached you." The voice on the other side was nonchalant and the transmission wasn't that good either. But it wasn't incomprehensible.

"Anything happen? It's rare for you to call me Annie."

Even the lizard was confused. The man didn't even move a muscle even after receiving the deadly venom from the snake.

"That's because you're always out of range." The voice was a bit offended. "We're going to war with the Battlesuins."

"Really? So I'd assume our brat finally picked a fight with them? I tell ya, next time I meet him, I'll pound some sense into him. But I guess I should clean up his mess." The man sighed and punched a hole in the snake's head. Some drops of blood streamed down his shirtless body but it was of no consequence. He proceeded to snatch the crystal from the lizard's chest. A crimson core, one of the rarest.

"No, it wasn't John."

"Wait? It wasn't? Then who? Matthew? Jacob?"

"You won't believe it. It was Helio."

"What!?" The man's voice echoed throughout the place. He laughed loudly. "Well," He controlled his laughter. "I guess they should be wiped out good this time: they were flying too close to the sun. You want me to assist?"

"Actually," the voice on the other side became a bit serious. "I just got intel that Helio wishes to pick a fight with both the Battlesuins and the Rodwichs."

The man laughed some more. "Lemme guess, for a girl?"

"Wow, you should become a prophet." There was no enthusiasm in the voice of the women. "Anyway, what's your stance?"

"I say let him handle it. He has the power and if he doesn't want our help, then there's no need for us to get involved. Besides," The man's laughter stopped. "If he's really the grandson of dad, if he's really worth dad giving his life for him, I'd like to see what he's capable of." Veins bulged on top of the man's head. "I'd like to see his worth. Think of this as a rite of passage."

"How mature." She sighed. "It's true they haven't asked our help. But I'd assume-"

The man sighed too. "Fine, I'll handle the Rodwichs." He yawned. "The Holo's melting. I'll call ya back later."

"No, you won't."

The man kept on laughing and the signal started to get corrupted. "Bye honey. I'll bring a present next time."

"S-stop calling me that. It feels weird…. Bye. Get home soon." The last part of her sentence was mumbles to the man, awfully cute.

The man's laughter echoed again. He looked fiercely towards the sky. "Well I guess, those swine have outlived their purpose anyway." His grin turned way too evil, way too fast.

***

It was almost eight. A girl was waiting by a bench for a boy to pass by. She'd seen him only a couple of times but she had an ambition.

It wasn't pure.

'There he is.' Her grin turned vulgar. She was one of the top three prefects of the academy and she'd earned a nickname as the sadistic mistress. She even had a fan club who'd have done anything for her, even lick her feet or smell her socks.

The girl hatched a brilliant (self-proclaimed) plan.

"Look out!" She ran for the boy and made an effort to trip. In her fantasies, the boy would grab her, fall for her charms. Major success. And instant too.

She was dubbed as the prettiest girl in the whole academy last year and her secret weapon allowed her to entice men like light attracted flies. Her beauty and powers were perfect for seduction.

But the boy, he just dodged the girl. And she fell on the ground with a thud.

The boy kept on jogging.

'Wah-?'

The girl was flabbergasted for a second. 'He ignored me?'

"Hey, you!" She flared and stood up but the boy was already gone.

Again, she was confused. "My charm didn't work?"

Her confusion turned to anger and anger turned to hate. "I'll ruin your whole life!"

But little did she know, this was perhaps her life's biggest mistake.