What did he ever do to deserve this?

It was the morning after his drinking spree and he was lying on his bed still awake. At some point the night prior, he had drank enough where he actually felt a bit drained before he headed off to his room, excited to hit the sack. He had felt silly being so excited to sleep, but it had been too long since he felt the bliss of oblivion.

Unfortunately, It was not to be.

To his credit, he did feel a lot more tired than he ever had during the entirety of the past week, but as soon as the sun rose and sunlight flooded his room, he felt himself become more and more awake. All he had accomplished from his night of heavy eating and drinking were constant trips to the toilet.

This was getting ridiculous, he needed to try another route.

After using the bathroom and washing up, Dario headed downstairs. As he ate breakfast, he thought about what he was going to try next. He pondered on his dilemma for about half an hour before he finally came up with some possible solutions.

There was always the option of getting into another fight and getting purposely knocked out, but he’d probably save that as a last resort. Being knocked unconscious wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. He could think of at least one other way that would be a much safer solution. He figured that if he couldn’t use alcohol to force his mind to sleep, then he would just have to exhaust his body to the point of collapse.

With that in mind, he knew what he had to do.

As soon as he finished his plate, he went outside and walked towards one of the outer districts that had what he needed. Since it was daytime, he skirted along the streets and took shortcuts through some of the more hidden alleyways. This wasn’t due to him being a vampire or anything, but for rather different reasons.

He was simply far more comfortable and at home when traversing through out of sight backstreets. Also, despite having already graduated from school, he still preferred lowering any chances he had of coming across any of his former peers. Dario considered most of them to be pricks and he didn’t want to start another fight if he ran into them. He had much bigger priorities right now.

His destination eventually came into view and Dario smiled at the sight.

The Amethyst Racing Track was a large circular structure with a wide open area in its center. It was usually used only once or twice a month for horse racing, so most of the time it was empty, which was perfect for him.

Standing by the entrance of the building, he saw a middle aged man with balding blonde hair and a round belly opening the doors to the race track.

“Hey Oliver!” Dario yelled. The man turned around and smiled when he registered Dario as the speaker. “Is the track closed for today?”

“Dario m’boy, good to see you!” Oliver exclaimed. “I was worried when I didn’t see you at Haven, but turns out I had nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’m just trying to take care of a problem, that’s all.”

“Do you need any help?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, it’s why I’m here,” Dario replied. “I was wondering if I could use the inner track to do some exercising. You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

“Not at all, not at all! I owe you after all, come in, come in!” Oliver eagerly gestured as he walked inside.

The older man conversed with Dario and told him all about his troubles with managing the building as he guided him through the large halls. The teen only half heartedly listened and gave terse replies, distracted as he was with examining his surroundings.

The building was named the Amethyst Racing Track for a reason, and it was clear as soon as you stepped in. Much of the interior design was based on the crystal, with varying hues of purple adorning the walls and ceiling. Even though the colours matched his eyes, Dario still considered it a bit garish for his tastes, but the nobles seemed to love it. They certainly loved gambling their money away here at least.

As they walked deeper into the building, they eventually emerged back outdoors facing a large open area with a ring dominating most of the space. It was where the horses raced, but Dario was more focused on the inner track which was made for human use.

“If you need anything else, I’ll be in my office.” Oliver smiled before walking away.

Dario took in the view of the large track field before taking a deep breath. Despite the hints of horse manure in the air, he still felt eager for another chance to tire himself out. Feeling anxious, yet determined, he strode towards the inner ring with a spring in his step.

There were some people around but they were mainly using the outer ring for riding their horses. They paid Dario no attention as he positioned himself on the innermost lane of the four hundred meter long, circular race track.

After doing some warm up stretches and stationary jogging, he knelt down on one knee to prepare himself. As he stared down the long pathway ahead of him, he made a small prayer to whoever was listening and asked for help in making him feel even just a little bit tired.

For this to work, he had to use as much energy as he possibly could without stopping. He was confident and aware enough of his own physical capabilities to know he could do it. And so, with a deep breath and a push of his legs, he began sprinting as fast as he could. The first few seconds felt awkward for some reason, like his body was somehow different, but he quickly found his pace.

Down the racetrack he dashed with the sun glistening on his face and the wind blowing his dark hair behind him. He pushed more forcefully than he ever pushed before, desperate to reach the paradise of sleep.

His legs pumped harder and faster, with an ease he had never felt in his entire life. He was running surprisingly faster than he ever thought possible. He felt full of near limitless vigor and he was committed to seeing just how deep his reservoir of energy really was.

For several minutes he ran around the track without a drop in speed and he began to laugh uncontrollably. Something was definitely wrong with him. With all the running he’d been doing, and at the speed he was going, his heart should have been pounding in the back of his throat and his breath should be coming out in desperate gasps, but that just wasn’t the case.

Dario felt more and more despair race through his heart at his hopeless situation.

“Can’t a guy just get some sleep around here?” he grumbled as he kept on running. More and more, he felt resigned to his fate. He would forever walk around with his eyes wide open.

After moping for a while, he recollected himself and closed his eyes with a sense of resolve. “No. I can’t give up, I won’t give up. I REFUSE TO STAY AWAKE!” he roared.

With a burst of renewed focus, he looked deep within himself and pulled on whatever bit of energy he could to go faster and faster. He felt a flood of power flow throughout his body as he reached a new level of speed.

When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he had ran past the edges of the inner ring and onto the horse track. With a panicked swerve, he righted himself onto one of the lanes and kept on running. Up ahead he saw a horse galloping at full speed, and he was gaining on it!

Within a moment, he was darting past it, to the surprise of its rider. Further down the path were two more horses moving at greater speeds than the previous one. In no time at all, he ran past them as well. He kept on running for a whole additional lap around the horse track, past the horses again, before the shock fully faded.

Laughing with exhilaration, Dario went off the field and landed on some bales of hay. He stood up and jumped around, excited to find that he actually did feel quite tired!

“Yes, yes, YES!” he exclaimed. “Fuck yes, I did it! Take that insomnia!” he yelled. In excitement and relieved joy, he threw a punch at the nearby wall with the same vigor he used when racing the horses.

To his surprise, he managed to punch a hole into the brick of the building. With a start, Dario stared at the hole and glanced down at his hand. His fingers and knuckles were pristine and felt perfectly fine. He began to shake as the puzzle pieces slowly came together in his mind.

Could it be? It was all starting to make sense now.

His sudden increased speed to the point of running faster than horses? Suddenly being able to punch a hole in a wall without hurting his hand? His lack of a need for sleep?

He had undoubtedly gained powers.

All his life, he grew up on stories of the amazing things they could do. His own mother had abilities, but he’d been told that it was rare and that he shouldn’t be disappointed if he wasn’t like one of them. However, his moment was finally here.

“Holy shit...”

He had manifested as Superior.