The trio sat in their dimly lit room, tense and silent. Scrolls and forbidden texts lay scattered across the wooden floor. The candlelight flickered against the cracked walls as Mike turned over a page, the weight of their discovery pressing on his shoulders.
"If we really figured this out..." Mike muttered, leaning back with arms crossed, "and anyone catches us talking about it—"
Jay cut him off, nervous. "Yeah, I don't think we're supposed to know this stuff. We need to be careful."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The three froze.
Not at the door. At the window.
Mike and Jay rushed to the door, trying to escape, but it was jammed—sealed by magic or force. The handle wouldn't budge. AO didn't move. He stared at the window, breath shallow.
"Three knocks… three... two—oh, shit."
He turned. "Guys, move! NOW!"
One.
An explosion tore through the door. Wood and iron flung across the room. The force hurled them backward, flames blooming in the corner of their vision. Mike landed hard, clutching his arm, twisted and mangled.
Smoke filled the room—and then, from the haze, a figure stepped through.
He was humming.
"Ohhh, these fools. Thought they could read history and live?"
His smile was wide. His eyes wild.
Then, without warning—he attacked.
Blades zipped through the air. Flames danced and lightning hissed. The trio scrambled, dodging and ducking through the chaos.
Jay turned—BAM!—a brutal punch crushed his jaw. He flew backward, smashing through the window and plummeting two stories.
CRACK.
Blood pooled beneath him. His face was ruined. Teeth shattered. Barely conscious, he blinked up at the stars—then heard two thumps.
AO and Mike had jumped after him.
They landed hard. Battered. Bleeding.
Mike howled, gripping his shattered arm.
"What do you want from us?!"
The man stepped into view. The fire lit his face—he was smiling, but not with joy.
> "I was sent by someone very important to kill Mike. That's it. You two? Just collateral."
Jay's eyes widened. "Wait... what?!"
The man cracked his knuckles. "Your father says hello, Mike."
Mike's face went pale. "My... my dad?"
The man lunged forward and smashed his fist into Mike's face, slamming him into a stone wall.
A blade followed—THUNK.
It pierced Mike's skull. His body went limp.
"MIKE!" AO screamed.
AO ran to Jay—but a silver blade sliced clean through his arm.
His arm hit the ground.
He screamed, his world spinning, pain overwhelming.
The attacker chuckled. "How are you supposed to protect anyone like this?"
He kicked AO across the jaw.
Then came the voices. Laughter.
People surrounded them.
Students. Teachers. Even the principal.
All laughing.
"Weaklings!" "They thought they were special." "Pathetic!"
AO's vision blurred. He looked up, broken. Their words echoed in his skull.
Weak. Weak. Weak. Weak. Weak.
In his mind: Die. Just die. Just die. Just die...
Then—a voice.
"As you wish."
CRASH!
Windows shattered in every direction. Glass rained across the crowd. Screams replaced laughter.
BOOM!
A tower groaned above them—and collapsed.
CRUSH.
It landed on the attacker, silencing him instantly.
Silence fell.
AO, Jay, and Mike lay still.
Then… something impossible happened.
Mike's body twitched. The blade slid from his head, clinking to the ground. His eyes fluttered open.
AO's arm began to regrow.
Jay's face and teeth began to heal.
They gasped, looking at one another.
"What… the hell just happened?"
A wagon screeched to a halt nearby. Healers jumped out, rushing them away to the medical wing.
Powerful magic surged through their bodies. They were wrapped, stitched, mended.
The next morning…
Jay blinked, eyes heavy. "Did we almost die last night?"
Mike groaned. "Yeah. And I think my own father tried to kill me."
Silence followed. Then Jay said, deadly serious:
"We need to get stronger."
AO nodded. "We're dropping out in three days. After that—we train. No excuses."
Mike smirked. "Push-ups. Sit-ups. Running."
Jay nodded. "Every drill we remember from Tokyo."
Mike grinned. "Bro thought this was an anime montage."
Jay rolled his eyes. "You were literally dead five hours ago."
They laughed… but the fire was real.
They had a plan now.
AO stood. "Start packing. In three days—we vanish."
Jay asked, "Where do we go?"
AO replied, "Anywhere. But low. Someone out there's hunting us."
Mike lowered his head. "My own father..."
Three days later.
They dressed in black. Ready to leave.
Mike and Jay tried not to laugh.
"Look at AO's outfit..."
"Shhh!" AO hissed.
They slipped through the window, down into the shadows where a wagon waited.
Mike looked back at the academy—then to the stars.
"Mom... please be okay."
And with that, they vanished into the night.
They had been laughed at.
Now, it was their turn.