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ARC: Back Attack Land
The absolute darkness was not merely the absence of light; it was a living entity that constricted his very breath.
Akos walked through nothingness. Each step did not land on solid ground, but on a frozen non-existence that seemed to swallow the sound of his own heartbeat. In the distance, where the laws of physics ceased to function, a fissure appeared. A white, blinding light that resembled a door.
He began to run. His breath escaped like steam into the vacuum, his legs grew heavy, but the door remained desperately far away. The faster he ran, the more the horizon receded, mocking his effort.
Suddenly, a sound like shattering crystal vibrated through the universe. The "ground" beneath his feet cracked into a thousand pieces.
Akos was plunged into the void, falling through a massive black hole with no end. He closed his eyes, surrendering to the vortex.
An angry horn tore through the silence of his mind.
Akos snapped his eyes open. The asphalt was hot beneath his soles, and the sun blinded him. He was standing in the middle of a boulevard, motionless as a statue, while a truck screeched to a halt just meters away.
"What are you doing there, you lunatic? Do you want to get killed?" the driver roared.
Akos did not answer. With a slow, almost mechanical motion, he stepped onto the sidewalk
.The city of Sinish buzzed with life, a hum of voices and electricity. At eighteen years old, with a heavy bag on his shoulder, he looked like a simple traveler. But his eyes were far too calm—eyes that had seen the end of time.
As he wove through the passersby, an eerie scream pierced the air from a dark alleyway. Akos stopped.
Approaching silently, he witnessed a scene of brutal violence. Fifteen men had surrounded three strangers. Two young men were already on the ground, covered in blood. In front of them, a girl stood defiant, trembling but resolute, desperately trying to protect them.
Akos remained motionless in the shadows, observing the strangers with icy detachment. He felt no pity, no fear. He was ready to turn his back and continue on his way when an unknown voice echoed in his head, deep and commanding:
"The time has come... Go... Go help them!"
Akos didn't answer, but his gaze locked onto the attackers. The girl threw a punch, but one of the men grabbed her arms violently. A second man drew a knife, its blade gleaming dangerously in the dim light of the alley.
Before the knife could find its mark, Akos lunged.
With a lightning-fast movement, he took to the air. His kick landed squarely on the face of the man with the knife, sending him crashing into a trash bin. The rest of the gang froze, unable to comprehend where this stranger had come from.
He gave them no time to react.
With a spinning motion, Akos kicked the next man while simultaneously grabbing a third man's arm, snapping it with a dry crack. Another attacker rushed him with a blade, but Akos dodged smoothly to the right.
The attacker, losing his balance, accidentally stabbed his own comrade. Akos finished them both off with a double kick that pinned them against the wall.
"Get him!" someone screamed.
A burly man managed to grab Akos by the throat while another punched him hard in the stomach. But Akos didn't flinch. He slammed his forehead into the face of the man holding him, broke free, and delivered a low kick followed by a devastating strike to the jaw that left the man unconscious.
One last man, blinded by rage, raised an iron bar and swung it with all his might at Akos's head. With reflexes beyond those of an ordinary mortal, Akos caught the bar mid-air. Before the enemy could realize what happened, he received a gut-wrenching punch to the stomach and a final blow to the face.
The few left standing looked at the bodies of their friends on the ground. Terror took over. Without a word, they turned and fled, leaving behind only Akos's heavy breathing and the silence of the alley.
Akos stood for a moment, brushing the dust off his black hoodie. The tension of the battle had evaporated, leaving only the heavy scent of the damp alleyway.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" Ronika asked, looking at him with a mix of admiration and suspicion.
"From the mountains," Akos replied curtly, offering no further details.
"From the mountains?" Ronika's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me... I've never met anyone who lives up there."
Before she could say anything else, Naoto Arin jumped forward and enthusiastically extended his hand. "My name is Naoto Arin! Man, you saved our lives, thank you!"
"And I'm Sora Haze," the other girl added with a kind smile. "Honestly, I don't know what we would have done without you."
"Akos Tasaku. You're welcome," he said, but suddenly felt a sharp pain pierce his head. He closed his eyes and pressed his temple as the unknown voice inside him abruptly went silent.
"Ronika, you forgot to introduce yourself properly!" Sora teased.
Ronika blushed slightly. "I'm Ronika. Just Ronika. And... yeah, thank you so much for what you did."
"It was nothing," Akos whispered, trying to ignore the pain.
"Since you saved us, the least we can do is treat you!" Naoto exclaimed. Before Akos could resist, they led him toward a café called "NX."
As they stepped through the door, a girl working there, Anna, looked at them in confusion. "You guys look terrible... What happened to your faces? And who is this guy?"
"Long story, Anna," Ronika replied wearily. "We got jumped by a gang, and this stranger pulled us out of the mud."
Anna burst out laughing, mocking them. "Seriously? A random passerby saved you? You guys must be getting old!"
"Give us a break, Anna!" Naoto laughed, already placing an order. "Just get us something to eat, we're starving."
"Alright, alright," Anna said, winking at him. "I'll whip up a bowl of hot Ramen for your guest to get his strength back."
The atmosphere inside Café NX was warm, a sharp contrast to the cold and blood of the alley they had left behind. Akos sat on a wooden stool, dropping his heavy bag on the floor. Naoto and Sora sat next to him, while Ronika remained slightly distant, observing his every move.
"So, Akos," Naoto began, leaning his elbows on the counter. "You said you're from the mountains. What's life like up there? Here in Sinish, we never see anything green—just concrete and smoke."
Akos looked up, staring into space for a moment. "It's quiet. There are no voices, no gangs. Just the air and training. Here... everything is too loud."
Sora and Naoto exchanged a quick look. Their eyes flashed with excitement. To them, a guy who could take down fifteen men alone and didn't belong to anyone was the opportunity they had been waiting for their whole lives.
"Which gang do you belong to?" Sora asked abruptly, leaning toward him. "With moves like those, you must be in a major faction. Are you with the Iron Phantoms? Or the Red Dragons?"
Akos took the bowl of Ramen that Anna placed in front of him. Steam rose against his face. "None," he replied simply, picking up his chopsticks.
"None?!" Naoto exclaimed, nearly falling off his stool. "Man, walking around Sinish without protection is suicide! But... if you're a free agent, then..."
The eyes of Naoto and Sora were practically glowing. In their minds, Akos was the perfect new member for their small crew. A "Conqueror" without a master.
Akos tasted a spoonful of the broth. He remained silent for a few seconds, analyzing the flavor. "It's good," he said finally, looking at Anna. "But it has too much salt. In the mountains, we use herbs for flavor, not chemicals."
Anna stopped wiping a glass and squinted at him, resting a hand on her hip. "Too much salt? Listen to the mountain prince! This is Sinish, kid. If you want herbs, go find a meadow. Here we eat to survive, not to give gourmet reviews!"
Naoto stifled a laugh, while Ronika stepped a bit closer. "Akos, you didn't tell us... where exactly are you planning to go? Do you have a place to stay? Anyone you know in the city?"
"I don't know," Akos answered between two mouthfuls of noodles. "I'll just walk until I find what I'm looking for."
"And what is that?" Sora asked, but Akos didn't offer an answer.
Anna, seeing Akos's apparent naivety, turned serious. She took a cloth and began tracing invisible lines on the counter.
"Listen to me, mountain boy. Sinish is no ordinary place. It's divided into five sectors. Five gangs control everything. Every side of the city is inhabited and ruled by one of them. If you walk aimlessly, sooner or later, you'll cross into territory that isn't yours. And then, it won't just be fifteen thugs in an alley. It'll be an entire army."
Akos continued eating, appearing completely indifferent to Anna's warning. To him, the "armies" and "borders" of the city seemed like children's games. His calm was almost frustrating to the others.
"Did you even hear me?" Anna insisted. "This area is the 'quietest' part of town, but even here—"
Suddenly, the heavy door of Café NX slammed open, crashing against the wall. The chime of the bell above the door rang out like a death knell.
A tall man with a scarred face and veins bulging in his neck stepped inside. He wore a leather vest with an emblem that Ronika and Naoto recognized instantly. Behind him, two other men, armed with brass knuckles and grim expressions, blocked the exit.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Akos has just met his first potential allies, but danger found him much faster than expected. Who is this tall man's gang? And how will Akos react to having his meal interrupted?