Later that night, Bakari stood, arms crossed, one hand thoughtfully over his mouth, as he gazed into the softly humming fridge.
Why would he leave us down here?* The thought prickled at his mind, but a sly smile curled his lips. Fool. He doesn't know he's dealing with the Devourer, he mused.
A sudden sound of movement behind him shattered the quiet.
Bakari spun around, eyes wide, heart pounding. Yuri was stirring on the sofa, his lone eye fixed on the staircase, mouth slightly ajar.
"Yuri," Bakari called, surprise clear in his voice. "You're awake."
Yuri blinked, shaking off the fog of disorientation. He scanned the room, his gaze lingering on the reinforced steel door. "Where are we?"
Bakari shrugged, a playful glint in his eyes. "Oh, we're still in the tailor shop, just in his basement. Kang's basement."
Yuri's tone was laced with doubt. "Are you sure we can trust Kang?"
Bakari shrugged again, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his expression. "He hasn't killed us yet.
Besides, he's got Halo, Yuri. And get this—he wants to train us. Can you believe the nerve? He called us weak!"
Yuri's gaze sharpened. "He's not wrong, is he? Do you think we're ready for whatever's coming?"
Without a word, Bakari stepped back, putting distance between them. Turning away, he resolved to find his own strength—alone.
A cheerful whistling cut through the silence. A moment later, Kang skipped down the stairs, his movements almost unnervingly light and energetic.
He beamed at them, seemingly oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere.
"Oh, you're awake!" Kang exclaimed, his gaze settling on Yuri. "Excellent! After all, as it's said, 'Whoever slumbers will suffer hunger,' and I hate to train people who are asleep."
Bakari turned, his brow furrowed. "Kang? What's going on?"
Kang waved a dismissive hand, his smile unwavering. "Just a little late-night initiative. One moment."
Bakari glanced at Yuri, then back at Kang, his annoyance barely concealed. "Yuri, this is Kang."
Yuri's gaze flickered to Kang, his expression unreadable. He offered a barely perceptible nod. "Why are you helping us?" Yuri asked, his voice direct. "What's in it for you?"
Kang's smile faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
He paused, as if considering his words carefully. "Earth realm is my home," he said, his voice carefully neutral. "And the Pure Bloods threaten it.
"You are hybrids, and that is why you possess a power the Pure Bloods can never attain: an unyielding will."
Kang's gaze intensified. "I intend to unlock that potential, to forge you into something greater than you can imagine."
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes seeming to bore into Yuri's mind. "I can sense your skepticism, Yuri. But trust me, our goals align."
Kang, seemingly unfazed by Yuri's skepticism, turned his attention to the crystalline cube that dominated the center of the room.
He approached it with a possessive air, his fingers twitching as if eager to begin. The air around the cube crackled with an almost palpable energy, a strange scent of ozone and something metallic filling the room.
Bakari felt a sudden, disorienting wave of nausea, as if his thoughts were being scrambled.
"What are you doing with that thing?" Bakari asked, his suspicion growing.
Kang, a cigarette now perched jauntily between his lips, didn't look up.
He began manipulating the crystalline blocks on the cube's surface, his movements precise and deliberate. "We," he said, his voice muffled by the cigarette, "are going to begin your training.
Immediately."
Bakari stared at him in disbelief. "Training? Now? It's the middle of the night! We haven't even had a chance to-"
Kang finally looked up, his eyes gleaming with a strange intensity.
He seemed to anticipate Bakari's objection before he even voiced it. "Do you enjoy stating the obvious, Kid? Time, as they say, waits for no man.
Especially not when infinite realities are at stake." He focused his gaze on Bakari, and Bakari felt a sudden jolt of fear, as if Kang were peering directly into his mind.
Yuri's lone eye narrowed, his gaze fixed on Kang.
There was something profoundly unsettling about his manic energy, his almost feverish excitement. "What is that cube?" Yuri pressed, his voice low. "What does it do?"
As Kang continued to manipulate the cube, a low hum began to emanate from the device, vibrating through the floor and into their bones.
The air grew thick and heavy, charged with an unseen energy. The scent of ozone intensified, making their nostrils tingle. Bakari felt a growing sense of unease, as if his thoughts were no longer his own.
Suddenly, the cube pulsed with a blinding light, and a cloud of thick, swirling smoke billowed outwards, engulfing the room in darkness.
Bakari and Yuri instinctively recoiled, backing away from the cube. Yuri moved in front of Bakari, positioning himself as a shield against the unknown.
"What is this?!" Bakari shouted, his voice laced with fear. He felt a sudden, sharp pain in his head, as if his skull were being squeezed.
As the swirling smoke intensified, Yuri instinctively formed his bone shield, raising it protectively in front of Bakari.
"We could trust him, huh?" Yuri grumbled, swinging his shield at the encroaching darkness, each swing seemingly futile against the advancing smoke.
Bakari, with a mix of fear and frustration, glanced up the stairs, a fleeting hope for an escape.
His eyes darted back to Yuri, but in a blink—or perhaps slower, as if time itself had betrayed him—Yuri was nowhere to be seen.
"Yuri!" Bakari yelled, his heart pounding in his chest. His mind raced with regret and anger, questioning every decision that had led them here.
He felt a subtle pressure in his mind, as if Kang were subtly influencing his thoughts, amplifying his fear and doubt.
Desperate, Bakari clapped his hands together, trying to create a shockwave to dispel the dense fog that now filled the basement like an unwanted guest.
The attempt only echoed loudly, momentarily pushing the smoke back before it surged forward again, more menacing, a tidal wave of shadow and despair.
"He was disoriented," Bakari thought, panic edging its way into his mind.
He felt a sudden urge to run, to escape, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Kang was watching him, controlling him.
"Ah, crap!" he muttered as the smoke slammed into him like a storm, the sensation akin to being plunged underwater.
A powerful force pulled him, dragging him inexorably towards a distant light.
Bakari felt himself flung through the shimmering brightness, emerging into a sunlit landscape.
He blinked against the harsh light, disoriented by this unexpected shift. The air was dry and hot, the scent of dust and something metallic heavy in his nostrils.
His head throbbed, and he felt a lingering sense of unease, as if his thoughts were still being monitored.
Pillars, ancient and monolithic, rose around him, casting shadows over the cracked and arid earth that resembled a dried-up desert.
The ground felt rough and uneven beneath his bare feet.
"Where are we?" Bakari murmured, his voice barely audible as he tried to grasp the reality of his surroundings.
To his relief, he spotted Yuri nearby, equally bewildered but resolute.
Before Yuri could respond, a voice, calm yet authoritative, came from behind them.
"That doesn't matter," it declared. Both Bakari and Yuri turned swiftly to see Kang standing on a raised platform, his presence both commanding and enigmatic. A
staircase, seemingly carved from the very stone of the desert, led up to where Kang stood.
Kang, with an air of purpose, continued, "Just know, this is the safest place for us to do what we have to without destroying the city.
This is a training ground I've created, a simulation designed to push you to your limits."
Bakari, regaining some of his composure, quipped, "Oh, for a second, I thought you were trying to kill us."
Kang stood calmly, looking at Yuri and Bakari. "I wouldn't gain anything from hurting you," he said.
"We can help each other. You have a raw potential, but you're unfocused. I can provide the guidance, the challenges you need."
Yuri, intrigued, asked, "How so?"
"This realm is my home," Kang replied, "and you need to stop the Pure Bloods.
But do you know why some are stronger? It's not just lineage or training.
It's what happens when they push their Celestial Energy to the breaking point.
In my time, I saw a Pure Blood stand against the abyss itself.
A black hole was about to consume everything, but they stopped it, single-handedly.'"
Kang shrugged off his jacket, letting it fall. "Let's see where we can improve. This is the first step if we want to win."
"As he spoke, a figure glitched into existence, the desert air shimmering. A hulking, monstrous silhouette materialized, crowned with two skeletal heads glowing cyan.
Ethereal energy crackled across its dark, scaled hide. It moved with unnatural, jerky speed, its form contorting as if reality struggled to contain it."
"What's that?" Yuri asked, his hand instinctively moving towards his side, ready to summon his bone shield.
Kang smiled, a predatory glint in his eyes. "Your first lesson."