"So where do we have to go?" Marly asked Fizz, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"It's actually pretty close. It's called Hendra. That's where the researcher Hinko told us about lives. He'll tell us the exact location of the transcripts," Fizz said.
"Transcripts? What are those?" Marly asked.
"Okay... We're basically searching for transcripts—writings, drawings, or anything else that's linked to the oldest history of the universe," Fizz explained.
"Okay... I didn't understand a single thing, but yeah... let's go," Marly said with a laugh.
"Texa... set the destination to Hendra," Kichu said, standing near the monitor.
"Rururu... Setting destination to Hendra. Approximately two days and fifteen hours to reach. Arrival may be delayed. There is heavier traffic near the planet than usual," Texa announced.
"Okay then! Let's get to this planet and find those transcripts!" Marly said excitedly.
"Oh... Now I have to deal with three kids," Fizz muttered, facepalming.
"Hahh... I'm sleepy. I'm gonna sleep through the whole night," Kichu said as he walked toward his room.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's get some rest," Fizz said. "But I want both of you here tomorrow at 6 AM. I have something important to tell you."
"Six in the morning? Nah... I'd rather sleep."
"Either you come, or I'll throw water on your bed," Fizz said.
"Okay... I'll come," Kichu replied half-heartedly before heading to bed.
Roco sat quietly, staring at the chain around his neck.
"Hey, what's that?" Marly asked.
"It's my mother's chain. Look."
He opened the locket. Inside was a picture of his mother.
"She's beautiful. Where is she now?" Marly asked.
Roco stayed silent.
"Hey, don't ask unnecessary questions," Fizz said while sipping his coffee.
"I'm sorry..." Marly said with a sad face.
"It's okay. She's somewhere out there. I know it... I can feel it. Every planet I travel to, it feels like I'm getting closer to her. I'll find her as soon as possible," Roco said, gripping the chain tightly.
"You'll find her. Don't worry. I'll help you. I'm really good at finding things... not people, though. But I'll help you with everything I've got," Marly said with a smile.
Roco looked at his smile for a moment. Then he slowly got up and walked to his room.
"Go to sleep, kid. Your bed's on the right. I'll sleep here. I've got a few things to do," Fizz said, sitting down near the table.
"Okay... Wake me up tomorrow at 6 AM, okay? I want to watch you train," Marly said before running to his room.
"This kid..." Fizz muttered, taking another sip of coffee.
"Ahh... I feel exhausted," Kichu said as he jumped onto his bed.
"I bet I'll have those weird dreams again. What's that all about? Whose memories are those? Mine? I don't even know someone called R... Ah... what was her name again? I forgot."
He let out another yawn.
"Maybe I'll see that beautiful girl again in my dream."
With that, he drifted off to sleep.
"Kichu... Kichu... Wake up, you little shit."
THUD!
Fizz kicked Kichu straight off the bed.
"Ahhh! I'm dead! I'm falling off a cliff! Ahhh!"
Kichu screamed as he hit the floor.
"Snap out of your shitty dream and come to the hall. It's already six," Fizz said before walking out.
"Ah... The sacred swords... the beautiful girl... Ahh... it was just a dream. Fuck. It was nice though. Damn you, Fizz."
"What did you say?"
Fizz suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Nothing! Phew... Sometimes I forget he can run me over like A-Train."
"Get changed and come to the hall. ASAP."
"Coming."
Kichu quickly got dressed and ran to the hall.
"Alright. Now that both of you are here, let me—"
"Wait!"
Marly interrupted him, running into the hall.
"Let me join too," he said, panting.
"Alright," Fizz replied with a smile.
"Now... I have something important to tell you."
"The planet we're heading to is called Hendra."
"It has another name."
"Warrior's Graveyard."
Kichu and Roco looked at each other.
"What do you mean?" Kichu asked.
"Hendra is known for its unbelievable crime rate and black market. It's the center of underground operations in the entire universe. The city itself is well-developed and famous..."
"But the underworld..."
"...is the complete opposite."
"It's filled with gangsters, betting stations, underground arenas, and bounty hunters. It's the main gathering place for bounty hunters because almost every bounty in the universe is created by the people here."
Fizz looked directly at Kichu.
"And Kichu... your sacred sword is an attraction all by itself."
"So don't even think about wandering off."
"We find the researcher, get the information, and leave within one day."
"Not a minute later."
"Do you understand?"
"Umm... Yeah... I guess," Kichu replied.
"Good. Then let's get back to training," Fizz said, grabbing another cup of coffee.
"Bounty hunters...?"
"Arenas...?"
"Fights...?"
The minds of all three kids were already overflowing with excitement.
Over the next two days of training, Kichu gained better control over his soul energy, while Roco focused entirely on his Sin, trying to blend it with his soul energy. Marly watched them train with sparkling eyes.
Fizz, however, couldn't relax.
For some reason...
He had a bad feeling about Hendra.
Two days later, the planet slowly appeared in the distance.
"Rururu... We have reached our destination. The planet in front of you is Hendra, also known as one of the most dangerous planets in existence. The crime rate is 87%. Population: 4 billion. Sin rate: 5%."
"AUL warns any traveler traveling through the planet to register at the AUL head stations on the planet for security," Texa briefed them.
"So... basically, it's like walking through thorns," Kichu said.
"Yeah... As I said, you two should always stay with me. No walking around and no causing trouble. Just find the man, talk to him, and get out today itself," Fizz warned.
"Done..." Kichu said.
The spaceship slowly landed on the planet.
Kichu jumped out of the spaceship.
"Whoo... It's a bit freezing."
"Yeah... It's probably winter here," Fizz said, jumping off the spaceship.
Roco helped Marly get off the spaceship.
They started walking toward the city they could see in the distance.
"It's kind of reminding me of Earth," Kichu said.
"We should look for a lift. We've been walking for thirty minutes, and the city is still nowhere near," Roco said to Fizz.
"Yeah... I... I'm thinking that," Fizz replied, panting.
"Are you breathing heavily? Haha... I didn't know the fastest man alive could get tired just by walking," Kichu teased him.
"Ha... It's just... I'm not good with cold weather. We should get some kind of vehicle," Fizz said.
They looked at the road ahead of them. It looked like it had been abandoned for centuries.
"Umm... Is this even a road?" Marly asked.
"It looks like one. But it isn't usable," Kichu said, looking into the distance.
"What should we do?" Marly asked.
"Ah... Fine. I'll carry you all myself," Fizz said, grabbing Roco.
"Wait—"
Before Roco could finish, they disappeared.
"Roco sure hates that," Marly said.
"Yeah, me too. Oh... You haven't experienced that yet? Good luck."
Fizz appeared again and grabbed Marly.
"Bye... Oh my goooo—"
Marly disappeared with Fizz.
"Haha... He's gonna need therapy," Kichu said, looking around.
The road seemed almost endless. Tall mountains stood beside the city.
"Ah... What's taking him so long? He's not as fast as he says he is," Kichu said, leaning against an electric post near the road.
"What are you doing?"
Fizz suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Oh... Nothing. Let's go."
Kichu took his hands off the post.
"Yeah, we should. But before that, I want to tell you something," Fizz said.
"What is it?" Kichu asked.
"There's something I've kept a secret from you. I think you're the only one who should know about it."
"What's that?"
"Ha... You are a curious one, bro. Let's talk about it while we walk to the city."
Fizz started walking ahead.
Kichu froze for a second.
He slowly drew his sword.
"You may be the worst impersonating bastard I've ever come across."
He pointed the sword at him.
"Oh... You are sharp."
Fizz's voice suddenly changed.
The man's appearance changed into a tall man wearing a coat.
"You are an interesting fellow. You have the guts to walk around with a sacred sword," the man said.
"Fuck you... I'll kill you in a second just for faking Fizz. Really? 'Bro'? He's not even half as nice as that to me," Kichu said.
"Yeah... So, you want to see who else isn't nice?"
The man clicked his watch.
Suddenly, the portion of the ground Kichu was standing on disappeared.
There was a huge hole underneath.
Kichu fell into it.
As he fell, the man smiled and waved at him.
"Bastard....." Kichu screamed before disappearing into the depths.
His vision became blurry.
He felt nauseous from the continuous falling.
His consciousness slowly faded away.
Meanwhile, in the city...
Fizz and Roco were ambushed by some gangsters.
"Hey... Nice gun you've got there. A brat like you shouldn't have one," one of the gangsters said to Roco.
"Oh... I'll give it to you if you want," Roco said, drawing his gun.
"Roco, don't..." Fizz said, sensing something was wrong.
"Woah, woah... Are you going to shoot me with that, kid? Haha... Do you really think you can get away with that? I dare you to shoot me. You'll be killed before you even get the chance to point it at me. Do it, brat."
He provoked Roco with a grin.
"Roco, calm down. Remember what I said. I can get you to a safer position in seconds. Just hang on until I bring Kichu here. Keep Marly safe. Don't do anything," Fizz said, preparing to bring Kichu back.
"You better make it fast, or else I'll put a hole in his skull," Roco said, still holding his gun.
Fizz looked at Roco and disappeared.
"Hey! What the fuck?" the gangster exclaimed in shock.
"Is he a Sin user?" another gangster standing beside him asked.
"Jackpot..."
The gangster pointed his gun at Roco.
"I'll give you ten seconds to give me your gun and tell me where that guy went. Then you and the kid can go. Sin holders have a high bounty on the market, you know."
He said it with a smile.
"What if I don't?" Roco asked.
"Really? You want to taste my gun?"
"Try me."
Roco strengthened his grip around his gun.
"Haha... You got balls, kid. One... Two..."
He started counting.
You better come back in ten seconds, Fizz...
Roco looked at Marly, who was clinging to him in fear.
"It's alright, Marly," Roco said, trying to calm him down.
"Three... Four... Five..."
The gangster continued counting.
Roco looked around.
There were almost twenty gangsters surrounding them.
All of them were disguised as vendors, butchers, merchants, and other ordinary people.
"Six... Seven... Eight... Nine..."
I can't get an exact count of these bastards. Just how many of them are there? Fighting would be difficult with Marly on my back.
He looked at Marly.
"You're gonna die, brat."
"Ten."
The gangster pointed his gun at Roco and put his finger on the trigger.
Roco took a deep breath.
He bent down and kicked the gangster's gun out of his hand.
He flipped into the air, grabbed his own guns, and shot every gangster in the area in less than three seconds.
"What...?"
The gangster fell to the ground.
"Marly, come!"
Roco grabbed Marly and started running.
"Fuck, Fizz! Why are you so late?" Roco cursed.
At the same time, outside the city...
"Fuck you, Kichu! I told you to stay here!"
Fizz looked around frantically, but there was no sign of Kichu.
Then he noticed something.
Some of the grass had been disturbed, almost forming a path that led toward the opposite side of the city.
Fizz stared at it for a moment.
He knew following it would probably lead him nowhere.
With no other choice, he turned around and headed back toward the city.
When he returned, all he saw was an empty market.
Bodies of gangsters were scattered across the ground.
Fizz stood there, frozen.
"Ah... why..."
His voice trembled.
"Why...?"
Fizz screamed before disappearing again.
---
At the same time...
Kichu slowly opened his eyes.
"Where the fuck am I...?"
He looked around.
He was inside some kind of jail. Huge iron bars stood in front of him, separating him from the outside.
"What...?"
Kichu tried to move, but his head suddenly started aching.
"Too hard to digest for a newbie. Don't sweat it."
A voice came from his left.
Kichu slowly turned his head.
An old man sat in the corner.
He was extremely skinny, wearing nothing but an old brown cloak. His long hair was messy, and his tired eyes stared blankly into the distance.
"Who are you?" Kichu asked.
"I don't remember."
Kichu frowned.
"What do you mean you don't remember?"
"It's been so long... I just lost track of the days."
Kichu looked around.
That's when he noticed the wall beside them.
It was covered with countless white lines.
At first, Kichu thought the wall itself was white.
He walked closer.
Then his eyes widened.
It wasn't a white wall.
It was black.
Every single white line was a carving.
Thousands upon thousands of them covered the enormous wall.
Kichu couldn't even begin to count them.
"Jeez..." he muttered.
"Just how long has this old man been staying here?"
Kichu walked back and sat beside him.
"Hey... do you know where this place is?"
The old man remained silent for a moment.
"My name is Zack."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm from a really faraway planet called Osphic. It was a beautiful planet."
Kichu listened quietly.
"I have two sons. Zold and Zelba. They were really clever boys. They could be a headache sometimes, but they were good kids."
A small smile appeared on Zack's face.
"And then there's my Hana..."
His voice became softer.
"She was an angel herself. I could look at her for centuries without taking my eyes off her. I was nothing without her."
He chuckled.
"I remember one time she got angry with me because I didn't kiss her after she made me a dessert."
Zack continued talking.
One story after another.
His family.
His planet.
His wife.
His memories.
Kichu simply listened.
He didn't interrupt.
He didn't ask questions.
Because he understood.
This man wasn't simply talking.
He was craving a listener.
Someone beside him.
Someone who would hear his thoughts, his feelings, his stories...
Someone who would remind him that he wasn't completely alone.
He had probably been alone for decades.
And Kichu believed people should never be left alone.
"I know they're somewhere out there..."
Zack's smile slowly faded.
"Alive. Waiting for me."
He lowered his head.
"But I'm stuck here. I don't even know where I am anymore."
He gave a weak laugh.
"Still... I have hope that I'll see them again."
He paused.
"Hope..."
His smile disappeared.
"Do I really deserve that?"
Kichu looked at him calmly.
"Hey, man."
Zack looked at him.
"I don't know your story. I don't know who you are or why you're here."
Kichu looked toward the iron bars.
"But after hearing you talk, Zack, I can understand one thing."
He smiled.
"You're a good person."
Zack stared at him silently.
"I'm sorry you had to face this fate."
Kichu stood up.
"But I'm going to tell you one thing."
He placed his hand against the iron bars.
"I'm getting out of here."
He looked back at Zack.
"And you're coming with me."
Zack laughed weakly.
"Forget it..."
He shook his head.
"Escaping from here is impossible. I tried for so long when I first came here."
His eyes became empty.
"Eventually, I lost both my physical and mental strength."
He looked down at his hands.
"I even tried to end all of this..."
Kichu's expression immediately changed.
"But I failed at that too."
Zack looked at Kichu.
"Do you have anything that could help me?"
Kichu stared at him for a moment.
"Hey, man..."
His voice became serious.
"Look. That's not a solution, okay?"
Zack remained silent.
"You're a good man."
Kichu looked directly into his eyes.
"And I hate seeing good men give up on themselves."
He paused.
"Actually, I hate anyone who tries to end their own life."
Kichu sat down beside him again.
"Think about it. You said your wife and sons are alive, right?"
Zack slowly nodded.
"Then imagine they're still out there waiting for you."
Kichu's voice softened.
"If you give up now, how are you ever going to see them again?"
Zack looked at him.
"But if you keep living..."
Kichu smiled.
"You still have a chance."
He pointed toward himself.
"And look at me. I came here, didn't I?"
Zack stared at him.
"I'm not saying I'm some kind of savior."
Kichu shrugged.
"But maybe..."
He smiled.
"Maybe I came here to save you."
Kichu stood up.
"So just hang in there."
He looked at the iron bars.
"We're getting out of here together."
For the first time in a very long time, Zack's eyes showed a faint spark.
"I can try..."
Kichu smiled.
"That's all I need."
He reached behind his back.
His hand searched for something.
His sword.
But his hand grabbed nothing.
Kichu froze.
"Ah..."
He slowly remembered.
"Kind of figured."
His sword was gone.
Kichu sighed and sat back down.
"Well... that complicates things."
Zack almost smiled.
Kichu looked around the prison.
"Now tell me something."
He pointed toward the bars.
"What exactly is this place?"
He glanced at the endless carvings on the wall.
"And have you seen any other people here?"
Zack nodded.
"I think this place is an arena."
Kichu's eyes narrowed.
"We're their fighters."
Kichu looked at him.
"Fighters?"
"I've been inside the arena several times."
Zack continued.
"You can use a weapon or fight without one. It doesn't matter."
His expression darkened.
"We're basically just pawns for their entertainment."
"They bring weak men into the first few rounds and make them fight their powerful champions."
He looked down.
"It makes the audience excited. They build up their champions by letting them crush people like us."
Kichu's expression became serious.
"Are there any Sin holders among them?"
Zack thought for a moment.
"Several, I think."
"But?"
"Most of them aren't that powerful. At least, that's what I've heard."
Zack paused.
"But..."
Kichu looked at him.
"There is one man."
Zack's voice became quieter.
"I was matched against him once."
Kichu listened carefully.
"He just looked at me."
"That's it."
Zack's hands trembled slightly.
"He didn't attack. He didn't even move."
"He simply looked at me..."
Zack swallowed.
"And my weapon fell from my hands."
Kichu's eyes narrowed.
"I heard he's never lost a single fight in the arena."
Silence filled the cell.
Then Kichu smiled.
"I think you made one mistake."
Zack looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
Kichu stood up.
His eyes gleamed with confidence.
"You said he's never lost."
A wicked smile slowly appeared on his face.
"He's going to lose to me."
-To Be Continued....