Prison life was nothing like Kai imagined.
It was worse.
The walls were cold, stained with time and silence. The air felt heavy, like it carried the weight of everyone who had ever been locked inside. Days blurred together—wake up, eat, sit, sleep. No purpose. No freedom. Just routine.
Kai sat on his metal bed, staring at his hands.
Still no power.
Not even a spark.
At first, he tried every day—closing his eyes, focusing, pushing himself—but nothing came back. Eventually… he stopped trying.
Because the silence inside him was louder than anything else.
Other prisoners kept their distance at first.
Not because they respected him—
But because they feared what they heard about him.
"The powered kid…"
"The one who lost it…"
"The one who almost killed officers…"
Rumors spread fast.
But rumors don't last forever.
One afternoon, a group of inmates approached him in the yard. Big. Confident. Looking for trouble.
"You're the famous one, huh?" one of them said, cracking his knuckles. "Don't look so dangerous now."
Kai didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't react.
"I said—" the man stepped closer, shoving him lightly.
That's when Kai looked up.
Not with anger.
Not with fear.
Just… calm.
"I'm not here to fight," Kai said quietly.
The man laughed. "You don't get a choice in here."
He swung.
Kai moved.
Fast.
Not powered.
Just instinct.
He dodged, grabbed the arm, and twisted—dropping the man to the ground in seconds. No extra force. No rage. Just control.
The others froze.
Kai stepped back. "I meant what I said."
They didn't try again.
Word spread again—but this time, different.
Not a monster.
Not a threat.
Something else.
Someone who didn't need powers to stand strong.
That night, Kai lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His father's words echoed in his mind.
"Your mother… she's been missing for 18 years."
Kai clenched his jaw.
Eighteen years.
That wasn't just disappearance.
That was something deeper.
Something hidden.
He sat up slowly, his mind racing.
What if this is connected?
The Dragon.
The government.
His powers.
His mother.
It couldn't be a coincidence.
Days later, his father returned.
Same serious expression. Same quiet presence.
This time, he brought something with him.
A file.
Old. Worn.
Important.
Kai leaned forward as the guard stepped away. "What is that?"
His father placed it on the table between them.
"Everything I've found," he said. "About your mother."
Kai opened it slowly.
Photos. Documents. Notes.
And one picture that made his breath stop.
A woman.
Standing in a lab.
Surrounded by equipment that looked… advanced. Dangerous.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "That's her…?"
His father nodded.
"She wasn't just missing," he said quietly. "She was taken."
Kai's heart started pounding.
"Taken… by who?"
His father looked him dead in the eyes.
"The same people you've been fighting."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Kai closed the file slowly, his mind clearer than it had been in weeks.
"So this… all of this…"
His father nodded.
"…started before you even knew who you were."
Kai leaned back, staring at the ceiling again—but this time, there was no emptiness.
Only focus.
They took his powers.
They took his freedom.
And now—
He knew—
They took his mother too.
His fists clenched.
Not in anger.
In purpose.
"I'm getting out of here," Kai said quietly.
His father didn't argue.
Because for the first time—
Kai wasn't thinking like a fighter.
He was thinking like something more dangerous.
Someone with nothing left to lose.