The door burst open.
Heavy boots stormed in.
Elite guards—faster, stronger, more trained than anything Kai had faced before.
"Take them down!" one shouted.
They didn't hesitate.
Kai moved first.
No powers.
Just instinct.
He dodged the first strike, blocked another—but there were too many.
A punch landed hard across his ribs.
Another to his back.
Then his face.
He hit the ground.
Hard.
Axel tried to fight them off. "Get off him!"
But he was overwhelmed too.
Leo attempted to hold them back, using whatever he could—but this wasn't a fight they could win.
Not like this.
Kai tried to stand—
A kick slammed into his chest.
He crashed back down.
Pain exploded through his body.
His breathing became uneven.
Slow.
Heavy.
Another hit.
And another.
They didn't stop.
Blood touched the floor.
Kai's vision blurred.
Voices became distant.
The world started fading.
"Stay down," one guard said coldly.
Kai didn't move.
Couldn't move.
His body refused.
Everything hurt.
Everything.
Across the room, Axel struggled.
"KAII!" he shouted.
Leo's voice followed. "Get up! You can't stop here!"
But Kai couldn't hear clearly anymore.
Only fragments.
Only echoes.
Then—
Silence.
Inside him.
That same empty silence he had felt since losing his powers.
But this time…
It felt different.
Kai's fingers twitched.
Slowly.
Painfully.
He pushed against the ground.
His body screamed in protest.
But he forced himself up.
Inches at first.
Then more.
The guards paused.
"…He's still moving?"
Kai rose to one knee.
Breathing heavy.
Shaking.
Broken.
But not done.
"You're… still standing?" one of them muttered.
Kai didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Instead—
He screamed.
A loud, raw scream of pain, anger, everything he had been holding in.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The room froze.
For a second—
Everything stopped.
Then—
A faint red glow appeared in his eyes.
Weak.
Flickering.
But real.
The man from the rehab watched closely.
"…Interesting," he whispered.
Kai stood fully now.
Unsteady.
But standing.
His body bruised.
His face bloodied.
But his eyes—
Glowing faintly red.
Axel's eyes widened. "No way…"
Leo stepped forward slightly. "It's breaking through…"
Kai clenched his fists.
The energy wasn't strong.
Not even close to what it used to be.
But it was there.
And that was enough.
He looked at the guards.
Not with rage this time.
Not with fear.
But with something stronger.
Determination.
"I'm… not done…" Kai said, his voice weak but steady.
The red glow flickered again.
Stronger.
The guards stepped back slightly.
For the first time—
They hesitated.
Because the boy they broke moments ago…
Was getting back up.
And this time—
He wasn't just fighting them.
He was fighting himself.