Harry looked down. His left hand burned. Light spilled between his fingers. His skin felt hot, alive. He stood up slowly. His legs shook, but they held. The light wrapped around his hand like fire. He felt intense heat pulsing through his left hand. "What is this?" he whispered.
He struck the hand against his thigh. He rubbed it with his other palm. Intending to quench the light. But the light only grew brighter. It spilled across the ground. Leaves glimmered. Shadows pulled back.
Master Kangfu broke through the trees just as the glow burst wider. He slowed. His eyes fixed on Harry's hand. He halted from a distance. "What is this?" he asked himself. He slipped behind a tree. His breath was quiet. His gaze never left the glowing fist.
The boys kept drifting back. Their boots scraped the dirt. "Whatever this is," Daniel said, his voice low, "it is a surge of divine energy." Jerry snorted. "No. That cannot be." He spat to the side. "A bastard cannot be that favored by the gods."
His eyes narrowed. "I am sure that is intense leprosy." A few boys laughed nervously. Jerry stopped retreating. He stepped forward. His boots pressed into the glowing light on the ground.
"Whether your hands mysteriously glow or not," he said, "I am here to kill you. And I will kill you." He raised his fist. His muscles tightened.
He swung. Jerry's blow flew straight at Harry's face. Harry graped himself for the pain. But surprisingly, Harry did not move. The fist hit him. But nothing happened. No pain, no scream. It was as if his face have turn numbed.
Jerry blinked. The voice echoed again in Harry's head. "Fight back." Jerry snarled and struck again. His fist shot forward. Harry caught the blow with his left hand. The glowing fingers closed around Jerry's knuckles. A sharp crack split the air. Pain tore through Jerry's arm. He screamed. His knees buckled.
Harry released him. Before Jerry could speak, Harry's other fist drove into his ribs. The impact boomed. Jerry's chest caved inward. A sickening crack followed. Jerry flew backward as if thrown by an invisible force.
His body slammed into a tree. Bark burst. Leaves rained down. He slid down, gasping, eyes wide.
The boys gasped, taking steps backward in fear. "What have you become?" Daniel asked, stepping backward with trembling legs. Harry looked at Jerry in awe. Then looked at his own hand. Everything looked stranged. His glowing hand. The height and distance Jerry had flew before he landed on the ground. He knew that wasn't him.
Master Kangfu remained hidden watching from a distance. "Am I mistaken or this is truly the God Hand?" He asked himself.
But how did Harry come to wield it. It was said to be lost." Harry saw the fear in the eyes of the Astania boys. Their mouths were half open. Their shoulders were stiff. Some of them were already inching away, dragging their feet like men standing at the edge of a cliff.
The light from Harry's left hand spilled over their faces, painting them pale and hollow. Their shadows twisted against the trees.
Harry felt it too. The heat in his palm. The strange weight. It was not pain. It was not comfort. It was something else. Something alive. He decided to use the opportunity to waed off the boys.
He stepped forward and pointed at them. "Get out of here before I kill you all one after the other." The words did not sound like his. They came out deeper. Harder.
For a heartbeat no one moved. Then boots scraped dirt. Branches snapped. The boys turned and bolted, fear pushing them faster than their legs could carry. Some stumbled. Some nearly fell. None of them looked back.
Leaves rustled as they disappeared into the dark forest. Only Jerry remained. He lay on the ground, clutching his ribs. His breath came out in broken gasps. His face was twisted with pain and disbelief.
Harry turned to him. "You see, they abandoned you." Jerry tried to crawl away, dragging himself with one arm. His fingers clawed at the dirt.
Harry squatted. The glow from his hand lit Jerry's face. It was too close now. Too bright. He reached out. Jerry flinched, curling into himself. "Please, do not touch me. You are not human, you are a monster."
Harry froze for a second, then kept moving. "Do not be afraid. I won't hurt you. You are my brother." Jerry shook his head violently. Tears spilled down his cheeks. "Please, get away from me. You are not human. You are a monster."
His voice cracked. His body trembled. The forest felt smaller, tighter, as if it was pressing in around them. "Call me that one more time and i will break all your teeth out."
"That is enough," a voice boomed from behind. Harry turned. Master Kangfu stepped out from the shadows. His robe swayed softly as he walked. His eyes were fixed on Harry's glowing hand.
He moved to Jerry and lifted him up. Jerry cried out, his ribs screaming as he was pulled to his feet. "Next time," Kangfu said calmly, "do not ferment trouble against your fellow student."
Jerry nodded weakly. His lips trembled. "Now get out of here." Jerry began to slowly walk away, one shaky step at a time. He held his cracked ribs together with both arms. Each step made him groan. His breath came out in wet, broken sounds as he disappeared between the trees.
Master Kangfu turned to Harry. The light from Harry's hand reflected in his eyes. "How did you get that?" he asked. Harry swallowed. "Get what?"
Kangfu stepped closer. The ground crunched beneath his feet. He reached out and touched Harry's left hand. "The glowing hand."
Harry looked down. The light still pulsed. His skin felt warm. Almost burning. "I do not know," he said softly. "It just suddenly glow."
Kangfu studied him for a long moment. "Is this the first time you are experiencing this?" Harry nodded. Kangfu nodded too. His eyes drifted, as if he was rememberinv something else now. Harry's survival. The river. The glowing hand . The impossible return. They are made sense now.
"If this is what I am thinking," he said slowly, "then it is both a blessing and a curse." The glow flickered. "You must not walk around with that glowing hand."