Empires | Arc 1 | Chapter 3 | Voice of the Unknown

Jarrod is Titan City‘s new hero. He saved the head family member Friling, his sister Lesca, and not to mention almost a dozen innocent people from a gang of violent men.

That single incident makes Jarrod a hero. Everyone knows his name. At the restaurant where he ate, when he goes there again, the owner says, “This noodle is on the house!”

Jarrod looking confused, politely asks, “Why?”

The old man says, “Come on, you saved royalty as well as innocent people… no one does that.” He leans in, whispering, “Not even the security forces… or the so-called hero of ours.”

Jarrod, shaking his head, says, “Sir, I cannot accept it. Your livelihood depends on it… I cannot be a baggage.”

But the owner pressures him into it, saying, “Hey kid… you don’t have to worry about my livelihood. Just eat and keep up the good work.”

Jarrod, finally realizing refusing now would be disrespectful to the man, accepts his offering.

That same evening, Friling talking to a hardened man who seems like the Chief of Security of Titan City. Friling says, “Thank you, Captain, I appreciate what you did for the city… and for our family.”

The Captain says, “It was my duty and honor, sir.”

The line gets cut off as Friling rotates his revolving chair toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, where the lights are turning on as the night overtakes the day. Talking to himself, Friling sighs and says, “Ten years, and you are still that same protective little girl.”

The sky changes from evening to night to dawn as the next morning arrives. When Jarrod walks down the street, people like the cafe lady or the book shop owner wave to him. Jarrod stops, looking at them confused, but they keep on waving at him. Then he finally realizes maybe they are waving at him, so he raises his hand and waves back. And he is right; they stop waving, nod, and go back to their work.

But Titan City already has a protector, though the protector himself hates that title. He likes to call himself the Hero! The very best! The guardian! He takes great pride in being the chosen one, as no one, absolutely no one in a long time, has even challenged him.

His name is Leon; he lives in the 2nd Block of Titan City. The city itself has three blocks, the 1st Block being close to the east side savanna and jungles from where Jarrod came.

In another lavish skyscraper’s topmost floor—from the looks of it, a penthouse suite—Leon is taking a nap in the middle of the day while the sun is at its fiercest. But why would he care?

He is a celebrity! When does a celebrity have to worry about heat, transport, food, or anything?

He is clearly six feet tall, muscular—not jacked like Taglia, but more defined, a clear sign the man has vanity more so than he has wisdom.

A man appears. From the looks of him, he is of a nimble, lean build, clearly a lackey or bag man for Leon. He says, “Bro,” and holds his voice as he sees Leon napping. So the lean man walks up to his feet and gently nudges him.

Despite his vanity, Leon is a fighter; hence, his reflexes are fast. The moment a foreign touch is felt by his body, he kicks, throwing the lean guy back toward the wall. Leon yawns and wakes up, saying, “What the fuck, JDen?!… I was trying to take a nap!”

JDen gets up on his knees, coughing, still reeling from the kick, and says, “Br… bro, something happened! Some guys attacked the head family’s tower!”

Leon‘s eyes flash out. Hearing it’s time to shine, he jumps off the bed still in his jeans, puts on a dark brown leather jacket over his bare body, and starts to hurl toward the exit door.

JDen, still recovering, sprints after him, saying, “Wait, wait… it’s done.”

Leon stops, turns back, asking, “What? What’s done?”

JDen, finally standing on his feet, says, “The attackers have been taken care of… it’s nothing there now.”

Leon walks toward him, pulls him by his collar as JDen hovers in the air, and asks him, “Who… the… fuck… took care of it?”

JDen says, holding onto Leon‘s fists, “Some out-of-town guy named Jarrod… he is currently staying at the current family head’s place and being treated like a royal guest.”

Leon drops him. As JDen falls on his ass, Leon asks him, “And you are telling me now? Where the fuck were you… you punk! When all of it was happening?… Now you are here to do what? Rub salt?”

JDen says, “Come on, boss,” changing ‘bro’ to ‘boss’ to de-escalate the situation. “I don’t have ears everywhere, you know… it takes time to get wind of it.” He then murmurs to himself, “Besides, he wasn’t a boaster like you.”

Leon, already furious, grits his teeth and asks, “What was that?”

JDen looks up, saying, “Well, he was low-key, boss… he didn’t take the credit and had almost left.”

Leon does not wait another moment but storms off from the suite.

He goes to the Friling estate, which is another way of saying the top floor of that same skyscraper where the attack occurred. He goes in through the doors; the security at the front gate, reinstated, tries to stop him, but Leon picks them up by the belt, throws them off, and takes the elevator to the penthouse floor.

As the doors open, the scene of the suite is breathtaking. High-quality art on whitewashed walls, leather couches, Friling at the desk reading something on a screen monitor, and Lesca on the couch in her casual wear—a loose tee and cut-off jeans—using a manicuring kit on her nails.

Leon walks in, roaring, “Where is that son of a bitch?”

Friling looks literally startled as he lifts his chin and gets up, his brain taking time to register who just barged in. Is it an enemy or a foe? Lesca, on the other hand, keeps on polishing her nails with the blade; she simply looks up for a moment and then looks down, focusing on her nails.

Jarrod is on the balcony meditating, hearing the commotion but, more importantly, feeling a sudden pressure change in the room.

The room is usually hollow or empty when Lesca is there, or calm and soothing like a flower garden when Friling is there. But suddenly, it feels like a presence so nauseating that it itches on the nose, but keeps on punching, kicking, and stabbing you in the gut, has walked in.

As Jarrod appears from the balcony, Leon spots Jarrod—a presence that is about harmony and balance. A yin and yang! Leon simply takes a long breath, almost like activating his Heat without uttering the spell or the name of it,

and swoosh,

the window sheets near him fly a little like a light breeze has passed by. The linen rags fly a little, and he is gone… Leon is gone.

Friling bats his eyelashes. Leon is holding Jarrod by the collar, having covered a distance of a few meters in a flash, saying, “You motherfucker… who told you to interfere, huh? I am the hero around here. Are you trying to steal my title or something!”

Jarrod just gives him a friendly smile and says, “I didn’t know. I will remember it from now on.”

Leon‘s anger does not come down. First JDen, and now this guy is trying to manage him. Leon feels like the whole world is mocking him, as if anyone can just come and become the hero of Titan City. Leon feels that Jarrod thinks he is not strong enough, so he is treating Leon like a child.

So, Leon challenges Jarrod, saying, “I don’t need your apology.” Letting go of his collar and crossing his arms in a defensive position—though the venom is gone—he continues, “I want you to fight me. One on one! And it goes until one of us yields. That is a fighter’s way. And even if you are anything less than a fighter, still you have to accept it.”

But Jarrod says, “No need, my friend. I can feel your strength. We don’t need to fight.”

Leon‘s eyes burn again as he remembers JDen screaming as he left—something about Jarrod letting the attackers go.

So Leon says, “Fight me, or I will find those cockroaches that you let go and slaughter them myself.”

The room goes still; it is like the wind coming from the balcony has stopped. Jarrod‘s eyes darken. Lesca, on the other hand, only stops her manicuring work for a full second and then goes on without a single more reaction.

But Jarrod says, “When and where do I have to fight?”

Leon smirks, taking a step back, and says, “At the end of the 2nd Block, before the 3rd Block starts, there is an open field. Meet me there tomorrow at dawn! As the first light hits, we clash!”

With that, Leon does not wait for a reply and just storms off.

In the penthouse, Friling walks toward where Jarrod is standing and whispers, “It was almost like a Heat… but what type?”

Jarrod keeps on looking as he whispers, “It was almost like… like an arrow!”

On the battle day, as the first dawn light hits,

on the left there is Jarrod, and on the right, there is Leon.

Friling is by the edge of the field hands clasped in front of him, while Lesca takes her seat on the wall, sitting and checking her nails… still! JDen is also there, standing on the other edge of the field, clearly there to support Leon, or provide a shoulder in any off chance.

Leon roars and reveals his Heat, “Weapons of Doom.” The result is instantaneous as Leon chops the air like a sword cut. Nothing visual happens, but the air pressure changes and violently surges toward Jarrod.

Jarrod feels that invisible slashes are coming toward him. He points his palms toward the ground and uses push, and he flies out of the direct line of sight. But Leon is faster now; not as fast as he was yesterday at the penthouse, but more agile and smooth, almost like a sword.

Shah, shah, shah!

He closes the gap between his previous position and the hovering Jarrod.

Jarrod sees the movement and think “It is like a sword moves… no, no, it’s like he is the sword!”

While analyzing Leon‘s Heat type, Jarrod has a clear shot at using push on Leon‘s body to pin him or push him away before he closes the gap. But maybe, not having the intention to hurt him, he uses pull toward the ground further away from Leon to make distance.

Leon, however, makes a jump in the air, catching Jarrod‘s foot, and slaps him into the ground.

Splat!

The impact is so strong that first the broken pieces of earth fly, then the dust itself.

As Jarrod groans to get up battered as bloods dropping from his ears and nose, and balances himself on his knees and palms, Leon starts kicking Jarrod‘s side torso, throwing him even further and disturbing his balance to gain footing. As if this is not enough, Leon starts badmouthing Jarrod. “What was that, huh? Don’t wanna hurt me?” he says in a mocking tone, continuing, “It will be your doom, motherfucker.”

Jarrod uses push against the ground, gains a turn, and tries to land a punch on Leon‘s gut, despite having a clear shot at his temples. Again, Jarrod‘s conscience gets in the way, as maybe he genuinely does not want to injure Leon.

Leon catches the fist, saying, “Your close ones will die because of your conflict-avoidant nature. You are actually a fool for believing that mercy is an option!” He lands a blow on Jarrod‘s gut.

Dhush!

The air behind Jarrod‘s back literally distorts—a clear sign that while Jarrod‘s body might have taken the blow, the air impact is proof that it was incredibly strong.

The final line that Leon speaks—unknown to him what it will cause—is: “If you have to choose between the world and yourself, you will always choose yourself. You hypocritical fuck.”

Jarrod, already in pain, coughing blood, his vision blurry, bones, muscles are on the verge of giving up closes his eyes for a moment. His hands give out as he almost lies on Leon‘s arm that is still planted on his gut. And in the blankness,

a voice rings: “If you are bad to me, it doesn’t mean I have to be bad to you. Not all of us are bad… some of us have good in us… it’s just afraid to come out! So do not punish the world for a few….”

Suddenly, Jarrod‘s bloody eyes snap open as he rages. He opens his mouth to breathe out and holds onto the hand that gut-punched him. Jarrod uses pull, not on Leon‘s body, but on his face, which is relatively lighter than Leon‘s whole body.

Shush!

Leon‘s head is yanked close, and Jarrod starts punching Leon‘s head.

Dhish, dhish, dhish, dhish!

Now, the exact same air distortion starts behind Leon‘s head, simple proof of how much force is in each of Jarrod‘s fists.

Leon tries to regain his footing, but Jarrod uses push again on one of Leon‘s legs, effectively disturbing his balance and bringing Leon further down to his reach. He keeps punching Leon until he is lying on the ground on his back. Leon is helpless as Jarrod overpowers his face; Leon cannot breathe. Because he cannot breathe, the lack of oxygen is distorting his ability to think. Leon tries to use his hands to stop Jarrod, but Jarrod simply uses push to swat them away before they can even touch him.

Leon gets half beaten to death as Jarrod roars in a tone that is very new to the observers like Friling and Lesca. He says “You think you are all-knowing, huh? What do you even know about me… about the world… and its people? Living in a well like a frog… go out there, and you will realize how small and insignificant you and your beliefs are!” Friling‘s eyes widen for a fraction here that raging tone, Lesca only looks up from her nail for a brief moment.

Jarrod is about to land a final punch that could literally knock Leon out, or might just kill him. But he stops!

Lesca is simply staring at them, detached and almost bored. Friling uses his Raphael’s Wings to close the gap and sits down to check on Leon, who is still breathing but temporarily stunned.

Jarrod lowers his fist, his tone regaining its usual pitch. “What will I choose? I am sparing you precisely so that you can witness me… and see what I will choose.”

With that, Jarrod leaves the field. As Leon remains on the ground, with a buzzing head and broken limbs. JDen runs in from the other side of the field, checking on his bro. After Friling tends to the broken Leon, JDen carries him out of the field.