The colony today was as busy as yesterday and the day before yesterday dawned. After all, many engaged heavily in endless training for the tournament, which was in a bit under a day from now. Jin and his troublesome apprentice, Stevan, were headed toward the titanium gates of the colony.

They walked alongside each other. Stevan, being one filled with energy all the time, could barely keep up to Jin. Or rather, he couldn't stop losing him. Jin walked quite slowly about the village, taking his time. Stevan was even convinced for a trifle that he was doing it on purpose.

One look at Jin's face was enough to change his mind. That face he retained was not that of a playful clown.

Jin stopped in front of the gates where he was spotted by several guards. The guards seemed suspicious of him. Many hadn't seen him before. This was, after all, Jin's first time leaving the walls via its established exit as opposed to simply teleporting or walking through them. 

There, Jin had encountered Franklin: not too far away from the gates at all.

Franklin immediately nodded over to Jin and greeted him merrily. "What a pleasant surprise this is. Jin and his closest companion yet."

"Mentor is enough," Stevan said.

Franklin smiled at Stevan, but then looked at Jin, wiping this smile from his face. "Where are you headed, Jin?"

"Out." That was the only word Jin had spoken.

Franklin shifted on his feet. "Out? That's, ahh, not the thing you might want to do at this time. Unless you're planning to leave permanently." He inched closer to Jin. "You're not planning to leave permanently, are you?"

"Don't know," Jin replied. "Why should you care?"

"I- I, uhhh, just," Franklin fumbled with his words, "I just don't want you leaving so very soon. Plus, the security is really tight right now after the walls have been breached a few nights aback. They're not strict for that reason alone: the tournament is leaving us a bit open, so the guards aren't having the gates opened as much to avoid all possible unbidden guests."

Jin simply walked right past him, and continued toward the guards. Stevan could only follow.

Franklin scuttled and hopped in front of Jin again. "I don't think you're understanding this, Jin. You can't leave now—the tournament's tomorrow. If you leave, that's an automatic disqualification. You don't get any more chances at all. And if you really do plan to migrate, there will be consequences?"

Jin glimpsed at him. "Consequences?"

"For us," Franklin amended, "consequences for us. Heh heh." He wiped sweat from his face with the heel of his palm. "The people here, ahhh, see you as an asset for their warranted survival within these hollow walls. We need you, Jin. Plus, I..." recognization dawned on his face. ' The boy would never leave without his twin brother...'

Stevan grimaced. "Something wrong, sir?"

Franklin shook his head. "No, no, no. Nothing at all. I just, ahh, remembered something. I have an appointment at the health center in five minutes or so," he smiled nervously, "I suppose this is where I depart."

Franklin started but then stopped. "Jin? Why don't you just simply phase through the wall like you always do? Or perhaps use your teleportation? Break through it with one of those gamma attacks or something? I don't know." He laughed. "Good bye." He walked away.

"You can phase?" Stevan looked at Jin. "I never knew that."

"I thought only I and my opponents knew," Jin said, looking over his shoulder at Franklin as he withdrew. 

The guards approached Jin. 

The tallest guard stopped in front of Jin. "Haven't seen you around here. Who are you?" 

Jin simply stared at the man without even thinking about responding. 

Stevan scratched his head. "His name is Jin Pierce."

The guard folded his arms. "Haven't heard of you. And why aren't you talking yourself? You a mute or something? A mime?"

"He can speak," Stevan said. "We want request a permit to leave here and return later." Stevan glimpsed at Jin. He was told that they were going to train outside of the walls, but that was all the information he got. But why were they taking the gates to leave when there were many more options when Jin was involved? 

"We're not allowing anyone past these gates—in or out," the guard said. 

"How strong is the gate?" Jin asked. 

The guard grimaced. "What did you ask?"

"How strong is it, the gate?"

"Strong enough," the guard said, "even trucks won't be able to get through even if they were at full speed."

Jin's eyes glowed green. "Can it hold superhuman men with superhuman strength for more than five minutes?"

"I... don't know," the guard scratched his head, "maybe?"

"Good enough. Your job is to make no one leave nor enter after the tournament," Jin's eyes radiated green. "Make the gates stronger. And if there is a potential breacher, have him killed. Make sure your one hundred comrades are informed of this."

The guard's eyes were suddenly green as well. He nodded. "I... understand." The guard had a sudden listless look on his faces. He turned around and started toward the group of other guards at the gate.

Jin turned to Stevan.

Stevan was a bit horrified at what he just witnessed. 

Jin placed a hand upon Stevan's shoulder.

Stevan flinched. He pulled away from Jin. Their surroundings had been changed. Jin's touch had consipicuosly prompted this abrupt relocation.

"What kind of training are we going to do out here?" Stevan asked. He looked at Jin. No response. "Come on, man. Don't give me the cold shoulder. I just wanna know why you—"

Suddenly a creature crashed down from the sky and landed before Stevan. 

It was a creature radically black. Blacker than pitch. It was tall and wide. Armored head to toe. A sword was in the scabbard that was attached to its back. Its eyes were crimson red. Glowing. Radiating. Malicious.

After that creature fell from the skies, more followed. They kept coming, surrounding Jin and Stevan thoroughly. They didn't attack yet. They just watched patiently. But Jin didn't mistake this for unreadiness. He knew their guards were up.

Stevan smirked. "This is much more like it!" His body bulked, revealing muscle. But he was still nothing short of small. 

One of the creatures—a Void—appeared in front of Stevan. Stevan hesitated and attacked on relfex. This bit of action prompted the entire battle. Jin's clones leaped out of his body one after the other. But then, Jin dismissed them after a bit of hits. He wanted to fight without them. Just he and Stevan alone. And that he did. 

The Voids were relentless. They all closed in on Stevan and Jin. They were fast. Almost too fast for Stevan to even react. Stevan had recieved a few hits. Having seen this, Jin had quickly reverted to defense. He flung Stevan into the air and swooped him about to help him dodge forthcoming attacks.

Jin teleported constantly to evade hits. But there were also times he'd chosen not to teleport and instead duck and flip and sidestep and roll and skate. 

Just watching Jin in action had filled Stevan with sheer exhilaration. All of his grudge for this man was burnt away, and replaced by admiration. He still hadn't been taught a thing, but this was perhaps all he needed: this thrilling experience. 

He got to punch Voids. He got to soar through the air. He got to experience the worst agony in his life. 

He watched Jin shred through Voids after Voids after Voids. He split them in half, into pieces, and pierced through them. But the worst experience he got was the pain in his eyes after trying to keep track of Jin and the Voids flying from left to right—and that blinding green that emanated from the blade Jin wielded.

The Voids kept coming. Stevan was astounded by their weapons. Their words stretched. Their axes came back to them. Some of them used shields alone that served as a spear as well.

The Voids did not relent. They just kept coming. And Stevan and Jin just kept fighting them off. The battle was a glorious one. One that transitioned to one of Jin's personal favorites. 

***

Jin and Stevan had taken down the entire army of Voids. 

They stood, back against back. Panting. Sweating. Bleeding. But most importantly, smiling. Their clothes were battered. Stevan suffered a few broken bones. Jin had met the limit to his skill usage for the first time in a very long time. 

They stood in the middle of a slew of dead Voids. A large area of the floor was covered completely and soley with corpses. 

"This battle was okay."

"Just okay?"

"Yeah."

Stevan scoffed. "I think we might need to use Kaylie."

"I had Sexy Jin give her a bit of pleasure earlier," Jin said, "we'll get her to heal us before the tournament tomorrow."

***

In the distance, stood a figure, lurking in the darkness, and peering right at Jin and Stevan. "I cannot wait to meet you... Jin Pierce."