Kenji's hands, the only things keeping him upright, buckled. Shaking uncontrollably, he collapsed, his face slamming into the dirt as the first sob broke through.
"I... I don't have powers," he choked out, his body trembling with a terror that felt like it would shatter his bones. "Please... don't kill me."
The Adjon goons looked at each other, their confusion turning into hysterical laughter.
"Who hates you enough to let you be born like this?" one mocked. "How can you have no power? You're not just a human; you're a mistake." "Utterly worthless," another spat, leaning in to relish the boy's misery.
"Don't kill him," one suggested, a cruel glint in his eye. "Why not?" "Because we can make him wish he were dead every single day. We'll make your life fun... for us."
SWOOSH.
A single arc of silver light cut through the air. Before the goons could finish their grins, their heads slid from their shoulders. The Founding Adjon member stood among the corpses, his blade clean, moving at a speed that defied human perception.
"Let me introduce myself," he said, his voice flat and devoid of warmth. "I am a true Adjon. These weaklings were merely goons for hire. I won't kill you, just as I said... but you will be broken."
He seized Kenji by the head. The world blurred into a smear of light and sound. In less than a second, they traversed ten thousand kilometers, ending in the courtyard of a gargantuan, jagged castle.
"We're here," the Adjon said. Four men stood waiting, possessing the cold, lethal stature of dark nobles. "These are your dictators. These are the real Adjon."
He dragged Kenji outside to a desolate stretch of land that seemed to reach the edge of the world. "See that castle? Enter it, and we kill you. Stay here instead." He gestured to the bare, hard ground. "This is your home now."
Kenji, having lost his family, his name, and his soul, stared into the distance. He didn't scream anymore. He just sat, eyes leaking silent tears, the horrific images of his siblings' faces seared into his mind.
"MORNING, SUNSHINE. IT'S TIME."
An Adjon kicked him awake. "Here's the deal: you survive the beast. Only those who have mastered their elements can kill this thing. Ready? GO!"
The Adjon vanished.
CRASH.
The forest edge exploded. A beast a hundred times Kenji's size lunged into the clearing. It was a monstrous bear with stubbed, powerful legs and a tiny, twitching snout. It moved with the force of a falling mountain.
"Survive?" Kenji whispered. "Me? No... I'll just die."
He stood with his arms wide open, welcoming the end. But an Adjon's voice echoed from the shadows: "It won't eat you all at once, boy. It loves the music of a scream. If you don't move, it'll start with your legs."
Kenji's eyes snapped wide, but it was too late. The beast's jaws clamped down, tearing his legs away.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!"
The agony was a physical wall. He pleaded for death, but the beast was methodical. It returned for his left arm. Then the right. Finally, it brought a massive paw down, crushing his chest and ending his life.
"Pathetic," an Adjon muttered, looking at the pulp that was once a boy. "Let's bring him back."
BA-DUM. BA-DUM.
Kenji's heart kickstarted. He bolted upright, gasping as his body regrew, the skin knitting together tighter and stronger than before.
CRASH.
The beast returned.
"If you do nothing, you die in pain," the Adjon warned. "We will revive you every time. But don't make us bored... or one of us will step in."
Kenji's mind broke. He ran to a tree, trying to hang himself with his own belt. The beast caught him mid-air and bit him in half.
He woke up to find a sword driven into the ground beside him. "Try using this instead of your belt," an Adjon said with disappointment. Kenji grabbed it and immediately drove it through his own heart.
He woke. He slit his throat. He woke again, reaching for the blade, but a shadow loomed over him. "Kill yourself one more time, boy, and we'll show you what real torture looks like."
Kenji stood up, his legs shaking. "Fine," he rasped. "I'll try."
He had nothing left to lose. He tracked the monster to where it was scavenging the bodies of the dead goons. He tried to sneak, tried to climb, tried to strike, and failed. Every time, his bones were shattered. Every time, he was revived.
Death 1,000
"A thousand deaths," an Adjon mused. "And still no progress. Pitiful."
But Kenji was no longer the boy who cried in the dirt. He had become a ghost. He stalked the monster, not with rage, but with a cold, predatory silence. He studied the way it breathed, the way it blinked, the way its weight shifted before a strike.
HE STRIKES.
Kenji launched himself from a high branch, putting every ounce of his revived strength into a single point.
PLUCK.
The sword sank deep into the beast's eye.
ROARRRR!
The monster thrashed in agony. Kenji didn't let go. He clung to the beast's fur as it rampaged through the trees, slamming him against trunks. He ignored the pain. He hauled himself up to the creature's skull and began to drive the sword down, again and again.
Blood sprayed his face, coating him in a warm, iron-scented mask. He didn't stop until the massive skull gave way, and the beast collapsed into the earth with a final, shuddering breath.
Kenji stood atop the carcass, looking up at the gray sky.
"I am free," he whispered.
But it wasn't a happy realization. The light in his eyes had finally gone out, replaced by a flat, terrifying calm. He had no family. He had no power. He had no fear.
"Impressive," his handler said, appearing on a branch above. "But don't celebrate. That was just the warm-up."
Kenji wiped the blood from his eyes and looked up, his expression as emotionless as the men who had kidnapped him.
blood drenched and the beginning of his emptiness he said
"Where's the next Challenge?"