Chapter 03: More Than a Shop Owner.
Kandril immediately shifted his attention to Gabron, his void-like eyes, locking onto him with a soul-crushing stare.
"Huh? You're still conscious, baldy?" he growled, cracking his knuckles one by one. "Want me to end your life right now?"
Gabron only smirked, shaking off the threat with forced swagger.
"Tsss!" he clicked his tounge. "You think you're some tough guy, huh? Kid? just because you caught me off guard earlier?"
Then the smirk shifted into a slow, cocky grin.
"Let's see how tough you are..." he continued, then tapped something on his wristwatch.
BEEP.
His grin widened further.
"...that I just called the entire... SYNDICATE!"
Kandril's brow twitched, irritation simmering across his expression. Not a trace of fear crossed his face at Gabron's threat.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" He muttered, voice low and steady.
Then—
BZZZT.
Bolts of lightning began to crackle along Kandrils arms.
Then he moved. He stepped forward toward Gabron without hesitation, each stride heavy and ominous.
Gabron's throat bobbed. Sweat beaded on his scalp, dripping down his face. His confidence flickered as his intimidation against Kandril crumbled.
From his vantage point, he saw only a figure advancing through the storm of lightning, as if delivering judgment itself.
Eventually his legs betrayed him, and he stumbled a half-step back.
And Kandril noticed it.
'..uh?'
He stopped. A low chuckle slipped from his lips.
"Ke—"
He tilted his head slightly, lightning reflecting in his eyes.
"Scared, Huh?"
Then—
BZZZZZT — CRACK!
A violent surge of lightning shot up his arm, erupting in sharp, violent sparks around his clenched fist.
Gabron sneered, forcing his bravado back into place, though rage boiled beneath it at Kandril's mockery. "You ain't special just because of some fancy light—"
But before he could even finish the sentence.
Out of nowhere—
WOOOOOOSH—
BOIIIIINNNGGG!
A wok slammed into his bald head. The twhack thundered across the shop.
Kandril's expression immediately flattened. The lightning dancing across his arm sputtered and dimmed.
'Eh?'
Gabron hit the floor, clutching his head.
"AGGGHHH! Who did that?" he snapped.
A lump was rising on his scalp, swelling red and round like a small volcano pushing up through shiny earth.
Well, who did that?
It was the shop owner. Red faced. Breathing like a bull that had seen enough nonsense. A wok clutched tightly in his right hand.
He was not done.
Another swing—
SWOOSH.
Straight to the face!
BOING!
Another one—
BOING!
More—
BOING!
Then, for the last strike, he gritted his teeth, and—
"GAAAAAHHH!"
BOIIIIIING!
The wok came down so hard, Gabron's face imprinted into the metal like a mold. The blow instantly knocked him out cold.
In the stunned silence that followed, without wasting any seconds, the shop owner turned toward Kandril.
"YOU!" he snarled, a menacing aura rolling off him as he pointed the wok toward Kandril.
"You stupid arrogant brat!" he added, fury rising up his neck.
Kandril flinched, pointing at himself.
He glanced around theatrically, innocence plastered across his face as if searching for someone else.
"W-who, m-me, U-Unc?!" he asked, voice trembling with fake innocence.
"Is there anyone else here who is a ARROGANT and STUPID?!" the shop owner snapped back, his voice cracking like thunder against Kandril's eardrums.
Before Kandril could react, the shop owner lunged forward. In one swift move, he grabbed Kandril by the collar and pulled him close.
"Hey, listen to me, kid" he snapped, shaking him once for emphasis. "For one last time, take this into that thick skull of yours..."
He leaned in dramatically. "When I tell you not to go against the syndicate, don't go against the syndicate! Understand?!"
Kandril blinked. "...O-okay?"
The shop owner then releases his gripped against Kandril's collar. He drew in a slow breath and slipped back into his usual demeanor. Afterward, he fixed Kandril with a stare filled with unreadable intensity.
Kandril stared back.
"..."
BLINK
"..."
BLINK - BLINK
Seconds passed. Then minutes. With each moment, the air grew heavier and thicker. Kandril felt unease creeping in. His eyes narrowing as his mind drowned in countless questions about the shop owner's intent.
"Uhhm... is there a problem, Unc?" he asked, forcing a shaky grin.
"Ehe—hehehe..."
"Hehe..."
His nervous laughter trailed off awkwardly.
"..."
GULP—
Then, without warning, like a sudden thunderclap, the shop owner drove his right palm into Kandril's chest.
Not a punch. Just a flat, decisive push.
Then—
He murmured.
"Spell Unfold... RIFT HOP."
As the words left the shop owner's mouth, a shimmer abruptly blossomed beneath Kandril. Radiant light spilled across the floor, and intricate symbols followed, spiraling outward, weaving themselves into a glowing sigil.
The next moment, light surged up around Kandril. His silhouette wavered, edges trembling like heat haze. Then his arms. Then the rest of him, piece by piece, swallowed by the light.
Until—
SWOOP!
He vanished.
Then—
Somewhere in an unfamiliar, dark alley of the colony...
The narrow space reeked of rot. Garbage pooled in the corners, crawling with insects, while rats scuttled through the filth, gnawing at whatever they could find.
Then a flickering glow clung to the cracked walls.
It began to warp—
A figure surfaced. Coalescing. Edges forming, sharpening, until—
Kandril emerged.
He stood frozen, body rigid, eyes vacant—as if his soul left out of his body.
A second later, a shimmer stirred beneath him. His backpack materialized between his feet and thumped softly onto the littered ground. He stared at it with that thousand-yard gaze, mind still somewhere between here and there.
Then—
SKEEEEEEK!
A sharp squeal ripped through the air.
A massive rat scuttled past Kandril's feet, dragging a chunk of rotten apple across the ground. He jolted back, eyes flaring wide as the haze snapped apart.
"F—FUCKING HELL!!"
His voice came out hoarse. Trembling.
He watched the enormous rat until it vanished into the shadows.
Then, without warning—
SNIFF.
A vile odor hit him full force.
Putrid. Noxious. Dizzying.
His face turned violet. His stomach lurched. His throat burned. His knees buckled. The stench clawed its way down into his lungs. He vomited violently, retches spattering across the filthy ground.
"UAAAGHHKKKK!!"
Clamping a hand over his mouth and nose, Kandril fought the nausea, forcing his trembling legs to keep him upright.
"What the hell is that smell?" he croaked to no one.
He didn't wait for an answer. Snatching his backpack, he staggered through the stinking, shadow-choked alley—head down, eyes watering, stomach staging a full rebellion. And when he finally stumbled out the other end, he collapsed against a lamppost and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
One breath—
"HUUUUUUU—"
Then another.
"HÀAAAAA."
His chest heaved as he groaned weakly between gasps. But he couldn't stop himself from tipping his head back, casting a wary glance toward the alley he had just escaped.
The smell was still there. Of course it was. His stomach twisted in immediate protest.
"F*#×!!!!!"
Without hesitation, he spun and bolted, putting as much distance as he could between himself and that stinking alley.
After what felt like an eternity, Kandril finally slowed to a stop. He hunched over, hands on his knees, gasping as his lungs burned with every breath.
Ha— ha— ha— HAAAAAA!!
He straightened, ready to finally catch some air.
When suddenly—
Something clicked.
A prickling wrongness crawled up his spine.
The world turned inverted for a heartbeat, Like a hiccup of reality. His mind raced, questions piling up faster than answers could form. Something was off. He just couldn't put his finger on it yet.
Then—
BA~DUM.
It hit him all at once.
"T—That's right," he gasped, chest tightening.
Memories exploded in jagged fragments.
The shop owner's palm against his chest. The runes flickering to life beneath his feet. Those whispered words—
And then... the light. That blinding, bottomless light, swallowing him whole.
All of it came rushing back, crashing over him like a wave he hadn't seen coming.
He froze in the middle of the pavement, heart hammering, the world spinning around him.
Then—
A new realization hit him. Sharp and sudden, like a shot of tequila scorching all the way down to his throat.
"No... way."
Dread crept into his voice.
"D-Don't... t-tell me..."
His throat tightened.
GULP—
"U-Unc is an Astralis too?"
TBC...