"Shing. Shing. Shing."
Not loud—just clean. Each stroke sliced through the air with surgical precision, a sharp metallic whisper followed by a brief hush, like the world itself paused to acknowledge it.
Within one of the high-end compounds on Banana Island—where polished streets, luxury homes, and quiet security replaced the usual chaos of Lagos—the sound cut through the stillness with unnatural clarity.
Shing.
In the center of the compound, he stood alone.
"Ahh… it's been three weeks since we got back. I've been training, especially with the saber, and I'm really getting the hang of it now—thanks to Master Xue Blade."
A breath in—
Then the first cut.
A clean diagonal from shoulder to hip.
Shing.
He reset instantly, pivoting on the ball of his foot. The saber reversed direction mid-motion, snapping into a rising slash.
Shing.
No pause this time.
A horizontal cut followed, tight and controlled, stopping just short of full extension—discipline over force.
Shing.
He stepped forward.
One. Two.
A thrust—straight, precise—then a sharp withdrawal, the blade spinning once in his grip before settling back into guard.
The air barely had time to recover.
He shifted stance, weight dropping slightly.
Another sequence—faster now.
High feint.
Low cut.
Turn.
Backhand slash.
Each motion flowed into the next like it had been carved into him, not learned.
Shing. Shing. Shing.
Then—
He stopped.
Blade steady.
Not a single wasted movement.
"Yo, David, it's time."
The young man was David.
"Sup. Are you done training, Sky?" David said.
"Yeah, we're all done, so I came to call you in."
"Why? It's still early," David said.
"Idiot! Did you check your system?" Skywhite said.
"System—shit, I lost track of time."
[RNAME: ADEBAYO DAVID]
[RACE: HUMAN]
[AWARENESS POINT: 6.5]
[SKILL: NONE]
[ABILITY: NONE]
[TIME: 29:21:58:51]
"Shit! Let's hurry back."
We ran outside. If there's anything about training, it's that I can move quicker now—and my strength has improved too. I wonder if it's going to be enough for the world that is to come. Some people think it's some kind of divine apparatus. As for me, I think it's anything but divine.
"Okay, we're here," Skywhite said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Uncle, good afternoon, sir," I greeted the man sitting in front before getting in.
This man is Mr. Chibueze. Some time ago, he told me to stop calling him "Mr.," so I switched to "Uncle."
"Haha, David, I know you forgot the time again," Mmeso said.
Mmeso… she seems to be getting freer in the way she acts.
"Yeah, I'm sorry."
"Yep, he said sorry—so I won," Mmeso said, suddenly looking like she'd won a bet.
"Huh? What is happening?" I asked.
"Hehe, don't worry. Me and Sky made a bet that I could make you say 'sorry' at least once in five sentences."
"Fine, I'll help you pack your bag," Skywhite said.
"Cough, cough… I have something to say," Uncle Chibueze said.
"You guys are friends, but I want you to think of each other as more than that—more like siblings. You three are the oldest, including Gift, but you three are the ones I trained in firearms. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen, but I have an idea. Just in case we ever get separated, make sure to protect the younger ones, okay?"
"Yes, sir," we answered in chorus.
"Alright, we're home."
We all got out of the vehicle and went inside. Uncle Chibueze watched us and smiled.
"I really hope this will be enough…" he sighed.
"Alright—take a shower, eat, arrange your bags. Finish up in twenty."
"Aye, sir!"
"Yes, sir!" we answered in chorus.
The parents weren't too surprised.
Now, not all parents were around. For Skywhite, his mother is a businesswoman—she travels a lot. As for Gift, her father works in an offshore oil company outside Nigeria, so he isn't around right now. But Gift's father is friends with Uncle Chibueze, so they sometimes let her stay over.
Then there's me and Mmeso. Our parents are with us, and we each have a younger sibling.
That's a little funny to me.
Ah—there, I'm done preparing.
Alright. Let's go down—
"What's up? Your twenty minutes are up!"
That was the first thing I heard as I came down.
Everyone had changed into something easier to move in. Now we sat together.
"Brother David!" Ada called me.
I turned to her. She opened her arms wide, asking to be carried. I picked her up like I always do.
"Brother David, are you scared?"
"Yes."
She pushed her head back a little to look at my face.
"But I feel being scared is useless if we want to survive this new world that is about to begin."
"What about you? Are you scared?"
"Yep… but I have you and everyone with me, so I'm not that scared."
"That's good. I will protect you no matter what."
"Hey… are you sure you're not a lolicon, David?" Skywhite said.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Everyone's attention shifted to me and Ada.
"I mean, she's irresistibly cute—and look at how you carry her and whisper to her. Hmm… maybe that's why you don't have a girlfriend."
"Hmmm… but you have a girlfriend. Can you carry her like my brother carries me?" Ada asked.
"Yes, I can."
"Okay, do it."
He approached Gift.
The next thing—
SLAP!
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Ah, kids these days…" my father said, shaking his head. "During our time, we would hide these kinds of things from our parents. But now… hehe."
"I like this gathering. In the future, let's continue to gather like this," my mom, Mrs. Adebayo, said.
I felt a hot gaze piercing me from the side. I turned to see Mmeso staring at me with something strange in her eyes.
She noticed me looking—
And smiled.