Reversal Intentions
April 23rd, 2026
Amina and Harith walked away from the crowd, while Tariq remained there… his eyes never wavering off the clown.
⸻
Amina and Harith went together to inspect the place from the inside.
Amina: "Sheesh… that table's massive!"
Harith pointed toward a long dining table. It stretched roughly 25 feet.
Harith: "You know what else is massive?"
He smirked, pulling a blue headband out of nowhere.
Amina let out a tired sigh.
"Even stand-up comedians in Al Qantara are funnier than you."
She crossed her arms.
"Oh come on… was it really that bad?"
Harith casually tossed the headband away.
Then he glanced back at the table, noticing the workers had already started serving food across the empty stretch.
"Oh well. That settles it. What do you say, Amina? We help them out?"
"You help them yourself, Harith. You think I get paid behind your back for charity work or something? It's their job!"
Harith exhaled under his breath.
"Amina versus volunteering…"
"What was that?! Speak up so I can hear you!"
Amina shot him a sharp glare.
"Nothing at all. I was simply saying… how unbelievably kind you are."
"That's what I thought."
⸻
Harith headed over and helped the workers place the food, purely out of charity.
When he finished, the workers smiled warmly and thanked him.
Harith smiled back, then scanned the table. A few people had returned from watching the clown.
His eyes searched the area.
"Oh my word… Amina and her ninja disappearing act. Where the hell did she go?"
"But that doesn't matter. Food first, right, uncle?"
He gently poked an old dark-skinned man on the elbow. The man looked at him, confused.
⸻
Harith unwrapped his plate slowly… carefully.
Light shimmered off it. The food looked… gourmet.
Chicken breast, perfectly cooked. Four pieces of grape leaves (Mahshi—stuffed vegetables). And lastly… two samosas with sliced carrots and cucumbers.
Harith's mouth wasn't just watering… it was rivering.
He slowly raised his fork…
Before suddenly stabbing toward the plate—until…
He heard it.
Voices. Shouting. Fighting.
Harith froze.
Skrrrk—clink!
The fork hit the plate loudly.
"يا فرحة ما تمت."
(What a joy that didn't last.)
Harith said it with disappointment sinking deep into his now heavier tone.
"Forget it."
In one motion, he grabbed the plate and shoved everything into his mouth before setting it down firmly.
"If that's trouble I'm hearing… then it just walked into the wrong place."
He rose to his feet, fists spreading apart as blue electricity crackled visibly across them.
Bright. Sharp. Restless.
Tsk… tsk… cliick!
⸻
Tariq rushed toward him.
"Harith! Come quickly—you need to see what's happening in the crowd!"
"I'm on it!"
Harith bolted with Tariq toward the scene.
⸻
The crowd had descended into chaos.
Not two people… but many. Fighting. Yelling. Spiraling.
"Wait… what's going on here?"
"I don't know either, Harith. But I think… this clown might be behind it."
Harith and Tariq locked onto the clown.
He was still performing.
Riding a small unicycle, juggling four flaming balls mid-air.
Sweat ran down his face. Tension clear. Anxiety barely contained.
Harith watched, impressed… and without realizing it, his fist tightened slightly.
But Tariq wasn't fooled.
⸻
Meanwhile — the clown's perspective:
(It's fine… just don't mess up… let them tear each other apart… as long as I keep the performance going… my disposition stays intact…)
He thought this, having a terrified expression while looking at the chaos around him.
But from here.. the chaos only intensified. EVERYONE in the place started having fights with each other.
It went from a wedding to a street fight..
Smack, punch, smack..
Tariq: "This is absolutely not good.."
Harith's charged fist rises up. And in a split second, Harith tries landing a punch on Tariq.
Tariq was always on guard, he quickly pulls out a pan to just barely block harith's punch.
The pan was easily dented by the force behind Harith's punch.
Tariq: "Harith?! What the hell has gotten into you?!"
Harith spoke with his voice raised slightly. He was physically stunned for a moment.
"I-I swear that wasn't my intention!"
Harith then rises his fist again, his body moving against his command.
Tariq then smirks through the tension, a few beads of sweat running down his forehead.
"I guess the time has came to teach you, Harith."
His tone completely changes to something else for the first time..
"…"
Harith stays quiet, thinking of what Tariq has said.
(Teach me something..? In a situation like this where I almost lost control of my body?!"
"Come on then, attack me again."
Tariq lowers the dented pan to his knees.
"I don't want to.."
But as Harith said that, his body immediately moved to stirke Tariq again with a charged fist.
…
…
…
Everything went into slow motion…
Harith's fist moved closer and closer to Tariq's face…
Harith's expression twisted with dread.
Tariq stood there—eyes closed, a faint smile resting calmly on his face.
Closer…
Closer…
Harith's fist was this close to striking Tariq—
Until—
Tariq suddenly lifted the dented pan back up to his face.
CLANG—!
A bright, blinding white flash exploded from the point of impact.
The electricity surrounding Harith's fist—vanished instantly.
Not weakened.
Not resisted.
Erased.
The force behind his punch… gone.
Neutralized completely.
The sound that followed wasn't normal—
It cracked through the air like lightning striking at point-blank range.
Like a cannon firing inside the silence.
For a split second…
Everything felt still.
Harith's body recoiled backward.
His vision blanked out from the flash—his eyes forced shut.
His arm trembled.
Stunned.
Frozen.
(…What… was that…?)
Not just the impact—
But the feeling of it.
It wasn't like hitting something solid.
It felt like his attack had been denied existence.
Harith stood there… speechless.
Completely shaken.
Tariq's smile widened slightly.
He casually tossed the dented pan aside.
"You see that, Harith?"
His voice was calm… but carried a different weight now.
"You should learn that."
A small pause.
"It's called… a flawless block."
Harith's lips parted slightly.
"I…"
His voice didn't come out right.
His fingers were twitching against his will.
Tariq continued—
"All I am going to tell you is this. Block when the timing's right, when you truly feel at danger.. and you know something's gonna happen, that's where you'll trust your instincts, my friend."
"Very few know about this technique, use it wisely."
Tariq takes a deep breath, trying to mentally calm himself down after such a strong event, his heart was beating..
Harith's heart was throttling, his breath's were that of someone with asthma.
"But speaking of which, now. I know what's going on around here.."
Tariq looked back at the chaos that kept intensifying every second.
To be continued..