Johan's POV
The bar was quiet for a Tuesday night.
Johan sat alone at the counter, Manhattan in hand, watching the ice shift in the glass. He took his phone out and dialed.
It rang twice.
"Hello?"
"Boy," Johan said. "I have a test for you."
A pause — then the voice on the other end practically jumped through the phone.
"Really?! Finally! I swear I won't disappoint you!"
"I hope not,"* Johan said. "Because if you want to become my disciple, you need to pass the test of courage."
"Courage?"
"Yes."* He took a sip. "I don't expect you to win. All I want is for you to break into that old man's house — the one I told you about — and fight the ones protecting him. Go all out. Then come back. You don't have to kill any of them, they outnumber you anyway. What I want is simple."
He set the glass down.
"I want you to not be filled with fear."
"I'll do it! I'll pass the courage test — wait, what did you name it exactly?"
Johan stared at the counter for a moment.
"…I don't know. I think I gave it two names."
"Which one is it?"
"…Ah, forget it. You understood what I meant. Go cause some chaos."
"Yes sir!"
The line went dead.
Johan picked up his glass again.
Back to Mayex's POV
"Alright,"* Mayex said. "I guess we need to start preparing to go find Johan."
The group was about to respond.
The window exploded inward.
A stone had gone through it. Then, a second later, a boy climbed through the broken frame and dropped into the room. He looked roughly their age. Pale. Ordinary looking — black hair, brown eyes. He brushed a piece of glass off his sleeve and looked around.
Benny stared at him.
"Hey! Why did you break that window?! That was not kind of you at all!"
The boy looked genuinely confused by the question.
"…Because I came here for chaos?"
"Oh,"* Benny said. "On your own?"
Adam's dagger was already out. He closed the distance in one step and went for the boy's neck.
The boy ducked, grabbed a shard of glass from the broken window frame, and threw it.
"FUCK—"
The glass caught Adam across the arm. He stumbled back.
Mayex and Boran moved at the same time — Mayex from the right, Boran from the left, both at full speed.
The boy grabbed a larger piece of glass from the window and threw it.
Not at them.
At Benny.
It went into her arm.
"AHHHHHH! It hurts!"
She started crying, clutching her arm, tears running down her face. She was still a child — trained, yes, but fourteen, and this was real and it hurt.
Everything stopped.
Mayex couldn't move. Boran couldn't move. The boy had used the half second perfectly — he was already across the room, another shard of glass in hand, pressed to Benny's neck.
"If you don't want her dead,"* the boy said quietly, "you're going to listen to me. All of you."
The room went completely still.
Mayex spoke first.
"Why. What do you want."
"A fair fight,"* the boy said. "One of you steps forward. Just one. I fight clean. But if anyone else moves—" He pressed the glass slightly closer. "—she dies. Do we have a deal?"
Mayex looked at Boran. Boran looked at Adam. Adam looked at Elara.
"Yes," Adam said.
"Yes," Mayex said.
"Yes," Boran said.
"…Ye," Elara said.
"Good," the boy said. "Then who's it going to be?"
Mayex stepped forward.
"Me." His voice was completely flat. "No one hurts my little sister and walks out of here. I will punch you until your skull is crushed."
The boy tied Benny's hands, threw the glass aside, and stepped forward with a wide smile.
"I'll show you just how different we are—" he paused. "—Mayex."
Mayex's eyes narrowed.
He would still fight. But — how did he know his name?
He threw a straight punch.
The boy didn't dodge. He crossed his own punch directly into it — using Mayex's momentum against him, multiplying the impact.
Mayex stumbled back several steps, vision blurring for a moment.
What—
He steadied himself and went forward again, this time with a roundhouse kick.
The boy smiled and took it.
Then grabbed the leg.
He swung Mayex down hard onto the ground and jumped, both elbows driving into his chest. The air left Mayex's lungs completely.
"MAYEX!"
Elara had her knife out. Boran grabbed her arm.
The boy stood up, still smiling.
"Well. That was easy." He looked around. "Who's next?"
Elara looked at Boran. His jaw was tight, his fists clenched at his sides. He was holding something back — barely.
"I guess no one?" The boy tilted his head. "Then I suppose I wi—"
Mayex was up.
One hand shot around the boy's throat from behind, locking across his neck. Mayex pulled tight and didn't let go.
"I will fucking kill you."
The boy drove his elbow back into Mayex's stomach. Once. Twice. Three times.
Mayex didn't release.
The boy's movements slowed. His face changed color. His arms got heavier.
Then he dropped.
Both of them — straight down, full weight, Mayex taking the impact on his back as the boy used the floor itself to blast the air out of him. Mayex's grip broke. His vision went white.
The boy stood up.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
He looked at Mayex on the floor. Then at the rest of the group.
"I won't underestimate you again."
He grinned slowly.
"So."
"Who's next?"