There was an uncanny touch of shiver in the air; Slinx's skin tingled upon detection. Something was wrong. He immediately sprang into action; the recoil of his incredible strength shattered the ground. Slinx soared far above the clouds and locked eyes with the culprit: a towering beast that breathed misty beams of vapour, it wore a thick layer of scales and strode through the clusters of buildings that toppled like dominoes.
'Finally! A worthy opponent!' Slinx exclaimed. The icy reptile shrilled in response.
Slinx charged at the monster, allowing bloodlust to guide his instincts. In this world, he is everything he believes to be: mighty, strong, chivalrous, intelligent… Most importantly, he was free – free to do whatever his heart desired.
Slinx dodged over the several beams of ice that pierced through the sky. He was now within the reach of the monster's claws. The fiend did not hesitate to slash its claws at its puny foe; it knew sizes can be deceiving. In this case, perhaps, it might even be outmatched.
Slinx imagined a sword forged from ethereal steel; he envisioned the shining beams of light that reflected off the blade's surface. And as if heeding to his will, the blade was now in his grip. The blade clashed fiercely with the claws as the two unstoppable forces came into contact. At first, they stood their ground, unyielding. But as time stretched on, as strain and determination came into play, the stronger will triumphed.
The icy dragon shrieked in pain, and a loud thud occurred as its limb impacted the surface. The frightened beast swiped frantically as it blasted its icy ray at anything and everything. It tried its best to flee, but its scamper ultimately resulted in a tragic collision with the ground.
Slinx roared in excitement. The adrenaline that flowed through his veins infused him with exhilaration. He had defeated the beast; he had proved his valour. He was a winner, a hero.
'No, too easy.' Slinx glared down at his undignified foe, now crawling on all fours (threes) and whimpering.
With both hands on the hilt, Slinx held the blade downwards and dropped onto the helpless creature's neck.
'Die!!!!' With the force of his whole body and momentum concentrated onto the point of the blade, Slinx slammed the blade into the dragon.
And yet the blade stopped.
The blade barely touched the scales. Slinx pushed harder, but it did not budge.
'Such an unnecessary act of violence, no mercy or empathy for others. Is that what your kind are conditioned to do with power?' A voice came from behind.
Slinx turned to face it. In front of him was a cloaked figure that stood eerily tall for a human.
'Who are you? Did you not see what I did? I am saving us from this monster! Stop being in the way!'
'The only monster I see is you. I cannot begin to express the disappointment I feel knowing we bestowed humans with such marvellous powers only for them to fabricate worlds and use them as playthings to unleash their vicious urges onto.' The cloaked individual revealed an elongated and wrinkly arm; they traced a symbol in the air, which caused Slinx to slam into the building on the side.
The person chanted something, and magically, the dragon had regained its missing limb. The reptile flapped its newly granted wings and scurried into the distant lands.
Still pinned to the building wall, Slinx moved the only muscle group that he could and yelled:
'You wicked bastard! Release me from this spell and fight me like a real man!'
The figure ignored his taunt. They raised their arm again, and a phone-like device appeared.
'This is Q, the inspection is done.'
The person on the other end responded.
'Good, I have seen enough for today.' The figure ended the conversation, turned around and started to walk.
'A word of advice, human…'
'If you're to continue the path you're walking, you'd better cherish the moments you still have.' The stranger extended their forearm, their hands fixed into a snapping motion.
'For you may never be able to dream again.'
Ding!
Slinx opened his eye. He scouted his surroundings and remembered where he was and who he was supposed to be.
'Oh! Is it Half past three already? Alright, we'll finish the rest tomorrow. Stand up class!' Mr Chan said.
He was no legendary hero, nor was he a daring magician.
'Goodbye and thank you, Mr Chan!' The class bowed and announced sluggishly.
He was Slinx Wilt, a nobody.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's another day."
Slinx sighed. The four years he had once been excited for had turned into meaningless stagnation as the veil of time slowly revealed day by day. Slinx dragged himself out of his seat. His sore butt groaned as he wondered if he would ever move again. His mind was blank, and he could not retain a single piece of information from today's classes. Young as Slinx was, he felt like he was living the life of a dying man, waiting for the day he turned into ash.
Slinx glanced around the lousy classroom to see the usual things happening: Flint was the first one to rush out of the door. Slinx wasn't the only one who found that annoying, and it didn't help that Flint was top of the class and the teacher's pet.
Jason was on his way to his daily after-school routine. He had been Slinx's role model and Mr Perfect for all these years. At six feet tall, with the body of a professional bodybuilder and dark blue eyes that glitter as if you were gazing at the stars on a clear summer night. Jason was every girl's first crush. It had been Slinx's goal to be like Jason until he realised he never stood a chance. Gasping for air after a lap around the track, Slinx was the definition of pathetic.
"So yeah, four years in this dump and I haven't done anything! What a..."
His stream of thought was suddenly interrupted by a pat on the back by Charlie. "Hey, sorry, man! My mom's making me join tutorial classes after school, I can't walk with you home, man!" Charlie always had that beaming smile on his face, even when he was going to tutorial classes.
"That's OK! I'm kind of used to it by now." Slinx tried to return the friendly smile, but Charlie's smile was twice as big as his. Nothing feels worse than pretending to be fine when you actually cannot feel any worse. He sighed in despair, headed out of the classroom and blended into the crowd. Under all the cheerful banters and friendly chuckles filling the hallway lay a lonely soul, murmuring a cry for help.