Chapter 1
Kyle liked coffee.
Not because it was particularly good, but because there was something about sitting down with a warm cup in his hands that made the world feel slower.
And today, he had decided to buy one for Benny.
"Here."
Kyle placed the cup in front of him.
"I got yours too."
Benny looked at the coffee.
He didn't touch it.
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You've been staring at that cup for ten seconds."
Benny finally picked it up.
"Thanks."
Kyle smiled.
"You're welcome."
They were sitting near the corner of a modest café, surrounded by the ordinary noise of people talking, spoons hitting cups, chairs scraping against the floor and the occasional burst of laughter.
It was the kind of place where nobody paid much attention to anybody else.
Which was probably why Kyle noticed that Benny had been acting strange.
"You're quiet."
Benny took a sip.
"I'm always quiet."
Kyle nearly laughed.
"You?"
Benny looked at him.
"What?"
"You're the loudest person I know."
"I can be quiet."
"You've been quiet for twenty minutes."
Benny lowered his eyes.
"Maybe I'm tired."
Kyle leaned back.
"You're lying."
Benny didn't respond.
Kyle watched him for a few seconds.
They had known each other for years.
Benny was not difficult to read.
When he was angry, he became loud.
When he was happy, he became louder.
When he was nervous...
He became exactly like this.
Quiet.
Kyle was about to ask again when Benny's phone vibrated.
Benny glanced at it.
The moment he saw the name, his fingers tightened around the phone.
Kyle noticed.
"Your father?"
Benny locked the screen.
"Yeah."
"What does Demos want?"
"Nothing."
Kyle frowned.
"You didn't even open the message."
"I know what he wants."
That answer made Kyle pause.
"What does he want?"
Benny looked toward the window.
"Forget it."
Kyle studied him.
There was fear in Benny's eyes.
Not the kind of fear that came from fighting.
Something deeper.
Something that Kyle couldn't understand.
"Benny."
"It's nothing."
Kyle sighed.
"Fine."
He picked up his coffee.
"If you don't want to tell me, don't."
Benny looked at him.
For a moment, guilt crossed his face.
Then his phone vibrated again.
This time, Kyle's phone did too.
Kyle pulled it from his pocket.
He stared at the screen.
The sender was someone he knew.
Demos Hunt.
Kyle opened the message.
There were only three words.
I am watching you.
His fingers stopped moving.
He read it again.
Then slowly lifted his head.
Benny was staring at him.
"You got one too?" Benny asked.
Kyle placed the phone on the table.
"You knew."
Benny's expression changed.
"Kyle—"
"You knew your father was watching us."
"No."
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
Benny looked away.
Kyle leaned back.
For some reason, the coffee suddenly tasted bitter.
He looked around the café.
Nothing seemed unusual.
People were eating.
People were talking.
A waiter was carrying a tray between tables.
A little boy near the entrance was annoying his mother.
An old man sat alone by the window, reading a newspaper.
Ordinary.
Everything was ordinary.
Yet Kyle couldn't shake the feeling that those three words had changed something.
I am watching you.
He looked at Benny again.
"What did your father tell you?"
Benny didn't answer.
"Benny."
"I said forget it."
Kyle's expression hardened.
"Fine."
He picked up his cup.
But he never got to drink it.
Benny moved.
The chair beneath him exploded backward.
A violent wave of cold swept through the café.
Water vapor condensed around his hand.
Kyle's eyes widened.
"Benny?"
The vapor twisted.
Water gathered around Benny's palm.
In less than a second, it froze into a sword.
Benny swung.
Kyle threw himself sideways.
The ice blade sliced through the chair where his head had been.
The wooden frame split apart.
Someone screamed.
Then the café erupted into chaos.
"What the hell?!"
"Run!"
"Get out!"
People rushed toward the doors.
Some dropped their phones.
Others abandoned their bags and jumped over chairs.
The ordinary people had no reason to stay.
Whatever power Benny possessed, most of them knew they had no chance against it.
But not everyone left.
A few people remained.
Not because they were brave.
Because they were different.
An old man near the window slowly lowered his newspaper.
A young woman who had been sitting alone at the counter stood perfectly still, her eyes narrowing as she watched the ice forming around Benny's hand.
A muscular man near the back door didn't move either.
His eyes followed every movement.
They understood what ordinary people didn't.
This wasn't a fight they could safely interfere with.
It was a fight between people who possessed power.
And power had consequences.
Kyle pushed himself off the floor.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Benny's breathing was heavy.
"Sign the papers."
Kyle stared at him.
"What?"
"The Keratosis papers."
Kyle's expression changed.
"So that's what this is."
Benny raised the sword.
"Please."
"You brought me here for coffee so you could attack me?"
"I didn't want to."
"Then put the sword down."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Benny's eyes became red.
"Because if I don't do this, they'll do it to me."
Kyle stared at him.
"Who?"
Benny said nothing.
Kyle understood.
"Your father?"
Benny's silence answered for him.
Kyle laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
He slowly stood.
"Demos Hunt."
The old man near the window reacted to the name.
His newspaper lowered slightly.
"Demos Hunt?"
The woman at the counter looked toward him.
The muscular man remained silent.
None of them recognized Kyle or Benny by appearance.
But the name was enough.
The Hunts family was not a family ordinary people casually involved themselves with.
Its members were rarely seen.
Its influence was enormous.
Its enemies were numerous.
And its name carried enough weight to make sensible people think twice before interfering.
Kyle noticed the reactions.
He smiled bitterly.
"Look at that."
He pointed around the café.
"You don't even have to show your face."
"Your father's name does the work for you."
Benny's expression tightened.
"Just sign."
"No."
Benny's sword moved.
Kyle dodged.
The blade struck the wall.
Ice spread across it.
Kyle stepped backward.
"You're really doing this?"
"Sign!"
"No."
Benny attacked again.
Kyle blocked with his forearm.
The ice blade cut through his skin.
Blood ran down his arm.
The woman at the counter inhaled sharply.
"That wound…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"It isn't closing."
Kyle looked at his arm.
He smiled.
Then the wound began to change.
Flesh slowly crawled over the cut.
The bleeding stopped.
The skin sealed itself.
The woman stared.
"Regeneration."
The old man finally lowered his newspaper completely.
"Interesting."
Kyle flexed his fingers.
"You forgot."
He looked at Benny.
"I don't stay broken."
Benny's face twisted.
"Then make it easy for both of us."
"Easy?"
Kyle laughed.
"You've already attacked me."
"I said sign."
"And I said no."
Benny's hand trembled.
Kyle could see it.
He could also see the exhaustion behind his eyes.
Benny wasn't enjoying this.
That somehow made it worse.
"You once said you and I were like brothers."
Benny's expression changed.
"Yeah."
"Then why are you doing this?"
Benny swallowed.
"Because I'm trying to survive."
Kyle's smile faded.
Benny looked at his own hands.
"You don't know what they've done to me."
"Tell me."
"They cut the flesh from my muscles."
Kyle went still.
"They peeled my skin."
Benny's voice shook.
"They pulled out my nails."
He looked at Kyle.
"Then they boiled them."
Kyle's eyes narrowed.
"And forced me to eat them."
Silence settled over the café.
Even the people hiding near the walls listened.
Benny wiped his eyes.
"Then they called a healer."
He laughed bitterly.
"So I'm being fair to you."
His grip tightened around the ice sword.
"I haven't skinned you alive."
He looked at Kyle.
"Maybe I should."
Kyle spat blood onto the floor.
"You have no shame, you big bastard."
Benny flinched.
Kyle stepped closer.
"You haven't even tried."
"Don't."
"You never asked what those papers are about."
"Stop."
"These papers are more important than your pain."
Benny's breathing became heavier.
Kyle's voice grew colder.
"If you want my fingers, cut them."
He held out his hand.
"They'll grow back."
"If you want my arm, take it."
He spread his arms.
"If you want my head, cut it off."
A few people stared at him as if he had lost his mind.
Kyle smiled.
"I don't care."
Benny's eyes filled with tears.
"Isn't that what you and your cursed family want?"
"You want me to sign those papers so you can own my father's property."
Kyle's voice echoed through the café.
"My father built the Hunts family."
The old man near the window stiffened.
Kyle continued.
"Kalimantan."
Even the woman with the hidden ability looked surprised.
That name carried its own history.
Kyle smiled.
"His name is so great that even King Arthur knows it."
He pointed at Benny.
"But your father?"
"Demos Hunt."
Kyle's eyes became vicious.
"Fuck your father."
Benny's face went pale.
"I believe he's the one who killed my father."
The room became silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody dared.
Benny stared at Kyle.
Then he looked down.
His tears fell.
Before they reached the ground, they froze.
Kyle's smile disappeared.
The temperature dropped.
Water vapor began gathering around Benny.
Water seeped through the cracks in the broken windows.
It slid across the floor, carrying dust with it.
Then the water touched Kyle's blood.
It turned red.
Benny slowly raised his head.
"I wanted to solve this peacefully."
His voice was shaking.
"But my patience has worn thin."
Kyle watched the water circling Benny's feet.
"You want pain?"
Benny's eyes hardened.
"I'll give you pain until you wish for death."
Kyle laughed.
"What's new?"
The water beneath Benny erupted.
His body was lifted into the air.
The people still inside the café instinctively moved farther away.
The muscular man near the back door finally revealed his ability, strengthening his legs as he prepared to escape if necessary.
The woman at the counter whispered,
"Don't interfere."
The old man nodded.
"This is beyond us."
Benny descended.
Water gathered around his hands.
It condensed.
Hardened.
A sword formed.
Kyle looked up.
"Go on."
Benny struck.
The blade pierced Kyle's chest.
Blood poured from his mouth.
The room fell silent.
Kyle looked down at the sword.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he smiled.
"Haha…"
Blood dripped from his lips.
"This is just another Monday to me."
He spat crimson blood onto the floor.
"Is that all you've got, son of a bitch?"
Benny's eyes closed.
He was exhausted.
His anger, his fear, his pain, his father's orders—all of it had finally become one unbearable weight.
He screamed.
The water around him exploded.
Hundreds of blades formed in the air.
Then thousands.
The people who had remained finally understood.
They had made a mistake by staying.
The old man raised his hand.
"Everyone, get down."
The swords began moving.
Then—
They stopped.
Not because Benny stopped them.
Something else had entered the room.
The air became strangely heavy.
Kyle's smile vanished.
He felt something behind him.
Something ancient.
Something enormous.
Something that did not belong.
Benny felt it too.
His swords remained suspended above the café.
The woman at the counter slowly turned toward the darkness forming behind Kyle.
"What…"
She couldn't finish.
The darkness was thin at first.
Like smoke.
Then it thickened.
Two crimson eyes appeared inside it.
The old man's face changed.
"That isn't a normal ability."
The muscular man took a step backward.
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
The darkness moved.
Benny instinctively raised his hands.
"Stay away from him!"
The darkness ignored him.
It rushed toward Kyle.
Kyle barely had time to turn.
The darkness entered his body.
His entire body convulsed.
He fell violently to the floor.
Blood poured from his wounds.
His fingers clawed against the tiles.
His spine arched.
"Please…"
Benny froze.
Kyle's eyes were wide with terror.
"Brother…"
His voice broke.
"help me."
Benny couldn't move.
"Please!"
Kyle screamed.
"Just one mercy!"
The darkness spread through him.
His body shook harder.
"This darkness…"
He gasped.
"It's tearing me apart!"
"help me!"
The woman at the counter stared in horror.
The old man's face had lost all its color.
He could feel it now.
That presence.
Not an ability.
Not a beast.
Not a human.
Something far greater.