'damn but… what is that monster?!' Akyo's leg was coming at full speed towards Soren, 'I need to manage to…'
Soren put both his arms up to protect his head from the overpowered blow rushing towards him.
Akyo's leg hit him full force, and he was sent flying into the opposite wall at lightning speed.
'Shit, maybe I went a bit too hard…' thought Akyo. His marks returned to their original size and color, his energy vanished, and he walked towards Soren, still stuck in the wall. "Are you okay?" He was moving towards the impact zone, barely visible because of the smoke.
'It's not over' thought Soren, dizzy, head down in the crevice created by his body. 'I did it, I felt it again, if I hadn't managed to use my energy, I'd have been knocked out, that kick was too strong' He forced himself out of the hole, painfully, then collapsed onto his knees once he finally got out.
Akyo approached more, "Soren?" he called. Soren stood back up slowly, torso still bent forward, clearly suffering from the kick.
"Hey… Akyo!" shouted Soren. "It's not over!" he announced, right before launching himself at full speed toward Akyo.
'Damn!' thought Akyo, who didn't have time to react. Soren was already in front of him. 'Those eyes' he noticed. Soren struck him in the liver with remarkable strength. 'That strength, he did it!' But now wasn't the time for praise—he had to react quickly. Thanks to his exceptional resistance, he managed to take the powerful blow and countered by trying to grab Soren, who dodged, before charging again.
The two faced each other, pushing with all their might, it was now a battle of strength. 'I can't keep going like this' thought Soren. 'He's way stronger than me… but he's holding my hands, he can't do any of his hold–'
Biiiiiip
The alarm rang, longer than the previous times. The two released each other. Soren asked, "Is it over?"
"That's right," Akyo answered.
"Thanks…" he sighed, letting himself fall backward.
"You finally managed to do it, did you understand how it works?" asked Akyo.
"I think so, I need to work on it, but the pressure I felt before taking your kick helped me do it"
"Good, at least I didn't beat your face in for nothing," said Akyo as he walked forward.
"Knock it off," murmured Soren. Akyo held out his hand. He grabbed it, and Akyo helped him up.
Soren dusted off his pants, turned his head toward the crater where he had been thrown, but it had already closed itself. 'This room is really weird.' He straightened up and followed Akyo, who was starting to leave the huge room.
"Do we have anything planned today?"
"No, we can train if you want," Akyo answered.
They opened the door and walked out of the room. At the same moment, arriving in front of them, Ana, out of breath, head lowered, arms resting on her legs.
"Ana?" asked Akyo. "Are you okay?"
She pointed her finger at him, "Wait!" She lowered her arm again. She was breathing very heavily, extremely heavily.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Soren.
She panted, "I said, wait"
A few seconds passed. Ana inhaled and exhaled slowly, two or three times.
She raised her head and pointed at them again, announcing with a big smile, "I have big news, guys! I've got your first mission together!"
—-------------------------------
Earlier in the morning
It was 7 a.m., her alarm rang. Ana struggled to open her eyes. "Nooo not already" she sighed. She sat up, stretched, yawned, and pulled up the sleeve of her T-shirt that had slipped down. She stood up.
"Wait, I don't remember cleaning up" She took a few steps in her room, looking around, until her eyes landed on a plate sitting on her nightstand.
'I knew I didn't clean anything' She smiled and moved toward the dish, picked it up, sat on her bed, and enjoyed the breakfast. "Thanks" she murmured.
She finished her meal and put the plate in the sink before washing it. She grabbed a remote and turned on the TV.
*In 5 minutes, we will have the beginning of the conference of the renowned historian Spencer Gellahan.*
'Well, time to wash up' She went into her bathroom, left the door half-open to hear the TV, undressed, and started taking her shower. 'That feels good, maybe I overdid it last night'
The TV kept playing in the background while she showered peacefully.
"Hello everyone, thank you for being here…"
'Ugh I should've changed the channel before going to the shower…'
A few minutes passed, she was washing her hair.
"I will be brief, gods exist…"
'What is he talking abou—' She froze for a moment.
"EEEH??!" She rushed out of the shower without even thinking about putting clothes on, grabbed the remote at full speed, and pressed the buttons to rewind. She managed to go back a few seconds and listened to the announcement.
"Hello everyone, thank you for being here today. As you know, I've dedicated my life to history. I gained great notoriety thanks to my work on mythological history. After years of research, I came to something that may sound crazy. I will be brief. Gods exist, or rather, they existed."
"But… but he's insane??" exclaimed Ana.
No sound came from the TV until laughter filled the room.
"Mister Gellahan, I mean no disrespect considering your incredible discoveries regarding ancient peoples and especially their beliefs, but do you realize how ridiculous what you're saying is?"
'Thankfully no one is taking him seriously' thought Ana. The man, apparently a renowned and appreciated historian, had just made a fool of himself.
"I understand your reaction, but I won't stay here doing nothing. I will prove my claims by bringing you undeniable proof" With those words, the camera followed Gellahan as he headed toward the exit of the room.
'Undeniable proof? What is he talking about?' wondered Ana. 'We're going to have a problem' She took her phone, which she had left in the bathroom, and immediately contacted someone.
"Hello?"
"Hello Nicolo, I need you to gather as much information as possible on a guy named Gellahan, as fast as possible. I'll try to contact Tachi, and I'm coming. Thanks!"
"What? Why—?"
She hung up immediately and tried contacting Tachi, who wasn't currently at the base. Once, twice, "come on, pick up…" but nothing, her brother wasn't answering. "Fine, I'll make the decisions if he can't even answer," Ana said angrily.
She headed towards the door in a rush, but stopped. 'Wait, I'm not even dressed' She turned back and got dressed quickly, put on her socks, and before leaving she thought about her perfectly cleaned room and the breakfast someone had prepared for her. 'No, I can't go looking like this!' So she turned back again and got ready properly, even if it meant losing time. For a few minutes she made herself look nice. 'There, I'm ready!' she thought as she looked in the mirror. Then she checked the time on her phone. "Crap! It's already been 30 minutes?!" So she ran out, searching for Akyo.
She went to the cafeteria first, but he wasn't there. 'He must be training' she thought, rushing towards the training room. She finally arrived, exhausted, at the training room just as Akyo and Soren were leaving, talking. She was so out of breath she couldn't speak.
"You okay, Ana?" asked Akyo. She caught her breath before announcing:
"I have big news, guys! I've got your first mission together!"