The unkempt man looked around happily before vanishing quietly, but this time he didn't hide; he appeared behind one of the workers.
He casually sent a jab towards the man's neck; the jab was quick and deadly, immediately knocking the man unconscious.
He repeated this action all over the hall, with workers and guards dropping one at a time.
"Finally done," the man said, looking around the large hall.
He began taking careful steps towards the cage, ready to rescue them.
The children watched all of this happen quietly as they huddled together in a corner of the cage.
"Bammm!" The lock to the cage was forcefully destroyed by a single strike.
"You all should get up and follow me if you want to get out of here."
The children were still quite unsure of what to do, but the slightly courageous ones quickly stood up, ready to leave.
Some of these were too weak to stand on their own but they were assisted by the fresh new arrivals.
A warm smile appeared on the man's face as he watched the children but he couldn't immerse in the fun.
Wasting no time, using the route he had previously mapped, the man began leading the children away while also taking out any guard in his path.
The children followed closely behind him their eyes filled with gratitude and hope.
They soon escaped the building but the decided to further lead them far away from the building before giving them instructions.
"Leave here as fast as you can, and don't attempt anything like this ever again."
The children were slightly taken aback by his actions but they wasted no time and quickly dispersed each of them heading towards their home.
"Now it's time to report this menace."
He picked up his phone, dialing a number.
****Another location in the slum****
Cole was eventually able to find his way back to the dilapidated building where he had a small room.
In his room, the only pieces of furniture were an extremely old bed and a place where he kept his clothes.
He was only able to get the room after days of relentless begging.
The owner eventually pitied him, giving him this room that no one wanted to rent.
Lying on his bed, the pain in his eyes was slowly subsiding, and Cole could settle down a little.
His mind kept wandering to the torture he had experience for the last seven days.
"All of this just to change my fate, uhhhh."
The face of the disheveled-looking man kept flashing in his mind making him notice something he hadn't paid attention to previously.
On the man's lab coat, "Doctor Thomas" was boldly written.
"Doctor Thomas, uhhhh, await my return," he said with a burning gaze.
"My innate spirit has awakened; time to see what it is and which abilities it has."
At that moment something finally dawned on Cole: "I don't know how to summon my innate spirit or even use it."
The knowledge has never been useful to Cole, so he never paid it any heed.
Before he could begin to brood and think of a way to summon his spirit,
"Knock knock." A short knock sounded at the door, and Cole's thinking was interrupted
He was quite shocked by the event, so he could only cautiously move towards the door, ready to escape if the situation called for it.
All his worries were in vain as he opened the door to see a slightly familiar face at the door.
"Good evening, Mr. Evans." Cole greeted, gently.
"Good evening, Cole," Mr. Evans responded.
Mr. Evans was a typical slum drunkard that sometimes checked up on Cole like an irresponsible uncle.
"I came to check up on you about five days ago and also two days ago, but you weren't home. I hope you are fine," Mr. Evans said.
"I was held up with something, and it took longer than expected," Cole replied.
"You went to find a girl, didn't you, hahaha" Mr. Evans said before staggering away.
"Wait," Cole called out, slightly unsure.
"What's wrong, Cole? was I actually right?" Mr. Evans asked while turning his head.
"How do people summon their innate spirit?" Cole asked.
"Ummm, it's just more like calling out your innermost desire," Mr. Evans responded before continuing his journey away.
"Hmmmmmmm."
Watching the leaving figure of Mr. Evans, Cole closed his door, ready to test out what he was just taught.
"Alright, time to call out this innate spirit."
****Not far away from Cole's room****
"I could see the burning hate in his gaze,"
"something needs to be done to prevent him from going down the wrong path," Mr. Evans thought quietly as he raised another bottle, gobbling it down.
****Back in the Building****
Doctor Thomas kept barking out orders at his awoken guards and workers.
"Move it all as fast as possible through the underground passages; the place will soon be overrun by the agencies," he shouted out.
His gaze unexpectedly moved towards the empty cage but only a single face was stuck in his mind.
It was Cole's face; the other children seemed completely inconsequential to him.
"I will get you sooner or later, my precious subject." He said while chuckling.
His special attention for Cole was even stronger after the events of that night.
He continued to keep watch over the activities of his workers for a while before directly heading out of the hall towards his office.
"I hope it isn't too late."
***In Cole's room****
Cole sat down in a meditating position, trying to focus as much as he could.
His focus seemed to be paying off as life energy began focusing towards a point as if something was about to appear there.
The effort fell short, though, as nothing appeared, the life energy gradually disappearing just as it appeared.
Life energy is the power source for everyone who uses their innate spirit. It can be absorbed into the body and stored for future use and also strengthens the body.
Cole kept on trying, riling up life energy each time, but he couldn't seem to call out the spirit.
Noticing his continuous failure, Cole decided to change his approach; instead of actively calling out like he had been doing, he decided to just relax and let loose.
He followed his new line of action, and his efforts finally bore fruit as the book that appeared earlier reappeared.
"Now it is time to understand what you are exactly," Cole said excitedly.