It was raining hard and Santi was soaking wet. His body was full of bruises while his clothes torn beyond recognition. He was kneeling down facing the muddy dirt while a foot was pressing his head deeper to the mud.  Not far away from them is a ravaged sepak takraw stage with the net full of holes.

Cement floors have deep cracks all over the place, burnt shoes are scattered around and an occasional splatter of blood can be seen.  The surroundings appeared as if it was currently being demolished.

Santi's eyes were full of burning hatred and determination but his body was barely able to move.

"So this is your specialty?" A man around three years older than him was playing a sepak takraw ball. His eyes have weird blue lights shining. He was around two meters tall and his name is Lyan.

Santi's older and only remaining brother after his other eight siblings died mysteriously.

 "You have been playing sepak takraw for more than ten years and you are still this weak?" The man asked with mocking expression.  Santi only glared back as a reply.

"I heard you are the perfect player for this game and you have an outstanding undefeated record in every match garnering you the title as the Legend of Four Corners, but now, it seems to me it was all just a joke."

Santi's was about to retort back but the feet pushed his head deeper to the mud stopping him from uttering a word.

"Today..." Lyan took his feet away from Santi's head and sat down before his crippling little brother.

"Today is the day that you lost, " Lyan uttered every word slowly while holding Santi's face up by his palm.

"You even proudly declare that you do not need teammates to win any match. yet, you can't even make a single score against me." He let go of Santi's face then stood up.

"I.. will.... defeat... you.." Santi slowly declared despite the difficulty in breathing.

"Today, your title as the legendary so-so is mine." Lyan followed with a menacing smile.

"You are weak Santi! I gave you all the time or resources to practice but this is all you got?! I'd rather see you dead like the rest of our brothers!" These words put a heavy impact on Santi.

As Santi values the memories of his other deceased brothers whom he lost when he was just still just a kid. Every one of them cherished him as he was the youngest and cutest one. But now, he only has Lyan who seems to have become a person he does not recognize anymore.

 "You are a waste of our blood! You disgust me Santi." Lyan added.

Santi's undefeated record brought him pride. Wherever he goes, people would respect him.

 Every sports or competition that requires speed and agility would always be dominated by him. But among any sports, Santi's favorite was the sepak takraw because of his fun memories of playing the game with Lyan before.

However times have changed, people included. After graduating high school, Lyan stopped playing sepak takraw and started to play other sports except for sepak takraw which Santi loved very much. Both siblings took different paths and they have dominated their respective field.

 Lyan played soccer, basketball, volleyball and every other ball games just for fun but Santi only focused on playing and mastering the sepak takraw. Just like his older brother, the latter seems to have an incredible gift of speed and agility giving him an advantage in sepak takraw.

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It did not take very long before Santi's name became famous as ones in a thousand years sepak takraw prodigy. Beating pro teams on a municipal level, regional, national and even international levels.

 All without a blemish of a single loss in his record. But now, a one on one match against his brother showed him the reality that there is always a mountain higher than you thought.

Santi finally mustered a little bit of his strength and he was barely able to stand up.

"Brother,...no, Lyan! wait! I want one more match." Santi's undying determination gave him every strength to muster those words. But Lyan did not spare him a single look.

He only walked away leisurely taking his jacket with him.

"I said wait!" Santi stomped a sepak takraw ball near him. The squeezing pressure gave the ball momentum to roll back to his right foot.

A quick single raise of his toes launched the ball in the air just about 2 meters from the ground and Santi followed it up with a powerful cartwheel.

His right foot smashed against the ball with ferocity and accuracy sending and aiming straight to Lyan's head in a blink of an eye.

As if he has an eye behind his head, Lyan countered timely with another summersault that perfectly negates the force of Santi's spike and even doubled the speed and power in return.

"Poouh!~" Santi was hit in his stomach causing him to spew more air together with a little blood. The force carried by Lyan's counter spike was so strong that it literally "carried" Santi three meters from his original position. He was coughing blood and gasping for air as he tried to maintain his consciousness.

"I will give you one year to get a team, train, and face me. If you can win, I will acknowledge you as my family. If not,  Don't ever call me brother again. Starting now, you are just another dead brother for me; just like the rest."

With these last words, Lyan has left the place while Santi's eyes slowly closed and his body gave in from the physical and mental exhaustion.

He lay motionless in the ground facing the night sky. The lights have long been turned off so he can see the wonderful display of stars in the sky.

 Suddenly, he noticed a bright blue star that stood out from the rest of the stars. This blue star gave him a sense of familiarity and at the same time, urgency. Whatever it was, its the first time Santi noticed a very mysterious star.

"That must be the star father once talked about. The blue origin star that only an awakened member of our family can see... its beautiful"

 With these thoughts, a faint spark of blue lights can be seen deep inside Santi's weary eyes. A cooling sensation came from his eyes as this new source of energy slowly flowed throughout his body, nurturing his every single cell. The secret of his blood is about to be unleashed and his long term plan for counterattack has begun!

*****

Author's Thougts:

Hi Guys! Its me again. My second try for my novel works and I am very excited to share to you my story about Madtaks. Fall in love with my four fantastic main characters I am about to unleash!

Cheers!