With the warm sun hitting his face and blurring his vision, Jin was not at his best.

Starting the day on the wrong foot, it had been two weeks since they left Sanctum. From there, his mood was in a free fall. He had called to the skies, reminiscing the elemental skills from his partners. Saying what they said, wearing what they held. Nine times over. Yet it didn't make a difference.

He needed some time to think. To take the wind and air of Ferri village as a reminder that he had to be patient. Aware to his obligation and first duty, serving Sanctum in the only way he could even if that was not his best form. The scattering remarks however, could hardly be forgotten even as the time passed.

It would be delusional of him not to relate the severe changes in the mood he was experiencing with the overwhelming anguish of wanting to see her again.There wasn't even a day that passed that Jin didn't think about that red-eyed woman. And he couldn't blame himself, after all that surreal experience with her, how could she leave him that way?

He felt—the yearning burn with every step forward— a crude reminder on how it felt to rest on her soft lips.

It had been so many days since he had seen her in her dreams, that he was afraid to forget her: The perfect features of her face, the sensual curves in her delicate body.

The least he could do was to resolve this mission as quickly as possible to follow the quest the intriguing ascendant had given him on their last meeting.

Find out her name.

Prove everyone wrong, for starters.

And earn the elemental warrior rank.

That was the task she had given Jin before she disappeared. And now it was like she was torturing him for putting that task aside and not immediately burying his head on ancient books.

“Such an attention whore ...” Is she doing it on purpose to get back at me?

Walking almost unconsciously to the main road, Jin realized with the corner of his eye that he was being followed. There were three figures behind him, far enough away that much of his footsteps were lost in the wind, but not all.

Immediately turning his back on the pursuers, Jin placed his right hand on the sword's scabbard, bracing himself for the worst. However, the moment he positioned himself defensively, the three figures quickly surrounded him, closing any opportunity for escape.

Suddenly, the middle man took the lead of the group and approached quickly. Jin successively recognized who was taking the lead. He didn't have one of the best memories in the world to remember faces and names for quite some time.

But this still didn’t feel quite right.

No, it had been recent.

“Those same leather gloves from before, they were following me since I lef—”

Suddenly an absurd pain ran through Jin's left cheek, spreading to his neck and consecutively his shoulder.

Staggering backward, Jin tried unsuccessfully to find somewhere to lean on and correct his posture. With no support whatsoever around him, falling to the ground at that moment and making himself vulnerable to another attack was not an option.

Stunned by the sudden attack, Jin could not let himself fall at that moment. All he had to do was rely on his own abilities. It was time to prove what he was capable of, even if his friends were not there to witness that Jin could turn around the reality was different. For him it was enough that he solved the situation alone, to prove to himself that from now on things would be different.

A new beginning.

All he needed now was to focus on the situation in front of him, and to take things seriously for the first time.

Concentrating completely on his tiptoes to keep himself upright after such an attack, Jin surely tried to regain the body balance that he had lost a moment ago. Confusion took over his mind.

"What just happened?"

Still having difficulty focusing on what was happening before him, Jin could not believe that the village would be opposed to warriors sent from Sanctum. Renowned for the four corners of the Elba Kingdom, they were recognized for their hard work, as long as coin was given. Wielding the nine manifestations from the elemental gods and getting the job done.

This was Jin's first mission, and little information had been given as to how Sanctum warriors should act. But he was almost sure that there must be some code of conduct that he should follow and have read before he left on his first mission. And it would not be difficult to imagine that one of the laws to be followed would be related to avoid at all costs pulling citizens in direct combat.

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"If I have to blame someone, it is on my brother for not letting me read the code of conduct before we parted."

With his nimble fingers positioned by the hilt of his sword, Jin pulled the blade from his waist in swift motion. With a wave of uncertainty clouding his thoughts, he hoped that self-defense was a legitimate cause were he to be put on trial. Whatever consequences there may be, they would be only a secondary issue for the present was at stake.

Pointing the edge of the sword in front of him, he would not hesitate.

“No more steps forward!” He warned with a loud voice, veins that he never realized he had bouncing up and down his muscles. Adrenaline was pumping into the fight about to unfold between them.

The warning fell on deaf ears. Jin was not able to read the mind of the man who continued to advance towards him, but one thing was certain. He was upset beyond redemption. And there were no warnings that he could give to delay the inevitable. No weapon drawn could hold him back.

Jin's warning had the reverse effect of what he expected. Now the man was running towards him, eager for combat. And he was getting near by the second.

Five meters.

Three meters.

One meter.

And then these two opposing forces collided in a clash of pure physical strength. For spectators at a distance, it was difficult to follow what was happening. The moment the two met, the dust on the asphalt rose, making it difficult to keep up with each movement.

There was a person who was not a spectator - but in all honesty - they felt like one.

A person whose eyes were so close to the action, who could accurately describe what was unfolding in the heat of combat.

Promptly attacking the young man with all his body weight in an initial shock. At that point, it was too late to do anything about it. The blow seemed to have succeeded in hitting the young boy's chest. Using his shoulder as an offensive tool, Jin was tackled to the ground.

Pushed to the ground against his will, Jin didn't have much time to react. Pressing him against the asphalt was a man who weighed more than twice as much. Throwing fists from top to bottom as if there was no tomorrow, defending himself effectively became an impossible task. Yet they continued to descend on his face.

Time and time again, a shower of fists. Calloused fists beat against Jin's virgin face consecutively, releasing all the anger that had built up. And although he was getting punched from all sides, he refused to go out.

Unlike fighting in the Hall of Trial, now he couldn't count on his friends saving his skin after being knocked down. If he were knocked out here, it could mean the end for him. So Jin did the best he could to stay conscious.

Looking sideways in despair, while defending his eyes from the rain of punches that continued to descend upon him.

Yet hope remained.

His sword had fallen on his left side a few inches from where he was. All he needed to do was hold on to the pain as long as he could to reach the blade that was so close to his salvation.

He had neither the time nor the strength to consider whether the plan was bad or horrible.

The excruciating pain that spread over his face was already beginning to take control. Unable to feel anything over her shoulders other than numbness. He stretched his fingers as far as he could to grasp the blade.

However, the sword that seemed so close now began to gain distance. Moving away from him, each time he flexed his arm trying to reach it.

Were these just reflections of his troubled mind, or was he so hurt that now the hallucinations were beginning to merge with vivid reality?

It didn't matter, it wasn't worth caring about anymore.

Amid the coming and going of consciousness like waves, Jin clung to a detail that now became the main focus of survival. Although large bumps began to appear under his eyes, his range of vision blurred by dust and blood that fell over his eyes, he noticed something that was not there at first.

The speed.

Like a punching bag receiving a powerful blow after blow, Jin's arms cushioned the punches that were propelled for a reason unknown to him. It was then that he realized. With each blow delivered, his gloved fists became slower and heavier, becoming predictable in Jin's eyes. He seemed to be getting tired.

No, it was something else.

He was starting to cope.

On top of him was a man in tears releasing everything he had internalized in the past week.

“Where were your people when they came for us... When they came for my daughter?” He promptly shouted, agony streaming down his face.

So many punches had met his face, yet “It” had never hit him.

Since he was tackled into the ground, Jin had wondered if he was a seasoned warrior for his raw, unmatched strength. There was no civilian in Kaban Village that could rival this man without any military training. It took him long enough to realize he was asking the wrong questions. Because of his ego, he was skipping the most likely answer amidst all of this.

Maybe, just maybe he was weak and could be beaten by any villager. No elemental techniques had been used to put him where he was at, but how?

It came as a short, but quick realization.

He was looking for the effect and not the cause, a flawed and short-sighted perspective.

There were different types of energy in this world that could involve an individual and give superhuman powers to beings. By now Jin had slowly begun to understand the origins and extent of elemental powers given to the Elemental Warriors in Sanctum. But he was forgetting that there was a type of energy that plagued humans far more than any other species.

“A- Are you an Elemental Warrior like Eliza and Viktoria? How are you so strong? ” Jin uttered, blood covering his lips.

Standing up from Jin while shaking his head, the man replied in a harsh, broken voice.

“Did you not know? The cattle were only the beginning, ”Shaking his head he continued“ I am a former husband… A former father… My little daughter, my poor little daughter… ”

“Don’t worry, I understand your anger but we are-”

“They ripped her to pieces! She was torn apart! ”

Suddenly a loud screech pierced the air, sending the two men that were previously following the tall man running for their lives.

In a matter of seconds, every house had its windows sealed off. The streets were empty, in fear.

Widening his eyes in pure despair, the tall man looked to every side, checking every corner.

“It has come for us…” Jin whispered as loud thumps could be heard growing louder — approaching them.