A young man who looked almost identical to Arda walked through the streets of England. The only differences were his snake-scale patterned pupils and hair that shifted between blonde and neon green. He carried several books under his arm.

  Colt suddenly stepped in front of him.

  Colt:

  Hi, I’m Colt. There’s a community where special people meet. Would you like to come with me?

  Sypmean:

  No, it’s not necessary. I’m not special. I’m normal.

  Colt:

  Are you sure about that?

  Sypmean:

  What are you talking about? I guess I’m normal.

  Colt:

  Shall I prove that you’re not?

  Colt’s eyes suddenly changed color — a swirling mix of red, orange, and yellow, exactly like Arda’s.

  Sypmean:

  How did you know he’s my twin?

  Colt:

  Your hairstyle, the way you speak, your build… it’s identical. The only difference is your eye color.

  Sypmean:

  I see…

  Colt:

  Want to make a bet? If I win, you come with me. If you win, you’ll never have to see my face again. Deal?

  Sypmean:

  You seem to have forgotten who my father’s killer is.

  Colt:

  I haven’t forgotten. But I can guarantee you won’t beat me. After all, I have the same power as your twin Arda — except mine is pure, while his is mutated. You can’t win.

  Sypmean:

  Arda doesn’t know about this, does he?

  Colt:

  No, he doesn’t. I’m only here because Mr. Magnus allowed me to bring you in.

  Sypmean:

  You think you can actually take me?

  Colt instantly vanished in a burst of flames and reappeared behind Sypmean, firing several flaming shots at point-blank range.

  Sypmean:

  Still don’t understand?

  Colt:

  Your regeneration has gotten stronger. Impressive.

  Sypmean:

  Are you mocking me?

  Colt:

  Maybe.

  Colt charged forward with a barrage of punches. Most missed, but the few that landed hit vital points with terrifying precision. Sypmean was sent flying backward, crashing through three walls.

  Sypmean stood up slowly, wiping blood from his mouth.

  Sypmean (inner thought):

  That actually hurt… but I healed it in less than a second. Why does every hit feel heavier than the last?

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  Green and yellow lines began spreading across his skin.

  Sypmean:

  Looks like it’s time to get serious.

  Colt:

  Too late. You already showed your hand.

  He pressed a gun to Sypmean’s neck.

  Sypmean:

  You think that will work on me?

  Colt:

  Check your feet.

  Sypmean looked down. Ice-blue flames had completely frozen his legs to the ground.

  Sypmean:

  Then it’s really time to get serious.

  A thick, poisonous aura erupted around him. The green lines on his body turned bright gold.

  Colt:

  So that’s the power of Golden Poison. No wonder it’s one in a trillion.

  Sypmean:

  Let’s see if you can still talk like that when you’re dead!

  He roared as the poison aura grew denser. But his legs remained frozen.

  Colt:

  Actually… I’m not even the real one.

  Colt’s body suddenly turned into flames and melted away. The real Colt appeared behind Sypmean and delivered a devastating strike to his chest.

  Sypmean’s eyes rolled back. His body went limp.

  When Sypmean opened his eyes again, he was in Mr. Magnus’s laboratory.

  Sypmean:

  Where… am I?

  Mr. Magnus:

  My laboratory. Don’t worry, I’m not going to torture you like the others. I’m simply making an elixir that will allow me to travel to the past. Your body is the final piece I need.

  Sypmean:

  Looking at that list… even if you had forty years, you still wouldn’t finish it.

  Mr. Magnus:

  Don’t worry. Sixty percent is already done.

  Sypmean:

  Why are you telling your enemy this?

  Mr. Magnus:

  Enemy? Don’t you know? You could be my right-hand man here. Free accommodation, free food. Your only job is to defeat your twin and bring him here.

  Sypmean:

  Have you gone mad?! I’ll never do that.

  Mr. Magnus:

  Colt, you know what to do.

  Sypmean:

  Wait. Do I have to kill him? Or just weaken him and bring him to you?

  Mr. Magnus:

  So you finally gave the green light. (He held a remote and pressed the red button. Sypmean’s arms and legs were freed.) You can do whatever you want to him, but I have one condition: I need to take the fire power inside him. My advice is not to kill him, but the choice is yours. (He took a needle and drew some blood from Sypmean’s arm.) Done?

  Sypmean:

  Fine. (His eyes burned with revenge.) I’ll kill him, but I’ll bring you a blood sample. In return, you won’t treat his men the way you treat others. Understood? I’ll handle everything myself.

  Arda was sitting alone in the school cafeteria.

  Arda (inner thought):

  Ugh, who were those guys? Why did they attack me? Do they know about the power inside me? If so, I need to be more careful. They might be watching me everywhere. Ugh, things are really starting to look like a classic shonen anime. A classic villain and me as the classic hero… I wish I wasn’t the hero. Now I have to deal with things even more stressful than the LGS.

  A flashback came. The classroom was noisy. The teacher suddenly silenced everyone.

  Teacher:

  Okay, everyone quiet. I’m going to introduce your new transfer student.

  Name: Moon J…

  Teacher:

  Moon, introduce yourself. Everyone be quiet!

  Moon:

  Hello… I’m from Cheltenham Ladies' College. My Turkish is good. (She looked a bit unsure.) We’ll get along well.

  (Appearance: Eyes a mix of blue and green, star-shaped necklace, earrings resembling Big Ben. Hair medium length and light brown.)

  One student (whispering):

  Look, the English girl is really pretty. I’m a bit jealous of Arda.

  Teacher:

  Arda’s seat is empty. You can sit there. (Window side.)

  Arda (inner thought):

  No way… why me? That was my perfect spot alone… ugh.

  The flashback ended.

  Arda (inner thought):

  Ugh, the teacher put her next to me. Why me? I was so comfortable sitting alone. But her eyes look familiar. I know exactly who she looks like. They are exactly like Sypmean’s eyes. But there’s no way she’s related or a relative. Wait a minute… maybe during the time we didn’t see each other she was staying with her aunt in England? Could that girl be my cousin? But if not, whatever. If I think too much I won’t be able to figure it out.

  Moon (sitting next to Arda):

  Hi, how are you? You look thoughtful. Did something happen?

  Arda (thoughtful):

  Huh? Did something happen?

  Moon:

  You look thoughtful, so I asked if something happened.

  Arda:

  No, nothing happened. Don’t worry.

  Moon:

  I see.

  Eymen and Kayra were watching Moon and Arda from afar.

  Eymen:

  Wow, Arda got close to the new girl so quickly.

  Kayra:

  I agree. Are they dating or something?

  Eymen:

  I don’t know, but I think we should leave them alone.