Chapter 19: Old friend
Chapter 18
Kaizen had a deep frown on his face as he stepped out of the black portal, his bare feet slapping against the hard stone floor of the alleyway.
The bitter cold wind of the mountain was gone, but the disappointment clinging to him still weighed heavy. His fingers were numb, not just from the cold, but from frustration, he hadn’t awakened anything. Not even a damn flicker. He tried, tried hard. Stood there like a fool while the old man told him to breathe and focus and whatever else, yet nothing happened.
No spark. No chill. No mana. Just the same silence in his body he’d always felt.
He muttered under his breath as he walked, brushing off the stares of passing pedestrians. His clothes were a wrinkled mess, hair covered in frost, and he had no shoes on. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he looked insane.
"Liar..." Kaizen gritted, voice low. "Old, fat, lying bastard."
He stepped over a puddle, ignoring the splash soaking his pants. His jaw clenched tighter as his thoughts spiraled.
’He really had me thinking I was special... Five elements? Me? What a joke.’
A voice cut into his thoughts.
"Kaizen? Is that you?"
He paused.
That voice. He recognized it immediately. His shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t turn.