I apologize if my writing style changes from time to time. A lot of things have just been on my mind for the past few months. Thanks for being patient.

[Hayden's P.O.V]

I have never thought that riding a boat from one country to another could be so boring. I stretched out my arms across the open air, trying my absolute best to stay awake. All I could is watch the waves crash onto each other as the boat I'm riding was moving at approximately 15 knots per hour just because he doesn't want to damage it. At this rate, my mission would've ended and I still would be on this ride. But I couldn't complain. I practically bribed the sailor into escorting me by paying him anything that he found valuable, which was a medallion that I found back in the restaurant in Kyoto.

The guy owned a yacht and plenty of expensive stuff so I have no idea why he wanted an aluminum medallion whose sole purpose is to be hung across the doors of a restaurant just for show. Of course, I didn't exactly tell him what it was and he just assumed that it was made out of valuable material or something. Either way, I would've gotten the boat ride. But so far, I do not like boats.

Sliding down across the wall, I leaned back and placed the small backpack that I brought right next to me. I took off my sword and placed it nearby, just so that I could react quick enough if ever there was an attack. You never know. I then proceeded to crack my neck, letting out a few sounds as I forcefully tilt my head to the side. It was hard to keep myself energized or calm when I'm an easy target on this ship.

I know I can just sleep and rest up but judging from the greediness and nastiness that I sensed from the owner of this ship, the meaning of trust just disappeared in my head. I wouldn't trust this guy with my blade, even more with my life. Plus, I don't think I'm capable of sleeping well since I haven't had a good night's sleep ever since I woke up four years ago in the middle of nowhere. I always get three to four hours of sleep until I would suddenly wake up for no apparent reason. Not even a single nightmare or a dream. Maybe a coma is the only way I'll ever sleep peacefully without the nagging thought of danger in my surroundings.

But I can't blame anyone but myself. I brought this unto myself. I made my choice and I can't just back out from it. That day reminded me of what the world was like and how cruel it could be...

It was cold. The freezing night felt like a snowy winter where frozen icicles would form right under your toes. The wind blew heavily onto my skin, causing my body to shiver feverishly. I only had a single black and raggedy cloak wrapped around my body as protection from the cold as I limped aimlessly across the street. No one paid any attention to me because apparently, there are lots of people who are in the same situation as me. I was simply a mere stone on the sidewalk compared to their luxurious clothes and shining jewelry. This place was both equally rich and poor at the same time.

The sound of my artificial foot dragging along the concrete road was like an ominous sound that slowly inches towards danger. Sparks would fly off the calf, causing my leg to weaken even more. I don't even know why half of my left leg was made in some sort of strange metal. I didn't even bother trying to figure it out or mess with it because that leg was my only chance of moving. The metal plating has its own heating core that melts away the freezing cold wind it encounters so that the leg won't just die on me. Sadly, it doesn't apply to the rest of my body.

The town I was in, after traveling for who knows how long, was not exactly the welcoming type. But they didn't reject me either. It was already filled with homeless people and ill that it became a normal thing for them. But at the same time, they don't treat our kind that well either. I was refused to enter any form of shelter. I didn't beg from the side of the streets as the others did, but people looked at me the same way they looked at the other homeless guys; disgust.

However, in a weird way, I felt nothing towards them. Not even a fiery rage for looking down on me or an overwhelming sadness for being hated. I just felt numb to it. Almost as if I was used to it. I couldn't find out why and that's what gave me the drive to overcome any obstacle I encountered in the streets. I was practically immune to both any form of negativity or positivity. I was emotionless to the point that I no longer feel sympathy for the ones that were like me.

But after spending a couple of weeks in the town, I learned a lesson the very hard way.

I spent most of my time in an alleyway, right next to a small pawnshop. I tend to avoid moving a lot since it lowers the power of my leg, which I recently just discovered. Scraps and rotten food were all I could eat for weeks until the owner of the shop suddenly caught me hanging around and searching for any edible food in the garbage. I immediately thought the worst, since that's all I've been experiencing so far. However, instead of expressing disgust like the rest of the citizens, he treated me with kindness.

He did this weird thing with his mouth where it curved upwards but his lips remained pressed against each other. His eyes drooped down and there was a lingering flicker of emotion in them that I had no idea what it meant. It was later explained to me that it was a smile, a way to express emotions. In this case, he told me that he felt pity. After finding out what it meant, I tried smiling back with the best I could do but I ended up causing the old man to emit a raspy and continuous sound from his voice as his mouth curved into a smile once again, but it was entirely different.

He seemed more expressive and positive compared to the pity he expressed earlier. Somehow, a genuine smile reached my face faster than before, without me even realizing it. I was later told that this emotion is called happiness. This blooming feeling in my chest was called joy, and I experienced it after I met this old man. After kindness was expressed towards me for the first time. For the first time in who knows how long, I expressed my first emotion... and I was glad.

Since that time, I began living with the old man in his pawnshop. He fed me, gave me shelter, and presented me with a way to relieve myself without being out in the open. After finding out that I lost all memories of my life and education, he reteaches my words and stuff I probably knew about but just forgotten. Because I was vaguely familiar with the words but I couldn't tell how. And when he noticed my metal leg, he provided me some parts and helped me fix it until it was functional enough so it wouldn't run out of power. He also told me that it was called a prosthetic and that it was used as a replacement if someone lost a part of their body. He assumed that I was part of a war before but I couldn't confirm it at all. For about a month, I was contented with my life. I helped the old man, who introduced himself to be Tobias, in his pawnshop, rearranging these unique and strange collectibles on their respective shelves. I even tried fixing up the old shack by repairing some of the furniture and other stuff like Tobias' bedroom door, which I couldn't figure out how to make it swing smoother. Other than that, I would be with Tobias downstairs, managing the shop and admiring some of the antiquities he had in store.

One in particular that caught my eye was this long, curved blade that sat horizontally on top of the glass counter. The handle was wrapped with black and purple linen, probably to strengthen the grip. It looked so sharp that a mere hover of a finger could cut you. The blade was made out of pure silver ore that's been melted through the heat of a volcano, or that's what Tobias told me after he found me staring at it. He said that he used to be a martial artist and was a successful one at that—I had to search what it meant on a computer and I later found out that it was just a style of fighting where you just use flashy moves. After that, I didn't care for the sword until a week later.

The clock had already struck midnight. The town fell quiet and everyone had already tucked themselves in their bed and dozed off, including me. But unlike the rest, it wasn't as peaceful. I would constantly shift in my sleep and wake up in random moments without any explanation. It's like the weight of the world was crushing me while I slept. My heart constantly felt heavy and weak, almost as if it was a piece of glass that's hanging by a thread, waiting for it to fall and shatter.

This night, I couldn't sleep at all. So I didn't even try. I hopped out of my bed and slipped on some slippers. Tobias won't tolerate any trace of messiness or dirt on his watch and I'm not trying to defy his rules. I left my room and went downstairs to busy myself with the antiquities that Tobias has in store. But as I walked down the stairs, I felt an ominous feeling whispering behind my ear. I came to notice that this feeling only comes when there's danger running amok. Like that time someone tried sneaking up behind me to steal my leg or that time when I was offered food that was laced with poison. In this exact time and place, I experienced the same feeling.

So I immediately rushed downstairs as fast as I could. Once I reached the floor, I hit the lights open, illuminating whatever that was warning me. What greeted me caused my face to fall. The shelves were swept clean, nothing left exact a few trinkets and junk. The glass counters had been sliced open and the contents had been stolen. Golden clocks, bronze statuettes, sparkling jewelry, functional contraptions. Everything that has some sort of value had been stolen.

All of a sudden, I heard something shatter. I immediately rushed into action, speeding through the halls to follow the source of the sound, only to find a single person breaking through the window, all the while carrying a large sack over his shoulder-a thief. Her face wasn't even hidden, unlike the movies that I watched. At first, she was shocked when she saw me. But then, it slowly formed into a smile that certainly did not express kindness at all. It was quite the opposite. Slung over her belt, was the sword that I admired. My eyes unconsciously focused on the blade, something that she didn't fail to notice.

She followed my gaze and smirked once again. A new emotion burst forth from my heart, one that I am quite familiar with; irritation. My knuckles balled up into fists, so tight that my bones were cracking because of my vexation. I took a step forward to confront her but then before I knew it, the sword came flying towards me, and out of strange reflex, I caught it. I was more than surprised when I held the blade in my hands but when I looked up, I realized that it was a diversion.

In that little time, the female thief slipped out the window and ran out in the open. Once I recovered from the shock, I instantly ran towards the broken opening to try and catch the thief. Without a second thought, I jumped out the window and landed perfectly on the ground, the sword still in my hand. I didn't know what gave me the courage to do it or how I did it, but all I know is that I'm chasing that bitch! (Another thing I learned from Tobias).

The girl was not that athletic nor fast. Plus, she's carrying about a hundred pounds of trinkets and antiquities in a sack. My legs launched into action and I was speeding through the streets like a car. It didn't take long for me to reach her and once I did, I threw the sword in their direction and embedded it right on the ground in front of her. That caught her by surprise, making her yelp in shock. This just gave me the opportunity to lunge at her. I grabbed her arms and slammed them hard against the concrete ground, causing her to groan in pain and spill the contents of the sack.

I demanded why she stole from Tobias. She responded with a smug smirk., telling me that it was all fun and games. That the old man was begging for with all his valuable trinkets. This enraged me even more. I leaned forward to yank the sword out of the ground place the blade against her throat. I didn't know where this sudden rush of violence and fury came from. But it was too late for me to notice. It had already consumed me and blinded my vision.

But I was too naïve. I failed to notice that there are other things at stake. But it was too late. Lights flashed open within the other houses and buildings. People rushed out of their homes. But they were not focused on me. They ran past me like I didn't have a sword pointed at someone. I followed their steps and dread instantly filled me. I drop the sword on the ground out of shock as I watch the fire burn on the top floor of Tobias' pawnshop. Smoke billowed out of the windows like large snakes of gas. The girl retrieved the contents of her sack, including the sword, and used this chance to run away.

But I didn't even bother trying to stop her. My eyes were focused on the burning building as firetrucks began appearing in front of the shop while people gathered around, staring worriedly at the building. My mind finally unfroze and I finally understood the situation. Tobias was still in there!

I dashed forward, not caring if it puts too much strain on my leg. The ground crack against my powerful steps as I launched myself into the shop, despite the firefighters and the citizens calling out to me to stop. The lower floor was still stable, but you could see the ceiling slowly burning, as well as the walls. I maneuvered through the halls to reach the stairs, only to find it smashed down to the ground by a burning chair.

I cursed under my breath, but I won't let a single chair stop me. Placing my prosthetic in danger, I jumped and slammed my foot against the wall, giving me the extra boost to reach the other half of the stairway. I held on to the wooden planks and lifted myself to the top floor, where flames were flowing across the rooms and halls like waves in an ocean. I dodged and weaved across the fire like I was an experienced martial artist. Once I reached his room, I immediately try to open the door. Except it won't budge. I tried pulling it even harder but it feels like it was entirely locked in place.

Pounding my fist against the door, I shouted for Tobias' name. The heat was starting to get to me. I could almost feel the flickers of the flames licking my skin as if waiting to consume me. I knock once again, only for no one to respond. I pulled myself back and launched myself against the door. I heard it crack, but it wasn't enough. My bicep feels sore after that one slam but I'm not going to stop. I moved back once and propelled my body towards the door, instantly breaking through.

I stumbled across the floor and fell on my face. Groaning in pain, I used my arms to get up and when I laid my eyes at the horrific sight, I gasped. I could no longer hear the cracklings of the flames nor the commotion happening outside. The room itself was on the brink of collapse yet I just sat there. I got up on my feet, despite my shaky knees and slowly walked towards him. His body laid motionless against the wall. Eyes closed peacefully and chest remained still, with no signs of breathing. With my trembling hands, I tried to reach out to him but I pulled them back at the last second.

Before I knew it, transparent liquid began running down my face. I pat my cheek and noticed that it was wet. A humorless smile grew on my lips. "What's this? Oh, yeah. I remember Tobias calling these tears." I muttered to myself. And with that, the dam broke. I was screaming and wailing right in front of the lifeless body of Tobias.

I'm sure that I wasn't a stranger to the concept of death. But I was practically a newborn baby with no memories of his past life. If I did experience it, then I must've forgotten how to cope with it because it hurts so much. How did I do it? My heart felt like it was going to break at any moment. My voice was turning hoarse from all my screams and cries. I was mentally and emotionally cracking. Even as the roof came crashing down, I did not care. I dragged myself towards his body and held him in my arms, allowing these tears of agony and sorrow to flow down my cheeks as the entire house came down with me.

[Normal P.O.V]

But this year has been strangely different. He met people who weren't so afraid that they decided that shooting him would be a reasonable idea once they saw a man in rags. He may look homeless, but he has the power to erase your home, your family, and your life in a single snap. Don't test him if you can't handle it. However, they weren't as hostile. They seemed pretty nice. He especially had fun with Nadia because he could kind of see himself in her. He only met with the rest because he owed them something. He's not that ruthless to just kill whoever he pleases. He's not that cruel. He has morals.

Very low morals... but morals nonetheless.

"Nē, watashitachi wa koko ni imasu!"

Hayden turns around and finally notices that they had already stopped at the docks. The beautiful city of Hong Kong shined like a beacon across the entire land. It radiates a different vibe from Japan. That country gave off a very aesthetic and futuristic vibe to everything. From a single toilet that can wipe your own asshole to a free-flowing highway with no traffic and no crashes. However, Hong Kong was equally bright but it somehow flashes the word 'business'. He pictured it to be a city filled with enterprises or factories. He researched more about Hong Kong during his time in Japan and he found out that they beat another city with the tallest tower in the world, the Shangti Tower. It probably won't be an important plot point in this story.

[Spoilers: It is]

And even from the edge of the city, he could see the tower standing tall in the middle of the city. The sun reflecting across the tip like a magnifying glass. The building was shaped oddly, formed in a spiral form. He didn't know how that helps at all other than appearing complex and intriguing but he's all for it. He slipped his backpack around his shoulder and picked his sword back up to head for the docks so he could leave, only for the owner of the yacht to blatantly stop him with his hand.

"Chotto matte." He had a mischievous grin on his face that would make any sane person beat the shit out of him.

It took all of Hayden's mental and physical prowess to not send this guy 30 feet down the sea. His self-control was barely holding on and this better is a good reason to stop me. He then started speaking long Japanese sentences and you can bet your sweet ass that Hayden didn't understand a single word. He could only pick up a couple of words but he couldn't put them together and make it make sense. Besides, it doesn't matter what he's saying. Hayden's not here to chat. After all, he believes that he's facing an entire operation by himself. Whoever the Triads are, he knows that they're trouble.

"Listen. I don't have time for this shit, old man. I paid you. You gave me a ride. That's it. I don't need anything from you anymore." Hayden snarled, shoving the man's hand away to leave, only for him to have a literal gun pointed at him.

The smug expression on the old man's face didn't make it better. He held out his hand as if expecting Hayden to pay his way out of this. The man must've forgotten that he has a literal sword under his rags or he just didn't see it. Either way, that blade will soon show up.

Hayden's face contorted to one of disgust and malice. All of a sudden, a sudden rush of thoughts flash behind his mind without him realizing it. And before he knew it, the words spilled out of his mouth. "Anata wa koko de machigattahito o damashiteiru, baka." Much to both Hayden and the old man's surprise, he was able to speak fluently in Japanese.

However, Hayden's surprise died down almost as fast as it appeared. To be honest, this wasn't the first time that he was suddenly knowledgeable about some things he doesn't know about. Like that one time where he was suddenly blessed with the knowledge of engineering and mechanics, giving him the ability to repair his prosthetic as well as other stuff. He was even briefly knowledgeable about the art of blacksmithing, which came out of nowhere. So he randomly decided to enhance his blade until that knowledge faded away. He figured out that it was probably what he learned before he left his memories.

"Anata wa watashi no supēsu ni ashi o ukeireru ni kitaishinai. Watashi wa anata no ashi o kossetsu shi, anata no o shiri o tsukiagemasu." Hayden practically threatened without any mercy. It seemed that it was working since the old man could barely carry the gun anymore and his knees were shaking like crazy. A dark shadow cast over Hayden's eyes, brightening his cold green eyes that were staring deep into the old man's soul.

"Watashi no mae ni jama ni naranaidekudasai..." The words trailed off and just like that, Hayden's knowledge about the language of the Japanese disappeared without a trace. The man was bilingual for a total of 30 seconds before reverting back to his lame state with only one knowledgeable language.

Just so he could keep up the terrifying act, Hayden swiftly draws his sword out and lunges at the man, allowing his blade to simply touch his neck while he remained in his crouched stance right next to him. "Get out of here or else I'll drive my sword right in your heart." He said in a low voice, and anyone with the right mind could tell that that was a threat.

Of course, the owner ran away, pissing his pants. Hayden sighed exasperatedly. He only let that man live because he wasn't worth it. He would rather use his time and energy against the Triads rather than just one bad scammer. A professional scammer would've backstabbed you during the trip but this old man must've forgotten.

Leaving the ship, he passed through the harbor and entered the beautiful and bright city of Hong Kong. Except, it wasn't what he expected. The buildings and structures were amazing and well-constructed. But the people were the problem; the entire city was overpopulated. Thousands of people flooded the streets so much that you can't even see the ground anymore. One thing Hayden noticed was that most of them were in the business class, merely judging from their clothes and how they carry themselves as if they're at the top of the food chain, which may be true in this scenario. The rest is your modern-day family and civilians who out just to have fun.

'Sorry but this day won't even be remarkably fun.' Hayden silently thought in his head as he maneuvered through the crowd, without bumping into people. He was like a snake slithering in the grass, heading towards its goal. It's like the people don't even notice him.

As Hayden slithered across the street, he took this time to admire the bustling city of Hong Kong in complete detail. The city air was fresh and clean than most cities, almost mechanical and flat. All the cars were either a Mercedes or a Prius, or something that reflects their personality; bland and horrible taste. It was simply urban and bright, just like he'd imagined but at the same time, not exactly-tall buildings in an exact grid pattern. Ubiquitous skyscrapers were smudged by the clean and bright sky. The business cars overtook the streets, except for a few minivans and sports cars.

After a couple of minutes, he finally arrived at his destination. He had to crane his next to its limit just to see the pinnacle of the Shangti Tower. The glass frames encasing the skyscraper were just one big mirror. The only thing that's not made out of glass were the doors and even he was skeptical about it. The building twisted and spiraled as it went higher, forming like a giant drill standing in the middle of the city.

From what Hayden remembered, this tower was built just to be a monument for the last chief consecutive who sacrificed himself to join the last war between Mongolia back in the '22s. People thought they went overboard but in reality, it was little to nothing compared to what the chief executive did. He practically caused the war to end by annihilating the enemy base.

However, Hayden was sadly informed that the supposed monument was also built for another reason in order to honor their last Triad leader. The only way to find out who Wang Ling is is through the building. Of course, the plan is to face the entire syndicate head-on. All he needs to do is to find the head office, which usually where the head chiefs are. He plans to originally sneak inside, pretend to be one of the employees, and reach the top floor without any trouble. Well, it was supposed to be his plan except something unexpected happened.

It was strangely quiet after the first explosion. Not much happened. The people around felt and heard the explosion occur but they couldn't see it anywhere. They unconsciously ducked and let out a few yelps when they simply felt the air rumble. Many were confused. But Hayden knew where it came from. He was focused entirely on the tower and he could see the higher floor's glass panels were obviously cracked.

The second explosion was more extravagant. A beat passed and then an entire floor erupted into flames and gas from the highest levels of the Shangti Tower. The people below screamed for terror as an entire gush of black smoke and a pillar of fire leaked out of the higher floors. Glass fell from above like hail, nearly cutting down a few unlucky bastards who were too late to move. Debris from the explosion burst out of the damaged area and fell below. People scrambled and screamed for safety and Hayden knew he should too.

As he was about to take off, he froze when he saw a kid standing in the middle of a large space, just simply staring upwards. It was obvious that she was frozen scared and unable to move due to her weak state of mind. The little girl just stared at the metal beam that's dangerously heading towards her direction... and Hayden's watching this all in slow-motion.

He knew damn well that the most important and logical thing to do is to seek for safety from the debris falling. But why did 99% of his heart tell him to go after the little girl? That kid had no importance to him but why did he care so much? It's like he was in a game developed by Telltale Games, giving him a limited time to choose a decision or else someone will be affected. It may seem like he could just pause it and think about what he wants to do but in reality, he was only given two seconds to decide.

Then once again, a sudden flash of energy rushed up along his spine and activated something hidden in the back of his brain. Soon, every nerve and vein in his body pointed at a single choice. He couldn't do anything about it except follow. In a millisecond, Hayden had slid across the glass-filled streets and shoved the little girl out of the way, just in time before the metal beam nearly crushed both of them. Using his entire body to surround the little girl so that she couldn't get hurt from the broken shards of glass on the ground, he landed painfully on his back.

Despite the pain, Hayden curled his arms around the kid protectively as she cried her ass off on his shoulder. He used his free hand to pat the little girl's head while trying to calm her down with his words.

"Shh... it's okay. You're alright. You're not hurt." He whispered to her ear. She may have not understood him, but the soothing tone of his voice was enough for her to calm down. Hayden helped her up and softly patted the little girl's head. "Go. It's not safe here. Find your mommy."

Wiping her tears from her eyes, she nodded at him. "Xièxièdàgē" she replied, wrapping her little arms around Hayden's neck for a few seconds before following his instructions and running away.

Hayden didn't know why, but when the kid hugged him, a memory flashed in his head. In this recollection, he could feel the warmth of the hug. But this time, he was reciprocating it. He couldn't see the person's face because her head was buried in his shoulder, but he could tell that it was a small young girl. But unlike the previous, he felt calm and warmth at the short arms of the child. It almost made him forget that his life has been complete shit for the past years. But just like that, that moment of comfort disappeared almost immediately. However, he wasn't complaining. For the first time in years, he was finally recovering his memories.

But he was pulled back into reality when a third explosion rang across the entire city from another level of the Shangti Tower. More debris burst out of the top of the tower and fell to the ground. Hayden had already taken cover by staying away from the drop radius. He knows that he should be up there to figure out what's causing the damage and why is he not the one doing it. Taking the long way in by going inside is just going to be a waste of time. He needs another way up and Hayden knows exactly what he needs to do.

"I didn't expect to use this so early." Hayden sighed and slipped his backpack off. The pack hit the ground with a fairly loud thud, indicating that there's something slightly heavy inside. He opened the backpack to reveal a set of metallic gloves and a single black-scaled boot. Taking the gloves, he shoved his hands in and then locked them in by a metal chain that's strapped around your arm. The gloves weren't exactly the normal type. The fingertips were razor-sharp, its edges were shaped like raptor claws. Despite being completely metal, it wouldn't affect the wearer's abilities due to its energy-reading power, where it would predict the wearer's movements by analyzing the nerves in the hands. In fact, it might even improve it.

After strapping the gloves on, he takes out the singular boot and wore it across his lone foot. It was shaped like a flower pot at first, with the opening larger than normal. But as Hayden fitted his foot in, the boot released a satisfying hiss as it enclosed itself around his leg and locking itself in place. Just like the gloves, the boots were almost weightless since they monitor and follow the nerves' lines from his brain.

He walked out in the open, crushing the shards of glass under his metal boot and foot. He had taken off the shoe from his other foot and exposed his metal prosthetic. What he's about to do is totally crazy and definitely dangerous. He doesn't know if he's able to fully accomplish this task without dying. Once again, he has to trust his guts and tighten his ass for this incredibly terrifying trip.

"Okay, if I'm going to do this correctly..." Hayden muttered to himself as he took a couple of steps backward so that he could get a running start. He needs to keep his momentum going if he's supposed to reach the top floors. He adjusted the position of his sword so it won't fall off during his... stunt. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly before dashing off. The concrete cracked at each of his steps, ringing across the street and shaking the ground. Once he was about 5 feet away from the tower, he focused his entire strength and power into his legs and power launched himself high up in the air and towards the Shangti Tower.

His raggedy coat flew against the wind like a cape as the air walked across the air. As he nears the glass panes, he prepared his gloved hands and boots. He had his prosthetic foot sticking out first as he grew closer. The moment his foot met the tower's surface, glass shattered everywhere and rained down the empty space below. His prosthetic foot remained embedded in the steel walls that are hidden under all the glass sheets. The claws of his metallic gloves shot out and struck through the glass and lodged themselves in the metal walls as well. To keep his momentum going, he used the same prosthetic leg to launch himself upward once again, but this is where his boot is going to come to use.

Since he used his prosthetic to propel himself upward, he has to use his boot which has technically the same properties as his artificial leg except for the fact that he could fully control every single joint. He proceeded to smash his boot through the glass panes and into the metal walls so he could stay up, with a little help from his gloves. Using that leg, he did the exact same thing and propelled himself upward to rapidly climb the Shangti Tower without any distractions.

It was surreal. Hayden was practically running up the tower using only his strength and a couple of enhancers. Glass shattered at each of his jump and step, but luckily the area down below was already cleared. He was already halfway to the top and his stamina and endurance were depleting at a rapid pace. The amount of stress and power he needed to launch himself in a continuous phase was seriously affecting his body. But if he slows down for even a moment, he'll lose the momentum and risk falling.

However, today was not Hayden's lucky day. A fourth explosion erupted out of nowhere and it just happened to be the floor right on top of him. Flames spewed out of the razed level and multiple sets of metal beams slid out of the opening and fell down. The ground-shaking caused Hayden to nearly lose his momentum and hold but was only able to stay on due to his amazing reflexes and firm grip strength. He was literally hanging by a hand that's embedded across a bent metal beam that's protruding out in the air while the rest of his body swayed across the wind like a loose apple in a tree.

"Ah, fucking hell!" Hayden cried out in frustration. He growled under his breather as he swung his body backward to force himself to swing back to the wall. The only problem is that he was about eight feet away from the surface of the tower and even if it wasn't, metal plates that made up the structure's wall were sticking out like thorns on a rose. The only way for him to get back on course was to climb up and settle for the current blown-up floor.

Using his upper body strength, he pulled himself up just enough to have his other hand grab the same beam. The floor groaned as the metal beam that Hayden was holding on started trembling. He was running out of time so he picked up the pace by lifting his body until his eyes were at the same level as the beam. Then, he stretched his arms back to spring himself back up and landing on the beam with a loud thud. This only sealed the beam's fate. The mere force and weight that Hayden applied caused the entire metal beam to snap off from the tower. Realizing that he's about to plummet down to the earth in a disgusting squish, he instantly took off running whilst the beam was falling down.

A scene like this could only exist in a universe where everything and everyone defies logic. However, this doesn't apply to this universe when Hayden literally ran across the beam, defying gravity and physics, but at the same time, completely staying in a logical world. The beam still hasn't reached to the point where it was plummeting down, giving Hayden enough time to barely but successfully reach the opening by landing the lower half of his body on the edge. He only missed the gap by a hair strand, his ass hanging off by a millimeter.

Hayden wiped the sweat off his brow and his face, both in relief and stress. He forced himself to stand up, despite his endurance at an all-time low. Taking off the gloves and then ditching the boot, he drew his silver sword in preparation for whatever is to come. But whoever caused the explosion, did an amazing job. The concrete walls were either blackened with ash or demolished by the explosion. Water spilled out of the water pipes from the ceiling and the cables under the floor stuck out, sending sparks flying.

"What the hell happened here?" Hayden murmured under his breath. So far, there's no sign of life around this floor. He circled around the entire level, finding nothing but destruction. He ended up sheathing his blade, disappointed that there were no clues on how did everything went down.

Then all of a sudden, like a sign from the gods, a pebble fell from above and knocked some sense into Hayden. Confused, he followed the tiny pebble's trajectory, and, lo and behold, there lies a sizeable hole on the ceiling that's perfect for a person to escape from the floor. Glad that he found his lead, he went to work. He took a running start towards the wall and then jumped, kicked himself away from it, and reached for the hole, grabbing the edges with his hands.

The hard part was finished, so all he had to do was pull himself up through. But much to his disappointment, the floor above was in the exact same state as the one below. Except for the bodies scattered across the floor, which is only confirming that someone had decided to attack the Triads at the same time he decided to. And right after finishing his mission, he's going to give this person a piece of his mind.

Just like before, a hole was found in the middle of the floor where you could spot exactly where and how the fight occurred, judging by the multiple sliced bodies on the ground and the blood across the tiles. He used the hole again to reach the next floor. And just like before, the level above was just as destroyed like the one below. Except that even more bodies were found and they were butchered in even more creative ways. This pattern continued for about four or five more floors of blackened walls, fresh corpses, and entrance holes before he could finally sense and hear an actual fight occurring right above him.

And if the noises and the loud thuds of the bodies hitting the floor weren't enough evidence, a gunshot rang through the halls from above and the bullet pierces the ceiling and nearly grazed Hayden's cheeks. Now that he pinpointed where the chaos is starting, he could now determine the right strategy on how to deal with it. Using the hole will just blatantly expose himself as an easy shooting target. He needs to both cause a distraction and take out a couple so that he could enter the scene without the risk of getting gunned down.

He rolled up his sleeve, exposing the contraption that Hayden had hidden to be an explosive and destructive chemical launcher. On top of his wrist is a cylindrical canister the size of an eraser. A tiny spark wheel could be seen at the tip of the barrel that's located at the bottom of the wrist, where the supposed green mixture oozed out off. You could tell that this contraption was hand-made from the different parts of a lighter, a spray can, and a glove. But it was dangerous nonetheless. With a single flick of a toggle switch, it sparks up a flame and the entire cloud of gas erupts into flames-which is what Hayden intends to do.

First, he examined the ceiling and searched for any weak and sensitive crevices above. Once he reached the jackpot, he aimed his contraption towards it and released a billow of green chemical gas across the ceiling. After he took some steps back, he flicked the switch and the spark caused a chain reaction of explosions following the gas. As soon as it reached the clump of green gas hovering around the fissured ceiling, it imploded. Screams rang from above, indicating that Hayden was able to get some of them. The concrete came crashing down on the ground, along with a few people who were, unfortunately, standing directly upon the trigger zone.

Wasting not a single second, Hayden rushed forward and used the pile of concrete and bodies on the floor as a stepping stool for him to jump through the opening he created and surprise whoever was facing him. The unfortunate person that he met only had a total of 1-2 seconds before Hayden would decide on whether or not they were his enemies. Sadly, the Excalibur he held in his arms doesn't help with proving his innocence. After that one second passed, he was met with a silver blade piercing his heart, killing him immediately.

The cloud of dust and dirt slightly hid Hayden's form, but that doesn't stop the Triad members from raining a barrage of bullets aimlessly around, hoping to shoot at least one. Sadly, the result is that they revealed where their positions were. Hayden pounced at them like a hungry tiger hunting for his prey, butchering them until their blood sprayed across the floor and walls. He came after every single one on the floor, tearing the place apart and then cutting them down until the level was swept clean. One tried sneaking up behind him, but it only resulted in him breaking multiple rips and possibly a ruptured liver or stomach after Hayden propelled his prosthetic at him at full speed and power. He was swinging his sword both wildly and in precise skill. Each of his strikes was fatal to the normal person and none of them were vanilla either. Most of them were met with a pretty painful fate that would make you wish you wanted to die faster. It's what you would typically see in a movie when the protagonist is dedicating his life to revenge and where he would absolutely body everyone in the scene. Hayden was the embodiment of all the vengeful protagonists fit in one.

After cutting down the last Triad member and only adding to the number of bodies sprawled on the ground, he shook the blood off his sword and hid it back in his coat. In battle, if one already sheathes or takes back one's weapon, that is a sign of completion-meaning that the battle was over. At the same time, if the person fails to understand the conclusion of the battle, it could also be a sign of weakness or practically an opening. Hayden only realized this after he sensed a lone Triad member emerge from clouds of dust.

He spun almost immediately but it was too late. The Triad member, despite having an entire arm blown off and blood coating his face was dead set on killing Hayden. He had his pistol ready and his finger was just tingling to pull the trigger. But before he could achieve such a high and honorable goal, a knife came flying out of nowhere and stuck itself in the back of the man's head. The Triad member fell face flat against the floor in an anticlimactic way that almost made Hayden laugh is he wasn't so confused.

"Well, well, well. Ain't this a wonderful turn of events."

Hayden's jaw comically dropped once he saw where the voice came from and who it belonged to. It's pretty hard to forget that blood-red eyes and platinum-blonde hair. Nadia, the fellow troublemaker he meets along with his trips, had emerged from the halls with an arched eyebrow and frown on her face, dragging her extended whip-sword along with her like a bag. She snapped her wrist up, causing the weapon to retract back to its normal form and shaking off some of the blood caking it before she strapped it back to its scabbard. Judging from her expression, she wasn't happy.

"Nadia?" Hayden furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you-"

The slap came unexpectedly. It was loud and terribly strong, like a long whip. If that was how strong her slaps were, nobody would want to experience her punches. Hayden couldn't register what happened for about five seconds before his face contorted into a scowl once he felt the soreness affect him.

"What the fuck was that?!" He exclaimed.

Nadia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest with a frown. That's when Hayden noticed that she wasn't exactly in perfect condition. Blood trickled down her temple, as well as from her lips. She was smudged in dirt, dust, and dry blood. Her hair was like a bird's nest, and you could see that there's a hint of concrete dust underneath all that silver hair. The sword-whip that she uses was slicked with fresh blood, with some still dripping from the edge.

"That little explosive stunt you did? Nearly took ten years off my life!" She yelled out, taking Hayden aback by surprise. "Yeah. Good thing I recognized that green gas of yours seeping through the cracks on the floor. But of course, it still didn't stop me from falling one floor down."

Feeling a bit guilty, Hayden rubbed the back of his neck with a strained grin. "Uhh, sorry about that. I guess I didn't know you'd be there." He replied awkwardly.

"No shit." Nadia sarcastically replied. Sighing, pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, can't really blame you. I have no idea you were going to be here either. Which reminds me... what are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question." Hayden, stubborn as always, answered the question with another question.

Nadia did the exact opposite since she's a bit familiar with his stubbornness and she's too tired to argue. "Followed a lead. I got info that the Triads have something for me. Trying to find someone named-"

"Wang Ling?" Hayden finished. At Nadia's shocked expression, he hummed in confirmation. "Yeah, he's also my lead. Yakuza lead me here."

"So our leads were almost the same this entire time? This is some bullshi... oh, what the fuck?"

Hayden frowned. "What is it?"

Nadia pointed at the massacre behind him, which she only got a good look at now that she was close. Hayden followed her gaze and his eyebrows rose unexpectedly. Just like the one in front of him, he doesn't typically analyze his 'handiwork'. And now that he's aware of it, he himself is astonished at how he was able to do this. In his head, he had downscaled it to a mere thought that it was just 'finishing a job'. He didn't realize that all he did was quite sickening. The blood on the floor was nearly pooling across the entire area. The bodies were butchered in every way possible. Some heads were just laying around. Limbs separated in a gut-retching way. You could instantly recognize the smell of death and would never forget about it.

"What happened here, Hayden?" The only reason why Nadia hasn't vomited yet was that she too was familiar with this line of work. But these kinds of results were still unexpected and honestly disgusting. Not ever she would be able to do this without she herself feeling sick. The only person left who could do this was the fellow vigilante beside her. But she doesn't even know enough about him to classify him as a vigilante. For all she knows, he could be a vengeful serial killer.

Hayden wouldn't admit it but he too was a bit taken aback by his work. He was no stranger to blood and death anymore so why does this affect him? Maybe it's because it reminded him of what he did four years ago. The night Tobias died, he was once again homeless but this time, he felt the actual loss of losing a home. The pain was enough to break his heart until a dark thought enters his mind. The face of the thief appeared in his head, and all the rage and fury in Hayden's body erupted like a volcano. He had hunted down the thief, searching around the entire town until he could find her. And when he did, he was not exactly merciful. He tortured her and tortured her until she lost the ability to scream. He was blinded by revenge and rage that he couldn't comprehend what he was doing. He kept stabbing, slicing, drilling, and so much more but not enough that the girl would die quickly. A mere second of what he did would make you throw up your entire lunch and breakfast. What's worse was that he was enjoying it. Making her suffer had caused him to smile after a week since Tobias's death. He had kept her alive for three days before ultimately cutting her head off clean with the same sword that she stole.

The moment the girl's life was plucked away, it finally registered in Hayden's brain what he had done. Nausea came quickly and it caused him to retch and then vomit whatever remained in his stomach. He had cried himself to sleep, constantly remembering all the horrible things he had done. In the end, he had decided would never again make someone suffer. However, the rage still bubbling in his heart. Tobias' death still prompted him to pick up the stolen blade and deliver what he believes is justice. If he sees someone commit something unfathomable, he would hunt that person down, kill them, and then kill whoever was connected to that person until he reached the end. But he never tortured someone ever again.

But the scene before him reminded him of that day. Does swiftly killing them make him better? Does making them feel less suffering and pain justify his actions? He was so busy with what he's been doing that he forgot to think about it. Technically, his life started four years ago. Yet here he is, killing people and causing chaos. Does Tobias want him to do this? As for now, Hayden has no idea...

"I guess I went a little overboard..."