Aki grunted as she increased the amount of wind enveloping her hand. It went back and forth between increasing and decreasing in size. Dante grimaced as he continued sucking out the oxygen from Aki's Sky Magic with all his might.

"You can't win, Dragonfly! Just give up!"

"No way…" Aki refused, her large brown eyes filled with steeled determination. "I'll never give up! I'm going to win!"

"I won't let you!"

The wind blew around wildly as Aki's feet dug into the sand. She payed no mind to the grainy substance filling her toes as she pushed forward with everything she had.

The orb on Dante's left gauntlet began to glow. He held it forward and shouted out, "Oxygen Burn!" Flames burst around Aki, but the child remained in place, still pushing forward. Dante clicked his tongue at that. "Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn!"

A massive mountain of flames surrounded the two. An intense wave of heat surged over the area as they both panted heavily. Aki focused her sight on Dante. "You know…you're not the only one…who can suck out oxygen…" And with that, Aki began breathing in the oxygen from the flames around her, causing the fire to die down. Some smoke still billowed around the desert however.

The wind around his hand grew even larger and more intense. "Nice, this is all I need." Aki brought her right hand right next to her left arm with a grin. The flames expanded in size and blew around chaotically in response. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" She smashed her fist right into Dante's face, sending him tumbling across the desert.

Dante snarled as clenched his hands filled with the desert sand. Specks of the sand fell through his fingertips as he gritted his teeth. "Damn it…Am I really going to lose like this?" He didn't want to, but his body was numb and he was barely able to make it budge. Certainly not enough to get back on his feet. But he had to…he absolutely had to. If not, then what was it all for? What was everything he had done up to this point for if he allowed himself to fail here?

Dante's POV

I look up at the setting sun in the orange-tinted sky. The slowly darkening colors in that field above my head reminds me of my home. The outskirts of Daisy City, where no one was allowed to live a happy life.

That's right, I grew up in a slum that was rejected by that damned prosperous city. That city had no need for the likes of us. For the likes of people who were rejected by society due to their lack of welfare.

I still remember my past clearly. Every day was hell. I remember the pain-stricken looks on the faces of countless children. The grief that every mother endured trying to care for and console their precious children. The stress and death that every father fell victim to trying to provide for their families.

That is the kind of place I grew up in. We lived in a small isolated area. We had to drink water from the swamp, scavenge for food, and build our own houses out of straw and hay. It was the worst, but it was all we could do. It was all we could do…to survive. Even so…even so, I was still grateful. Because I still had a roof over my head…food to eat…water to drink…So, I accepted it with a smile and lived my life as happily as I could.

But…as I got older I began to notice…How many people around me were dying. One by one, I had to watch my friends die from illness. There was nothing anyone in that poor backwater town could do to save them. We had no access to a hospital, medicine, money, or anything. We were simply on our own.

We tried to contact the mayor of Daisy City, but all he did was turn us away, saying that he didn't want to risk getting his the city's residents infected. I couldn't take it anymore. Why? Why were we not allowed to have any help? Is there some sort of law in the world that says so? Are people like us just destined to suffer?

These thoughts never once stopped plaguing my mind. And that was the reason, I decided to become a thief. I would steal anything from anyone. I didn't care who. I took food from the first house I saw in Daisy City. I still remember the moist, tender, juicy taste of the steak I ate that night. It was delicious. Not just because of the taste, but also because it filled my stomach. My aching stomach that hadn't eaten for the past three days. Finally, it was satisfied.

Though, perhaps, even more than that…It was delicious because I stole it. Because I stole it from someone who had ignored the pleas of my people. I realized that the house I had stolen from was none other than the Mayor Shane's himself. Realizing that, I had began to stuff my bag with as much of his valuables as I could find. Jewel, gems, spell books, and all kinds of treasure. I took them all. All for the sake of getting back at that detestable man. It filled me with a sense of serenity, knowing that he would have to experience life without those things. Some people might call me selfish or twisted for that, and honestly, I wouldn't blame them. But I don't care…I just couldn't help but continue to pile my bag with more of his belongings. I made my escape and left his house.

After that, I began to steal things from all around Daisy City. I learned how to fight so that I could protect myself from the rich folk who took up arms against me. Eventually, I met a bandit named Mario. He noticed that I was living on my own and so he offered for me to come live with him and his wife. I asked him why he was a bandit and he told me he was just trying his best to survive.

That resonated with me of course. So I told him about my dream. My dream to save all of the less fortunate people in the world. That was when I was given these gauntlets of mine. He had given them to me as a gift while rubbing my head with a kind smile. He said that they were a present to aid me in achieving my dream.

That was when we formed the Thief Harbingers. The three of us went around stealing as many precious valuables and cash as we could. We used it to buy food and drinks for the poor residents of Daisy City. I can still recall the pale faces of the kids who walked up to me that day. Their hoarse, yet hopeful voices have always stayed with me. My memories of that time are as vivid as can be.

"Dante, is it true that you're going to make this town better? Like Daisy City?"

"Who told you that?" I had asked the young boy who ran up to me with two girls next to him.

"It was this big guy. I think he said his name was Mario."

I remember how happy, yet anxious it made me feel that Mario had told the townspeople about my dreams. Happy because they seemed to be admire and look up to me for it. And anxious due to being afraid that I wouldn't be able to meet their expectations.

Regardless, I still managed to bring a confident smile to my face as I rubbed the boy's head. "Not just the town, the whole word." I looked into his eyes as they seemed to light up with joy. "I'm going to make the world a better place for all of the people like us."

"Wow," the two girls spoke up in unison. "The whole wide world?!" They made exaggerated hand gestures as they asked me that, trying to mimic the scope of the world.

I chuckled a little at their behavior and gave a warm smile. "Yep, the whole wide word."

"That's so awesome!" The boy exclaimed. He started impatiently stomping his feet around. "Oh, I wanna help you so badly!"

"Well, maybe once you're a little older you can join the Thief Harbingers too."

"Really?! You mean it?!" His eyes shined so brilliantly, so full of life that there was only one answer I could give him.

"Of course. But for now, just root for me, okay?"

"Right! You got it, Dante!" He gave me a thumbs up with a grin. "But in return, you gotta promise me something too."

"Sure, what is it?"

"No matter what…You must not lose! Don't let anyone take your dream away from you!"

I had already made up my mind on that long ago. But still, I felt so flattered that the boy cared so much about my dream. It warmed my heart to the core. So, I decided to at least give him the reply he was looking for.

"I promise."

After that, I went on a mission with Mario and Jessica. We stole a lot of loot from another rich town and returned with it to my home. I raced back to show what boy what we had accomplished so far but…

"I'm sorry, Mister Dante," one of the girls had a solemn look on her face after I had asked where her friend was. The other one just stayed quiet through it all, silently weeping. "But…he's gone. He got sick and just the other day he…" She wasn't able to finish her sentence before tears started to overtake her face as well.

Numbness. Somberness. Regret. I was a leaky vessel, hopelessly trying to contain those feelings as the realization began to dawn on me. "Oh, I see." A low voice. A low, quiet, whisper was all I could muster at that point.

I went to visit his grave. It was a simple stone grave resting in the middle of that dusty graveyard made of concrete. Countless other graves were scattered about of course. Even for a graveyard, the amount of graves that littered the area was ridiculous. A truly…ridiculous…nauseating sight…

I stood in front of the boy's grave that had no name inscribed on it. My eyes stung as they began to bleed tears. I clenched my fists, chattering my teeth in the cold winter wind.

"No matter what…You must not lose!"

His words echoed in my ears. My head shot up at that as a bird flew overhead, leaves swirling in the air. "Yeah, that's right…I must not lose. To honor your short-lived life, I'll make sure that I never give up. And that I never lose…I promise."

"I must not lose," Dante tells himself as he plants his hands firmly on the hand. "I have a reason…I must not lose…No matter what!" His veins pulse as he strains every muscle in his body to force himself to get up. However, his body still doesn't move an inch. Then, the orb on his left gauntlet begins to glow. "Oxygen Combust!"

End of Dante's POV

Fire blew up around Dante. He screamed out in pain as he was forced back to his feet. Panting heavily, Dante shot a wicked grin toward Aki. "I must not lose. For the sake of my dream. And for the life of someone precious."

Aki gasped, "He got back up?!"

Dante slammed his hand onto the sand. "Oxygen Corrosion!" Instantly, the sand underneath Dante's feet began to soften, taking on the properties of liquid. It moved and shifted as if it was a wave in the ocean and carried Dante forward.

"He's riding the sand!" Aki realized with shocked eyes. Those shocked eyes soon began to sparkle in amazement however. "That's so cool!"

The orb on Dante's right gauntlet began to glow. "Full Force Knuckle!" He slammed his underhanded fist right into Aki's abdomen. At the same time that Aki hit the ground, Dante fell on his back as well and they both lost consciousness.