1 The beginning

It begins with the story of a child whose parents died due to the natural disaster of the tsunami. The child was only 9 years old when an earthquake hit the bottom of the sea, about 30 km from the beach in Dragon City. The government did not warn the citizen due to human error and miscalculation. Many people died and lost their families. He had to work and fight for his life desperately to survive.

When he was 15 years old, he lived in an old, empty house abandoned by the owner a long time ago, along with several other homeless people. Among the homeless, there was an old man who always stayed close to him. He treated him like his own grandson and always advised and reminded him to always stay alert and be careful not to use his powers for bad things. Adam, the young man's name, didn't really understand what the old man was saying. He just thought that the old man was starting to go crazy because of the stress of his life of deprivation. As an orphan without a family, Adam considers that old man to be his own grandfather, and sometimes they share foods and goods. Every day, Adam looks for money or food by offering help to people who need it. He will do everything he can if someone pays him well. Usually he helps people bring shopping goods to the market, and they give him something in return, either money or food, which is okay for him. He did not ask for money, but they understood that the child needed to eat and stay alive. But living in the big city is too hard for homeless orphan children like him. Adam is often robbed by thugs, and he loses his money. Every time he fights back, he always gets battered.

One day, Adam got a job painting the fence walls of a luxury house. Homeowners are willing to pay double if they are satisfied with the results. Of course, Adam became very excited about it. He left early in the morning with thorough preparations. His work equipment was packed into a large backpack.

"Good morning, Mr. Mike. I'm ready to work today." Adam greeted the owner of the house, who was waiting for him.

"Ah, please just start, Adam. The sooner, the better," said Mr. Mike.

Adam immediately prepared everything and started his work. He painted the wall carefully and did not forget to check the result before going home.

Two days later, Mr. Mike checked Adam's work and was satisfied with the results of his work. As promised, Mr. Mike paid him double and even gave him some food and drink to take home.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Mike. Please contact me if there is any work that I can do. I will definitely do it."

"Of course, Adam, I will recommend it to friends and family if anyone needs your work."

"Once again, thank you very much, Mr. Mike."

"You're welcome."

Adam walked home with a big smile and satisfaction. He planned to treat the old man to dinner at a simple stall at the end of the road. But suddenly Adam's face changed when a group of gangsters were bullying a girl his age near an empty building. He actually didn't want to get into trouble, but his conscience couldn't let that happen before his eyes.

"Excuse me, bro, has anyone seen a black wallet fall around here? My wallet seems to have fallen." Adam is trying to stop the bullying by interrupting them. All the gangster members looked back at Adam. They were annoyed by his existence.

"Leave here if you still love your life," said the gangster leader.

"Ah, Leonie, what are you doing here? Are they your friends?" Adam pretended to know the girl. The girl slowly shook her head while confused because she did not recognize Adam as somebody she knew.

"Then let's go home. Your mother was looking for you."

Adam approached and immediately took the girl by the hand and pulled her as if he didn't pay attention to the group of gangsters who surrounded them.

"Dug!"

Adam's head hit a tall and burly thug.

"Are you bored of life, kid?"

"Hey, look, there are police over there!" Adam shouted while pointing at the end of the road on the right side. When all the gangsters looked at where Adam's finger pointed, Adam and the girl ran as fast as they could. All the gangsters get more angry and chase them both. Adam felt that his running speed was incomparable to his opponent's due to the weight of his backpack, so he told the girl to run away and leave him behind. Adam would face the gangster to buy as much time as he could.

Adam is a little thin young man—not too tall but quite agile and nimble. Facing a bunch of gangsters is common. He had already guessed the ending. Yes, he would be beaten miserably. But this time, he was a little wrong. The gangsters he faced were not ordinary gangsters. They are underground gangsters who are known for being cruel and used to killing people. The gangster leader immediately threw a fist towards Adam. Adam could already guess the blow because he usually gets hit by thugs that way, so he reflexively dodged to the left side and crossed his legs to block the gangster leader's legs, causing him to stumble, lose his balance, and fall. Seeing their leader fall, the gangster members became even more angry. They beat Adam together, and of course he can't block their attack. They punched, kicked, and some even used iron pipes to hit his legs. When Adam was covered in blood and bruises, the gangster leader stepped on his head, took a gun from under his shirt, and pointed it at Adam's head. Adam felt a lot of pain all over his body and thought maybe this was the end of his life. He closed his eyes and prepared to die.

Ten minutes passed. Adam was still in extreme pain. His left hand felt hot, frozen, and painful simultaneously. He slowly opened his eyes to confirm whether he was in another world or not. How shocked he was when he opened his eyes to see the group of gangsters all dead horribly. Some of them were burned, some were frozen, some were broken into pieces of flesh, and some were melted like mud. Adam immediately became nauseous and vomited while watching the scene. He immediately took his backpack and ran as fast as he could away from the scene. He imagined that the killer would find him. He didn't want to die under such circumstances.

When he arrived at the empty house, he immediately collapsed in front of the old man. Seeing this, the old man was not surprised and seemed normal. He immediately treated Adam's wounds. After seeing the birthmark on Adam's left hand, the old man muttered, "Finally, you are free."

Two days later, Adam woke up limp on the floor. The old man smiled and said, "Tell me how they got loose. What do they look like? How many are they?"

Adam thought maybe what he meant was the gangster member. "They were very cruel. I don't remember how many. There were a lot. But they're all dead. Wait a minute, how did you know that gangsters beat me up even though I haven't told you?"

"I told you I knew a little secret about you. Maybe you don't know something is lurking inside your body. I learned about such power twenty years ago."

"What do you mean? I don't understand what you are saying."

"I can't explain it in detail because it's a bit different from what I learned. The point is that there is hidden power in your body. You can call it at any time if you need it. The methods may be different for each person. You should learn to control that power yourself and use it wisely. Don't be arrogant because, above the sky, there is still another sky. Now go for a rest, recover your strength, and calm your thoughts. I'm going to go out for a bit to get some food."

Adam could only remain silent and nod slowly. On the one hand, he thought that this old man was starting to go crazy, but on the other hand, he was a little curious about the hidden strength that the old man said. He slowly raised his left hand and looked at the birthmark, which was supposed to be shaped like an egg but now turned like a spiral. Adam was amazed at how a birthmark could change shape like that. His eyes felt sleepy, and Adam decided to take a short nap to reduce the pain in his body. While sleeping, he dreamed of meeting four mysterious masked people. One person who was dressed all in red seemed to have fire burning all over his body. Next to him was a person dressed all in yellow and around his body emitting electric sparks like lightning. Next to him was a person wearing navy blue clothes. His skin was like ice crystals and cracked. And at the very end is a person dressed all in gray. He seems to be floating in the air, and around him there is always a small tornado. Adam asked, "Who are you? What do you guys want from me?"

"Did you see? He looks so weak. Are you sure he is suitable for us? The Zen Master definitely chose the wrong person. I'll just kill him so we can be free and choose whoever we want."

"Shut your mouth, Inferno! Zen masters can't be wrong. Never doubt a zen master's judgment. We have sworn eternal loyalty. The contract lasts forever. If you dare oppose the zen master, I will be the one to kill you."

"Wow, someone wants to fight. I can't wait to challenge the winner. Let's prove who is the strongest here. Yahoooo…"

"Can't you guys stop fighting? Think straight. Inferno, don't judge someone by their physical appearance. Dew, don't be easily provoked by inferno words. Your water element should not be flammable. And you flash; don't make things worse. Let's just see how it develops. He is still too young and inexperienced. There's still a lot of time to adjust."

"Sorry, you guys haven't answered my question yet."

"Ah, forgive us, my name is Tornado. The four of us are guardians sent by the Zen Master to look after and protect you. Call us when you need us. We'll go first. Time's up."

"Wait a minute, I have something to ask."

They slowly disappeared, and Adam woke up from sleep and saw that the room was empty. The old man and the other residents have not returned yet. It was already 11 p.m. Adam felt that something was wrong. Usually, at 9 p.m. They have gone back to sleep. Adam slowly stood up and limped out. In the darkness of the night, he could vaguely see a group of people kneeling with their hands behind their heads. Around them, there were about four or five police officers who were interrogating them. Adam suspected it had something to do with yesterday's incident. Finally, he decided to return to the empty house and hide inside.