As if emerging from the very fabric of reality, three Wardokian warriors materialized out of thin air onto the rooftop. A brilliant, pulsating aura enveloped them, radiating an otherworldly energy that seemed to ripple through the atmosphere. The dazzling light show was as brief as it was intense, dissipating quickly into nothingness as their feet made contact with the rooftop. Their landing was remarkably soft and silent, a testament to their mastery over their own formidable powers.
In the bustling metropolis of Kyoto, about an hour's distance from Luke's house, Captain Loopy, the skilled and respected commander, stood alongside two of his trusted squadron leaders, Squala and Caditz.
"Squala, Caditz, our intel points to the last stone activity happening right here in this city," Loopy stated, gesturing towards the north. Unbeknownst to him, his hand was aimed precisely in the direction of Luke's home.
From the ether, Loopy conjured a bag of clothes designed to resemble those worn by humans. He handed each of his subordinates a casual outfit, emphasizing the importance of blending in with the local population. "We'll search the entire perimeter. Ruster couldn't have gone far; he was injured and exhausted," he declared, sweeping his hand across the expanse of the cityscape to indicate the area they would scour.
"Both of you, head that way," he ordered, pointing to the left. "I'll go this way. As soon as you find any trace of Ruster, report back to me immediately. Do not engage in unnecessary combat. Understood?"
Loopy's voice held a gravity that underscored the seriousness of his warning. He had an intuition that Ruster had grown stronger, and if his suspicions were correct, the fugitive could easily overpower the other squadron leaders. Loopy's instincts were rarely wrong, and he knew better than to disregard them.
"Yes, Captain!" Squala and Caditz responded in unison, performing the Wardokian military hand gesture to signify their understanding and compliance.
"Dispatch!" With that command, the trio split up, each warrior vanishing as silently and swiftly as they had arrived, their determination unwavering as they embarked on their mission to locate Ruster.
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Luke cautiously entered his room, gripping the door handle tightly as he closed it behind him. He leaned back against the door, his heart pounding as an eerie silence filled the room.
"Welcome back!" Ruster announced with a smug grin.
To Luke's surprise, Ruster was there, perched on top of his bed as if nothing had happened. He sat with his left leg stretched out, hugging his right knee with his right hand. Hovering nearby was a peculiar black flying device with an egg-like shape and bizarre antennas protruding from its back. The device seemed to have eyes as well.
No longer afraid, Luke locked the door and approached Ruster, curiosity getting the better of him. "Where did you go before?" he inquired.
Ruster appeared puzzled at first but soon realized Luke was referring to the moment when his sister had entered the room. "Oh! We take this for granted, but I always forget that you humans can't sense energy..." he explained.
Luke couldn't comprehend Ruster's words, but he felt a slight twinge of offense on behalf of humanity.
"You see this?" Ruster gestured towards the flying device. Luke glanced at it, not initially giving it much thought. However, when the device began to orbit around him, he grew concerned. "What is that?" he asked suspiciously.
"This is my armor. Its name is Ghost!" Ruster proclaimed proudly.
Luke's confusion only deepened. He couldn't fathom how an object the size of a watermelon could possibly serve as armor.
"Ghost!" Ruster called out, and the device responded by moving closer to him. In an instant, it transformed from a solid shape into a soft, cloth-like form, wrapping itself around Ruster. Both Ruster and the device vanished, only to reappear a moment later with the device returning to its original form.
Despite being only 13 years old, Luke couldn't contain his amazement. His eyes sparkled with excitement, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Cool!" as he held his head in his hands. In that instant, he understood how Ruster had managed to vanish so suddenly earlier.
"That's how you disappeared, you can become invisible!" Luke exclaimed.
"Yes!" Ruster confirmed. He looked at his device for a moment, as if communicating something nonverbally. The device seemed to nod in response before flying towards Luke and circling around him. It emitted a soft light, scanning the young boy.
Luke eyed the device warily, his body tensing as it hovered around him. After a short while, the device came to a stop.
"Greetings, Master! Thank you for your hospitality. My name is Ghost!" The device addressed Luke unexpectedly.
"It can speak!" Luke cried out in astonishment.
Intrigued, he tentatively reached out to touch Ghost's surface. It felt metallic yet also rubbery. Despite having just witnessed Ghost's extraordinary abilities, Luke was still puzzled about how Ruster considered it armor. "How is it an armor? This Ghost thing..."
"Master, please don't call me a thing..." Ghost replied, sounding hurt.
Embarrassed by his insensitive remark, Luke apologized. "I'm sorry, Mister Ghost!" He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture.
Ruster laughed his peculiar laugh once more. "Don't worry, kid, he's just messing with you!" he said. "So, you want to know how Ghost is an armor?" He asked rhetorically as he stood up.
Ruster was unusually tall for a human, standing nearly three meters in height. As he straightened up, his head almost brushed the ceiling. His hair was silver on top with long black strands on the sides and back, tied together with a ribbon. His blue skin made his yellow, catlike eyes stand out, giving him a beastly appearance. Ruster's muscular and fit body closely resembled that of a human, but his most distinguishing feature was his tattoos.
All Wardoks had tattoos, not artificial but fused with their skin, present from birth. Each individual sported a unique pattern of black lines that covered their entire body. Ruster's tattoos adorned his chest and neck, with one line extending up to his left eye. Despite possessing a high-tech invisibility device, Ruster's clothing was antiquated and barbaric, a stark contrast to his advanced armor.
"Ghost!" Ruster called out. The device swiftly transformed into a cloth-like substance again and wrapped itself around Ruster. This time, instead of turning invisible, Ghost morphed into armor!
The armor was unlike those from medieval times – it was slimmer and appeared less protective. Crafted from a leather-like material, it was black with blue lines on the shoulders. The armor featured metallic plates on the chest and back, as well as smaller plates on the elbows and knees. It also included a large hood and a face mask that covered the mouth and nose.
Although it wasn't exactly what Luke had envisioned, he was still awe-struck by the sight. His eyes sparkled, and his youthful enthusiasm compelled him to let out an excited yell.
"Luke, is everything alright?" His mother called out from downstairs.
He cracked the door open just enough to reassure her. "It's alright, Mom! I'm just playing a video game!" Then, he shut the door again. Turning back to Ruster, he said, "Your Ghost thing... I mean armor! Your Ghost armor is incredible, but how is it an armor? It's not very protective."
Ghost unwrapped itself from Ruster, reverting to its original form. Ruster sat back down on the bed, which creaked under his weight but held steady. "Ghost helps me control my Ki," he explained. "With my Ki, I can protect myself from any attack!"
"Ki?" Luke inquired.
Ruster understood that humans weren't familiar with the concept of Ki, so he explained that it referred to the life energy of living creatures. He told Luke that if someone could control their Ki, they could accomplish many things with it. He also explained that the aura was the basic form of Ki.
Luke listened intently, not fully grasping everything but remembering it all. Curious about his own aura, he asked, "So you can see auras. What does mine look like?"
"Hmm... You're one special kid. I've seen a lot of human auras, but yours is the first to amaze me. You have great control over your feelings!" Ruster remarked.
For the past two years, Luke had been lonely and ostracized, so he'd learned to ignore the bullying and hurtful words. As a result, he'd grown stronger mentally and more mature for his age. His solitude also allowed him to develop his physical strength through self-training and to enhance his IQ by reading books wherever he went. Luke believed that even bad situations could present opportunities if approached with the right mindset.
Luke continued to ask Ruster out-of-context and childlike questions to satisfy his curiosity until Ruster felt overwhelmed and suggested, "Hey kid, let's go eat something somewhere. I'm starving!"
Luke agreed but wasn't sure how they could go out unnoticed, and even if they did, how Ruster could walk around without drawing attention to himself. Ruster had already figured that out and revealed, "There's one more thing Ghost can do!"
Ruster looked intently at Ghost, a mischievous glint in his eyes, as he prepared to show Luke another trick. As he fused with his armor once more, Luke held his breath, anticipating that Ruster would simply turn invisible again. However, this time, Ruster's transformation took an unexpected turn.
Before Luke's eyes, Ruster's tall, muscular figure began to shrink and morph, his blue skin fading into a familiar human hue. The room was charged with a palpable tension as Luke watched the transformation unfold, his heart pounding in his chest.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the transformation was complete. Standing before Luke was not the towering unknown creature he had come to know, but instead, a 14-year-old human boy!
"Tadaaa!" Ruster shouted.
Luke couldn't believe his eyes; Ruster looked absolutely like a human being. He was so astonished until he realized that Ruster was completely naked. "Uuuugh!... Wear some clothes!" Luke said, looking away in disgust.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have any human clothes on me to wear... can you lend me some?"
With his eyes closed, Luke directed him to the closet. Once Ruster was dressed, Luke took a long stare at him.
Ruster had transformed into a 14-year-old boy, about the same height as Luke, with shoulder-length brown hair, wide brown eyes, and white skin. He didn't look Asian, but he appeared very much human.
"You can turn into a human! What are you?" Luke asked, his mouth wide open.
Ruster spotted a strange hat hanging from one of the bed's legs, grabbed it, and put it on. He opened the window, placing one foot on the sill as if he was going to jump, but then paused and looked back at Luke. "I'll tell you outside!" He said, before leaping out.
Luke shouted "No!" in worry as he saw Ruster jump. He hurried to check if Ruster was okay, even though it was only the first floor; it was still quite high for a kid. When he looked out the window, he saw Ruster standing safely in the street, waving to him and urging him to come down.
Luke quickly put on his shoes and jacket, and rushed downstairs. On his way, he told his mother he was going out. He didn't hear her response because he was already outside, but she wished him good luck.
He stared at Ruster in his human form, standing in the street where they first met. People passed by him without any suspicion of his true identity. It was the perfect camouflage.
Luke approached Ruster, and they began walking. "Do you know a good restaurant?" Ruster asked.
"Yeah, I know one not far from here..." Luke answered, leading the way.
Luke didn't speak; he just kept staring at Ruster, still shocked and trying to process the recent events. At least this creature had made him forget his loneliness, and that brought him a measure of happiness.
Ruster's gaze fell upon Luke, who had been lost in his thoughts, observing the remarkable transformation before him. Sensing Luke's hesitation to break the silence, Ruster decided to initiate the conversation.
"By the way, my name is Ruster. What's yours?" he asked, his tone gentle and friendly.
For many, such a question might have seemed mundane, but for Luke, it felt like a ray of sunshine piercing through the clouds of his loneliness. The simple act of being asked his name carried a significance that swelled his heart with happiness, a sensation he had almost forgotten.
As the words left his lips, a surge of joy coursed through Luke, igniting a long-lost sense of belonging deep within him. Standing there with Ruster by his side, the glimmer of hope in the days ahead shone brighter than ever before. In that powerful, life-altering moment, Luke's voice swelled with warmth and emotion, as he declared.311Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafhsLgjWU1
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"My name is Luke. Luke Jones!"
