Eyes of destiny

The crowd that had been watching the entire fight erupted in cheers. Their reactions were like those at arenas where heroes performed the impossible. However, among the crowd appeared three men who clearly weren't happy about Edo's victory. They approached quickly, ready for another confrontation.

"You dare, demon?! That guy was our friend!" one of the new attackers shouted, his face twisted in rage. His voice thundered like a storm, and his eyes flashed with fury.

"Yeah! You're about to get what's coming to you!" added the second man, advancing menacingly toward Edo. He was visibly larger, and his movements suggested brute strength, though he lacked agility.

The third man didn't speak at all. He stood silently, staring at Edo with cold, dead eyes. His presence was far more terrifying than the angry shouts of the other two.

Edo felt a cold sweat run down his neck. "What did I do to deserve this?" he thought, his heart beginning to race. "Why do I have to fight again?"

"Listen, I really didn't want to hurt him!" Edo began, trying to find a way out of the situation without another fight. "It was self-defense! I didn't kill him, he just passed out!"

But even as he said the words, he knew negotiations were pointless. Their faces were full of hatred; they didn't want to hear his explanations. There was no turning back.

The pain in his right eye returned, signaling that he was starting to see the texts again. His strange power had activated once more. Above the men's heads, information appeared that didn't surprise him but still sent a chill down his spine.

Above the head of the first one, the one who had spoken first, it read:

~|Chance of death – 10%|~

~|Cause – Beating|~

The second, the larger one, had a higher chance:

~|Chance of death – 14%|~

~|Cause – Beating|~

But the third, the silent one, the one whose gaze chilled his soul, had the most disturbing information:

~|Chance of death – 30%|~

~|Cause – Stab wound|~

"These texts again?!" Edo thought, feeling his adrenaline spike. Though none of the men had weapons in their hands, according to the mysterious writings, one of them was going to kill him with a knife. "Where's the knife? Why can't I see it?"

He had already figured out how his power worked. Every time he felt intense pain in his right eye, these strange texts appeared, warning him of dangers. Even though he didn't know where this ability came from, he now knew he had to focus on the fight.

"Does this power show me the future?" he wondered frantically. "Is it a warning about what might happen, or just a probability?"

When Edo focuses hard enough, he begins to feel sharp pain in his right eye. Through this pain, mysterious texts appear, showing him the chance of his death and its potential cause. Although he had managed to figure out these texts to some extent, the mechanics behind these death visions remain a mystery.

Before his first and second deaths, he had felt a different, more intense pain—this time in his left eye. That bothered him. "Maybe these deaths are somehow linked to my left eye, just like the texts are with my right? That would explain a lot. My right eye hurts when I use this power, but my left hurt just before I died… Maybe it's a warning signal?"

Edo began analyzing the situation. "That makes sense," he thought. "My left eye visualizes the texts I see through my right eye. But why such a fucked up power? Why did I get something so twisted? I'd rather be throwing lightning or shooting fire than seeing my own death and feeling it in such excruciating pain. On top of that, I see these disturbingly detailed scenarios! From what I've noticed, my eye instinctively shows me a vision of my death when things are really dangerous—to warn me before I make a mistake that could lead to my demise. But... can I control this power? Can I trigger it on command?"

Edo wondered if this was the right time to experiment with his strange ability. He could try to use the power now, but was it wise? "I don't know if I'll get another chance like this... Maybe this power only works during a fight. If I don't try now, I might never get the chance to test it. Damn it, I have to take the risk."

Edo looked at the brown-haired opponent who, according to the information his eye had shown him, was going to kill him with a knife that the boy hadn't yet seen. That meant he had to strike first. He focused all his attention on his left eye, trying to trigger a vision. The pain was intense, piercing, almost overwhelming, but nothing happened. The pain subsided after less than a second, and the death illusion didn't appear.

"Damn, I was wrong... I can't trigger this power on command. It's even more unpredictable than I thought. But no use complaining. It could be worse; I could have no power at all, and at least now I know how to prevent death. Now I need to focus on the fight."

Before Edo stood three men, each ready to attack.

The looming danger left him no time for deeper contemplation. The blond one, with a 10% chance of death, was the first to charge at him. He was tall, but his movements were slow and sluggish. Edo easily dodged him, then kicked his leg, trying to knock him off balance.

To Edo's surprise, the opponent staggered and fell to the ground, as if losing balance after one simple hit. Edo immediately seized the opportunity, landing a hard punch to the blond man's face, who howled in pain and rolled onto his side.

"How is that possible?!" Edo thought, looking at the fallen opponent. "That was too easy... That first guy I beat earlier was immovable, like he had skin of steel, but this one went down with one hit?"

He didn't have time for reflection. The second and third attackers rushed at him simultaneously. Edo had to act quickly.

The redhead, the one with a 14% chance of killing him , tried to strike, but Edo was faster. He caught the man's fist in mid-air and, with one smooth motion, twisted the attacker and threw him behind him. The redhead crashed heavily to the floor, unable to continue the fight.

The brown-haired one, the silent one, however, gave Edo no time to breathe. His movements were precise, fast, and dangerous. Despite that, Edo managed to react—he grabbed the attacker's arm and threw him, surprised at how easily his opponent was lifted off the ground and landed on the other side of the room.

"This can't be real…" Edo thought, looking at the rows of defeated opponents. "Did I win? Really?"

Triumphantly, he raised his hand in a victory gesture. "And what now, losers?! What was the point of all this, huh?!" he shouted, full of adrenaline.

But he didn't get to finish his sentence. Suddenly, he felt a cold, piercing pain in his neck. With horror, he saw that the brown-haired man, who just moments ago had been lying on the floor, now stood right in front of him, turned with his back to him.

"How did he get here so fast? He was just at the other end of the room…" Edo's thoughts spun chaotically. Something was very, very wrong.

He thought, but his thoughts were interrupted by a shiver that ran through him as he noticed something he hadn't seen before. The man held a knife, but it wasn't the knife itself that terrified Edo—it was the blood dripping from its blade. Edo instantly realized it was his own blood. He clutched his neck, feeling something warm flowing between his fingers, and then looked at his hands, now covered in dark red blood.

"Damn it! How is this possible? That guy was on the other side of the room just moments ago! How did he get me now?" he thought frantically, feeling the rising panic begin to choke him. "Who the hell is he? One is tough as steel, and the other is as fast as lightning? Damn, who are these people? It hurts… I'm not going to survive this. He's actually going to kill me, just like the eye said. But why didn't he use that speed earlier?"

As he looked at his opponent, Edo noticed something that seemed to explain part of the mystery. The brown-haired man was holding a knife identical to the one Edo had seen during a previous fight when he had defeated an attacker using headphones. "That's where he got the knife from… This guy is much more dangerous with a weapon," Edo realized, though it was already too late.

Weakened, he collapsed to the floor, feeling life slowly leaving his body. He could barely breathe, and each heartbeat reminded him of his approaching death. "Again… Damn it… I don't even have the strength to feel sorry for myself. This is the third time I'm going through this, but now… now I'm probably not coming back. Damn."

Just as he was about to close his eyes for the last time, something extraordinary happened before him. He saw the air in the room begin to whirl violently, creating powerful gusts that shot directly at the knife-wielder. The man was flung to the other side of the room, crashing into the wall with tremendous force. However, Edo no longer had the strength to see where the attack had come from. Slowly, he closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.