A/N: Yo! Man has it been a while. I hope this 2 part chapter is somewhat enough for an apology lol. Also, thank you all so much for getting TFK to 20k reads!! I'll try to get back to the normal schedule for chapters but I don't want to make any promises, like I did before which I didn't follow through with.

Either way, for those who have been fans or are still fans today, thanks for the support as always! I love reading all of your comments a ton but, it just can take me a while to get the time to reply.

Hope you all can enjoy this! If you want any reminders of things that happened in the story feel free to ask.

Last chapter, we saw some more of Amandeath, and the new member of the team who she took down and forced into the team at gunpoint, Elio. Metallic and Restroid also started their "duel", which will determine if Metallic joins the Red Fists, or if he will be able to take Restroid's bounty in order to, unknowingly to him- pointlessly pay back Marlox.

However more importantly, the homeless martial artist, Kodan's life from 10 years ago began to be shown in a somewhat casual manner. More specifically, once again the man tried- and failed to get a Blessing from the pillar Vega as his bribe was not nearly enough for the guard working there.

Kodan's P.O.V.

"Yo. Shit it's cold, you guys running out of fuel for the fire or something? I can get some more trash if so." I loudly ask as I shiver, wrapping my arms around my chest as I walk out of an alleyway- and into a square-ish enclosed area that's surrounded by the brick walls of the buildings around us. It's where me and my newfound outdoor "roomates" have been staying at for the past while.

"Maybe don't go running around shirtless and you wouldn't freeze your balls off. The fire's as big as it'll ever be." Unis replies with a sigh as he's standing right next to the flaming cube shaped garbage can in the center of our "home". Makes sense, with it being the only thing that's warming and lighting up the pitch black area around us.

I'll give the government a point for the garbage container idea though. They're meant to burn garbage entirely, and also use the garbage super efficiently as fuel. So all a hobo like me and my pals here need to do to get a fire going, is pick up some trash and shove it in the can. Then we wind a crank on the thing a few times to give it some power, and boom. Infinite heat source. Well- until the things break down at least... which happens pretty often.

"I'll take my bet money now, Kodan. I know you didn't get jack shit for a Blessing today. Dumbass." My less friendly dark haired and stern friend Cole says, as he's lying on top of his jacket that he put on the cement. He's also resting his head on his palm as always. ...And oh right I DID bet him one Herin on me getting a Blessing. Yeah I don't know why I did that... least it gives me some confidence.

"Yeah you're not wrong there. And I'm gonna get a Blessing someday, don't worry- and it'll sure as hell be badass." I say as I dig my hand into my shorts pocket, taking out a singular Herin coin and flicking it to Cole- and hey look at that he moved to catch it.

"Of course of course... hey, Laxin- you think this guy'll get a Blessing?" Cole asks as he rolls his eyes towards our last friend Laxin- who's playing with a super old cube toy that he found on the street a few days back. I think you have to do something with matching the colors on it or something, seems boring to me at least.

Hah- then again I'm the one who's reading into the Five Kings religion now... on that note, I've gotta get back to my reading tonight.

"Huh? Kodan got a Blessing? ...Oh if he ever would get one. Probably not. You need a ton of money or tech to break through the walls around Vega to get one, and Kodan has none of that stuff. If he got that crap, then maybe yeah. But now- nope don't think so." Laxin says as he rubs his free dark skinned hand through the massive afro on his head.

I just laugh and shake my head at that, as I plop myself down on the cement beneath me, more specifically my section of our little "base" here, that we stick together in to make sure none of us gets robbed or killed.

"Hey, do you guys know that you're allowed to have sex ONCE before marriage according to the Five Kings? Or maybe twice, I can't remember now. Bizarre either way huh?" I ask as I easily lift up the giant book that I left where I put my other junk, which of course contains all of the scriptures of the five kings. Got it from the library for free, what a bargain- didn't know those old places gave out free books!

"And did you know that no one cares Kodan?" Cole responds which makes Laxin chuckle.

"Fine then. Maybe I'll just ditch you all if you don't care about what I have to say. .........I was kidding- Really? Not even a single concern about that? Shit man." I scoff as none of my friends even respond to that. They're probably just taking the piss out of me though, even Cole got super drugged up one time and confessed his love for me- so that's gotta mean something.

Wait... didn't the creators of the five kings say something about that?

"Maybe I'll find out now." I think to myself as I flip the massive book I'm holding open, which has super thin pages- on that note I've kinda already accidentally ripped a few... hope I won't go to hell for that one. Seems like these God's have a lot of rules so far.

Then again, like what everyone else thinks and says about the Five Kings- it's not like they would ever expect us to follow EVERY tinsy rule in their book. Hell some of the writings in this book I'm about to read weren't even written by them or their creators, just human followers of them from ages ago. Which is probably why some of the rules in it don't really make sense today.

Then there's some people who don't believe in the Five Kings at all which... I find pretty weird. I respect their opinions but, as of now- they're the best bet we have on the answers to- well life in general. Well- maybe I shouldn't say that, since there ARE a lot of different religions out there that also give pretty good answers, on everything from why we're here to the origin of Blessings themselves. The Five Kings religion is just the biggest... now people who think everything regarding spirits is a sham are the ones I can't understand at all.

ANYWAYS. Man can I get sidetracked, wish my friends here could listen to me...

"...Curious, why're you suddenly into all this Five Kings stuff Kodan? It just isn't like you." Unis asks which brings a big smile onto my face,

"What a great fucking question! I was trying to tell you all before, but no one was listening. It's crazy. I was browsing the internet at a computer in Lablanc's Café about a week ago, well before they banned me from the place, right? And there, I stumbled on a news article, which was about someone who wanted to control and modify the world's elements itself! Without a Blessing too! I was so shocked I almost pissed myself- hell I even started to not believe in the guy for a bit. But then I looked into it more. And SO many people have made the same claims. And why? Why do you think so, Unis?" I ask as I wink at him while rubbing my hands through my long beard, he's giving me a weird look though... maybe I'll have to tone my excitement down a bit, ha.

"Because of the Five Kings?" Unis asks,

"I always knew you were smart! Yep. It's hidden in a line of scripture, written by the father of our universe apparently- "everything in this universe is filled with our spiritual love". Which should mean that, just like how we humans have souls-"

"That the world's elements do too? Oh brother..." Unis interrupts me with a groan-

"Don't say it like that, just think about the implications there! We've learned how to manipulate human souls, so who says the same can't be done to this world's soul! And it's not even just the rock we're on that should have a spirit- it SHOULD be everything! Hell if I could bend reality itself or some shit I wouldn't even need a Blessing anymore, I'd be able to kick ass and have fun without one for the rest of my life." I say with a bit too much enthusiasm which makes Unis start to leave me, damn. This is probably why I get kicked out of so many places...

Anyways Unis starts to say as he walks away, "Even if that stuff was true- you do know that the main ways we have to manipulate and play around with souls, is through fancy tech right? And that tech costs like millions. It's good that you're passionate about something, I guess, but don't get your hopes up too high." He finishes, and at the same time I swing the big book I'm holding up into the air-

"You're right- and that, my friend, is why I'm reading this scripture here. They also say that reading and fully understanding ALL of the Five Kings scriptures is a gateway into becoming "one with the spiritual", or some shit. And that's why I'm going to be reading my ass off for a while, so nice discussion- but if you'll excuse me- I'll be doing that now." I say with a smile as I bring the book back down to me.

"Fantastic because I'm going to sleep- night. Guess you're staying on watch tonight then, Kodan." Laxin says with a yawn as he lays down on top of his jacket that's lying on the cement after scratching his ass.

"Sure. Night." I say, but realize something-

"...Shit. Guess what I just said back a minute ago means that I DO have to follow every little line of scripture then. Damn. Welp. It can't be THAT bad, right?" I think to myself as my eyes start getting droopy... oh come on I haven't even flipped a page open smarten up! It is getting late though, I think- but that doesn't matter now, I'm on watch.

The next afternoon...

📜📜📜

"Aaah... man that was kinda a crappy sleep, oh well- least I read a lot last night." I complain to myself with a yawn as I'm walking on one of the many neon lit sidewalks here, but I stop complaining as that won't get me anywhere.

Swear I've felt a lot more tired in general recently... probably partly due to the stupid always dark artificial sky above us. I remember back when I was like 8- the sun was beautiful to look up at, it hurt a bit too but still.

"Poor people man... how could ANYONE live like that?" I think to myself with a sigh, as I stare up at one of the many massive tubes above the streets here. And of course they're all filled with and transporting giant fat people. ...At the very least they're seeing the outside world by doing that but still... depressing man. Probably why I've been tired too, seeing all that stuff... they even look miserable up ther-

"Watch it!" The guy I bump into says- ah right it's not "night" anymore so there's more people out, anyways I look down- like I thought by his voice it's Az!

A/N: Kodan's "home" life begins to be shown, as well as some of his friends. And it turns out the martial artist is looking for another seemingly crazy method of strength besides Blessings...

Hope you all consider voting or commenting if you enjoyed, and see you next part!