Chapitre 2: Chapter Two: Reborn
Tannen slammed his door shut and marched back into his room, the floor creaked loudly with each step he took. He was too pissed off to go to the video game store and buy another controller.
"Agh, you old bastard!" Tannen screamed out to the Heavens. "I'll make sure to come back and beat your ass once I get stronger! Just wait for me!"
That geezer thought he knew everything about him? Yeah, right! Did he even know what his favorite porn videos are? Or what color underwear he wore three months ago? Or even-!
Suddenly, Tannen heard a loud bang that came from the otherside of the wall.
"Shut the fuck up, asshole!" It was his neighbor.
Tannen quickly calmed down. He can't let that old guy get through his head. Besides, all that anger made him tired. He then glanced down at the jade necklace in his hand, "Ancient wish-granting necklace my ass, this is probably just a total sham."
He quickly threw it in the trash and head for bed. If he couldn't game today, he would just sleep in. The bed sunk in as Tannen laid on it, rolling himself in his blanket like a big burrito.
"Ancient wish-granting voodoo necklace, you honestly think I'd fall for that?" Tannen snickered to himself.
That's right. He was a completely rational man, not some naive child. It's not like it could grant him ANY wish. What fairytale bullshit.
But, what if it did?
Tannen's eyes shot wide open.
That old man did say it would grant a single desire that he had. His words hold some weight to them since he was really powerful - no, that was just wishful thinking! Be rational! There's no possible way that it would be real.
That's right. It not. Who was he kidding, anyways? He had never heard such a ridiculous thing before in the realm of Murim. Tannen slowly closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.
BUT WHAT IF?!
Tannen rushed out of his bed and grabbed the jade necklace from the trash can, dusting off the bits of garbage off of it. Seeing it up close, it truly looked beautiful. He laid the necklace on the floor and sat in front of it.
What should he wish for? Be the richest man in the world? Nah, he already has enough money. Besides, he was not a materialistic man; he preferred a more frugal life.
How about becoming the ultimate gamer? Eh, nah. Who could possibly beat him? That last match didn't count since he wasn't at full power. Even more, that idiot he was up against was a complete one-button spammer anyways.
Then, his obsidian eyes gazed over towards his TV, staring at the character selection screen. Tannen was a Street Fighter addict, playing the game every single day. He even had all the figurines, posters and collectibles.
He enjoyed the thrill of a fight - something that he truly missed when he was a martial artist. Tannen poured his heart and soul into his favorite character, Chun Li. It took him hundreds of hours to completely master her skillsets until he was happy with it.
Chun Li's story resonated with him. Her father, an old master who taught her martial arts, was killed by the main antagonist of the series, M. Bison.
She would then later go on a life-long quest to find who had murdered her father and seek justice against the criminal organization, 'Shadaloo'.
What if Tannen got to see Chun Li in real life and the rest of the Street Fighter's cast? Wouldn't it be awesome if he had the chance to fight them? Just the thought of it made him excited.
"Oh, almighty necklace," Tannen clasped his hands together in a prayer. "Please, if you are actually real, please grant me this one wish."
Suddenly, a dim glow came from the jade necklace, barely noticeable at all. Tannen was invigorated when he saw this. That had to mean something, right?
"Almighty necklace," Tannen closed his eyes tightly. "Please, please, please - I beg of you from the bottom of my heart! Send me to the universe of Street Fighter! More specifically, near Chun Li so that I can meet her and maybe marry her or something like that..."
Tannen lift one eye open. He was soon blinded by a bright light that emanated from the necklace. He had to block the light with his arm.
"It- It's working?!" Tannen said in complete shock.
The light grew brighter as Tannen stepped away from it, nervous and excited at the same time. This might really be happening! Soon, the light disappeared, leaving Tannen utterly confused.
"Did it work?" He looked around to see if anything changed. Same walls, same floor, same TV, same trash. Same shitty room.
"OLD MAN, YOU LYING CROCK OF SHIT!" A red aura of ki burst out of Tannen's body as the room trembled around him. The wooden floor beneath him suddenly cracked under his immense power.
Slowly, the red Ki snaked its way towards the jade necklace. As his Ki made contact with it, the necklace began to glow even brighter. Tannen suddenly noticed something wrong.
"M-my Ki!" He shrieked in horror.
He tried to withdraw it back into his body, but it was too late. The necklace was like an all-consuming blackmore, eating away at his Ki. Tannen felt more Ki pouring out of his body uncontrollably, and he couldn't do anything about.
"I completely forgot about the sacrifice!" Tannen remembered what the old man had said before. In order for his desire to be granted, it must require a sacrifice. As of now, his Ki was being used as one.
Tannen quickly calmed down. Panicking wouldn't do anything. If what the old man said was true, then he would have to hope for the best. We was already willing to sacrifice anything that he had to change his life, to find something that could reinvigorate the will he had lost years ago.
This might be his only chance.
Tannen sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes again and let the jade necklace do its work. He could already sense that half of Ki had already been eaten away by it. Soon, his mind drifted along his past memories, his regrets, his happy moments and his master.
Live on. Those were the last words his master said to him before he died. It sounded simple, but it was impossible for him to follow through.
Instead of moving on with the rest of the world, he hid himself completely; shutting himself out from society like a prisoner in his own cell.
Maybe just once, he thought. Just once that he would heed his master's request. Tannen took in a deep breath and released every pent up emotion in a single exhale.
He was finally ready to let go of everything.
Tannen could feel the last of his Ki sucked away into that necklace, and his vision began to blur. He knew what would happen next. If one exhausted all of their Ki, their vision would blacken, and they faint - in rare cases, they may die.
He could only hope that this would work.
Suddenly, the jade pendant shattered into tiny pieces as Tannen dropped to the ground unconscious.
• • • • •
Dorai sauntered through the streets of Hong Kong, smoking a quick one before he headed home. He knew he shouldn't be smoking, and his wife kept pestering him to to quit, but after the failure of an earlier drug raid, he needed to relieve his stress.
Dorai was the Vice Squad Captain of the Hong Kong Police Department. He was also a martial artist - a competent one at that, and a man with a strong sense of justice. His life-long mission was to stop Shadaloo; a deadly crime organization that deals with biochemical drugs and weaponry.
He was a new father now; his wife had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Chun-Li. Dorai couldn't be more happy when he heard the news over the phone. It was a huge shame that he wasn't there to witness her birth. But, just hearing it through the phone was enough for him.
His wife had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and he started to come home from work early to take care of her. Dorai heard that a lot of new mothers go through postpartum depression, so he needed to be there for her.
The streets were bustling with activity with a myriad of street vendors and crowds of people walking. It was the usual nightly occurrence in Hong Kong. Dorai then made his way to a food vendor that sold red bean cakes. He wanted to grab some for his wife.
However, he suddenly noticed a baby's cry. It was faint but noticeable, and it came from a dark alleyway from the left side of him. Frowning to himself, Dorai made his way through the alleyway to the source of the noise. It was dark, damp and dirty and not a place anyone should be in.
Just ahead was a small cluster of steel trash cans with pieces of garbage scattered across the floor. It was where the cry was coming from. As he approached, he suddenly noticed a cardboard box. The cry came from inside.
Dorai kneeled down and opened the box only to be greeted with a crying baby boy, leaving him flabbergasted.
"What monster would throw away their child like this?" He muttered, gently picking up the wailing baby in his arms. Dorai didn't know how to properly hold a child yet, but he did his best to soothe the baby.
"It's alright there, buddy," Dorai slowly rocked him.
He wasn't the one to cry but seeing the child like this nearly made him tear up. He couldn't imagine something so innocent would be left here to die. What a cruel world to live in. Dorai looked around the alley, seeing if anybody was around. The baby's parents, maybe.
Seeing that nobody around, he looked at the baby again. He had round, black eyes and chubby, red cheeks. Dorai decided that he was going to keep the baby and raise it as his own.
He quickly walked out of the alleyway and went straight home. The neighborhood streets were quiet unlike the lively main roads where he was just at. He unlocked the front door with one hand and stepped inside.
There he saw his beautiful wife on the couch, holding a sleeping baby in her arms. In those soft, serene brown eyes held warmth as she stared at Chun Li's little face.
"I'm home," Dorai said softly, taking his shoes off and walked inside.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were coming so early, honey," Meilin faced him somewhat surprised. Then, she noticed a small, white bundle in his arms. "Dorai, is that what I think it is?"
"Yeah, a baby boy," he nodded, kneeling down next to Meilin. "I found him in a cardboard box near a dumpster."
Meilin covered her mouth in shock, "Why would anybody do something like that?"
"They're monsters, that's why," he answered in a grim tone.
"What do you plan to do with him?" She asked, looking down at the baby boy. He was quite a cute baby, she noted.
"I was thinking of bringing him into the family."
"I don't know if we're able to raise two kids," she said with a bit of concern. "We're not exactly well off, Dorai."
"I'll make it work, Meilin - I'll work harder if I have to."
Meilin stared into her husband's eyes for a moment before she let out a soft sigh, setting down Chun Li on the couch. She knew her husband was stubborn when it came to things that he wanted.
"Let me hold him," she raised her hands out.
Dorai brought the baby into her arms. Meilin then let out playful coos, getting the baby to giggle immediately. She was starting to like him already.
"Did you name him yet?" Meilin asked.
"No, I actually wanted you to name him," he scratched his head. "Since I'm bad with names and all that."
"Well, since you found him, I think you should name him, honey."
Dorai rubbed his chin for a moment, trying hard to come up with a name. It was hard to even come up with one. Then, a light bulb went off in his head, "Then, what about Tannen?"
"Tannen?" Meilin raised an eyebrow. "Why Tannen?"
"I'm not sure. It just felt right," he answered, glancing at the baby who fell asleep in his wife's arms.
"Alright," her lips grew into a soft smile. "Tannen it is, then."
Dorai caressed the hair of his now adopted son and whispered, "Welcome to the family, Tannen."
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
PullUpinaChoppa
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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Power Stone 
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