Chương 8: [New Skin, Old Scars]

Leo stood with his hands on the sink. The face in the mirror was his, he just hadn't seen it look like this in years. He flexed his arm experimentally. Muscle moved under the skin, actual muscle not just a mass of fat. His chest was defined. His jaw had angles again. He looked like he did before. Back before everything got hard, before he learned to make himself small to avoid everything. His hands started to shake. Before the voice. The one that lived in his head now, the one that sounded so much like...

like someone who'd convinced him he was pathetic. That he couldn't do anything right. That even trying was pointless because he'd just fail anyway. The shirt hung off him. The joggers sagged. And for the first time in years, he wasn't looking at those clothes and thinking I'm fat and worthless. He was looking at them and thinking... what? That it wasn't real? His chest tightened. The tears came fast and hard. Because the body was fixed, just like that, the system had fixed it, but that didn't erase the years.

Didn't erase the voice that still whispered in the dark: You're pathetic. You can't stick to anything. You don't deserve better. What if that voice was right? He gripped the sink, shoulders shaking, and let himself break. Let all of it come, the shame, the fear, the anger at twelve years of believing he was the problem. Twelve years of trying and failing and giving up because it was easier to accept the lie than to keep fighting it. When it finally subsided, he was exhausted. Hollow. He looked at the mirror again.

The man looking back wasn't the shell he'd become. Wasn't the version that believed he deserved to stay broken. This one had a choice. For the first time in years, a real choice. No excuse. No weight holding him back. No voice in his ear saying why bother. Just him, and what he was willing to do. He took a long breath and turned away from the mirror. When he opened the bathroom door, something had changed. Not fixed, he wasn't fixed, and he knew it. But ready.

Like he'd finally looked at the abyss and decided he wasn't staying in it anymore. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The bathroom door clicked open softly. Leo stepped back into the room, face still a little flushed, eyes a touch glassy but sharper somehow. He'd faced himself and come out fighting. He gave a small, shaky nod.

"Alright... I'm good." Phil clapped him on the shoulder.

"That sounded rough, mate. You sure you're good?" Leo swallowed, then nodded again.

"Yeah. Just... needed a minute. Cheers, man." Parmo gave him a knowing look.

"We all get it. Hell of a thing to take in." Luka tossed Leo a half-smile.

"Welcome back, man. You look... better." Leo pulled at the loose fabric and grinned.

"Could fit another person in here with me."

"Yeah, Luka could fit in there twice," Parmo smirked. Luka's eyes narrowed.

"Not anymore, mate. I'm man-sized now."

"Barely," Sam said, not even looking up. Sam's eyes flicked toward the air.

"We should check the UI," he said quietly. At the word 'UI', each of them blinked and the screens flickered into view—familiar now. The left side showed the greyed-out stat bars, unchanged. But the right side had shifted. Where the optimization percentage used to be, new text waited: Adaptation complete. Body fully optimised. Magic seed reawakened. Leo's voice cut through first.

"No fucking way... Dudes, you seeing this? There's a message." Sam frowned slightly, eyes narrowing.

"Wait... it says 'reawakened', not 'awakened'. Like it's been there all along, just... dormant." Parmo scratched his chin.

"So maybe it's not some new power kicking in, but something that's been inside us this whole time, waiting for the right moment?" Phil shrugged.

"Could be. But why would it need prepping? Why not just activate?" Luka nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that's the weird part. It's not just waking up, it's reawakening. Like it was dormant or something before." Sam leaned back, thinking. Then it clicked.

"Wait. The starter item. The one sitting in our inventory, it was inert before. What if that's the seed? What if that's what just changed?" They all went quiet, processing. Phil let out a low whistle.

"Hang on… this is actually real? Magic?" Parmo laughed.

"Yeah, lets hope it doesn't involve screaming really loud to power up..." Luka grinned.

"If this is legit, we gotta go all in on this. We're smart enough to figure it out." Phil nodded, eyes shining with that competitive spark.

"We need to get ahead of this. Fast. If we understand it first, we can help people avoid the worst mistakes."

"You just want to be the first so you can brag, don't lie." Quipped Parmo. Sam smirked, voice calm but firm.

"Alright then. Let's find somewhere private, somewhere to test shit out without risking a fire or looking like idiots." Parmo cracked a small smile, feeling a weight shift inside him.

"Mike's usually at the Civic Centre. We should go see him, ask if he has a place in mind he doesn't mind potentially blowing up out of nowhere..." The boys set off, Luka's grin widening.

"Sounds like a plan. Is this where we call roles? I bet I get stuck as the tank like fucking usual."

"Oh god please don't start going on about League of fucking legends" groaned Sam.

"Hang on a minute. Does this mean we never have to play League again? Am I... am I finally free?" said Leo in a stupid voice, hand on his heart.

"I'm going to miss Worlds... NOOOOOOO," cried Parmo. Phil laughed as he pulled at his clothes, trying to get them to fit better as he walked, still getting used to his gait being totally different from a few hours ago.

"You know, we should probably ask about spare clothes. I mean, the town centre's right there, yeah? Plenty for everyone, I'd bet."