Chapter 1

            Myungsoo felt hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Never did he think it would be him. But he had to stay strong. He can’t show that he’s weak. It would just be an advantage to the other participants. He looked up at the brown sky. When he was a child, the skies were clean and blue. Clouds could be seen in it, and it was a pretty sight. But looking at it now, it had totally changed when the game was introduced.  

He suddenly remembered his hands, being pulled away from his mom’s. He cried with all his might, struggling from the tight grip that was on his stomach. His dad fire bended a few fire benders that held him captive as he tried to save Myungsoo. But he didn’t manage to. His dad stiffened into an awkward position where his hands and legs were all twisted. A fire bender had control of him but there was just one thing ... there was no fire. With a tight squeeze of the fire bender’s fist, Myungsoo’s dad fell with a loud thud. He didn’t get up. He didn’t move. He was dead.

            After the incident, Myungsoo swore he would learn that bending he saw that day and he would use it on anybody who tries to threaten or kill him. And eventually, he did.

Holding the lighter he had held tightly in his right hand, he headed out of the silent room. He clicked the lighter and waved his hand over it. A bright big mixture of red and orange formed on his palm. It grew bigger as he concentrated harder with his mind. He threw it at the wall where it burst and began crumbling down. He smirked then chuckled.

            ‘There will be no mercy. No one in the game deserves to live now. Especially, with my new hidden talent.’

~~~

            Hoya grabbed the heart-shaped rock from his pocket. It was a small but he kept it since he was a small little kid. He and his mom had made it when he realised he was an earth bender. It was also the day before his mom got into an accident which led to her death. It was the only thing left of her.

            On that day, air benders had invaded their home due to the war. His mom hid Hoya in a small box in her bedroom.

            ‘Hobaby,’ she whispered, ‘Mummy’s going out for a while alright and I need you to stay here and keep quiet, alright? Here you go, remember this? Yeah we made it yesterday. Don’t lose this okay, Hobaby. I love you a lot. You must know that.’ She kissed Hoya’s forehead as tears dropped on his forehead before she placed the heart-shaped rock into his tiny hands.

Slowly she closed the box cover but Hoya remained still. He didn’t want to disappoint his mother. Then a loud scream was heard from outside. After a few minutes, he went out of the box only to see her mother lying motionlessly on the floor. He tried waking her up but she didn’t respond.

Hoya reached up to her ears, then whispered:

‘I love you too Umma.’

Since then, he lived alone. Hoya caressed the rock with his hand. Engraved on it:

‘Hobaby and Mummy.’

            A smile lit up on his face. The words felt nice against his skin. He held back his tears that started welling up in his eyes. He wished he could see it with his own eyes. He wanted to see it for himself instead of feeling it with his hands. But he couldn’t. He was blind.

~~~

            ’98...99...100’ Sunggyu panted. He placed the two huge tons on rocks on the ground; his inner strength almost gone. He didn’t want it to affect him. He needed to stay strong. His stamina and strength was all he needed to go through this damn game. He didn’t want to die. He already had trained for it.  

            Bending was easy when you were like a toddler in his tribe, but everything changes when you turn 9. No matter what your condition or your age is, you had to train. Train for what you might ask, for the game of course. The teachers were strict about the training. They didn’t give any sympathy to anyone. If you’re weak, you improve. If you’re good, you improve. If you’re the best, you improve. There was no such thing as being the best or training enough. There’s only improvement and more training for every year of your life.  

            Children who bend well are given a day or two off in a week, depending on your skills. But those who are weak, will get punished and get more hours each day to practice. And Sunggyu was one of them.

            Sunggyu closed his eyes upon remembering the torturous punishments he had every single day. He felt the scars on his back tighten, the pain he had bared throughout his childhood. His anger started to boil up. He clenched his fists trying to stay calm but it didn’t work. A familiar feeling overtook him and he lost all his senses. He felt his bending strengthen as huge chunk of rocks came flying everywhere.

            ‘No, you’re not overtaking me again!’ he shouted to the feeling that was stronger than him. Then, he fell onto the ground, stomach first to the ground. He laid there for a few seconds catching his breath. Soon, he got up and a sense of guilt ran through him. Everything around him was turned upside down. The furniture, all broken. The window panes all destroyed; glass scattered on the floor. The ground, all messed up. He backed up a little, shocked at his actions.

He never thought it would happen again, even though this time it wasn’t as bad as those that had happened before. Still shocked, he ran through the door. He was running; aimlessly. He didn’t care where he was going now. He didn’t want anyone to find him there. He didn’t want to be asked questions about what happened. He especially didn’t want anyone to find out about his true power.

~~~

            Dongwoo hates his parents. He hated them with all his life. They were rich but they were just spoilt brats who are just an embarrassment and a disgrace. They were the perfect examples to show how families ‘love’ each other. After what they did, he swore he would get back at them.

            A decade ago, his brother, Jae Wan, was chosen for the games. Everybody knew that when you’re chosen, there’s no turning back and no one can help you. No one. Dongwoo, being the caring elder brother did everything he could to get him out, but rules were rules.

            During the game, Jae Wan died first because of a serious illness. It had all started with a bunch of insects that bit him while he was sleeping. It was unfortunate but what bothered everyone was the fact that those insects did not exist in the area that Jae Wan was. The insects were originated many kilometres away from the place. Dongwoo knew somebody and planned it and was determined to find out. Whoever they were, they killed Jae Wan and they were going to pay for it.

            He studied and researched about the incident for months but couldn’t find any leads. It was until one fine day when he solved the case, and all evidence pointed towards his parents.

            It turns out that they wanted Jae Wan to die quickly so they won’t have to suffer days not knowing whether he was safe or not. With them killing him, they then would know he is in a happier place. Dongwoo, filled with anger, ran away leaving a sign at their doorstep.

            ‘I will come back ... and you will pay. I promise you that.’

            Even after being chosen for the game, Dongwoo still hasn’t given up his intentions towards his parents. After the game, whether he’s dead or alive; he will keep that promise to his parents. And he won’t break it, whatever it takes. Even if it involves the use of lightning.

~~~

            He closed his eyes and let his mind wonder. He wanted his mind to be free and empty. Meditation was the best at that. After finding a comfortable spot, he closed his ears and mind. He was completely shut down from the outside world. Now it was just him and himself. Just him as Sungyeol.

            Air bending was not popular at all. It was rare for people to have air bending. It and been going on for 300 years. After most of the air benders have been swept away by the war between benders and non benders, only hundreds of air benders were left.

And Sungyeol was one of them.

Sungyeol had volunteered himself to participate in the games seeing that most of the air benders in his tribe were only aged 11 to 15. He was one of the tribe leaders, and he saw that being a leader was to give sacrifices. And the sacrifice was himself.

He wanted to represent his tribe. To show that the air tribe wasn’t dead and that it was still growing strong. He had studied all kinds of movements and techniques for the bending and he was also a master in the tribe. The main one, to be exact. He wanted to tell the world that being an air bender was the best and that it was the key to ending this horrendous game. Air was about peace and being free.

Sungyeol knew that he would be the key to end this on-going slavery and that everyone would live in peace once again.

~~~

Staying still, Woohyun slowly sank into the deep water until his legs felt the smooth glass at the bottom of the huge tank. He let his hands float at his chest level, feeling the small currents of the water around him. He could sense every molecule in the water. How it moved, how it bumped into one another. He felt safe and calm floating there. Like nothing else mattered.

For all his life, water was his only friend. Nobody was there for him, not even his own family. He always turned to the water for answers. During his teenage years, he would spend two days in the water each week and do nothing but just stay happy and calm. He was already invisible to everyone so what difference does it make if he hid there for his whole life?

But then his happiness all shattered when a bunch of earth benders attacked his hometown. He attempted to hide in the water again but he got caught and was a slave to the earth kingdom. Then one day when he refused to follow instructions and used his water bending to defend himself, his body got crushed by numerous numbers of rocks. After it was carried off out, it was already too late. His hands and legs were broken. His chest had marks of where the rocks had scratched him deep. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

Angry, he fought all the fire benders at once, despite the pain in his body, and escaped the prison without a single drop of blood. He used the water to heal himself and it worked. But once in a while he could feel the pain he had suffered back then on his hands, which doesn’t allow him to bend.

From then on, he hated earth benders. Whatever they did, no matter how good it was, he hated it. They don’t deserve to live. They hurt innocent people.

‘Every earth bender is a threat, no matter how old or young, they are a threat. And in this game, if you’re an earth bender... well...’ he chuckled in his thoughts, ‘...just come prepared.’

~~~

Sunjong knows he’s the youngest in the games and that’s at a disadvantage. It meant that the other participants were stronger and faster. He was skinny and small but he knows his bending is powerful. If he can beat every member that was older than him in his tribe during his training days, this game shouldn’t be a problem.

He moved his hands gracefully from left to right, up and down. Water started floating up from the small fountain as it formed a mirror image of his hand movements. With a sudden twist in his wrists, the water turned solid and broke off into small sharp needle-looking shapes. They were probably sizes of ants. Sungjong threw it at the big rock that was behind him, perfectly aiming at the quarter marks of the rock. Two seconds later, the rock broke into four, each sliding over each other. Sungjong smiled with pride. It was one of his signature moves.

Sungjong didn’t have much of a background. He lived a normal life with his parents and his younger sisters. Most people in his tribe have had dangerous and sad past experiences but not him. He was happy with his life.

But then it changed. He didn’t know that killing would be involved in the game. He had never killed anything before. Not even the smallest insect. He was a humble man. He hated seeing someone injured, worst to worst – die. He was a peaceful man. Not wanting to hurt others. That was Sungjong, a harmless bender.

Sungjong just wanted peace in the world and an end to this game. He wanted to live a happy life with 60 more years waiting for him. He wanted to grow old. To see things he never dreamed of. Something new and exciting, like travelling. But he knew it could never happen.

He just wished that someone in the game had the same intentions as him. No one else would help him. He had to find someone. He just had to...