KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

In the pitch-black night, a howling wind swept across the land, as if to tear everything apart. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared, streaks of lightning ripping through the darkness like dancing silver snakes. Then, a torrential downpour began, large raindrops pounding the ground and splashing up sprays of water. In this terrible weather, a figure staggered forward. It was a five-year-old child, his small body appearing so fragile and helpless in the storm. His clothes were soaked through, clinging tightly to his body. Even more horrifying, at his feet flowed pools of bright red blood, mingling with the rainwater to form dark red puddles. With each step, a trail of blood remained, a truly shocking sight.

Just as the second lightning bolt ripped through the night sky and illuminated the earth, a figure appeared behind the child. It was an adult man who suddenly appeared in front of the child with astonishing speed.

At this moment, the boy's true face was revealed. It turned out that the child's eyes had been injured and were tightly closed, unable to see what was in front of him. Blood and tears flowed down his cheeks.

The man's eyes were cold and indifferent. Without the slightest hesitation, he took a deep breath, circulated his powerful internal energy, and then released it without hesitation. He stretched out his right hand and gently pressed down, and an invisible force surged out instantly, sweeping past like a whirlwind.

Before the child could react, he felt excruciating pain coursing through his body. It felt as if countless tiny needles were piercing him simultaneously, causing him to groan in agony. But he was just a child and couldn't endure such torment; he quickly lost consciousness.

As time passed, the child's breathing grew weaker and weaker until it finally stopped completely. His body gradually became cold and stiff, devoid of any life. The man stood quietly to the side, his face expressionless, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

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Awen is a young man who just passed the civil service exam this year and became a music teacher. However, despite his fulfilling job, he feels a deep sense of loneliness deep inside.

On this day, Awen left work on time as usual. As he walked out of the school gate, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Today is just another ordinary, uneventful day."

This feeling had been with him for a long time; he had lived a lonely life since birth. His parents passed away at a young age, leaving him with no relatives to rely on. Since entering society, he had lived alone.

Awen still remembers what a fortune teller once told him when he was a child: "You have weak ties with your family and your birth chart is very unlucky. It's as if you don't belong to this world. You will hurt those close to you."

This prophecy seemed to keep coming true throughout his life. Whenever he thought of those words, an indescribable pain would well up inside him.

He often wondered if he was truly destined to be alone, and if he would truly bring misfortune to those around him. This led to Awen's introverted and sensitive personality from a young age, making him unsociable. He also understood the good and evil of the world from an early age.

However, despite his confusion and uncertainty, Awen did not give up his courage to pursue happiness. He firmly believed that as long as he remained kind and sincere, and faced life positively, he would eventually find his own warmth and joy.

So after graduating from university, he resolutely applied for a position as a rural teacher and successfully passed the exam to become a village teacher. He hopes to do his best to give the children the best care and guidance, so that they can feel true love and respect.

The annual Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived once again. Awen walked alone to the entrance of the teachers' apartment building. Tonight, he was the only one left in the entire building, and a faint sense of melancholy welled up within him. "Sigh, I'll be spending the Mid-Autumn Festival alone again."

He sighed softly, as if pouring out his deepest loneliness and helplessness to the surrounding air. Moonlight shone down on him like water, illuminating his slightly haggard face.

"Let's play a couple of rounds of King of Fighters," Awen thought to himself. Only playing games could bring him a moment of peace and enjoyment. After all, the new King of Fighters XV was far superior to the older versions. In Awen's mind, King of Fighters XV and XIII were the most fun, while KOF 02 was his favorite game from childhood. Although KOF 02 had high damage, the BC system was simply too difficult, far beyond the capabilities of ordinary players. Only the infinite meter version allowed him to enjoy the hidden special moves.

But King of Fighters XV is different. The moves are much simpler, and the EX skills and crushing blows are a godsend for ordinary players like Awen! He was thinking about how to play King of Fighters XV later. Should he learn a few character combos first, and then find his good buddies to spar with?

That's it, I'll practice Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami first! Thinking of this, he couldn't help but get excited and couldn't wait to start the game.

The full moon at night was different from usual, with a golden halo, making it look particularly eerie and mysterious.

Awen is engaged in a tense and exciting game training session alone. He sits in front of his computer, enters the game's training arena via internet connection, and battles against AI opponents.

While focusing intently on controlling the character, he was also enthusiastically recalling the incredible combos and techniques used by those pro players.

"Wow, that move is amazing! Kyo Kusanagi 182 into Orochi Nagi into Hidden is such a cool combo!" Awen exclaimed excitedly as he successfully executed a 5-bar combo, forcing his computer opponent into a retreat.

"Switch to Iori, watch this! Reverse Yuri Fold, light punch plus Kaze, heavy kick to open BC..."

As time went on, his skills became more and more proficient, and his combos became smoother and smoother. Although he was still struggling against the computer, every successful attack brought Awen immense satisfaction.

"Iori Yagami, with his eight-span magatama and purple flames, the curse of Orochi's blood, an arrogant and conceited personality, and the strongest power."

"I also really like Kyo Kusanagi. He's the main protagonist of the King of Fighters series, a genius fighter from the Kusanagi clan, and he's incredibly strong and confident. His [Ama-no-Murakumo] and [Totsuka Blade] moves in episode 13 are super cool, okay?"

However, I only bought the latest version 15 a few days ago, and I haven't explored the story behind it yet.

In the time that followed, Awen immersed himself in the world of "The King of Fighters XV," constantly challenging himself and improving his skills...

Awen played until midnight, then felt sleepy and wanted to close the game.

However, after clicking all the buttons on the mouse and keyboard, the game window did not respond.

"Why is my computer so slow?" Awen complained. He decided to force a shutdown, but the monitor remained unresponsive. In desperation, he unplugged the power cord, hoping that would solve the problem.

what? !

Even after doing so, the King of Fighters screen remained open, which made Awen feel as if he had seen a ghost.

Before Awen could even finish his terror, golden flames appeared on the computer screen. In an instant, the flames burst out of the screen, engulfing Awen. The flames were extremely hot, and Awen quickly lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground like a corpse. The entire apartment building gradually burst into flames, and soon after, the building began to collapse...

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