Fated reborn - Chapter 277: Chapter 277

Luciano's Pov.
I didn’t sit. Didn’t move. Just stood there, arms crossed, waiting.
Elias shut the file he’d been flipping through, tapped his fingers against the desk like he was thinking, then finally looked at me. “You sure you wanna do this?”
I scoffed. “You think I came back for small talk?”
He gave a short laugh, shaking his head. “No, I suppose not.”
Silence settled for a second, thick, like the room itself was holding its breath. Then he leaned forward, hands clasped together. “Alright. You wanna know? Then listen. And listen carefully.”
I didn’t say anything. Just waited.
Elias exhaled, then started.
“There are people in this world who are different, Luciano. Not just strong. Not just fast. *Different.*” He tapped his temple. “In here. In ways most people can’t even begin to understand.”
I said nothing.
“You ever heard of instincts so sharp they cut before you think? Movements so fast they don’t feel real? Strength that don’t make sense? You ever felt that?”
I clenched my jaw.
Because I had.
I’d felt it every damn time I stepped into that ring. Every time I threw a punch, dodged a hit, moved like my body knew something my mind didn’t. It was like being inside my own skin and outside of it at the same time.
Like my body was built for something more.
Elias watched me carefully. “You ain’t the first. And you sure as hell won’t be the last.”
I shifted on my feet. “Who are the others?”
“They’re like you,” he said simply. “And they’ve been around longer than you think.”
My stomach twisted.
Because that meant—
“You’re telling me I was born like this?”
He nodded. “You think it’s coincidence? That you just happened to be better? Faster? That it was just genetics, training, dumb luck?” He shook his head. “It ain't luck, kid. It’s design.”
My fingers curled into fists.
“You’re part of something bigger,” Elias went on, “Something that didn’t start with you and sure as hell won’t end with you.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay still. “Who?”
Elias leaned back. “That’s the million-dollar question, ain't it?”
I exhaled sharply, ran a hand through my hair.
I didn’t like this. Didn’t like the way it *felt.* Like someone had pulled the floor out from under me and I was just falling.
Elias let me sit with it.
Then he leaned forward again, voice lower now. “You felt something last night, didn’t you?”
My pulse jumped.
“You woke up,” he said. “Didn’t you?”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
Because he was right.
I had felt something.
Like a door in my head had been cracked open just a little. Like something inside me had been waiting for that moment —for that fight—to finally stir.
And once it had, I couldn’t shove it back down.
Elias nodded, like he could see the wheels turning in my head. “That was just the beginning.”
I let out a slow breath. “What the hell does that mean?”
He watched me. “It means you need to make a choice.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What choice?”
Elias stood, walking around the desk. Stopped in front of me, arms crossed, voice firm. “You can pretend none of this matters. Go back to your life. Keep fighting underground. Keep living like this is just some talent you got lucky with.”
He paused.
“Or you can learn. You can figure out what you are. And why.”
The room felt smaller. The air heavier.
I swallowed hard. “And if I don’t?”
Elias tilted his head. “Then you better hope the people looking for you never find you first.”
The words sent ice through my veins.
Because that meant someone was looking.
And I had no idea who the hell they were.
Or why.
I exhaled sharply, turning away. My hands found my pockets, fingers pressing against the fabric. My mind raced, piecing things together, trying to find the shape of it. But it was too big. Too much.
I closed my eyes for a second. “This is insane.”
Elias didn’t argue.
Didn’t push.
Just let me stand there, let me try to breathe through it.
Then finally, after what felt like too long, I turned back to him.
“What do I have to do?”
Elias’s expression didn’t change. “First, you gotta decide. Are you in?”
My stomach twisted.
Because I already knew the answer.
Even if I didn’t want to admit it.
I wasn’t the type to walk away. Never had been.
And this?
This felt like something I *couldn’t* walk away from.
So I looked Elias dead in the eye.
And I nodded.
“I’m in.”
Elias didn’t smile. Didn’t congratulate me.
Just nodded back.
And that’s how it started.
That’s how everything changed.
Because that night, I stopped being just a fighter.
And I became something else.
Something I still didn’t have a name for.
Elias didn’t waste time. As soon as I gave my answer, he was moving, grabbing his coat, checking his watch like we were already late for something.
“Come on,” he said. “We need to go.”
I frowned. “Go where?”
He didn’t stop. “You’ll see.”
I hesitated for half a second, but then I followed. Because what else was I gonna do? Sit around and pretend I hadn’t just had my entire world flipped upside down?
We stepped out into the cold night air, the city humming around us. Streetlights flickered. Cars rumbled past. Everything looked normal. *Felt* normal. But it wasn’t. Not anymore.
Elias led me down an alley, past the kind of places you don’t go unless you know exactly what you’re walking into. I’d been in a hundred fights in places like this. But this time, I wasn’t fighting for money.
This time, I was fighting for answers.
We stopped outside an old warehouse. Rusted door. No sign. Just another forgotten place in a city full of them. Elias knocked twice. A slot in the door slid open. A pair of sharp eyes studied us.
Then the door unlocked.
Elias stepped inside without hesitation. I followed.
And that’s when I realized—
This wasn’t just a warehouse.
It was a training ground.
And the people inside?
They were like me.
Strong. Fast. Different.
And I had just stepped into a world I didn’t even know existed.