GOLDEN RULE

The Hell

Days passed by. Yağız trained me day and night, and here I am. In Hell...

"Put these on," my father said, throwing a few pieces of clothing in front of me. I took the clothes and headed to the bathroom. After getting dressed, I came out.

"Pass the first round," my father said with utmost seriousness.

"I will."

Suddenly, Yağız walked in. When he saw my father, he maintained his seriousness and greeted him with a nod.

My father smiled and asked, "Who are you?" My father... Well, why am I surprised? They were smiling when they came to take me. They show their good side in front of people, but they are really bad. I gave my father a disapproving look and turned to Yağız.

"He's my friend!" I answered the question he asked Yağız.

My father approached me and whispered so that Yağız couldn't hear, "Didn't I tell you not to tell anyone about this place?!"

"Don't worry, it's too early to die," I said, looking at him with a mocking smile. I stood up and went to Yağız's side. At that moment, my father left the room.

"Are you ready?" Yağız asked.

I took a deep breath and replied to his question, "Am I ready?"

"You're ready!" he said firmly.

I responded in the same way, "I'm ready!"

"Golden Rule: Don't give up, no giving up. Don't quit, no quitting."

I nodded my head and said, "Okay. Don't give up, no giving up. Got it..."

"If you're in too much pain, if you can't bear it, of course, you can stay down after the first round. The referee will count to 10, don't get up," he said.

"But what about not quitting?!"

"I didn't say quit, I said don't quit, but for now, until the second round. I don't want my student to die right away."

"What?! Am I going to die?" I said, bewildered.

"Did you hit your head somewhere? Don't you remember the rules I told you, the first rule?"

"If a sentence is said, think about all its meanings..."

"Exactly," he said, nodding his head. I nodded along with him.

"Now, I'm leaving. When the time comes, they will call you. I'll be watching you. I'll be here when the match is over," he said and left.

I sat on the chair and waited. Shortly after, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

It was my father who entered the room.

"It's your turn, get ready!" he said.

"I'm ready."

We walked out of the room. Inside me, there wasn't just one, but several emotions.

Fear... Excitement... Sadness... Helplessness... And, Hope...

"The Dark Angel against Azrael," the man on the ring, holding a microphone, pronounced the words slowly.

Azrael... Wasn't Azrael already a dark angel? They were so similar to each other... When I stepped into the ring, I wasn't expecting someone like this. At least I was expecting a girl. Instead, I was faced with a handsome man with dark eyebrows and dark eyes. How can I defeat a man, especially when he doesn't have any wounds or bruises on his face? Did he ever get beaten up?

Now fear weighed heavier on me... The referee blew the whistle, and the match began. Suddenly, fear gave way to courage. Our hands formed fists in the air. One of his hands was at the level of his head, the other at the level of his chin. As if I didn't know how to fight, my left hand was positioned slightly ahead of my nose. I held my right hand at the level of my chin, passing it through the space between my shoulder and my left hand. That was my tactic. If he attacked from the left, I would hit his wrist with my right hand, reducing his strength and bending his arm. If he attacked from the right, I would turn his hand with my right hand and hit his shoulder.