Path to the Golden Eyes

Section 1: The McNuggets Lesson

Brian sat in a McDonald’s, slowly biting into his McNuggets and taking sips of Sweet Tea. After a long day at work, the sweetness helped him unwind.

As he ate, he thought back to the days before he became Golden Eyes. Back then, nothing came easy.

People might think Brian was born with the Golden Eyes. But they had no idea how many years he had spent trying to master them.

He remembered one summer during high school.

He and Colin were sitting in another McDonald’s, just like the one he was in now. Back then, they ordered McNuggets and talked for hours.

“I’ve been training for months,” Brian said. “Still can’t get the Golden Eyes. Seriously, man. Is there some secret you’re not telling me?”

Colin stayed calm, as always. “You have to focus. Like, really focus. Channel every bit of brainpower you’ve got into your eyes. Concentrate everything into one single point.”

He paused, thinking about how to explain it.

“It’s hard to put into words. But when you get it right, you’ll know. Your heart starts beating faster. Then you’ll feel this warm current moving through your body—from top to bottom, then from bottom to top. It keeps flowing back and forth until, all at once, every bit of energy in your body gathers into one single point.”

Colin looked straight at him.

“And right at that moment, something clicks inside your head. You hear a faint chime, almost like a bell ringing somewhere deep inside your brain. And then—”

Colin paused.

“A sudden flash of light.”

He looked at Brian.

“That’s when you know you’ve unlocked it. The Golden Technique.”

Brian blinked at him. “Jesus Christ… That made a lot of sense… and also zero sense at the same time.”

He sighed, then smirked. “Alright. I’ll give it a shot. I’ll try your weird meditation thing, Boss.”

Section 2: The Neighborhood Weirdo

From that day on, the neighborhood had a new local weirdo. Brian would squat in the same spot for hours, his eyes intensely focused on a single point straight ahead. He wouldn’t move or say a word.

Summer burned the city alive.

On a blazing afternoon, Brian sat inside a nearly empty subway train, staring straight ahead as he tried to channel all his energy into a single point.

Unfortunately, a girl about nineteen or twenty was sitting directly across from him, wearing a tiny crop top, ripped jean shorts, and fishnet stockings.

A few minutes later, she suddenly stood up and slapped him across the face.

“You sick bastard! You’ve been staring at my boobs this whole time—fuck you!”

Before Brian could explain, she drove the sharp heel of her stiletto into his inner thigh.

Brian screamed and bolted out of the train the moment the doors opened.

Autumn drifted in, slow and dreamy.

The trees turned red, and maple leaves floated through the air like fire. Brian climbed into a massive tree on a residential street, perched himself on a thick branch, and stared straight ahead without blinking. He stayed there for days and nights, barely eating or sleeping.

Eventually, a police car pulled up below. Two officers stepped out and shone their flashlights into the branches.

“We got reports someone’s been spying from this tree,” one of them shouted. “Neighbors say you’ve been watching their house for days. Could be a robbery setup, peeping, maybe some one-sided-love stalker nonsense. Either way, get down. You’re coming with us for questioning.”

Winter came crashing down.

On one of the coldest nights of the year, snow blanketed the city. Brian had been squatting on a street corner all day, so still that he was nearly buried beneath it. Only his two eyes remained visible, wide open and unmoving.

Around midnight, a young couple sat down on the bench right in front of him. They talked for a while, then held hands, hugged, and kissed. As the night went on, things grew more intimate. The girl eventually climbed onto the guy’s lap, and soon the two were completely lost in sex.

Then they noticed something behind the bench.

Two eyes.

Wide open.

Staring straight at them from beneath the snow.

They screamed.

Brian sat there completely motionless, buried under more than a foot of snow, with nothing but those two haunting eyes exposed.

Without another word, the couple grabbed their things and ran off into the night. They never looked back, convinced they had just been watched by some snow-covered pervert straight out of a horror movie.

And just like that, the years went by. Brian graduated from high school, went through college, and eventually landed a job at the Humble Organization.

Yet after all those years of training, he still hadn’t unlocked the Golden Eyes.

Section 3: N Is Greater Than or Equal to Two

Over the past few years, Brian had beaten up all kinds of people—good guys, bad guys, it didn’t matter. He did it all in the name of the Humble Organization.

But one day, during a routine debt collection job, he ran into someone truly formidable. The fight didn’t go well. Brian got completely wrecked. He was knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

When Colin came to visit, Brian lay in bed looking ashamed. But he wasn’t ashamed of losing the fight. He was ashamed that he had failed the mission.

“I’m sorry, Boss,” he said softly. “I failed the Organization. I couldn’t even get that three hundred bucks back.”

He lowered his head. “I’m just too weak…”

Colin stood beside him, arms crossed, then spoke with calm authority.

“If you fully master the Golden Eyes, your power will increase by N times.”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“And that N is greater than or equal to two.”

Brian stared at him, amazed. Not only did it sound profound—it sounded scientific. That level of philosophical precision, that beautifully empty number… it was completely random, yet somehow, it made perfect sense.

Brian nodded deeply, looking as though he had just understood the secret of life.

“Boss, I get it now. I’ve learned so much from you. Please allow me to stay by your side and keep learning from you for the rest of my life.”

Colin smiled and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Unfortunately, it was the same shoulder that had just been broken in the fight.

The pain hit instantly. Brian’s face twisted, and tears sprang to his eyes. But he quickly forced himself to smile. He respected his boss far too much to let Colin think he had done anything wrong.

Colin didn’t notice.

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard,” Colin said. “Take it easy once in a while. Go out, have some fun. Hit the beach this weekend, check out some hot girls. Clear your head a little. Might do you some good.”

Brian listened carefully, taking in every word as if it were another profound lesson.

Soon after, Colin left the room. The moment the door closed, Brian reached for his phone and searched:

“Which beaches have the hottest girls this weekend?”

Section 4: Beach Break

That weekend, Brian’s injuries had mostly healed. Taking Colin’s advice to heart, he hopped on his motorcycle and headed straight for the beach.

The place was packed. Beautiful women in bikinis were everywhere—walking along the shore, lying in the sun, splashing around in the water. Scattered among them were groups of greasy middle-aged men, pretending to mind their own business while secretly checking out every girl who walked by.

Brian found himself a perfect spot beneath a huge beach umbrella. Wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and dark sunglasses, Brian stretched out in a reclining beach chair like a man who had absolutely nothing left to worry about.

For once, he wasn’t training. He wasn’t forcing himself to focus. He was simply doing exactly what his boss had told him to do.

Clear his head.

Hours passed without Brian even noticing.

By late afternoon, the sun had begun to sink toward the horizon. The harsh summer light softened into gold, stretching across the water and turning the whole beach warm and dreamy. The crowd was still there, but somehow everything felt calmer now. Even the ocean breeze seemed gentler.

Brian lay beneath his umbrella, completely relaxed, when a woman nearby caught his eye.

A tall, long-legged woman in a soft pink bikini stood near the water with the ocean behind her. The golden sunset outlined her figure while the breeze played gently with her hair, lifting it from her shoulders and letting it fall again.

Brian lowered his sunglasses slightly and took another look.

She was exactly his type.

Then, out of nowhere, a powerful gust of wind tore across the beach.

Sand blasted into the air. Towels went flying. Beach umbrellas ripped loose from the ground, and one man’s toupee spun through the sky like a tiny flying saucer.

The woman raised both arms to shield her face from the sand. Her hair whipped wildly around her shoulders.

Then the knot behind her bikini top came loose.

The pink top flew straight off her body and spun high into the sky.

Brian froze.

For one incredible moment, she looked like a living Greek statue standing against the golden sunset—topless, with healthy, perky breasts, a slim waist, and the ocean glowing behind her.

Brian’s eyes went wide. He stared with everything he had, desperately trying not to blink. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and he wasn’t about to lose even half a second of it.

And in that moment, Brian saw everything.

He saw the double helix of DNA spiraling through the history of life. He saw fish swimming deep beneath the sea. He saw the first primitive creature crawl out of the ocean and touch dry land. He saw a newborn baby crying in its mother’s arms.

Evolution. Birth. Life itself.

For one glorious moment, Brian felt as though he finally understood where all life had come from.

Then his heart began to beat faster.

A warm current suddenly ran through his body—from top to bottom.

Then it reversed.

Bottom to top.

Until, all at once, every bit of energy in his body seemed to gather into one single point.

Brian’s eyes widened.

Something clicked inside his head.

A faint chime.

And then—

A sudden flash of light.

Brian stopped breathing for a second.

This was it.

The exact sensation Colin had described.

After all these years, after all that training, all that suffering…

Later, back at the Humble Organization, Brian stood at the sink, splashing cold water over his face. After a moment, he looked up at himself in the mirror and let out a long sigh.

Turns out, that incredible feeling at the beach—the racing heartbeat, the warm current running through his body, the energy gathering into one point, even that mysterious click in his head…

It wasn’t the Golden Eyes.

It was just a hard-on.

Nothing mystical. Nothing profound. Just a perfectly normal biological reaction to seeing a beautiful topless woman.

Brian sighed again.

Section 5: The Sugar Rush

Brian walked over to the mini-fridge, grabbed a bottle of Coca-Cola, and took a sip. For the first time, he seriously began to wonder if he would ever unlock the Golden Eyes.

Just then, Colin walked into the office kitchen. He opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of Pepsi, and leaned against the counter beside Brian.

“You know something?” Colin said casually. “A bottle of Pepsi has about forty-eight grams of sugar. Coke only has around forty-six.”

He glanced at the Pepsi in his hand.

“It’s only a couple grams more, but Pepsi always tastes way sweeter. More satisfying, too.”

Brian looked at him, not particularly interested.

Colin took another sip.

“You should stop drinking Coke. Just drink Pepsi. More sugar gives your brain more energy. Keeps your nerves sharp. Whenever I run into a tough problem and feel mentally stuck, I take a few sips of Pepsi and—boom. My whole head clears up. Everything just clicks.”

Colin took another long sip. By now, the bottle was already half empty. Then he casually held the same half-finished Pepsi out to Brian.

“Try it.”

Brian looked at the half-finished bottle in Colin’s hand. Without hesitation, he took it, tossed his Coca-Cola into the trash, and started chugging the Pepsi like a man downing a bottle of beer.

In just a few seconds, he finished every last drop of Colin’s Pepsi, lowered the empty bottle, and let out a massive burp.

“BUUUURP!”

Brian wiped his mouth and let out a satisfied breath. “Wooooo! That’s the good stuff!”

And then, something changed.

A rush of sweetness hit him almost immediately. His brain lit up, his mood lifted, and a strange burst of energy surged through his body.

Then came that familiar sensation.

His heart began to beat faster.

A warm current ran through his body—from top to bottom.

Then it reversed.

Bottom to top.

Until, all at once, every bit of energy in his body seemed to gather into one single point.

Something clicked inside his head.

A faint chime.

And then—

A sudden flash of light.

Brian’s eyes began to glow.

A faint golden shimmer spread across his pupils, and suddenly the entire world looked different.

He could see everything.

Section 6: The Rematch

Not long after that, the same formidable opponent who had once beaten Brian and sent him to the hospital ended up owing the Humble Organization another hundred dollars.

Brian was sent to collect.

When Brian finally tracked him down, the fight began almost immediately.

But this time, everything was different.

With the Golden Eyes, Brian could see every move his opponent was about to make with perfect clarity.

A punch came toward his face. Brian slipped aside before it could land. A kick followed. He was already out of the way.

His opponent was still faster. Still stronger.

But it didn’t matter.

Brian could see everything coming.

Before twenty exchanges had passed, Brian slipped behind him and delivered a sharp chop to the back of his neck.

CRACK.

The man’s neck snapped, and he collapsed to the ground.

Brian froze for a second. That hit had been much stronger than he intended. Even he hadn’t realized how much the Golden Eyes had amplified his power.

The man twitched on the ground and struggled to get out one last sentence.

“Son of a—”

He died before he could finish.

Brian stared down at him, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Oops.”

Then he reached into the man’s pocket and pulled out his wallet. There were several hundred dollars inside. Brian took exactly one hundred, put the rest back, and slipped the wallet back into the dead man’s pocket.

Mission complete.

Section 7: N Equals 2.5

On the way back, Brian remembered something Colin had once told him.

“If you fully master the Golden Eyes, your power will increase by N times. And that N is greater than or equal to two.”

Brian thought carefully about the fight. Compared to before, he estimated that he was now roughly two and a half times stronger.

So, N = 2.5.

The calculation made perfect sense.

Of course, Colin had only thrown out the whole N thing casually. He probably didn’t even remember saying it. But Brian remembered every word.

What amazed Brian most was that his boss had somehow predicted his future power level years in advance—down to the decimal.

His respect for Colin reached an entirely new level.

That evening, Brian sat around a table at the Humble Organization with Colin and Michael. They were trying to decide what to eat for dinner.

Colin looked at Michael. “Any ideas?”

Michael thought for a moment. “How about pizza?”

“Sure,” Colin said. Brian stood up and asked, “How many slices should I get?”

Colin barely gave it any thought. “Just get N slices. Should be enough for the three of us.”

Brian nodded and headed downstairs. A little while later, he returned with a pizza box and set it on the table. Michael opened the box and stared inside for a few seconds.

“What the hell…”

There were exactly two and a half slices of pizza.

Colin leaned over and looked inside the box.

“What the hell is this, Brian?”

Brian looked confused. “You said N slices. I calculated N equals 2.5.”

Colin stared at him. “Dude, I just said a random number. I wasn’t being literal. Why you gotta make everything so weird?”

Brian stood there, completely puzzled.

Michael slowly adjusted his golden-rimmed glasses and smiled.

“I guess this is what happens when geniuses try to do normal things. Their logic is just different from ours.”

He stood up and picked up his briefcase. “You two split the two and a half slices. I’ll go grab some McDonald’s. Be right back.”

Then Michael walked out, leaving Colin and Brian alone with the 2.5 slices of pizza.