The mountain was unusually quiet.
Kael frowned the moment he opened his eyes.
No fire crackled.
No humming drifted in from the kitchen.
Most importantly...
No smell of breakfast.
He lay still for a few seconds.
"...Grandpa?"
Silence answered him.
That was strange.
Grandpa Elias always woke before him.
Always.
Kael climbed out of bed and walked into the main room.
The clay stove was cold.
The cooking utensils remained neatly arranged where they had been left the night before.
A kettle sat on the table.
Untouched.
"...Grandpa?"
His voice was a little louder this time.
Still nothing.
Kael stepped outside.
The vegetable garden swayed gently in the morning breeze.
The chickens pecked at the ground as if nothing had happened.
The fishing rod still rested against the fence.
Everything looked...
Normal.
Except for one thing.
Grandpa Elias was nowhere to be seen.
---
Kael walked toward the training ground.
"Grandpa?"
He expected to hear the familiar answer.
"If you can call my name, you can find me."
Instead...
Only the wind rustled through the pine trees.
He searched behind the old maple tree.
The herb garden.
The western cliff.
The stream where they collected water.
Nothing.
---
By noon...
His pace had become much faster.
He climbed every familiar trail across the mountain.
He checked every cave they had explored together over the years.
He even searched the rocky ledges where eagles nested.
"Grandpa!"
His voice echoed across the valleys.
No reply came.
---
The afternoon sun hung high overhead.
Sweat covered Kael's forehead.
His breathing had grown heavier, not from exhaustion...
But from worry.
This had never happened before.
Grandpa Elias always said where he was going.
Even if it was only to gather herbs.
He always left a note.
Or at least called out before leaving.
Today...
There was nothing.
---
As the sun slowly began to descend, Kael returned to the cabin.
Perhaps...
He had simply missed him.
He pushed open the door.
The cabin remained exactly as he had left it.
The silence inside felt unfamiliar.
Almost uncomfortable.
Kael stood in the middle of the room.
His eyes slowly wandered across the shelves.
The table.
The fireplace.
Then...
He noticed something.
A folded piece of paper rested beneath the wooden bowl usually kept at the center of the table.
His footsteps slowed.
Grandpa Elias never left papers lying around.
Kael carefully lifted the bowl.
On the front of the folded paper were three familiar words.
For Kael.
His fingers tightened slightly.
He unfolded it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Strong.
Steady.
Comfortingly familiar.
---
Kael,
If you are reading this, then I have already left the mountain.
Kael immediately frowned.
"Left?"
His grandfather had never spoken about leaving.
Not once.
He continued reading.
---
Do not search for me.
You won't find me, no matter where you look.
Kael lowered the letter.
"...How can I not look?"
He whispered to himself.
After a long moment, he forced himself to continue.
---
You've grown into a fine young man. Better than I ever expected.
You've learned what I could teach.
The rest... can no longer be found on this mountain.
Kael's expression slowly changed.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Then concern.
---
There is a place called Martial High.
Go there.
Do not ask why.
When the time is right, the answers you seek will find you.
---
Kael read that part twice.
Martial High.
He had heard the name before.
Only once.
Years ago.
When he had asked what lay beyond the sea of clouds.
Grandpa Elias had simply smiled and said,
"A place filled with young people who dream too loudly."
At the time...
Kael hadn't understood.
He still wasn't sure he did.
---
He continued reading.
---
One more thing.
Don't forget your manners.
Just because someone is rude doesn't mean you should be.
And remember...
Never waste food.
---
Despite everything...
Kael let out a quiet laugh.
"...You really would write that."
His eyes gradually became moist.
---
The final lines were shorter.
Almost hurried.
---
Take the pendant from the bottom drawer.
It belongs to you.
We'll meet again.
—Grandpa
---
Kael remained standing for a long time.
The cabin was silent once more.
Only the sound of the wind entered through the open window.
Eventually...
He walked toward the cabinet.
Slowly opened the bottom drawer.
Inside lay the small wooden bird he had carved as a child.
Beside it rested a simple silver pendant attached to a worn leather cord.
It wasn't decorated with jewels.
Nor did it appear valuable.
Its surface was engraved with a single unfamiliar symbol.
Kael picked it up carefully.
The metal felt strangely warm.
He slipped it around his neck without another thought.
If his grandfather had left it for him...
That was reason enough.
---
Night fell.
For the first time in eighteen years...
Kael ate dinner alone.
The cabin felt much larger than before.
The empty chair across the table remained untouched.
He found himself glancing toward the door every few minutes.
Almost expecting it to open.
Almost expecting Grandpa Elias to step inside carrying a basket of herbs and say,
"You actually believed I disappeared?"
But the door never opened.
---
Before sleeping, Kael folded the letter carefully and placed it inside his travel pouch.
Then he looked around the cabin one last time.
The shelves.
The fireplace.
The training staffs leaning against the wall.
The old fishing rod.
The little wooden bird.
Every corner held memories.
He quietly bowed toward the empty room.
"Thank you..."
He wasn't sure whether he was thanking the cabin...
Or the man who had given him a home.
Tomorrow...
For the first time in his life...
Kael would leave the mountain.
Not because he wanted to.
But because the only family he had ever known had asked him to.
Beyond the endless sea of clouds lay a world he knew nothing about.
And somewhere within that vast world...
Waited the road to Martial High.
End of Chapter 4