The days that followed no longer felt like normal time to Kael, because each moment stretched endlessly under pain, hunger, and relentless training that pushed his body far beyond what any child should endure, yet he continued forward without complaint, driven by something deeper than survival—a quiet, burning need to become stronger than the world that had rejected him.
Orin did not go easy on him.
From the moment the sun rose until long after it disappeared behind the endless trees, Kael was forced to run across uneven ground while carrying stones tied to his back, climb trees with bleeding hands until his fingers could no longer grip, and fight against attacks that came without warning, whether he was eating, resting, or even half asleep, as if Orin was trying to teach him that danger did not wait for comfort.
"Again," Orin would say, even when Kael collapsed.
And Kael would rise.
Every time.
One evening, after hours of running through the forest with barely enough strength left to stand, Kael stumbled and fell hard against the rough ground, his body refusing to obey him any longer as his chest rose and fell heavily, his breath uneven and painful.
"I can't…" he muttered under his breath, his voice dry and weak.
Orin stood a few steps away, watching him with calm eyes that showed no pity.
"You can," he replied, his voice steady, "you just don't want to."
Kael clenched his fists tightly, anger mixing with exhaustion as he forced himself up again, even though his legs trembled so badly it felt like they might break beneath him at any moment.
"I said… I can't," Kael growled.
"And I said you can," Orin answered without raising his voice, yet the weight of his words pressed down harder than any physical strike.
For a moment, Kael said nothing, but then something inside him stirred again, that same strange force that had awakened during his fight with the spirit beast, and without thinking, he pushed forward once more, running despite the pain tearing through his body.
Orin watched closely.
"…good," he whispered to himself.
Confidence Before the Fall
As the days turned into weeks, Kael began to change in ways that even he could feel, because his movements grew sharper, his reactions faster, and his body stronger than before, while his wounds healed quicker and his endurance stretched far beyond what any normal human child could handle, making him believe—slowly, dangerously—that he was no longer weak.
One afternoon, after successfully hunting a smaller beast on his own and returning without a single injury, Kael stood before Orin with a rare expression on his face—confidence.
"I'm ready," he said.
Orin raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Ready for what?"
"For something stronger," Kael replied, his voice firm, "I can handle more now."
For a moment, Orin said nothing, and the silence between them felt heavier than usual, as though he was weighing Kael's words carefully.
Then, without warning, he turned and began walking.
"Follow me."
Kael did not hesitate.
Into the Deeper Forest
The part of the forest they entered was unlike anything Kael had seen before, because the air itself felt thick and heavy, as though it carried an unseen pressure that made breathing slightly harder, while the trees stood taller and darker, their branches twisting in unnatural ways that blocked out most of the light.
Kael's instincts immediately reacted.
"This place…" he said slowly, "it feels wrong."
Orin nodded.
"It is."
Kael tightened his grip on the blade he had carved himself from bone and stone, his senses sharpening as every small sound echoed louder in his mind.
"What's here?" he asked.
Orin stopped walking, then turned to face him with an expression that held no trace of softness.
"Your next lesson."
Before Kael could ask anything else—
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Then another.
Then several at once.
Kael's eyes widened as shadows moved between the trees, fast and silent, surrounding them from all directions before he could react.
They were not beasts.
They were men.
Rough, armed, and dangerous.
Bandits.
"Well, well," one of them said as he stepped forward, a cruel smile spreading across his face while his eyes scanned Kael from head to toe, "what do we have here… a child and an old man wandering into the wrong place."
Another laughed.
"Looks like an easy kill."
Kael shifted his stance, his body tensing as he prepared to fight, but before he could move, Orin spoke.
"Don't interfere," he said calmly.
Kael froze.
"…what?"
"This is your fight," Orin continued, stepping back as though he had no intention of helping at all.
Kael's heart pounded.
"There are too many," he said quietly.
"Then die," Orin replied.
Silence.
The bandits laughed louder.
"Did you hear that?" one of them said. "The old man already gave up on you."
Kael's jaw tightened as anger rose within him, mixing with fear and something deeper that he could not yet name.
"…fine," he said slowly, his voice low.
He stepped forward.
Outnumbered
The first bandit attacked without warning, swinging a blade directly at Kael's head, but Kael reacted quickly, ducking just in time before striking back with his bone blade, cutting across the man's arm and drawing blood.
The man screamed.
"Damn brat!"
But before Kael could follow up, another attacker came from behind, kicking him hard in the back and sending him crashing to the ground.
Pain shot through his body.
Too many.
Too fast.
Kael rolled to the side just as a blade struck the ground where his head had been, and as he scrambled back to his feet, he realized something he had not expected.
This was not like fighting beasts.
These enemies were smarter.
They worked together.
And they wanted him dead.
"End him already!" one shouted.
Three of them rushed at once.
Kael tried to defend, blocking one attack while dodging another, but the third caught him off guard, slicing across his side and drawing a deep line of blood that made him stagger.
His breathing grew heavier.
His vision blurred slightly.
"…no…" he muttered.
He had thought he was strong.
But now…
He was losing.
The First True Defeat
A heavy blow struck his leg, forcing him down to one knee, and before he could recover, a fist slammed into his face, sending him crashing onto the ground as blood filled his mouth and the world spun around him.
Laughter echoed above him.
"Pathetic," one of the bandits said as he raised his weapon.
Kael tried to move.
But his body refused.
"…get up…" he whispered to himself.
Nothing.
"…get up!"
Still nothing.
Fear began to creep in.
Real fear.
Not the kind that sharpened his senses, but the kind that froze his body and filled his mind with doubt.
Was this the end?
Was he going to die here, just like that?
Abandoned.
Forgotten.
Weak.
"No…" he whispered.
His golden eye flickered.
A faint glow appeared.
Then stronger.
The air around him shifted.
The bandits hesitated.
"…what is that?" one of them muttered.
Kael's body trembled violently as something deep within him began to rise, not gentle, not controlled, but wild and furious, like a storm breaking free after being held back for too long.
"I said…" Kael's voice came out low, almost unrecognizable.
"…I WON'T DIE!"
Unleashed
In an instant, Kael moved.
Faster than before.
Much faster.
He grabbed the nearest bandit and slammed him to the ground with a force that shocked even himself, then without hesitation, he drove his blade into the man's chest, the sound of breaking bone echoing in the air.
The others froze.
For a moment.
Then chaos exploded.
Kael attacked like something possessed, his movements wild yet powerful as he dodged strikes that should have hit him and returned with blows that carried unnatural strength, breaking bones, tearing flesh, and leaving blood scattered across the ground.
One man tried to run.
Kael caught him.
And ended him.
The forest fell silent again.
Only the sound of Kael's heavy breathing remained as he stood there, covered in blood, his body shaking while the glow in his eye slowly faded.
Then—
He collapsed.
Aftermath
When Kael woke up again, the sky above him was dark, filled with stars that looked distant and cold, while the smell of blood still lingered in the air around him.
Orin sat nearby.
Watching.
"…I lost," Kael said weakly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Orin shook his head slowly.
"No," he replied, "you survived."
Kael closed his eyes.
"…I couldn't control it."
"I know," Orin said.
Silence stretched between them before Kael spoke again.
"…what am I?" he asked, his voice filled with something deeper now—not just curiosity, but fear.
Orin looked at him for a long moment before answering.
"You are something born between two worlds," he said carefully, "a being that carries both weakness and power within the same body."
Kael opened his eyes slightly.
"…a monster?"
Orin's gaze hardened.
"No," he said firmly, "a weapon."
The word lingered in the air.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Kael stared at the sky again.
"…then I'll become the strongest weapon," he whispered.
Orin said nothing.
But deep inside, he already knew—
The path Kael had chosen…
Would not just shake the mortal world.
It would reach the heavens themselves.
And when that day came…
The gods would remember the child they threw away.