*** 10 Years Ago ***
Sylvana did not have a foggy past, and her memory extended back to the moment she first opened her eyes to the world. Living and dying meant nothing to her; they were merely definitions. She had only witnessed birth, life, and death. She hadn't seen the beginning of history, but she had witnessed the beginning of the end. She had watched the rise of great kings and then their heads being severed from their bodies. Now, she was witnessing the growth of a small child. In the place Sylvana came from, no child grew up without their future being determined. No hero who wrote their name in history remained a child. Humanity had always risen with honor, but at the slightest weakness, it had returned to its dark and bloody periods.
"Let your rise be the end of the dark age, my honor."
She whispered as she swept her red cloak behind her. She struck her fist against the blue-bronze ethnic-patterned light armor covering her chest. Her long, silky golden hair, shining in the moonlight, fluttered in the gentle breeze as her blue eyes fixed on the other end of the chain in the beast's mouth.
The chain looped through a large ring inside the beast's cheeks, binding them together. The creature, standing with its two-meter-tall body and horns extending above its head, resembled a wounded, young trex with claw wounds on its hands and feet. There were certainly easier monsters for the first trial, but the purpose of the first trial was also awakening.
Every person's awakening was rooted in different weaknesses. However, the most common was fear. Fear was like a double-edged sword. It was both the source of strength and weakness. Those who could wield the sword and command it instilled fear, while those who fell under its command and couldn't control it brought about their own end. Therefore, the most fundamental instinct every warrior had to master before the sword, leading to their awakening, was fear.
"You're very ugly, but your job isn't to be pretty."
Sylvana slightly raised her chin and wrapped the chain around her hand with narrowed eyes. The beast, sensing what was about to happen, struggled and drooled with fear, trying to break free as the chain tightened and tore from its mouth with a sharp ripping sound. A thin scream, mixed with the hope of pain and liberation, rose as the beast turned and ran toward the only open path.
"Emberlyn, be patient until the trial is over."
She cast her sharp gaze over her shoulder at the woman with disheveled red hair heating her long knife in the firewood ahead.
"Oh, what does it matter? After all, Kled will take care of it for us!"
A big smile spread across Emberlyn's face. For her, the more adrenaline in the beast's flesh, the better. While everyone else preferred the meat to be tender and plump, she was the opposite. Therefore, having the evening meal fight a little more meant extra flavor.
As the beast ran along the path opened for it, its cheeks torn by the chain hung down, and its long, sharp teeth gleamed with blood. It stumbled along the dirt road, exhausted from resisting captivity for hours. It tried to climb the sides a few times, but its body wasn't suited for climbing. Helplessly, its tongue flopping from side to side, it continued to run. The moonlight wasn't enough for its night vision. When it reached the open area, it was initially confused about where to run. It sniffed the air with its nose, searching for a familiar path.
A familiar but delicious scent reached the wet nose of the beast, which had been hungry all day. A weak and fresh, young scent. As it continued to run, it was torn between the allure of a potential prey. Slowing down as it followed the scent, the beast was filled with excitement when it found its prey. It was a small, ideal prey. A few bites, a snack it could grab and run with while on the move.
A larger prey didn't appeal to it at the moment. With its claws removed and its mouth torn, its confidence was shattered. One instinct told it to hide its tail between its legs and retreat to a safe corner, while the urge to escape overpowered it.
With the enthusiasm of hunger and the hope that its prey would be paralyzed with fear, it let out a scream that tore at its throat. When it lunged forward, it was surprised to see its prey move.
Expecting its moving prey to freeze, the tiny body charging toward it caused an outburst of anger within. The prey was fragile. Its soft skin conveyed the weakness of the young creature. The beast had many skills and instincts that had kept it alive among other wild beasts for years. Its best skill was its sense of smell. Even if it couldn't see the smallest details of its prey, it could sense them in the air. The strongest scent it detected from its prey was its weak body.
The beast attacked with the desire to sink its blood-stained teeth into its prey. As it approached the prey, which had come very close, the beast felt something was wrong. It slowed down with hesitation, and its eyes widened. Something had changed. Something it sensed in the air was missing. The scent that had been intense just a moment ago, causing an outburst of anger, had dissipated.
"Kiiiiiiiiiiii....."
Letting out a long scream, it froze in place. The scent it had lost was the scent of fear. The scent emanating from its prey was no longer just missing; it had become heavier. Its own scent had now mixed with the scent of its prey. As it watched its prey approach, it made eye contact. In the darkness, two fearless eyes, struck by the moonlight. The reflection of the pearl-white knife in the hand raised to the prey's neck caught its eye.
Despite the two pairs of slits where its ears should have been, its hearing was weak. Yet, in the silence of the night, the beast heard the sound of two metals hitting the ground. First, a sharp explosion disoriented it. As its blurred vision cleared, it noticed the heavy fog was surrounding it. Its prey had disappeared and couldn't see its surroundings. It was dizzy. Worse, the density and heavy scent of the fog had completely dulled its sense of smell.
Within the fog, the beast first felt a sharp pain in its right wrist. Immediately after, in its left wrist. As it staggered in place, it suddenly fell onto its chest. Its legs could no longer support it. Feeling cornered, one instinct told it to hide its tail, while another urged it to fight for survival, swinging its torn mouth from side to side to bring its sharp teeth to its enemy.
It felt the continuation of the attack it couldn't anticipate on its back. The small, fragile prey was now a small, fragile enemy. As it struggled to shake off the body climbing onto its back, it attempted to crush it with a wrong move. Of course, this was its final move. Before it fell to the ground, it noticed the small body slipping around its neck and hiding beneath it. By then, it had already struck its head on the ground. The next thing it felt was that it had left everything behind. The fear of death trembled through its bones. As it took its last breath, the beast looked into the glowing eyes of its enemy with one eye. Where its other eye should have been, it felt coldness.
It had been mistaken. The grab-and-go prey wasn't weak. The beast was the weak one. It was the one who was afraid.
***
With a body small for his age but not fragile at all, Kled stood up on his feet. Through the tough training from his caretaker and the guards, he had managed to defeat the beast that seemed gigantic to him. He looked at the knife he had just plunged from the beast's eye into its brain. Bringing his palms together at chest level, he slightly bowed his head.
"Rest in peace," he whispered in a childish voice but as respectful and serious a tone as possible.
Aeris had always taught him to respect his prey. As he turned his back and leaped over the beast, his eyes searched for Sylvana. It was time to claim his reward. For passing the trial, he would be allowed to sleep at whatever time he wanted tonight and eat as much pudding as he desired.
"Five bowls! No, fifty-five bowls!"
Additionally, he had hunted Emberlyn's favorite food, so he could give it to her as a gift.
[You have harvested an Ancient Warder]
[Kled! My dear, congratulations on your first trial!]
Kled didn't like the voice of the strange woman at all. This voice, which he had started hearing recently, talked about unnecessary and incomprehensible things. According to his caretaker Sylvana, it would be of great help to him.
Ignoring the voice, Kled smiled at the thought of the rewards to come, but then his vision began to darken. What could it be? He wasn't injured, he didn't feel pain, and he had defeated the beast. As he was engulfed in darkness, he lost all his senses.
When he came to his senses and opened his eyes again, he was lying on a pearl-white marble floor. The ground was neither warm nor cold. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up. The bright light from the sky dazzled him.
[Congratulations on your awakening... My child!]
Instead of the always annoying tone, a softer, sweeter voice echoed. He looked around in confusion, trying to understand. The last thing he remembered was his trial. Had Emberlyn carried him here, or was he lost? Sylvana and the others were nowhere to be seen.
"Who are you?"
Gathering his courage as Sylvana had taught him, he stood up, ready to fight if necessary.
"Where are you?"
[I am neither in the past nor the future... Neither are you here now, nor am I.]
"What?"
Kled was at a loss, unsure of what expression to make. As he tried to understand the words, grass began to sprout on the ground in front of him with a rustling sound. But these were not ordinary grasses. In fact, they were very different because, unlike normal ones, these were growing in a golden hue. As a large clump grew, Kled felt a sharp pain inside.
Not knowing what to do, he fell to his knees. He couldn't understand what was happening. Where were the others, and what was the invisible woman talking about? And why was he in pain?
As his body trembled, he looked at his hands. He watched as his muscles moved of their own accord beneath his skin. It hurt, but that wasn't the important part. He was used to pain from his training with Sylvana and the others. The long runs and muscle-strengthening exercises came to mind. The movement that started in his hands spread throughout his body, bringing pain with it. When the time passed, which he couldn't tell how long it lasted, the only thing he could think of was sleeping with Emberlyn. He was exhausted.
[Your awakening is complete... My child...]
[Open your eyes and meet your new self!]
As Kled opened his eyes, he felt a sense of relief. Being a child was hard, but being Kled was truly difficult.
"Can I sleep now?"
When he opened his eyes, he saw columns surrounding him at intervals that hadn't been there before. They were all faint and barely there. The columns were arranged in a circle, and in the center was an inscription. With slightly blurred vision, Kled tried to understand what was happening. He was so tired that he didn't want anything anymore. He didn't care about pudding or any other reward. He just wanted his caretaker and to sleep. With these thoughts, he fell asleep again, finding himself in darkness. From a distance, yet very close, Sylvana's voice echoed. When he felt the warmth, he understood. Everything was alright.