When I opened my eyes, I could hear only two sounds around me: my own crying and the sobs of the man sitting in the chair across from me. As I continued to cry, the man wiped his tears, picked me up in his arms, and looked into my eyes as he cried even more. Then he spoke:
"Kaelion... From now on, your name will be Kaelion."
I stared at the man with a confused look. Holding me in his arms, he walked over to a mirror. I looked at myself: short, snow-white hair; bright, light green eyes. The man behind me had black hair and dark green eyes. We were complete opposites. Only one question echoed in my mind: Who was this man?
I gazed into his eyes. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks. He smiled at me. When he opened the door, I realized we were inside a house. I thought to myself, "So I wasn't born in a hospital." He carried me to a window. Looking outside, I saw we were in a village. Just then, I witnessed a winged beast descending from the sky. On its back was a woman with gray hair and green eyes. As soon as she dismounted, she ran toward our house and opened the door.
There was something missing inside me, though I couldn't understand what. And then I remembered: I'm supposed to be afraid… but I'm not. I smiled to myself. While thinking this, I didn't even realize that an elderly woman was staring at me. She rushed inside. Seeing the snow-white-haired, emerald-eyed child at the window, she took me into her arms.
"Oh my God! Is this my grandchild?" she said, hugging and kissing me.
The baby tried to make sense of what was happening but chose to go with the flow and listen to the grown-ups. The black-haired man, who looked to be in his late twenties, spoke:
"Mother… My wife is dead."
The gray-haired woman looked at the child with concern and asked:
"Where is she now?"
The man, without wiping his tears, replied:
"I don't know. Her body suddenly disappeared."
The woman looked at her son suspiciously. It was obvious from his face that he had been crying for hours. He continued:
"Mother... I don't know what to do, but I can't stay here. I want you to take care of my son."
The old woman looked at both her son and grandson, then nodded, cradled the baby, and walked out. The man stroked the baby's head one last time and suddenly lifted off the ground. The white-haired child's eyes widened. He couldn't understand what was happening.
"Is this... magic?" he muttered.
The baby began to giggle. The old woman who held him stroked his hair, then mounted the winged beast. As the creature soared into the sky, the baby laughed joyfully. The woman looked at him and asked:
"You're not scared, are you?"
They laughed together and shared a moment of happiness in the sky.
About two hours later, the old woman stopped in front of another house. This one was bigger than the last and looked like it belonged to a noble. Still, it wasn't as impressive as what the baby had seen from the sky. When the woman entered, two women and three men greeted her in unison:
"Welcome, Lady Sheila."
The elderly woman smiled:
"Thank you, young ones."
She gestured to the baby and continued:
"This is my grandson, Kaelion. From now on, he will be staying with us. All of you will be responsible for his care and development."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
A few days later, Kaelion was settled into a nursery prepared just for him. Every day, caretakers, cooks, and servants played games with him and spent time together. His grandmother Sheila had begun telling him about her past adventures. She thought the baby wouldn't understand anything, but Kaelion absorbed every word, listening with great admiration.
Months passed this way. Kaelion was now five months old. He could walk slowly and speak a few simple words. He had explored every corner of the house. Thinking there was nothing else to do, he decided to go outside.
The caretakers were on their lunch break, and the butler was with Grandma Sheila. When Kaelion saw the door had been left open for a moment, he slipped out quietly. The house backed onto a forest, and he wandered in. He just wanted to explore.
After walking in the forest for about two hours, he mumbled to himself:
"Tere ss nothhing heee... (There is nothing here...)"
At that moment, he heard a noise from a bush. He turned toward it and saw a white-furred, pink-eyed tiger. Thinking it would attack, he picked up a rock, but the tiger simply walked. Kaelion looked at it more closely and asked:
"Could it be... blind?"
He ran toward it, trying to climb on its back. Of course, he fell. Hearing the sound, the tiger approached and brought its face close to his. Holding his hurt knee, Kaelion tried to throw the stone, but the tiger slapped it away with its paw. The child looked around for something else. He wasn't afraid, but he didn't want to die either. Just then, the tiger licked his face.
It wasn't very big—maybe a meter tall at most. It gently picked up the child with its teeth, placed him on its back, and began running deeper into the forest. At one point, it caught a 90 cm bird and wounded it. Then it brought a rock and pushed it toward the child. Clearly, it wanted him to finish the job. At first, Kaelion didn't understand. He didn't want to kill. As he pushed the stone away, the bird suddenly attacked and knocked him over. This time, he grabbed the stone and struck the bird's head hard.
As the bird died, a voice echoed in Kaelion's mind:
Mythic chick slain
Threat level: F
Points gained: 200
Level up: 1
Name: Kaelion Velastra
Race: Human
Mana: ∞ (locked)
Visible mana: 0
Points gained: 200
Level: 1
Kaelion didn't understand the words in his head, but he sensed it was something good and smiled. That day, he and the pink-eyed tiger hunted a few more birds:
Mythic chick slain
Mythic chick slain
Mythic young bird slain
Threat level: F
Threat level: F
Threat level: E
Points gained: 200
Points gained: 200
Points gained: 300
Level up: 1
Level up: 1
Level up: 2
Name: Kaelion Velastra
Race: Human
Mana: ∞ (locked)
Visible mana: 0
Points gained: 900
Level: 5
The voice in his mind became so intense that Kaelion's head began to ache. He told the white tiger he wanted to go home. The tiger set him down and said:
"Make a pact with me."
Kaelion asked curiously:
"You... You can talk to humans?"
The tiger replied:
"No. You can talk to us."
Kaelion stared in disbelief but decided to focus instead of questioning.
"Come and touch me. The power within you will handle the rest," the tiger said.
Kaelion did as he was told, touching the tiger's head. A white aura spread around them. He felt stronger.
Congratulations! A pact has been made with the Mythic Albino Tiger.
Name: Solric
Species: Tiger
Attribute: Albino
Combat Techniques: Shadow Monk, Wind Monk, Sharp Bite, Steel Fangs...
Threat level: C
Mana: 2834 / 3000
Level: 21
---
Name: Kaelion Velastra
Race: Human
Mana: ∞ (locked)
Visible mana: 0
Points gained: 900
Level: 5
Beasts: Solric (C)
Kaelion realized the voices in his head were a kind of "stats." He smiled and whispered while gazing at the sky:
"I will grow strong, Sar'Vael… and show the world your power."
At that moment, a god beyond the universe smiled.
Kaelion began walking home with the bird corpses strapped to the tiger's back.