(Eight Years Later)
"Daddy, I don't want to do this anymore." Edin pouts, putting her sword down next to a dying Brisk Deer.
"You have to release it of its suffering Edin, otherwise you let yourself become a monster." Nicholas says, kneeling down next to her.
He takes her hand and lays the sword in her palm, closing her hand over it. He guides her hand to the deer's eye, inching it closer with each passing second. Edin breaths deeply as she quickly thrusts the sword into the Brisk Deer's eye, killing it in an instant. She sheds a single tear as she stands back up, partially being lifted up by her father, who picks up the dead animal and starts to walk back to the village.
"Daddy?" Edin says, following the slow pace of her father.
"Yes dear?" Nicholas responds, setting the dear on a sleigh.
"Why do I have to kill to eat? Can we not eat vegetables?"
"Because honey, if you don't learn how to wield a blade, you won't be able to defend yourself from essence beasts who actively want to kill you."
Edin nods, accepting but not approving the life she leads. She climbs on to the sleigh with her father, stirring the horse into action with a single word. They arrive back to the village as many welcome them, as she passes by. "These people don't care whether we live or die" She thinks to herself, recalling the faint memory of a boy whom she never met, yet saved her family, a story her parents have told her since she was able to remember. She steps off the sleigh as she guides the horse into its stable while her father offloads the sleigh.
"Three deer. Not bad if I do say so myself." Nicholas says to himself, walking into his butcher shed.
Edin walks into the house, her mother tending to the kitchen as she often does. Edin quickly goes to her room, closing the door gently behind her. She ponders over the day's events with a sigh. Her mother calls her name, and with a sigh and brief pause, she goes to answer her mother. Both her mother and her father are sitting at the table with a serious look on their face.
"Please, sit down, Edin." Pherra says, gesturing to the chair that faces both of them.
She takes a seat and looks worried at her parents. She knows what this is about, and she is scarred for her future if she thought today was hard.
"Tomorrow, as you know, is your Awakening. You definitely struggled today," Her father says, an encouraging smile on his face, "But I believe in you. You pulled through, and I just know you'll make it honey."
Edin weakly smiles as she looks at her parents. They've always been encouraging and supportive of her goals, but this time she wasn't feeling so good as she usually does, or rather, more mopey than usual. Her mother stands up and kisses her on her head, once again going back to the kitchen, only to return moments later with three piping hot bowls of Edin's favorite: Roasted Deer.
Edin wakes up the next day to the sun shining brightly in her eyes, a surprise to her as the sun rarely rises at this time of year. She rolls herself out of bed and begins her daily routine, except ending with a knock on her door. She opens it, her mother handing her a dress woven with wolf fur and armor, a beautiful hybrid of fashion and protection, to help her in her Awakening Ceremony.
Moments later, she's out of the house, looking around at all the villagers gathered around outside. She takes her steps through them as they form a line to a slightly raised platform with three other children standing there as well. Edin recognizes them, not as friends, but rather, the children who always bullied her. The one on Edin's left smirks.
"Uh oh, Edin's coming! Watch out guys, kill the deer before she can see it." He mocks, making the others laugh.
Edin ignores this and takes the only available spot left, which is near the back of the stage. Soon after, the village Elders walk up to each child. Due to a rule about family advantage, her father, one of the Elders, cannot be her aid. Rather, the head Chief approaches her, giving her a charm of a snake, carved meticulously out of stone. The other Elders give charms like this to the others, and then exit the stage. The platform rises two feet off of the ground, seemingly suspended by nothing, until they notice the chanting of a man sounding from underneath the platform. Edin recognizes this as the village Hero, a man who's slain many beasts due to his Goliath Essence. His name is Jihan, if she remembers correctly. The entire village starts chanting along with Jihan, gradually getting louder and louder before being silenced by the Chief.
"Today is a day none of you will forget." He gestures to the children. "You will not forget because this is the hardest trial you've faced since you first started your training." A long pause. "There is a chance for death."
Edin inhales sharply as she realizes the stakes.
"If you're blessed with a strong essence, you will have to survive the Awakening. If you're cursed with a weak essence, you will have to survive the Trial." The Chief says, stepping back and looking up at the sky.
The sky was cloudy moments before, but now, they seem clear. The sun shines down on the children as they become paralyzed in pain. Edin looks around at the others with confusion, and then it hits her. Edin nearly blacks out from the pain, but manages to stay still. She remembers what her father had told her days prior about this. "If you keep still, the new blood will spread slower, not as painfully. It'll take you longer, but while the others are sore with pain, you will hunt gracefully." After she recalls those words, she looks at the others. One of them is writhing in pain on the ground, and the other is crying on her knees. Edin looks at the boy who had mocked her seconds ago. He's staying completely still, like her. Before she can blink, though, the boy violently coughs up his intestines, falling to the floor and a lifeless husk. The villagers scream in panic, his mother having to be dragged away before she can intervene.