The Dawn Village was said to have existed since the first dawn of the world. Legends that circulated in the village had it that when the world was first created, humans started to wander and explore, but the ancestors of the Dawn had different priorities.
They were scared. Scared of the unknown hidden behind the tall trees of the forest, scared of the beasts that wandered, or whether it was those that could be seen or those that acted human. They lived and died on the plains they were born upon. Slowly but steadily, they started becoming stronger, but so did their fear. That's how they were able to survive for so long, being scared of the risks that were needed to get stronger.
This did have its advantages, such as being able to steadily grow their power by eating slowly mutating plants and animals making their body stronger, as well as enforce their safety and livelihood by having an entire field for themselves to hunt and no other power threatening them. But the disadvantages were obvious, no information about the outside world, development was incredibly slow, and they were so stuck in their old ways of thinking that at some point, development stopped completely.
But that was until the first named ancestor, the brave Elijah Dawn, saw a rock structure towering in the forest and decided that with a team of the strongest men and women to go explore. Everyone thought of them as idiots seeking their death, but once they came back with technology far more advanced, the stigma of staying inactive disappeared and that started the Great Age Of Exploration for the village.
The more they progressed and grew, the more embarrassed they became of their past ideas. Throwing caution out of the window became important until Elijah put a restriction, no one without sufficient strength could leave. That made the strength in the village peak once again.
And now thousands of years later, the Dawn Village still exists today, but far more technologically advanced. It had skyscrapers that pierced the heavens, martial arts that could fell even the strongest mutated beasts, those that could level whole cities at once.
And in the year 2025, during a lightning storm that tore open the heavens, a baby was born from the Village Chief, Liam Dawn and his wife, Alicia Dusk, the boy was named Gael Dawn, a boy that was said to cause misfortune. His father died on the day he was born in a battle with some barbarians that attacked the village. This usually happens around this time of the year, but because he channeled all his essence or Qi into Gael, the battle became harder and was forced to sacrifice himself to kill the enemies.
His mother turned sick because of his large size and nutritional needs, lowering her immune system strength, making her die from a simple cold. The elders, those that led the village, turned fearful of him and distanced him from themselves as far as possible. Before her death she begged everyone around her to protect Gael, but once she met her demise, no one kept their promise, and he was thrown way.
Every one of his birthdays is celebrated by some sort of invasion or problem. Once, a monster horde and a terrorist attack happened at the same time on his birthday. This caused him to get the nickname: Bringer Of Misfortune.
People that were kind before turned rude, and even the most positive people became negative around him. His whole world was upside down ever since he was born, but this made it worse than it already was. But there was one thought that persisted in his mind: 'Prove them wrong! Fight forever until you win! Die trying! That's the true way of the warrior!' That simple sentence from his mother kept him going from a young age.
'I'm dying of hunger, glad I managed to grab a piece of meat from the butcher while he was away for a bit.' those were Gaels thoughts when walking around the streets while looking at the plastic bag in his hand. Gael was a taller than average boy, being 1.80 meters at 10 years old. He looked dirty and had clothes full of holes and mud. Still, even with all of that, he still looked handsome with a dangerous vibe. His pupils were vertical and overall, he looked as steady as a tree. He had incredible shoulder length dark hair that added to his overall charm. But there was still a bit of uncertainty in his steps, looking afraid of everything, and he didn't walk with confidence.
After his mother died, his life turned into hell. Forced into an orphanage at the age of 5 and leaving it at the age of 6 due to the 'misfortune' he was causing, he was forced to live alone on the streets. Alley ways were his closest friends, and being hungry became the norm. Even if he looked tall, everyone at the same age could beat him if they moved in pairs. This caused him to be bullied slightly and blackmailed.
As he entered the slum he lived in through an alley way, he was greeted by 3 skinny boys of the ages of 8, 10 and 11 that looked like they were sitting there waiting for him. They looked at him arrogantly, even though they were wearing rags that were in the worst state than his and looked smaller than Gael. The oldest one, Luke, looked him in the eyes with a smirk and yelled at him: "How dare you look me in the eye? Keep that up, and we'll destroy your face!"
The two boys in the background just stood there smirking while voicing agreement with Luke: "Yes, watch out, you loser!" and "Act like that and big brother Luke will beat, you dog!"
Gael, who just turned 10 a few weeks ago, was scared by the 11-year-old Luke, even though he was way larger than him. He immediately looked back to the ground and asked in a shaking voice: "H-how can I help Luke?"
The proud Luke smirked even more and told him in childish voice: "I saw you steal some meat from the butcher, you think you can eat that all alone? You can share some, right? Like all of it?!"
Gale once again replied in a shaking voice: "B-but that's my meal! I don't have anything else to eat!"
Luke then started frowning and yelled at Gael: "If you don't give me that meat, I'll have to beat you up! Even your dead mom wouldn't recognize you!" He slammed his fist on his palm to show how serious he was. The boys behind him approached him, and they were standing in the form of a triangle in front of Gael, with Luke being the head.
A man on a roof of a building saw the exchange and muttered in a small voice: "He is supposed to be part of them? But how is that possible when he is scared of even these sticklike brats…? Aren't they supposed to have an unopposed fighting spirit? I think they miscalculated a bit, sending me in this late…"
But just as the man wanted to leave, he sensed something that greatly surprised him: "His aura… it changed?"
Just as he finished his monologue, the situation once again shocked him. Gael, who started handing the bag to Luke, suddenly had a wild smile on his face. He quickly ducked and grabbed a handful of sand and dirt. Luke, who was still smug about his insults, suddenly felt like his eyes were burning. But before he could really experience the pain, he felt a bag of bones hit his face, everything went black before he passed out.
Then the other two kids, who were still in shock, also got hit with the meat in the plastic bag and fell on top of Luke. Gael, even though he was malnourished, was still larger than all three of them, standing at a way greater height. But he had zero fighting experience, they had the advantage of numbers, and more importantly they had something Gael could only dream of, a training manual.
Training in the martial realm was different from training on earth. All children trained in martial arts from a young age. All children were required to train in basic grade martial arts like Muay Thai, MMA, some even chose Judo or other martial arts, but that's what set them apart. An average child before hitting puberty already had the strength of 2-3 fully grown adults, making these martial arts to be more effective than ever. The effectiveness of these martial arts also went beyond just that, as they had evolved into killing arts.
That's why he never dared to do anything against them. Although the three of them were also malnourished, they still had the strength of at least one fully grown adult with at least a few years of experience in martial arts. This combined with their teamwork made Gael feel alarmed, and instinctively he knew that he could not win against them.
But when they started talking about his deceased mother, something snapped in him. And before he knew it, he started hitting all three of them as they were lying down in front of him. The blood in his body started burning, yearning for more, screaming for their blood, but he quickly snapped out of it.
Picking up his pace, he quickly left the area while continuously muttering under his breath: "Prove them wrong… Fight forever until you win… Die trying… That's the true way of the warrior… I want to be a warrior! But right now, I am not a warrior but an orphan that is afraid of trouble…"
He ran for a while until arriving at a large, seemingly abandoned container, and forced the door open with all his strength. The inside of the container was dirty and had a weird smell, but this smell screamed home for Gael. It had a worn-out couch in it, all types of bags filled with multiple items, such as pans and pots, old plastic plates, and a bunch of blankets and pillows for winter. Gael went and sat on the couch after taking off his shirt, not wanting to ruin it more than it already was. He grabbed a pan and some dried-up leaves and wood to cook his meat. While making the preparations, Gael started to think.
"Now that I have dealt with those kids, I should be wary of their parents since if they aren't found soon enough, their vision could be impaired, and they could receive permanent injuries. Hopefully this won't be reported to the village council. Because if that happened, they would probably strip away my freedom even more or throw me in jail."
As he continued to make food, he figured out an idea. "If I report myself, won't the punishment be lessened? At least that's what some beggars living in the slums told me; once they commit a crime, they go report themselves immediately, because they are usually petty crimes forced by circumstances, so they only need to apologize since the state takes 'responsibility' for their situation. I'll finish eating food and go report myself."
As such, once the fire was hot enough, he grabbed a broken pan, grabbed a bit of water from one of the few bottles he had, poured it on the pan, and started cooking. This was his one and only meal of the day, maybe the next few days if he truly couldn't find anything, so he was going to savor it before leaving. Meat was rare in the slums, so having a piece of it really was asking for trouble, so he didn't really blame Luke and the others, but after talking to his mother like that, they had this coming.
As he ate, he became more and more convinced of his idea. The hooded man was still looking at him from the small rooftop and started talking to himself again: "How could he live in such circumstances? Truly, this is a waste… I shall report to the elder to see how we could fix this. A descendant of him can't be living like this."
After having his dinner, Gael left his home and started heading for one of the local police departments. Even if their city is safe, a bunch of departments were created in one area to ensure safety even more. For every cop, there were 10 citizens in the Dawn Village. Once he arrived there, he started giving his statement. In the end he got pardoned but warned. But since he was still young and afraid, they didn't write anything on his record. They quickly removed him from the premises, but this gave him a new idea.
Every time he stole, every time he fought, every time he did something remotely illegal he immediately went to a different department until he visited them all and then started from scratch again. He used their fear of him to his advantage and was basically free to do whatever he wanted, except for severe crimes.
And like that, the years passed until he finally turned 15. That was the day that changed everything. One of the 4 elders, Elder Dusk, named after the position of the sun, came up to him while he was cleaning up the surrounding area of his container. Elder Dusk was a skinny bald man that had a constant mad expression on his face.
Once Gael saw him, he stiffed up and said courteously: "Welcome to my abode, Elder Dusk. How can I be of Assistance?" That was a line that was taught to everyone to say once they saw an elder arrive. Elder Dusk, who scoffed, said in an annoyed tone: "Well, I'm here to inform you that it's time to leave. We have reserved a place where you can stay and not pollute the city. You caused too much of a ruckus with your constant crimes that even we heard of it.
Pack whatever stuff you have and be prepared to leave within an hour. By then, an escort should arrive to take you. This new place has food and water, even a roof, so be happy; The only thing you need to do is never leave your new home."
With that, the Elder casually walked away. Each of his steps covered a distance of multiple meters at once and started muttering in a low voice: "Disgusting. The creature of misfortune is still alive. Truly the son of Liam, a vermin that can't be removed. He killed my daughter, what a waste of a grandson. If it weren't for the other elders protesting… "He even spat after saying the last parts.
Gael, however, didn't hear him. He continued cleaning up his stuff while thinking about this new place: 'A place that can house me, provide food and water, and is completely separated from the outside world… where could it be?'
And thus, an hour later, Gael was finished in packing his stuff and waited for the escort. The escort, who thought of himself as large, standing at a height of 1.90 meters, was considered small next to small next to the current Gael, with him being 2.10 meters tall. The escort was wearing a light leather armor, with a sword and a gun being tied to his waist.
He looked Gael in the eye before respectfully escorting him. Gael, who was a bit surprised, followed the man outside the city under everyone's glares until they reached an obscure place. There was a small temple that was around 25 square meters large. The escort, who was quiet for the entire two-hour walk, started speaking in a calm tone: "This place is called the Temple Of Misfortune. It used to be a temple that praised the ancestor the Great Elijah, but everyone that came here mysteriously disappeared.
There was a beast living in the area that was recently subjugated, but the previous disappearances are still hot in everyone's mind, so we were forced to close the temple down until someone proposed it to become a home for you. The temple has a small garden with fruits and vegetables, a small stream of water passes through it. Inside there is a bed and a few basic kitchen appliances, some cleaning tools, and a shower that only has freezing water and a closet with necessities such as clothes, mouth cleaning tools, soap, and a few more hygienic items. The clothes there are a few sets of clothing that are stretchable for current and future usage. Anything else will have to be taken care of by yourself.
The clothes there are a few sets of clothing that are stretchable for current and future usage. Anything else will have to be taken care of by yourself. Even a library has been prepared to keep you busy, so please follow the following rule: once you go beyond the 100 m mark of the temple, the elders will be informed, and you will be returned to the temple with severe punishment. Good luck, Bringer Of Misfortune." After he said that, the escort bowed and disappeared from his view.
And so, Gael life in the temple started. This was heaven compared to the container, but he started feeling lonely after a while due to not having anyone to talk to, but that wasn't anything major. He learned how to cook, clean and overall became healthier. But the lack of meat still caused him to be slightly skinny. And with the abundance of time, he also decided to train his physique based on what he had seen before.
Three years passed in a flash, and before he knew it, he turned 18. He grew even more, reaching an abnormal height of 2.50 meters. His looks changed completely, going from a dirty beggar boy to a tall and strong looking guy. Due to his constant training, he now had a strong physique, even though he still looked a bit skinny. A light bear also covered his chin, but that added to his unique charm.
As he was cleaning the doorstep, a figure appeared from the bushes, walking up to him…