Kael sat on a cold stone bench, his silver hair catching the faint glow of the moonlight. His light blue eyes lingered on the still surface of the sea, its calmness a cruel contrast to the storm raging inside him.
'I never asked for this,' he thought bitterly. 'But now… there's no point fighting it anymore.'
The quiet evening breeze carried the faint sounds of distant waves. Kael closed his eyes, letting the chill seep into his skin.
'What would I do if I had more time?' he wondered. 'Climb a tree, sleep under the stars... Kiss someone, maybe. But it's too late for dreams like that.'
He sighed and stood up, his boots crunching against the snow-dusted ground. The world had changed seven years ago, and so had his life.
Shadows—dark, formless beings that seemed to defy the laws of existence—had appeared out of nowhere. Humanity called them what they resembled most: darkness given life.
At first, the Shadows merely observed. They didn't harm anyone. But soon after their arrival, some humans began to change. The first Awakened were people pulled into thin air, disappearing from the world for days, weeks, or even months. Many of them returned, different—stronger. Some never came back at all.
Kael's parents had been among the ones who disappeared… and didn't return. He was only eight when he lost them. Alone, afraid, and surrounded by uncertainty, he watched as the world grew stranger with each passing year.
'They called it evolution,' Kael thought, bitterly. 'But for me, it was the end of everything.'
The Shadows, disturbed by humanity's newfound abilities, began attacking. They were invulnerable to human weapons, but the Awakened fought back with the powers they had gained during their trials. Eventually, the Shadows were defeated and vanished, but the damage they left behind remained.
Kael glanced at the giant tree near the shore. Its tall branches reached toward the sky like skeletal fingers, bathed in pale moonlight.
"Maybe I'll sleep there tonight," he said aloud, his voice soft, as though speaking to himself.
Climbing the tree wasn't difficult. He settled on a sturdy branch and leaned against the trunk, gazing at the moon. Its silver light reflected on the sea, painting the world in a ghostly glow.
The moon always brought Kael a strange sense of peace. Tonight was no different, yet something felt… off. The air seemed heavier, the light colder.
'Why does it feel like it's watching me?' he thought.
As if in answer, a whisper brushed against his mind, faint and melodic.
'No… it's not a voice. It's something else,' he realized, shivering.
The light of the moon seemed to grow brighter, wrapping around him like a cocoon. Kael's eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted into a trance.
["Do not fear. Accept your fate. You have been chosen."]
Kael jolted awake as a gust of wind shook the tree. Losing his balance, he fell to the ground, landing hard on the snow-covered earth.
'What… was that?'
His thick clothes and the snow cushioned the fall, sparing him from injury. As he pushed himself up, he noticed a bird perched nearby. Its black feathers gleamed faintly under the moonlight, its dark eyes fixed on him.
Kael reached out a hand, hoping to touch it, but the bird fluttered out of reach.
'Figures,' he thought. 'Even a bird doesn't trust me.'
The bird lingered for a moment, then flew off into the night. Kael sighed and glanced at the moon one last time before turning away.
---
Two days passed in a blur. Kael had spent the last of his orphan's stipend on food, then given his remaining coins to a street child he'd met in the park.
"Thank you, mister!" the boy had said, smiling up at him. "Want some candy? We can share!"
Kael shook his head with a faint smile. "Keep it for yourself."
He didn't tell the boy why. Soon, he wouldn't need money—or anything else.
Now, as Kael walked through the empty streets, a familiar sensation gripped him. His heart raced, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead despite the winter chill.
'It's starting.'
His feet left the ground. Slowly, he began to rise, his body growing weightless. People on the street stopped to watch, their faces a mix of awe and fear.
Kael's vision blurred. His surroundings became hazy, and the world around him faded into darkness.
The last thing he saw was the black bird from the tree, perched on a distant lamp post, watching him silently.
["O brave warrior, your first trial is about to begin. Prepare yourself."]
The voice echoed in his mind as Kael vanished into the unknown.