The rain had eased into a soft drizzle as the faint light of dawn began to seep through the cracks of the shed. Kael sat cross-legged on the damp dirt floor, his eyes shut in quiet concentration. Though his physical surroundings were unimpressive, the storm raging within him was anything but.
The warmth coursing through his veins was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It pulsed with life, energy, and something deeper—potential. He could feel it in every fiber of his being, a power that had been dormant until now.
Kael took a deep breath. "If this gift is real… then I have to understand it. I can't waste it."
With that thought, he willed his newfound ability, Ethereal Insight, to activate. A wave of clarity washed over him. It was as though an invisible hand had peeled away a veil that had covered his senses all his life. He could feel his body in a way that was almost impossible to describe, every muscle, every bone, every organ laid bare before his mind's eye.
His thin frame, bruised and battered, had always felt weak and brittle. But now, under the influence of Ethereal Insight, he saw it for what it truly was—a vessel brimming with potential. Every imperfection, every injury, every flaw was cataloged in exquisite detail.
"This body… it's a mess," Kael muttered. His ribs were bruised, his muscles were underdeveloped, and his bones lacked density. Malnourishment had stunted his growth, leaving him frail and fragile. If his life had depended on physical strength alone, he would have perished long ago.
And yet, there was hope.
Kael's mind drifted back to the novels he had read during his previous life on Earth. In those stories, cultivation always began with the body. The foundation had to be solid before one could ascend to greater heights.
"Strengthening the body… it's the first step," Kael thought, nodding to himself.
His intuition, sharpened by Ethereal Insight, confirmed the logic of this approach. Without a strong foundation, even the most powerful abilities would crumble under strain. But now, with Boundless Austerity, he could bypass the usual barriers to progress. Time, resources, and effort meant nothing to him. He could achieve mastery with nothing but willpower.
Kael clenched his fists. The sensation of power—however faint—surged through him. For the first time, he felt like his destiny was within his control.
"I'm not going to let this chance go to waste," he said, his voice steady with determination.
Still, there was no need to rush. His body was weak, but it wasn't impossible to fix. With time and focus, he could rebuild himself, stronger than ever. For now, Kael decided to take things one step at a time.
As the rain slowed to a gentle mist, Kael stepped out of the shed and began walking back to the orphanage. The village of Grey Hollow was waking up, its narrow streets coming alive with the sounds of early morning activity. Farmers led their animals to pasture, merchants set up their stalls, and children ran through the muddy streets, laughing and shouting.
Kael walked unnoticed, as he always did. No one greeted him, no one acknowledged him. He was just a shadow, a nameless boy among the crowd.
He passed by the village square where the beating had taken place the day before. The memory of it made his chest tighten, but he didn't stop. Not this time. He kept walking, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.
The orphanage loomed at the edge of the village, a squat, crumbling building with peeling paint and broken windows. It was a place of neglect, a home in name only. Kael had lived there for as long as he could remember, but it had never felt like home.
When he pushed open the heavy wooden door, the familiar smell of damp wood and mildew greeted him. The small common room was empty, the other children likely still asleep. Not that they would have cared about his return.
Kael walked to the corner of the room where his small bed was tucked away. The thin mattress and threadbare blanket offered little comfort, but he was used to it. He sat down, his mind wandering as he looked at the room around him.
The children here didn't like him. They never had. His appearance set him apart, made him a target for their scorn. Kael's face was gaunt and asymmetrical, his skin pale and blotchy. His features were sharp and uneven, giving him an almost skeletal appearance. Even the matron had avoided looking at him for too long, her face twisting into a grimace whenever their eyes met.
Kael's parents had abandoned him for the same reason. He had no memory of them, only fragments of overheard conversations from when he was younger. "We couldn't bear to look at him," the matron had once whispered to another villager. "That's what his parents said when they left him here. They couldn't bear the shame of it."
Kael's chest tightened at the memory. The pain of rejection, of being unwanted, was something he had carried with him his entire life.
But tonight, for the first time, that pain felt distant. It no longer weighed him down.
Kael lay down on the mattress, pulling the blanket over himself. His thoughts were clear, his mind sharper than it had ever been. He wasn't the same boy who had been beaten and mocked, who had endured years of suffering in silence.
"I'll change," he thought as his eyes closed. "I'll change everything. This world hasn't seen what I can become."
As Kael drifted off to sleep, the faint glow of dawn began to spread across the horizon. The village of Grey Hollow continued its quiet routine, unaware that one of its most insignificant outcasts had taken his first step toward an extraordinary destiny.