"This . . . was disappointing."

A skinny, 9-foot-tall man with arms stretching to his knees stood atop a red, 40-meter-high mountain. Its surface was a grotesque mix of bones, flesh, and skin.

At the mountain's base, a boy lay flat, his body bathed in a crimson river. His fat, trembling arms struggled to push him to his knees.

The boy looked up at the summit, his breath uneven. He gritted his teeth for a second and let out a sigh.

"Get this over with," he said, the towering figure still looking down at him.

The boy looked down at his trembling hands.

'Why did this happen? . . . I never should've took that thing. If only I didn't, I would still be alive. She would still be here.'

He looked ahead at a light growing bigger and thought, 'Fu-.'

. . .

"-CK."

The boy opened his eyes, panting. He profusely sweated while covering his forehead.

'What was that dream? It was too clear. A vivid dream?. . . It was . . . terrifying.'

The room stank with unfinished food and the disturbingly loud sound of a shooting game playing on his phone didn't help either.

He sighed and stood on his feet, the empty bowl on the ground smashing under his feet.

"AHHHHHH!!"

The scream reached all over the neighbourbood.

A middle aged woman gossiping with another said, "Is that the deadbeat?"

"Yes. Seems to me like he will be gone soon."

"Poor boy."

The door of the said boy violently opened up.

"SON?"

A deep voice came from the door. The boy looked up at a muscular thick-bearded man, taller than the door frame.

He said, "Dad, help me."

The man looked at the shattered bowl and sighed.

Without a single word said, he grabbed the boy's hand and picked him up.

"We will travel from today onwards. This might be one of your last years. I want you to see all the things this world has to offer."

The boy, defeated in his father's shoulders, replied, "Sounds like a lot of work."

The man ignored him and went downstairs, carefully dodging the ceiling fans.

Downstairs, looking at the portrait of a woman on the desk, he murmured, "This must be the curse you put on me, my love."

He put the boy on the chair and tilted his head toward his mother's photo.

"Look at her. She wouldn't want you wasting your short life in games and reading stupid shit online."

The boy went silent and his father went to his room.

"I will prepare the things for our trip. You. . . You stay there."

The boy looked at his mom and thought, 'Why mom? Why . . .did you leave me. . .with this arrogant ass dad?'

The boy stood up and went to the bathroom.

'But what dad said is true. 3 years, just 3 more years and I will be liberated from this.'

The man packed a suitcase and looked at his wife's picture.

"I will be back soon," he said.

The boy came out of the shower and put on a plain white shirt and a black trousers.

"Let's go, dad."

The two locked up the house and a fat man next door called them.

"Hey, Nolan. Where you going with the boy?"

Nolan glanced at the man and said, "Where the wind takes."

The man looked at the boy and replied, "The wind can't do shit to him."

The boy glared at the man.

"IT WILL DO SHIT TO YOUR DESERTED HEAD," he screamed.

Nolan laughed and the man snickered while going inside his house.

The boy looked at the tallest mountain in rhe horizon and said, "That's where we'll go, right?"

Nolan replied, "That is the first checkpoint," while looking at the boy with a grin.

The two walked slowly.

First, a river. The boy learned to fish.

Then, a forest. The boy learned to build a house.

Then, a hill. The boy learned heel pain and leg cramps.

Then a village. The boy learned to cook.

Then a plateau. The boy learned how to fistfight.

Then, a snowhill. The boy learned to climb.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE BOY. DON'T GIVE UP."

The boy used his ice axe to make a foothold, just behind his father. The snowy winds hit his face while his forearms were giving out.

"I can do this. On my . . . own."

He gritted his teeth and kept his muscles tight.

"DAD, PROMISE ME."

Nolan looked back at him. "WHAT IS IT?"

"PROMISE TO DO THIS AGAIN."

Nolan looked ahead, the sigh on his face turning into a smile swiftly.

"I promise," he whispered to himself.

"IF I REACH THE TOP FIRST, YOU HAVE TO AGREE."

The boy climbed the rocky terrain rapidly, quickly surpassing his father.

"HEY, WAIT," Nolan screamed.

The boy slipped from a foothold, his eyes wide.

Nolan quickly grabbed him by one arm and yelled, "BRACE YOURSELF."

He threw the boy toward the summit like a javelin.

"Shit. . . at least I survived."

He began decelerating so he struck the snow with his ice axe again, barely hanging on.

With his other hand, he pulled himself to the summit.

He opened his eyes wide to see the sun just rising.

"Woah."

The unobstructed and unfiltered view of the sun in all its glory mesmerised the boy.

Nolan soon followed and looked around the summit, no smile or expression on his face.

A black-cloaked individual, flying atop them greeted Nolan with a bow.

"Boy, step aside."

The boy, unable to hear his father, just stared at the sun.

"BOY!!"

He looked back saying, "What now? Don't tell me you'll break our promi-"

Metallic claws wemt straight for his eyes and stopped an inch away.

"You will stop right there."

The boy collapsed on the ground while Nolan grabbed the metallic claws.

The unknown person replied, "Don't push me off, dear. You know how much I love you."

The winds blew off the person's head cover and revealed an elongated metal head with no eyes and sharp protruding teeth.

"You had to ruin my last moment, Xeno."

The boy exclaimed, "Your last moment?"

Xeno tilted his head toward the boy and said, "What a handsome man you've become. Even though you're that sow's spawn."

Nolan grabbed Xeno's hand tightly, his eyes turning bright white.

"One more word and you won't live another second."

Xeno placed her hand on Nolan's chest while looking up at his face.

"My, how passionate."

Nolan looked down at her, his expression still blank.

"Just do what you're here for."

Xeno raised her shoulders and said, "Well, a deal is a deal. It's a shame I can't have you. But your son. . ."

Nolan glared at her and she replied, "Hey, don't get mad. I'm kidding. Or not."

Nolan walked toward the boy.

"D-dad, what is that thing talking about? What's going on?"

Nolan grabbed his son's arms.

"Son, I can't explain everything to you."

He sat on his knees. "A man needs to teach his everything to his son before passing. I've failed to do that and I'm giving you a buden now."

He looked at the ground. "I have failed. Failed as a father. As a husband. . . As a man. And I'm inheriting you all my failures."

The boy said, "No, dad. You aren't a failure. I am. I was born this way. Don't blame yourself."

Nolan's eyes became watery as he heard that. He stood up and joined his palms together.

"I. . . I am sorry."

His eyes brightened again, along with his hair.

"As the successor of Nolan Whiteblade, I assign the name Adolf to the subject before me. He is the one that will inherit all of Whiteblade's glory."

A star sparkling in the sky descended instantly in a beam and slammed the boy. The light dispersed and he was gone.

Nolan smiled slightly and flinched.

He looked down at his stomach, from where 5 claws protruded.

He coughed up green blood and said, "Tell the doctor to keep the pact."

Xeno smiled. "Of course. We don't want to die either."

Nolan closed his eyes.

At last, the summit. The boy learned to be a man.