In the early purple-tinted morning glow, Kai stretched out his stiff muscles before moving away from the other children.
He watched as many of them huddled together for warmth.
'The winter isn't kind to them. Whatever's happening to me is stopping me from feeling the effects of the cold, though. Am I simply becoming less human, or something more than human?'
Once alone, he practiced with magic and shadow together, trying to enhance his ability to be more adaptable in combat.
The chilly morning air sent shivers down his spine, but he ignored it, focusing on weaving the shadows around his fingers, moulding them into shifting tendrils before dispersing them again.
'I need more control.'
The more he trained, the more he could push his limits, and the more he could ensure his own survival.
He tried to split more shadows from himself, and made Shade bigger to try the same with, but the formless shadows retreated back into Kai's shadow after a few moments.
'It would be great to create more Shades, or some decoys. I have to work harder.'
A short time after practicing, he heard quiet sobbing nearby.
Frowning, Kai turned towards and followed the sound. He saw Merri sitting on an old wooden crate, staring toward the distant building walls of the inner city of Ylthara.
Her small frame was hunched, dark curls falling over her face as she clutched a torn scrap of fabric in her hands. Even from a distance, Kai could see how tightly she held onto it, her knuckles pale from the pressure.
He hesitated before stepping closer.
Being the same age in this world, he felt like it was a perfect opportunity to help someone out with his wisdom.
'But I never accomplished anything in my other life.'
Merri didn't look up. She simply let out a shuddering breath and whispered, "Ah, it's you, Kai."
Kai sat beside her, resting his arms on his knees. "What's wrong?"
'I can at least listen to her.'
She sniffled and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Lauren is out there somewhere. Somewhere..."
"Who?" Kai tried to follow her line of sight but got lost in the houses.
"My sister." She motioned toward the inner city, her fingers gripping the fabric tighter. "I think about her all the time."
Kai glanced at her. "What happened?"
Merri swallowed hard before speaking. "We were both together at first. Begging, stealing, surviving. We never had our parents. We did everything together. Then one day, a man in a fancy robe stopped us on the streets. He had this… this kind smile and gentle voice. He told my sister he could take her somewhere safe. Said he'd come back for me later." Her breath hitched. "She told me to wait for her to come back."
A long silence stretched between them before Merri's voice wavered again. "She never did."
Kai felt a strange tightness in his chest. He had only spent a short time in Ylthara, but he had already seen enough to know that the city's promises were nothing but empty words. People like them—the unwanted, the overlooked—were nothing more than tools to be used and discarded.
"I tried to find her," Merri whispered. "But no one listens to kids like us."
Kai's hands curled into fists. The same city that had tried to cage him had swallowed Merri's sister whole. Probably never to be seen again.
"You'll find her," he said, surprising himself with how certain his voice sounded. "Somehow. Believe in yourself."
Merri turned to look at him, her big, sorrowful eyes widening. Then, slowly, she smiled.
A small, fragile smile, but a real one, nonetheless.
She wiped her tears and snot away with her sleeve.
"I'll try, Kai. I'm glad I met you."
"Likewise. You and everyone else."
'You've all pulled me out of the darkness more than you'll ever know.'
Kai stood up, glancing back at her one last time before walking away. As he rejoined the others, a thought crept into his mind.
'All these kids had to grow up too fast. Maybe my family can wait a little longer for me to get back.'
Kai waited to see if Merri would follow him, but she continued to stare out into Ylthara.
He left her to her thoughts and returned to the group.
Joran, who idly tossed two rocks into the air and caught them at almost blinding speeds, looked at Kai. The older boy had a cocky grin. The ragged clothes hanging from his body did little to hide his bulky muscles.
"Feel like a spar, Kai?" Joran challenged, cracking his knuckles. "I've seen you practicing. You've got some tricks, but let's see if they hold up."
"You know, I've wondered how you eat enough to keep all of those muscles."
"I'm not sure you want to know."
"Hit me."
Joran frowned before smiling and approaching.
"Wait! I meant tell me! It's just a phrase."
"Oh? Well, I feed off all of the alley rats. Finn told me that meat makes you get bigger muscles, and he was right. Merri cooks them for me, too! I guess they see me as the big brother who can protect them!"
"Sure seems like it." Kai looked over to a group of children pretending to be Joran by wildly throwing their fists around and laughing.
"So, a spar?"
Kai smirked.
'I have been itching for a fight. Not some fighting in a forest or in these alleyways against targets.'
"Alright."
The others quickly cleared a space, murmuring with excitement. Soon, Kai and Joran stood in a small ring with all the children standing at the edge.
Some looked worried, but most showed excitement through smiles and cheers.
Joran was one of the strongest among them, if not the strongest. But not just strong, but fast, unpredictable, and surprisingly skilled despite never receiving formal training.
Kai moved first, sending a tendril of shadow curling toward Joran's leg to trip him. But before it could reach, Joran shifted, his muscles tensing. His whole body pulsed with raw energy. In an instant, he was gone from where he had stood, his foot slamming into Kai's gut before Kai even registered the movement.
Kai staggered back, gasping.
Joran didn't let up. He darted forward, every motion fluid and instinctive, like a warrior child born for battle.
Kai tried to reinforce his limbs with strengthening magic, bracing himself for the next attack, but Joran's fist crashed through his guard like a battering ram, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
"Come on, Kai!" Joran called. "You can do better than that."
Kai gritted his teeth.
'That's not normal strength.'
Joran unconsciously used strengthening magic without chanting or preparation, as if it was just an extension of himself. His movements weren't calculated; they were instinctual, honed through fighting and surviving in the streets.
Kai forced himself up, this time layering his entire body with strengthening magic. Shadows flickered at his fingertips, ready to strike when the time was right. He lunged.
Joran met him head-on with a smile. A joyful smile.
Kai feinted left, his shadow-covered body whipping forward to strike Joran's exposed ribs. But before it could land, Joran twisted mid-step, weaving through Kai's attack as if he could sense it before it even struck. His hand shot forward, gripping Kai's wrist like an iron shackle.
Kai's cloak of shadow dissipated the moment Joran touched him.
"Not bad," Joran admitted, before pulling Kai forward and slamming him down onto the dirt with enough force to knock the breath from his lungs.
'Maybe he could become the strongest in that Arena of Kings he talked about.'
The fight was over. Joran grinned, stepping back as Kai coughed and rolled onto his side. "You've got some crazy magic, but you hesitate. You think too much. In an actual fight, that'll get you killed. Or at least I think it would?"
Kai stayed there, staring up at the sky, breathing hard. Frustration couldn't be further from his mind.
He was in awe.
"That is power. Not just magics and tricks and spells, but something raw. Something ingrained into the bones and muscles of a person. I need to know how to move like that. To fight like that..."
Joran stretched and offered a hand to Kai, who took it. "Ah, I haven't had that much fun in a fight in forever! You want to keep sparring with me sometimes?"
Kai dusted himself off, his mind already racing. Bridging the gap between his magic and his body would make fighting much easier. If Joran could do it without thinking, then so could he.
"Definitely. I have a few things to learn from you."
"That's right! Just let big brother Joran look after you!"
'Big brother, hey? I know I'm old, but that sounds sort of nice.'
He turned away from the sparring ground and found Rhea standing apart from the others, arms crossed, watching as Finn, Merri, Joran, and the rest laughed around the tiny fire they had built.
Kai approached her, noting the sharpness in her violet eyes as she took in everything around her with quiet vigilance.
"You don't have a grand dream like the others?" he asked.
Rhea exhaled through her nose, her gaze flicking toward him. "I want them to survive."
Kai frowned. "That's it?"
She turned to face him. "Not everyone has the luxury of dreaming, Kai."
He looked at the children again, watching the way they clung to their fantasies of the future.
They spoke of skyships, lost siblings, and grand battles.
They spoke of the life they wished they had, of the lives they hoped they could live someday.
But Rhea, the oldest among them, didn't entertain such thoughts.
"They're my family," she continued, her voice steady. "I don't care if we never see the sky, or if we never leave Ylthara. I just want them to wake up tomorrow with full bellies, without fear."
Kai had nothing to respond to that with.
For all his magic, for all the power he had stolen, he still wasn't sure if he could promise her that.
"You've got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders," he finally said.
Rhea let out a short, humourless laugh. "Are you sure you're five, Kai?"
Kai smirked. "Between you and me, I both am and I'm not. Just know that I'm your ally, Rhea."
She studied him carefully before nodding. "I'll put my trust in you, so don't let me down."
Her tone carried a subtle threat.
For the first time in a long while, Kai wanted to be worthy of it.