Smoke burned my eyes, and the night pulsed red.
I stumbled through the field, my legs shaky, my breath catching in my throat. The air was thick with ash and flame. All around me, homes crumbled like paper, and screams faded into crackling fire.
I had escaped our burning house, but my feet kept moving, even when my heart begged me to stop. I didn't want to run—I wanted to stay. I wanted to go back. But the last thing Father told me was to keep moving.
"Run as far as you can."
I tripped and fell.
The ground was slick, wet with something dark and warm. I pushed myself up—and realized I had fallen onto someone's body. A villager, unmoving, eyes wide open in shock.
I scrambled back, horrified. Blood stained my arms.
The village I once called home was now a graveyard.
And then I heard her voice.
"Tatlom!"
I turned. My mother ran toward me, her face pale, her breathing heavy. She scooped me into her arms, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe. Her hands were trembling.
"We have to go," she said, more to herself than to me.
But the ground shook again.
This time, it wasn't fire.
It was something far worse.
Thump… Thump…
Each step sounded like thunder, slow but heavy—getting closer.
Then, from behind the flames, a figure emerged.
Tall. Hulking. Covered in blackened scales like burned stone. Its arms were thick, claws scraping against the ground. Glowing white eyes pierced the darkness, and smoke coiled from its wide mouth.
It looked at us—and laughed.
The sound was hollow, wicked. Not the laugh of a man. Not even a beast. It was something beyond both.
Mother's arms tightened around me. She knelt, looked me in the eyes.
"Tatlom," she whispered. "You must go. Alone."
I shook my head, crying. "No. I don't want to leave you."
She smiled. A soft, broken smile.
"It's alright. Just don't look back."
And with that, she turned me around—and pushed.
I ran.
But I did look back.
I wish I hadn't.
I saw her standing tall, eyes fixed on the monster. She raised her hands—not in defense, but in prayer. As if even in the face of death, she was wishing for peace.
The monster's arm swung once.
Slice.
It was clean. Inhumanly so.
Her body remained standing for a second. Then, slowly, her head rolled from her shoulders, falling to the ground with a soft thud.
Blood sprayed in a wide arc, painting the dirt red.
My legs gave out.
I collapsed to my knees, sobbing, crawling back to her. My hands reached out, desperate to hold her, to pull her close, to undo what I had seen.
But there was nothing left to save.
She was gone.
The monster chuckled. "What a touching sight."
I glared up, tears blurring my vision.
He reached down, grabbed her head by the hair, and lifted it up.
Blood dripped from the neck, running down his fingers. He licked the side of her face like a trophy.
"Delicious," he muttered. "So much sorrow. I could feast on this forever."
He looked at me.
"Poor little thing. Shall I end your misery too?"
I couldn't answer. I couldn't breathe. I could barely stay conscious.
He raised one giant arm, flames swirling around his palm in a tight spiral.
"Fireball!"
He launched the magic straight at me.
I flinched, covered my face with my hands—ready for it all to end.
Boom!
The ground shook. Dust exploded around me. My ears rang.
But I wasn't dead.
I opened my eyes slowly.
I had been moved. Just a few meters to the side—but far enough that the fireball had missed.
Confused, I turned to look.
A figure now stood between me and the monster.
Tall, calm, unmoved by the chaos around him. A long coat billowed gently in the heat. Two swords were strapped across his back. His presence was quiet—but powerful. Like a river flowing beneath still water.
The monster's face twisted. "So it was you."
The figure didn't answer.
"You saved him?" the monster hissed.
Still no reply.
The stranger simply stood there, one hand resting near his blade.
"I will not tolerate this insult," the monster growled. "You shall die like the rest."
He raised his arms, and smoke lifted from the corpses nearby—villagers, turned to ash in seconds. The ash rushed into the monster's body. His form grew slightly larger. His claws sharper. A third eye opened on his forehead, glowing deep crimson.
"This is my true form. I will devour this entire village. And you will die trying to stop me."
The stranger chuckled.
"Hmph. Hero this, hero that. I'm not interested in titles."
The monster blinked. "Then why interfere?"
"Because," the man said softly, "I can't stand injustice. That's all."
The monster roared and charged, faster than the eye could follow. He leaped off a fallen wooden beam, claws outstretched, aiming straight for the man's neck.
I couldn't keep up. His speed was terrifying.
But then—everything stopped.
The monster's momentum froze midair.
And then—slash.
He fell in two halves.
The stranger hadn't moved. Or maybe he had, but I hadn't seen it.
The corpse landed with a thud.
The flames around us quieted.
He turned around slowly.
Our eyes met.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
I was still kneeling, tears streaking down my face.
I nodded weakly. "Yes. But I'm alive."
He paused. "Good. Then you need to get up and find work."
I stared at him. That was it? That was all he had to say?
He turned and began to walk away.
Something inside me snapped.
I grabbed a piece of his torn cape. "Wait!"
He looked back.
"I don't have a home anymore," I said quietly. "No family. No food. No one will give work to a child."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Please… let me stay with you."
He said nothing.
I kept going. "You're strong. You saved me. Please teach me. I want to learn magic. I want to destroy every evil in this world."
My hands clenched into fists.
"I want revenge."
The man sighed. "Kid…"
He turned back around and faced me fully.
"I'm not a hero. I don't care about saving the world. I help people. They pay me. That's all."
"But—" I started.
He cut me off. "Even if I agreed, you'll never afford a magic item. You'll waste your life chasing something impossible."
He paused. "You're just a scared kid. You won't even kill a goblin."
He turned again.
Something inside me boiled.
I raised my hand. Fire spun around my fingers, condensing into a ball. I launched it—not at him, but at a nearby tree.
Boom!
It pierced through the trunk, blasting a hole clean through.
He didn't even flinch. He dodged it like it was nothing, just from instinct.
But I had used everything I had.
My vision blurred. My knees gave out.
I collapsed.
When I woke, I was on a bed.
Sunlight poured through the window. My body ached all over.
I sat up slowly. The pain in my chest reminded me of the night before—but also that I was still breathing.
I walked out into the yard.
He was there—splitting firewood.
Without looking at me, he said, "You're awake. Took you long enough."
I blinked. "You… didn't leave?"
"Hmph. Would've been easier to," he muttered. "But you're stubborn. I'll give you that."
I stepped closer. "You changed your mind?"
He didn't answer directly.
"Grab that axe. Start chopping. Then meet me inside."
He turned and walked toward the cabin.
I stared at the wood, then at the blade.
I wasn't sure if I was dreaming. But for the first time since the fire, my heart didn't feel so hollow.
I picked up the axe.
And I began.