Kaelor watched Zeroth in silence.
For hours.
He didn't interrupt. He didn't correct him. He didn't even clear his throat.
The boy's movements were clumsy, uneven, and poorly balanced. His punches were slow, his breathing unsteady. Sweat soaked through his clothes far too early, and his legs trembled long before they should have. Every exercise he attempted looked wrong in one way or another—too stiff, too loose, too hesitant.
And yet… he kept going.
Again and again, Zeroth forced his body to move. Push-ups with collapsing form. Squats that barely reached depth. Awkward strikes into empty air, driven more by stubbornness than technique. He fell more than once. Each time, he stood back up without being told to.
Kaelor leaned against a tree at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, jaw tight.
This was not talent.
This was something else.
A slow, uncomfortable unease crawled up his spine as he watched. The boy trained like someone who didn't expect to survive long—like someone trying to squeeze value out of a body he didn't trust would last.
Kaelor exhaled through his nose.
What am I even doing?
He hadn't wanted a student. Not truly. The decision had been impulsive, irrational—something driven by instinct rather than reason. And yet, here he was, watching a talentless child grind himself into the dirt as if effort alone could replace destiny.
For the first time in years, Kaelor felt afraid.
Not of failure.
Of responsibility.
What if the boy died under his guidance? What if this was all meaningless? What if he was wasting time on a path that led nowhere but regret?
He had built his entire life around certainty. Around knowing when to act and when to withdraw.
Zeroth shattered that.
Kaelor played the role of a harsh mentor because it was easier. Because strength, even when cruel, was simpler than hope. But deep down—deeper than he liked to admit—he wanted the boy to succeed.
Because when he looked at Zeroth, he didn't see a disciple.
He saw himself.
Not as he was now—but as he once had been. Full of unshaped ambition. Burning quietly. Crushed before it ever had the chance to roar.
Kaelor turned his gaze away just as the sun dipped lower.
—
Morning came too quickly.
The light that spilled through the window was sharp, almost invasive. Zeroth was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, hands clenched loosely in his lap. His body ached from the previous day, but he didn't complain. Pain had already begun to feel… familiar.
Today was different.
He could feel it.
Kaelor's footsteps stopped outside the door. A moment later, he knocked—once.
"Ready for today, weakling?" Kaelor said flatly as he stepped inside. "We're going to fight wild animals that can kill you instantly."
Zeroth stood. His movements were stiff, but deliberate.
"I have to be ready," he replied. "There's no reason to ask."
Kaelor snorted, then turned toward the stable. He mounted the horse first, then gestured behind him without looking back. Zeroth climbed on, gripping the saddle with slightly trembling hands.
The road stretched long and quiet.
"Where are we going, master?" Zeroth asked after a while.
"To Newcomers Valley," Kaelor replied. "It's where beginners go to hunt. Magicians. Swordsmen. Idiots with dreams."
He paused.
"Sometimes they fight animals. Sometimes they fight each other."
Zeroth said nothing after that.
His thoughts spiraled inward instead. Fear crept in quietly, not as panic, but as a heavy presence pressing against his chest. What if I die here? The question didn't scream. It whispered. Persistent. Exhausting.
He didn't believe in himself. Not really.
And yet… he didn't ask to turn back.
When they arrived, the valley sprawled before them—wide, open, alive with noise. People gathered in loose groups. Some sharpened weapons. Some laughed too loudly. Some watched each other with thinly veiled hostility.
Kaelor dismounted.
"Stop shaking," he said. "We're not here to fight them. But if someone challenges you—then you fight. You don't run."
Zeroth nodded.
They followed the path into the forest. The deeper they went, the quieter it became. The air grew heavier. The trees thicker. The ground uneven.
"When we find a target," Kaelor said without slowing, "you don't rush in. You observe. You find weaknesses. You don't attack like yesterday."
They walked a little farther.
"If you truly want to become strong," Kaelor continued, "there are rules."
Zeroth listened intently.
"First: when an enemy is defeated, you kill them. Animal or human. You erase threats. Mercy creates consequences."
Zeroth's throat tightened, but he didn't interrupt.
"Second: control your emotions. Don't act because you're angry. Act because it serves your dream."
Kaelor stopped walking.
"There are more rules. I won't teach them. You'll learn them the hard way."
Zeroth nodded again. His silence was unusual. His focus… unsettling.
Kaelor noticed his eyes.
They were different.
The same look he'd had during the extraction. Empty, yet alert. Like something was waiting just beneath the surface.
Then—voices.
Rushing. Heavy. Close.
The creature emerged from between the trees.
A monstrous hybrid. Bear-like mass fused with leonine agility. Its breath steamed. Its eyes locked onto Zeroth instantly.
And then—
Kaelor vanished.
For a split second, betrayal stabbed through Zeroth's chest.
Then instinct took over.
The creature charged.
A claw swung toward him.
Zeroth jumped—far higher than he should have been able to. His body moved before his mind caught up. He landed awkwardly, barely steady.
Magic.
He tried to remember.
Imagine it. The inner world. The flow. Bring it outside.
Nothing happened.
Panic surged.
The next attack came too fast.
Pain exploded as he was slammed into the ground. Something cracked. His breath vanished. His vision blurred. Any normal child would have died.
Zeroth didn't.
He forced himself up, blood dripping from his mouth, legs barely obeying him. He focused again—desperately.
For a moment, something responded.
A black, shadowy barrier flickered into existence in front of him.
The beast struck.
The impact sent the creature flying backward.
Then the barrier vanished.
Zeroth stood exposed.
The next strike was merciless.
His body flew.
Something tore inside him. Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision.
The creature approached for the final blow.
And then—
Black thunder.
It descended with surgical precision.
The beast died instantly.
Zeroth didn't see it clearly. He barely registered anything at all before consciousness slipped away.
Kaelor emerged from the shadows, stunned.
He rushed forward, lifting Zeroth's broken body without hesitation.
On the ride to the hospital, his thoughts raced.
Only in critical situations…
Black thunder…
At the hospital, the insignia was enough.
Doctors moved fast.
One of them hesitated. "He should be dead."
Kaelor leaned close. "Bring him back."
"This depends on his will," the doctor said quietly.
Kaelor's voice broke the silence.
"YOU BETTER NOT DIE."
Zeroth couldn't hear him.
But inside—
Something spoke.
Fragments. Broken words.
Another life. Another time.
His mother.
Then—
A figure.
Waiting.
—