Warm sunlight pressed against Rion's eyelids.
For a moment… he thought he was waking up in his room again—mother humming in the kitchen, father chopping wood outside, Lior shouting something stupid, Feya laughing, Talia nagging him to study.
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Then the smell reached him—
smoke… ash… and the cold stench of death.
Rion's eyes flew open.
He wasn't in his bed.
He was lying on the forest floor, a thin layer of morning mist curling around him like pale ghosts. His whole body ached. His clothes were stiff with dried blood—his own and others'.
Slowly… very slowly… he forced himself to stand.
And what he saw stole the breath from his lungs.
His village—
the place that once glowed golden under daylight—
was now nothing but a charred skeleton.
Homes burnt into crooked bones.
Streets scorched black.
No sound.
No birds.
No monsters.
Just… silence.
A silence crueler than any scream.
Rion walked through the ruins as if sleepwalking. Every step felt heavy, like the ground itself wanted to pull him down.
He found bodies—what remained of them—and buried each one with trembling hands.
He saved his parents for last.
His father's sword—broken.
His mother's pendant—shattered.
His second mother's eyeglasses—broken.
Their bodies… barely recognizable.
His tears didn't fall at first.
They just… gathered, burning behind his eyes.
Until the shovel slipped from his hand, and everything came crashing down.
He buried them anyway.
Even if his vision was blurred the entire time.
When the final mound of soil was placed, he whispered,
"…I'm sorry."
His voice cracked.
And for a moment, he wasn't sure if he could breathe anymore.
---
He approached his home—or what was left of it.
The doorway had collapsed inward, burnt wood splintered everywhere. The windows were just holes now. He stepped inside carefully, swallowing hard.
There was no furniture.
No laughter.
No warmth.
Just debris… and ashes.
But then something strange happened.
His mind betrayed him.
He saw illusions of his past—
his younger self rushing across the room,
his mother scolding him gently,
his father smiling proudly,
Talia hummed at the old sink, sleeves rolled up, washing dishes while sunlight once danced on the kitchen walls.
Lior and Feya stealing food from the kitchen.
For a heartbeat, he believed it.
He reached out to touch the image of his family…
…but his fingers passed through the empty air.
Everything vanished.
The weight of reality crushed him, and he staggered out of the ruined home, unable to breathe.
---
He walked until his legs gave out under a large tree—the one his father planted the day Rion was born. The trunk was cracked, half-burnt, leaves wilted.
Even this…
wasn't spared.
Rion slid down to the roots, clutching handfuls of dirt, and the dam finally broke.
"It's my fault…" he whispered, voice shaking.
"It's all my fault… If I didn't go… If I stayed… If I—"
He choked on his own breath.
"God… why?!"
His scream tore the silence apart.
"What did I do?! Why did you punish me?! I just… I just wanted a family… a normal life!"
His voice echoed through the empty village.
"What am I supposed to do now…?"
His words trembled.
"Where will I go…? Where do I stay…?"
"And Lior… Feya… I didn't even find them… Are they alive? Dead?"
He dug his nails into the bark until his fingers bled.
"I don't know anything anymore…"
Then—
crack.
A twig snapped.
Rion froze instantly. He wiped his tears, hid behind the tree, and peered out.
A small group of men moved through the ruins, armed with rusted axes and cheap swords. They laughed while examining the rubble.
"Haah, look at this," one of them groaned. "Everything's gone. You expect valuables in a place that got roasted alive?"
"Stop whining," another snapped. "Boss said search properly."
Rion strained but couldn't hear everything. He shifted slightly—
One of the men stopped.
His gaze sharpened.
"Hey… someone's watching."
Rion's heart jumped.
Before he could run, a rough hand clamped onto his arm and yanked him out of hiding.
"Hah! Look what we found!" the man shouted. "Boss! A survivor!"
A tall, mascular man with golden eyes stepped forward—the boss. His gaze slid over Rion like he was inspecting a piece of meat.
"Well, well…" he murmured. "A little brat survived? Didn't expect that."
The others smirked.
"In slave trade," one laughed, "this kid will sell for—"
SHHK!
His sentence ended in a scream.
His hand…
had been sliced clean off.
Everyone froze.
Rion stood there, shaking…
but holding a scorched, half-broken sword.
His stance wasn't perfect.
His legs trembled.
His grip slipped.
But his eyes—
they burned with something primal.
"W–what the hell?!" another man yelled, backing away.
Rion didn't let them finish forming a circle around him. He rushed forward, slashing in desperate, messy arcs—but there was something familiar in the motion. Something the boss recognized instantly.
"Stop."
The boss raised a hand.
The surviving men hesitated.
"Don't hurt him."
"Huh? Boss?! After he—"
"Shut up."
The boss stepped closer, studying Rion's stance.
"That sword work… I've only seen something similar once. It's not common. Not crude. Not untrained."
His golden eyes narrowed.
"It's unique."
He tilted his head.
"Who taught you that?"
Rion tightened his grip, eyes wary.
"…I refuse to say."
The boss sighed dramatically, brushing his hand through his hair as it lifted in the wind.
"Listen, kid… I don't think you understand." His yellow eyes glowed faintly. "I'm not someone you can just refuse."
Rion didn't blink.
"I refuse anyway."
A beat of silence.
Then the boss grinned.
"Good answer."
He swung his hand—but instead of striking, he gently tapped Rion's head.
Everyone stared in confusion.
"I like your bravery," the boss said, voice unexpectedly warm. "And your spirit. How about this?"
He extended his hand.
"Join my adventurer team, Golden Fang."
The men behind him gawked.
"B–boss? Seriously?!"
The boss waved them off.
"You can heal your hand later. Priorities, people."
He looked at Rion again.
"Well? What do you say, brat?"
Rion stood still.
His mind spun—fear, grief, uncertainty all swirling at once.
But…
He had nowhere left to go.
No home.
No family.
No future.
Maybe…
maybe this was the path he needed.
Rion took a breath.
"…I'll join."
The boss grinned widely.
"Good. Welcome to the start of your new journey."