The forest was silent…
A heavy silence, so thick that even the trees' breathing felt like a crime.
Lerin stood in the middle of a circle of wet mud, her hand trembling slightly as she gripped the dagger the Black Knight had given her.
She wasn't trembling out of fear… but out of humiliation.
Lerin:
How am I supposed to learn a "human" weapon?
I—who can rewrite blood and reality itself?
And yet…
there he was.
The Black Knight.
Standing exactly as he always did.
Not breathing quickly.
Not tired.
Not moving unless he had to.
But…
the choice was no longer hers.
He lifted a finger and pointed to the position of her feet.
Just that—
a gesture.
Then silence again.
Lerin frowned:
Lerin:
"What? You want me to stand like this? This stance is ridiculous—"
He cut her off just by leaning forward slightly.
He didn't touch her…
but his mere approach made the air around her tighten.
She stepped back, then muttered reluctantly:
Lerin:
"…Fine. I get it. Like this then."
No answer.
He turned his back, took a slow step, then suddenly launched a swift strike with his dagger—
A straight line, short, but faster than a heartbeat.
He didn't aim to hit her—
but if she had been a fraction of a second slower, half her face would've vanished.
She shouted:
Lerin:
"You're insane! You almost cut my head off!"
He gestured again.
No voice.
No explanation.
She understood he wanted her to try again.
She tightened her grip and whispered:
Lerin:
"Alright, you ghost… if you want to see my real skill, then watch."
She rushed at him.
A quick stab from the right.
A lean from the left.
A full spin, dragging the air with her.
But—
Every strike missed him as if she were slicing at shadows.
He needed just one step to nullify ten of hers.
No abilities.
No magic.
Nothing but… human speed—but a speed that made no sense.
Lerin stepped back, panting.
She smirked bitterly:
Lerin:
"What a monster… You're not human no matter how hard you pretend."
This time…
he lifted his head slightly.
The shadows of his helmet hid his face, but his voice came out low:
Black Knight:
"I… am the last of the humans.
And the dagger… is the only truth we have left."
Lerin froze.
Not because of the words…
but because it was the longest thing he ever said.
He threw her another dagger.
Black Knight:
"Again."
She stared at the dagger… then at him.
Lerin:
"Fine… but if you touch me—
I'll make your own blood rebel against you."
Silence.
Then a small gesture from his hand:
Come.
And the second lesson began.
A short gesture.
Knight:
"Attack."
It wasn't a request…
It was a command.
Lerin shouted as she charged:
Lerin:
"I've fought kings… devoured souls… but YOU—!!"
But the Knight moved faster than thought.
He struck her dagger aside.
Pushed her shoulder.
Broke her balance.
Made her crash to the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Twenty times.
Fifty.
He didn't give her a second to breathe.
She stood with difficulty and screamed:
Lerin:
"This isn't training… this is torture!"
He lifted his head slightly.
Black Knight (calmly):
"Torture… is only for those who don't understand their body's limits."
She pointed at him with a shaking hand:
Lerin:
"I—I'm not human! I have powers…!"
He shook his head.
Knight:
"With the dagger… your power means nothing."
Then he gestured again:
Attack.
---
🌙 Hours dripping like blood
The hour passed…
Another…
The whole night.
And Lerin was still thrown to the ground every time she tried to stand.
Her left eye began to bleed.
Her knee shook.
Her arm felt heavy as lead.
But the Knight…
remained the same.
As if time did not apply to him.
Lerin (to herself):
Is he joking? How is he not tired yet?!
Black Knight:
"Stand, and try again."
Lerin:
"Are you joking—"
Black Knight:
"Will your enemy care how much time he has to stop himself from killing you?"
Lerin:
"…"
Black Knight:
"Then stand. And be silent."
---
🌘 Midnight — First Collapse
Lerin fell to her knees, breathing like a wounded animal.
Lerin (hoarsely):
"No… more… I can't…"
He approached slowly.
His shadow swallowed the moonlight.
He extended his hand—
but not to help her.
Only to lift her dagger in front of her face.
Knight:
"Stand."
Lerin:
"Don't say it… don't—"
Knight:
"Stand."
A scream of pain tore from her as she forced her body up.
---
🌑 Before Dawn — Second Collapse
She had lost feeling in her right hand.
Every time she picked up the dagger… it fell.
She laughed—
a mad, broken laugh:
Lerin:
"Do you want to kill me?! Then do it instead of this—!"
He suddenly leapt.
Stabbed the air near her face.
Her hair flew back.
Her eyes widened.
Knight:
"If I wanted to kill you… you would not be here."
She froze.
That was…
the closest thing to "concern" he had ever said.
She closed her eyes, swallowing a cry.
Lerin:
"Then let me… breathe… just a minute—"
Knight:
"No."
Then he gestured:
Attack.
---
☀️ Sunrise — Day Two
She had reached the edge of madness.
No sleep.
No water.
No rest.
And when the sun's first light touched the ground…
She stood before him.
Exhausted.
Broken.
But standing.
He raised his dagger—
but this time, he didn't attack.
He said calmly:
Knight:
"Now… we can begin."
Her eyes narrowed…
then widened in shock:
Lerin:
"That… wasn't the training?"
He shook his head.
Knight:
"No.
That was only the endurance test."
Her dagger fell.
She fell with it.
The whole forest heard her scream:
Lerin:
"You… monster!"
He walked away, leaving her on the ground.
Black Knight:
"You chose a monster… to learn from."
She lifted her head, her face covered with dust, blood, and tears, and shouted:
Lerin:
"What did I ever do to you…?
Why… why are you torturing me?!"
The Knight stood still, staring at her.
Unmoving.
Unchanging.
Like a statue.
Finally he said, without emotion:
Black Knight:
"Nothing."
Two words.
But they hit like a blade through her chest.
Her lips trembled.
She laughed—
a shattered, broken laugh:
Lerin:
"Nothing?
Nothing?!
You expect me to believe that?
Impossible that all this pain has no reason!"
She struck the ground with her fist, as if trying to wake the earth itself:
Lerin:
"Do you think I'm stupid?
Do you think I can't see what you're thinking?
I'm a girl… and you're a man…
And men don't look at a broken girl on the ground…
without imagining the worst!"
She gasped, then whispered, broken:
Lerin:
"Isn't that what you want?
Go on then…
Continue whatever twisted punishment you have in mind!
Everyone does!
Everyone… in my life… since I was born…"
She collapsed, tears falling like knives:
Lerin:
"I'm tired of lies…
Tired of being the strongest… and the weakest…
Thrown into danger every time…
I'm tired of everything…"
She raised her face to him again, her voice now a dying whisper:
Lerin:
"If you hate me…
or hold hatred for me…
Then just… kill me."
She fell, screaming:
Lerin:
"Kill me!
Kill me!
Kill me!!
Please…"
She burst into tears…
crying as if the whole world was being ripped from her ribs.
---
The Knight's reaction — silence heavier than death
He didn't move.
He didn't step closer.
But he didn't leave either.
He stood, watching this collapse he had never seen before…
A collapse not caused by his blows…
but by something much older.
Black Knight:
"Isn't that… the same question your victims asked you…
when you turned their blood into your plaything?"
Lerin's tears stopped instantly.
The word "victims" froze the air.
She lifted her head slowly, as if her neck weighed a thousand stones.
Lerin (shaking):
"You… you know?"
He stepped forward once.
The ground seemed to tremble.
Knight:
"I don't need to know.
The blood of the world speaks louder than humans."
She clutched her chest, as if something pierced her.
Lerin:
"I… I didn't do it for pleasure…"
He raised his finger, cutting her off, his voice colder:
Knight:
"Don't lie… not to me."
She gasped.
Her eyes widened.
He knew.
He knew the past she never faced.
The kings who fell.
The souls she froze.
The hearts she crushed.
And all of it—
The Knight saw it without magic.
Without power.
Black Knight:
"Before you ask why I torment you…
ask first:
why are you still alive?"
She stopped breathing.
He took another step, his shadow swallowing her completely.
Knight:
"If I wanted to kill you…
you'd be a memory."
Her lips trembled:
Lerin:
"Then… what do you want from me?
Why all this?
Why make me bleed even though I'm still a titan?"
He lifted his head toward the sky, searching for something in the dawn.
Then he looked back at her, his voice low—
but every word crashed into her soul like iron:
Black Knight:
"You understand nothing, Lerin…
You never knew what pain without power feels like,
or fear without magic,
or life without the privilege of blood."
He stepped closer—
one step that made her heart retreat in terror.
Knight:
"You titans are born with strength in your hands…
But we humans?
We are born in darkness… and die in it…
unless we carve light from flesh and bone."
She looked up at him, fear trembling inside her.
Knight:
"Torture?
You call what happened here torture?"
He tilted his head slightly—
a faint, deadly mockery:
Knight:
"If you had seen what we have seen…
you would know that what I'm doing to you now
is nothing more than a touch of human life."
Her jaw trembled.
His tone hardened:
Knight:
"We humans, Lerin… are not strong by nature.
We are weak.
We are slaughtered easily.
Eaten easily.
Erased easily."
He paused… then delivered a sentence that cut straight into her mind:
Knight:
"But the weak… when they decide to survive?
Nothing on earth can stop them."
She gasped.
Knight:
"Human hatred?
You say it like it's a small word…
but you have no idea what it carries."
He slowly raised his hand, as if lifting something unseen.
Knight:
"When humans hate…
they build cities out of blood.
And when they seek revenge…
civilizations disappear from the maps.
And when they fear…
they burn the sky itself just to stay alive."
He looked at her directly—
a gaze that pierced through her blood.
Knight:
"Do you know why no one dares to oppose humans?"
She didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Knight:
"It's not because of our strength.
It's because of our will.
The human will… when broken…
becomes a blade no creature can wield."
Then he leaned toward her, speaking softly…
as if the world itself feared to hear him:
Knight:
"And that… is why you are here."
"To break your arrogance… before life breaks you."
Lerin's eyes widened.
She couldn't speak.
He continued:
Knight:
"You are mighty, yes…
but your heart has never known the weight of real pain.
You've never known how the weak rise after falling a thousand times.
You've never tasted hunger… thirst…
or fear that bites into bone."
He stepped close enough for his shadow to touch her fallen body.
Knight:
"That is why I train you.
Because what's coming…
will not be defeated by magic, nor royal blood."
He looked at her with a rare, heavy sincerity:
Knight:
"I need you to be strong…
not as a giant,
but as a human who can still fight when all power betrays her."
Her breath hitched.
Lerin:
"Why…?
Why do you care?"
The knight bent down silently.
He took her arm—not gently, but not harshly either.
Then lifted her and placed her on his back like a weightless bag.
Lerin gasped:
Lerin:
"What… what are you doing?!"
He didn't answer.
His steps were steady, silent…
as if her weight meant nothing at all.
She tried to lift her head:
Lerin:
"Now?! You carry me now?!
After making me crawl like an insect for hours?
Do you… do you pity me suddenly?!"
His voice came out cold—utterly inhuman:
Black Knight:
"If I pitied you…
I would've left you on the ground."
She froze.
He continued, voice carrying only truth:
Knight:
"This isn't kindness.
Nor mercy.
Nor concern."
His grip tightened slightly to keep her from falling,
but he didn't stop walking.
Knight:
"You simply can't stand anymore.
And I don't have time to wait for your weakness."
She bit her lip, voice breaking:
Lerin:
"So… you're carrying me because I'm a burden?"
Silence.
Then—
Knight:
"You're not a burden.
But you're not strong… yet."
Lerin clenched her fingers into his cloak:
Lerin:
"Then why? Why carry me?!
You could've left me, dragged me, even hit me to make me stand!"
The knight stopped—
just for a single second.
Enough to make her heart stop with him.
His voice dropped, sharp:
Knight:
"Because you must know…
that anyone who allows themselves to fall in battle
always wakes up on the back of their enemy."
Her eyes widened.
Knight:
"This… is a lesson you will not forget."
She tried to speak, but he cut her off like a blade:
Knight:
"And remember…
I'm not carrying you to protect you.
I'm carrying you… so you learn the meaning of shame."
The word struck her like a knife.
Knight:
"Shame is stronger than pain.
Shame is what makes you rise next time before I drop you."
Her lips trembled.
Lerin:
"You… you really have no heart."
Knight:
"The heart… is useless in survival."
He kept walking.
Her tears fell silently down his back—
but she didn't protest.
Because she understood something she had never understood before:
This man…
did not hate her.
Did not pity her.
Did not humiliate her for pleasure.
He was forcing on her…
the one lesson that lets the weak survive.
And just as she began to drift into unconsciousness—
his voice reached her one last time:
Black Knight:
"Rise stronger next time…
so I won't have to carry you again."
TO BE CONTINUED…