Chapter 3: A Man Who Quit [The Threshold]
Kaito didn't know how long he walked after the rain stopped.
His body moved out of habit, not strength. Each step felt borrowed. His arms hung heavy at his sides, fingers numb, still remembering the shape of the knife.
The man in the shed wouldn't leave him alone.
The wet gasp.The sudden weight going limp.The sound the blade made when it hit the floor.
I killed him.
The thought didn't scream anymore.
It sat there.
Waiting.
That terrified him.
By the time he reached the edge of town, his legs gave out. He fell near a building that reeked of iron, sweat, and cheap alcohol. Warm light spilled from its windows. Laughter. Life continuing without him.
The Adventurers' Guild.
Kaito turned his face into the dirt.
"You planning to die there, kid? This isn't a grave."
The voice was rough. Worn down by years of shouting over steel.
Kaito's hand moved instantly, fingers closing around the jagged stone hidden in his pocket.
A man stood a few steps away, broad shoulders slumped, beard untrimmed, a bottle dangling from his grip. His eyes were sharp in a way that didn't match the rest of him.
He smelled like alcohol.
And old regret.
The man squinted. "Huh. Shaking body. Steady eyes."
He took a drink.
That stare… Garrick thought. I've seen it before. Right before men stopped being boys.
"Go away," Kaito rasped.
Garrick snorted. "Kid, if I wanted trouble, I'd go back inside."
He turned to leave.
Behind him, Kaito pushed himself up.
He didn't cry.Didn't beg.Didn't collapse.
He stood.
Garrick stopped.
"…Damn it."
[The Weight of Names]
The room smelled like old wood and onion stew.
Kaito sat at a scarred table, hands wrapped around a warm clay bowl. Steam fogged his vision.
Warm, he realized. I forgot what warm felt like.
Garrick dropped into the chair across from him and stared. Not unkindly. Not gently either.
"So," he said. "What did you do?"
Kaito froze, spoon halfway up. "…I survived."
Garrick chuckled, humorless. "That's never the whole story."
Silence stretched. Fire cracked in the hearth.
"They call me cursed," Kaito said quietly.
Garrick drank. "They always do. It's easier than admitting the world's unfair."
Kaito looked up. "You didn't ask my name."
Garrick's eyes flickered. "Names stick. Especially the ones people shout while throwing stones."
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Garrick. Retired."
Retired wasn't the right word. Quit was closer.
"I quit before the ground could drink me," Garrick added.
Kaito nodded.
He's not afraid of me.
That mattered.
[The Man Who Quit]
Garrick didn't let him stay.
"Trouble follows you," he said flatly. "I'm done burying trouble."
Kaito didn't argue.
He slept outside.
Then again.
On the third morning, Garrick found him in the yard, swinging a broken oak branch like it was a sword.
Slow. Precise. Repeating the same downward cut until his arms trembled violently.
"You trying to cripple yourself?" Garrick asked.
Kaito didn't stop. "Trying not to die again."
That sentence hit harder than any blade.
Garrick turned away so the boy wouldn't see the ghosts in his eyes.
Idiot. You swore you were done training soldiers.
"Fine," Garrick growled. "You want revenge? You learn to fight."
Kaito froze mid-swing.
"With a sword," Garrick continued. "I'll teach you. But you quit once, you're out. No tears. No excuses."
Training was brutal.
Garrick didn't teach gently. He taught honestly.
"Feet wrong.""You hesitate, you're dead.""That grip will get your fingers cut off."
Kaito fell. Got up. Fell again.
Each bruise carried a name.
If I were stronger…They'd still be alive.
[The Girl with Mana]
One evening, someone new stood at the doorway.
She was younger than Garrick. Calm. Beautiful in a quiet way. Mana shimmered faintly around her like a second skin.
"You took in another stray," she said.
Garrick groaned. "Go inside, Lira."
She ignored him.
Her eyes locked on Kaito.
Zero mana, she realized instantly. None at all. How is he still standing?
"I'm Lira," she said. "I teach magic."
Kaito swallowed. "I can't use it."
"I know."
She still tried.
Breathing techniques. Focus. Visualization.
Nothing.
Kaito clenched his fists. "I'm trying."
"I know," Lira said.
She never mocked him. Never pitied him.
That hurt worse.
And somehow… better.
[The Soldier Awakens]
That night, Kaito stared at the ceiling, every muscle screaming.
Sword. Magic. I don't belong anywhere.
Something shifted inside him.
Not mana.
Resolve.
Cold. Focused. Familiar.
Blue light flooded his vision.
[System Fully Awakening.][Host Compatibility: Confirmed.][Path Selected: Soldier.][Mana Requirement: Nullified.]
Kaito gasped, breath ripping into his lungs like lightning.
Next door, Lira jolted awake.
She felt it.
Not magic.
Something sharper.
She rushed to his door, eyes wide. "Kaito… what are you?"
Kaito stared at his hands.
For the first time, the world felt… reachable.
Far away, wrapped in ancient chains, the Bound Goddess smiled.
"Good," she whispered. "Break yourself first."