I gathered every ounce of courage I had and walked toward the platform.
It felt as though the world itself was against me.
My legs trembled with every step. Before I could reach the stairs, I stumbled and crashed into the chief's son.
"Get off me, you filthy insect!"
His boot slammed into my stomach.
The impact knocked the air from my lungs. My vision blurred as I curled into myself, gasping for breath. How could a grown man kick a malnourished child with such force?
"I-I'm sorry..."
I clutched my chest and looked up at him.
"What are you staring at?" he sneered. "A worthless rat like you dares to look me in the eye? You're nothing but the blood of a traitor."
He drew the dagger from his belt.
A flash of steel.
Pain exploded across my face.
"AAAAARGHH!"
Warm blood poured from my left eye as I collapsed onto the ground.
"Blame your traitor grandfather for your fate."
As I writhed in agony, my father's final words echoed through my mind.
"We are of noble blood, Cole. We are Silverveins. Our family once wielded the Blink Rune."
The Blink Rune was incredibly rare. Monsters that possessed it were almost impossible to hunt. Long ago, only the Silvervein family could defeat them, because we possessed the very same power.
Or rather...
Because we once did.
My grandfather had been framed for treason and executed.
Our family title was stripped away.
We were exiled to the mines, where my father was forced to accept an Ordinary-Rank Storage Rune like every other miner.
"Hurry up and get on the platform and die."
The chief's son grabbed the white rune and shoved it into my mouth.
Then he kicked me in the stomach once more.
The entire plaza fell silent.
Everyone waited for the screams.
They waited for another child to die.
But nothing happened.
The world faded into pure white.
Then… Darkness.
"Another failure."
The chief looked at my unconscious body without emotion.
"Throw him onto the pile with the rest."
Rough hands dragged me away before tossing me onto a heap of corpses.
"Next!"
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a bed.
"...Where am I?"
"Cole!"
Before I could sit up, Sab threw her arms around me.
Tears streamed down her face as she hugged me tightly.
"Your eye..."
My eye?
The memory returned instantly.
The chief's son...
The dagger...
I reached toward my face.
Something wasn't right.
I could still see.
Sab silently handed me a small mirror.
I looked into it.
My blue eyes is much brighter..
On my left face is a deep wound from my forehead down to my cheeks.
And on my left eye...
Etched within it was the symbol of the Storage Rune.
I stared at my reflection in disbelief.
Then laughter escaped my lips.
"Hahaha..." "Hahahaha!"
"So... I absorbed it."
"I thought I had failed because my body never glowed."
The rune...
It had awakened inside my eye.
I focused on the mirror, trying to store it away.
Nothing happened.
"Wait... how do I even use a rune?"
Sab waved her hand.
A faint white light wrapped around the mirror before it disappeared.
"You only have to imagine it," she explained. "Runes consume mana. As long as you have mana and know what you want the rune to do, it will respond."
I nodded, trying to memorize every word.
After a long silence, Sab lowered her head.
"Tomorrow..."
"The boys will be sent into the mines."
"The girls..."
"...will be sold to merchants."
"This is goodbye."
"I hope we'll meet again someday."
She hugged me once more.
Standing behind her was Melissa, Sab's mother.
She had taken me in after my father died.
There were tears in her eyes.
"At least you'll get to see the world," I said softly.
"I'll spend the rest of my life inside the mines."
"Come now."
"You've been asleep for two days."
"You need to eat."
Dinner was the same as always.
A bowl of thin porridge.
The daily ration given to the miners.
That night, Sab and I stayed awake talking.
We spoke of impossible dreams.
Of traveling the world.
Of eating delicious food.
Of living somewhere no one would call us insects.
For one night...
The world felt peaceful.
Neither of us wanted morning to come.
"I'm going to miss you, Sab."
"You too, Cole."
She reached into her pocket and handed me a neatly folded handkerchief.
"I made it for you."
I smiled. "Thank you."
"I'm sorry... I don't have anything to give you."
Then I remembered. "There is one thing."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a simple silver ring.
It had belonged to my mother.
Sab's eyes widened.
"Cole... that's your mother's ring."
"I know."
"I want you to keep it for me."
"So when we meet again... you'll return it."
She hesitated before gently accepting it.
"I promise."
Morning came far too quickly.
WEEENG… WEEENG… WEEENG...
The town's alarm echoed through the valley.
Every miner knew that sound.
It was the signal to report for work.
The boys marched toward the mines.
The girls gathered in the plaza, where merchants would purchase them under the local lord's authority.
Anyone who defied those orders was executed.
I wrapped Sab's handkerchief around my wounded eye.
To everyone else, I was blind.
Only Sab knew the truth.
Hidden beneath the cloth was my awakened rune.
I still didn't know how to use it.
But someday...
I would….