The walk home should have taken Kael two hours.
Today, it took nearly three.
Not because of the snow.
Not because of the steep mountain path.
Because Kael couldn't stop thinking about the vision.
The sword through his chest.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw it again.
A battlefield covered in corpses.
A black sky.
A burning city.
And himself standing among the dead.
Kael tightened his grip around the firewood.
“That wasn't me.”
He said it quietly.
It had to be someone else.
A dream.
A hallucination.
Anything but a memory.
Yet one detail refused to disappear.
The sword that killed him.
He remembered its weight.
Its cold metal.
Even the sound it made when it entered his chest.
Kael shivered.
“How could I remember something that never happened?”
A gust of wind swept through the forest.
Kael stopped.
His senses immediately sharpened.
Something was nearby.
He looked toward the trees.
Nothing.
He waited.
Silence.
Then—
Crack.
A branch broke somewhere behind him.
Kael slowly turned.
Still nothing.
His hand moved toward the hatchet.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
Kael frowned.
He was certain someone had been following him.
He continued walking.
This time, he didn't relax.
Several minutes later, Kael reached the edge of the forest.
His village appeared in the distance.
Small wooden houses sat between the mountains.
Smoke rose from chimneys.
For the first time since waking up, Kael felt relieved.
Home.
He quickened his pace.
Then he noticed something strange.
There were no people outside.
Normally, the village would be busy at this hour.
Children would be playing.
Hunters would be returning.
Old men would be sitting near the central fire.
Today—
Nothing.
Kael's footsteps slowed.
His instincts screamed at him.
Something was wrong.
He dropped the firewood.
His hand went to his hatchet.
He entered the village.
The first house was empty.
The second was empty.
The third—
The door was broken.
Kael's expression changed.
“Master?”
He ran.
His house stood at the northern edge of the village.
The door was open.
Kael rushed inside.
“Master Jian!”
Silence.
The room was empty.
The table had been overturned.
A wooden chair lay broken on the floor.
Kael's heart sank.
“Master?”
He searched the room.
Nothing.
Then he noticed blood.
A small amount.
Near the doorway.
Kael crouched and touched it.
Still fresh.
His breathing became heavier.
Someone had attacked the village.
And Master Jian was gone.
A sound suddenly came from behind him.
Kael spun around.
An old man stood outside the doorway.
His face was pale.
“Kael?”
Kael rushed toward him.
“What happened?”
The old man looked toward the mountains.
“People came.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“How many?”
“Five... maybe six.”
Kael's expression hardened.
“What did they want?”
The old man hesitated.
Then he looked directly at Kael.
“You.”
Kael froze.
“Me?”
“They kept asking about you.”
Kael's mind went blank.
The old man continued.
“They said they were looking for the boy who lived with Jian.”
Kael's heartbeat accelerated.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
The old man grabbed Kael's arm.
“You need to leave.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
A sudden sound interrupted them.
BOOM!
The entire village shook.
Kael looked toward the northern gate.
A cloud of snow exploded into the air.
Someone had arrived.
The old man's face turned white.
“They're back.”
Kael clenched his fists.
His mind immediately returned to the woman on the mountain.
The eighth awakening has begun.
He didn't understand what those words meant.
But now he knew one thing.
His fall hadn't been an accident.
Someone had been waiting for him to awaken.
A figure slowly walked through the snow.
Black clothing.
A silver mask.
Behind him were four warriors.
Each carried a sword.
The masked man stopped in the center of the village.
His gaze moved across the houses.
Then he smiled.
“Find him.”
The four warriors spread out.
Kael watched from the doorway.
He should have been terrified.
Instead, something strange happened.
The golden warmth inside his body began moving again.
His heartbeat slowed.
His senses sharpened.
He could hear the footsteps of every warrior.
He could even sense something inside their bodies.
A faint flow of energy.
Qi.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
These people were cultivators.
The masked man suddenly turned.
His eyes locked onto Kael.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then the man's smile disappeared.
“Impossible.”
Kael's heart jumped.
The masked man took one step forward.
“You survived?”
Kael stared at him.
“You know me?”
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he raised his hand.
“Kill him.”
Four swords were drawn.
Shing!
Kael's body moved before he could think.
He grabbed the old man's shoulder and pushed him aside.
A sword cut through the doorway.
Kael jumped backward.
The wooden wall exploded.
He landed in the snow.
His eyes widened.
These weren't ordinary warriors.
Even their weakest attack was stronger than anything Kael had ever seen.
One of them charged.
Kael raised his hatchet.
Clang!
The impact sent him flying backward.
He crashed into the snow.
Pain spread through his arm.
The warrior approached.
“You should have died seventeen years ago.”
Kael's eyes widened.
Seventeen years?
The warrior raised his sword.
Kael's vision suddenly blurred.
For a fraction of a second—
He saw another sword.
Another battlefield.
Another death.
And a voice.
A voice that sounded exactly like his own.
Run.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
The sword was already coming down.
His body moved.
The blade missed his neck by an inch.
Kael rolled across the snow and grabbed his hatchet.
The golden warmth inside his body surged.
But this time—
Something else appeared.
A faint golden line traveled from his palm to his shoulder.
Then to his chest.
Then through his entire body.
Kael felt every muscle tighten.
His strength increased.
His senses became sharper.
The warrior attacked again.
Kael stepped aside.
The sword passed him.
Kael punched.
BOOM!
The warrior was thrown backward.
He crashed into a wooden house.
For several seconds, the entire village became silent.
Kael stared at his fist.
The warrior slowly stood.
Blood ran from his mouth.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
“You're only at the first stage...”
Kael frowned.
“First stage?”
The warrior smiled coldly.
“Then you're even weaker than I thought.”
He raised his sword.
“Kill him.”
The remaining warriors moved.
Kael's expression became serious.
Four opponents.
He couldn't defeat them.
Not yet.
Then—
A familiar voice came from behind him.
“That's enough.”
Everyone froze.
Kael turned.
A man stood at the end of the street.
Old.
Tall.
Wearing a simple gray robe.
Blood covered one side of his clothing.
Kael's eyes widened.
“Master...?”
Jian looked at him.
For the first time in Kael's life, the old man's eyes contained something Kael had never seen before.
Fear.
“Kael.”
Jian's voice was low.
“Run.”
Kael didn't move.
“Master, what happened?”
Jian looked toward the masked warriors.
Then back at Kael.
“There isn't enough time.”
The masked man slowly smiled.
“So the old Sword Saint is still alive.”
Kael's heart stopped.
Sword Saint?
His master had always claimed to be an ordinary martial artist.
Jian stepped forward.
The air around him suddenly changed.
The snow beneath his feet began to tremble.
“Kael.”
He didn't look back.
“Whatever happens next...”
His hand moved toward the sword hidden beneath his robe.
“Do not trust anyone who tells you that your destiny has already been decided.”
Kael stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Jian finally drew his sword.
SHING!
A terrifying pressure swept across the village.
The masked warrior's expression changed.
Jian looked toward Kael.
“Because your destiny...”
His eyes became cold.
“...was never yours to begin with.”