As Vael came to, he realized an important detail: his memories were foggy.
"Shit, I only remember up until the moment I escaped that hell…"
That's right. The young man's memories had been sealed away by an unknown force. Odds are that stone had some sort of defect. After all, it was locked away in that research facility for a reason.Indeed, Vael had managed to "obtain" a strange rock he'd found in a secret testing facility belonging to the Kingdom of Sylwenne.
On paper, such facilities were supposed to be shut down during the ceasefire—but clearly, that wasn't the case. Vael himself had ended up inside one. And he remembered very well the cause of his torment:
"Veltren…" he muttered, his voice dripping with venom.
And rightfully so. Marquis Veltren, a cruel, egotistical, and grotesquely obese noble, was the architect of Vael's suffering—years of both emotional and physical agony.
It all began on a seemingly normal evening.As the sun began to set, Vael's family was preparing dinner. His mother, Marelina, stirred a hearty soup—the tribe's traditional dish. His little brother, Antalon, was setting the table with the help of their younger sister, Mira.Meanwhile, Vael had gone to fetch water from the communal well. Just another piece of their simple daily routine.
On his way back home, Vael noticed movement in the nearby forest. He hesitated, debating whether or not to investigate—but curiosity won out.He ventured in, cautiously.He had his daggers, and in his mind, that made him safe. He wasn't the strongest, but he'd been hunting in those woods since he was thirteen. He knew how to take down a boar swiftly, how to track moose, and when to back off from a threat too big to handle—like a bear.
With steady breath and drawn blades, he pushed deeper into the woods, prepared for anything.
That's when he saw him.
A man so large, you'd question how he could even stand—let alone walk. Dressed in fine aristocratic clothes that clashed absurdly with the forest surroundings, he stood out like a sore thumb.
Marquis Veltren.
"Oh? Someone in this shithole has such an affinity? Space, huh? That's rare—even among purebloods, let alone these animals."
Vael instinctively prepared to fight. He'd never dealt with nobles before, but nothing about this encounter spelled good news.'Space?' he thought, confused.But before he could react further—
"You'll make a fine addition to our ranks."
A fireball flew toward him—aimed low, meant to incapacitate, not kill.Vael's instincts screamed at him to move. He jumped aside, but not fast enough. The flames scorched his thigh, burning a chunk of flesh in an instant.
White-hot pain exploded through his body as he hit the forest floor, graceless and gasping.He managed to suppress a scream, but he couldn't move.
The marquis' voice carried a hint of surprise."Not even at the first stage, and he almost dodged? Curious… Maybe there were others like him here. Shame we'll never know."
Through clenched teeth and raw agony, Vael spat out:"W-what do you mean by that… bastard?"
"Oh? It speaks?" Veltren sneered. "Well, it's simple, really. Look behind you."
Vael turned his head—and what he saw burned itself into his soul.
His village.Burning.
Flames devoured the homes, and thick black smoke rose into the sky, blotting out what should have been a beautiful sunset.
Panic surged through him, momentarily overpowering the pain.
"N-no… Mom, Ant, Mira—NO!" he cried, forcing himself to his feet, limping forward.
His home—his family—everything was being reduced to ashes.But before he could run more than ten steps, something struck the back of his neck.His vision blurred, eyelids growing heavy. He collapsed, helpless.
As the world faded, he heard Veltren's mocking voice:
"Damn animal. No manners. Tsk tsk."
And then—darkness.
A deep, dreamless slumber claimed him, and the image of his burning home played on loop in his mind, like a broken reel of film.