**Chapter 3: The First Awakening**
The golden fields were behind him now. As Kaelen moved deeper into the forest, the sky above grew darker—not nightfall, but a strange, unnatural gloom, as though the trees themselves were holding back the sun.
The trees whispered.
Not with wind, but with voices.
Low. Wordless. Beckoning.
Kaelen ignored them.
He was searching for something—anything. A sign. A direction. But all he had was instinct and the cold whisper of the System.
And then he saw her.
A girl—no older than sixteen—lay crumpled beneath a dying tree, her dress torn and stained with blood. Her chest rose and fell with shallow, desperate breaths.
Kaelen rushed to her side without thinking, falling to his knees. Her eyes flickered open at the sound of his voice, wide with fear.
*"Please… don't hurt me…"* she gasped, recoiling weakly.
"I'm not here to hurt you." His voice was softer than he expected, steady. "What happened to you?"
She opened her mouth to speak—but a sound split the silence.
A low growl.
Kaelen's body tensed. From the shadow between the trees, something stepped forward.
It wasn't a beast.
It was a *Wretch*.
Twisted. Humanoid, but wrong. Its skin was a gray-green patchwork of stretched muscle and bone, with soulless white eyes and a smile that looked stitched across its face.
It dragged a rusted blade behind it, metal grinding on roots as it walked.
Kaelen stood, shielding the girl behind him. His fists clenched. He had no weapon, no magic, nothing but instinct and fury.
The Wretch screeched.
And lunged.
Kaelen didn't think.
He *moved*.
Time slowed. The world blurred. The girl's scream rang out as Kaelen stepped forward into the Wretch's charge.
And then—it happened.
The air around him *shimmered*.
---
**[System Update: Emotional Surge Detected]**
**Emotion: Unyielding Protection**
**Resonance Level: 1 – Power Unlocked**
**Skill Gained: Soulbound Armament – "Guardian's Wrath"**
---
A flash of light burst from Kaelen's chest, and in his hands—suddenly, impossibly—was a sword.
Not just any sword.
*His* sword.
The one he had forged. The one he had given to Alina.
Now reborn with him.
The metal glowed a faint crimson, as though it carried the fire of his anger within it. The hilt molded perfectly to his grip. The Wretch swung its blade—
Kaelen met it.
Steel clashed with a blinding spark, and Kaelen *roared*. The force of his swing shattered the Wretch's weapon in a single blow, sending it staggering backward.
Kaelen didn't stop.
He followed through with a clean, brutal slash—cutting through the creature's torso. The Wretch howled as it disintegrated into ash, its scream echoing into the forest.
Silence returned.
Kaelen stood, chest heaving, the sword flickering with energy in his hand.
The girl behind him stared, her fear replaced with something else.
Wonder.
*"You… you saved me,"* she whispered.
Kaelen turned to her, his face unreadable.
*"What's your name?"*
"Lira," she said quietly. "I was part of a caravan. Bandits… and then monsters… I don't know what happened. Everyone's gone."
Kaelen's grip on the sword tightened.
Another victim. Another lost soul.
Just like him.
He looked at the path ahead, at the forest that whispered and watched. At the cruel world that had given him a second chance—not out of mercy, but because it needed something from him.
He didn't care what it wanted.
He'd take what he needed.
And if he had to burn the gods from their thrones to do it—
So be it.
---
**[Quest Complete: The Beginning of the End]**
**XP Gained: 100**
**Level Up: 1 → 2**
**New Skill Slot Unlocked**
---
The System chimed again, but Kaelen didn't even blink.
He was no longer a knight protecting a kingdom.
He was a weapon, reborn by betrayal and wielded by emotions.
[Monster Log : Wretch – Class D Entity]
Name: Wretch
Type: Aberration
Threat Level: Low (individually) – High (in packs)
Behavior: Relentless, semi-intelligent, attracted to emotional energy and weakened souls.
Description:
Wretches are twisted remnants of former humans who have been consumed by grief, betrayal, or rage. Their skin is stretched and leathery, their eyes milky white and devoid of humanity. Their mouths are unnaturally wide, often sewn or split open, permanently curled into broken grins. They wield rusted, misshapen weapons scavenged from the dead. Their limbs are uneven—some longer than others, giving them a jerky, insect-like gait. They bleed black mist instead of blood, and their touch brings a cold, crawling numbness to flesh.