Sezel marched with stumbling steps towards the yellow light, clinging to the hope that mysterious girl had given him.
The sky was empty as it always had been, the forest a terrifying labyrinth. The purple glow from the Spirit Essence illuminating his surroundings.
The stench of his own blood, seeping from his chest and arm, drew hungry beasts, their eyes glinting in the gloom. But he was not as weak now.
He didn't know how, but he could use little Spirit energy, to enhance his body, even enhance the metallic chain.
"How long have I wandered this hell?" His sense of time dissolved, the fog of exhaustion clouding his mind. An hour? A day?
He'd fought and fled, slaying weaker beasts with Spirit energy-enhanced chain strikes, dodging others to preserve his dwindling strength. Each step was an escape from death, a desperate grasp at the life he'd never known—a life beyond survival, beyond betrayal.
He walked through the dark and cruel forest, finally reaching his destination. The forest parted, revealing a jagged hill, its base yawning into a cave's mouth. The yellow light pulsed within the cave, its stone glinting in reflected light.
Sezel exhaled, relief mingling with dread. "I've reached it," he rasped, voice barely a whisper.
He staggered into the cave, the metallic chain clattering against uneven stone, echoing through the cave. The interior blazed with yellow light, its source a crystal-like shard at the center similar to the Spirit Essence, radiant as a fallen star. Is it what the girl called the Awakening Shard?
It pulsed in rhythm with his faltering heart, calling to him.
But soon he realized he was not alone, footsteps echoed from all directions, vicious claws scraping on the stone. It was a lair for the dog-type Spirit beasts. Almost 10 of those ugly predators surfaced, trapping him between them.
Sezel gritted his teeth, he raised his bloodied arm, the chain—stained with his blood and the beasts' black blood—gleaming in the light.
"Come on, I am not backing off now."
The beasts lunged, a synchronized assault from all sides, claws and teeth bared. Sezel lowered down in a squat position. As the nearest beast closed in, he sprang upward, slamming his chain-wrapped fist into its face.
Bone crunched, black ichor sprayed, and the beast skidded across the stone, lifeless.
The terrifying struggle between the beasts and the human carried on, the battle was a maelstrom of blood and steel. Sezel danced through the onslaught, chain lashing like a whip, each strike infused with Spirit Energy.
A sole human, with one leg in the grave, only one arm, faced them head-on and massacred them in their home. The cave echoed with snarls and clattering metal, a symphony of slaughter and, against all odds, Sezel stood victorious.
He staggered, vision blurring, body on the brink of collapse. With a final effort, he reached the Awakening Shard, his trembling hand brushing its radiant surface, untouched for an eternity.
The crystal pulsed faster before going off, the blinding light dying within a second. The cave plunged into darkness.
Sezel's body gave in to exhaustion, and he fell there face-first in the pool of black ichor he had made.
He heard a voice as his consciousness faded.
[The Awakening Shard has been preached]
[The Awakening Shard is Resonating with your Soul]
[The Awakening Shard has marked your Soul as Worthy]
[The Being who Defied Death itself, your audacity has Swayed the God of Death]
The crystal crumbled, turning into golden sand. The particles rose, swirling in a luminous dance, illuminating the cave in a pristine, golden radiance. They twisted and spiraled, finally forming words, glowing in gold light.
[Awaken, Lost Child of Stars]
[You have received a Golden Fable]
[The Master of Death]
In the endless darkness of the Spirit Realm, a Golden Fable was born, defying all odds.
The words hung, a cosmic decree, their glow searing the darkness. Half the golden sand convulsed, hissing as it coalesced into a card—pristine, marked with golden edges. The card was a mark of an awakened, tying their souls to the Spirit Realm, allowing them to awaken the Spirit Meridian and use Spirit energy.
The remaining particles surged, swirling around Sezel's unconscious form. They pierced his flesh with a sudden strike, a flash of golden light flooding his veins. His body glowed, radiant as a star, wounds knitting, his cut-off arm growing back into place.
The Spirit Meridian within him awakened. Sezel had awakened, bearer of a Golden Fable. Awakening with a Fable was very rare, and there was no known slayer with a Golden Fable in the world currently. Receiving a Fable meant that the awakened will be at least a Rank 3 or above.
Sezel lay on the ground, lost in the void of unconsciousness, ignorant of the miracle that had reshaped his soul.
***
"Ugh, my head hurts."
Pain lanced through Sezel's skull, he tried to move, but his arms refused, restrained by cold metal.
"Huh, what is this?"
His eyes fluttered open, assaulted by a harsh, white light. Blinking, he turned his head. His right arm was shackled to a metal frame, a bed of sorts, his left arm—once gone—was now healed and was similarly bound.
"What? What is going on?"