POV: Kael Darkflame (Age: 6)Location: Outer Edge, Deathspine Forest
The Gravedge Defense Militia was a ragtag group of hardened villagers and desperate survivors — old hunters, scarred miners, and one or two former mercenaries who had settled after losing too many limbs or loved ones.
Kael was the youngest member ever accepted. Not officially, but Garron had made sure no one stopped him.
"He killed a Direhound at five," Garron said with a grunt. "The boy's earned the right to watch your backs."
They gave Kael a tattered cloak, an iron-reinforced scythe-handle with no blade (Garron wouldn't allow steel yet), and a position in the backline near the supply carriers.
But Kael knew why he was there.
He needed to learn what it meant to fight in a unit — not alone.
System Objective – Group Combat Initiation
— Role Assigned: Rearguard Support— Weapon Class: Scythe (Handle Variant)
🎯 Goals:‣ Maintain formation‣ Defend carrier line‣ Observe command structures
📈 Rewards: +Growth XP, +Leadership Insight, +Combat Stamina
Kael's hands trembled — not from fear, but anticipation.
The deeper they went into Deathspine Forest, the more his instincts stirred.
And then… the mist came.
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POV: Selene Frost (Parallel Trail – 110 meters)
She followed from the tree line, masked by her [Killing Intent Suppression IV] skill.
Watching.
Kael was walking different now — not the child she once saw fumble with a wooden stake. His posture had changed. Balanced. Intentional.
He belongs to the battlefield, she thought.
She was on a separate mission from her sect — to cull a corrupted Mistborn Swarm Nest detected in the region. She hadn't expected to find Kael walking directly toward it.
Fools. All of them.
Her system pinged quietly.
System Notification – Selene Frost
Target Link: KaelProximity to A-Class Threat: 130 meters
Mission Parameter Conflict Detected:
"Engage Nest alone" vs "Allow civilians to be slaughtered."
Override?
[Undecided]
She narrowed her eyes.
"I'll wait until he's the last one standing," she muttered, then slipped deeper into the mist.
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POV: Kael
The screaming began two minutes later.
A flash of movement — then chitin. The monsters came out of the trees like shadows wearing the bones of insects: long, segmented legs, translucent heads, serrated limbs.
Mistborn Swarmlings. D-Rank. Fast. Poisoned. Cowardly in ones, deadly in dozens.
A scout went down screaming.
Then another.
The formation broke.
Kael spun his scythe handle, planting it into the ground to vault backward as one of the swarmlings lunged for his leg. He landed hard, swiped horizontally, and cracked its head with a sharp metallic ring.
The thing shrieked — then went still.
System Combat Log:
🐜 Mistborn Swarmling (D) – DefeatedXP Gained: +18
📈 Weapon Affinity (Scythe – Improvised): +0.8%⚔️ Trait Progression: Instinctive Adaptation I → II🧬 Bloodline Stir: +0.3%
The system buzzed louder than usual.
His body was responding faster now.
Faster than his mind.
POV: Garron (Nearby)
"Kael! To me!"
But the boy wasn't moving toward him — he was moving forward.
Garron cursed. "That damn blood…"
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POV: Kael
The mist thickened.
A second swarmling leapt at his back — he spun, felt the direction of its strike a second before it moved, and ducked under its claws.
Then he brought the scythe handle up in a sharp arc — not to kill, but to break the momentum.
The monster flipped mid-air.
He stepped forward — and elbowed it in the throat with perfect control.
"Strike the flow. Then snap the rhythm."— Memory: Unknown origin
His muscles responded on instinct.
System Notification – Combat Style: Shadow Reaper (Dormant)
Skill Fragment Detected: Reaper's Flow IDescription: Adapt to chaos. Let the enemy's movement shape the blade.
➤ Unlocked – Compatibility: 4.1%➤ Trait Added: Momentum Echo (Passive)
Kael froze.
The words Shadow Reaper burned into his mind like an old promise returning from death.
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POV: Selene
She landed beside him like a ghost, twin daggers spinning, slicing two swarmlings mid-leap before they ever touched the ground.
Kael turned — shocked.
"...You."
She didn't answer. Only nodded once.
Then said flatly, "You're not strong enough for the queen."
"What queen?"
But before she could answer — the ground cracked.
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POV: Mistborn Broodmother — D+ Elite
The broodmother rose from the center of the swarm — three meters tall, six legs, bloated torso pulsing with eggs and steam.
It let out a shriek that rattled the trees.
The militia panicked.
Kael didn't.
He stepped forward.
System Alert: Emergency Combat — Elite Rank Enemy Detected
⚠ Bloodline Surge Threshold Crossed — 6.0%⚠ Partial Awakening Block Lifted
✴ Passive Perk Unlocked:Dark Reap (Lesser):
First strike against a marked enemy will inflict 15% extra damage based on shadow affinity.
✴ Class Trace: Shadow Reaper [Sealed — Echo Detected]
He gripped the scythe tighter.
Behind him, Selene raised a brow.
"Still just a kid," she muttered.
But inside… her system flashed a prompt she couldn't ignore:
💗 Affection Marker +1
Trait Shift: Curiosity → Recognition
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POV: Kael
The Broodmother charged.
Kael ran to meet it.
Not because he believed he could win.
But because something inside him had waited for this moment for six years.
"Begin the Reaping."
End of Chapter 8