If Kaelen's hand hadn't been quick enough to block the arrow, that deadly thing would have surely hit him right in the neck. But even though he survived, Kaelen still felt a bit scared. He had lived for 14 years in the Cursed Land of Zyretheil. Still, things like this always left him speechless.
"Who are you?" asked a man who had just shot the arrow at Kaelen.
The man covered one eye like a pirate. That made Kaelen's gaze follow him carefully from head to toe. Since arriving in Xal'zarioth, and ever since the tragic event Kaelen barely dared to recall, he had grown more cautious about the people he met.
Not long after, a faint shadow like a flashback appeared before his blurry vision. The shadow showed the identity of the man in front of him. At least, that's what Kaelen could understand. Because the shadow came as he was observing the man.
[Identification starts in 3... 2... 1...]
[Name: Magnus Corvak
Age: 39 years (Zyretheil)
Race: Vey'zareth
Gender: Male
Origin: Classified
Status: Unknown
Core Strength: Physical
Height: 311 cm
Weight: 122 kg]
[Identification successful!]
While studying the muscular figure—almost twice his height—of the man before him, who was named Magnus, the man suddenly cleared his throat.
"What are you looking at?" he asked in a deep voice. From his expression alone, Kaelen knew he was not pleased with Kaelen's attitude.
Without thinking much, Kaelen just shook his head. Then he handed the arrow he had in his grip to the man, "This is yours. Next time, you can't greet everyone who comes like that."
Kaelen then stepped past the man who was still standing in place. But on his third step, Kaelen felt his shoulder grabbed. Without turning, he stopped.
"I don't like welcoming guests," he said curtly before walking to stand right in front of Kaelen, "If you force your way in and join, make sure you're the last."
They locked eyes for a moment, each radiating a strong aura of hostility. Even though Kaelen was only 14 years old by Zyretheil standards, he wasn't afraid to face this tall, muscular man.
"I didn't come here to join any alliance or anyone. For me, this place is one of the safest for now. And I need it for my own business," Kaelen replied. He still dared to meet Magnus's gaze. "And yes," Kaelen added, "I didn't come here to fight. I don't even have a weapon or enough power to harm anyone."
Kaelen didn't know when he'd gained the courage to challenge someone like this. Clearly, after everything he had been through, he now saw the world from a different perspective—something darker and scarier than the curse itself.
Magnus nodded slowly at that answer, "Not many people dare to talk like that."
This time, Kaelen nodded back. He even crossed his arms arrogantly in front of his chest, "Good. I don't like having duplicates."
Just as Magnus was about to speak, his gaze accidentally stopped right on Kaelen's chest. His wide-open eyes and furrowed brow showed how shocked he was.
Without saying a word, Magnus pulled aside Kaelen's clothing that covered his chest, checking the boy's wound. When he realized, Magnus was even more shocked to find that this boy in front of him had no Elarith.
"Sir, excuse me. But you've crossed the line. Even if you don't welcome guests, you shouldn't violate their privacy, right?" Kaelen, feeling uncomfortable, immediately tried to stop Magnus's hand on his chest, intending to cover the wound tightly again.
But Magnus's strength was far greater, and Kaelen failed to rebandage his wound.
Magnus shook his head in disbelief, then stared straight into Kaelen's eyes, "What is this? Your Elarith is gone? How can you live like this?"
"We all know the rules in Zyretheil. If I'm still here, it means I haven't broken any," Kaelen explained. Deep down, he really wanted to leave.
There were still many things Kaelen had to think about and do. Besides, he needed to rest to recover, especially since his Vaerloch had to sleep after using his power prematurely.
But Kaelen's wish seemed to be put on hold when Magnus swiftly grabbed his hand, "I said I don't like guests, but I dislike even more the rotten smell coming from a corpse in the same place as me."
The moment their hands touched, Kaelen felt his soul slip out of his body. Then it drifted away toward memories he had tried to forget his whole life.
In those memories, which he honestly wanted to discard, Magnus's words and actions resembled someone he deeply knew. Kaelen remembered when he often fell on barren ground as a child, there would be a big hand reaching out to help him stand.
"Hey, kid, get up. It's okay if you fall on the first step. At least on the second and the next steps, you'll be more careful not to fall into the same hole." Those words still stuck in Kaelen's mind.
Then everything happened so fast that Kaelen was confused. Which part of his father wasn't a lie? Was his father the one who helped him stand after falling as a child? Or was his father the one who cruelly took his Elarith and threw him into this hell?
Kaelen had been silent for a few seconds thinking about it. His eyes welled up, but he refused to shed tears. When Magnus shook his hand, Kaelen snapped back and reflexively pulled his wrist free.
"I know what to do. Don't worry, my corpse won't rot here. Even if it does, I'll make sure it never reaches your nose," Kaelen said firmly.
Feeling he had said enough, Kaelen finally left Magnus alone. He went deeper into the cave, which honestly was too luxurious to just be called a cave.
How not? Kaelen had never imagined that inside the cave was a clear pool of water, so clear the bottom was visible. Above the pool was a large hole letting Kaelen see celestial bodies like the moon or stars.
Truthfully, Kaelen didn't care much. His feelings were chaotic; everything in his life was a mess. And he wasn't sure if he could fix all this chaos alone.
So even when passing several people near the pool, Kaelen kept walking straight. He ignored everyone as if he had never seen anyone but Magnus, who had attacked him earlier.
After walking a while, his feet brought him to a dark corridor with many rooms inside. For a moment, Kaelen froze, still disbelieving what he saw. Not because of the luxury, but because it was too easy and calm. And things that are too calm always hide chaos inside.
Soon, a whisper returned to his ear. A warning from the cursed being people said was dangerous. It was the voice of his Vaerloch. All Vey'zareth races had such warnings and notifications through their Vaerloch, and Kaelen had known this for a long time.
[This is a foreign territory, you must remain cautious.]
[Nothing here is truly safe, so prepare yourself.]
Kaelen's hand reached out to touch the cave wall and observe it, "This is too clean for a cave in the middle of a forest. Even though many people live here, I don't think they chose to clean all this and ignore their true purpose."
Honestly, Kaelen felt something strange. In front of him were many stairs connecting one room to another. He was now standing on the top step, "I'll find out about this later. Only if I still have the strength to survive after all that happened."
With determination, Kaelen stepped inside. He picked a room and entered it. It looked comfortable with a stone bed and some other items usually found in someone's room.
Kaelen ignored them and lay down on the bed. He tried to close his eyes and forget everything. Until he suddenly realized something and quickly sat back up.
"I have to awaken my Elarith tonight. Or I have to accept dying without avenging, without knowing Zyretheil's greatest secret," he murmured firmly.
---
That night, after he felt his energy restored enough, Kaelen finally left his room. Near the pool again, Kaelen saw people busy with their own activities. But he ignored them and continued on. He didn't know that Magnus had been watching him with a piercing gaze.
Stepping out of the cave mouth, Kaelen paused for a moment. He scanned his surroundings, "Too dangerous to go alone and empty-handed. Maybe I should make a weapon—not expensive or fancy, but enough to protect myself."
Kaelen searched the cave yard, which looked dark. Tonight there was no moonlight; they were still waiting for the Aelurnis moon to appear.
After a while, Kaelen found a piece of iron hidden behind bushes. He picked it up and inspected it in the dark, "This is leftover from weapon making," he muttered. He then brought the iron close to his nose, "There's still some fire energy here. That means this really is a remnant of a firearm shard. But why would they make firearms inside Elyndor? Aren't the Drae'vanyth race peaceful? Or did some Vey'zareth come here before and make weapons to survive?"
It had to be admitted that although he was only 14, Kaelen had a more mature mindset than most of his peers. Or maybe not. Fourteen years in Zyretheil didn't really mean 14 years, since one day there equals ten days in the human world.
After gathering several pieces of iron, Kaelen placed them all on a big rock. His mind kept turning on how to make a weapon, and what kind of weapon he would make.
"I don't have time to think. Time keeps waiting, and I have to start moving forward," he muttered. The boy climbed onto the rock, then began to forge the iron with another stone he found.
Although it wasn't too complicated, Kaelen needed quite some time to finish his task. After several hours, he smiled slightly while inspecting the weapon he had just made.
It was an iron claw. Its shape was almost like a glove, but at each tip Kaelen left it sharp and pointed. Before really using it, Kaelen tested it on a tree nearby. Indeed, the scratch left was deep enough that the tree's sap poured out profusely.
Seeing that, Kaelen raised both hands wearing the iron claws, "Not bad. If I make a sword, I'd need more iron. For now, I can use this for self-defense. At least until I have a new Elarith."
Once his weapon was truly ready, Kaelen continued his journey toward a place called the Land of Emptiness.
Meanwhile, behind a big tree with a large crack in the middle, two women and one man were watching Kaelen's movements—and had been for a while.
One of the women smiled victoriously and looked at the other two, "I told you, that man is exactly the one we need."
But the man sighed softly hearing that, "No, no! He's too weak! He doesn't even have a weapon. How can he help us?"
"You need to learn to use your eyes, not just your mouth. The point is, I've already decided he will join us. If any of you disagree, I never forced you to stay."