Ramsey was so eager to test his newfound ability that he wasted no time in putting it to use. Fire erupted along his hands, each flame licking upward like it was hungry for destruction. This was his very own technique, created from a theory on how to control cosmic particles.
His arms glowed with a fierce brilliance, and every movement felt stronger, heavier, and more enduring than before. He stepped out from the cave with his body trembling in excitement. When he stepped out, he noticed the darkness that everyone spoke about, vast and wide; the sun was nowhere in sight.
The first thing that crossed his path was a massive white wolf. Without hesitation, he surged forward and slammed his burning fist down. The beast's head cracked with a sickening sound, its body collapsing lifeless to the ground.
For a moment, he felt triumphant. That pride lasted only until he noticed the glow of many eyes in the darkness.
A dozen more white foxes emerged from the shadows, their snarls echoing through the midnight forest. Their fur bristled like frost, and their sharp teeth gleamed even though the space was dark. But Ramsey wasn't afraid in the slightest. He knew this was just going to be a walk in the park.
He clenched his fists, heat pulsing around his knuckles; each time he hit one of these creatures, he felt no resistance, no recoil, it felt like his fists were wrapped in armor.
One of the creatures dashed forward with startling speed. It moved on all fours, a blur of pale fur, jaws snapping open to reveal teeth that were eerily similar to small knives.
Ramsey did not retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, his fist blazing. He swung with precision, the punch connecting squarely with the fox's head. The beast let out a high-pitched whimper before falling limp to the ground, dead.
The energy that followed was empowering, to say the least. It surged through his veins like fire seeking more fuel. Each time he killed a beast, cosmic particles flowed in his body like a moth to a flame. An excited smile crept across his face. This, he realized, was what it meant to feel powerful.
The thrill of crushing an enemy with a single movement was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He longed for more, desperate to keep feeding this hunger. To savor this feeling again and again, he knew he would have to train harder, fight fiercer, and never stop advancing.
The more he fought, the more particles he gathered. With renewed vigor, he launched himself forward, scattering fire and chaos among the pack of creatures.
The forest roared with the sound of battle. Ramsey's fists, glowing with flames, hammered down again and again. His strikes burned through fur, claw, and bone. The white foxes fell one after another, their cries swallowed by the heat of his relentless assault. His mind, however, was not on his advancement. He paid no attention to the subtle change in his body, the quiet evolution of his strength. All that mattered to him was how many creatures he could take down.
Ramsey had never advanced in rank before, so even if he had wanted to notice, he would not have recognized the feeling. Instead, he focused on the endless tide of beasts. Beyond the cave, the forest stretched into shadows, filled with creatures of every size and shape. Some lurked between the trees with glowing eyes. Others slithered along the ground with movements too fast to follow.
His flaming fists were the only technique he knew, and he wielded them with reckless joy.
The battles were exhausting, each strike draining him further, yet he pressed on. Hours passed as fire and chaos consumed the forest. With sheer determination, he pushed himself further than ever before. At last, his strength surged to a new height, and he noticed, just a bit.
He reached the fourth rank of the initial tier, though the significance of this milestone barely crossed his mind. What had once been a place of fear, a forest whispered about as dangerous and forbidden, had now become his training ground. Every creature was an opportunity. Every fight was fuel.
Occasionally, when surrounded by too many enemies to handle at once, Ramsey relied on his companion. Ess, the little snake bound to him through the tattoo on his body, would lash out without warning. The serpent would launch forward, its slender form stretching unnaturally, and descend on an enemy with terrifying precision. Its body was strange, unnaturally tough, bending and snapping like a spear with green scales. When Ess struck, there was no sound, only the sudden collapse of another foe. Ramsey suspected it had a poisonous bite, but he didn't confirm.
He quickly learned to combine his flaming fists with the snake's deadly attacks. Ess struck silently from a distance, while Ramsey wreaked havoc up close. Together, they formed a storm of fire and fangs, tearing apart everything in their path. For the first time in his life, Ramsey stopped hiding. No longer was he the boy who cowered in fear. Now he was a warrior who rampaged freely through the very forest others had begged him to avoid.
Hours slipped into an unmeasured blur of violence. The beasts fell one after another until Ramsey hardly kept count. The flames scorched the ground, blackening trees and leaving trails of ash in his wake. His body grew weary, but his spirit only soared higher. He had just crushed a demonic beast beneath his flaming fist when the world around him suddenly shifted.
The air grew cold, and all the small creatures that had been jumping around and crawling nearby suddenly vanished.
An eerie fog crept through the trees, rolling in thick waves. Ramsey stiffened, the triumphant smile slowly leaving from his face. His instincts screamed at him, warning of danger.
A chill raced down his spine as whispers drifted from the fog. The voices were faint and overlapping, as if a hundred unseen figures murmured secrets into his ear. He spun to his left, his fists ablaze. Nothing. He turned to his right, the fire blazing brighter, but again there was nothing. The fog was everywhere, smothering his sight, and yet no aura revealed itself to him. Usually he would have sensed something by now, but he didn't.
"Dammit," he cursed silently. His own arrogance had carried him too far. "Dammit, I got carried away."
Outwardly, his voice was steady, though tension gripped his chest. "Who is there?"
The whispers only grew louder. Then came the laughter and giggles. Soft at first, then sharper, echoing all around him, he felt like someone was mocking him.
"Who is giggling?" Ramsey demanded, but no answers came. He watched the path ahead of him disappearing entirely into the mist. The same happened behind him. When he turned to either side, nothing but fog remained. He was trapped, surrounded with no direction to flee.
Ramsey sensed something in the fog that was moving, but he couldn't get a firm grasp.
This was no ordinary beast. This was something terrifying, something beyond what his little fire fists could smash. That was when he heard a voice he recognized all too well, sending his already spinning mind into overdrive.
"Big brother? Is that you?"