The warning bells shattered the quiet of dawn.
Kael jerked awake to the sound of frantic shouts. The campfire had long gone cold, smoke trailing faintly in the pale light. Serenya was already on her feet, bow strung, eyes fixed on the village below the hill. Her ears twitched, sharp with tension.
The boy stirred, whimpering in his sleep, but Serenya pressed a finger to her lips. "Stay here," she whispered, then glanced at Kael. "With me."
Kael scrambled to his feet, heart pounding. The memory of yesterday's training lingered in his muscles—bruises, fatigue, and the strange strength that came after death. He gripped the wooden practice sword he still carried, though it felt pitiful compared to the weapons in Serenya's hands.
Together, they ran toward the village.
---
The scene that met them at the gates froze Kael's blood.
Dozens of goblins swarmed the palisade, clawed hands raking at the wood. They were bigger than the ones Kael had fought in the ruins—scarred, armored, wielding crude but deadly weapons. Their snarls and screeches filled the air like the chorus of nightmares. Behind them, more shadows shifted in the treeline.
And the villagers… they weren't soldiers. Men with rusted spears, women clutching axes meant for chopping wood, even boys no older than the child they had saved. Faces pale with terror, trying to hold a line they had no chance of keeping.
Kael's gut twisted. They didn't belong on a battlefield.
But he did.
The gate shuddered as another wave of goblins hurled themselves against it. A woman screamed. A spear snapped in half.
"Kael!" Serenya's voice snapped him back. She loosed an arrow, the shaft burying into a goblin's eye. "The gate won't hold. We hold here or no one survives."
Kael nodded, forcing his legs forward. His hands shook, but not from fear alone. Anticipation throbbed in his chest, a dark pulse that had grown louder with every death.
The System's cold whisper followed him.
[Quest Generated: Defend the Village Gate]
Failure: Village Annihilation.
Reward: ???
---
The goblins surged.
Kael swung his wooden sword clumsily, the blow bouncing off a goblin's shoulder. The creature snarled, jagged teeth snapping. It raised its crude blade—then buried it deep into Kael's gut.
Pain like molten fire spread through him. He gasped, blood filling his throat. The world dimmed.
Death came quickly.
And then breath returned.
Kael rose to his feet, wounds gone, eyes sharper. His hands no longer trembled. He seized a fallen goblin's weapon—a rusted iron cleaver—and swung with brutal force. The blade cleaved through flesh, bone snapping with a wet crack.
The villagers gasped. They had seen him fall. Now they watched him stand again, stronger. Fear rippled through their ranks.
Kael ignored them. He had no time for their stares.
Another goblin lunged. Kael caught its wrist, twisted, and slammed the cleaver through its chest. He felt the life leave its body, and a surge of raw energy coursed through him. Every death—his and theirs—fed the fire.
---
Beside him, Serenya fought like a storm. Her arrows struck true, each shot dropping a goblin before it could reach the gate. When her quiver ran dry, her blades sang, carving through green flesh with cold precision.
"Keep pushing!" she shouted.
Kael answered with action. He threw himself at the enemy, reckless, fearless. Blades pierced him, claws raked him, teeth sank into his arm. Each time, he fell. Each time, he rose.
[Death Count +1]
[Physical Strength +1]
[Reflexes Enhanced]
The notifications burned across his vision like lightning. His movements grew sharper, more violent. Soon, he no longer swung wildly—he fought with deadly instinct, each strike aimed to kill.
But with every return, the whispers grew louder.
[Soul Strain: 12%]
"More. Die more. Grow more."
Kael's breath came ragged. His cleaver dripped with gore, his clothes soaked through with blood—some his, most not. Around him, the goblins hesitated. For the first time, they faltered, snarling nervously.
A villager cried out, awe and terror mingling in his voice: "He… he doesn't die!"
The words spread like fire. The fear in their eyes deepened.
---
The goblin leader emerged then. Taller, broader, armored in scavenged steel. Its eyes burned brighter than the rest, and in its hand, it carried a jagged greatsword still wet with blood.
It roared, the sound shaking the air, and the goblins rallied.
Kael staggered, chest heaving. His limbs felt heavy, his soul burned with strain, but he gripped his cleaver tighter.
The leader charged.
Steel met steel. The impact jolted Kael's bones, knocking him back. The greatsword whistled down again, carving a furrow into the earth where he had stood.
Kael swung upward, cleaver biting into the goblin's arm. The beast howled, backhanding him with brutal force. His skull cracked against the gate. Stars exploded in his vision.
He barely saw the blade before it cleaved through him.
---
Darkness.
Then breath again.
Kael rose, eyes blazing. His movements flowed with unnatural precision now, each step carrying the weight of instinct he had never earned. His cleaver darted like a predator's fang, slipping past the leader's guard to carve deep into its side.
The goblin snarled, staggered, but pressed on. Its sword carved into Kael's shoulder, nearly severing his arm. Blood sprayed. Pain tore through him.
Kael laughed.
The villagers gasped, horror etched across their faces as the man drenched in blood smiled at his own death.
He lunged again, heedless of the wound. Their blades clashed, sparks flying. Kael twisted, shoved, and drove the cleaver deep into the goblin's throat.
The leader gurgled, staggered, then collapsed with a crash. Silence fell.
The goblins scattered, shrieking into the forest, leaving only corpses behind.
---
The gate stood, but barely. The village lived, but at a cost. Bodies lay in heaps. Blood stained the dirt. And in the center of it all stood Kael—breathing hard, soaked in crimson, eyes glowing faintly with something not human.
The villagers stared. No cheers rose, no thanks given. Only silence and the weight of their fear.
Eldran appeared at the edge of the crowd, staff in hand, eyes heavy with knowledge. His gaze lingered on Kael, then shifted to the faint black mark creeping along his neck.
"You are no ordinary man," Eldran murmured. "And the world will not forgive what you are becoming."
Kael clenched his fists, the System's whisper slithering through his mind.
[Soul Strain: 15%]
"They fear you. Because they should."
Kael met their stares, his voice hoarse but steady.
"I didn't fight to be thanked. I fought to live. And I'll keep fighting—no matter how many times I have to die."
The silence deepened. The villagers shrank back. Serenya's eyes flicked between him and the crowd, unreadable.
Kael realized then: victory hadn't earned him their trust. Only their dread.
---