Cries and shouts welcomed Kai as he reached the village junction.
A choking blanket of ash swirled, forcing him to press his mother's scarf over his nose and mouth.
After a few steps, his boot sank into a warm, viscous pool beneath the wreckage of a burning hut.
He looked down. "Oh!" He grimaced, realizing it was blood he had stepped into.
Moving past the flames, he saw a girl, no older than himself, being dragged into the shadows by a hunched, half-humanoid creature, its form a grotesque fusion of man and beast.
Something within him flared, forcing him to sprint. His small form was a blur, then he slammed his fist into the creature's side.
The impact felt strangely solid, yet the creature made no sound. It merely released the girl, turned its lumpish head toward Kai, and… bowed. A low, guttural rasp escaped it before it vanished into the undergrowth.
As the screams finally died into whimpers, villagers emerged like ghosts from hiding places—from under carts, from root cellars.
They huddled together, counting their survivors, when two bright, bobbing lanterns approached from afar.
…
"Beast! Leave that child alone!" The cry went up as Kai led the shocked girl back toward the gathering.
He froze, confused, and turned to see who they were referring to. There was only him and the girl.
When he turned his head back, a stone whistled past his ear, then another, thudding against his chest. Yet he kept walking forward.
He caught his reflection in a sliver of mirror hanging from a charred doorframe and stopped. The wild black-blue hair, the eyes like captured celestial bodies, all stared back at him like a sharp knife.
A grim, mirthless smile touched his lips. He clenched his fists and walked straight into the heart of the crowd.
He released the girl's hand, giving her a small, silent nod. She fled to her parents, who clutched her and hurried away without a backward glance.
One by one, families turned their backs, melting into the pre-dawn gloom until Kai stood utterly alone in the ruins.
As the sky lightened to a cold gray, he sat on a fire-warmed stone, then pulled the meager pouch of copper coins from his bag—the sum his mother had left in the bag.
He tossed one in the air, then caught it with a quiet clink. He waited, his luminous eyes fixed on the road where the daily caravan normally appears.
…
The sun crested the skyline, its light warming the ash-strewn ground.
Whistles split the morning air as three lumbering wooden carts rattled to a stop. Men began loading burlap sacks, the very ones that contained the diamonds, into the first two until they bulged.
The third cart was larger, covered with a thick, stained tarpaulin.
Kai's bag bumped against his hip as he stood up. Every eye tracked the small, strange boy as he approached the guard overseeing the workers climbing into the last cart.
"I want to go to the city." Kai's voice came in a flat tone, devoid of plea.
He placed his right arm into his pouch, pulled out half of the copper coins, and held them out.
The guard at the driver's side jumped down, his brow furrowed as he looked from the coins to the child's unsettling eyes, then snatched the money.
"Fifteen coppers? Add another fifteen for us to feed you on the journey," he demanded, palm still outstretched.
Kai dug again and pulled out eight more.
The guard snorted. "Mm… well, this'll get you half a loaf. Hop in." He jerked his thumb toward the cart before turning away.
The guard by the tailgate grabbed Kai by the shoulder, hefting him effortlessly into the dark interior.
Ten others crammed onto the wooden benches: nine weary, dirt-caked men, and one small girl who shrank back as Kai settled opposite her.
He met her gaze. She flinched, hiding behind the arm of a broad-shouldered man with a scar over one eye.
"Don't be scared," the man said, stroking her hair. "He saved a little girl last night. If he were a real monster, he wouldn't last a day on this road."
The girl had heard the stories about the cursed boy whose very gaze made people vanish.
Kai found a dark humor in her fear. He was used to it, so he didn't feel bad. The girl wasn't the only one who feared him; three of the men nearby also subtly shifted away from him.
The tires of the caravan shook as it moved forward.
…
Three days passed in a dusty, silent dullness.
Kai stayed at the very back of the cart, watching the desolate landscape unravel.
Gilgal Village vanished quickly behind them. He observed the faint, colorful auras that clung to every person in the cart, feeling their unique vibrations like distant, discordant songs.
He overheard the girl whisper to her father in front of him.
"Dad, what's the city like?"
The man mussed her hair. "Many times bigger than Gilgal Village. Walls of stone, streets of stone… and more people than you can count."
"Really? People like me?"
"Yes. Lots of children of your age. Even old folks like your grandpa."
"Then why don't we live there?" Her voice grew small.
The man sighed heavily. "…If we could. One day you'll understand."
Kai watched, silent.
As the journey stretched into weeks, the scenery bled from dusty brown to patches of glittering obsidian earth.
Then, the sparse scrub gave way to a serene, alien forest. The caravan followed a path marked by signs nailed to immense, ancient trees.
Kai became captivated as he stared at them.
These trees were not just green; their leaves shimmered in hues of sapphire and topaz, colors he had never seen in life, only in the strange glows of his vision.
During the long, rattling hours, Kai said inwardly, 'I've been absorbing these shadows, seeing these auras. These things aren't normal. I need to know what they are.'
His thoughts were cut short as the caravan suddenly slowed. "We are closer to the walls!" the driver called back. "Get ready to work fast!"
Two hours later, they halted before a colossal stone gateway.
Kai climbed down with the men. The girl stayed, her father kissing her forehead. "Stay here. I can't take you inside. If anything happens, scream for the soldiers."
The men cast uneasy glances at Kai, who stood calmly among them. 'Does he think he can enter? Doesn't he know?' the girl's father thought.
Kai felt the shift in their vibrations, the unspoken thoughts buzzing around him like gnats. He ignored them, focusing on the caravan owner who approached two bored-looking city guards.
He couldn't hear, but he could read their lips with perfect clarity.
"Only diamond carriers enter. Dump everything at the warehouse. Payment will come at nightfall."
Seeing the owner turn back, Kai moved. Before anyone could react, he scrambled onto one of the loaded carts, chose a sack—misjudging its immense weight—and heaved it to the ground with a solid thud.
He jumped down and stood beside it, a small boy next to a man-sized burden. A wry, private laugh escaped him. "This is heavier than I thought," he whispered to himself.
The men stared, jaws slack. But they had no time to waste. They moved to follow suit.
The gate guards watched Kai pass, their eyes lingering on his hair, his eyes, with a mix of disgust and morbid curiosity. It wasn't their problem, so they let the freak through.
The moment Kai passed under the stone arch, the world exploded.
The smell hit him first—a complex symphony of soot, sizzling meat, frying fish, exotic spices, and human sweat.
The sound of hawkers shouting, hammers clanging, wheels grinding on cobblestones was a roar in his ears.
Before him were thousands of buildings with vibrant roofs, all crammed within immense gray walls.
They walked a main street for seven tense minutes before ducking into a curving alley.
In those seven minutes, city dwellers hurried past, some glancing at the grimy work gang with open contempt, others looking straight through them as if they were ghosts.
In the alley, they reached a fortified warehouse guarded by three armored soldiers. One swung the heavy doors open.
Kai worked, hauling sack after sack, his small frame straining but not failing. On the fifth trip, he finally spoke to the girl's father.
"Why do they treat us like this?"
The man started. "Ah, so you can talk. If you mean the soldiers, the people… it's because we're forbidden to be here." His voice dropped. "Gilgal was founded by refugees. People expelled from Bion centuries ago, sent to the forbidden lands to die or be torn apart by monsters."
"Refugees?"
"Yes. Thieves, murderers, dissidents… who knows? Over a thousand years ago, whole families were cast out to die. We found a pocket where the worst predators didn't roam. That's why we're still there. And because we found diamonds, the city tolerates trading with us." His tone was thick with bitter resignation.
Kai's mind raced. 'Forbidden land? Sent to die…' The revelation settled in him, cold and heavy. 'So my entire village was a death sentence on a delayed timer?' he asked in his thoughts.
'No,' he decided, his resolve crystallizing. 'I don't have to care about them. They never cared for us. My path is straight. Survive. Get stronger.'
He turned his attention to the soldiers guarding the warehouse. Their auras glowed with a dull, ash-colored light, their vibrations humming with profound boredom.
Seizing his chance, Kai darted. He was a small, swift shadow, slipping between laborers and into the crowded road of the city.
He moved like a ghost along walls and through narrow gaps, emerging finally into a vast four-way intersection.
Towers loomed, studded with glowing orbs that were not fire, but some captured, steady light. His small form was nearly invisible in the deepening dusk.
He wandered until he came upon a formidable black wall within the city itself, as tall as the great trees of the forest.
Approaching, he saw the symbol etched into the stone: two silver swords crossed. The same symbol worn by the guards. "The place of the soldiers, huh?" he whispered.
He traced the wall until he found its entrance, lit by great iron braziers. Four guards stood post. One yawned, another kicked stones, two conversed quietly.
Kai halted in a pool of shadow, focusing. He read their lips.
"...recruitment starts at first light, earlier this year. They're desperate after that last monster surge."
"Yeah. All the fifteen-year-olds getting tested. Wonder how many'll come out with all their limbs. Hope we get some fresh meat to replace us on this boring gate duty."
'Recruitment?' Kai thought. A slow smile spread across his face, though he did not yet fully understand what it meant. He knew an opportunity had opened for him, and he needed to act fast.