Chapter 3: Shadows at the gate
Days later, curiosity tugged Wei farther than it ever had. He slipped past the trees, past the rutted dirt road Miwa had warned him never to cross—until the world opened up before him.
"Miwa will kill me if he finds out…" he whispered, but the words thinned into silence.
Before him stretched a city.
Stone towers speared the sky like spears forgotten by giants. Sunlight glinted off tiled roofs, and a river of voices spilled through the streets—laughter, bargaining, the clatter of hooves, all threading into a roar of life. Wei gripped a branch just to steady himself. The air felt heavier here, charged, as if he had stepped across a boundary not only of land but of worlds.
He slipped through the gates unnoticed, though his ragged clothes and wild hair drew stares. Murmurs followed in his wake.
"Beggar," someone muttered.
"Pfft, Look at his clothes," another sneered.
Wei tugged at his shirt, stomach knotting. He opened his mouth to explain—then froze.
Down a side street, a boy his age was cornered by older children in fine robes. They shoved him, jeering.
"Stupid brat, you think you're better than us?"
"Cry more, little noble!"
The boy's lip quivered, fists balled though he didn't strike back.
Wei's chest burned. He strode forward. "Hey! Leave him alone!"
The bullies turned, eyes narrowing.
"Who's this beggar?"
"Looks like he crawled out of a trash heap."
Wei planted himself between them and the boy. "I said stop." His voice shook, but his stance did not.
Something in his dark gaze made them falter. One cursed, another spat, but they scattered.
"Tsk. Freak."
The boy blinked. "…You saved me."
Wei flushed, scratching at his neck. "I-I guess."
The boy gave a nervous laugh. "What's your name?"
"I'm Wei."
The boy brushed dirt off his robes and extended his hand. "I'm Kairon. Thank you, Wei. I'm usually tough, but… they had me outnumbered." he said, letting out an awkward chuckle.
Wei smiled faintly.
"Hey, Wei—want to be friends?"
Wei's eyes lit up. "Yeah, sure!"
Kairon grinned wide. "Great! Come on, my house isn't far. We'll play, and we'll both be safe there."
Wei nodded eagerly. "Alright."
Kairon's villa left Wei breathless. Servants moved quickly through vast halls, silks shimmered along walls, and polished tables groaned under food. The scent made Wei's stomach growl.
"You have so many people here! It's… amazing."
Kairon tugged his hand, pulling him toward the garden. "Mhm! Come this way!"
"This is huge, Kairon! Wow!"
The two darted across the grass, laughter spilling behind them. Wei lunged, trying to tag Kairon, but the noble slipped away.
"Too slow!" Kairon teased.
"You're cheating!" Wei shot back.
"It's not cheating if you can't catch me! Hehe!"
They tumbled in the grass, rolling, mock-fighting until Wei pinned Kairon.
"Ha! Got you!" Wei crowed.
Kairon wriggled free, laughing breathlessly. "Only because I let you!"
Wei grinned. "You're just saying that 'cause you lost."
"Oh yeah? Watch this!"
Kairon tackled him, knocking them both into the soft grass. Their laughter rang out bright under the sun.
Wei sat up, chest heaving, eyes shining. "I've… never played like this before."
Kairon tilted his head. "Never?"
"No. It's always training or hunting. Never… fun."
Kairon's smile softened. "Then you'll just have to come here more often."
Before Wei could answer, a sharp voice called from the veranda.
"Kairon!"
The laughter froze. A man and woman stood at the garden's edge—their presence regal, their gazes heavy upon the two boys.
Kairon perked up eagerly. "Mom! Dad!"
He ran over, hugging his mother while Wei trailed behind in silence, curiosity tugging at his heart.
The words echoed in his head, strange and fragile: Mom…? Dad…?
"Mom, Dad, look!" Kairon said excitedly. "I made a new friend. He saved me from those bullies who always pick on me!"
His mother's eyes flicked toward Wei—curious, guarded—but her expression softened into a warm smile. "What's your name?"
Wei answered shyly, "Um… it's Wei."
Kairon's mother's smile deepened. "Thank you for helping Kairon, Wei. Come, sit with us. Have a treat."
Wei's face lit up. He immediately reached for the sweets set before him, stuffing them into his mouth in eager handfuls. "This is so good! It's so delicious!"
Kairon, who rarely touched the sweets himself, suddenly leaned forward and grabbed one too, laughing. "Yeah!! You're right, Wei—it's really good!"
The two boys devoured the treats side by side, giggling, while Kairon's mother watched with delight. His father, however, only looked on with faint contempt, pretending to stay absorbed in the paper he was holding.
Finally, he lowered it and asked, "Where do you live, boy?"
"Outside the city!" Wei replied cheerfully, clueless of the weight his words carried.
The mother's brows rose. "Outside the city…?" She exchanged a glance with her husband. "Where are your parents?"
Wei's chewing slowed. "My uncle said my parents abandoned me when I was a child. So I live with him."
Her face saddened. "Oh… you poor thing."
His father flicked his paper with disdain. "What cruel parents."
Kairon's mother leaned closer. "So who is your uncle?"
"Miwa!" Wei beamed.
"Miwa—?" The mother froze.
"Yes! Uncle Miwa found me in the forest. He's been taking care of me ever since."
The couple locked eyes, all warmth draining away. Their attention sharpened on Wei like knives.
"…Tell me, dear," the mother said slowly, "where exactly is this forest you speak of?"
"Oh, the Borderlands!" Wei chuckled, as though it were nothing.
Her face went pale as death. His father's eyes hardened, snapping between Wei and their son.
A butler nearby gave a short, nervous laugh. "Surely that cannot be true."
But the lady of the house gestured. Another servant stepped forward—the one gifted with discerning truth.
His eyes glowed faintly as his ability stirred. Silence stretched until sweat rolled down his temple. At last, he lowered his head and whispered,
"…He's telling the truth."
Gasps rippled through the hall.
The parents' faces twisted. The butler who had laughed went rigid, and Kairon dropped the sweet from his hand.
Kairon's mother recoiled. "An outcast child?"
Kairon's eyes widened. "W-what?"
Wei blinked, confused. "Out… cast?"
"Disgusting," the mother whispered.
"An outcast's child," the father sneered. "And you dare bring him here, Kairon?"
The boy Wei had saved flinched, staring at Wei with horrified eyes as if seeing him for the first time. "Wait… Wei, you—… you're…?"
Wei's heart dropped. "Wa-wait—I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"Get this filth out of my sight, now!" the father barked.
Servants rushed forward, seizing Wei by the arms. He thrashed in panic, eyes wide.
"Huh-? Wh-Why? I didn't do anything! Please—I just wanted to—"
His voice cracked, desperate, as he reached for Kairon.
But Kairon could not meet his gaze. His hands clenched at his sides, trembling, torn between loyalty and fear. His father's glare pinned him in place like a chain.
Wei's hand stretched toward him anyway. Kairon… please…
The servants dragged him through the halls, ignoring his cries. The mother looked away, her lips pressed tight with guilt, while the father's expression twisted with pure disdain.
At the steps, a maid shoved Wei down. He tumbled hard, scrambling upright, clinging to her dress with both hands.
"Please—tell me what I did wrong! I don't understand! Why do you all suddenly hate me?"
Her face contorted in revulsion. She kicked him hard in the chest.
"Don't touch me, filth!"
Another male servant joined, fury burning in his eyes. He struck Wei across the head, then again in the stomach. Each blow punctuated with venom.
"Criminal's brat!"
"Stay away from our young master!"
"Criminal…?" Wei gasped, curling on the ground, sobbing. "I don't understand… I don't… please, someone tell me why…"
But no one answered.
By morning, Wei still lay in the dirt, bruises raw and swelling. His body trembled from hunger and pain, yet his thoughts screamed louder than his wounds.
Why…? Why are they like this? I don't understand. I don't understand. I don't understand.
He staggered to his feet, stumbling through the streets, begging strangers in a raw, ragged voice:
"Please… just tell me what I did wrong!"
But whispers had already spread—rumors twisting faster than fire through dry grass.
"He's an outcast."
"Pretending to be a beggar."
"Criminal's child."
Faces turned hostile wherever he went. Hands shoved him down, boots slammed into his ribs, stones struck his head.
"Existing is your crime," one man hissed, hurling him into the dirt.
The words stuck, echoing like a curse. Every time he looked up, eyes glared back with the same verdict: hatred.
For four days, Wei wandered in a haze of pain and terror, unable to remember where the exit lay.
Every corner led to more torment.
Children pelted him with rocks, chanting, "Monster! Criminal's child!"
Adults spat in his direction, muttering, "Keep away from him."
Bruises bloomed purple and yellow across his body, cuts festered with infection, and his stomach hollowed with hunger.
By the fourth day, he could barely crawl.
He collapsed in the street as another stone struck his side. The mob circled, jeering. And among them—
"Kai—ron…?" Wei's voice cracked, his tearful eyes finding the boy.
Kairon's face twisted with fear, shame—and guilt. Yet he lifted another rock. "S-stay away from me!"
He hurled it.
Wei flinched, blood streaking his face. "Kairon… why? I thought we were friends…"
Kairon's arm trembled, but he hardened himself, blending with the crowd. "You're… not my friend...i would never be friends with someone like you...you're dangerous…"
The word cut deeper than any stone.
Wei's sobs broke free. "Why?! Why do you hate me? Why do you look at me like this?! Somebody—please—just tell me what I did that was so wrong?!!"
His cry echoed through the streets, raw and piercing.
At last—Miwa heard.
He had not slept in four days, combing every path and shadow in search of Wei. Now his heart lurched as that desperate scream cut through the air.
"WEI!"
He ran, faster than his legs had ever carried him, dread crushing his chest.
And when he arrived—
Wei lay crumpled, barely conscious, his small frame trembling. A circle of townsfolk loomed above him, stones still in hand.
Then—
A cloaked figure appeared, stepping between Wei and the mob. The very air shifted, heavy with authority. Gasps rippled.
"The Supreme Hero…"
The man's voice rang calm yet thunderous. "Enough! What are you all doing!? Have you lost your minds? This is a child!"
Shame swept through the crowd. Faces fell. Hands lowered.
The Hero's gaze pierced them. "Have you no pity? No sense of guilt? How could you do this to a helpless boy?"
He knelt beside Wei, his hand brushing blood gently from the child's cheek. His voice softened, full of sorrow. "I'm sorry. I was too late. I failed to protect you."
Wei's eyes fluttered open, dazed. 'Does he… understand me?'
His lips quivered. "S-supreme… hero…"
"You've done nothing wrong," the Hero murmured.
And then—
"YOU—!"
Miwa burst through the crowd, his eyes finding Wei's broken body. The world tilted, rage flooding him. His unstable power flared, condensing into a blade of raw energy in his hand.
"YOU ANIMALS!!"
He swept Wei into his arms, shielding him, fury burning like fire in his veins
Gasps surged through the mob.
"The criminal!"
"The outcast—!"
But fear silenced them as they felt the weight of Miwa's power—suddenly stable, controlled, terrifyingly sharp. His aura cut the air itself.
He raised his blade, voice trembling with wrath. "If any of you move… you die."
The Supreme Hero stepped forward, hands raised, eyes locked on Miwa. 'An outcast… with power like this?'
His breath caught, a sharp realization flickering in his gaze. 'Could it be…?' The words blurred into silence, swallowed by the crowd's fear.
Then—shocking all—he bowed low before Miwa.
Gasps erupted. "The Supreme Hero… bowing?"
His voice carried sincerity. "I am sorry. I failed to protect your child as a supreme hero, however please—spare them. Leave them to me. I will see justice done. I promise."
The mob fell to their knees, sobbing, begging. The realization hit them that only a powerful being can make a supreme apologize so,
"Please! Have mercy on us!"
"Please! Have mercy on us!"
"Please! Have mercy on us!"
"Now you all ask for mercy..?"
His expression grew even darker, gloomier. His already bloodshot eyes looked as if they were on the verge of bursting. He couldn't help but think about the audacity—the sheer shamelessness—of these people. To inflict pain on an innocent child while being terrified of getting hurt themselves.
He wanted to kill them.
Kill. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
For hurting Wei.
But then Miwa heard the trembling breath against his chest. His hatred, boiling and ready to spill into bloodshed, stumbled to a halt. When he looked down at Wei's tear‑streaked face, everything inside him faltered.
With a shudder, he let the blade dissolve into air. Without a word, he turned, carrying Wei away into the forest.
The Hero remained bowed until they vanished. Then he rose, eyes cold, voice steel.
"Take them all."
Four cloaked figures appeared like shadows, bowing slightly.
"Every last one who raised a hand against that boy. Let their punishment be as relentless as the pain they inflicted."
The figures nodded silently, vanishing into the mob. Screams soon followed.
The city trembled, realizing what it had done.
The Hero lingered, his gaze fixed on the forest's edge. His thoughts whispered aloud:
"That boy… just what is he, to shake the world so?"