Kriel pressed his back against the damp wall of the mine, the chill creeping into his bones like a damn ice cube. He felt wrecked. The scars crisscrossing his body were just the tip of the iceberg; it was the weight of his past that suffocated him, darker than the mine's shadows. His health? Barely hanging on at 15%. An alert buzzed in his mind like a bad ringtone. "Get up, Kriel," he muttered, battling the tempting pull of sleep that promised sweet release. In the distance, the muffled cries of other slaves echoed as grim reminders of his reality.
But the darkness was calling, and soon, everything blurred. He collapsed on the ground, eyes squeezed shut, hoping to block out the pain, gripping tightly to the hope of escape, even if it was just a fleeting thought. Yet his dreams weren't safe havens. They clawed at him with the raw truth and pain of his trauma. Memories flooded back, dragging him to a time before he'd known the brutal truths of the world. Home wasn't a place of warmth or laughter for him. No, it was a cold, dark cave where two broken souls, his parents, viewed him as a burden. Elara and Coren had no love; just contempt.
"Why'd you even have to be born?" Coren spat one morning, his glare striking Kriel like a dagger. "You're just dead weight." Kriel's heart sank. "But… I'm your son." His mom looked at him with cold eyes, as hard as stone. "You're weak, soft. You'd be better off dead. We can't keep you."
At just four years old, life took a sharp turn. Desperation unraveled their parental resolve until it shattered completely, leading to a choice that crushed Kriel. "Take him," Coren told the slavers, void of any hope. "He'll be more useful to you." Kriel turned to Elara, heart racing, searching for a flicker of love, but found nothing but a cold mask, her gaze averted as they dragged him away, shackles biting into his fragile skin.
That betrayal sparked a fire within Kriel. Amid the terror, he swore he'd never be weak again, viewing life in the mine as a brutal test of endurance. Every day, from dawn till dusk, he toiled you could feel the whip's sting etched into his skin as a reminder of his place in this hell. Each lash became a lesson in survival.
One night, an old miner named Grigor dropped wisdom that resonated like a rallying cry. "You've got more strength in you than you know, kid. Don't let them break you. Keep that spark alive." Kriel locked eyes with Grigor, determination bubbling beneath his anxiety. "I won't," he said, even as a tremor exposed his fear.
Time crawled in the mines, but Grigor's words became his lifeline. Freedom felt like a distant dream, but that spark kept him fighting. Then came the stormy night that flipped Kriel's life upside down. The slavers were drinking and celebrating, their laughter echoing against the walls, mixing with the howling storm outside. To Kriel, it was the perfect distraction.
"Now's my chance!" he thought, adrenaline pumping through his veins like a shot of fire. He lunged at one of the slavers, pouring every bit of strength earned from years of suffering into his attack. Chaos erupted.
"Hey! What's going on?" another slaver yelled, losing his balance as Kriel tackled him. Kriel fought back with desperate fury, every punch fueled by memories of betrayal. One slaver went down, and freedom brushed against his fingertips.
Bursting into the stormy night, the cold wind slapped his face as he sprinted, not daring to look back. The sounds of his captors faded into the storm behind him. For the first time in forever, he tasted freedom.
Weeks slipped away. With each step farther from the mines, Kriel clung to the hope of a new life. When he finally reached the outskirts of Ethern Village, he was battered but alive. Yet the villagers met him with wary eyes.
"Look at him. He's worthless," Father Varun, the Astral priest, sneered at him. "Let the boy feed the Astral monsters. He's nothing to us." Kriel's heart sank. He wanted to shout, to prove he was worth more than their perceptions. But just as he gathered his thoughts, a voice cut through from the crowd.
"Stop it!" It was Serella, a noblewoman with fiery compassion lighting up her eyes. "He's not worthless. He's suffered enough." Kriel stared at her, hope flickering within. "You don't know what he's been through!" Serella pressed, her voice a beacon of strength. "We should help him!" Varun laughed bitterly, "Compassion? You'll regret this."
Kriel felt warmth from Serella's kindness, but it faded too fast. When Varun discovered her support, the village turned hostile within weeks. One evening, he returned to find a crowd gathered outside Serella's home. Varun stood at the front, his red robe billowing like a stormy flag.
"What do you think you're doing?" Varun snapped, his voice icy. "You dare defy the Astral Order?" "I'm showing compassion!" Serella shot back, fire blazing in her eyes. "Something you know nothing about!"
In that moment, Kriel felt the tension build, fury flickering in the priest's eyes and the fierce resolve in Serella's stance.
"How dare you!" Varun seethed. "You'll pay for your insolence!" Before Kriel could grasp what was happening, Varun raised his staff. "No!" Kriel screamed, but his cry was too late. Flames erupted, engulfing Serella, her shrieks slicing through the night air. Kriel fell to his knees, watching the world crumble around him. "No… no!" It was brutal the one person who had ever shown him kindness snuffed out in an instant. In that horrific blaze, the last spark of his innocence was snuffed out. Kriel's hollow heart turned to stone. He could never go back to the weak boy he once was.
Overwhelmed by grief, Kriel wept for Serella, trapped in the torment of her death replaying in his mind. "I will rise from this," he whispered to the storm above. "No one will ever control me again." He clung to Serella's courage as he sat in the mine's darkness, her words lighting up the ruins of his shattered world. When he awoke, Kriel felt the energy of the Void throbbing through him. "Soon, Elder Varun, I'll find my revenge," he vowed, determination igniting in his eyes. "But first, I need to deal with these hunters." And with that, Kriel understood his journey was just getting started.