The pain in my chest…
When I opened my eyes, I was still swallowed by night. My body was drenched in sweat. My heart was pounding against my ribs like a caged beast.
It was just a dream, wasn't it? Just a nightmare.
Slowly, I brought my hands to my chest.
My fingertips… brushed over a line of heat.
There was a strange burning sensation on my skin.
I stood up and grabbed the small mirror.
What I saw under the dim light was beyond a nightmare.
Right in the center of my chest, there was a strange seal that glowed as if etched with light. A twisted sun curled inside a circle — it moved like a living thing. Jet black.
No warmth. No radiance.
"What… the hell is this?"
Just a few days ago, I was an ordinary student. I had a life. Now… I carry a mark that doesn't belong to me. They say I'm their "savior." Based on what? Who decided that? Me? No. They chose. And now… they're punishing me. Just because I dare to say no.
As sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows of the royal hall, I walked in with heavy steps.
Candlelight flickered inside the throne room.
A chained chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting cold echoes on the stone floor. Even the golden ornaments on the walls felt threatening to me. Everything was too perfect.
Too... fake.
King Thane, seated on the golden throne, grinned the moment he saw me.
"Ah, my child. You're awake early. Did you sleep well?"
"There's… something on my chest," I said. My voice was firm, but beneath it, fear simmered — the fear of not knowing. "Is it magic? What is this seal?"
The king sat upright,
shaking his head with feigned sorrow.
"I wish there was another way," he said. "But a hero like you… cannot escape their fate."
The seal felt like it had etched itself not just into my skin, but deep into my bones.
Sometimes, when I breathed, it felt like an invisible chain was tightening across my chest.
When I closed my eyes, I saw that twisted black sun... and felt something moving inside me.
I narrowed my eyes and stepped closer to King Thane.
"My fate? I never agreed to this. I'm no hero. I just… want to go home."
"And you will," said the king.
There was an expression I couldn't quite read on his face — a sweetness in his voice that sickened me.
"But first, your duty. The Demon King. He must be destroyed. That command seal will remind you of it. And if you refuse—"
The king raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and summoned a roaring flame in his palm.
"You'll suffer. An eternal pain."
My eyes widened.
"Are you… threatening me?"
"No. I'm telling you the truth."
The king leaned back and opened one hand to the side.
"This world… stands on the balance of four great kingdoms. The Kingdom of Man — that's us. We uphold order.
The Magic Kingdom — land of elves, fairies, and cursed forests. So-called 'peaceful,' but arrogant and two-faced.
The Barbarian Kingdom — bloodthirsty orcs and creatures like dwarves, forever hungry for land.
And finally, the Demon Kingdom.
Ruled by monsters and devils.
Each kingdom has its own ways, its own power.
But the greatest threat in all the world…"
"The Demon King," I muttered.
"Yes."
The king stood up and looked out the tall windows.
"We've been at war for years. Everything is on the verge of collapse.
Our armies are crumbling. Our mages are on the brink of rebellion.
And he… that creature… has already begun gathering his dark forces.
If we don't stop him… this world will fall."
"Four kingdoms..." I thought.
As the king spoke, my eyes drifted to the stained glass depictions — elven figures with glowing eyes, dwarves holding bloodied axes, horned beasts looming in the shadows.
They looked darker than his words.
The king's voice didn't tremble.
But his eyes… maybe they feared them all.
Or maybe it wasn't fear. Maybe it was hatred.
The kind of hatred that burns just because others exist.
I clenched my fists.
"And that's my problem how? I don't even belong to this world. I didn't choose to come here. I didn't choose to fight."
The king turned his back to me.
"You are the only one who can stand against him. Many warriors like you were summoned before. Each one defeated the Demon King when he rose again.
I never met any of those heroes, but the kings before me said none of them ever returned.
You will be the first. Because I will make you stronger than all of them."
King Thane tilted his head.
He smiled, but it was the kind of smile that showed fangs instead of warmth.
"I saw war at your age. But I had no one.
You… you have a choice. A purpose.
Even a noble death is better than a meaningless life, isn't it?"
Death?
For what?
Why should I fight for a kingdom I have nothing to do with?
I didn't answer.
But the king kept talking.
"That seal… it binds the potential within you.
If you reject the Demon King, that power will burn you alive from the inside out.
But if you complete your mission…"
He paused.
His eyes locked onto mine.
"You'll go home."
Silence.
"Is that true? I can go back?" I asked.
But even my voice didn't sound certain anymore.
"Yes, my child. A noble never lies."
The king approached and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"There is truly… no other way."
He walked past me, toward a door that looked out of place in a palace of golden light — dark, cold, and quiet.
"I've told you much about this world, but it's not enough. Tomorrow, we'll test your magic. See what your affinity is. And then… training begins."
The king's voice suddenly darkened,
a wicked smile curling on his lips.
"But today… you'll learn to hunt the vile beasts sent by the Demon Kingdom."
He opened the door — and soldiers began to pour into the hall, filling the air with steel and silence.
"And in honor of today… a tradition for our new hero."
The king's eyes sparkled with wild joy.
"Shall we bathe in a little blood?"
He raised his hand and shouted with fervor:
"GOBLIN HUNTING DAY!"