"You are giving up?"
Mark sat slumped against the crumbling wall of their shack, his eyes red and swollen. His small fists were clenched so tightly they trembled, nails biting into his palms.
"They're right," he muttered, voice hoarse.
"I'll never be like them. I'm just a slum rat. I can't even fight back. What kind of monster hunter could I ever be?"
The old man, his beard streaked with gray and his hands scarred from years of hard labor, quietly sat down beside him.
For a moment, he said nothing, just lit his pipe, the faint smoke curling between them. When he finally spoke, his tone was steady.
"Who are they?"
Mark raised his head to look at the old man, and said,
"They are the kids with the rich parent they have resources, fund everythi-"
"Wrong answer Mark, tell me what did I teach you?" the old man intrupted Mark.
Mark remained silent for while then said in low voice,
"They are nobody."
"That's right, they are nobody, they would laugh at your dreams, they would laugh at you when you fail and they would find fault in you when you succeed.
But deep down they are jealous of you, they are scared of your potential, they envy you as your are so much more than they ever could be. They will try to drag you down. What it doesn't matter at all."
The old man's eyes softened. He placed a heavy, weathered hand on Mark's shoulder.
"You know why?"
"...Because, they are no body." Mark replied.
"That's right those mere nobodies can never be able to do anything, as they are not even the part of story."
The old man took out a crystal heart shaped pendant from his pocket and gave to Mark.
"What is this?"Mark asked confusingly,
The old man's blue eyes settled on Mark, shimmering with depths of hidden mysteries.
"You will know when the time comes, But always remember to keep it close to your heart."
The old man stood up and said,
"And know this Mark, your will is what matters the most, never let anyone tell you, your worth."
Mark blinked, startled by the intensity in his guardian's eyes.
"Never give up, you are so much more than anyone could ever imagine."
*******
In its rage, the gaint octopus thrashed violently, its massive limbs lashing out at anything nearby.
Crystal sea fiends were caught in its grasp by the dozens, crushed or dragged screaming into its maw.
Mark barely had a second to breathe before one of the great tentacles coiled around his waist, yanking him below.
The world turned into a blur of bubbles and crushing pressure. His chest burned as he fought desperately, hacking at the slick, iron strong limb with [Dusk and Dawn].
'DAMN IT, NOT AGAIN!'
The tentacle dragged him deep in the lake.
The blades bit deep, black and white arcs flashing in the murk. With a final slash, the tentacle split, and Mark spun free,
only to find himself immediately surrounded.
Shapes darted all around him, eyes glowing faintly in the gloom. Crystal sea fiends. Dozens of them.
'OH! PERFECT.'
_Kiii!
The fiends screeched, their sound bubbling like knives through water, and lunged.
Then they all shot toward Mark at once.
He kicked, twisted, and slashed, the crescent blades tearing through scales and crystal flesh.
But for every one that drifted dead, three more came snapping at him.
His lungs screamed, and the weight of the water dragged him lower.
Deeper and deeper into the lake's abyss, the swarm pressed tighter, pulling him into the dark void below.
'THIS IS BAD, THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD.'
Mark's arms felt like lead. His blades, once burning arcs of defiance, now dragged heavily at his sides.
The water swallowed his strength, every movement slower, weaker. The swarm of crystal sea fiends pressed closer, their jagged maws tearing into him.
Agony flared as teeth and claws ripped across his skin, warm blood dissolving into the cold water around him.
His chest screamed for air, but all he could do was choke on the lake's icy grip.
'I… can't… move.'
He sank deeper, the faint shimmer of light above drifting farther and farther away.
Soon, the giant octopus surged upward, its maw gaping like a cavern. With a single, horrifying pull, it swallowed the sea fiends and Mark all at once.
'So this… this is it? After all that running, fighting, tricking, bleeding… I'm just… meat for monsters.'
Fiends continue to bite him even inside the octopus.
Another fiend bit into his leg, and he could barely muster a twitch. His mind throbbed, growing hazy, thoughts slipping away like sand through fingers.
'I see...this is the fitting end of a hunter I guess.'
Mark felt his consciousness slowling fading away,
'Yes...I gave it my all, maybe... I can rest now.'
He slowly loosen his clenched fists,
'I wanted to see the world again… the sun… laugh with someone, anyone. Just once more.'
He closed his eyes as the dark pressed tighter, his body battered and torn. The rush of the lake's depths pulled him into silence, into surrender.