I woke with a pounding headache that felt like it would split my skull apart.
I tried to open my eyes… and found myself lying in the middle of a dense forest.
The trees stood tall, their leaves shimmering with a strange light—beautiful, almost enchanting, yet unsettling in a way that made my heart tighten.
I rose to my feet, dazed, whispering to myself:
"Is this it? Has my end finally come?"
I drew a deep breath… but then froze.
He was standing right in front of me.
My grandfather.
I stumbled forward, clinging to him like a lost child, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.
"Forgive me, Grandfather… I thought you never loved me. Please, don't be angry with me."
His hand rested firmly on my shoulder, his voice steady, calm:
"I was never angry with you, Arian."
My body trembled.
"But… the beast killed me. I—I'm already dead."
A faint, mysterious smile touched his lips.
"And who told you that you are?"
Shock struck me like lightning.
"But I saw death… I felt it!"
He stepped closer, his eyes deep, knowing:
"Do you remember the ring I gave you?"
"Yes… your ring, Grandfather."
"That ring carries a fragment of my soul. I knew your fate would drag you here. I tried to stop it… but no one can change destiny. All I wanted was to give you one more chance to live—after I failed to protect your father and mother."
A bitter cry tore from me:
"Then why? Why did you let them suffer?"
His head lowered, voice heavy with shame:
"I had no strength left. Grām had already stolen all my power… before I uncovered the Law of the Universe."
He stepped closer, his eyes blazing with an otherworldly fire.
"This law is the only force that can rival the Law of Time that Grām commands. I will give it to you… but the process will be painful."
His finger touched my forehead.
"Forgive me, my grandson… your soul may shatter for a moment, but it is the only way."
A scream ripped out of me, tearing through the silence. I felt my spirit splitting into countless shards, burning, breaking—but I held on, clinging to the memory of my father and mother, to their suffering.
And then, darkness claimed me.
---
When my eyes opened again, I was inside a cave. The air was damp and heavy, my breaths ragged, my head throbbing with the weight of thousands of new truths forced into my mind.
I sat in silence, trying to steady myself, to comprehend the meaning of the Law of the Universe.
But then—footsteps.
I turned. A stranger entered, carrying a frail, lifeless body in his arms.
My heart collapsed. It was my master. Rafel.
"No… no, Rafel! Wake up! Please, don't leave me!" I screamed.
But the stranger's voice was ice:
"He's dead."
The words crushed me. My knees gave way, and I sank to the ground. No tears came, no cries—just an empty weight inside me, a stone where my heart should be.
But beneath that stone… something else stirred.
A cold hatred.
I swore then and there: I would avenge my master. I would free my father and mother, no matter the cost.
With trembling arms, I carried his body and buried him with my own hands. The forest was filled with dangers, with prowling monsters, but I did not care. I no longer feared death. I sat beside his grave as the night deepened, the darkness pressing closer.
Inside me, a voice whispered: The boy is gone… a man has risen. A man who knows only rage.
The stranger stepped forward, finally speaking:
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Arkan, the former chief of the tribe."
I looked at him sharply.
"The former chief? What brought you here?"
He gave a bitter, mocking smile.
"It is our ancient custom. When a chief's reign ends, he is exiled. Cast out. That is the law."
I said nothing. I simply followed him back to his cave, where he lit a fire and prepared food. He handed me a plate, and I ate hungrily, my body exhausted beyond measure.
But then, when I looked down at myself, I froze.
The wounds… the gashes that had torn me apart—they were gone.
I touched my skin in disbelief. Smooth. Whole. As if nothing had ever happened.
Arkan's laughter echoed in the cave.
"Do you not understand? The Law of the Universe does not merely heal the flesh. It restores it—returns your body to the state it was in before death touched it. It resets your time."
Memories of my grandfather flashed through my mind, the way he had survived Grām's assault. Now I understood.
Arkan's gaze pierced into me.
"Do you wish to learn how to control this law?"
My voice faltered:
"But… wasn't it my grandfather who discovered it?"
A cold smile curved his lips.
"No. I was the one who created the Law of the Universe."
I froze.
"If you created it… then why didn't you kill Grām yourself?"
His eyes burned like fire, his voice fierce with conviction:
"Because destiny decreed that you—and only you—must end him. If I tried, the world itself would collapse into nothingness."
He stepped closer, the flames of the fire dancing in his eyes.
"So tell me, Arian… are you ready for a new journey of training?"
I raised my head, pain and fury battling inside me, my heart broken yet hardened.
"Yes… I want that, Arkan."