Rain poured down hard, soaking the ruins of a once-proud battlefield.
A boy barely six years old stood frozen among the wreckage, his small hands trembling as he stared at the bodies before him.
His parents—two of the strongest heroes this country had ever known—lay still, their blades shattered, their power gone forever.
The boy's name was Sina.
That night carved itself into his soul. The pounding of the rain, the stench of blood, the crushing weight of helplessness—he would never forget.
He and his younger brother survived. The world called it a miracle.
But to Sina, it was nothing but a curse.
People praised his parents as legends. All Sina felt was weakness.
His weakness.
Years Later
Money was never a problem. His parents had left enough for him and his brother to live in comfort.
But comfort meant nothing. Comfort couldn't protect anyone.
While other children played, Sina trained. Day after day, he swung a sword until his arms burned. The fragile boy from years ago slowly disappeared, replaced by someone harder, sharper, colder.
But still… it wasn't enough.
Without real power, he was nothing.
On his sixteenth birthday, something inside him shifted. His vision sharpened, his body felt lighter, his instincts sharper than ever before. For the first time, he felt it. A spark. A power waiting to be used.
Forest
Two days later, Sina stepped into the Forest.
The steel sword at his side was plain, borrowed from the guild. Its weight felt steady in his grip. His plan was simple: hunt weak monsters, test his power, and go home before nightfall.
But fate didn't care about his plan.
From the shadows, something emerged.
A beast taller than any man he had seen, scales black as stone, and eyes glowing with a sickly green light. Its claws were long enough to tear through trees.
This was no weak monster. This was a predator.
Sina froze. His heart pounded in his chest.
But running wasn't an option. The monster had already locked onto him.
The Battle
The ground split as it charged.
Sina rolled aside, the creature's strike ripping through the earth where he had stood. Panic clawed at his chest, but he forced it down.
It struck again.
Sina raised his blade—
CLANG!
The impact shook his arms to the bone, the force throwing him back. He slammed into a tree, pain tearing through his ribs. Blood dripped down his side, staining the ground beneath him.
His vision blurred. His grip almost loosened.
Am I going to die here…?
Memories hit him—his brother's small hand holding his own that night, their parents lying lifeless in the rain, his vow never to be helpless again.
"No…" he muttered, voice rough but steady.
With trembling arms, he pushed himself up. His body screamed to stay down, but he refused. He lifted the blade again, blood sliding down its edge.
The monster roared, shaking the forest.
Sina roared back.
And then, he charged.
Steel met scale. The sound of their clash tore through the forest like thunder.
Silence
The rain drowned everything.
The forest went still.
The result of Sina's first battle—victory or death—hung in that silence.