Chapter One: The Morning Nightmare
Strange whispers slipped into Kaelen's ears—faint, urgent, crawling
through his mind like shadows he could never grasp.
He was sixteen years old, bound atop a towering structure, his eyes drifting across the blurred faces surrounding him. The voices of the people around him overlapped, their words incomprehensible.
The air felt suffocating.
It pressed against his chest with such weight that every breath seemed like a struggle.
He tried to move.
He couldn't.
He whispered, his voice trembling.
"Why... why am I tied up?"
Suddenly, a sharp wave of dizziness swept over him.
His head grew heavy. His vision trembled beneath an unfamiliar pressure as shadows began creeping into the edges of his sight.
Until he saw something.
His blood.
It was slowly spilling from him, drop by drop, as if his life itself were slipping away.
Death.
Questions flooded his mind without mercy.
Where am I?
Why am I going to die?
Where is Grandfather?
What did I do to deserve this?
Damn it...
The whispers grew louder, merging with the screams of the people trapped around him. None of them could move.
Every passing second felt like another blade driven into his body and soul.
Then...
He saw her.
A girl in a black cloak was running toward him, her eyes wide with fear as tears streamed down her cheeks.
He couldn't hear her voice.
Yet somehow...
He felt her presence.
He stared at her, and something about her seemed to ease the pain tearing through him.
"You..."
The word escaped him as a whisper.
"Your face makes these cursed dreams hurt a little less."
Then darkness swallowed everything.
"Kaelen! Kaelen! Wake up, you lazy boy!"
Kaelen's eyes flew open.
The room was dim, and standing before him was a tall, broad-shouldered old man. His hair and beard were completely white, yet his sharp eyes were remarkably alert.
"Kaelen, are you alright? That's the third time you've screamed!"
Kaelen stared at him for a moment.
Then his eyes widened, and a smile spread across his face.
"Grandfather!"
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and laughed.
"It was just a dream!"
His grandfather smiled, but he didn't laugh with him.
His gaze remained fixed on the sweat-soaked bed.
Then his eyes shifted toward a painting hanging on the wall.
A man and a woman stood in it, gazing at one another.
Kaelen's parents.
The old man said nothing.
He merely sighed before leaving the room.
As soon as his grandfather was gone, Kaelen jumped out of bed and ran down the wooden hallway.
Suddenly, a shout rang through the house.
"Take this, you idiot!"
His grandfather's voice followed, filled with both anger and alarm.
"Kaelen... not again!"
Kaelen rushed into the backyard.
There, he found himself wrestling with three boys, his fists clenched and his eyes burning with anger.
"Say that again, you bastard!"
One of the boys raised his hands in surrender, fear tightening his voice.
"I give up!"
"Kaelen!"
He froze.
Kaelen released the boy, but his grandfather immediately grabbed him by the hand.
"Didn't you promise me you wouldn't fight again?"
Kaelen tried to pull his hand free.
"But you said only animals ruin the garden!"
His grandfather stared at him in silence for a moment.
Then the situation became clear.
The boys had entered the farm and stolen some of its crops.
One of them, tears filling his eyes, hurriedly said,
"I swear, I only came today... I didn't know it belonged to you."
Kaelen narrowed his eyes.
"Liar."
"Enough."
His grandfather stepped forward firmly.
"Since this is your first time, we'll forgive you. But if it happens again, there will be no forgiveness."
The boys quickly ran away.
Kaelen watched them leave with a mocking look.
"Idiots."
His grandfather placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Did beating that boy give you anything? Are you satisfied now?"
Kaelen gave him a crooked smile.
"At least I took a piece of his skin."
His grandfather shook his head.
"Only fools solve their problems with violence."
He turned toward his small farm and began inspecting the rows of wheat, watermelons, and tomatoes.
Kaelen followed him, his smile returning.
"Tomorrow, you'll help me build the fence, right, Grandfather?"
His grandfather smiled.
"Yes. We'll build it tomorrow."
Night fell.
The sounds of crickets echoed through the darkness as Kaelen lay in bed, replaying the events of the day in his mind.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
His grandfather entered, carrying a lantern.
"Will you be alright by yourself?"
Kaelen smiled.
"Yes... I'm not a child anymore."
"If you need anything, call me."
"Alright."
His grandfather paused at the door.
"Go to sleep early. We have work to do tomorrow."
Kaelen nodded.
His grandfather left and closed the door behind him.
Kaelen turned beneath the covers and stared into the darkness.
One question kept circling through his mind.
Would he have that nightmare again?
Hours later, a rooster crowed outside, followed by a knock at the door.
His grandfather entered.
"Kaelen, breakfast is ready."
Kaelen opened his eyes.
"I've been awake for a while..."
He sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window.
The morning was calm and beautiful.
His expression immediately brightened.
He got up and hurried toward the table.
The warm smell of soup filled the house.
His grandfather said,
"Wash your face and hands first, then eat."
Kaelen smiled.
"And after that, we'll build the fence."
"Yes."
Kaelen stepped outside to wash his face.
Then he stopped.
A crushed tomato lay on the ground.
He stared at it.
"Is this... from my farm?"
His expression changed.
He raised his head and rushed toward the fields.
With every step, the unease in his chest grew stronger.
Then he stopped.
His eyes widened.
His breathing quickened.
The entire farm...
was destroyed.
The crops were trampled into the dirt.
Soil was scattered everywhere.
Watermelons lay crushed between the rows.
Even the old fence had been broken apart.
Kaelen stood frozen, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Then he screamed.
"Impossible...!"
His voice echoed across the fields.
"Who did this?!"
He didn't know it yet, but what had happened was more than the destruction of a small farm.
It was...
the beginning of everything.