Chapter 4 – The Awakening of the Demon's Eye
The roar of the crowd still shook the grandstands as Kaelen stepped into the arena.
The iron gates groaned open with a resonant metallic screech.
A level-3 orc emerged.
Immense.
Green-skinned, scarred from countless battles.
Its massive muscles rippled beneath thick, weathered skin.
Each step shook the earth, sending tremors through the sand.
The orc's breath, hot and foul, mixed with the burning dust of the arena. In its hands, it wielded a colossal axe, almost unthinkable for a human, yet swung with ease and terrifying precision.
Kaelen's fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. His heart pounded.
He drew a deep, steadying breath.
> Breathe… Observe… Analyze…
His father's voice echoed through his mind like a guiding specter.
The horn sounded.
---
⚔️ The Battle Begins
The orc charged immediately, a living mass of muscle, hatred, and raw power.
Kaelen rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the axe, which slammed into the sand with a thunderous crash. Dust erupted into the air.
The crowd gasped, torn between fear and awe.
The orc raised an arm. Veins pulsed with a red glow.
A magical circle blazed beneath its feet.
A fire spell, Level 1, harmless in a human hand but devastating in an orc's.
The fireball struck Kaelen's side.
Pain exploded through him, searing his flesh and bone. He fell to his knees, blood trickling down his side.
— Give up!
A voice whipped through the arena.
Lancel Dargaris, arms crossed, smirked cruelly from the stands.
> "Give up while you still can!"
"You won't survive!"
"You have no magic!"
The crowd echoed the jeers, some out of malice, others out of fear.
---
Kaelen forced himself upright.
His legs shook. His vision blurred.
The orc gave no mercy. A horizontal swing ripped through his uniform and flesh, leaving a long, bleeding gash across his chest.
He stumbled back. Almost blind.
In the stands, high-ranking officials whispered urgently.
> "It's a miracle he's still alive."
"No magic… no skill…"
"Stop this trial before the orc kills him."
The chief judge raised his hand. The verdict was about to fall.
---
🔥 Collapse… Then the Impossible
The orc slammed its massive fist down. Kaelen was hurled across the arena, skidding over sand and stone. His body felt numb. The roar of the crowd faded into distant echoes. His eyelids grew heavy.
> Is this… all I am worth?
Judges prepared to intervene.
But Kaelen whispered, barely audible:
> "Not… yet…"
He dug his fingers into the sand, forcing his body upright.
And then…
Something inside him snapped.
Pain exploded in his skull, white-hot. Then came heat.
His right eye—the red half of his hair—ignited.
Crimson. Saturated. Deep. Almost alive.
A light like molten fire radiated from his gaze, impossible and untouchable.
The crowd froze.
> "Look at his eye!"
"What… what power is this?"
"It's… inhuman!"
Even the high mages leaned forward, alarm etching their faces.
Lancel stepped back, a flash of fear crossing his confident expression.
---
👁️ The Demon's Eye — Full Awakening
The orc charged with a roar, massive axe swinging.
Time slowed. Every motion became visible to Kaelen.
The vibrations of the air. The weight of each footfall. The axe's exact trajectory.
> I see… everything.
He moved as if the arena itself guided him. Every dodge, every roll, every shift of his body was instinctive, perfect.
The axe swung again. Kaelen sidestepped, fluid as water.
The crowd erupted.
> "Impossible!"
"He dodged it!"
"How can a human see like that?!"
The orc unleashed a barrage of attacks: swings, stomps, and magical bursts.
Every strike was predicted. Every blow avoided.
Kaelen's movements were precise, almost unnatural. He moved like a predator, senses sharpened beyond mortal limits.
A faint, predatory smile curved his lips—not of joy, but understanding.
> So… it was you. Always there… waiting inside me…
The axe passed mere centimeters from his face. He had seen it coming before the orc even lifted it.
---
⚡ A Surge of Power
As Kaelen's eye burned crimson, a subtle aura radiated from him. Sand swirled, tiny sparks of energy flickered at his feet, reacting to his heartbeat. The arena seemed to tremble, aware of the power now unleashed.
The orc hesitated, sensing the shift. Its attacks became slower, misjudged. Fear crept into the monstrous eyes for the first time.
Kaelen's every strike, dodge, and movement became faster than humanly possible. A thin, invisible line seemed to connect his perception to the movements of the orc—anticipating, countering, exploiting.
He didn't just fight… he dominated.
> I am not just a boy… I am… something else.
---
⏳ Victory Achieved
Ten minutes passed. The horn sounded.
Kaelen stood. Covered in cuts and blood, exhausted—but unbroken.
The orc sank to its knees, panting, defeated.
The crowd erupted: screams, cheers, disbelief.
> "HE DID IT!"
"UNBELIEVABLE!"
"A MONSTER!"
"A PRODIGY!"
The judges were pale. One scribbled frantically:
> Unknown ocular power… extreme potential threat… monitor closely.
Eryon's smile hinted at recognition of a worthy rival.
Grayce's eyes glimmered with fascination and fear.
Lancel ground his teeth, rage and disbelief flashing across his face.
> "Trial passed," the chief judge finally declared.
---
⚠️ Political Shockwaves
The kingdom's leaders exchanged anxious glances.
> "This power… it's beyond human."
"The Eye… of the Destroyer…"
"If he truly is the Demon's heir…"
A deadly silence fell.
> "…we must monitor him. Carefully. Or eliminate him before it's too late."
Even as whispers spread, the third trial was already announced.
---
⚔️ Third Trial: Real Combat
The judge's voice boomed across the arena.
> "Prepare yourselves!
The final trial is…"
A deliberate pause sent a thrill of tension through the crowd.
> "…a real battle… against another candidate!"
The crowd erupted, a mix of excitement and terror.
Kaelen, still trembling, lifted his crimson eye toward the sky.
He didn't yet understand what had awakened within him.
It was not magic. It was not human.
> This power… does not belong to this world.