Clouds hung low over the forest as Kai Umbral made his way back from gathering firewood. His shirt clung damp against his skin, and the air smelled of rain that refused to fall. The trees rustled above him, their branches whispering in a language he could never quite understand.
Most people with a Path could feel the world speaking back to them.
Kai felt nothing.
He shifted the bundle of sticks on his shoulder and picked up his pace. His mother would worry if he took too long—especially today, the day before Path Selection. The village had been buzzing for weeks, though none of that excitement had ever reached him.
A branch snapped behind him.
Kai turned—and froze.
Three boys stepped out from behind the trees. Older, broader, already carrying the confidence of awakened Paths.
Joren, the leader, smirked. "Look who's out here pretending to be useful."
Kai lowered his gaze. "I don't want any trouble."
Joren grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward. "Without a Path, trouble is all you'll ever get."
Kai felt his breath catch, but he didn't resist. He knew better. The other boys circled him, voices low and mocking.
"When you touch the sphere tomorrow, it won't even glow."
"My brother said Pathless should just stay home. No point wasting everyone's time."
"What will you do, Kai? Chop wood your whole life?"
He clenched his teeth but said nothing.
Silence only made them bolder.
Joren shoved him backward. Kai hit the ground hard, dust filling his mouth. Laughter echoed through the clearing.
One of the boys nudged Kai's ribs with his foot. "Hey, maybe he'll awaken a new Path. The Path of Uselessness."
Kai pushed himself up slowly. His hands trembled—not from pain, but from something else. A pressure behind his ribs, subtle and foreign, as if the air itself thickened around him.
But he shook it off.
No strange miracle was coming to save him. He had lived thirteen years without so much as a flicker of Path-light.
Joren stepped up again, eyes narrowing. "Look at me."
Kai stayed still.
"I said look at me."
Kai met his gaze.
A mistake.
Joren struck him across the face. The world lurched white for a heartbeat. Kai tasted iron.
The pressure inside him changed.
Before the boys could laugh again, a faint tremor rippled through the clearing—soft as a sigh, but enough to make leaves shudder. The bullies stiffened.
"What… was that?"
"Did you feel it?"
Kai blinked, dazed. He didn't move. Didn't breathe.
Because the tremor… came from him.
Joren stepped back in alarm, but quickly masked it with a scowl. "Tch. Just thunder."
No thunder followed.
The forest was silent.
Uneasily silent.
Joren spat at the ground. "Enjoy your last day pretending to be one of us, Pathless." He motioned for the others to follow, and they slipped back between the trees with nervous glances over their shoulders.
Kai waited until they were gone before letting his breath shake free.
"What was that…?"
He pressed a hand against his chest. His pulse felt normal. His breathing steady. His body unchanged.
And yet, for an instant, the world had reacted to him.
Not warmth.
Not a glow.
Not a spark from any of the Six Paths.
Something else.
But he couldn't afford to believe in fantasies. He picked up the fallen firewood and started back toward the village.
By the time the huts came into view, the ache in his cheek had settled into a dull throb. He didn't hide it well enough—his mother noticed the moment she stepped out of their home.
"Kai!" She hurried over, worry creasing her brow. "Who did this?"
He shook his head. "Just an accident."
She cupped his face gently. "You're a terrible liar."
He tried a small smile. "Then I'll have to improve."
Her sigh was soft, full of helpless love. "No matter what happens tomorrow… remember that your worth isn't decided by a sphere or an Elder."
Kai nodded, though her words didn't quite reach him.
Because tomorrow, the village would gather. The children would take turns placing their hands on the Path crystal. Light would rise from within the sphere, revealing which of the Six they belonged to.
Flame. Tide. Bloom. Force. Ether. Shade.
Every child awakened something.
Except him.
His mother squeezed his shoulder. "Kai… have a little faith in yourself."
But as he looked toward the horizon, where the sun dipped behind the distant mountains, Kai felt a cold truth settle in his chest:
Faith wasn't enough to change fate.
And his fate, as far as the world was concerned, was to remain empty.
What he didn't know—
Was that something ancient, sealed, and forbidden had already begun to stir within him.
And tomorrow, in front of the entire village, it would crack the world open just enough to be noticed.