Chapter 4: Awakening of the Dark Power

Kael continued his training without pause. Every morning, he rose early to gather wood in the forest, and spent his afternoons refining his mana with the techniques his mother had taught him. Weeks had passed, and Kael had become a 2nd-Ring Mage. He could now masterfully control the 2nd-Ring fire spells that he once struggled to contain. That searing energy, which used to be wild, now sat in his palm like a tamed ember. He hadn't just mastered the Flame Wall; he was now proficient in the "Crimson Orb," a spell that created a focused explosion. He had etched various offensive spells into his memory, focusing his energy into a single, lethal point.
​While returning home, he felt something shatter the peaceful silence of the forest. The hair on the back of his neck stood up; he felt a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows. Kael stopped in his tracks and turned around, spotting a dark figure emerging from the shade of an ancient oak tree. The stranger was draped in a tattered black cloak, his face hidden behind a crow mask adorned with silver engravings. The air around the man felt cold and heavy, as if it had rotted.
​Kael immediately reached for the axe at his waist and shouted:
— Who are you?
​Realizing he had been spotted, the cloaked stranger wasted no time and began sprinting into the depths of the forest. Kael, using the basic enchantments his mother had shown him, surged forward to give chase. During the pursuit, the stranger suddenly skidded to a halt and slammed his hand onto the ground:
— Rise, servants of the Blood Moon!
​In an instant, two Crimson Shadow Wolves erupted from the earth to attack Kael. Kael paused in shock. This was a "Summoning Spell," one of the special classes his mother had mentioned. But his true shock came when he saw the wolves; the red runes on their necks were identical to the monsters that had attacked his village. Kael's voice trembled with rage:
— You're the one who sent those creatures to my village! ANSWER ME!
​The stranger was not talkative; he simply continued summoning more wolves. With a flick of his hand, he sent the pack lunging at Kael. Kael fended off the assault with his 2nd-Ring "Flame Wall." As the wolves crashed into the wall of fire and were thrown back, Kael did not stop. He cut some down with his axe and incinerated others with fire attacks strengthened by intense mana. He swung his mana-heated axe into the skull of one wolf while firing a focused fire bolt at another. Realizing his target was no simple peasant, the stranger continued to flee toward the edge of a cliff. Kael thought to himself, "If this man escapes, the village will never be safe," and pressed on.
​The chase ended at the edge of a precipice on the eastern side of the forest. Trapped, the stranger turned around. Kael was right in front of him.
— I'm asking you for the last time; did you send those wolves to the village?
​The stranger began to laugh mockingly:
— So what if I did? They were just pathetic villagers... They should be grateful to have been fed to my wolves!
​At that moment, Kael snapped. The air around him began to vibrate, and the grass beneath his feet turned black from the sudden heat. The uncontrolled magic could harm him, but his fury would not subside. Suddenly, a shroud of fire enveloped Kael, as if the flames themselves had formed a suit of armor around his body. He wreathed his axe in fire and charged at the masked man with pure rage.
​The masked man gave a condescending smirk and summoned an Alpha Wolf. Kael had nearly been killed by an alpha before, but things were different now. With eyes turned blood-red from fury, Kael cleaved the massive wolf's body in two with a single strike of his flaming axe.
​The stranger began to panic.
— How? That was one of my strongest summons! How can a brat do this? he screamed. Stumbling backward, he threw a purple summoning crystal to the ground:
— You asked for this, brat. Summoning Art: Chimera!
​Kael attacked with a 2nd-Ring "Flame Burst." However, when the dust cleared, there wasn't a single scratch on the Chimera. Kael gripped his axe and swung it at the beast's neck with all his might, but the steel snapped in two the moment it hit the Chimera's hide. This creature was nothing like the wolves. The Chimera lunged; although Kael conjured a fire barrier, a single blow from the creature shattered it and sent Kael flying into a tree.
​Kael fell to the ground, bleeding. His vision blurred, and his consciousness began to fade while the stranger's laughter echoed from a distance. Just then, a black aura began to swirl around him. Crows began to cry out mournfully, and the atmosphere turned utterly bleak. Kael had forced the awakening of the dark magic within him.
​The stranger recoiled in terror.
— What is this? What kind of trick is this!
​Kael's body levitated off the ground. From his left shoulder blade, a single, pitch-black, tattered but majestic wing sprouted. When he opened his eyes, the pure brown gaze had been replaced by a glowing, transparent violet light. Kael was now a passenger in his own body; an ancient rage was in control. Dark power had replaced the fire. Kael looked at the Chimera with contempt:
— Pathetic creature. 2nd-Ring Dark Magic: Abyssal Thorns!
​Black spikes erupting from the ground impaled the Chimera in seconds.
​At that moment, Nerya, who was hanging laundry at home, saw the ominous black aura rising into the sky from the east. She dropped her basket in horror, crying out "Kael!" and sprinted toward the forest. As she drew closer, she felt the crushing weight of that dark magic in her heart.
​The masked man backed away, his heel catching on a loose stone at the cliff's edge. Realizing he had nowhere left to run, his breathing became erratic; his shoulders slumped, and his voice was no longer a threat but a broken whisper.
​As Kael walked toward him, the man begged in terror:
— Stop! I was only joking, I didn't really want to hurt anyone! Please, spare my life!
​Kael raised his hand, his voice echoing like two different souls speaking at once:
— The price of your sins shall be paid with your soul. Expect no mercy from me.
​Just then, he began to whisper a forbidden word:
— Until your soul is extinguished, the darkness shall—
​— KAEL! STOP!
​His mother's scream echoed through the forest. Nerya burst from the trees, her face pale with fear. Kael turned his violet-glowing eyes to his mother:
— Sinners must pay the price, he said.
​Realizing Kael was not himself, Nerya immediately tried to encircle him with a 5th-Ring Barrier; however, Kael shattered it with a single motion of his hand. Seeing how difficult he was to restrain, Nerya resorted to her final option, a sealing spell:
— 6th-Ring Seal: Shackles of the Ancient Soul! Ensnare the darkness, and turn it to light!
​The masked stranger took advantage of this moment, leaped onto a wolf he summoned, and fled into the forest. Nerya wanted to stop him, but she couldn't hold her son with the seal and attack the stranger at the same time. Her son was her priority.
​Green chains erupting from the earth bound Kael. Though he struggled to break them, Nerya added a "Soothing Mist," causing the black aura to slowly dissipate. The single wing vanished, and Kael fell unconscious into his mother's arms.
​When he opened his eyes, the sun was setting. His head was resting on his mother's lap as she stroked his hair. Kael suddenly bolted up in a panic:
— Mother! The stranger! I found the man who attacked the village! he shouted, then paused as he noticed the stillness around him. His memory was a blur. — Mother... did you defeat the Chimera?
​Not wanting to speak of the dark magic, Nerya replied:
— Yes, my son. I heard the noise and came. I defeated the creature, but the man escaped.
​Kael murmured sadly:
— We shouldn't have let him get away.
​When they returned home, Nerya was lost in deep thought. She hadn't expected Kael's powers to awaken so early. It had pained her to see him like that, with a single wing. She tried to be optimistic, thinking, "For now, a single wing is not a problem; it can be controlled." But she knew Kael would eventually learn the truth. She only wanted a peaceful life with her son, but she feared that destiny would not allow it.