Night in Kaelvara was silent in a way my world never was.
Back home, even in the quietest hours, there was always something — a car engine in the distance, the buzz of a streetlight, the hum of life. Here, the silence felt pure. Like the world itself was holding still. Listening.
I sat on the wooden ledge outside the elder's hut, swordless but still feeling its weight in my hand. The afterimage of that first battle — the beast's glowing eyes, the cleave of the blade — replayed in my head like a glitch I couldn't unsee.
I'd killed something. Instinct or not… I'd killed it.
Back in my world, I was just a high school student. Below average grades. Liked RPGs, hated group projects. Didn't talk much in class. I wasn't the guy who saved the day. I wasn't anybody special.
And yet here, I'd survived a fight I shouldn't have. I'd wielded power I didn't understand. I had a name now — "Summoned." "Dominion."
The problem was… I wasn't sure if I liked how easily I'd slipped into it.
"You don't sleep much, do you?"
The voice caught me off guard. A figure sat nearby — legs crossed, eyes closed, breathing calmly.
I hadn't even sensed her approach.
She was maybe my age, maybe older. Pale green cloak, dagger at her belt, black hair pulled into a tight braid. Her posture was relaxed, but something told me she was anything but harmless.
I hesitated. "Uh… no. Guess I'm still adjusting."
She cracked an eye open. "You're the new Summoned, right? The one with 'Dominion'?"
I nodded slowly. "That obvious?"
"The entire village felt the pressure ripple through the forest when you killed that beast." She tilted her head slightly. "You don't look like you're used to holding power."
I frowned. "Is that a problem?"
"It's just rare. Most people who awaken with an Ability like yours either become heroes… or tyrants."
I looked away. "I'm not either."
She stood, dusting her cloak off. "Then maybe you'll become something else entirely."
She turned to walk away, then paused.
"Name's Rinne. I train new Advents. I'll see you at the edge of the village tomorrow. If you want to learn how not to die."
And just like that, she vanished into the mist.
Morning came with a thin fog and aching muscles. Elder Eira insisted I eat first — some kind of herb bread and thick stew that tasted better than it looked. Then, just as promised, I found Rinne waiting where the forest trail met the main road.
"You're early," I said.
She shrugged. "You're late. Come on."
Training, as it turned out, was less about swinging a sword and more about knowing yourself.
"Power like yours isn't about muscle," she said, circling me. "It's about will. The world listens to you — but only if you speak clearly."
She tossed a dull wooden blade at me. I caught it clumsily.
"Try this. No weapons. No magic. Just instinct."
We sparred.
I sucked.
I was strong — unnaturally so — but clumsy. Too much reliance on the sword appearing in my hand. Too little skill behind it. Rinne knocked me on my back more times than I could count.
"You fight like someone who's never been hit," she muttered.
"I haven't."
"You're lucky. Let's fix that."
Hours passed. I bruised. I bled. I cursed more than I thought I would.
But I learned.
She taught me how to move, how to predict, how to react. And slowly, I noticed something strange.
When I focused, just enough — things shifted.
A swing came too fast, and my body felt heavier, denser — her blade deflected off me like I'd turned to stone. A step I should've missed… landed exactly where I needed it to.
It was subtle. Not flashy like the first time. But it was me. Controlling the world, in micro ways. Reflexively.
After the session, I collapsed onto the grass, panting.
Rinne sat beside me, tossing me a waterskin.
"You're still sloppy," she said. "But you're not clueless. That's something."
I drank in silence. Then asked, "Why help me?"
She was quiet for a while.
"Because the last Summoned with Dominion burned three cities to ash," she said. "And I want to believe that you're not him."
That night, I sat under the twin moons again.
Tired. Sore. But calm.
Something had shifted in me. Not just my strength — but my mindset. I was starting to think less like the boy from Earth and more like someone meant to be here.
Not a tyrant. Not a hero.
But someone still writing the definition of what he could be.