Kael sat at the edge of the abandoned shrine, his blood-streaked hands trembling in the dim moonlight. The wind whispered through the broken beams overhead, carrying with it the scent of ash and moss—reminders of both decay and memory. He stared at the boy he had just touched. Not a wound on the surface, but the life was drained. Not dead… just hollow. The memory Kael stole pulsed inside his skull like a fresh wound.
It was the first time Kael truly took something.
Not borrowed. Not glanced. Stole.
The boy's name had already slipped from Kael's mind, lost in the chaos of the stolen memory. But the knowledge remained. A clear image of a spell once passed down through generations. A rite of fire one that could scorch flesh and spirit alike. Kael hadn't learned it through practice. He had devoured it. Just as he had devoured the boy's sense of identity.
He had power now. Real, violent power.
And it terrified him.
"You feel it now, don't you?" a familiar voice echoed.
Kael flinched and turned. The hooded figure stood just outside the shrine's broken entrance. Not a sound had marked his arrival.
"You said I wouldn't have to hurt anyone," Kael growled, rising slowly.
"I said you wouldn't need to," the man replied. "But you chose to. And you will choose again."
Kael's fists clenched. "He'll wake up empty. He won't even know who his parents are."
"Better than dead. Mercy comes in layers, Kael. Get used to peeling them off one by one."
Kael wanted to scream. He wanted to bury his fists into the earth until it bled. But most of all, he wanted to forget the silence in that boy's eyes—eyes that had lost everything except the ability to blink.
The man stepped forward and dropped something at Kael's feet. A silver token with a spiral carved into its surface.
"First skill acquired. You've started the climb."
He turned and began walking away into the woods. "The next memory won't be so easy."
Kael looked down at the token. It shimmered once and vanished into his skin.
He didn't know if the System had acknowledged him… or if it was just playing along.
But somewhere deep inside, Kael knew.
There was no turning back.