It was evening and like always the moon hovered in the skies, its pale light casting a serene glow on the young boy seated on the roof of the enormous mansion.
With a sword resting on his lap, Alex sat with his shoulders stiff and his gaze calmly reflecting the cityscape on the horizon.
"And just like that, the final day is over!" he muttered, pulling his gaze down and caressing the surface of his blade.
Two days had passed since he woke up, and during those days he had done nothing but train. Two days wouldn't amount to much, but with his talent, every discovery brought an increase.
And after all that, here was what he had to show:
[Martial Prowess: 0%]
[Martial Efficiency: 2.7]
His gains in the past days weren't the best, but for now, he wanted to believe it would suffice.
"Selena huh?"
As he whispered, distant memories flooded his mind as he recalled the prologue to his awakening.
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A year ago.
Thub–!
The echoes of a clash filled the halls of the dojo as a boy of ten, his blonde hair cut short, was knocked aside by the effortless counter of his opponent.
His body, still in a state of growth, groaned underneath the rippling impact of his opponent's attack, and in response, he slammed to the ground hard, rolling across the wooden floor before crashing into the thin wall.
The air was knocked out of his lungs upon the crash, and he couldn't help but wince in pain. A normal response for the hit he had suffered.
"Are you serious?"
His opponent, her ashen hair fluttering behind her, stomped towards him, her expression borderline psychotic as she tossed her wooden sword aside and grabbed him by the collar before violently launching him back into the arena.
The blonde boy, Alex, cried in anguish as his body bounced across the ground, each impact adding to the pain he already felt.
"You can't be this weak?"
Before he knew it, the girl—a year older than him—had leaped into the air and was falling onto him leg first.
"Ah...."
Quick to react, Alex forced his body to the side. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, and it cost him as the girl landed on his feet, the force behind her fall crashing and twisting his leg.
Pain unlike any other tore through his nerves, and just as he was about to scream, his neck was seized and his throat forcefully silenced.
"Are you hurt?"
It wasn't an act of kindness that she asked, or else she would have allowed him to scream—but no, she grasped his throat, keeping his voice caged under her grip.
Alex, tears exploding from his eyes, gasped for air, but all that did was increase her hold on his neck.
"Are you hurt?"
She questioned again, her pale icy blue eyes lacking empathy.
"Arg...n....n....o."
Unable to struggle, Alex, still weeping and with his nose even running, shook his head.
"Good!"
Her lips curled into a smile that betrayed her true nature as she continued digging her fingernails into his neck.
"..."
Alex stared blankly at her, wondering where it had all gone wrong.
If he could pinpoint it, it was after his grading—when he was considered average by talent—and the girl... his cousin Selena, a true prodigy rivaling his brother.
There, like natural selection where the strong preyed on the weak, Selena began to act up.
Disguising her antics as simple spars, she would go far beyond, torturing him.
The elders didn't bat an eye because to them, she might as well be toughening him up. As for his family, they were far away in another city to worry about him. To them, he was spending a month-long vacation with his cousin, but to him, it was a month of torture—one he couldn't escape.
"If you're not hurt, then you can keep on going, right?"
Her question demanded an answer, one he didn't want to respond to.
"Yes" meant minutes more of her brutal antics.
"No" meant encouraging her to be even more violent.
"I could answer it for you, dear cousin."
Tracing her thumb underneath his eyelids and wiping away his tears, she smiled.
Her smile was rigid and stiff—the kind a clueless child would give before tearing apart an insect limb from limb.
"..No....I can." Alex, harboring dark spots underneath his eyes, responded quickly. And as he did, Selena released him, letting him collapse onto the cold hard floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Feeling the sudden rush of air within his lungs, his body shuddered, and Selena, watching him, slowly tilted her head.
The sight of him struggling frantically on the ground was fascinating to her—so much so that she couldn't help but crouch and poke his body like a lower life form.
Each time she did, Alex, pale from almost running out of breath, twitched uncontrollably, and Selena blushed, her smile growing crueler by the second.
"So helpless!"
Brushing strands of her ashen hair away, she poked his skull almost playfully and grinned.
"I always wondered why big sis Vanessa bullies you but... hehehe... I think I understand. You're just that pitiful. An ant among giants. You're basically asking to be stomped."
Maybe that was the final straw that caused Alex to snap and consider ending it all, but one thing was certain that day, he was never the same, he will never be.
-------
"I can't believe I will finally be going up against that sadistic brat."
Picking up his sword and forcing himself up, Alex traced his gaze to the moon, his eyes colder than usual.
"I spent the whole of last year being a toy, being her training dummy, and whatever fucked-up shit she thought of. Not anymore. I'm stronger now."
Clenching his fist, he declared,
"No more hiding, no more being scared. If my role is that of a protector, so be it. I'll embrace it and slay anyone that challenges it."