Dust stung Jacob the Mad Dog's eyes as he forced his way up the twisted trail, the wind howling like a banshee through the black cliffs around them. The mountains—known only as the Craterfangs—closed in tightly, their jagged edges cutting the sky into ribbons. The stone underfoot gleamed unnaturally, flecked with green veins that flickered like dying embers, making the scar—a raw slash from brow to jaw—itch in a way it hadn't in years.
Talon, tied to Jacob's horse, noticed that more bandits had joined the group. It had been a dozen at first, but now their numbers had swelled to a hundred. Another concerning observation was the children tied up and carried in several open carts.
"Boss, we've got a total of twenty-two, and Gado's found another Blessed. He's saying he wants the amount he deserves," Robbie said nervously. He had just checked the carts, and Talon had seen him chatting with a tall, bearded man atop an abnormally large horse.
Talon knew he should be fighting back and trying to save the children caught in the same situation as him—it was the right thing to do. But… who cared?
Soon, the bandits reached their destination: a massive gate and a door behind it, both made of stone with a metallic luster.
Jacob dismounted and approached alone. Seven men in black robes appeared, and one removed his hood and stepped forward.
"You did well, Mad Dog. You shall get what you asked for," the man said in a deep voice. He had no facial hair—not even eyebrows—and his skin was darker than most in the county. He showed no hint of fear in front of the many bandits, and in fact, it was Jacob who seemed afraid who carefully shook the man's hand.
"We happened to meet a giant wolf on our way, and because of that, we got our hands on a Blessed child. It wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
Jacob tried to be respectful, but his words came out like an accusation. The man simply smiled and said,
"Ignorance can often lead a person to make dangerous decisions, but sometimes it is knowledge that destroys."
Not only Jacob but almost every bandit who had seen the wolf felt a shiver down their spine.
Their conversation didn't last long. Soon, a hooded man approached Talon and blindfolded him. Moments later, Talon felt someone carrying him, moving so fast that the air felt solid.
"Welcome to the Order. Here, you either die or grow strong enough to be useful!"
a male voice said, likely from the man carrying Talon.
The next thing Talon knew, he was falling. He landed on his back, sharp rocks piercing into him. He would have bled to death if he weren't someone who could heal rapidly.
"KRAAA!"
As if it smelled blood, something attacked Talon. It was heavy, as if something larger than a grown man was on top of him. Then… pain!
The sharp teeth of an unknown creature bit into his flesh, eating Talon bite by bite.
He wanted to scream, he needed to scream, but the cloth they stuffed in his mouth made it impossible. This helplessness reminded Talon of many things but the last words he'd heard on this horrible day sticked out the most.
Talon found himself surrounded by brilliant blue flames, and unlike last time, he now knew: "This is a dream!"
He thrust his hand into the fire, which made his skin bubble, registering intense pain in his mind. But soon, as if he became immune to the flames—they no longer affected him.
"What is fire?"
Talon knew fire better than most people; after all, it had taken everything from him. But now, he felt that his knowledge was merely surface-level. Fire burns matter because it needs fuel to exist, but did he truly understand this simple concept? Why do fire have a need to exist? Why do things dissapeare when burned? He had many questions about the nature of fire itself and more importantly the difference between the knowledge he had and the knowledge before him was like a blind person reading about color versus actually seeing it.
Talon after thinking for some time grabbed the blue flames, and information flowed into his very soul.
"Combustion!"
Talon felt like his brain was exploding, as if his mind couldn't comprehend the knowledge contained within his soul in its purest form.
Talon woke up and now he could now "see" the creature on top of him. Its body seemed to have illuminated the cave, providing a clearer, more detailed vision than he was used to and the blindfold no longer bothered him, he was seeing heat itself.
The creature trying to eat Talon had an ape-like body and a dog-like face, with vulture-like wings attached to its front limbs. It struggled to bite into Talon's flesh, which was no longer as tender as before—it had hardened.
"BURN!"
A simple command, and what followed was a spectacular scene of bright sky-blue flames incinerating everything in a wide area, with its epicenter being a ten-year-old boy named Talon.
Talon was no longer tied up or blindfolded. He had burned everything, even his own clothes, which left him feeling a little cold. But soon, he felt as comfortable as a fish in water.
The first thing Talon noticed was that the space he was in was a square, made of stone with a metallic luster, just like the gate and door he'd seen.
"Strong enough to be useful…"
He recalled the words of the man who had put him here.
"How strong must I be to not be used?"
Talon stood and began exploring his "prison." The space was a hundred meters on all sides, massive for someone his size. He noticed a few creatures similar to the one he'd roasted, but these were much smaller. At the edge of the cube, a small stream ran parallel to the wall.
Talon knew instinctively that he could survive without food or water, but he felt relief at the sight of the stream and the possibility of roasted meat.
He remembered his mother, who had raised him to be kind and righteous. She had once told him there was no greater virtue than compassion.
"Sorry, Mom, but what's the point in being kind when I'm too weak to protect what's important to me?"
Talon looked up to see a hole in the ceiling, blocked by a large slab of metallic rock.