Ryu trudged through the snow, his breath leaving him in slow, steady wisps. The wind bit at his skin, but he had long since learned to ignore the cold. The day had been long, yet the weight on his shoulders wasn't from exhaustion—it was from the choices he had made.
Behind him, the towering military base loomed, its dark steel walls standing 220 feet tall, adorned with the emblem of the Blue Eagle Demons. A symbol of war. A reminder of the lines drawn in blood.
Footsteps followed behind him. Two men—Yato and Gil—his subordinates, his shadows. They had fought together. Killed together.
But that did not mean they agreed on everything.
"Why did you let him go?" Yato's voice was sharp, carrying through the cold night. "He's a wandering warrior from an enemy nation. The moment he stepped onto our land, his life belonged to us. Even if we fabricated a crime, no one would question it."
Ryu stopped walking. Slowly, he turned, his gaze settling on Yato.
"He was innocent. That is enough."
Yato frowned. "We have a war to win. Mercy won't bring us victory."
"And yet, it is the only thing separating us from monsters." Ryu's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it—one that silenced further argument.
Yato opened his mouth, then closed it.
Ryu sighed. "Enough. Go home. I have business outside the town—I'll see you both tomorrow."
He turned, his footsteps carrying him away, but just as he was leaving, Gil let out a quiet laugh.
"Lucky for you, he doesn't know that you were the one who destroyed our hideout. And all just to frame one man."
"Oh, shut up," Yato muttered.
Ryu did not stop walking.
The truth had long since stopped feeling heavy.
The snow crunched beneath his boots as he stepped beyond the main streets, into the quieter outskirts of the city. His mind wandered, but his instincts remained sharp. Which was why he noticed it—
A small shape in the snow.
At first, it looked like nothing more than a pile of rags, half-buried beneath the falling flakes. But as he moved closer, he saw the rise and fall of shallow breaths, the slight trembling of frozen limbs.
A child.
Ryu knelt, brushing away the snow. The boy was thin—far too thin. His skin was pale, his lips tinged with blue, and his ragged clothes barely offered any protection from the cold.
Half-conscious, the child cracked open an eye.
"Name?" Ryu asked.
For a moment, there was no response. Then, barely more than a whisper—
"Kai."
A name that meant nothing to Ryu. And yet—
He sighed.
"Come on, let's get you inside."
The boy was feather-light in his arms.
He had carried corpses heavier than this.
***
Kai awoke to warmth.
The contrast was almost jarring. His last memory was the numbing cold, the creeping fatigue of starvation. And now—
A fire crackled nearby. The scent of burning wood mixed with something richer—food.
Slowly, he sat up. The room was small, unfamiliar. A simple cabin, worn but sturdy. On a nearby table, a bowl of soup steamed, its scent making his stomach twist painfully.
Hunger.
He hesitated only for a second before reaching for it. The first sip burned his tongue, but he didn't care. It was hot. It was real.
For the first time in a long time, he felt full.
But contentment was a dangerous thing.
Kai pushed himself to his feet, moving toward the door. He needed to know who had brought him here—why he was still alive.
The moment he stepped outside, the wind hit him like a blade. The snowstorm had only grown fiercer, making it hard to see anything beyond a few feet. But through the white haze, something moved.
A shadow.
Large.
At first, he thought it was a man. But then he saw the fur. The sheer size.
A bear.
It tore into its kill, blood staining the snow beneath it.
Kai's breath caught in his throat.
The bear lifted its head.
Its eyes met his.
A moment of silence.
Then—
It charged.
Kai stumbled back, his frozen limbs barely responding. His mind screamed at him to run, but his body refused to move fast enough.
And then—
A figure appeared.
A blur of movement.
By the time Kai realized what had happened, the bear was already on the ground, motionless.
The man stood over it, brushing stray snowflakes from his sleeves. He looked down at Kai, expression unreadable.
"You're awake sooner than I expected."
Kai could only stare.
''You... you're the one who saved me."
His rescuer.
The man sighed, as if this was all just a mild inconvenience. "That storm's bad. You shouldn't be wandering around."
Kai didn't respond immediately. His mind was still racing, but amidst the lingering fear, another thought surfaced—
He had nowhere to go.
No home.
No purpose.
Weakness had nearly killed him. It would kill him next time if nothing changed.
He swallowed.
"Please," he said, voice hoarse but steady. "Make me your disciple."
Ryu was silent.
Then—
A quiet chuckle.
"Sure. Why not?"
Just like that.
Kai didn't know it yet, but the course of his life had already changed.
But that—
That was a story for another time.
***
"Helloooo? How long are you going to sleep?"
A voice pulled him from the depths of unconsciousness.
Kai groaned, barely managing to crack open his eyes before a familiar figure appeared above him—arms crossed, expression impatient.
"The sun's already up," Lyra huffed. "Come on. There's a village nearby. We need to keep moving."
Kai exhaled, rubbing the last traces of sleep from his eyes.
The past was behind him.
The future waited ahead.
He stood, stepping forward as the first light of dawn touched the horizon.