8 Years Later
Rei stood in front of the broken cart, the wheels off their axle, and sighed in frustration. His shirt was torn, sweat dripping down his face, and his muscles ached from another failed attempt at doing something that wasn't sword fighting or knight-related. The cart, once pristine, now looked like a wreck thanks to his clumsy attempts at fixing it.
For the past few years, Rei had tried to find something—anything—that didn't involve being a knight. He had worked in the stables, mucking out horse stalls and carrying hay bales, but the work was grueling and repetitive. Then there was the brief time he tried his hand at blacksmithing, hammering away at a forge until his arms were sore and calloused, only to realize he had no aptitude for shaping metal. Every new job he took seemed to confirm one thing—he wasn't suited for anything other than the brutal, punishing work of a knight.
Now, at 16, his body was no longer the thin, fragile frame it used to be. He had bulked up with muscle, but it was a result of endless labor, not intentional training. His arms were thick with raw muscle from hauling heavy loads, his chest was broader, and his legs were stronger from carrying things he wasn't supposed to be carrying. His hands were rough, scarred from the endless work he had tried and failed at. He wasn't a knight yet, but he had the body of one. A body built out of frustration and failure.
He stood up, wiping the sweat from his brow, and pushed the cart back onto its axle—yet another failed attempt. "Great, just great," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.
For the last three years, he had tried to forge a path that wasn't about sword fighting or knighthood. But nothing had ever felt right. Nothing ever fit. He tried to tell himself that maybe it was a blessing in disguise—maybe he wasn't meant to be a knight, maybe he could do something else. But the truth was, he never truly felt at home in any of the other jobs he attempted. The more he tried to escape it, the more he realized something important.
No matter how much he hated it, he wasn't cut out for anything other than being a knight.
A voice broke his chain of thought. "Rei! You look like you're about to pass out from the heat. You've been at this for hours!" Harlan, his childhood friend, jogged up to him, concern etched on his face.
Rei gave him a dry look. "Just another failure under my belt. Nothing new." He kicked the cart lightly in frustration.Harlan snorted. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. You're built for more than fixing carts or hauling hay. You've got the body for it."
Rei gritted his teeth. "I've tried everything else. What else am I supposed to do? I'm not cut out for anything but… this." He motioned to the cart with a flick of his wrist.
Harlan shook his head. "You're wasting your time, Rei. You've spent the last few years trying to force yourself into other things. What if this—what if you're meant for something bigger?" Rei's shoulders slumped. "Maybe. But every time I try, I mess up. I can't even fix a damn cart."
"You don't need to fix carts, man. You need to pick up that sword again. You've always been good with it."
Rei hesitated. For years, he had tried to push the sword away, tried to reject the life that had always felt like it was waiting for him. But now… after all the failed attempts, the frustration of trying to fit into a mold that didn't work, the only thing that felt right was the weight of a sword in his hand.
"You really think I'm meant for it?" Rei asked quietly.
Harlan clapped him on the back. "Rei, you've been stronger than anyone here for years. You've been breaking your body just to make a life that doesn't fit. Maybe it's time to accept who you really are. You're a knight, even if you didn't want to be one. You're built for it."
Rei's gaze softened as he looked down at his rough hands, his body that had been sculpted by failure and labor. He had tried to escape, but maybe there was no escaping this. Maybe it was time to embrace it.
"Maybe I am…" Rei muttered, the first spark of hope—no, determination—flickering in his chest. "But this time, I'll do it on my terms."
As Rei picked up his sword from the side of the cart, the familiar weight of it in his hand felt right—more right than anything else in his life. He knew it wouldn't be easy. Nothing ever had been. But this was where he belonged. This was what he was meant to do.
And with that, Rei turned toward the training grounds, determined to push forward, to make up for lost time. He didn't need magic to become a knight. He had his body, his will, and his strength. It would be enough.