"Any last words?"
The one-armed swordsman asked, raising his blade above the head of a weak and frail-looking boy—now blindfolded.
The boy felt the urge to laugh. He didn't know why he was being executed, but he had never wanted more than this. Still, he had to ask.
"Why exactly am I being beheaded? Because I survived—alone?"
The one-armed man frowned at the question, though he had no answer for it either.
"Because the strongest weapon of this society lies in slumber while I remain awake? And you all consider it an embarrassment—that I might tell people I was the only one to survive the Veyne?" the boy added, scoffing.
"No one even knows my name. No one cares. Killing me for this so-called embarrassment won't wake your General from his slumber."
Two other men nearby—one with a mustache and the other wearing an eye patch—exchanged glances, silently acknowledging the truth.
The eye-patch man barked, "Prepare to die now, boy!"
Did I say I wasn't prepared? the boy thought.
The mustached man cleared his throat, pulled out a rolled parchment, and began reading aloud—for no one in particular.
How useless.
No one cares.
"Name: Won, Age: 14, Rank: Flintshade—hereby sentenced to death for abandoning his comrades and betraying them in the Veyne."
"What an excuse to kill someone as vulnerable as me," Won grinned.
If you just want to kill me, then kill me. Why dress it up with a pathetic excuse? he thought bitterly.
The one-armed man growled at the audacity of the frail boy kneeling before him.
"How dare you speak of the General in that tone! You're dying because you brought this upon yourself."
Won gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to stand and sever the man's remaining arm.
Even blindfolded, he could see everything. It no longer surprised him. He'd gotten used to it during the last Veyne.
He didn't know how he acquired this heightened perception, but it had happened after he killed the massive humanoid monster with a billion eyes encircling its head. His senses had sharpened—he could now hear distant sounds clearly, if he focused.
That monster had been the boss of the Veyne—the same one that sent the General into his deep slumber after slaughtering many.
Won had realized only too late that he couldn't meet the creature's gaze. He still wondered whether the General was truly that powerful— why wouldn't he just realize the simple thing even a kid like him did.
If he were as normal awakened as us, he would have died by now.
Won had picked up the General's sword, which felt as heavy as his blood-drained body, and closed his eyes. He had thanked his own lightness as he leapt from stone to stone, slashing the beast wherever he could.
When it finally collapsed, he drove the blade through its chest, where the magic heart pulsed, an expensive item to everyone. He had heard, selling a magic heart could give him a full month of fancy meals.
As the creature fell, its minions—identical but smaller—emerged from the shadows and bolted toward him. He felt an immense surge of energy in his chest that made him squeeze his eyes shut.
Whoa.
Did I just see them—with my eyes closed?
"I'll figure that out later. First, let's fight," he'd muttered.
A mere Flintshade rank like him had slain all those beasts alone—and then collapsed.
Normally, a Veyne would disappear once its boss was defeated. But this one stayed open for a full day—until Won awoke to find the General still breathing, though in deep slumber.
"If you had only confessed to harming the General, we might have let you go," the eye patch guy retorted.
Come on, you idiots. I don't have the power to put the General into a coma, Won thought.
"Why would I confess to something I didn't do?" he asked quietly.
"You were the only one who survived. Who else could have harmed him?"
"Exactly. I was the only one. And there's no one alive to say whether I did or didn't. Isn't it one of your own laws to give the benefit of the doubt? You have no witness against me—except the General himself. So why not wait for him to wake before killing me?"
"You didn't seem like you wanted to live earlier. Why the sudden talk?"
Right. I always wanted to die. There was never a point in living. So why am I hesitating now, at death's door? Am I afraid?
"Let's get this over with. I have to pick up my kid from school," the eye-patch man said, annoyed.
School, huh? How sweet? A place I never even dreamed of entering—and you're rushing there after killing an orphan?
Years have passed, society has advanced, but this idiotic law to behead Veyne 'traitors' remains. I'll admit, it's less painful than being shot or thrown into a monster cage but—ugh. So this is how I die.
About three decades ago, monsters began pouring out from flaming, hollow portals known as Veynes. Around the same time, some youths awakened with strange powers and extraordinary vitality & stamina. They came to be called Ashen.
By the age of 15, they'd normally get awakened. If they wouldn't, and there wouldn't be any chance of them getting awakened in the future.
Once a rank was assigned, it was difficult to climb higher, though some cases existed. Even a low rank could secure a decent future, as awakening itself was seen as a rare gift.
Newly awakened youths under fifteen were tested and, based on their results, they were sent to instance veynes for training. Once they get selected based on their worth for doing the job, he would get admitted to Meteor Ashen Technical—an academy for training Ashen.
Unlike other training sessions, the General himself had joined Won's Veyne. As the highest-ranked Ashen, his presence had shocked everyone. Yet, everyone in that Veyne died. A mere test in instance veyne for examining the new awakened had ever been so deadly. That the General had been in slumber for 14 days while Won survived—it was more than suspicious.
There were only 3 Generals in the nation right now. And the General whose deep slumber was executing Won was the strongest of all them.
Betrayal during a Veyne raid was considered one of the gravest crimes. The government never clearly defined what "betrayal" meant in the law. Even newly awakened youths weren't spared under this harsh system. They would just make up whatever suit the term to meet their desired justice.
Corruption runs deep—in bone and blood, Won thought.
Who asked that feeble General to join my Veyne anyway?
It had been supposed to be the weakest Veyne, since Won's awakening rank was the lowest.
Who knew my first training session would cost me my head?
I never even set foot in that academy…
"Can I ask one last question?" Won said, assuming this would be the final time he spoke.
"Speak," the mustached man permitted.
"No one... no one knows I survived, other than a few officials, right? Not a single civilian?"
Won wanted the truth—his last request.
"Why? Do you have someone you want to meet before dying?" the one-armed man asked, tone slightly soft.
Won shook his head, grinning. He might've waved if his hands weren't bound. "There's no one," he shrugged slightly. "You still haven't answered my question."
Silence.
Silence is the best answer, they say, Won mused.
So, I'll vanish from the earth with no one ever knowing. Not that anyone knew I existed anyway.
Footsteps.
Closer.
Heavier.
How many people are coming?
Something felt off. No one is allowed during an execution.
"Get ready," the one-armed man said, raising his sword one last time. Won closed his eyes.
"Three…"
A countdown to death? Won smirked.
"Two…"
"One…"
The door creaked open. Won felt the blade graze his neck—but stop.
"What is it? Who authorized your presence?" the mustached man demanded.
Won turned his head and, through the blindfold, sensed the presence of 15 people in military uniforms.
"The General has woken up. He has requested the boy—alive. Immediately."
"The General is awake?" the eye-patch man echoed, stunned.
Took him a long time. Won shrugged, thinking to himself.
Won wondered—was that reaction from joy, or just shock?
He stood up by himself and stepped toward the military officers, raising his bound hands, getting eyes from every corner now.
Seems like I am saved for now.
"Surely your General wouldn't want to see the only survivor in restraints like these," he said.
"Didn't know you had such a sharp tongue," the man in the middle said in a low voice, untying Won's hands and removing the blindfold.
Won glanced one last time at the three men behind him, grinning, and walked away with the soldiers.
"Kid," the middle officer whispered, "your real test starts now."
Won frowned but said nothing.
"You'll face a master-ranked veyne alone—after your little chat with the General. Don't get cocky just yet."