Chapter 1: Ashes of That Day (I) — The Night the World Broke
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…Why am I here?
The question surfaced slowly, painfully, as if dragged up from the depths of a dark sea.
Hayato felt cold.
Not the chill of night air—but something deeper, heavier. His body refused to respond. His thoughts drifted in fragments, slipping through his grasp the moment he tried to hold them.
Where… am I?
Sounds reached him first.
Metal clashing.
Distant shouts.
Magic tearing through the air.
I remember…
A carriage.
Wooden wheels creaking along a mountain road.
The Southern Mountains.
Mother sitting beside him, one hand resting gently on her swollen belly.
Father laughing loudly.
"I got more snacks than you," Hayato had said proudly, holding up the bag.
His father had scowled dramatically.
"That's because you stole mine."
Mother laughed, warm and soft.
"I'll protect my little sister," Hayato had said seriously.
"When she's born."
His mother smiled.
"I know you will."
"I'll get the blessings of the ancestors," he added.
"I'll become strong."
He remembered feeling safe.
Happy.
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CLANG—!
The memory shattered violently.
Steel struck steel.
A furious voice echoed through the night.
"SHIN! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!"
Father's voice.
Sharp. Angry.
"You drew a forbidden blade from the village shrine?!"
Another voice answered—twisted, mocking.
"And now you finally notice."
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Magic surged nearby.
"Hayato… wake up…"
"Please…"
Mother's voice trembled.
She was standing—but barely. Her leg was injured, supported only by magic reinforcing her muscles.
"Get him out of here!" Father shouted.
"Take Hayato and run!"
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Ah.
I remember now.
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Uncle Shin stood in the middle of the road.
Blocking the carriage.
His expression was warped—rage mixed with obsession.
"Step aside, Shin," Father said, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword.
Shin laughed.
"You really think you're my equal?" he sneered.
"You were always beneath me."
Then he drew his blade.
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That sword was wrong.
Black mist poured from it, crawling like living shadows across Shin's arm and chest. The air itself recoiled.
Hayato's breath caught.
The sword Shin held was not his father's.
It was the Shrine Sword.
The forbidden relic sealed deep within the village shrine.
Shin screamed as darkness wrapped around him, veins bulging, bones creaking.
Something inside him snapped.
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Father moved instantly.
He drew his own weapon.
Not the shrine sword.
But the other sealed blade.
The one bound in chains.
The sword he always carried at his side.
The sword he never used.
"This sword isn't for me," Father had said once.
"It's yours."
"You will know when the time is right"
Hayato never understood why.
---
The clash was immediate.
Steel met steel.
Shin moved unnaturally fast, darkness propelling him forward. Father barely blocked, sparks flying.
"You were always jealous," Father said through gritted teeth.
"But this—this is madness!"
"Jealous?" Shin snarled.
"I was robbed!"
He slammed Father backward, black energy exploding outward.
Hayato was thrown to the ground.
The carriage shook.
Villagers screamed.
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Father countered, striking with precision, forcing Shin back.
For a moment—
It seemed possible.
Then Father turned.
People were trapped beneath the overturned carriage.
Children.
Women.
Father hesitated.
That moment cost everything.
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The Shrine Sword pierced his chest.
Blood spilled freely.
"JIN!"
Mother screamed.
She unleashed spell after spell, fire and lightning crashing into Shin, forcing him back.
A barrier formed.
Cracked.
Held.
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"She's strong…" Hayato thought weakly.
Everyone said his mother was the strongest female Dragon Knight in the village.
Some whispered she was stronger than Father.
She proved it now.
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She ran to Hayato, scooping him up despite her injury.
"Hayato—we need to run!"
"But Father—!"
Her voice broke.
"You have to live!"
"You can't let his sacrifice be meaningless!"
Then—
A shadow loomed behind her.
"Running away?" Shin's voice purred.
"How disappointing."
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The barrier shattered.
Pain erupted.
Mother gasped.
Blood soaked her clothes.
She dropped Hayato.
Still smiling—barely.
"Hayato…"
"Run…"
"Please…"
He crawled toward her.
"Mother… wake up…"
"I'll be good…"
"I won't complain…"
"I'll train harder…"
"I'll eat all my vegetables…"
His voice broke into sobs.
She didn't answer.
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Something grabbed him.
Laughed.
And threw him aside.
He hit the ground hard—beside Father.
Father was still alive.
Barely.
Blood bubbled from his mouth.
"Father… get up…"
"We need to save Mother…"
Father smiled faintly.
"Hayato…"
"Listen carefully…"
"No—don't talk—!"
"Run…"
"Tell Elder Hakuro…"
"No! I won't leave you!"
Shin moved.
The blade flashed.
Blood spilled again.
Father's eyes met Hayato's.
"Live…"
"Live for us…"
"No… no…"
---
Shin turned to Mother's body.
Clicked his tongue.
"What a waste," he said.
"I thought of keeping her as a trophy."
He laughed loudly.
"She chose you over me."
Then—
He stabbed her stomach.
Where Hayato's sister was.
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Why.
Why us?
Why—
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Something pulsed beside him.
Warm.
Bright.
The sealed heir sword.
The one Father carried.
It was glowing.
Hayato picked it up without realizing.
The chains loosened—just slightly.
Golden light spilled out.
His body moved on its own.
Step by step.
"Why…"
"Why did you do this…?"
Shin sneered.
"He tried to surpass me."
"He disobeyed me."
His voice grew frantic.
"I am the son of the village elder!"
"I am superior!"
"I should have been commander!"
"I should have received the ancestors' blessing!"
"ME—ME—ME!"
Golden light erupted.
"Die."
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The world vanished in light.
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From afar, a pillar of radiance split the sky.
When it faded—
Half the mountain range was gone.
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Hayato lay unconscious.
The sword rested on his chest.
Everything else was gone.
Even his parents' bodies.
A single tear slid from his eye.
Then darkness claimed him again.
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