Betrayed by Heaven, Reborn as the Blade the Gods Tried to Erase
The God-Slayer's Requiem (GSR)
Chapter 6: The Art of Growing Invisible
Klai learned his second life would not be won by strength.
It would be won by absence.
THE FIRST RULE: DO NOT SHINE
At the age of five, Klai could already feel mana.
Not control it.
Not shape it.
Just… sense it.
It drifted through Lowreach Village like mist—thin, weak, neglected. Humans here barely touched it, fearing church doctrine that warned against "unlicensed magic."
Good, Klai thought.
Fear kept eyes away.
Each night, after his parents slept, Klai sat cross-legged on the cold wooden floor, breathing slowly, counting heartbeats.
Not absorbing mana.
That was the mistake of his first life.
Instead, he mapped it.
Where it flowed.
Where it stagnated.
Where it leaked from the world itself.
Mana is not power, he remembered.
It is permission.
And he intended to take none.
THE SYSTEM'S FIRST REAL RESPONSE
On the 113th night of silent observation—
"Godfall System"
Hidden Condition Met
— User has rejected divine growth pathways —
Reward Unlocked:
Passive Skill — Veil of Mortal Insignificance (Lv. 1)
Effect: Reduces spiritual presence. Divine perception resistance increased.
Klai exhaled slowly.
So the system was watching how he grew.
Not how fast.
Good.
LOWREACH VILLAGE — A PLACE MEANT TO BE FORGOTTEN
Lowreach sat between two trade routes but belonged to neither.
Nobles ignored it.
Church collectors visited too often.
Slavers passed through more than merchants.
Klai noticed everything.
Which houses locked doors at night.
Which men never returned from "work."
Which wagons had iron reinforcements beneath false floors.
This village dies in my first life, he remembered.
Not this time.
THE FIRST BLOOD — UNSEEN
It happened when he was six.
Three men arrived after sunset, wearing trader cloaks too clean for travel. Their horses bore no insignia.
Klai saw the way they watched children.
Slavers.
That night, Klai followed them.
Small feet.
Silent breath.
Veil active.
Behind the grain store, one man fell without a sound.
A sharpened stone.
Angle precise.
Neck severed.
Klai stood over the body, shaking—not from fear, but restraint.
No witnesses. No rumors.
He dragged the corpse into the river.
The others fled by dawn.
Lowreach never knew why.
WHY HE DOES NOT HATE HIMSELF
Klai washed his hands in the stream, watching blood dissolve into current.
In his first life, he killed because gods ordered him to.
This time—
I kill because I choose to protect.
That difference mattered.
THE PATH AHEAD — ACADEMIES AND LIES
At seven, Ronan returned home with news.
"The capital academy is testing rural talent," his father said cautiously. "Mana aptitude checks. Nobles will attend."
Klai looked up slowly.
The Viremont Academy.
Where noble heirs gathered.
Where divine envoys watched.
Where his first future lover would one day bleed beside him.
"I want to go," Klai said softly.
Mira hesitated. "It's dangerous."
Klai smiled—small, harmless, convincing.
"I'll be careful."
A SHADOW WATCHING FROM HEAVEN
Far above, beyond mortal sight—
A divine proxy paused.
"Strange," it murmured.
"That child… feels quieter than he should."
The heavens adjusted their gaze.
But they saw nothing.
Klai slept peacefully that night.
Chapter 7: The Day the Academy Chose Its Prey.