Three days passed quietly.
For Zion, each day followed the same simple rhythm.
Wake.
Eat.
Stretch.
Recover.
Sleep.
The herbs left behind by the villagers worked far better than he had expected. The sharp pain in his ribs had faded into a lingering soreness, while his injured shoulder regained a little more strength with every sunrise.
Perhaps it was one of the benefits of Awakening.
He still wasn't fully healed.
But he was getting there.
On the morning of the fourth day, Zion stood silently before the cold forge.
His fingers brushed across the blackened stone as he looked at the layer of dust covering its edges.
For sixteen years...
The forge had never remained silent for this long.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"...Looks like we've both been resting."
Rolling up his sleeves, he got to work.
The old ashes were swept away.
Fresh charcoal filled the furnace.
He inspected every vent before repairing a loose hinge on the bellows.
Each movement came naturally.
Almost instinctively.
This workshop wasn't simply where he worked.
It was home.
Before long...
The familiar roar of fire echoed through the smithy once again.
Flames burst to life.
Warmth spread through the room.
Zion closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"...Welcome back."
Outside, a passing farmer noticed the smoke rising from the chimney.
"The forge's burning again."
Another villager smiled.
"Looks like Zion's finally back on his feet."
Inside, Zion selected a plain iron bar from the storage rack.
Nothing special.
No rare ore.
No precious alloy.
Just ordinary iron.
If he wanted to understand his new ability...
There was no better place to start.
He placed the iron into the blazing forge.
Minutes later...
It glowed a deep orange beneath the dancing flames.
Zion inhaled slowly.
Then reached for his hammer.
The familiar wooden handle settled comfortably into his hand.
For the first time since the Impossible Trial...
He swung.
CLANG!
The sound rang throughout the workshop.
He struck again.
CLANG!
Again.
CLANG!
The rhythm slowly returned.
Each strike carried years of experience.
Each movement had been drilled into his body by Granny Iya.
Yet after only a dozen swings...
Pain surged through his ribs.
His breathing became uneven.
He lowered the hammer and smiled bitterly.
"...Still too weak."
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
His body had survived.
But it hadn't fully recovered.
As he rested the hammer against the anvil...
His eyes instinctively focused on the glowing iron.
For an instant...
Golden seams spread across its surface.
Unlike before...
He didn't immediately dismiss them.
Instead...
He watched.
Thousands of delicate lines crisscrossed the metal.
Some glowed brightly.
Others were dim.
One seam pulsed more vividly than the rest.
It wasn't the largest.
Nor the longest.
But something told him...
That single seam mattered more than all the others.
A familiar pressure gathered behind his eyes.
Ignoring it, Zion slowly lifted his hammer once more.
"...Let's trust my instincts."
The hammer descended.
CLANG!
The instant it struck...
The sound changed.
It no longer resembled ordinary metal being hammered.
Instead...
A clear, resonant tone echoed through the workshop.
Almost...
Like the iron itself had begun to sing.
Zion froze.
His golden vision faded.
The headache disappeared.
Slowly...
He picked up the iron bar.
His eyes widened.
The impurities that had existed moments ago...
Were gone.
The surface looked smoother.
Denser.
Stronger.
He hadn't repaired the metal.
He had improved it.
A slow smile spread across his face.
Zion stared at the refined iron in silence.
The corners of his lips slowly lifted.
"...Interesting."
Whatever this power was...
It wasn't merely showing flaws.
It was showing possibilities.
---
A voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"So..."
"It seems the forge has finally awakened."
Zion turned.
Standing at the entrance was Captain Roran.
The hunter carried a long wooden case over one shoulder, his weathered face as calm as ever.
"I saw smoke rising from your chimney," he said. "I figured your recovery was going well."
Zion smiled.
"I couldn't stay away forever."
Captain Roran stepped inside, his eyes wandering across the workshop before stopping on the cracked sword resting against the wall.
"You still plan to repair it?"
"I do."
The captain walked over and picked up the blade. After examining the web of cracks covering its surface, he shook his head.
"You can't repair this."
"The metal has reached its limit."
"I know."
Zion answered without disappointment.
"I wasn't planning to repair it."
Captain Roran raised an eyebrow.
"I'm going to reforge it."
For the first time, a faint smile appeared on the hunter's face.
"Good answer."
He placed the sword back down before setting the wooden case onto the workbench.
With a click, he opened it.
Inside rested three ingots unlike anything Zion had ever seen.
They were dark silver, yet faint streams of light drifted beneath their surfaces like stars moving beneath a frozen lake.
The surrounding air suddenly felt heavier.
"...What is this?"
"Starsteel."
Captain Roran picked up one of the ingots and tossed it toward Zion.
"Catching it is part of the lesson."
Zion reached out instinctively.
The moment the ingot landed in his palm...
His arm sank.
"...Heavy."
It was barely larger than his hand, yet weighed several times more than ordinary iron.
Captain Roran nodded.
"It was mined from an asteroid orbiting another world."
"It isn't found anywhere on Blue Star."
Zion slowly turned the ingot over in his hand.
Its surface felt unnaturally cold.
Almost alive.
Without thinking...
His eyes focused.
Golden seams instantly spread across the Starsteel.
Not dozens.
Not hundreds.
Thousands.
Each seam shimmered with a different intensity.
Some carried warmth.
Others felt cold.
Some seemed stable.
Others looked ready to collapse with a single careless strike.
For one terrifying moment...
The entire workshop disappeared.
Only the Starsteel remained.
His heartbeat accelerated.
A flood of unfamiliar sensations rushed into his mind.
Strike here...
The metal strengthens.
Strike there...
The structure collapses.
Strike another seam...
A hidden property awakens.
His breathing became ragged.
"So many..."
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
"Hng...!"
The golden vision shattered.
Zion staggered backward, nearly dropping the ingot.
Captain Roran frowned.
"Easy."
"You still haven't recovered."
Zion forced a smile.
"I just underestimated the weight."
The captain accepted the explanation without further questions.
"Keep them."
Zion blinked.
"What?"
"The Starsteel."
"It's yours."
"I can't."
"It's too valuable."
Captain Roran folded his arms.
"I've carried those ingots for nearly twenty years."
"I always believed I'd eventually find a blacksmith worthy of them."
His gaze settled on Zion.
"I finally did."
Silence filled the workshop.
Zion carefully closed the wooden case.
"...Thank you."
Captain Roran nodded.
"Don't thank me yet."
"The Academy will show you metals that make Starsteel look ordinary."
Zion smiled politely.
He thought the captain was exaggerating.
One day...
He would realize those words hadn't been exaggerated at all.
He crouched and picked up a piece of charcoal.
On the stone floor, he drew a small circle.
"This..."
"...is Blue Star."
Around it, he drew a much larger circle.
"This is the Azure Star System."
Then another.
And another.
Soon the floor was filled with countless circles connected by faint lines.
"This is one galaxy."
He drew a symbol surrounding them all.
"This represents the Galactic Human Alliance."
Zion quietly stared at the drawing.
"...Humanity controls all of this?"
Captain Roran chuckled.
"Only a fraction."
"The universe is far larger than even the Alliance knows."
He stood.
"When I first left Blue Star..."
"I thought I was strong."
A faint smile crossed his weathered face.
"Then I met a child younger than you who could split a mountain with one punch."
Zion's eyes widened.
Captain Roran laughed softly.
"It was a humbling experience."
He placed a hand on Zion's shoulder.
"The Academy won't just teach you how to fight."
"It'll teach you how small you truly are."
He turned toward the door.
Just before leaving, he paused.
"And sometimes..."
"Realizing how small you are..."
"...is the first step toward becoming truly great."
Without another word...
Captain Roran disappeared down the village road.
---
The forge fell silent once more.
Only the crackling flames remained.
Zion carefully placed the Starsteel inside Granny Iya's hidden compartment.
He brought out the ancient Viel given to him.
His eyes remained fixed on it.
"...Who exactly are you?"
The strange cloth felt as light as air.
It reflected neither the firelight nor the afternoon sun.
It simply...
Existed.
For several moments, he examined it in silence.
Then he sighed.
"I suppose I'll never understand you."
He moved to place it back.
Suddenly...
The Veil trembled.
"...Hm?"
Before Zion could react...
The dark cloth dissolved into countless specks of black light.
His pupils shrank.
"Wha—"
WHOOSH!
The particles rushed toward him.
Straight into his chest.
Everything happened in less than a heartbeat.
Silence.
The Veil...
Was gone.
Zion froze.
"No..."
He searched the floor.
The hidden compartment.
The forge.
The workbench.
Every corner of the smithy.
Nothing.
Nearly ten minutes passed before he finally leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"...Please don't tell me I lost Granny's final gift."
Just then...
A strange warmth bloomed deep within him.
Not in his chest.
Not in his mind.
Far deeper.
Within his very soul.
An unfamiliar thought surfaced within his mind.
It wasn't his own.
The Veil has returned to its rightful vessel.
Until the bearer dies... it cannot be taken.
Zion slowly closed his eyes.
"...You chose me..."
No answer came.
Yet for the first time since Granny Iya's death...
Zion no longer felt completely alone.
There was no reply.
Yet somehow...
He knew.
The Veil hadn't disappeared.
It had simply gone somewhere no one could ever take it from him.
Outside...
The evening sun slowly dipped below the horizon.
Inside the forge...
The flames danced quietly.
On the workbench rested three ingots of Starsteel.
Within Zion's soul slumbered the ancient Veil.
And far beyond the skies of Blue Star...
Destiny had already begun to move.
Zion simply hadn't realized...
His journey had already started.