Steiten stared at the stranger's hand.
For a moment, he said nothing.
The rain continued to fall, washing away the blood from the stones beneath his feet.
A normal person would have run.
A normal person would have feared the unknown.
But Steiten had already lost the one thing that made him afraid.
He had nothing left.
"Who are you?" Steiten asked.
The stranger lowered his hand.
"Names have power."
"Then give me yours."
A quiet laugh escaped from behind the shadow covering his face.
"Very well."
"The world once knew me by many names."
"The Forgotten."
"The First Shadow."
"The One Who Walked Before Kings."
He paused.
"But you may call me..."
"The Unknown."
Steiten narrowed his eyes.
"That's not a name."
"No."
The Unknown looked toward the destroyed village.
"It is a warning."
Steiten felt a strange pressure in the air.
This man was not normal.
Every instinct inside him screamed that something was wrong.
But another part of him...
The broken part.
The angry part.
Wanted to know more.
"What can you give me?" Steiten asked.
The Unknown smiled.
"Strength."
Steiten looked at his hands.
"Strength won't bring my family back."
"No."
The Unknown agreed.
"Power cannot change the past."
"Then why should I want it?"
The Unknown walked past him, looking over the ruins.
"Because tomorrow, another person will lose everything."
"Another child will stand where you stand now."
"Another family will be destroyed."
He turned back.
"And the question is..."
"Will you still be powerless when it happens?"
Steiten remained silent.
The words hurt because they were true.
The world had not cared about his pain.
The world had not stopped when his family died.
It continued.
The strong continued winning.
The weak continued suffering.
"What is the price?" Steiten asked.
The Unknown's smile disappeared.
"Your old self."
Steiten frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the person you were today must die."
A cold wind passed between them.
"The boy who believed the world was fair."
"The boy who trusted everyone."
"The boy who waited for someone else to save him."
The Unknown stepped closer.
"That boy cannot survive where you are going."
Steiten looked away.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you walk away."
The Unknown turned around.
"You live the rest of your life carrying this pain."
"You wonder what you could have become."
"You grow old knowing you had a chance..."
"And wasted it."
Silence.
Steiten closed his eyes.
Images flashed through his mind.
His father's smile.
His mother's voice.
His home burning.
The people who betrayed him.
The helpless feeling.
Never again.
When he opened his eyes, something had changed.
"Teach me."
The Unknown stopped.
"Are you sure?"
Steiten looked at him.
"No."
A small smile appeared.
"But I am tired of being weak."
For the first time, the Unknown looked pleased.
"Good."
He raised his hand.
Dark energy began gathering around his fingers.
"The first lesson is simple."
Steiten prepared himself.
"What is it?"
The Unknown looked directly into his eyes.
"Survive."
The darkness exploded.
Steiten felt his entire body burn.
Pain unlike anything he had ever experienced spread through him.
He fell to his knees.
His muscles screamed.
His bones felt like they were breaking.
But he refused to scream.
The Unknown watched silently.
"Interesting."
Steiten forced himself to stand.
"You expected me to fail?"
"No."
The Unknown smiled.
"I expected you to beg."
Steiten wiped blood from his mouth.
"I don't beg."
The Unknown laughed.
"Hehehe..."
"Maybe..."
"Maybe you really are the one."
Steiten looked confused.
"The one?"
But the Unknown did not answer.
Instead, he pointed toward the darkness beyond the ruins.
"Your first trial begins now."
Steiten looked into the forest.
Something moved between the trees.
Something huge.
Something watching.
"What is that?"
The Unknown turned away.
"Your future."
The creature stepped into the moonlight.
And Steiten realized...
His new life had already begun.