“My name is Jin.”
“Son of Ragan, chieftain of Eres — a small village cradled by deep forests and golden wheat fields. Gentle hills embraced us like the arms of a sleeping giant. It was a place where time slowed, where the scent of fresh bread and the echo of laughter were enough to complete a day.”
“Back then, I believed life would always be that way. That the world ended at our borders, and my greatest burden was simply… being second best.”
...
He always woke before the roosters. The sky was still cloaked in stars when Jin stepped into the courtyard, eyes heavy, tunic already marked by yesterday’s dust. His father was there — waiting.
— “Strength doesn’t come from talent, Jin. It comes from discipline,” Ragan said, pressing a wooden sword into his son’s hands.
— “But Kael—”
— “Kael is Kael. And you are you. Now... stance!”
The training began with repetition. Simple strikes. Movements practiced until the arms ached. Ragan was not a gentle teacher. Every mistake earned a sharp word. Every success, only a nod.
— “Plant your feet. You’ll fall again like that…” he muttered, effortlessly dodging a strike and knocking Jin flat.
Jin rose, wincing from the scrape on his arm, frustration burning in his chest.
He didn’t cry. Not in front of his father.
But the true sting came from seeing Kael, training nearby with the village guards — each movement fluid, precise, and radiant. He smiled as he fought, as if battle were a dance and he the music.
Everyone watched him.
Everyone admired him.
“One day, I’ll be better than you…” Jin promised the wind.
That night, the sky was painted orange, and warmth filled the small house. Lira served honey bread — her mother’s recipe.
— “Had to chase Jin out of the kitchen today,” she laughed, “or we’d have no flour left for the dough!”
— “That’s not true!” Jin protested, his cheeks red.
Kael only smiled.
— “Tomorrow, you can make the bread. All by yourself. Let’s see how that goes.”
Laughter filled the room.
Even Ragan cracked a smile.
It was a peaceful night.
The last one.
...
The next day began the same.
But the wind had changed.
Cold and silent.
Jin was alone in the southern fields, punching a tree stump until his knuckles bled. He’d argued with Kael again. Tired of being treated like “the little one.”
— “One day, I’ll be better than you…” he muttered, breath ragged.
The sky was clear.
Until it wasn’t.
Darkness crept not from above, but from below — a living smoke that slithered across the earth. Birds fled in silence. And then… came the screams.
Jin dropped his sword.
And ran.
The smoke had already swallowed the village paths. Homes burst into flame. Children screamed. Bodies lay in the streets. The scent of ash and blood filled the air.
Then he saw it.
Bouros.
A towering demon — forged of shadow and flame. Red eyes like burning coals. Horns curving like claws of darkness. It walked slowly, confidently, like death itself had no need to rush.
Jin froze.
His limbs wouldn’t move.
Ragan appeared, sword in hand, bleeding, eyes aflame.
— “JIN! STAY BACK!” he roared. “FIND YOUR MOTHER AND RUN!”
Jin didn’t answer.
Couldn’t.
Then Kael dashed past him. Blade drawn. Eyes sharp.
— “Stay with mom!” he shouted.
And charged the beast.
Jin didn’t run.
Didn’t scream.
Didn’t fight.
Time slowed. The world melted into shadow. Sound drowned in silence.
Lira found him.
— “My son…” her voice trembled, but her smile was steady, “you’re going to live.”
She pulled him, clutching his hand tight.
But then…
The ground shook.
Bouros was near.
A blast of shadow tore through the air — too fast.
Kael leapt between them.
The strike hit him.
He fell.
Jin collapsed beside him.
Kael’s armor cracked. Blood pooled. His breath shallow.
— “Jin…” he whispered, “protect them…”
Then... silence.
Jin couldn’t breathe.
He had envied Kael. Hated him. Admired him. Loved him.
And now...
Then his mother’s arms were around him again.
Another strike.
It hit Lira in the back.
She stumbled, fell to her knees — still holding his face.
Blood soaked her robes.
— “Look at me…” she whispered, voice breaking, “You are strong. You… carry your father’s heart… and your brother’s light.”
She smiled.
And collapsed.
Jin caught her.
She died in his arms.
Still smiling.
Still warm.
The smile pierced deeper than any blade. How could she still smile?
Kael lay nearby. His head against a cracked stone, sword broken but clenched tight.
Jin trembled.
Tears fell.
And then...
Something broke inside him.
A scream echoed only in his mind.
Lira’s body grew cold.
Kael’s blood darkened in the dirt.
He was unraveling.
Then—
A sound.
His father’s body, hurled against a wall.
— “Father…?” Jin whispered.
Ragan knelt, coughing blood, armor shattered.
Bouros approached. Massive. Merciless.
Ragan met his gaze.
He would not die crawling.
His eyes found Jin.
Still standing.
Still breathing.
The shadows trembled.
And an old memory rose.
Grandfather Marcus. By the fire. Telling stories.
> “Some humans are born sealers, Jin. Marked. But sealing comes at a price.”
> “What price?”
“Everything. To lock away monsters, you must imprison them in the only vessel that can hold them — the human heart. But not all hearts survive.”
Jin looked down.
The shadows bowed to him.
And he understood.
He could seal Bouros.
But it would cost him… all of it.
His joy. His pain. His love.
Every memory.
Every smile.
Every tear.
Everything.
The silver dagger — Lira’s. Still near. A gift from Marcus. A symbol of protection.
He picked it up.
It glowed.
His heart ached.
And then—
He drove it into his chest.
The seal was cast.
Shadows screamed. Bouros roared.
Too late.
He was bound.
Dragged into Jin’s heart by invisible chains.
But before vanishing, Bouros… smiled.
A final curse.
And vanished.
Jin fell.
But rose again.
Staggering through ruins.
And found his father.
Ragan still lived. Barely.
— “Father…”
— “I told you… you were strong,” he whispered.
Jin held him.
Wept.
— “I’m sorry… I wasn’t enough…”
Ragan smiled.
Then was still.
Jin screamed.
Not like a warrior.
Like a child.
A boy who lost everything.
Then—
A memory.
A rainy afternoon.
Lira, drying his tears with a floral cloth.
> “You can’t stop feeling, Jin.”
“But what if I’m angry forever?”
“Even anger is a feeling, my love. Even one tear… still means you're alive.”
And so, one final tear traced down his cheek.
The seal had taken his feelings.
But not his love.
He collapsed across his father’s chest.
And, surrounded by silence, fire, and fading memories...
Jin fell asleep in his father's arms.
Dead.