Will didn't approach like a predator or a hero. Just a calm friendly and unthreatening posture.
Ethan saw the movement and flinched, taking a step back.
Will stopped several meters away.
"Hey," he said softly. "Are you okay?"
Ethan hesitated, then nodded.
Which was a lie.
Children lied differently, quietly, instinctively. Not to deceive, but to avoid trouble.
Will's voice remained gentle. "I'm visiting today. My name is Will."
Ethan didn't reply at first, but after a few seconds, he whispered, "… Ethan."
His voice was soft. Shy. Fragile.
Will's heart didn't melt. He wasn't here to babysit.
But he understood pain. Loneliness and Fear.
He took out a small pouch of water and a few candies. Of course, he had mixed a few blood drops into the water.
He held it out.
"For you."
Ethan blinked. "Why?"
"Today's my birthday," Will replied gently, "and I wanted to share something sweet."
Ethan's lips parted in surprise, then a small smile appeared.
"Happy birthday," he whispered.
He accepted the pouch of water with both hands and gulped the water down before putting the candies in his pocket.
Ding
The sound chimed instantly in Will's mind.
[target bound: Ethan (chosen one)]
Will felt a faint ripple through his soul, like a thread connecting him to the boy in front of him.
[#Mission 1 completed
Reward: 100 SP has been credited]
[congrats host! you have successfully used candy bribery to enslave... I mean, to form a "mutually beneficial bond" with the chosen one]
Will ignored that entirely.
His focus remained on Ethan, who finished the candy and rubbed his swollen cheek self-consciously.
"You shouldn't climb the fence," Will said, still gentle. "You'll get hurt."
Ethan nodded quickly. "I... I just wanted to come back before Sister Nancy got worried…"
Ah.
So he was hiding the bruise from her.
Will walked forward to meet Ethan's eyes. "Did someone hit you?"
Ethan froze, eyes darting away.
"I fell."
Lie.
Pathetic, fragile lie.
Will sighed internally. Typical protagonist backstory.
[congrats host, you found the main character in 'tragic origin' mode]
Will stared at the air in front of him, expression blank. "… System. Shut. Up."
[Haha, haha make me]
Ignoring the system again, Will placed a hand briefly on Ethan's shoulder.
"You're safe now. Go inside."
Ethan nodded hesitantly, then hurried toward the orphanage building.
Will watched him disappear inside.
Only when the boy was gone did Will's face turn serious, sharp as a blade.
"That's one step complete," he whispered.
"Next, the Sword Saint."
"Open Divine Mail."
A shimmering golden panel unfolded before him like a divine scripture waiting to be written.
Will took a deep breath and drafted the message with utmost precision:
-----------------
To the tempest blade and disciple of the storm dragon -
A shadow stirs in the western lands of the Riverdale Empire. From as soon as seven days to the turning of a few moons, Opera Town shall taste a calamity born of the Abyss.
Take this as neither threat nor deception, but a warning from one who sees it all. May your steps hasten before the darkness ripens.
-----------------------
He pressed SEND.
Instantly, his balance dropped by 47 SP.
It meant the Sword Saint was approximately 4,700 miles (7,563.92 km) away - a massive distance by mortal standards.
But Will felt no concern. A Sword Saint could tear open the fabric of space itself. Distance meant nothing to someone like that.
--------------------------
Somewhere in the Great Deccan Forest…
A man stood amid a battlefield of corpses. His face was devastatingly handsome, sculpted like refined stone, yet his aura was sharp enough to slice mountains. Sword intent saturated the air, a suffocating pressure that made the forest itself tremble.
Every breath he exhaled carried the weight of mastery.
Blood pooled beneath the limp bodies of black-robed cultists. Their limbs were severed cleanly, not a stroke wasted.
Sword Saint Klaus stepped forward, boots crushing leaves and broken twigs as he approached a lone figure trembling on the ground. The man was blood-soaked, bones cracked, barely conscious.
Klaus's eyes were cold enough to freeze the sun.
"This is the last time I'm asking," his voice resonated, calm yet terrifying. "Where is the next location?"
The cultist coughed thick blood, then spat defiantly at the ground.
"Haha… praise the Demon God Kylark!"
Before Klaus could strike again, the space around them flickered violently. He tensed, gripping his sword, ready to split a demon in half,
but instead, a tiny shimmering butterfly slipped through the distortion.
Klaus's sharp eyes widened minutely.
The butterfly fluttered toward him with a soft glow. The aura it radiated was ancient, mysterious, far above the domain of mortals.
It landed delicately on his palm.
Before Klaus could react, the butterfly dissolved into particles of golden light, forming a small rolled-up scroll bound with a faint ribbon of energy.
Klaus opened the scroll cautiously.
His brows furrowed.
"Opera Town…?"
The trembling cultist's eyes bulged in horror. "I'm… impossible…"
His fear and shock were so genuine that it confirmed everything.
And the next moment, the last light in the cultist's eyes extinguished as Klaus ended his life with a single, merciful gesture.
Klaus stared at the scroll, deep in thought, before speaking.
"Brian."
Instantly, a silent shadow manifested behind him—tall, masked, presence suppressed like a living ghost.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Get ready We're going west."
***
meanwhile inside a small inn at opera town will rested on a bed. His heart was filled with anxiety.
"I hope sword saint believes in that letter"
[well the way you wrote it, it looked more like an ancient prophecy, moreover you mentioned the name of his master the storm dragon, this is a top secret not known to anybody. So if I was the sword saint I wouldn't underestimate the letter containing my biggest secret]
"yea that might not be the problem, the other issue is what if the sword saint arrives too early wouldn't he save everyone? If that happens then no deaths will happen around Ethan, and he would always be a soft scrawny kid like he is right now"
[damn never knew you wanted people to die, so evil of you⊙﹏⊙∥]
"naah!! I just don't care TBH, if they die or not I just don't want that Ethan's character development should be hindered"
[actually you don't need to worry about that]
"hmm?, why can you see the future?"
[no, but I know the laws of the universe]
[there are certain cannon events in every soul's life that are bound to happen no matter what,
even if a disruption happens in the timeline or even fate itself, the universe will just balance every thing off, or you can say the flow of destiny will stabilize itself]
"oh so you mean??"
[I mean there will surely be character development, doesn't matter how it happens, maybe something even sword saint can't stop will descend or maybe he will be late to rescue everyone. whatever i hope you get the point]