"Power isn't given. It's taken — pulled from the marrow of struggle."
— Kael Dravenhart
The afternoon sun poured like molten gold over the rooftops of Rynvale, the trade city of Lyseren. Seagulls cried above the docks, sails fluttered like banners, and somewhere beyond the walls — the Verdant Abyss breathed.
Kael Dravenhart wiped the sweat off his jaw, lowering his wooden blade as his father circled him.
"Too slow," said Darius Dravenhart, his broad frame outlined by sunlight. "Your stance breaks after the third strike."
Kael adjusted his footing, panting. "Then I'll make it to the fourth."
"You'll make it to ten," Darius corrected. "You want to surpass knights, not play at being one."
That lit a spark in Kael's eyes. "I'll surpass them. All of them."
⚔️ The Boy Who Hated Weakness
At twelve, Kael had already sworn himself to one purpose: never to be weaker than anyone.
He wasn't born gifted. His mana was average. His sword technique came from sweat, not talent.
But every time he saw someone stronger — classmates, mercenaries, knights — something in him burned, clawed, demanded more.
His friends laughed about it sometimes.
Eren called him insane, Lira called him obsessed, Selene just smirked like she understood.
He didn't mind.
He'd rather be mad than mediocre.
Three years passed.
Kael was fifteen when he finally stood before the Verdant Abyss — the forest that devoured both the brave and the foolish.
The air shimmered with mana. Trees towered high enough to block the sky, roots coiling like serpents. Somewhere deep inside, beasts howled — a thousand unseen eyes glinting through the leaves.
He'd trained every day for this.
Fought mock duels until his muscles tore.
Ran through Rynvale's outskirts until his lungs screamed.
He wasn't noble-born. He wasn't blessed. But he'd make the forest remember his name.
🌲 Into the Abyss
Kael checked his gear — a steel short sword, a leather chestguard, three potions, and the faint courage of fifteen years.
Status Window.
A faint shimmer appeared before him — translucent, rune-lit.
Name: Kael Dravenhart
Race: Human
Level: 27
Realm: Mortal
Stats:
Strength – 43
Agility – 49
Stamina – 46
Magic Power – 35
Intelligence – 41
Willpower – 52
Perception – 44
Luck – 19
Trait: — None Awakened
He stared at that last line — None Awakened.
His friends had all awakened something by now.
Eren had Battle Instinct. Lira had Mana Sync. Even Ryn, the laziest of them, had Beast Affinity.
Kael? Nothing.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
If the world wouldn't grant him a trait, he'd carve one into existence.
🩸 The Hunt
Hours passed.
He cut down Horned Boars, drove his blade through Wildfang Wolves, and crushed Stone Sprites underfoot. Each kill brought a flicker of experience, a slow trickle of progress.
Level Up! → Lv. 28
Level Up! → Lv. 29
But the numbers didn't matter.
He needed something more.
He wanted to feel the surge — that resonance others spoke of when their trait awakened.
The forest deepened. The sunlight dimmed.
He found himself before a clearing — a den crawling with Goblins, crude weapons glinting.
A dozen of them.
A death sentence for a solo fighter.
Kael's lips curved into a grin.
"Perfect."
⚔️ The Battle of the Goblin Den
The first goblin lunged — he sidestepped, severing its arm. Another came from behind; he ducked low, swept its legs.
He moved on instinct, blade flashing, every nerve burning alive.
He bled.
A spear grazed his side.
Another slammed his shoulder.
He didn't stop.
He fought like a man possessed, every strike fueled by something primal — not courage, not rage, but the refusal to lose.
[Warning: Health Below 20%]
[Stamina Critical]
He ignored it.
A goblin chief stepped forward — twice the size of the others, muscles swollen with mana.
It roared and swung.
Kael met it head-on.
The impact shattered his sword.
He fell, the world spinning. The goblin raised its club — and in that instant, time seemed to slow.
🔗 The Awakening
Kael reached for anything — a rock, a branch — but his hand grasped nothing.
Nothing… and yet, something.
A spark.
A pulse deep in his chest.
A resonance — a soundless hum that wasn't his heartbeat but the world's.
He felt it wrap around his arm, unseen, humming with ancient rhythm.
A whisper echoed in his mind:
"The world binds all things. Will you bind it in return?"
The air cracked.
Chains of light and shadow erupted from his body — spectral, divine, burning with fury.
They coiled around the goblin's club, halting it mid-swing.
Kael rose, blood streaming down his face, eyes burning gold.
[Mythic Trait Unlocked — "Chain Sovereign"]
[World Resonance Detected: Ascension Path Initiated]
The chains moved as if alive — snapping, tightening, crushing.
The goblin chief screamed, bones breaking under pressure.
Kael clenched his fist — and the chains constricted until silence fell.
The forest shuddered.
Even the wind held its breath.
Kael stared at his hands, trembling.
The spectral chains faded slowly into the air, leaving behind faint runes that burned onto his skin — faint sigils glowing along his arms like tattoos of light.
He collapsed to one knee, exhausted, but smiling — a quiet, sharp smile of triumph.
"I earned it…" he whispered, voice raw. "Not luck. Not birth. Me."
As he stood, sunlight broke through the canopy — a single golden ray falling upon him.
Chains shimmered faintly in the light, like halos.
Far away, deep within the Verdant Abyss, something stirred.
A colossal golden eye opened for the first time in centuries.
"A Chain Sovereign… has awakened again."