The forest was quieter now. The chaos of burning villages and death was behind them, though the memory clung to Kael like smoke. The marked human walked ahead, moving silently between the trees. Every so often, they glanced back, as if waiting for Kael to keep up.
Kael followed, but his eyes never left the stranger. Every step felt cautious. Every sound made him flinch. His mind replayed the horrors of Mirevale, of his family, of the king. The stranger had saved him, but Kael could not forget that marked humans were the reason he had lost everything.
"Are you going to keep staring like that, or are you going to walk? And if you don't trust me, why are you following me?" the stranger asked, voice calm.
Kael did not answer. His hands were clenching and unclenching, trying to hold himself together. He wanted to speak, to ask questions, but the words caught in his throat.
Finally, the stranger stopped and turned to face him. "You know, you could be stronger. You could protect yourself if you wanted."
Kael's eyes snapped up. "Stronger? How? How can I get stronger if I'm not marked by those… those shitty Astral? I'm nothing. I have nothing."
The stranger sighed softly. "It's not the mark that makes you strong. It's what you choose to do with yourself."
Kael scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. You're marked. You've got that power, and you don't even have to try."
The marked human told Kael. "Power isn't always about magic or force. Sometimes, it's about choosing to protect."
Kael whispered. "That's what king Alaric said to me…"
The stranger's eyes locked on his. "Right now, Kael, you need to protect yourself. You cannot let what happened to your home happen to you again. You cannot be helpless if the world comes crashing down."
Kael shook his head. "I don't even know how. I'm not like you. I'm… I'm nothing."
"You are not nothing," the stranger said firmly. "You survived. That alone makes you stronger than most. Strength isn't only about what you can destroy. Strength is knowing when to stand, when to run, and when to fight. Right now, we focus on one thing, surviving. Then, we make sure you can protect yourself. One step at a time."
Kael looked away, kicking at the dirt. His chest hurt from grief and fear. The anger he had held back since the night Mirevale burned was simmering just beneath the surface. He wanted power. He wanted to be strong enough that nothing could ever take his family, his friends, or his home again.
"I… I want to," he said finally, voice low. "I want to get stronger. But… how do I even start if I don't have a mark?"
The stranger smiled faintly. "You already started, you survived when no one expected you to. You ran through fire and death and lived, that is the first step. Now, I can teach you the rest. You will learn to fight, to move, to survive. Not because the marks say you can, but because you choose to."
Kael stared at him, unsure. Part of him wanted to refuse, to turn away and wander the forest alone. But another part, a tiny spark of hope, wanted to trust. Wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, he could rise from the ashes of Mirevale.
"What if I fail?" he asked quietly.
"You will," the stranger said calmly. "Many times. But failing is how you learn. Strength is not a gift. It is earned through sweat, pain, and mistakes. You will fall, but each time you get back up, you are stronger than before."
Kael swallowed hard. He thought about the burning streets of Mirevale, about his parents, about the screams and ash and fire. The memory made his hands shake. He clenched them tightly. "I can't… I won't be helpless again."
The stranger nodded approvingly. "Good. That is the first choice you must make. To protect yourself, and one day, to protect others. You may not have a mark, but that does not make you weak. It makes you different. And different can be stronger than anything a mark can give you."
Kael's eyes fell to the ground. The words of the marked human and the king echoed in his mind. He thought of Mirevale, of the streets burning, of the screams, of his family's faces. That pain would always be with him. But maybe, he could channel it. Maybe, it could make him stronger.
"I… I want to be strong," Kael said finally. "Teach me. But I… I don't trust you."
"You don't have to," the stranger said. "You only need to trust your own instincts. Listen to me if it makes sense. Ignore me if it doesn't. You are the one who decides, I am only here to help you see the way."
Kael nodded slowly. He felt a strange sense of determination rising inside him, fragile and hesitant, but real. For the first time since Mirevale burned, he imagined a future that was not only filled with death and ash. He imagined walking again without fear, standing tall without trembling. He imagined being strong enough that nothing could take him so easily.
"Then we start tomorrow," the stranger said. "For now, rest. You have survived worse than most people face in a lifetime. That is enough for today."
Kael let himself lean against the trunk of a massive tree, exhaustion tugging at him. His eyes closed. The forest no longer felt completely empty. The shadow of Mirevale still lingered in his heart, but for the first time since that night, he felt something like hope.
And for the first time, he understood what the king had meant.
Power was not about magic or marks. Power was about choice. And right now, Kael chose to live.
He chose to survive.
He chose to protect himself.
Tomorrow, he will begin to rise from the ashes of his old life.
(End of Chapter 5)