The moment Kane stepped out of the Grey Mist Mine's territory, he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The air was thinner, cleaner, without the stench of sweat, dust, and fear that had clung to the mining camp his entire life. For the first time he could remember, there were no eyes watching him, no whispers following him, no fists raised to strike him down.
For the first time, he was free.
But freedom didn't fill his stomach. It didn't keep him warm. And it certainly didn't make him stronger.
Kane walked along the muddy road, his tattered coat wrapped tight around him. The sun had climbed high into the sky, but the wind still cut through his clothes like a knife. He'd left the mine with nothing but the broken pocket watch shard, a few crumbs of old bread, and a new power humming in his veins.
That power, Kael had promised, would be enough.
"Quit moping," the old voice grumbled inside his head. "You look like a stray dog that got kicked one too many times."
Kane ignored him at first, staring down at his own feet as he walked. Mud splashed over his worn boots, soaking his socks. His shoulders ached. His throat was dry. For three years, he'd worked himself to the bone every single day, and he'd never once gotten to leave the mine. Now that he was finally out, he didn't know what to do with himself.
"I'm not moping," he muttered quietly. "I'm thinking."
"Thinking about what? How hungry you are? How cold you are? How you're gonna get your butt kicked if you run into any real fighters before you train?" Kael snorted. "That's not thinking. That's panicking."
Kane's jaw tightened. He knew the old soul was right.
He'd gotten lucky back in the tunnel. He'd taken down two of Victor's goons and a single Church enforcer, but that didn't make him strong. It just made him not completely helpless. The difference was huge.
In Grey Mist City, there would be mercenaries, bounty hunters, powerful spirit contract users, nobles with elite training, and more Church agents than he could count. If he walked in there acting like a scared, untrained miner, he wouldn't last a single night.
Victor would find him. The Church would hunt him. And this time, he wouldn't catch them off guard.
"I need to train," Kane said aloud.
"Finally, a useful thought," Kael said, sounding pleased. "This road you're on cuts through a patch of old forest up ahead. There's weak spirit beasts living there—small, slow, not dangerous enough to kill you, but perfect for practice."
"Spirit beasts?" Kane frowned. "I've only heard stories. They're not like normal animals, right?"
"Nope," Kael answered. "They're born from concentrated spirit energy. Some are small and harmless. Some can tear a grown man in half without trying. The ones around here are weak. You'll be able to handle them."
Kane nodded. He picked up his pace, his exhaustion fading as a familiar fire lit up inside him. He wasn't just running away anymore. He was walking toward something. Toward strength. Toward revenge. Toward making everyone who'd ever hurt him regret it.
About an hour later, the trees on either side of the road grew thicker. The path narrowed, and the sounds of civilization faded away, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of strange birds.
"Keep your guard up," Kael warned. "They'll smell you before you see them."
Kane slowed down, his hand drifting toward the pocket where he kept the watch shard. The golden light inside him hummed softly, responding to his focus.
He took a deep breath and activated his power.
Almost instantly, the world shifted.
Faint blue and green threads drifted through the air, glowing softly. They wrapped around the tree trunks, curled through the grass, and hovered in small clusters near the bushes. Those were spirit energy strands, leftover from the beasts that lived here.
But that wasn't all.
A short distance ahead, partially hidden by a large bush, Kane saw it—a small creature, about the size of a cat, with spiky grey fur and glowing yellow eyes. Its body was wrapped in thin, dim red threads, a weak spirit contract connecting it to the energy around it.
"That's a Thorn Rabbit," Kael explained. "Harmless unless you corner it. Watch its contract. See how weak the threads are?"
Kane nodded. He could see every line clearly. The contract was messy, unrefined, nothing like the structured power of a human's spirit contract. It was raw, wild, and easy to break.
Perfect practice.
"Your goal isn't to kill it," Kael said. "Well, you can kill it if you want—meat is meat, and you're gonna starve soon—but first, I want you to cut its contract without hurting the beast itself. Show me you can control your power."
Kane took a quiet step forward. The Thorn Rabbit's ears twitched. It tensed, ready to run.
Kane didn't rush. He breathed in, breathed out, and focused all of his attention on the glowing red threads wrapped around the small creature.
He raised his hand. A faint golden light spilled from his fingertips, sharp and precise.
"Slow," Kael reminded him. "Steady. Don't waste energy. One clean cut."
Kane's hand moved.
His glowing finger touched the center of the rabbit's contract, right where the threads tangled together the tightest.
Snap.
The sound was soft, barely audible.
The red threads vanished instantly.
The Thorn Rabbit froze for a second, then blinked, confused. It shook its body, as if waking up from a dream, then scampered away into the bushes without a single sign of fear.
Kane stood there, stunned.
He'd done it. Perfectly.
"Not bad," Kael said, clearly impressed. "For a beginner, that was clean. Real clean. Most Contract Breakers take weeks to get that kind of control."
A small, proud smile tugged at the corner of Kane's mouth. For the first time since leaving the mine, he felt genuinely confident.
He wasn't just some broken miner anymore.
He was learning. He was growing. He was becoming stronger.
"Let's keep going," Kane said, his voice steady.
He spent the next several hours hunting weak spirit beasts throughout the forest. Thorn Rabbits, small fox-like creatures with weak fire contracts, even a few slow-moving lizards that used spirit energy to camouflage themselves.
Each time, Kane cut their contracts.
Some he severed completely. Some he only weakened. Some he twisted slightly, forcing the power to act differently.
With every attempt, his control grew sharper. His golden light became brighter, more stable. He no longer hesitated. He no longer missed.
By the time the sun began to set, Kane could cut a contract from ten feet away without even looking directly at it.
His body ached, his stomach screamed for food, and his throat was dry enough to hurt, but he didn't care. For the first time in his life, he felt powerful.
He felt unstoppable.
"That's enough for today," Kael said eventually. "You're pushing too hard. If you exhaust yourself now, you won't be able to defend yourself if someone finds you."
Kane nodded. He found a small, dry cave hidden between two large rocks, a safe place to camp for the night. He gathered a few dry sticks and lit a small fire, the flames chasing away the cold night air.
He pulled out his last piece of bread and tore it into tiny pieces, eating slowly. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him going.
As he sat there, staring into the fire, his mind drifted back to the mine. To Victor's arrogant sneer. To Lila's cold, betrayed eyes. To the way everyone had called him trash, broken, useless.
His hands tightened into fists.
"I'm gonna get stronger," he whispered to himself. "I'm gonna come back. And I'm gonna make them all pay."
Kael didn't mock him this time. The old soul's voice was quiet, serious.
"I know you will, kid," he said. "But strength isn't just about cutting contracts. It's about surviving long enough to use that strength. Tomorrow, we reach Grey Mist City. And once we're there… the real fight begins."
Kane stared into the flames, his eyes burning with determination.
He couldn't wait.