The city center was chaos.
I'd been running for ten minutes and my lungs were paying for it. Hunters streamed past me in the opposite direction — toward the countryside, toward the fighting — and I stumbled into one of them and went down hard. My chin scraped stone. Blood welled up hot and immediate.
I scrambled up and kept moving, scanning for somewhere to go that wasn't open ground.
There — a recessed doorway. I pressed myself into it, back against the wood, gasping.
I couldn't go inside. No exit. I'd be trapped.
So I stayed where I was, bleeding, trembling, listening to the sounds of a city coming apart.
Hunters were everywhere, risking their lives.
Meanwhile, I was hiding.
This is survival, I told myself. Wait until it's over.
Then I heard it.
A child's scream. "Mamaaa! Papaaaa!"
My blood went cold.
I crept forward.
The city center was burning. Bodies in the streets. Smoke everywhere.
Monsters had broken through — not many, maybe a dozen — but enough.
Another scream. Same voice.
I turned and saw her — maybe ten years old, bleeding, clothes torn. Running. Limping. Crying.
A pack of goblins chased her, cackling as they closed the distance.
I looked around frantically for a hunter.
Nobody.
The lead goblin lunged and grabbed the girl by her hair, dragging her across the cobblestones. She screamed, hands clawing desperately at its grip. The creature lifted her face close to its own, sniffing, yellow eyes gleaming.
Entertainment.
It threw her down. The others formed a circle around her, clicking and chattering. Not rushing. Playing.
One reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling it at an unnatural angle. She shrieked. It cackled and let go, watching her cradle the injured limb.
I stayed on my knees, watching, frozen.
Someone will come. A hunter. Anyone.
"Come here, I'll save you!" a voice rang out.
Relief flooded through me.
Then shame.
"Come here, you green lumps of shit!" the hunter roared.
I leaned forward.
The hunter charged, putting himself between the goblins and the girl. Young, maybe mid-twenties, terrified but resolute. A bronze nameplate glinted on his chest armor.
Thin arms. Incomplete armor patched with mismatched pieces. No backup.
Blood already streamed down his face.
This man is going to die.
The hunter swung and cut a goblin in half. It fell, shrieking.
But another struck him from behind with a club — a wet, horrible crack of breaking bone.
He went down hard, gasping, one hand clutching his ribs.
The goblins didn't just beat him — they savored it.
One held his arms while another hammered the club into his chest. I heard ribs snap. The hunter screamed, then went silent as a boot crushed his throat.
They didn't stop.
A goblin stomped on his sword hand. Fingers bent backward with a series of small cracks. The hunter's scream was wet, gurgling.
They wanted him to suffer.
But he got back up. Slowly. Painfully.
"I will not let you touch her!" His voice cracked, blood bubbling from his lips.
He lunged with his off-hand and stabbed one goblin, then hurled his sword at another. The blade caught it in the face.
Both fell.
But now he had no weapon.
Three goblins remained.
They grabbed the club and beat him. The sound made me flinch — hollow thuds that echoed in my skull.
The hunter spat blood and teeth. He collapsed.
The goblins turned toward the girl.
The man grabbed their legs with his broken fingers. "Run... run..."
They kicked him off — one stomp to the face — and cackled.
Then they turned toward the girl, tongues lolling, eyes gleaming.
My legs were shaking. Every instinct screamed to stay hidden.
You'll die if you go out there.
But if I didn't—
Better to die out there than live with this.
I drew my sword and stepped forward.
I struck from the shadows, catching one goblin by surprise. My blade bit deep into its back.
It screamed and fell.
The other two whipped around, snarling. The smell hit me — rot and copper and something acrid.
The girl couldn't run — her leg was too badly wounded. The hunter was still breathing. Barely.
I'll save them both.
I gripped my sword tighter.
The goblins lunged.
I dodged left, then swung hard. My blade caught one on the shoulder — deep enough. It howled and raised its club.
The club slammed into my stomach like a battering ram.
I flew backward, crashing into the ground. Air exploded from my lungs. Blood poured from my mouth.
I'm going to die here. I have no idea what I'm doing.
I forced myself up. My legs shook. I fell again — intentionally this time.
The other goblin approached slowly, thinking I was finished.
I waited.
Then I thrust my sword straight into its throat.
It collapsed, still twitching.
The wounded goblin came at me, roaring, club raised high.
I grabbed the hunter's knife from the ground and drove it into the goblin's chest as it swung.
The club missed my head by inches and slammed into the ground. The goblin fell on top of me, crushing the air from my lungs. Its heart still beat against my chest, slowing, stopping.
I shoved it off and tried to stand. Fell. Tried again.
Finally, I stood, swaying.
I limped toward the girl. "Don't worry. I'm here to save you."
She opened her eyes — then screamed.
I almost smiled. Okay, I probably look terrifying right now. Blood-soaked, swaying, holding a sword that wasn't mine —
She wasn't looking at me.
She was looking past me.
I turned.
Cold steel punched through my stomach — then twisted.
Pain exploded through my body, white-hot and all-consuming. I looked down. A knife protruded from my gut, blade slick with blood.
The goblin behind me cackled. It leaned in close, watching my face contort, enjoying it.
Then it pulled the blade out. Slowly. I felt every serrated edge tear through flesh.
I spat blood and fell to my knees.
A blood goblin. It had been feeding in the shadows, waiting.
The smartest one.
And I hadn't seen it. Not once. While I'd been congratulating myself on still being alive, it had been right there — patient, watching me make every mistake.
I collapsed.
The goblin walked toward the hunter slowly, savoring the anticipation.
Is this where it ends?
No.
I grabbed a rock and lunged, crashing into the goblin and smashing the stone into its skull with everything I had left.
"I'll kill you!"
The goblin's skull cracked. Its yellow eye bulged, then popped. Blood and something gray splattered across my face.
But I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
My knuckles split open. The rock cracked, then broke. But I kept hitting with the pieces, over and over, until there was nothing left but pulp.
The goblin finally went limp.
My arms wouldn't move anymore. The broken rock fell from my fingers.
I tried to get up.
I couldn't.
My vision blurred. Blood pooled beneath me — too much of it mine.
Mia... I'm sorry...
I closed my eyes.
≡ TALENT AWAKENED ≡ ≡ ANALYZING... ≡ ≡ ERROR: TALENT UNRECOGNIZED ≡ ≡ CLASSIFICATION: UNKNOWN ≡ ≡ TIER: WHITE ≡ ≡ ENTERING SURVIVAL MODE ≡ ≡ SCANNING FOR AVAILABLE ABILITIES... ≡ ≡ FOUND: BASIC SWORD SKILL ≡ ≡ SOURCE: GARRET THORNE (DECEASED) ≡ ≡ ACQUISITION SUCCESSFUL ≡ ≡ ACTIVATING: BASIC SWORD SKILL ≡ ≡ DURATION: PERMANENT ≡ ≡ COOLDOWN: 13 DAYS 23 HOURS 59 MINUTES ≡
What?
Energy flooded my body — sudden, overwhelming. Lightning in my veins. Every nerve ending blazed to life.
I gasped, back arching off the ground.
The pain didn't disappear, but something else rose beneath it. Power. Knowledge. Muscle memory that wasn't mine flowing into my limbs.
I didn't understand what was happening.
But I knew one thing: unless I acted now, I was dead.
I reached for my sword, still embedded in the dead goblin's throat.
The moment I gripped it, everything changed.
Lighter. More natural. Like an extension of my arm.
I stood and entered a fighting stance I'd never consciously learned.
Two more goblins rounded the corner, attracted by the smell of blood.
They saw me. Saw the bodies. Saw the girl.
They charged.
This time was different.
My grip shifted. The angle changed. My feet moved without thinking. Every swing I'd ever made before felt clumsy now — approximations of something I'd never truly understood.
Now I understood.
The first goblin swung its club.
I moved.
My sword cut through the air in a perfect arc, meeting the club mid-swing. The club shattered. My blade continued through, biting deep into the goblin's neck.
The second goblin lunged with a knife.
I sidestepped, turned, and brought my sword down in one clean motion.
Its head came off, tumbling through the air before it hit the ground and rolled.
The energy rush vanished immediately.
I felt miserable again — weak, bleeding, dying. The wound in my stomach screamed.
But I could stand. Somehow.
I limped toward the girl, each step agony.
She was crying hysterically, arms wrapped around herself. "Mama! Papa!"
I knelt beside her and patted her head gently. "Don't worry, kiddo. You're safe now."
She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.
"You're safe. I promise." I helped her stand, letting her lean on me.
Then I turned toward the hunter.
He was still breathing. Barely.
But he wouldn't make it. His chest was caved in, ribs jutting at wrong angles. Too much blood pooled beneath him.
I asked the girl to stay where she was and limped over to him.
"Sir, can you breathe?" I lifted his head carefully.
He coughed blood and shook his head slightly.
"Don't worry. The other hunters will be here soon."
The man reached for my hand and gripped it tightly. His hand was cold, getting colder.
"Thank you," he whispered. "For saving her. I'm sorry... I failed. But you... you'll make a good one. Save people while you still can."
"Sir, please don't speak. You'll be alright." But we both knew I was lying.
His grip loosened slightly. Not all at once — just enough that I felt it. Like something letting go before the rest of him was ready to.
"You are a good man," he whispered. "Thank you."
Then he smiled at me. A real smile. Peaceful.
His hand fell limp in mine.
His chest stopped moving.
He was gone.
I stayed there for a moment, his hand still in mine, not quite ready to let go. He'd died doing the right thing. Completely alone, with nothing left to fight with, still trying.
I gently set his hand down.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "I'm sorry I was too slow."
The girl limped over and buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing.
I held her while she cried.
I didn't have anything left — no words, no comfort, nothing useful. Just arms that could still hold someone upright. So that's what I did.
His name was Garret Thorne. I'd seen it on his nameplate.
I'd remember it.
The sounds of battle died down.
I sat down heavily, gasping in relief.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking. Blood covered my arms. The sword was still gripped in my hand. I couldn't let go.
A few more goblins had tried to approach while I waited. I'd fought them off on pure instinct, the acquired skill guiding my hands even as my body begged for rest.
The girl sat huddled against the wall, eyes wide and unblinking. Shock.
But I was at my limit. One more goblin, and it was over.
Suddenly, a voice boomed overhead.
"Is anybody here? Luke?"
Kade.
Relief hit me so hard my knees nearly gave out.
I stood and yelled, "Kade, I'm here! I have a girl with me!"
Footsteps pounded closer. Kade and several hunters rounded the corner.
Kade stopped dead, taking in the scene. His face went pale.
Then he broke into a run and crushed me in a hug. Tears streaked through the dirt and blood on his face.
"Thank god you're alive."
The hunters spread out. One of them — a woman with auburn hair — stopped suddenly.
"Oh... oh no. Kade." Her voice broke.
She knelt beside Garret's body.
"Garret..." The woman — Jessica — broke down in tears.
Kade approached her slowly. "He was brave, Jessica. He wouldn't want to see you like this."
The other hunters carefully lifted Garret's body with the respect due a fallen comrade.
Movement at the edge of the square caught my attention. Another hunter was leading a woman through the rubble.
The woman's eyes scanned frantically until they landed on the little girl.
"Elisa!" she cried out.
She ran forward and fell to her knees, arms outstretched.
The girl — Elisa — stumbled forward and collapsed into her mother's arms.
The woman picked her up, cradling her close, rocking back and forth. Elisa buried her face in her mother's shoulder, finally letting out the sobs she'd been holding back.
As they began to move away, Elisa — still crying — looked back and waved. "Thank you for saving me."
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.
Kade turned to me, taking in the carnage. "What happened here, Luke?"
I explained everything — hiding, hearing Elisa's scream, watching Garret's sacrifice, my decision to fight.
"You awakened?" Kade's grief broke for a moment, replaced by wonder. "During battle? Luke, that's... I've heard stories, but I've never seen it happen. The elites, the truly exceptional — some of them awaken naturally when pushed to the edge. You saved that girl, Luke."
"Yeah... I guess I did."
Four years of being talentless. Four years of watching others awaken while I stood still, invisible, left behind.
And I awaken now. Here. Like this.
With a dead man's sword still warm in my hand and his blood drying on the ground beside me.
It felt wrong in a way I didn't have words for. Not like a gift. Like something taken from somewhere it shouldn't have been taken from.
Garret died. And I got what I'd always wanted.
≡ WARNING ≡ ≡ YOUR TALENT DOES NOT EXIST IN ANY RECORDS ≡ ≡ DISCLOSURE WILL RESULT IN SEVERE CONSEQUENCES ≡ ≡ THIS ABILITY MUST REMAIN SECRET ≡
My blood turned to ice.
Not a suggestion. Not advice.
A threat.
I'd spent four years desperate for a talent, any talent. And now that I finally had one, I couldn't even tell anyone what it was?
What the hell had I awakened?
"You need to get to the healing station, Luke." Kade's concern creased his brow. "You're hurt worse than you think. Come on."
I glanced down. He was right — cuts I hadn't noticed, bruises already darkening, the stab wound still seeping blood. Adrenaline had masked most of the pain.
It was starting to catch up now.
As Kade led me away, I glanced back one last time.
At the goblins I'd killed. At the blood-soaked ground. At the spot where Garret had made his choice.
I didn't look away until it disappeared behind a corner