The forest was still.
Morning light spilled through the trees, casting gold and green across the underbrush. Birds chirped in the distance, and the scent of damp earth filled Kahel's nose. For the first time in days, he didn't feel like he was drowning in exhaustion. His legs still ached, his body still throbbed with bruises, but something inside him had changed.
He stood beside the corpse of the beast he had slain. Its fur was scorched black, the air still faintly tinged with the scent of burned flesh. Kahel stared at it in silence. The fear had passed, replaced by something steadier, something rooted deep within him.
The ember.
It no longer felt like a foreign spark. It pulsed with his breath now, not violently, but as a part of him. The memory of the flame bursting through his body in the heat of battle still echoed in his mind. That fire had saved him. It had awakened something inside.
"I didn't die," he whispered to himself. "I broke through."
His first step into the world of cultivation.
He knelt beside the beast and placed a hand on its fur. Its blood was still warm. He hesitated, then carved out one of its long claws with a broken piece of rock. It took time, and his hands bled by the end of it, but he held the claw tightly when it was done.
A trophy. A reminder. Proof that he was no longer powerless.
With slow, deliberate steps, Kahel began the long walk back through the forest. His stomach still growled, but he had grown used to the hunger. His body was tired, but he had endured worse. And through it all, the ember stayed steady, like a second heartbeat.
The journey back took the entire day. By the time he reached the mouth of the cave, the sun had already begun to set, painting the sky in orange and violet.
Thalen stood just outside the cave, arms folded as if he had been expecting him.
Kahel stopped in front of him, chest heaving, sweat dripping from his brow. He opened his mouth to speak, but Thalen raised a hand.
"You survived," Thalen said. "That is enough."
Kahel nodded, swallowing hard.
"I killed a spirit beast," he said. "It almost tore me apart, but... I did it. The ember, it answered me."
Thalen studied him for a long moment, eyes unreadable.
"Good," he said at last. "Then you have begun."
Kahel looked down at his shaking hands, then reached into the torn cloth at his side and pulled out the claw. He held it up in silence.
Thalen's gaze fell on it for a moment. A faint nod followed.
"You should keep it," he said. "It will remind you of what pain feels like, and why you must never stop growing."
Kahel tucked the claw into a cloth pouch and looked up.
"Thank you," he said, his voice quiet. "You didn't have to help me. You could've ignored me, left me in the forest that first night. But you didn't."
Thalen said nothing at first, his expression unchanged. Then he spoke, voice calm.
"You had the will to fight. I only gave you direction. Strength comes from within."
Kahel looked out at the forest. His legs trembled, but his heart felt steady.
"I want to leave," he said suddenly.
Thalen raised an eyebrow.
"Already?"
Kahel nodded slowly.
"I know I'm still weak. I've only just started. But the world is bigger than this forest. There's more out there. Other cultivators. Stronger people. I want to see it. I want to grow. I want to understand what it means to be strong."
He paused, his fists clenched at his sides.
"I have to protect the ones I care about. I have to make sure what happened to my mother never happens again. And I can't do that hiding in one place."
Thalen was silent, the wind whispering between them. Then he turned and stepped back into the cave. Kahel hesitated, then followed.
Inside, Velka perked up at the sound of footsteps. The small fox blinked at Kahel, then trotted forward and pressed its head against his leg.
Kahel knelt, smiling faintly as he stroked Velka's fur.
"I missed you too," he whispered.
Thalen reached into one of the shelves and pulled out a small pouch. He tossed it to Kahel.
"Dried herbs. Enough to keep your body from collapsing while you adjust to cultivation," he said. "You'll still need real food."
Kahel tucked the pouch into his pack.
"You won't stop me?" he asked.
"I won't waste my breath," Thalen replied. "If your will is that fragile, you would not survive out there anyway."
Kahel nodded, understanding the message behind the words.
"I'll come back one day," he said. "Stronger. Maybe not soon. But I will."
Thalen's expression did not change, but something in his eyes softened for just a second.
"I'll be here," he said.
Kahel rose, Velka hopping to his side.
With one last glance at the cave, Kahel stepped out into the twilight. The forest awaited, and beyond it, the world.
This was only the beginning.