The wind had changed.
It wasn't sharp like before. Now it moved like a whisper, brushing over the trees as if the forest was trying to speak.
The boy didn't know how long he had stayed near the cave. A day? Maybe two. He hadn't eaten. He hadn't slept well either. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw fire. Red symbols. Chains.
And the masked man, vanishing into the night.
He hated the silence. It gave the voice more space to speak.
"They're hunting you," it said now.
"Not because you're dangerous. But because you're free."
He sat with his back against a rock, staring up at the early morning sky.
"Why me?" he whispered. "Why give it to someone like me?"
"Because only someone broken enough... won't run from it."
That made him feel worse.
He wasn't brave. He was just tired. Tired of starving. Tired of begging. Tired of being looked at like he was dirt.
If this name was a curse, maybe that made sense.
He was already cursed before it.
He stood up, brushing off his clothes. His shirt was still ripped from the ritual, exposing the strange name burned across his chest. It had cooled now — not glowing anymore — but it was still there. Alive.
He needed to move.
He couldn't stay in one place too long.
If the voice was right… someone would find him eventually.
By mid-morning, he'd reached the edge of the forest.
Far ahead, over the next ridge, he could see smoke rising. A village.
Not his village. He wasn't going back there. He'd rather walk into a fire.
But maybe he could steal food.
Just a little.
He had to survive.
Even if he wasn't sure why yet.
The village looked peaceful from afar.
But as he crept closer through the trees, his gut twisted.
Something was wrong.
Too quiet.
No movement.
No voices.
No smell of cooking or smoke from breakfast fires.
He stepped out of the woods and moved toward the edge of the village, careful not to be seen.
But there was no one to see him.
The village was empty.
Totally abandoned.
Tables tipped over. Doors wide open. Chickens left wandering free.
And then he saw it—
A burned mark on the ground. A symbol, scorched into the dirt.
It wasn't normal writing.
It looked like the ones carved into his chest.
But this one... was broken.
Twisted.
Dead.
"Another bearer lived here," the voice whispered.
"But they didn't survive."
He walked through the empty homes, one by one.
Beds still warm.
Bread still half-eaten.
It was like the people had vanished all at once.
Wiped clean.
He stopped in front of one house. The walls had cracked.
Inside, a name sigil had exploded across the floor. The lines reached every corner — sharp, jagged, unstable.
It looked like someone had tried to summon something.
And failed.
The boy backed away slowly.
"This... this happened because of a name?" he said.
"Because it was used," the voice replied.
"But not respected."
He didn't know what that meant. But he didn't want to stay here.
Not another second.
He turned to leave—
And heard a breath behind him.
He spun fast.
Someone was standing at the edge of the room.
A girl.
About his age. Short, with pale brown skin and long black hair tied into thick braids. She wore worn gloves and a red cloak.
Her eyes weren't afraid.
They were locked on his chest.
"You've got it," she said.
He stepped back. "You… you lived here?"
She nodded once.
"My brother tried to use his name," she said. "He thought he could protect us."
She looked around at the wreckage of her village.
"But it bit back."
"She's telling the truth," the voice whispered.
The boy's fists clenched. "Did he survive?"
She shook her head.
"Names that weren't meant for the world anymore… take something when used."
He looked down at his hands. At the dull shimmer just under his skin.
She walked closer, slowly.
"You've got one of them, don't you? A forbidden name."
He didn't answer.
She stopped a few feet away.
"My name's Yume," she said. "I'm a G-rank bearer. My sigil lets me track name energy."
"You came to hunt me?" he asked.
"No," she said. "I came to warn you."
"About what?"
She pointed to the sky.
Overhead, clouds had started gathering. But not normal clouds — they moved like veins, circling something glowing deep within.
"They sent a Severance Writ," Yume said. "That means they've ranked your name as too dangerous to live."
"And what happens now?" he asked, his throat dry.
Yume's voice dropped.
"They're sending Name Killers."
To be continued…