The soft creak of wood beneath me was the first thing I noticed. Then the warmth. Not fire — sunlight. Pale and golden, spilling lazily through the old cabin windows, stretching across the floorboards like it had all the time in the world. My head throbbed like a drum in a storm, but for once, there wasn't screaming or steel in the air. Just... peace.
I blinked slowly, my eyes adjusting to the quiet morning. I was alive.
After all the hype about killing my first demon, it wasn't so exciting as they all say, it would be your first big achievement they said, but I think it was a lie the first achievement that I got was pain....and a lot of it.
The part I was surprised the most about was that there was peace, no loud noises, just silence.
"Look who's finally blinking again."
Crim's voice cut through the haze. She sat nearby, cross-legged on the floor with a dagger flipping between her fingers like it was part of her. Her eyes glanced toward me, sharp but relieved. I must've looked like hell — because I sure felt like it.
I tried to sit up, only to feel a bolt of pain shoot through my ribs. I hissed. "Everything hurts a little too much."
"That's because you're a dumbass," she replied flatly, flicking the dagger into the floorboard. "You charged a demon alone, remember? You're lucky I'm fast."
I gave her a sideways look. "You're not that fast."
She raised a brow and looked at me with glaring eyes. "Say that again when you're not bleeding out of twelve places."
I let out a breath — maybe a laugh. I wasn't sure. Everything felt like it existed through cotton. Dreamlike. Like if I breathed a little to hard I might pass out.
For a long moment, we didn't say anything. Just let the air fill with birdsong and pine-scented silence.
Her gaze shifting to me and with hesitation she began to speak, " You know Auren the Slayer Trails are supposed to begin next month."
Lowering her voice even more than before "Will you be able to do? Its more dangerous than the demon you faced..."
My gaze shifted to the ceiling. That word... "Trials." I'd barely heard about them. Things Kael didn't talk about directly. Just warnings in the space between his words. And the look in his eyes whenever we asked. But I had also heard it once back in the village when I was peeking into my 'fathers' conversation.
"You think we're ready?" I asked.
Crim stood and stretched. "I know I am. You, though? You still fight like an absolute rookie."
I tried not to act annoyed. But she wasn't wrong. "Maybe I do, what will you do about it huh?"
"You better figure it out quick," she said, walking past me to the window. "Trials don't care what you've been through. They break people."
I wanted to ask more, but then
"Dinner's ready!" Kael's voice boomed from the other room. "If you don't move now, Crim, I'm feeding Auren double! That's the advantage he will get!"
Crim spun around quick and spoke in a sharp voice. "Over my dead body!"
She was out the door before I could blink.
I groaned, forcing myself to sit up. My body screamed. But I was not missing dinner over Crim!
But still... I smiled.
Because for now, in this strange little moment, I was alive. I was home.
And dinner didn't sound so bad.
The scent of fire-roasted meat filled the small dining room, smoky and rich, making my stomach twist with hunger. Kael stood at the head of the rough wooden table, arms crossed, watching as Crim practically stabbed at a hunk of charred venison. She mumbled something about him overcooking it, but still took another bite like it was her last meal. I eased myself into the seat across from her, biting back a wince as my ribs protested. Kael didn't say anything, but he didn't have to — his eyes did all the talking. The usual wildness in them was quiet tonight, like the calm before a storm.
"So, the demon slayer finally eats," Crim muttered through a mouthful, flicking her eyes toward me. "Thought I'd have to chew your food for you too."
"Keep talking and I will take yours," I shot back.
Kael let out a grunt that might've been a laugh. He leaned back, gaze flickering between us. "You both joke now, but when the Trials begin, let's see who still has the teeth to bite."
The table went quiet for a beat. My appetite faded slightly.
Crim didn't meet my eyes, for once.
Kael stabbed a piece of meat and tossed it onto my plate.
"One month," he said. "You need to stop bleeding by then."
I chewed slower.
Outside, the wind howled through the trees, brushing against the windows like something waiting to be let in.
And for the first time since waking, I felt cold again.
As I reached for another piece of meat, a low vibration tickled through the air.
Kael's sword rested quietly in its stand by the fireplace, but now it pulsed with a faint, rhythmic hum, like a beast stirring in its sleep. The sound cut through the cabin like a whisper no one wanted to hear, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
Crim froze mid-bite.
Kael didn't move at first. He just stared at the blade, eyes narrowing slightly, then sighed like someone who had just remembered a chore he didn't want to do.
"...It's asking for permission," he muttered.
"For what?" I asked.
"Summoning."
That word alone made Crim slowly lower her fork.
Kael stood and stretched his shoulders with a faint pop. "Alright, let's see what's so urgent."
He tapped two fingers against the sheath. The hum surged into a sudden high-pitched tone — not loud, but sharp enough to make my head ring. Then, as if space itself had torn along the seams of the cabin, a gust of cold air burst from the sword's edge, swirling in the center of the room.
A figure took shape in the middle of the wind — cloaked in deep violet, her face shadowed beneath a long hood. She stepped forward as if walking through fog and stopped just inches from the table, arms crossed behind her back.
"I apologize for the intrusion," she said in a voice that was both icy and elegant. "I am from Squad 2 — Umbra Veil. Codename, Kysera."
I blinked, trying to process her sudden existence.
"I bring a message from the High Marshal regarding the Slayer Trials, codenamed 'The Descent.' They will commence two months from now. That gives you time. Use it wisely."
Her words fell like snow — quiet but final.
She turned to Kael, offering a shallow nod. "Prepare them. Thoroughly. Their names are already written."
Then, as suddenly as she'd appeared, her form unraveled into thin violet ribbons of light, spiraling upward before vanishing completely with a soft static crack.
Silence.
Only the fireplace dared to crackle.
Kael scratched the back of his head and walked back to the table as if nothing had happened. He sat, picked up his fork, and resumed eating.
"Well," he said, chewing. "At least it's later than I expected. Gives you more time to train."
Crim and I stared at him.
I wasn't sure whether to scream or cry.
Crim leaned toward me, whispering through clenched teeth, "We're screwed."
I didn't reply. I couldn't. My mouth had gone dry.
Because even though Kael smiled like nothing had changed, we both knew what that smile meant.
Training was going to be a nightmare.
And two months... would feel like two years under his watch.
We locked eyes in silent dread.
I didn't know much about "The Descent" — but the way that girl had spoken… like it was already set in stone — it made something twist deep in my gut.
I swallowed hard and looked at my now-cold plate.
Yeah, dinner suddenly didn't sound that great anymore.