The following morning, everyone woke up with a task to do.
Order had returned tentatively, like the first breath after a storm to the people of the newly formed clan.
Kai awakened in a daze, lying beneath the creaking beams of the main clan house. Shafts of pale morning light filtered through sliding paper doors casting soft gold over the polished grain of timber. Outside, the faint hum of life had returned, hammers striking, water sloshing, and voices murmuring with purpose.
While others bustled with duties, Kai felt detached as if his presence had not yet rejoined the world. He dressed in freshly laundered robes, the fabric stiff and unfamiliar against skin used to chains. Wandering the halls barefoot, the cool wood beneath his feet grounded him to the now. He noticed repairs already underway split beams being braced, Cracked and torn paper walls being replaced by clan members. The air smelled of cedar, earth, and lingering smoke.
A few people inside the home caught sight of Kai. Some stiffened, unsure of him still, a walking enigma, fresh from battle. But most greeted him with cautious nods, and in their eyes… relief. For the first time in memory, smiles lingered. They had survived. They had hope.
Then he stepped outside.
The breath caught in his throat. Early-morning Seoul, still untouched by modern steel and electricity, opened before him like a forgotten painting. The mountains in the distance stood jagged and eternal, their green cloaks stitched with mist. The rice fields glistened with dew, narrow irrigation trenches reflecting the rising sun like molten silver.
Kai had never really seen this before. Not like this. When you've lived most of your life in captivity, even the sky feels like a lie. But now, now the breeze in his lungs was real. Cold. Free. And it made his chest ache.
That feeling like awakening inside a story you didn't write.
Filled with determination, Kai stepped off crunching softly on the pebble path as he headed toward the forest lining the village's northern edge. He had a task to complete. Something vital. Something only he could do.
But first he had to ensure the others were managing. A leader, even one born from chaos, had to walk among his people.
His first stop was the fields, where clan members were setting the groundwork for their food supply. The fields were carved into terraced plots, hugging the curve of the landscape with irrigation channels dug by hand. Baskets lay scattered some full of harvested herbs, others still empty, waiting for bounty.
Hyunwoo, sleeves rolled and face smeared with dirt, looked up from where he was assessing a cracked water trough.
Kai watched for a moment before stepping closer.
Kai:
"We can't start planning for six months from now when we're in dire need. We need to start now."
Hyunwoo (Appearing our of no-where):
"Wow, you're smarter than you look, Kai."
Kai:
"Hyunwoo! I came to check to see if there's any way I can help."
Hyunwoo:
"Well… unless you can summon water out of thin air, I'm not sure."
Kai glanced at his hands. For a moment, there was a shift in his expression not quite serious, but not joking either. His fingers curled inward, as if trying to sense something just beneath the skin.
Hyunwoo:
"Wait... can?"
Kai:
"That's absurd. I don't know how to do that."
Hyunwoo:
"…Oh. That makes sen"
Kai:
"Yet."
Hyunwoo stared at him, slack-jawed, one hand frozen mid-gesture.
Kai (laughing):
"I actually don't fully know what I'm capable of yet. This… this has only just started happening. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Hyunwoo:
"Well, it's not far-fetched. I've heard of people like you.
Warriors capable of defying nature itself. Some who could cleave mountains or slay creatures from the old legends. Their bodies become weapons. Their will, unnatural."
He glanced toward the treetops where birds had gone silent.
Hyunwoo:
"Though I've never heard of anyone flying before. Kek. That was a new one."
After spending some time talking with Hyunwoo, Kai set out on his next visit. More than anything, he wanted to ensure the safety of his clan. Even in his absence, he needed to know they'd be protected.
With quiet determination, he made his way to the outskirts of the settlement, where Jin and her team were working on the perimeter. She and a few others had taken up security duty, and though their presence was reassuring, Kai knew they were working with limited resources.
Eventually, he spotted her near a loose ring of rough-cut logs bare bones of what would become a proper border. For now, it was little more than a sketch on the landscape, missing key materials and manpower.
"Good morning, Jin," Kai said with a smile.
Jin glanced up from her work, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Hi there, sleepyhead. Where've you been?"
Kai:
"Checking in with everyone. Just making sure things are holding together. I see you've gathered your group already, is this your plan for a perimeter?"
Jin nodded. "Yeah. We're short on supplies, but I've sent word for more people to help gather from the woods. If all goes well, we should have the perimeter built by next week."
"Sounds good," Kai said. "In the meantime, there are a few things I need to take care of. You might not see me around for a few hours. I'll try to help with those supplies too."
"Thanks. I'll keep focusing on this and continue surveying for any signs of trouble."
Kai gave her a final nod, watching for a few more moments before slipping away toward the forest.
He needed to try again.
Deep in the trees, where silence reigned and distractions fell away, he might find what he was looking for. His powers the ones he'd awakened in the other world had grown unreliable since returning. The healing, the strength, the energy amplification that had once pulsed through him like blood... now came with a price.
Back then while fighting the previous clan, he could access them, but they left a heavy toll on his mind. Too much strain, too quickly, and he became a liability in battle. He needed mastery. Control. A way to tap into his power without tearing himself apart.
"I need to go back," he whispered, voice tight. "I have to go back."
Somewhere, in that other world, was the key. Someone to teach him. Knowledge to bring home. A way to bridge the two worlds.
But first, he had to try here alone, in the quiet of the woods.
He stepped into a clearing, took a breath, and closed his eyes.
"If I can open a gate," he murmured, "then maybe I still have a chance."
Kai sat cross-legged in the clearing, breath low and steady, the cold weight of silence pressing in from every direction.
The forest watched him.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves in fragmented gold, catching on the swirling mist that clung to the earth like old breath. Time seemed to fold in on itself here. He could feel it, a thin place, where the world frayed at the edges.
He closed his eyes and reached inward.
Nothing came.
He pushed harder.
Beneath his skin, a faint hum stirred. Like static, or the memory of fire. His muscles tightened. Sweat beaded on his brow. He chased the thread/Feeling, deeper into the ache, deeper into the quiet. Reaching for the presence he'd once touched the power that had made him fly, that had healed what should not have healed.
Pain lanced behind his eyes.
He gasped, vision blooming white as the air seemed to twist around him.
And then...a sound.
Not a crack or a roar, but a soft flutter of wings.
Kai's eyes opened. The world tilted slightly.
A corvus sat perched on a branch just above him, jet-black feathers catching the light in dull shades of blue and violet. It blinked, one glassy eye fixed squarely on him.
Kai: It's the same one from that time, when I came back...
He didn't know how long it had been there.
The forest had gone completely still.
Kai stared up at the bird, breath caught, as the pressure in his chest built again not painful this time, but strange. Warped. Expanding.
The corvus tilted its head.
Then… it called.
A single low croak, sharp as a blade through fog.
And in that moment something gave.
A shimmer sparked between the trees ahead. Faint, flickering, a veil of light hung impossibly in the air like a gate made of breath. It pulsed once, then again, responding to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Kai stood slowly, barely daring to breathe.
The corvus remained still, watching.
He stepped forward, and the shimmer vanished not fading, but snapping shut like a pulled thread.
Silence.
Kai turned toward the branch.
The Corvus flying overhead circles once, then swoops down and lands on Kai's head perched, calm, and seemingly at ease. Kai isn't sure if this creature is connected to his abilities, but it doesn't seem hostile.
Kai: "I should keep it around, just in case."
Now that he's confirmed he can open a gate at least possibly, Kai doesn't want to push too far. He worries about crossing a point of no return and getting sent back too soon. It's already afternoon, and he decides it's time to help the security team. They needed more wood for the new gates being prepared on our perimeter.
Kai: "I should see how well I can control my power now. Maybe... if I condense the mana enough into a blade, I can cut these trees down."
Focusing, mana begins to gather in his hands. The strain is obvious. As the energy forms, Kai charges toward a large tree and swings.
The result is explosive.
No clean cut, just raw destruction. The tree detonates, splinters flying in every direction.
Kai: "Oh... well, that was bad."
He tries again, this time refining the shape. The mana in his hand now looks sharp, more like a blade than a surge of energy. He steps in front of another tree.
Kai: "Focus this time."
He swings, clean, precise, and the tree falls in one smooth motion. Then another. And another.
Without wasted movements, Kai cuts through over a hundred trees within an hour.
Kai: "This won't be enough... but it should do for now."
Kai surveyed the fallen trees, neatly cut trunks scattered across the forest floor, their weight and volume suddenly more real than the rush of mana that brought them down.
He let out a long breath. The Corvus still perched on his head, ruffled its feathers and gave a soft caw, almost like it approved.
Kai glanced toward the security outpost at the edge of the clearing. A few guards had wandered closer, drawn by the sound of explosions earlier. Now they stood motionless, eyes wide, watching him.
Kai: "Hey! Don't just stand there, get some people over here!"
One of the guards jolted. He looked back at the others, then nodded and ran off toward the outpost.
A few minutes later, a small group from the security team arrived, Jin among them, already frowning as she approached.
Jin: "Is this what you came out here to do? And… what's with the bird?"
Kai glanced up at the Corvus still perched comfortably on his head.
Kai: "He seems to like me. Honestly, I think he understands more than he lets on."
As if on cue, the Corvus let out a low, deliberate caw.
There was a beat of silence.
Kai: "...Yeah. That's not weird at all."
Jin: "Nope. Totally normal."
They exchanged a flat look, both quietly unsettled but unwilling to acknowledge it further.
Kai: "Alright, let's get more people out here to move the rest of the wood. I'm heading out to see if I can hunt something nearby, maybe deer, or anything else edible."
Jin: "Got it. I'll handle things here. Just don't get eaten before dinner."
Kai: "No promises."
Kai moved quietly through the trees, his steps light but deliberate. The Corvus flew just ahead of him, weaving between the branches like it knew where it was going. Occasionally, it would stop, glance back, and caw softly, as if urging him to follow.
He crouched near a patch of disturbed earth and spotted faint hoofprints.
Kai: "Deer. A whole group, maybe. Still fresh."
He pressed a hand to the ground, focusing, not casting, just listening. Mana lightly tingled at his fingertips as he read the vibrations of distant movement. A slight rustle in the underbrush to the north confirmed his guess.
He moved toward the sound.
It wasn't long before he crested a low hill and spotted them. A herd of deer, at least fifteen, grazed in a quiet clearing. Beyond them, a small group of wild boars rooted through fallen leaves. They hadn't sensed him yet.
Kai exhaled slowly, steadying his breath. He wasn't a hunter by trade, but he'd trained enough with survival units to know how to strike cleanly. He picked up several sturdy fallen branches, solid, just over a meter long each and condensed mana around one end, sharpening them like spears.
Kai: "No explosions this time."
He crept closer, staying downwind. At just the right distance, he threw the first spear in a quick, precise motion.
A clean hit. The deer dropped instantly.
The rest of the herd startled but didn't scatter far, some still frozen, unsure of the danger. Kai prepares another spear, focused mana again, and repeated the process. By the time the herd fully fled, six deer lay still on the ground.
The boars proved trickier, faster, but he managed to flank one, drive it into a narrow patch between two trees, and bring it down with a sharp mana-edged branch.
After nearly 4 hours of work, Kai had brought down eight deer, three boars, and even caught a pair of wild hares that had tried to flee past him. Enough meat for a solid feast, and enough to preserve and smoke for days.
The Corvus shifted suddenly on its perch, feathers rustling as it launched into the air. Its wings beat with barely a sound as it rose above the trees, circled once, and then disappeared in the direction of the camp.
Kai watched it go, eyes narrowing slightly.
He hadn't said anything. Hadn't moved. The bird just… left.
Kai (muttering): "You do things on your own terms, huh?"
He shook his head and turned back to the work, binding the legs of a deer with strips of bark and looping them over a thick branch for dragging. He'd only managed to haul one carcass to the trail when he heard voices, muffled at first, then clearer. Footsteps. The creak of wooden wheels.
Through the underbrush came Jin and two others, hauling a pair of wagons. And just above them, gliding from branch to branch like a black shadow, was the Corvus.
Kai: "...Seriously?"
The bird landed on a high branch nearby and tilted its head, watching him with that same unreadable stare.
Jin raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the clearing.
Jin: "Guess we're not the only ones who found you. That thing flew right into camp, circled a few times, then shot off. We figured it was leading us somewhere."
Kai looked from the bird to Jin, then back again.
Kai: "That makes twice now it's done something useful."
Jin: "You sure it's not your familiar or something?"
Kai: "If it is, no one told me."
Jin smirked and moved to help with the haul while the others got to work bundling the animals for transport. The Corvus stayed where it was, silent and still, watching everything unfold with eerie patience.
Kai cast it another glance, then turned back to the task at hand.
He didn't know what the bird was. Or what it wanted. But for now, it was helpful.
And that was enough.