Waking up the next day, Tarkan barely felt like he had slept. He'd spent most of the night tossing and turning, too eager for what was to come. Despite being a seventy-six-year-old man inside the body of a sixteen-year-old, he couldn't stop the nervousness building in his chest. It was a strange mix of excitement and tension.
Aries had never told him much about this world, not its rules, its races, nor its powers, but that didn't matter. He was about to find out himself. Today was his day. The day of his awakening .
He got up and cleaned his small abode, throwing out the leftover bear meat that had started to go bad. After bathing at the waterfall, he returned to his cave and slipped into a plain white robe he'd saved just for this moment. It was the only piece of clothing he'd never worn, he kept it for today.
Which he named The Day of Freedom.
After tidying up and checking everything, he stood at the mouth of the cave and looked back with nostalgia. The place he'd called home for fifteen years, tucked away in the middle of nowhere. A place where he'd been forged through pain, discipline, and endless training. He couldn't help but smile softly, a rare expression, full of quiet nostalgia.
stepping out.
With each stride, he felt more certain and free, until it suddenly hit him.
Wait.
How the hell do I get out of here?
He froze. Aries had never told him how to leave the forest. He remembered once trying to explore when he was younger, running for days, walking in every direction, but no matter how far he went, there was nothing. No village or any signs of life. Just endless wilderness.
"Fck. Fck. F*ck! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A crazed look flashed in his eyes, fists clenched, body trembling with frustration. He looked around like he was ready to murder someone.
"F*CK YOU, ARIES! I swear I'm going to kill that damn old man!"
His shouts echoed across the forest. Then, slowly, the rage died down.
He dropped to his knees, held his stomach, and burst into tears. He began to Sob , sniffling and snorting as he buried his face in the dirt.
"..Master."
The calm voice shattered the moment.
Tarkan's eyes, red and teary, snapped up in confusion. Before him stood a tall, slim man in a long-sleeved tunic, expression blank as stone.
"I am your assigned personal slave," the man said. "My designated name is G46. I am here to report to Master."
Tarkan blinked.
First, he was shocked. Then excited. Then utterly embarrassed. He quickly wiped his tears and snot, standing up with a flustered expression.
"A… a slave?"
G46, unfazed by his reaction, continued speaking in the same flat tone. "I was raised, and trained by the Drazmir family to serve you until death. My sole purpose is to follow your every order, even if it means giving up my life."
With that, G46 handed him a crystal etched with strange runes and patterns. Tarkan turned it over in his hands, inspecting it from different angles.
"What is this?" he asked, not bothering to hide his confusion.
"This is proof of my loyalty," G46 replied. "If I so much as think of betraying or harming you in any way, death will be a mercy. This crystal binds me to you. Once accepted, I will never be able to go against your will."
Tarkan's mind reeled.
That's… intense.
Sure, he had been ruthless in his past life. But this level of devotion? It felt disturbing, even to him.
He shook his head and tried to hand the crystal back. "I appreciate it, but..."
G46 didn't take it.
Instead, he reached into his robes and pulled out a short blade.
Tarkan instinctively jumped back, body tensing as he prepared for a fight. But instead of attacking, G46 calmly raised the blade… and brought it to his own throat.
"Young Master," he said, voice still devoid of emotion, "are you certain you have no need for a slave?"
Tarkan's breath caught. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"If Master does not accept me," G46 said, completely unshaken, "then I have no purpose. My only purpose is to serve Master Tarkan."
His hand didn't even tremble.
What the actual hell is wrong with this guy? Tarkan thought, now emotionally drained by the rollercoaster of the last hour.
Yes, he'd lived a ruthless life. Yes, he'd killed without hesitation when needed. But this? This level of mindless obedience? If he were G46, he'd rather die than live like that.
Letting out a deep sigh, Tarkan asked in a calmer voice, "You're human, right?"
"Yes, Master."
And just like that, G46 pressed the blade lightly into his throat. A clean cut opened, red blood dripping down, yet the man didn't flinch. He didn't scream. He didn't even blink.
It was only then that Tarkan truly realized, G46 wasn't a puppet or an automaton. He was very much human.
With a mix of concern and disbelief, Tarkan muttered, "Forget it. Just… how do I accept you as my slave?"
"You only need to drop a bit of your blood onto the crystal."
Doing as instructed, Tarkan pricked his finger and let a drop fall on the crystal. Immediately, the artifact glowed with radiant energy. A small shard broke off and embedded itself into both of their bodies.
Just as it entered there bodies suddenly, the sky shifted.
The clouds above twisted into strange patterns, the sun dimming briefly as an ancient sigil shimmered across the heavens, like the universe itself was acknowledging the oath that had just been made.
Once everything settled, Tarkan stared at G46 with a critical eye.
"Alright, enough with the serial number. You need a real name. G46 sounds like a failed experiment."
G46 blinked. "Then I shall be called… G49?"
Tarkan looked at him like he was insane.
"No. Just… no. Contemplating for a moment Let's go with… Slim. Yeah. That's simple. You're skinny. Slim it is."
"I understand, Master. Thank you."
Still with that blank expression.
"Stop calling me that," Tarkan groaned. "Call me by my name. Tarkan."
"Yes, Master Tarkan."
Tarkan's eye twitched. "Just Tarkan. Don't make me repeat myself."
"Yes… Tarkan."
Satisfied he asked, "So, you know your way around, right?"
"Yes," Slim nodded. "I was given a teleportation scroll."
He pulled out a golden scroll with glowing inscriptions.
"A map?" Tarkan asked seeming to have heard him wrong.
"No. A targeted teleportation scroll. It's programmed to take you directly to the Awakening Venue."
"Seriously?" Tarkan raised a brow. "It teleports us straight to it?"
"Yes."
Tarkan had more questions, so many questions, but he pushed his curiosity down. There were rules and limits about the awakening that Aries had hinted at. He figured he could ask Slim later.
"Alright," Tarkan said. "Let's get out of this cursed forest."
"Yes, Tarkan."
"Oh, and stop being so damn formal. You're creeping me out. If you were a beautiful girl, maybe I'd let it slide." He caught himself and cleared his throat. "Never mind. Let's go."
Slim stepped closer, raising a hand for Tarkan to take.
Once Tarkan gripped his hand, Slim crushed the scroll
A flash of white light enveloped them both, and in an instant, they vanished.
The forest, once filled with the echoes of a lifetime of solitude, fell silent again.