The morning sun rose quietly as Gohim and Kael Saryon continued their journey far away from the village. The road ahead was rough, passing through forests and uneven paths. Gohim walked in silence, but his thoughts were heavy.
He missed his father.
It wasn't just loneliness. It was the absence of guidance, the silence that followed every step, and the feeling that he had stepped into a world too large for him. Yet he kept walking, because turning back was no longer an option.
Kael noticed his silence but said nothing at first.
They traveled until they reached an open forest clearing. Kael finally stopped.
"This place will do."
Gohim looked around. "For what?"
"Training," Kael replied.
Gohim frowned slightly. "Already?"
Kael turned toward him.
"You don't become a Guardian by surviving fate. You become one by breaking your limits before it arrives."
Before Gohim could fully react, Kael moved.
In an instant, he swept Gohim's legs. Gohim hit the ground hard.
"What was that for?!"
Kael looked down calmly. "That was a real attack. You didn't see it coming."
Gohim stood up quickly, anger rising.
"Do it again."
Kael did not hesitate. This time, the attack was faster.
Gohim tried to block, but he was thrown into a tree. Pain shot through his body.
Kael stepped closer.
"You rely on instinct, not control."
Gohim clenched his fists. "Then teach me control."
Kael nodded once.
---
The training began.
Gohim ran barefoot through the forest until his legs burned. He climbed trees until his arms shook. He carried heavy stones across uneven ground until his back nearly gave out.
Whenever he slowed, Kael pushed him further.
"Faster."
"Again."
"You are still too slow."
By midday, Gohim collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.
"I can't move anymore…"
Kael stood over him. "Then you will die faster than you think."
Gohim gave a tired breath. "You really don't go easy on anyone."
"This is survival," Kael replied.
After a short break, Kael picked up small stones.
Gohim frowned. "Not again…"
Kael threw one.
Gohim barely dodged.
Another came immediately and struck his shoulder.
"OW!"
"Again," Kael said.
The stones came faster. Left, right, unpredictable.
At first, Gohim reacted poorly. He was hit repeatedly. But slowly, something changed. His body began moving before his mind fully processed danger.
Kael noticed.
"Good… adapt."
Then Kael increased speed.
Gohim was hit again and forced back.
"I can't keep up!"
Kael stepped closer. "Then stop thinking."
Gohim frowned. "What does that even mean?"
"Don't think. Feel."
That instruction lingered.
And something inside Gohim responded.
He thought of his father.
The quiet strength. The discipline. The way he never wasted words but always carried meaning in them. The moment of goodbye echoed in his mind.
"I said I'd come back stronger…"
His breathing steadied.
The next stone came.
Gohim moved before it reached him.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Again."
Faster this time.
Gohim moved again.
Not perfect. Not clean. But real progress.
Kael suddenly stepped in and struck.
Gohim blocked it.
Barely.
But he blocked it.
Kael paused.
"Better."
---
Training continued into the evening. Gohim was forced into hand-to-hand combat, no weapons, only movement and instinct. He was knocked down repeatedly, but each time he stood back up.
By sunset, he was exhausted, bruised, and covered in dirt—but still standing.
Kael looked at him.
"You survived."
Gohim gave a weak smile. "That doesn't sound like praise."
"It isn't," Kael said. "It is the starting point."
Gohim looked down at his shaking hands.
"I feel… different."
Kael nodded.
"Your body is learning to obey instinct instead of fear."
Gohim glanced toward the forest, quieter now.
He missed his father again, but it was no longer only sadness. It had become something sharper—resolve.
Kael turned away.
"That sword your father gave you is not your true weapon."
Gohim looked up. "What do you mean?"
Kael's tone became serious.
"The real Guardian sword belongs to your destiny."
He paused.
"And your father's true Guardian sword was lost when he fought Abel Long in his beast form."
Gohim froze. "Lost?"
"It still exists somewhere in this world," Kael said.
Gohim tightened his grip.
"I will find it."
Kael looked at him for a moment, then nodded once.
"Good."
A wind passed through the trees.
Kael suddenly stopped.
His gaze shifted toward the forest edge.
Gohim noticed. "What is it?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Spiritual pressure appeared.
Not animals. Not travelers.
Human presence—trained and hostile.
"They found us," Kael said quietly.
Masked figures stepped into view from between the trees. One by one, more appeared, forming a loose encirclement.
Gohim tensed. "The same ones… from before."
Kael placed his hand on his sword but did not fully draw it.
"This is not a place for full combat," he said calmly.
One of the masked men spoke.
"You cannot keep escaping."
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"I am not escaping. I am choosing not to waste strength."
The pressure rose.
One attacker moved forward instantly.
Kael blocked the strike effortlessly, but instead of counterattacking, he pushed him back and stepped toward Gohim.
"Listen carefully," he said.
"When I open a path, you run."
Gohim frowned. "I can fight now."
Kael looked at him directly.
"You can survive training. This is not training."
The attackers began closing in.
Kael released a controlled burst of spiritual pressure—not to destroy, but to force hesitation.
"NOW."
Gohim turned and ran.
Kael followed closely, blocking attacks as they came, retreating rather than engaging fully.
The forest became chaotic with movement.
Gohim ran as fast as his exhausted body allowed, branches striking his face, ground uneven beneath his feet.
He looked back once.
Kael was still holding them off while retreating.
"Don't look back," Kael ordered.
Gohim turned forward and pushed harder.
Minutes passed.
The sound of pursuit slowly faded.
Kael finally grabbed him and pulled him behind a rock formation.
Silence returned.
Gohim was breathing heavily.
"We didn't win…"
Kael replied calmly.
"We were never meant to."
Gohim frowned. "Then why train me?"
Kael looked at him.
"So you can survive long enough to choose when to fight."
Silence followed.
Far away, the masked group stopped their search.
"They escaped again," one said.
"But the boy is improving," another replied.
"That is the problem," a third voice added.
High above the forest, a hooded figure watched from a cliff.
"…he is adapting faster than predicted."
Kael glanced upward for a brief moment, sensing something—but said nothing.
"Rest," he said.
"We move at dawn."
Gohim sat down slowly.
His body was exhausted.
But his mind was no longer the same.
The world ahead was not waiting for him to be ready.
It was already closing in.