Heart Of Void

Fluttering his eyes open, Nathan released a sigh, now sure that this was not just one big nightmare he was dreaming.

'At least nothing came to kill me while I was asleep. Although, maybe that would've been a peaceful ending.'

With great difficulty, Nathan stood up, his legs shaking at the weight of his own body. Every step he took was filled with pain that shot up throughout his whole body. However, Nathan by now had gotten used to pain.

Once again resuming his journey, Nathan hoped to find a body of water, or even better, an animal he could sneak up on like the previous fox.

****

36 hours later, Nathan was in a horrific condition, he hadn't found a source of water or food since the day before so his body had catabolized most of it self to stay alive, making Nathan look like a walking skeleton of skin and bones. His brain was muddled and unable to form any thoughts.

Taking a look at the dark sky filled with a plethora of stars, Nathan had a coherent thought for the first time in hours.

'It's beautiful, if only I had enough power to keep looking another day...'

While gazing at the stars, Nathan notice that something seemed off about them.

'Why are the stars in that direction dimmer than normal... strange.'

Ignoring that weird thought in his head, he continued to walk, unsure off why he was even walking in the first place. His memories and ability to think had deteriorated, but his will to walk was still strong, overriding the desire to lay down and embrace eternal sleep.

After walking for a few more minutes, something seemed to be nagging him to look at those dim stars. Which was strange, he had gotten used to not having any thoughts at all. However, he eventually gave in, taking another look at those weird stars.

'Wait... is that... smoke?'

At that realization, Nathan's body squeezed out the last bit of adrenaline it had, giving him the burst of energy he needed to wake up from his daze.

'That looks like smoke coming from a campfire!'

Finally able to think again, he recognized the pattern of smoke in the air. The smoke wasn't too far away, about a 5 minute walk away.

'I don't have much time, this feels like my last burst of energy before death.'

Despite it being such a small distance, he kept walking at a moderate pace, not wanting to put more stress on his already failing organs.

After walking for a bit and crossing the half-way mark, Nathan heard a sound that made his heart drop.

RUSTLE RUSTLE

Despite being somewhat awake from his adrenaline rush, he was still tired and unable to focus on his surroundings. Thus, he had inadvertently walked next to a grizzly bear. A grizzly bear that had noticed him and was now walking towards him.

Knowing that even in his best state a grizzly bear could toy with him. Without wasting a second, he started running as fast as possible towards the nearby campfire.

Seeing something immediately run away in fear at the sight of it, the bear's predator instinct urged it to chase, and so it did, at a much faster speed than what Nathan was running at.

Despite Nathan being very good at running, his weakened state made him a very easy target.

'It's so close! Just give me a few more seconds!'

With his current state, Nathan's vision was blurry. All he could see in-front of him was a bright orange flame, with two vague figures around it. He saw one of the vague figures notice him and turn towards his direction.

But alas, he was still too far away, and the bear had caught up to him, already swiping its paw downwards that would no doubt crush Nathan instantly.

"NO!"

With his senses screaming at him that he was about to die, Nathan's unreflective pitch black pupils suddenly had a hint of purple glow in them. Mysteriously, his body got propelled forward towards one of the figures by a mystical force.

The bear slammed its paw downward, completely sure that it would hit its target, but instead of the slight resistance and the satisfying crunch that the bear expected... nothing happened.

Confused, the bear looked up, only to see a completely different human charging towards it. However, unlike the easy prey from before, this different human made the bear feel a sense of danger.

-----------------------------------------

Deep inside the forest, there was a campfire set up. Sitting beside the campfire, were two beautiful women. Both with blood red hair, a slim and slightly muscular physique, and wearing light leather armor.

They looked similar to one another, but one had a significantly older and more mature aura around them.

"Mom, do I really have to do this? I know I've trained a lot, but is it even possible to kill a grizzly bear with a simple short-sword?

"Rose, you've turned 15 and discovered your affinity. In the eyes of the empire, you are now a warrior, and a warrior needs to prove themselves in battle. Otherwise, they are a disgrace."

"Yes I know... but can I really beat something five times my weight when I haven't awakened yet?"

"You will beat it just like I and your predecessors did... Or you die trying."

Hearing that, a wry smile formed on Rose's face, already knowing that her own mother would rather watch her die than to even consider helping her. After all, being considered weak or in-need of help in this empire was seen as worse than a death sentence.

RUSTLE

Hearing a light noise of something brushing against a bush, Rose's mother let out a burst of mana to inspect the source of noise.

'Oh my, how is a young boy lost here, he might be from a nearby primitive tribe.'

Using her mana sense, Rose's mother could see a tall boy wrapped in leopard skin running towards them, while being chased by a grizzly bear.

He looked to be of only skin and bones, there was dried blood all over him, and there was a crazed look in his eyes, looking like he would do anything to live, no matter the cost.

'I like those eyes of his, too bad the bear looks like it's going to catch up to him before he gets here. Tsk, what shame.'

Standing up, Rose's mother clapped her hands to get the attention of her daughter.

"Get ready now, a grizzly bear has luckily been delivered to us. Walk towards it after it starts to ea-"

"NO!"

Despite keeping her mana sense locked onto the boy and the bear. Her mana sense was suddenly severed, making her lose half her mana pool.

'What the-'

Looking ahead of her out of instinct, Rose's mother saw the young boy, flying mid-air, in a trajectory where he would land directly on her.

Despite being confused, She extended her arms and gently caught the young boy, making sure she absorbed the impact to keep the boy alive.

'I wasn't going to save this boy, but he fought and managed to force my hand. I'll repay his effort by saving and taking him in. As for this little bear, it'll be Rose's opponent.'

"Change of plans, the bear is right there. Fight it now while it's confused or you will lose an advantage."

Utterly confused and baffled as to how a random boy in leopard skin had landed in her mother's arms. Rose chose to ask questions later after hearing that she would lose an advantage, and immediately gripped her short-sword tightly, sprinting to where her mother pointed.

'Whatever... my mom is a saint, she can probably deal with a random bloodied man landing in her arms.'