6 Chapter 6

Noon was approaching. A large group of children was running at a fast pace on the training grounds. The blazing sun at the top was burning their skin, causing their sweat-soaked clothes to become completely drenched. Nearly half of the group of children had given up and were trying to catch their breath in a corner. Among the remaining approximately fifteen children, one with blood-red hair was performing beyond everyone's expectations. Clearly, no one had thought that Larillis' disabled son could continue this long, let alone last for a minute. On the other hand, Hadeon was feeling better than he ever had before. This was his first long run, and he was sweating profusely, but he was still sure he could continue. His eyes briefly glanced at the child running next to him. The child must have been from Phasnis' royal bloodline, as his hair was a light shade of red. He had surprisingly white skin and a muscular build. Hadeon could not help but notice the faint determination in the child's eyes.

He ended this brief inspection to continue running, as he did not want to make a mistake like tripping and falling. Moreover, using a regular breathing technique in long runs increases one's endurance. So, focusing on breathing in and out made much more sense.

'Is this all you can do? Useless. Can't even run, and you think you can wield a sword? Don't make me laugh, child!'

'Wait and see!' Hadeon replied angrily.

The run continued for about ten more minutes. Of course, these ten minutes felt like an hour for the trainees who kept running. Everyone who had continued running stopped when the instructor, Arran, clapped his hands.

"Alright, alright! That's enough. I see that most of you are in mediocre shape."

As he said this, his eyes were on the trainees who had given up and were watching from the sidelines.

"The small portion of you who remain, well, I guess you're above average. If you want to be a sword master, the most basic thing you'll need is a fit body. But I don't even think most of you here could move a sword an inch."

As the green-haired man spoke, the mockery in his words hit the children's faces like a slap. Now, though not all, many of them hated this man who was to be their instructor and even wanted to teach him a lesson. Although they desperately wanted to, there was no way they could defeat an expert. Therefore, resigned to their fate, they continued to listen to Arran's speech.

"To become a true trainee, you will go through a three-month training process. During this time, you must attend classes and train. I've arranged a room for each of you to stay. Now, DISPERSE!"

As the children quickly dispersed, Hadeon walked away slowly, lost in thought. He could hear the trainees chatting among themselves. Although the lack of people around him was a bit annoying, he was used to it. He had spent his whole life this way - alone, lost in his own thoughts... At least, if you didn't count Karaş's endless babbling and Raksa's visits. He raised his head slightly and made eye contact with the boy who had been walking beside him for a while. Although he had been aware of his presence, he had not made any effort to interact with him, but the boy seemed to have run out of patience to wait any longer.

"Hello."

It was a rather unexpected start for Hadeon. Generally, a random person doesn't just come up and greet you... He fixed his eyes on the child's emerald green shining eyes for a while. It was hypnotic. Especially when combined with those lavender purple hair, it was definitely hypnotic. Although this caused a momentary interruption in the flow of his thoughts, he shook his head and responded to the child's greeting.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you couldn't speak." The lavender-haired child truly sounded regretful. After a few seconds of silence, he asked:

"Do you want a paper?"

Hadeon shook his head side to side and smiled. The person in front of him seemed really strange but quite polite.

No need. We can communicate like this. I'm Hadeon, Hadeon Phasnis.

A smile formed on the child's face.

"I'm Izel, Izel Amare."

Pleased to meet you...

"I'll... help you find your room... if you want."

Hadeon nodded shyly. He really wasn't good with people, but hey, he was doing his best. Izel started guiding Hadeon through the complex area. After asking a staff member about their rooms and receiving the keys that the staff member had reminded them not to lose for the hundredth time, they got the keys. During this brief time, Hadeon had managed to understand Izel's personality to some degree. Or at least he thought he did. The lavender-haired child was generally a calm person and didn't talk much. His often expressionless face was surveying the surroundings with an incredible seriousness. Hadeon felt his personal space was a bit invaded. This was because of Izel's constant proximity to him and his height, which was at least ten centimeters taller than Hadeon's. However, since he didn't want to offend this lavender-haired child who was approaching him differently from the others, he maintained his silence. Before going to their rooms, they spent a little more time together. Izel was not the type to talk a lot, and the same went for Hadeon. For this exact reason, the two preferred to sit side by side and observe their surroundings rather than engage in conversation.

Hadeon entered the room assigned to him and looked around. It was a fairly simple and comfortable room. It had almost everything you would find in an average bedroom. Without much thought, he lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He had spoken to someone his own age for the first time, and to be honest, the silence between them had bothered him. Was this what friendship was supposed to be like?

'Do you really think he's your friend? Who would want to be friends with someone like you? He's probably just going to use you for his own pleasure and then toss you aside. The best thing he can do with you is to entertain me with your ridiculous amount of hope.'

When Karaş finished speaking, Hadeon was lost in mixed feelings. The god's words were spinning in his head, and to some extent, Hadeon agreed with him. Izel's conversation with him, or rather his companionship, was quite strange. Could he really have another motive? Hadeon closed his aching eyes and, ignoring the ton of comments Karaş had made about him, focused solely on his breathing. Sometimes, just breathing and listening to the breaths he took in and out could be soothing, and that was exactly what he needed right now. But for him, it had never been this easy. He opened his eyes with the pain and burning sensation in his palm, frowning as he removed the black glove from his left hand. A very distinct black symbol branching out like lightning covered his entire palm, including his fingers. As the curse of the God of Darkness activated and grew stronger, it spread through his body. Fortunately, he had his own ways to stop it. The ability called Wrath of Simurg was the only thing that could prevent the spread of the curse. This incredibly difficult-to-consciously-activate and control ability was also the sole reason for his survival.

As the black lightning-shaped mark began to creep up his wrist, Hadeon tried to activate his ability. He couldn't be said to have succeeded much. As the effect of the curse took over, his body began to grow increasingly cold, to the point that Hadeon could no longer stop himself from shivering. He struggled with all his might to activate that stupid ability. This was the part he hated the most. Until Wrath of Simurg was activated, his body practically froze, and the black marks burned his hand like acid. As he bit his lip, he prayed to the gods of benevolence that Karaş occasionally mentioned, hoping they would take pity on this wretched child.

[Simurg's Wrath has been activated.]

[Karaş's Curse has been dispelled.]

[+1 point to Endurance.]

As Hadeon's body temperature returned to normal, he looked at the notification with satisfaction. The black mark had stopped progressing, reverting to its original state. As Hadeon put his glove back on, he could hear Karaş's irritated voice.

'You and your damned tricks! If you weren't such a lucky bastard, I would have taken over your body long ago and ruled this world! Tsk.'

'Of course.' Hadeon responded, more used to this kind of talk from the god.

He suddenly felt incredibly tired. His strength and energy seemed to have evaporated. Despite all the endurance points, using a single ability for just a few seconds pushed his limits. As sleep overwhelmed him, Hadeon did his best to resist. Sleep was not something he could be counted on. In fact, he hated sleeping so much that if it wasn't a basic necessity, he wouldn't even look at the bed. Unable to hold back, he yawned loudly. As he tried to prevent his eyelids from forming a veil over his amber-colored eyes, he remembered the dinner time. He would most likely miss dinner. Although he knew people would usually just look at him and whisper, the real issue was not the whispering. It was being able to talk to Izel again and confirm his thoughts. Did the child really want to be his friend just to mock him, or did he genuinely want to be friends? These thoughts, like a wild, riderless horse, were galloping through Hadeon's mind when the red-haired child could no longer resist and succumbed to Morpheus' embrace.