First Steps Toward Redemption
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The forest was quiet again.
The men were gone, the shouting had faded, and Kael Ardyn sat alone beneath the withered oak tree, his back against its gnarled roots. His body trembled from fatignot just physical, but from the shock of his first encounter in this world.
He gently touched his side, where the staff had struck him.
> "Gone… no bruise, no blood," he muttered.
The wound had healed completely. The golden light that had burst from within him had sealed it effortlessly. It should have amazed him but all Kael felt was confusion.
He looked at his hand. A child's hand. Small, pale, yet warm with some lingering power.
> "Why did she bring me here? Why… like this?"
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Footsteps again.
But this time slower. Softer. Cautious.
Kael tried to stand, stumbling a bit. He turned toward the path just beyond the brush. A cloaked figure appeared tall, with long gray robes and a staff shaped like a crescent moon.
Behind her were two guards dressed in silver-gray armor. One carried a bag, the other held a lantern.
The woman stepped closer, her eyes narrowing when she saw him.
> "You healed yourself… didn't you?" she said.
Kael said nothing.
> "No chant. No focus rune. And you did it unconsciously… That's not just rare it's impossible."
Still, Kael didn't speak. He wasn't sure if these people were like the men from before or something worse.
> "What's your name, child?" she asked again, softer this time.
He hesitated. Then said, "Kael… Kael Ardyn."
The woman studied him for a moment. "I'm Sister Marien of the Restoration Sanctum in Glayvern. I came because someone reported a magical anomaly here." She tapped the top of her staff. "Apparently, that anomaly was you."
> "I didn't mean to cause trouble…" Kael whispered.
> "That depends on your answer to this next question."
She knelt beside him. "Where are you from?"
Kael looked away. How could he answer that?
> "From another world, where I died in silence.
From a life that didn't matter enough to be remembered."
He forced a lie.
> "I… don't remember."
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Later…
The Sanctum was simple, located just beyond the edge of the woods. A single stone building with a slanted roof and hanging wind chimes that jingled with each passing breeze. Kael was given soup, clean clothes, and a bed of straw.
Despite the care, he couldn't sleep.
Memories haunted him not just of death, but of the moments leading up to it. Of his hands shaking while healing a plague victim. Of the looks people gave him when he couldn't save their loved ones.
> "You healed them all… but you couldn't heal yourself."
"You should've died sooner."
Kael clenched his fist. That life was gone. And yet, its pain refused to leave.
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The next morning, Sister Marien returned. She placed a book in front of him a leather-bound codex with a glowing rune on its cover.
> "This is a beginner's guide to elemental balance and spiritual casting," she said. "I'd like to test your affinity."
> "I don't know if I can do that," Kael replied.
> "You healed yourself instinctively, Kael. That means you have natural magic flow but your technique is undisciplined. If you wish to survive here, you'll need more than instincts."
She tapped the book. "Read. Practice. And don't lie to me again."
Kael looked up, startled.
> "You may not remember where you're from, but you do remember who you are. It's in your eyes."
He said nothing.
She smiled faintly. "I've seen too many broken people trying to start over. But only a few… truly want redemption."
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Later that night…
Kael sat beneath a lantern in the Sanctum's library, flipping pages carefully. The book detailed aura channels, pressure points, and basic control methods.
Words blurred sometimes. His mind wandered.
Not to his old world… but to the voice that had brought him here.
> "Live, Kael Ardyn. This name belongs to you now."
He whispered the words like a mantra.
> "Then I will live. But not blindly. If I'm here… it has to mean something."
His hand hovered over a diagram of a healing circle. Light flickered around his palm again just faintly but it responded to his intent.
> "I was never meant to be a savior. But maybe I can be… something."
A healer. A guardian. Or a man who carries the weight no one else dares to.
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🌟 To be continued…
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Reader's Teaser – What's Coming Next?
> A mysterious visitor arrives at the Sanctum, bearing a sigil Kael has never seen before. They claim to know of his "gift"... and offer a test that may change everything.
Don't miss Chapter 3 – "The Stranger from the Capital"
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