Twilight bathed the forest, the crystals embedded in towering trees catching the light and flickering like fireflies. Wooden houses swayed on vines throughout the village, their creaking ropes blending with the distant clatter of hammers and laughter. Rian, seventeen, slashed the air with a wooden sword on a swaying bridge, sweat dripping into his brown eyes. The breeze carried the sweet scent of glowing sap, but his tattered glove hid the purple "C" branded on his left hand, pulsing like embers. Two years ago, during the initiation test, a purple explosion had scarred his skin when the divine weapons rejected him.
"Rian, drop that thing!" Lina shouted, dangling from a rope ladder, her short hair whipping in the wind. "You know the Chosen hate seeing us with weapons, even if it's just a stick!"
"Let them complain," Rian shot back, his voice sharp but laced with a smirk. "A Reject with a wooden sword is more dangerous than they think."
"You and your stubborn streak," Lina teased, climbing with nimble grace. "And your obsession with counting vines. Look, the Chosen are laughing again. Ignore them, okay?"
"Let them come," Rian muttered, his tone icy. "They'll choke on their laughter one day."
"You and your big talk," Lina said, rolling her eyes, though her smile wavered. "They've got Divine weapons, Rian. We've got nothing but sweat."
"For now," he replied, eyes narrowing. "I'll prove Rejects are worth more."
A scream pierced the air. Black smoke spiraled from the lowest house. Rian froze, the acrid smell of burning wood dragging him back to the fire that killed his parents when he was twelve—the flames licking the door, his mother screaming his name.
"Lina, get down now!" he barked, sprinting across the bridge.
"Rian, another fire?!" Lina yelled, stumbling after him. "Six, seven vines…"
"Run and shut up!" he roared, panic clawing his chest.
Orange flames devoured the houses, dry vines crackling. Shouts echoed as Rejects hurled buckets of water, steam hissing. Rian slid down a rope ladder, his feet slipping. Through the smoke, he glimpsed a cloaked figure, cape billowing, wielding a flaming sword that left crimson trails. The same shadow from five years ago, the night he lost everything. Rage burned in his chest.
"Who are you?!" Rian bellowed, coughing, his eyes stinging. The figure turned its head but vanished into the smoke. "Come back, coward!" He ran to Old Mara, an elderly woman trapped under a burning branch, her face twisted in pain.
"Rian, get me out!" Mara groaned. "The fire… it's everywhere!"
"Hold on, I've got you!" Rian said, yanking the branch, heat searing his hands. He grunted, his strength pushed to the limit. "Lina, help me!"
"Rian, watch out!" Lina screamed, pointing. Living vines erupted from the earth, their shimmering thorns glinting with color, releasing a sparkling dust that clouded the air. A vine lashed out, and Rian rolled, his reflexes barely saving him. A thorn embedded in a tree, glowing sap oozing.
"These vines are cursed!" Lina yelled, crouched behind a smoldering tree, eyes wide. "I've never seen anything like this, Rian!"
"Stay there and don't move!" he shouted, his wooden sword trembling in his grip. A low hum vibrated in his mind, as if the "C" on his hand whispered.
Create, my chosen… —a deep voice rumbled, resonant as the forest's roar.
The "C" glowed purple through his glove, heat surging up his arm, awakening something buried in his blood.
"What the hell is this?!" Rian muttered, heart pounding, eyes locked on the hissing vine before him.
"Rian, they're coming!" Lina screamed, clutching an improvised knife. "Do something!"
"I don't know what's happening!" Rian snapped, his voice cracking. A vine lunged, hissing, and his wooden sword splintered with a crack. "Damn it!"
Create! —the voice roared, shaking his bones.
"Create what?!" Rian yelled, thrusting out his left hand, desperation taking over.
[Fire Sword Created]
Level 1 Unlocked
Ability: Heavy Strike
Energy: 12/15
Blue and orange flames roared in his hand, forging a Fire Sword that crackled with wild energy.
"Rian, how'd you do that?!" Lina shrieked, dodging a thorn. "Are you… a Chosen?"
"No way I'm a Chosen!" Rian shot back, heart racing. "Get behind me, Lina!" He spun, the blade slicing the air with a roar, reducing a vine to glowing ash. The heat singed his glove, the "C" pulsing like a heartbeat.
"It just… happened!" Rian said, pulse hammering. "Stay back!" He leaped, cleaving another vine with a flaming arc.
Agility: 12
"These things are insane!" Lina cried, retreating as another vine released glittering dust. "Your hand's glowing, Rian!"
"Don't shout that!" Rian hissed, facing two vines. Years of anger fueled his swings. With a Heavy Strike, he severed one, but the second coiled around his leg, thorns tearing his pants.
Energy: 10/15
Heavy Strike: 2/3 uses remaining
He slashed the vine, grunting in pain. "If the Chosen see this, I'm screwed!"
"They're too busy running!" Lina retorted, pointing at Chosen fleeing through the burning village. "And there's your vine-counting obsession again. The vines are pulling back!"
"Good. Let's put out this fire," Rian said, panting, the Fire Sword flickering, mirrored in the forest's crystals.
The flames weakened, the village reduced to smoking ruins. Rian dismissed the Fire Sword, which dissolved into sparks. The trauma of his childhood fire—his mother's voice, the flames at the door—tightened his chest.
"Lina, don't tell anyone," he said, his voice sharp as a blade.
"I'm not a blabbermouth!" Lina snapped, crossing her arms, her eyes uneasy. "But, Rian… that sword. How'd you do it?"
"I don't know," he cut in, staring at wide footprints in the ash, leading into the forest. "But I'm finding out who started this fire."
In the distance, a cloaked figure watched from among the crystals, its flaming sword pulsing, eyes fixed on Rian.
"Forget it!" Rian interrupted, spotting the tracks. "I'm going after them."
"You're insane!" Lina exclaimed. "It's dangerous!"
Deep in the forest, the cloaked man observed, his flaming sword throbbing.
"He's awakened," he whispered, a cold smile curling his lips. "We'll hunt him."