Chapter 56: Chapter 56: New Beginning

It wasn’t large. Barely noticeable unless you were close. Half-hidden by overgrown bushes and twisted tree roots.

Aiden didn’t hesitate.

He forced his legs to move toward it.

Each step felt slower than the last.

By the time he reached the entrance, his vision had narrowed to a tunnel. Black creeping in from the edges.

He stepped inside.

The air was cooler within the cave. Damp. The faint smell of earth and stone surrounded him.

He walked a few more steps into the darkness before his legs finally gave out.

He collapsed to one knee.

His palm hit the rocky ground to keep himself from falling flat.

His breathing was ragged now. His heart pounded painfully in his chest.

Then the image of the hall flashed in his mind.

The broken table.

The blood on the floor.

The three brothers.

His jaw tightened. He had been careless and too confident.

He thought he could take on different path, not like the path he take in the game.

He was wrong.

A weak laugh escaped his lips, though there was no humor in it.

“Demonic… huh?”

He leaned back against the cold stone wall of the cave.

The city had united against him in a single night.

They had treated him like a plague.

Like something that needed to be erased.

His fingers slowly curled into fists.

“They want a monster,” he muttered hoarsely.

His voice echoed faintly in the cave.

“Then I’ll become one.”

From now on, he would move differently.

Grow stronger, smarter, and colder.

No more attachments that could be used against him.

No more underestimating the enemy.

He would build power quietly, until it’s time to take revenge.

His vision finally went dark.

His body slid slightly against the cave wall as consciousness slipped away.

In the quiet darkness of the forest, hidden within stone and shadow, Aiden fell into unconsciousness.

When he opened his eyes, sunlight was already spilling into the mouth of the cave.

For a moment, he didn’t move.

He just lay there on the cold stone, staring at the ceiling above him. His head felt heavy, like it was stuffed with cotton.

Then the pain hit.

It wasn’t sharp.

It was everywhere.

His entire body screamed in protest the moment he tried to shift. His shoulder burned where the arrow had grazed him. His ribs ached from the shockwaves of clashing with Body Tempering practitioners. Even his legs trembled when he tried to bend them.

He let out a slow breath through his teeth.

Still alive.

That alone was something.

He pushed himself up slowly, back scraping against the rough cave wall. When he looked down at himself, the damage became clear.

Cuts along his arms.

Bruises darkening across his torso.

Dried blood on his sleeve and collar.

He peeled the torn fabric away from his shoulder carefully. The wound wasn’t deep, but it had bled a lot. The bleeding had stopped, crusted over during the night.

If anyone had found him while he was unconscious, he would be dead by now.

The thought made his eyes narrow slightly.

Good.

Either the search had ended… or he had run farther than he realized.

He closed his eyes briefly and focused inward.

His mana pool was still low. Not empty, but far from full. It felt sluggish, like a drained well slowly refilling drop by drop.

The first thing he did was raise his hand.

Dark mist gathered in front of him.

And a basic-grade undead appeared.

“Stay close,” Aiden said quietly.

He braced his hand against the cave wall and forced himself to stand.

His legs wobbled at first, but he managed to steady himself. Every movement sent a dull ache through his body, but nothing seemed broken.

That was enough.

He stepped out of the cave slowly.

The sunlight was almost blinding after the darkness inside. It was already noon, the sun high overhead, shining through the forest canopy in scattered beams of gold.

The forest looked calm.

Peaceful.

Like nothing had happened the night before.

Birds chirped somewhere in the distance. Leaves swayed gently in the wind.

But Aiden knew better.

He scanned the surroundings carefully.

No movement.

No distant voices.

No signs of pursuit.

Still, he wouldn’t relax. Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly.

He hadn’t eaten since the night before the ambush. After running through half the city and into the forest, whatever energy he had left was gone.

He needed food.

And water.

“Lead,” he ordered.

The basic undead moved ahead of him without hesitation, stepping silently through the undergrowth. Aiden followed a few paces behind, conserving his strength. Through the faint connection between them, he used Undead Sight to scan further ahead, letting Vayne act as both shield and scout.

Survival came first now. Revenge would come later. For now, he needed to recover.

He adjusted his torn coat slightly and kept walking, following his undead deeper into the forest in search of anything edible, wild fruit, small animals, even a stream.

His body hurt.

—

It didn’t take long before Aiden spotted something that looked edible.

He was leaning against a tree, breathing slowly, trying to ignore the way his ribs protested with every inhale. The basic- undead stood a few steps ahead, silent and unmoving, its hollow gaze scanning the forest. The woods were quiet, too quiet, but hunger dulled his caution. His stomach had been twisting in knots since he woke up.

A small horned deer, no bigger than a calf, nibbling at low shrubs near a patch of sunlight. Its coat was a dull brown, blending almost perfectly with the trees. If not for the slight movement of its ears, he might have missed it.

Aiden swallowed. “Kill it,” he whispered.

That was all it took.

The undead dash towards it. The deer barely had time to lift its head before a black blade of pierced through its neck. It dropped without a cry, collapsing into the leaves with a dull thud. Clean. Swift. No struggle.

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