Death to Power
Copyright© 2025 by TheSmartOne
Chapter 22: A moment of reflection
Kaden sat atop a tree, back resting against the rough bark, eyes closed. His breathing was steady, calm.
If someone saw him right now, they might think he was asleep.
He wasn’t.
His mind was moving—fast, sharp, brutal. Replaying everything he’d just gone through. The wolves. The vines. The dungeon. Nocthar. Death.
Every moment.
Every mistake.
Every time he fucked up.
He was dissecting it all.
What could I have done better? What was unnecessary? Which mistakes cost me my life—literally?
And the answer?
“Too many,” Kaden muttered.
Way too many.
So many wasted movements. Too much hesitation. In his first fight with the wolves, he’d lost focus—fixated on just one target and forgot the others. That moment of tunnel vision almost killed him.
It did, actually.
And then again in the dungeon—trying to fight multiple beasts with no plan, no rhythm. Just swinging and surviving. He wasn’t ready. Not even close.
He gritted his teeth.
He was still just an Awakened.
Still a newbie.
The only real thing he had mastered was his sword slash. A single perfect move he could perform no matter how broken his body was.
Cool.
But not enough.
“Not even close,” he muttered, his fists tightening.
He needed more—more techniques, more instincts, more strategy. He needed to understand the art of combat at its root. Not just fight, but dominate.
He needed to master war.
And for that ... who better to learn from than the ones who lived in it? Who were born in it?
“Then it’s settled,” he said aloud, “I’ll ask my parents.”
His clan was a blood-soaked legacy of warriors. War was their religion. If there was a way to learn fast, to shape himself into something real—it would start there.
Still, despite everything this trial exposed, it also broke something else.
His fear.
Kaden was no longer afraid of death.
No longer afraid of failure.
No longer chained to his past.
He had accepted who he was now. Fully. Completely. Death wasn’t a punishment. It wasn’t even an escape. It was an ally. A dark companion that walked beside him on this path.
And once he made peace with that...
Something shifted inside him.
A man who doesn’t fear death is terrifying. But one who uses death to grow stronger? To steal your power and keep coming back?
That’s something the world hadn’t seen yet.
But it would.
DING!
[You have completed your quest: First Trial.]
[Your performance has been excellent.]
[You have faced death, acknowledged it, and made it a friend. You have battled thousands of beasts and improved with each encounter. You have survived an attack far beyond your current comprehension.]
[ ... You were, hardworking.]
[Rewards: 900 Death Coins | 50 Stat Points.]
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