Six Days Before the Sentence
The first rays of dawn slowly illuminated the lush green lawn in front of the small house. Dewdrops still clung to the blades of grass, reflecting the faint sunlight of the sun as it gradually rose above the clouds.
Amid the peaceful scenery, Kai was doing push-ups beneath a large tree.
With both hands planted firmly on the ground, he repeatedly pushed his body up and lowered it back down. His breathing grew heavier with each repetition, and sweat trickled from his forehead down both cheeks.
"Forty… forty…"
Kai's arms trembled violently.
He tried to push himself up one more time, but his arms had completely given out. His entire body immediately collapsed onto the grass.
Kai lay still for a moment, panting heavily. His heart was beating so fast that he could clearly feel every pulse in his chest.
"Yeah… this kind of training… really isn't… effective at all…"
Kai slowly pushed himself up, stood, and stretched his body. He gently rolled his shoulders and moved his arms to loosen up his muscles.
Six days.
There were only six days left.
Kai raised his head and looked up at the sky.
"Only six days left… Time really is running out…"
The sun was slowly rising above the clouds. Flocks of birds flew across the sky, their songs echoing through the quiet morning.
Kai gazed at the scenery before him, but there was not a trace of peace in his mind.
"Get stronger… huh…"
He lowered his gaze to his left arm.
His injuries from the fight with Siva had yet to heal completely. Even after receiving treatment and taking medicine, a dull ache still lingered.
Kai slowly clenched his fist.
"I've already taken medicine… so why hasn't it healed completely yet…?"
A brief silence followed.
Then, memories of that day in the cafeteria resurfaced in his mind.
The image of Queen Fey standing before him.
Her cold voice echoed clearly in his thoughts.
"Why would you do something like that when you know it will lead to such a terrible fate for you?"
Kai lowered his head.
Another memory emerged, a figure standing before him, familiar voice from deep within his past.
"Your fate is…"
Kai suddenly snapped back to reality.
He clenched his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"No…"
Kai raised his head and stared straight ahead.
"Alright… let's keep going."
He turned and ran into the house.
A long while later, the door opened.
Kai emerged carrying a wooden target.
He brought it to the middle of the lawn and placed it on the ground before retreating a considerable distance.
Kai stared intently at the target.
"Alright… let's do this…"
He raised one hand, His palm faced directly toward the wooden target.
Kai took a deep breath and held it His body tensed.
"Come on…" He tried to concentrate.
"You can do it…"
Nothing happened.
The target remained perfectly still Kai slowly lowered his hand He stared at it in confusion.
"…It won't work?"
Kai walked over and inspected the target again before returning to his original position.
"But I managed to do it last time…"
He raised his hand once more.
"Let's try again."
Kai focused all his attention on the target before him.
"Come… on…"
Once, Twice, Three times.
Then, again and again.
Every time he used his ability, Kai felt his body growing heavier. His legs began to tremble, and his breathing became increasingly ragged.
Yet the target barely moved at all.
Finally, on his last attempt, it merely shook slightly before sliding a tiny distance across the ground.
Kai stared at it.
Then he slumped to the ground.
Sweat poured down his forehead.
"After… all that… this is… all I can…do…?"
Kai leaned backward and stretched out on the grass.
His face was turned toward the cloud-filled blue sky.
He slowly steadied his breathing.
A quiet moment passed.
"Is this really the end…? There's only this one week left…"
Suddenly…..
A sharp pain erupted inside his head.
Kai immediately shot upright.
He clutched his head with both hands, squeezing his eyes shut.
Chaotic sounds rang out inside his mind.
Kai gritted his teeth and endured the pain.
After a while, the pain gradually subsided.
His breathing slowly returned to normal as well.
Kai lowered his hands.
He looked straight ahead.
"You're there, aren't you?"
There was no answer.
Kai turned around.
A familiar figure was standing there.
The mother he had seen that night.
Kai stared at the figure before him.
"What do you want?"
The figure remained motionless.
She did not speak, did not move.
Nor did her expression change. The only thing on her face was a gentle yet empty smile.
Kai let out a quiet sigh.
"Well, whatever… it's not like you would answer me anyway…"
He turned his back to her.
The memory resurfaced in his mind once more.
"Your fate is…"
Kai shook his head.
He slowly turned his face back toward the figure.
His expression grew solemn.
"No…"
Kai stared directly at the figure before him. Then he looked down at his own hands, smeared with dirt and mud.
That memory flashed through his mind again.
Suddenly, he clenched his fists.
"You heard me?…No!"
There was no response.
Kai closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
When he opened his eyes again, the figure had disappeared.
Kai stood motionless for several seconds.
Then he sighed.
"Gone again…"
He sat down on the ground.
His gaze grew pensive.
His mind returned to the first time he had used his ability.
An ability that even Kai himself barely understood.
He looked down at his hands.
"What am I supposed to do…?"
He gently curled his fingers.
"Control Force…damn it….at least give me some instructions…"
He lowered his head and thought.
If his Blessing really allowed him to control every kind of force, why was something as simple as pushing a wooden target so difficult?
Why had he been able to do it last time?
And why did using his ability take such a heavy toll on his body?
Kai remained silent for a long time.
Then he abruptly stood up, taking a deep breath before slowly exhaling.
"Let's just keep trying."
He turned around.
But just as he was about to go back to training, Kai suddenly froze.
The wooden target from earlier had completely disappeared.
Kai stood still.
"…Huh?"
He looked around the lawn.
Nothing.
Kai walked over to where he had originally placed the target.
He looked down at the ground, then glanced around again.
"That's strange…"
"The wooden board was definitely still here just a few minutes ago…"
He turned around, intending to head back into the house.
But after taking just a few steps…
Kai stopped at the spot he placed the wooden target
Feeling something hard beneath his foot, he looked down.
Something was on the grass.
Kai crouched and brushed the blades aside with his hand.
A cube
A wooden cube with perfect angles, it have some broken red line all across the body
Kai held it up before his eyes.
Kai stared at it for a long while.
"What is...this?"