The nights were no longer quiet.
Each evening, long after the academy had dimmed its lanterns, Kain stood alone beneath the stars, sword in hand, breath steady, as Horizon Cutter drifted into being. A soul shaped by war and exile — not from this world.
His arrival was never loud. Just a ripple in the air… a presence like cold mist gliding through stone.
"You still grip your blade like it's afraid of hurting something," Horizon Cutter said, voice echoing faintly as his figure slid halfway into the stone wall.
"Or maybe I'm afraid of being hurt," Kain replied with a small smirk.
A faint smile tugged at the ghost's lips — almost unnoticeable.
"You learn faster than most. Still slower than I'd like."
The training began.
No loud instructions. No glowing circles or divine magic. Only repetition. Movement. Correction. Suffering.
---
Three days passed.
At dawn, Kain's classmates gathered on the sparring fields, but the boy himself arrived late — eyes shadowed by exhaustion, but gaze sharp.
Elira noticed. "You've changed," she whispered.
Kain blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You move differently. Like you're... lighter."
Before Kain could answer, Elmore stepped between them.
"Be careful," he said flatly to Elira, not even looking at Kain. "Something's strange about him."
"I'll decide for myself," Elira replied, walking past him.
Elmore watched Kain a second longer, then turned away.
So he's watching me too, Kain thought.
---
In the great hall, Teacher Vairon stood before the class.
His voice was calm, but the room felt colder as he spoke. "Three nights ago, a sealed room within the academy opened. A door from another time. One that even I was instructed never to enter."
The class stirred.
"That room," Vairon continued, "did not originate from this world. It is a shard from the time of the divine war — a place hurled across space by the same unknown god who sealed the others."
His eyes swept across the students. Then stopped. On Kain.
"I do not know how it opened. But someone is already walking its halls."
Kain said nothing.
Vairon narrowed his eyes slightly — not in accusation, but in contemplation.
"If any of you enter it… do not speak carelessly. That place contains more than just history."
---
That night, the ghost returned.
"I heard your teacher speak today," Horizon Cutter said, leaning against nothing. "He's right to fear that place. Even in death, I can feel it."
Kain wiped sweat from his brow. "What is it really?"
"It was never meant for your world," Horizon Cutter said. "That chamber… it was created by a god with strength unlike any I've known. Higher than others. Detached from this realm. Maybe even… beyond the cycle of life and time."
He glanced at Kain.
"There was once a man. Not from my world — a wanderer. A swordsman who came to slay something ancient that had ravaged my homeland."
"Did he succeed?" Kain asked quietly.
"I don't know," Horizon Cutter said, eyes clouded. "I died before I could find out. But... something saved him. I felt it. A god… not like the rest. Not bound by divine marks or mortal worship. A being who acted not from glory… but boredom. And pity."
Kain stiffened.
"And yet you — you carry a shadow of that same energy."
"I'm nothing like him."
"Not yet."
The ghost raised his blade. "Draw your sword, boy."
Kain did.
"Then let the Horizon Sword guide you. Until the sky splits… or you do."
They trained. And under the moonlight, Kain's blade no longer trembled.
---
The next morning, Elira found Kain seated under a tree, bandaging a cut.
"You're pushing too hard," she said, kneeling beside him.
"I can't afford to fall behind."
"You're not behind. You're... catching up in a different way."
Kain looked at her, unsure how to respond.
She smiled gently. "You can talk to me, you know. Not just fight monsters and ghosts."
Kain laughed softly. "Is it that obvious?"
She nodded.
From a distance, Elmore watched. Suspicion still in his eyes — but he said nothing. For now, he let it be.
---
That night, Horizon Cutter said just one thing before vanishing:
"You walk a path that doesn't belong to this world. When the time comes, don't hesitate. Or you'll fall like I did."
Kain stared at the fading mist, heart pounding.
The world felt bigger than ever.
And something… was watching.