The Last Nightmare

Kai wiped the sweat from his brow as he made his way back to the small campfire where Elena and Darius sat. The glow of the flames cast flickering shadows over their faces, the warmth barely reaching past the worn edges of his coat.

Behind him, Nate remained on the ground, still catching his breath after their spar. His katana lay beside him, the blade reflecting the dying firelight. He had lasted longer than Kai expected, but the result had never been in question.

Kai rolled his shoulders, feeling a faint stiffness in his arms. It had been a while since he had taken the time to properly test someone like that. Even if Nate was nowhere near his level, there was something about his sheer stubbornness that had kept the fight from being completely boring.

Darius smirked as Kai approached, stretching his arms behind his head.

"So? What do you think?"

Kai scoffed, tossing his dagger into the air and catching it effortlessly. "He's still standing. That's something, I guess."

Elena crossed her arms, her violet eyes narrowing slightly. "You could've gone easier on him."

Kai snorted, crouching near the fire. "That's not how this works. Either he learns, or he dies out there."

Darius chuckled. "You really don't believe in soft teaching, huh?"

Kai's fingers tightened slightly around the hilt of his dagger. Soft teaching.

"No." His voice was quieter than usual. "That's not how the world works."

There was a moment of silence. The fire crackled between them, filling the empty space where words could have been.

Elena glanced at him, her expression unreadable. "And who taught you that?"

Kai's grip on his dagger faltered for a fraction of a second.

Who?

The memory came unbidden. A voice. Cold. Unforgiving.

"The world doesn't wait for the weak."

The past pulled at him like chains dragging him under.

---

Years Ago – A Child in the Dark

The first lesson Kai ever learned was pain.

He was barely six years old the first time he understood that weakness was something that the world would punish.

It was cold that night. The wind howled through the cracks in the walls of the old stone barracks, rattling the chains that lined the ceiling. He was curled in the corner, his arms wrapped around his knees, trying to keep what little warmth he had left.

His hands were raw from training, his ribs aching from the last beating. He wasn't sure if he would wake up the next morning.

"Get up."

The voice was cold. Unyielding.

Kai flinched but forced himself to lift his head. A towering figure stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the torchlight. His shadow stretched across the stone floor, swallowing Kai whole.

The man stepped inside, his heavy boots echoing.

"Get. Up."

Kai knew what happened if he didn't obey.

He pushed himself to his feet, his arms trembling, his legs weak. The world tilted slightly, black spots dancing in his vision.

His mentor—Commander Rovan—watched him with the same expression he always had. Unimpressed.

"You're pathetic." Rovan's voice was devoid of emotion. "A disgrace to the blade you hold."

Kai swallowed the lump in his throat. His fingers twitched at his sides, but he didn't argue. Arguing never ended well.

"You want to survive?" Rovan stepped closer, his piercing gaze locked onto Kai. "Then stop waiting for someone to save you."

He struck without warning.

The back of his hand collided with Kai's cheek, sending him sprawling onto the ground. The taste of iron filled his mouth, but he didn't cry out. He had learned not to.

"Pain is a lesson," Rovan said, looming over him. "You either learn from it—or you die a failure."

Kai forced himself up, his fingers clenching into the dirt. His ribs screamed in protest, but he refused to stay down.

His mentor's lips curled slightly—not in a smile, but in something close to approval.

"Again."

And so it continued.

---

Years passed.

Pain became his companion.

By the time he was twelve, Kai had learned that mercy was a lie.

The training pits were merciless. Boys who failed to fight were discarded. Those who were too slow never lived to see the next dawn.

Kai was never the fastest. He wasn't the strongest. But he learned.

He learned how to move before an attack came.

He learned that people hesitated before the kill. And in that moment—he struck first.

By the time he was fifteen, Kai had long abandoned the idea of fairness.

The world didn't wait for the weak.

And he had killed his weakness long ago.

---

Back to the Present

The campfire crackled, pulling Kai back to reality. The memory faded, but the cold it left behind did not.

He exhaled slowly, staring at the flames. His fingers loosened from around his dagger, but his shoulders remained tense.

Elena was still watching him, her expression softer than before.

"Kai?"

He didn't answer right away. He wasn't sure what to say.

How could he explain that every lesson he had ever learned had been carved into his bones through pain and blood?

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

Darius chuckled, breaking the tension. "At least you didn't kill the kid. He's got heart, I'll give him that."

Kai scoffed. "Heart won't keep him alive."

But even as he said the words, his gaze flickered toward Nate.

Nate, who was still gripping his katana despite his exhaustion.

Still standing.

Still trying.

And for the first time in years, Kai felt something unfamiliar.

It wasn't pity.

It wasn't disdain.

Respect? Hope?

He wasn't sure.

But something told him Nate wasn't like him.

And maybe—that wasn't a bad thing.