The sun was already beginning to set on the horizon when the boy decided it was time to stop. The weight of exhaustion hung over his shoulders, and his empty stomach served as a constant reminder of how long it had been since he had last eaten. He found a small clearing next to a stream where crystal-clear water flowed gently. There, he decided to spend the night.

As he prepared to rest, he lit a small fire using dry branches he had gathered along the way. The flames danced before him, casting long and distorted shadows on the nearby trees. It was his only company in the vast solitude.

As the stars began to appear in the darkening sky, the boy’s thoughts returned, as always, to the stories his mother used to tell him. This time, he remembered a particular tale, one that spoke of the importance of the journey and the search for answers.

“Heroes aren’t born great, son,” his mother had said one night as she tucked him close by the fire of their small cabin. “Heroes are forged on the road, in the journeys that take them beyond what they know. Sometimes, they don’t have any special abilities at first, but what makes them great is their ability to keep going, even when everything seems lost.”

Looking at the stars now, the boy better understood what his mother had meant. The journey was more than just an escape from his village. It was his chance to discover something new, something that wouldn’t have been possible if he had stayed in that place where he had been rejected.

The night breeze was cold, but the fire provided some warmth. As he huddled near the flames, his thoughts drifted back to the man he had met on the road. The traveler’s words echoed in his mind. “Power doesn’t always manifest in the way we expect,” he had said. What could he have meant by that?

The boy knew that, in some way, those words were connected to his mother’s stories. There was something beyond the magic that everyone in his village revered. There were forces, mysteries, and knowledge that were still beyond his grasp but could be his if he kept going. He didn’t need mana to be someone important. What he needed was willpower.

Despite it all, a small doubt crept in at that moment. Did he really have the strength to keep going? He was alone, without family, without a home, and with no clear path ahead. How was he going to survive? As those questions filled his mind, a soft sound broke the silence of the night.

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The boy tensed, lifting his gaze from the fire. Through the dark edge of the clearing, he heard the whisper of light footsteps among the trees. He wasn’t alone. He quickly stood, his eyes searching the darkness, trying to locate the source of the noise.

From the shadows emerged a figure. It was a girl, perhaps a little younger than him, with long dark hair falling in a messy braid over her back. She wore a tattered cloak that barely protected her from the cold, and in her hands, she held a small cloth bag. Her eyes observed him with curiosity and distrust.

“Don’t worry,” the boy said, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “I’m just passing through. I won’t hurt you.”

The girl didn’t respond immediately, but she didn’t retreat either. She looked at the fire and then back at the boy, assessing the situation. Finally, she stepped a little closer but kept a safe distance.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice soft but firm.

“I’m traveling,” the boy replied, repeating the words he had said to the strange traveler hours earlier. “And you?”

The girl stared at him, and for a moment, the silence between them became uncomfortable. Finally, she sighed and sat on the other side of the fire, still on guard.

“The same,” she said. “I’m looking for something too.”

The boy didn’t press further. He knew what it was like to be alone on a journey without direction, and he wasn’t going to force her to share more than she was willing. Instead, they both sat in silence, watching the flames dance.

“How have you survived this far?” the girl finally asked, breaking the silence.

The boy thought for a moment. There hadn’t been much on his journey except for the sheer determination to keep moving forward. Hunger and exhaustion were constant companions, but he had yet to find anything that could stop him.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I just keep walking.”

The girl nodded, as if she perfectly understood what he meant. They both knew what it was like to be alone, to have nothing but their own feet carrying them toward an uncertain future.

The night wore on, and as the stars shone above them, the boy felt that, although he didn’t know this strange girl, there was something comforting in their shared silence. Perhaps, on his journey, he wouldn’t always be alone. There were others like him, searching for answers, searching for a purpose.

With the fire dwindling and the cold setting in, the boy lay down next to the flames, his gaze fixed on the starry sky. The world was vast, full of dangers and mysteries, but also of unexpected encounters. As he closed his eyes, one thought comforted him: the journey wasn’t just about finding answers, but also about the people he would meet along the way.