I hate this so much. Vince bleakly thought as the world turned while he was running shakily.

His mind was a mess. Vince’s head was in pain as though it was split open by an ax, tortured him as he fought back against the urge to close his eyes and blackout. His body felt sluggish, his stomach clenched to puke out, and a weird, disgusting taste appeared on his tongue as he smelled strangely humid air.

The invocation ‘Pulse’ drained his mental fortitude so much that he couldn’t continue after the moment.

This was why he dreaded using his [Talent] and thought it was useless in the current situation.

What use was it had if you became cripple after one shot?

Vince held back a shuddering as though the first time he invoked ‘Pulse.’ He just blacked out after speaking the forbidden language.

This was also the reason he gave away an extra ten days of his life in order to boost his [Will] one point more. He needed that edge to keep himself awake after the invocation.

Vince couldn’t take it any longer as the task of running half-assedly became too much. He stopped and leaned against a tree while his hand shakily reached for the remaining two monster cores.

Run until Vic arrives, Vincent. You can do it.

Vince drank the two monster cores as he felt the rush, but it wasn’t affecting his tired mind as much as the body. It only restored him to the state where he could run straight again while resisting the pain in his head and his fucked up senses.

That was enough, hopefully.

He only needed to wait for Vic. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I AM GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!” A screech dripping with hatred filled the forest.

When Vince looked behind, he saw the distant hooded man holding his right calf while leaning on a tree. The hooded man picked up the stabbed knife and pulled it while screaming in pain, then threw it to the ground. Although Vince couldn’t pick up the guy’s eyes, he was sure they were not full of love and affliction.

“Fâhn,” Vince turned to run and summoned back the Sigil of Freedom as he needed everything he could get in the next moment.

The hooded man chased after him, but when Vince glanced back to check out the situation, he saw the hooded man couldn’t hold shift that long anymore as he needed to lean against somewhere as his right leg forced him to stop in the middle of the shift.

You can make it, Vincent! Little longer.

As Vince ran with renewed hope, he heard a hustling behind. When he turned to check out the hooded man, he only saw a blue hue leading to the top of the tree. As his line of sight reached the other edge of the hue, Vince cursed out loudly.

“Are you a fucking monkey?!”

The hooded man shifted from one branch to another as he hung from trees. He was using his hands to travel.

Damn it.

“Hahaha! Coming for youuu!” The hooded man let out a crazed laughter.

Vince felt incredibly frustrated as he searched for a way out. His ‘Pulse’ was useless as it lost the surprise element. The monster core stock had emptied, and he had no sight of the end of the forest and no hope to lure the man out of the trees.

Grim, Vince looked at his lifespan.

[3 months 18 days 14 hours]

He had one trick up his sleeve, but it sucked.

It sucked so much, Vince thought for a moment to let the guy catch him and not go through it.

Grudgingly, he threw five points in [Will] attribute and instantly felt like fainting due to exhaustion.

“Gotcha!”

Vince heard the hooded man over him as the man looked at him with hungry eyes.

The hooded man shifted to Vince’s above and grabbed him by the throat. Duo rolled to the ground, but the hooded man clenched him like a cockroach, not letting his grip slip away even for a moment. They rolled until they needed to hit a boulder to stop.

Vince felt his couple of bones must be broken from the pain he felt all over his body, but that needed to wait for now. He needed to get his mind together and start running again, but before he could do anything, the hooded man pulled his leg and got him underneath.

He then turned Vince over and started to rain down punches, one after another.

“I…” He swung a punch, “...told you…” then another, “...to be…” then another, “...a good boy.”

Vince tried to fight back, but the difference between [Attributes] was too much, as Vince only could take the beating. His vision slowly got darker and darker as the taste of iron washed his tongue. His face slowly changed shape as the hooded man punched him with gleeful eyes.

Vince opened his mouth to summon the Sigil of Power, but he slapped Vince before he could mutter any word.

“Na aah. I don’t know what your [Talent] is and how the fuck you awaken it before getting into the town, but I know it is used with the filthy tongue of yours,” Hooded man blocked Vince’s mouth with one hand while beating him with the other.

Vince’s world darkened more as he looked at the sadistic gaze of the guy. He disconnected from the world as something in his head resonated with this situation. He saw those eyes in the nightmare.

In his later memories.

The world slowly descended into chaos, and there were some bastards who tried to take away the supplies he painstakingly gathered. One of them beat the shit out of him while others took his belongings. He saw the same sadistic eyes there.

The man wasn’t beating him because of his supplies, or Vince was fighting back.

He was just beating him to death just for pleasure.

Like the water bursting from floodgates, the emotions sealed deep inside the nightmare raged to the surface.

Vince screamed as the pain, sorrow, hatred, and rage consumed his mind. He subconsciously controlled the Sigil of Freedom and changed it to the Sigil of Power as a force field started to gather.

“Fuck off!” Vince’s voice echoed in forbidden language as the force field consumed the hooded man.

The hooded man sent flying to the air but he shifted his place to the top of a tree. After stabilizing himself, he looked back at Vince on the ground with ridiculing eyes but goosebumps after the venomous eyes that stared back.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Standing up, Vince hissed as his emotions started to be subdued again.

“One day, things will be reversed.”

He then turned back and summoned Freedom, “Fâhn. ”

And continued.

“Unrestrained.”

Vince felt invisible shackles release as he invoked the ‘Unrestrained.’ The air was no more, gravity stopped working, and the earth beneath him didn’t matter as he was now free from any influence. He flexed his muscles to the point they were on the verge of ripping apart, and then he started to run.

The scenery before Vince changed as he traveled through the forest. His speed increased as air friction became nonexistent. He changed his direction without trouble as momentum lost meaning on him.

He felt above his mortal flesh as the broken bones and ripped muscles mattered no more.

He was truly unrestrained.

Soon, Vince was out of the forest and reached the other side of the beach. In the distance, he saw a great wall built between two cliffs. The gates of Sanctuary Vic told him about.

Without knowing, he almost reached his destination.

Almost.

The power of ‘Unrestrained’ slowly left Vince’s body as consequences hit him wave by wave. First was the sensation of air friction, it started to slow him again. Then was the gravity and the ground as both made it harder to take steps and drag him to the ground. One before the final was his screaming muscles, burning lungs, and broken bones. His breath caught in his throat as he threw himself to the ground as sensation returned to his body. And last and worst was the headache.

The pain and fatigue were so great that he wanted nothing but to let go, but something inside his mind didn't allow it.

Not before he understood the consequences.

Vince lay on the warm sand as he watched the cloudless sky in pain. His mind was muddy as his world became nothing but suffering. He took short and rapid breaths as he tried to feed oxygen to his failing body.

Time slowly passed as Vince felt every screaming pain receptor in his body. Some death-rowers were going to the Sanctuary, but most ignored the motionless body lying on the ground. Only some checked out if he had any valuables, and they left with empty hands.

Vince wanted to ask for help in his sorry state, but they didn’t even spare him a glance at his muffled voice.

“Still kicking?” After a very long time, Vic arrived.

When Vince glanced at his caretaker, he knew the guy went through some shits too.

He was in sorry state as his cloak was covered in holes and blood. There was a nasty bruise on his left forearm and a new cut wound on his chin, blooding his filthy beard.

Vince made a sound as the only thing he could do in his situation.

“Did you use that invocation?” Vic asked as he loaded Vince to his back.

Vince groaned in agreement, but it quickly turned into a grunt of pain as his broken ribs stabbed into his lungs. He was really fucked up.

“Just endure until the gates. They will fix you up,” He muttered under his breath, “I hope.”

Vince didn’t reply as they slowly made their way to the gates. On the way, other death-rowers passed near them, but they only spared a glance before rushing at the gates. It seemed there was some agreement not to fight near the gates.

As they grew near, Vince saw the full glory of the white wall, and it was ancient. The wall was filled with scars left behind by countless sieges, and a long moss line grew from the base.

When the duo passed the giant iron gate, they entered a half-circular, big inner gate blocked by another iron gate. The death-rowers gathered around the iron gate and waited for it to be opened.

Vic lowered Vince to a relatively free area and sat next to him.

“When guards do their thing, go with the flow. Or, I don’t think we will have a chance to explain your situation,” Vic grunted as he rubbed his bruised hand with a frowning expression.

Vince grunted as he looked at the other death-rowers.

He didn’t recognize anybody except for the dark-skinned man with a club on his back who was leaning against the wall near the iron gate. Some people tried to make a conversation with him but the big guy ignored them.

Nashor felt Vince’s gaze and looked back. They glanced at each other for a few seconds before Nashor frowned, and Vince shifted his gaze.

The man didn’t remember him, which was a kind of good thing, given the situation.

The iron gate they entered suddenly ground to close as the atmosphere became tense with a thud. People looked at each other grimly before getting ready for what came next.

The other iron gate opened, and people wearing iron plates with real weapons rushed inside.

“Everybody! Get to the ground! NOW!”

They ordered, as most of them used the flat side of the weapon or the shield to push death-rowers to the ground. Some of them even used excessive force. Death-rowers cried out in pain, but guards didn’t give a damn. Vic helped Vince to lie on his face, and he lay next to him.

“Here it goes again.” He slowly muttered as a new set of people walked inside.

“Vice-Captain!” The guards thundered as they hit their shields with their weapons.

The man on the front lifted his hand, “At ease, soldiers.”

What? When Vince heard the voice, it felt strangely familiar.

Like he heard it.

From a distant past. But more immature.

Nah, it can’t be.

Doubt appeared in Vince’s heart as he slowly shifted his head in pain to glance at the man. He saw a blonde middle-aged man in golden armor sternly look at the death-rowers on the ground.

“Report, Soldier.” The golden armored man slowly inspected the death-rowers on the ground.

“Reporting, Sir! Survivor of Expedition of Forsaken Shores increases. With this bunch, the survivors of Doom Bringer’s attack reached 98! We had a report stating that some cravers in the forest were fighting each other. But sadly, no death-rower escorted an Extinct until now. We have yet to check this bunch!”

As the golden man drew near, Vince felt his dead-tired heart re-ignited with adrenaline. He remembered that face, but it was much, much younger in his memories. That dirty blonde hair and dangerous hazel eyes that scared the shit out of whoever glanced. He even remembered that rich eyebrows shape that inclined to merge a little in the middle.

“It is a pity. The Sanctuary needs more new blood to protect our beloved home and build a future for our children. What is your take on the situation, trainee? Drowners are swarming the Forsaken Shore.” Golden armored man drawn near to Vince.

Vince forced himself to move his dead limbs. He needed to speak with the man.

If he was alive, then his family and friends…

Vic saw his wiggle and put a hand on his shoulder, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I know him.”

Vic frowned, “Who?”

Vince gathered his strength in great struggle and readied himself to move tired limbs, “That golden armored man. We are childhood friends. ”

Kinda. Vince added in his mind.

Vic was stunned momentarily and let Vince slip away from his grip.

“Drowners must be handled before they evolve to [Drowned], which could happen any given moment as there are too many corpses to feed. We must take advantage of the sun and strike them when they are passive. The remaining death-rowers ne— What are you doing, death-rower?” The trainee stopped and pulled his spear from his back with vicious eyes.

The nearby guards reacted even faster and put a blade on Vince’s throat, drawing a line of blood.

Golden armored man turned to Vince and frowned. A strange look in his eyes.

Vince held his broken ribs in pain as he huffed in piercing pain, “Derek? Is that you?”

Trainee readied his spear to impale the disrespectful death-rower, “How dare you to speak the name of–”

The golden armored man disappeared and appeared before Vince. His eyes were wide open as he discerned the familiar brown eyes buried deep inside the demolished face.

“Vincent? Is that you?”

Vince wanted to let out a shy laugh, but his ribs protested, “Couldn’t remember my beaten face after all that fighting?”

Yeah.

Derek Graves was his childhood bully and the reason for the first cracks in his family.

Also, the childhood friend whom Vince caused to be murdered at an early age.

Kinda.