Energy

Raen carefully pressed the cloth against his mother's torn back, wincing as the blood quickly soaked through.

The wounds refused to close.

He suspected the whip had been laced with something vile.

Poison, maybe.

The thought made his stomach twist.

Cloth after cloth turned crimson, but he didn't stop.

His hands moved steadily, driven by a quiet desperation.

He didn't understand why the bleeding wouldn't stop, but he wasn't about to let her die.

Each slow breath she took felt like a thread slipping from his grasp.

His heart ached at the sight of her, Lira Thalor, his mother, a once-proud cultivator now limp and pale.

He tried lifting her, but her weight dragged against his weak arms.

His body trembled, muscles screaming in protest.

'No. I can't stop here.' he thought

Teeth clenched, he bent lower and heaved her onto his back, staggering under the burden.

Her arms dangled limply over his shoulders, her breath faint against his neck.

Every step felt like moving through wet sand, but he forced himself forward, dragging one foot after the other.

The streets were empty, cloaked in the cold stillness of night.

Shadows stretched long, and the cool air bit at his skin.

I can't take her to a physician, he realized bitterly.

The punishment had been declared by the patriarch himself.

No healer in the branch clan would risk aiding a condemned woman.

To them, she was a criminal now.

Helping her was treason.

So he walked on, his legs burning.

Minutes felt like hours, but finally, their small, weather-worn home came into view.

His arms trembled as he fumbled with the lock, carefully easing the door open without jostling his mother.

He carried her straight to his parents' room, lowering her onto the bed as gently as he could.

But the cloth wrappings had soaked through again.

Blood.

Still too much blood.

Raen's chest tightened.

She wouldn't die from this, not easily.

A cultivator's life force was stronger than most, but the sight of her so fragile gnawed at him.

She'll pull through, he told himself, though the words rang hollow.

A sudden knock echoed through the quiet house.

Raen froze.

Who would come here this late?

His mind raced.

If it was someone sent to finish what the patriarch started, they wouldn't bother knocking.

Still, instinct propelled him toward the kitchen, snatching up a knife.

He cursed himself a moment later, whoever it was could probably crush him like an insect.

Still, he crept through the house, checking that the doors and windows were bolted.

He peeked into the room he shared with Selene.

She was still there, curled up, safe and unaware.

Relief flickered through him, brief and fragile.

Another knock.

Slowly, he moved to the door and cracked it open.

An elderly woman stood there, bathed in moonlight.

Lady Agatha.

Raen blinked, confused.

Before he could speak, she raised a finger to her lips.

"Shh." Her sharp eyes flicked past him, to the house beyond.

Then she gestured for him to step aside.

Raen hesitated but moved back, letting her in.

He quickly shut and locked the door behind her.

"Apologies for answering late," he murmured, trying to hide the knife behind his leg.

"You underestimate a beast cultivator's instincts," Lady Agatha said coolly, striding forward without looking at him.

"I heard you rummaging in the kitchen. I can hear your sister's heartbeat. And your mother's."

Raen's grip on the knife loosened.

He stared after her, unnerved.

How strong is she? Has she always been like this?

"I wasn't scolding you, boy." Her tone softened.

"Fetch me a bowl of water."

Raen snapped into motion, hurrying to the kitchen.

When he returned, Agatha was already seated beside his mother, palms moving in deliberate patterns.

She crushed dried herbs between her fingers, blending them into a fine powder.

Raen handed her the bowl, and she stirred the mixture into it, the water turning murky.

"She was poisoned," Agatha explained flatly, not looking up.

"A slow-working toxin mixed into the whip. This will draw it out."

Raen watched every motion carefully.

She listed the herbs by name, explaining their effects, how the Fangroot neutralized venom, and how Emberleaf dulled the pain.

Why is she telling me this? Was she being kind, or was she teaching him on purpose?

It didn't matter.

He memorized every herb, every step.

If he ever faced something like this again, he wouldn't be helpless.

Not that he planned to get whipped on the stand like this, though.

After applying the mixture, Lira's breathing softened.

Her pale face relaxed, no longer twisted in pain.

Raen let out a slow breath, shoulders sagging.

Lady Agatha rose to her feet.

"I… I don't know how to repay you," Raen stammered.

She paused at the door and gave him a long, unreadable look.

"You've completed your assimilation, haven't you?" she asked.

Raen nodded cautiously.

"Then you'll be entering the clan academy soon. Even without an instructor, you'll find one there. What's done is done, you already carry a core."

Her expression tightened slightly.

"When you go, seek out a girl named Rachel. She's a beginner like you. Reckless. Treat her as you would your sister."

Raen blinked, startled by the request.

"Why…?"

"She's someone important. Just watch over her."

With that, Lady Agatha pulled the door open.

Raen's mind whirled, but all he could manage was

"I understand. I'll keep that in mind."

She nodded once and stepped into the night.

Raen closed the door behind her and leaned against it, exhausted.

His eyes drifted back to his mother, now resting more peacefully.

But his thoughts lingered on the academy… and Rachel.

Treat her like Selene, Agatha had said.

But why did it feel like more than just a favor?

But Raen didn't linger on those thoughts for long.

Once he double-checked that every door and window was locked, he slumped onto the couch in the living room.

He couldn't bring himself to sleep in the room he shared with Selene.

Not tonight.

'I have to be the man of the house now.'

The weight of that thought settled heavily on his chest.

Protecting them was his responsibility, and he wouldn't let his guard down.

Eventually, exhaustion pulled him under.

The sun had already begun its slow rise from the east when Raen's eyes cracked open.

Dawn light crept through the cracks in the shutters, casting thin beams across the room.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, muscles still sore from the strain of last night.

Pushing himself up, he peeked into the small room he shared with Selene.

To his surprise, she was already awake, perched on the windowsill, staring wide-eyed at the horizon.

The soft orange glow lit up her face in quiet awe.

No matter how many times one saw the sunrise, it always had that strange, calming effect.

Raen let her be.

She deserved that peace.

He moved silently to his mother's room, careful not to make a sound.

Lira still lay there, breathing steady, her face no longer twisted in pain.

Raen leaned in, checking for any signs of bleeding.

Nothing.

The herbs had worked.

A quiet breath of relief escaped him.

She's stable now.

Taking advantage of the calm, he washed up and set about making breakfast.

Cooking wasn't exactly his talent, but after years of living with his mother and sister, he'd learned enough to get by.

The warm aroma of seafood and broth drifted through the house.

Selene, drawn by the scent, bounded out of her room.

But when she noticed their mother wasn't at the table, panic flickered in her eyes.

She turned to dart back to Lira's room.

Raen caught her by the shoulder, gently steering her back.

"Eat first. Mother will join us soon," he said softly, his voice steady.

Selene hesitated but nodded, taking her seat.

They both sat at the table, a modest meal before them, cereal and the seafood broth Raen managed to whip up.

Selene dug in eagerly, but Raen just stared at his bowl, unmoving.

That gnawing emptiness was still there, deeper than hunger.

A cold, hollow pit in his stomach.

As if on cue, a faint shimmer flickered before his eyes.

---

[Status Screen]

Name: Raen Thalor

Race: Human (??? Hybrid)

Qi: 20/50

Energy: 2/20

Cultivation Realm: Primal Awakening Realm (Stage 1)

Beast Core: Fragment of the Eclipsing Fang (Dormant)

Traits: Serpent-Blooded (Locked)

Condition: Stable

---

Raen narrowed his eyes at the display.

As expected.

His energy was dangerously low.

He could feel it now, crawling under his skin.

Oddly, the system hadn't issued any alerts about his hunger worsening, but instinct told him it would.

The problem was food.

If he tried to replenish his energy through eating alone, it'd take at least four plates, something he couldn't afford right now.

'Is this normal?' he wondered.

'Does every beast cultivator feel this after their first awakening?'

And more importantly... what exactly do serpents eat?

The answer came to him, cold and simple.

Meat.

All kinds of meat.

'What would also happen if my energy drops to 0?'