Look With Your Own Eyes

The eerie silence weighed heavy on the prisoners.

Rui sat cross-legged against the furthest wall, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Not a single sound had come from outside since the thunderous blast that shook the cavern.

"...The silence is really something," he muttered.

Yiren exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Damn it, kid."

Her voice carried both frustration and reluctant admiration.

"His ego got him killed," she added.

Saya clicked her tongue, eyes shut as if trying to block out the burden of frustration. "Tch. He could've stayed alive if he had just run."

"Then what about us?" Lina's voice was small, but the fear beneath it was clear. "Are we going to die? Or worse—be sold off?"

"That depends on your background," Yiren answered bluntly. She turned toward Rui. "You're from a beast-hunting clan, aren't you? Are they well-known?"

Rui barely glanced up. "Famous or not, my clan wouldn't lift a finger. Hunters and bandits are just different trees on the same ground." His fingers tapped against his knee. "Eventually, one is bound to eat the other's tongue."

Yiren groaned. "Jeez, no need to get all philosophical."

Instead of pressing Rui further, she turned to Saya, a knowing smirk creeping onto her face.

Saya narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Yiren leaned against the bars, arms crossed. "Jang mentioned your name when they carried us here. And if I recall correctly, you never once shared your background back at the bonfire."

Saya's expression didn't waver. "So?"

"He told them to handle you carefully," Yiren continued. "That means Jang knew who you were before our little expedition even started."

"Perhaps," Saya said, her voice unreadable.

Yiren hummed, her smirk deepening. "Your demeanor is too refined for a common adventurer. Classy, even." She tilted her head. "You wouldn't happen to be a runaway princess, would you?"

Saya held Yiren's gaze, silent.

Then—

Footsteps.

Heavy, deliberate.

Coming their way.

Rui was the first to spot the approaching figure. His eyes widened, lighting up with a mix of shock and excitement as he scrambled to grab the bars.

"Holy shit!"

Kazel stepped into view. His face was bruised, streaked with dried blood running along his jaw. His robes were tattered, practically hanging in rags, but what stood out the most was his sword—a deep, dark crimson, as if it had been bathed in blood.

"I see you all got comfortable," Kazel said, voice casual, as if he hadn't just walked through hell and back.

Lina was the first of the three women to react. She rushed to the bars, peering through them with wide, hopeful eyes.

"You're alive!" she breathed. "Does that mean—?"

Kazel didn't answer. Instead, he brandished his sword in two quick flicks.

Shing!

The sound of metal slicing through iron rang through the air. Lina barely had time to register what happened before the bars above her and below her fell apart—completely severed.

With a startled yelp, she tumbled forward, landing face-first on the cold cavern floor.

A loud thud echoed, snapping the other two women out of their stunned daze.

"K-Kid... Kazel, you..." Yiren was at a loss for words as she hurried out of the now-open cell.

Saya, however, was more direct. She strode forward, eyes sharp. "How did you do it?"

Kazel had already moved on, slicing through the bars of Rui's cell with the same effortless precision.

"Severing the right head," he answered simply. "Though, it didn't exactly go as planned."

He stepped behind them, making quick work of the tight ropes binding their arms.

As the last of the restraints fell away, Kazel let out a long exhale, rolling his shoulders. "It's been a long night," he muttered, before turning away and heading back toward the main cavern.

Behind him, Lina was crying softly in gratitude.

But Saya wasn't done. She quickly caught up to Kazel, following close behind. "Who are you?" she asked, voice low.

Yiren and Rui weren't far behind, both with their own doubts.

"Are they truly dead?" Yiren questioned, her expression hard to read.

"You've killed before, haven't you?" Rui added. His voice held no accusation—just certainty. "No kid your age stays that calm after their first real fight."

Kazel finally stopped. He turned to face them, exhaustion evident in his eyes but his smirk still present.

"You all have a lot of questions," he admitted, "but I'm too tired to answer them."

Then, with a knowing glint in his eyes, he simply jerked his chin toward the cavern entrance.

"Why don't you take a look outside?"

The four exchanged glances before nodding in silent agreement. Their steps were slow, weighed down by anticipation, dread, and an unspoken understanding of what they were about to witness.

As they reached the entrance, the clouds above shifted, parting just enough to let the moonlight spill over the land beyond the cave.

Then, they froze.

Their breath caught in their throats.

Saya's body trembled before the bile in her stomach rose violently. She collapsed to her knees, retching.

Rui's eyes twitched, his fingers tightening into fists.

Yiren let out a low whistle, but even she gulped.

The bodies were everywhere.

Corpses of bandits lay strewn across the forest floor, their lifeless eyes reflecting the pale glow of the moon. Some were slumped over trees, others sprawled across rocks, and a all had gaping holes in their throats, as if something had ripped their voices from their bodies.

"Hey guys, what's going—"

Lina's voice died mid-sentence. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks before she dropped beside Saya, her own stomach giving way to the horror.

"This is..." Rui exhaled sharply. "Not good, is it?"

Yiren finally looked away from the carnage, exhaling through her nose. "If he's capable of this at his age…" she murmured. "Imagine ten years from now."

Saya, still panting, forced herself to stand up. Each breath was a battle.

"Never mind that," she said, her voice steadier than she expected. "All that matters is that without him, we'd be facing a fate worse than death."

No one could argue with that.

Slowly, they turned back, stepping away from the bloodbath outside and re-entering the cave.

There, Kazel sat on the broken throne. His sword was leaned over one shoulder, his foot propped up lazily against the shattered remains of the armrest.

He watched them, eyes sharp, but half-lidded from exhaustion.

For a moment—just a fleeting instant—he wasn't Kazel the young man.

He was something else entirely.

The four of them saw it.

Not the Kazel before them, but the Kazel of the future.

A warlord.

A conqueror.

A tyrant.