The burning village slowly faded behind him, its flames now only a constant crackling in the distant wind. A strand of white hair fluttered in the soft morning breeze as the boy, draped in a worn travel cloak, stepped with firm resolve into the depths of the forest. A backpack hung from his shoulder, two swords at his side, and his bow casually slung across his back.
The forest ahead was dense and impenetrable, but the boy didn't let it stop him. A first ray of sunlight broke through the thicket, casting a faint golden light on his path. Yet, the boy seemed unaware of it. No glance back, no hesitation.
He appeared like a shadow of his former self—lonely, perhaps even lost, but simultaneously marked by an unyielding determination. Each of his steps echoed through the silence of the forest, as if they carried the weight of his choices and the burden of his past.
He was not the same as he once had been. A new path lay ahead, a future that would be shaped by his own hands. And though pain and anger accompanied him, his gaze was fixed forward. He would not stop until his mission was complete.
The sun climbed higher, and the forest swallowed him further.
The journey had begun.