Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

"No fucking way…" Kaden instinctively blurted out as he read the description of Zaki's Origin for the nth time. He just couldn't believe it.

From all the people possible to have a Mythic, the most cowardly person he had ever met in this new life was the one to have it?

And not just any Mythic, but one with such a broken ability?

Kaden raised his head to look at Zaki, standing there awkwardly, not knowing how to react, while Eimi was literally dancing around him in a fit of joy.

"Zaki, you have a Mythic rank. You can be stronger now. Now no one will bully you anymore," Eimi said, genuinely happy for him.

But the man himself didn't say anything. He just stood silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth,

"Can I… really be strong?" he asked, his voice full of doubt, like a man asking for permission to hope.

"Yes! Of course!" Eimi replied with confidence, without hesitation.

But Kaden frowned immediately.

'What an irony,' he thought, finally noticing something he had overlooked.

'What's the point of having the power to become strong just by believing in yourself, if your mind is already broken?' Kaden thought, feeling that fate had quite the twisted sense of humor sometimes.

But… he couldn't accept it. He couldn't let such a power go to waste simply because of some bullying.

'If I can let go… then you, so-called Child of Heavens, can certainly do so too,' he decided.

And he acted upon his thoughts immediately,

"Well, I'd love a man-to-man discussion with this talented guy over here," he said, looking at Eimi with a gentle smile.

"Do you permit me?" he asked.

He didn't even bother asking Zaki, because that guy was clearly incapable of making his own decisions. So he asked Eimi, who looked like a protective mother hen when it came to Zaki.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea, but considering how much these two had already done for them, she couldn't be ungrateful so she nodded, reluctantly.

Without waiting another second, Kaden grabbed Zaki by the neck and disappeared.

Leaving behind Eimi and Daela.

Eimi looked around, as if searching the trees for any trace of where the boys had gone. After seeing nothing, she finally turned her head toward Daela, who was staring at her with her usual expressionless gaze.

Eimi hesitated for a bit before she gathered her courage and,

"Big sister, do you know where they've gone?" she asked, worried deeply for Zaki.

Daela didn't respond immediately. She kept her eyes fixed on Eimi for a moment longer before finally answering,

"He'll be fine," she said simply.

But then, to Eimi's surprise, Daela said something else.

"Tell me your story," she said.

Because for the first time, Daela found someone who might—just might—match the intensity of love she held for Kaden.

She found it interesting, the way Eimi looked at Zaki, the way she protected him, spoke for him, believed in him. She wasn't fully at her level, no… but she had potential.

'She has potential. And I'll help her reach that state,' Daela decided, already ready to turn an innocent, kind-hearted girl into a dangerously obsessive woman.

First an old, perverted grandpa corrupting a broken young man… now an obsessive big sister planning to shape a gentle girl into her own twisted reflection?

Truly, what's wrong with these people?

…

Kaden and Zaki reappeared amidst a lush wall of green trees.

"W-Where are we?" Zaki asked in a slightly trembling voice.

It was strange watching a young man cower like that.

He was at the same height as Kaden, and yet looking at them side by side, you'd swear he was shorter. Simply because his head was always lowered, his eyes always avoiding contact, like someone who believed pain would follow if he dared to lift his gaze.

Something Kaden understood all too well—bullied kids often carried that same posture, that same fear, that same hollow weight on their shoulders.

A complete lack of self-confidence.

Kaden sighed softly and sat down on the grass, resting his back against the bark of a nearby tree. He then gestured for Zaki to sit, and the boy hesitantly followed, sitting by his side.

Kaden didn't speak for a moment. He just closed his eyes. Then, without looking,

"You probably already know who I am, but let me introduce myself anyway."

"I'm Kaden Warborn, known as the Child of Blood, and youngest son of the Warborn family."

He paused for a second, then added,

"Nice to meet you."

And stayed quiet again.

Knowing it was his turn, Zaki followed reluctantly,

"I'm Zaki Caelion… bastard son of the Caelion merchant family," he said, his voice laced with shame and stopped there. He was clearly embarrassed, clearly intimidated, sitting next to someone like Kaden.

He just couldn't help it.

The man beside him was the same age as him, but the way he carried himself, the way people spoke about him, his strength, his reputation, his bloodline—it was all untouchable.

From any angle, Kaden looked like someone who had everything.

And the more Zaki thought about his own situation, the more he shrank within himself, his head lowering even further, as if he was trying to disappear.

Kaden's eyes remained closed. He didn't even look at him but he didn't need to.

His perception saw everything.

He saw how Zaki's eyes twisted with embarrassment, with that helpless inadequacy that came from living unloved, unworthy, unwanted.

But he smiled quietly to himself,

"Is that all?" he asked.

The question surprised Zaki, who instinctively raised his head, confused, wondering if he'd forgotten something important.

But no… there was nothing else to say. That was all he was.

A poor bastard. Unloved. Bullied. Overlooked.

"Yes…?" he answered, unsure.

But Kaden shook his head.

"Why are you selling yourself short? I'd be screaming to the entire world that I had a Mythic Origin and that The Will called me the Child of Heavens."

"I mean, dude even my title pales in comparison to yours," Kaden said with an eager grin, the energy in his words lighting something faint in Zaki's chest.

"Really?" Zaki asked, caught off-guard, but slowly starting to feel something awaken inside of him, something warm.

After all, this was the Child of Blood speaking. Speaking to him like this. How could he not feel something?

Kaden nodded, "Of course. I'm telling you, with enough courage, you could be as famous, or even more famous than me."

"Your power is a cheat. But…"

Kaden's voice slowed.

And by now, Zaki was hanging on his every word.

"But…?" he asked, eager to know the rest.

That's when Kaden finally opened his blood-red eyes and looked at Zaki.

For a moment, Zaki flinched—fear, shame, all bubbling back to the surface—but the moment Kaden smiled, it all faded.

That smile was soft. Warm. Understanding.

"Your power only works if you believe something deeply. If you truly believe it."

"And tell me… what do you believe, right now?" Kaden asked.

Instinctively, without even thinking "I am a poor bastard?!" Zaki blurted out, as if the words were burned into his identity.

And then silence as he shut his mouth, suddenly understanding what Kaden meant.

"Yes, your power is strong. You could become someone no one dares to bully or insult. But…"

Kaden slowly raised a finger and pointed to his own head.

"Everything begins within the mind, dear Child of Heavens."

—End of Chapter 119—