Starborn silence

Long before Sunny stepped foot near the cursed lands of Kanah, before the world trembled at the name German Sparow…

A boy stood alone at the edge of the abyss.

He was only ten when he arrived—pale skin, silver hair, eyes that glowed faintly under moonlight. No name. No past. No emotion.

The villagers whispered of omens. Some called him a demon child. Others… something worse.

But one man took him in—The Ascetic.

Once a scholar, once a warrior, now a recluse who spoke to stones and dreamed in symbols. He did not fear the boy.

He smiled.

> "You finally arrived," the Ascetic said.

"Do you know me?" the boy asked.

"No," the old man replied. "But I've seen you before. In fire. In prophecy."

---

Years passed in silence and discipline.

German was never taught what to think. Only how.

He was trained to see beyond the obvious, to break the world into rules—and then break those rules.

> "Pain is not real," the Ascetic told him. "Fear is not yours. These are tools. Learn to wield them."

And German learned.

He became a master of imitation, of manipulation, of restraint. He didn't cry. He didn't sleep like others. He didn't even blink when the Ascetic beat him bloody under the stars.

He only asked questions.

> "What is weakness?"

"Belief in limits."

"And strength?"

"Knowing you have none."

---

But something stirred deeper.

German began having dreams.

Of burning skies, of shattered cities. Of a boy with black hair, cradling a dying girl, whispering, "I'm sorry."

The name Ren surfaced—first as a whisper, then a wound.

One night, German asked,

> "Who is Ren?"

The Ascetic flinched, his composure cracking for the first time.

> "A mistake," he said. "One who turned back."

---

At sixteen, the Ascetic took German to the Kanah Crater—the heart of an ancient calamity, sealed by nature itself.

> "Others came here, seeking power. None returned," he warned.

"Why me?"

"Because you do not seek. You listen."

German stepped to the edge.

Below, shadows writhed like smoke underwater. Whispers crawled into his ears.

> He came before you… he wanted to save her… he turned away.

The crater spoke of Ren—of a boy who had once stood in the same spot, hoping to find medicine for the girl he loved.

But Ren had chosen mercy over power. Compassion over dominion.

German… did not flinch.

> "And where is he now?"

"Gone," the voice hissed. "But his shadow remains."

---

Elsewhere… near Kanah's border

Sunny knelt beside a shallow stream. The water shimmered oddly—rushing against gravity.

When he dipped his fingers in, everything paused.

The wind halted.

Leaves froze mid-fall.

Birdsong died in their throats.

A strange symbol pulsed on his palm, then vanished.

He stumbled back, heart racing.

> "What the hell... was that?"

But he didn't realize—the world had just obeyed him.

Not with magic.

With recognition.

---

And somewhere deep in Kanah, far beneath the earth...

German Sparow opened his eyes.

> "He's here," he whispered.

"Let the game begin."