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Chapter 5 – A World Full of Color
The wind carried the scent of blooming earth and roasted berries through the wooden windows of the small house. Morning light poured into the modest home, revealing worn floorboards and handwoven curtains gently swaying with the breeze. Birds chirped, cows mooed in the distance, and a child's laughter echoed through the village.
Elric, now a wide-eyed five-year-old with a mop of silver hair and bright gray eyes, had just escaped the clutches of his mother's morning bath ritual. Half-dressed and giggling, he dashed toward the fields behind his home.
"Boy! You run faster than the cows!" a loud, raspy voice barked behind him.
Grandpa Thorne stood barefoot, shirtless, and smug, chewing on a twig and holding a crooked cane. He looked like a half-retired farmer and half-retired bandit—which he was, depending on who you asked.
"Gramps! I beat the chickens again!" Elric shouted proudly, arms in the air.
Thorne scratched his beard, eyes gleaming. "Hah! That's good. But let's see if you can beat me to the riverbank!"
Before Elric could react, Thorne tossed his cane away and took off running. For a man his age, he moved like a panther, every step calculated but carefree. Elric blinked and laughed, chasing after him.
The village, with its muddy paths and moss-covered cottages, came alive with their playful race. Neighbors chuckled from porches, shaking their heads fondly.
"That old bandit is running wild again."
"Better watch your wallets," someone joked. "He might 'tax' us all in the name of training!"
When they reached the riverbank, Thorne flopped down on the grass, panting dramatically while Elric tumbled beside him.
"You cheated!" Elric gasped.
"I taught the rules, boy," Thorne said with a grin. "So I decide what counts as cheating."
Elric pouted, then laughed again, eyes sparkling. The bond between them was warm and rare—like a friendship mixed with mentorship, sealed by mischief.
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Back at home, Elric's mother, a quiet woman named Mira, was preparing berry soup. She stirred thoughtfully, smiling to herself. Elric's father, Daren, had gone to trade goods in the nearby town, and the girls—Elric's two younger sisters—were still napping.
Mira glanced out the window, watching her son and father-in-law rolling in the grass, throwing pebbles into the stream.
"They look like fools," she said softly, "but they're my fools."
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Later that evening, the family gathered around a wooden table under a glowing lantern. Mira served soup and toasted grain buns, and Grandpa Thorne stole three extra from the basket before Elric could blink.
"Thief!" Elric accused with a grin.
"Bandit, boy. There's a difference. Bandits steal with style." He winked.
Elric laughed so hard he spilled his soup.
The conversation turned to strange stories—Thorne, of course, had many. He told of wild nights on the borders, of chasing treasure and fighting off a mechanical beast with nothing but a spoon. Mira rolled her eyes, but Elric was captivated.
"Is it true, Gramps? You fought a Bone Hound with your slippers?"
"Boy, not just one. A pack of them. And I didn't just fight—I made 'em run."
"Liar," Mira muttered with a smirk.
"Legend," Thorne corrected proudly.
---
That night, as the stars blinked overhead and the forest rustled beyond the hills, Elric lay in bed, eyes wide open. His mind buzzed with curiosity.
He thought of Grandpa's stories, of the strange markings that sometimes glowed on the elder's arms, and of the locked chest under the floorboard that Grandpa said "was just filled with socks."
He also felt… different. The dreams were returning again—dreams of a god's voice echoing in the dark, of invisible chains shattering, and of strange symbols in the sky.
Something inside him was awakening, slowly, like the first crack in the shell of a sleeping beast.
The System had been dormant since birth. But now, it pulsed faintly.
> [System Sync: 1%]
[Legendary Class Detected: Shepherd – Awaiting Bonding Conditions]
Elric didn't see it yet. But something ancient had begun to stir.
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