Rhian Locke only wanted strength.
To face the monster that slaughtered his parents while he watched, helpless.
“I never asked to be your savior. So why should I care?”
All he hoped for was to reach a decent rank, hunt that beast down, maybe become a monster hunter, and retire in peace.
“I’m not a slave to the gods. I don’t exist to do their bidding.”
But the world had made its decision long before he was born.
“Patterns are meant to be broken.”
---
---
“Boy, I’ve bathed in the blood of your kind. I’ve crushed those stronger than you.”
Lightning cracked across the sky. A hammer flew to the hand of a god.
“I won’t let a deceiver’s spawn and a whore’s bastard son, stand before me and declare my end.”
Rhian stepped forward, blood trailing from his mouth, eyes locked.
“I’m not here to declare your end,” he said coldly. “I’m here to fulfill it.”
....