Chapter 35:The Boy Who was Fed to Power

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The Kain family wasn’t noble.

They weren’t respected.

They were feared.

A cursed lineage known for one thing—

Berserkers.

Not warriors.

Not knights.

Weapons.

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Every generation, one child would awaken it.

Not talent.

Not training.

A curse.

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The Selection

Draven was five years old.

Too young to understand anything.

Old enough to scream.

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They lined the children up.

Dozens of them.

Brothers.

Sisters.

Cousins.

All Kain blood.

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An elder walked past them slowly.

Watching.

Waiting.

Then—

He stopped.

In front of Draven.

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“You.”

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That was it.

No ceremony.

No honor.

No choice.

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The Pit

They threw him into a stone pit.

Dark.

Cold.

Wet.

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Then—

They dropped something else in.

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A beast.

Starving.

Maddened.

Bred for one purpose—

To trigger the bloodline.

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Draven didn’t fight.

He ran.

He cried.

He begged.

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Above him—

His family watched.

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“Survive.”

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The Awakening

The beast caught him.

Claws tore into his back.

Teeth sank into his shoulder.

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Something broke.

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Not bone.

Not flesh.

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Him.

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The screaming stopped.

The fear disappeared.

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And something else took its place.

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When the elders looked down again—

The beast was dead.

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And the boy…

Was standing.

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Covered in blood.

Not his.

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Eyes glowing.

Empty.

Hungry.

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What They Created

They pulled him out.

Not with concern.

Not with relief.

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With satisfaction.

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“It awakened.”

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From that day on—

Draven wasn’t treated like a child.

He was trained.

Broken.

Rebuilt.

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Over.

And over.

And over.

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Pain wasn’t punishment.

It was fuel.

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If he hesitated—

He was beaten.

If he showed fear—

He was starved.

If he lost control—

They praised him.

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Because control…

Was never the goal.

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The Lie He Was Taught

“Power is freedom.”

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But Draven learned something different.

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Power wasn’t freedom.

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Power was the only time—

The pain stopped.

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So he chased it.

Again.

And again.

And again.

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The First Time He Smiled

He was twelve.

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They sent him on his first real hunt.

Not a beast.

Not a monster.

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People.

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Bandits.

Weak.

Terrified.

Begging.

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Draven hesitated.

For a moment.

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Then the bloodline surged.

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When it was over—

Everything was red.

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Bodies everywhere.

Silence.

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And for the first time—

Draven smiled.

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Not because he was happy.

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Because it felt…

Quiet.

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Why He Became What He Is

Draven doesn’t love violence.

Not really.

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He loves what comes after.

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The silence.

The emptiness.

The absence of pain.

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That’s why he fights.

That’s why he loses control.

That’s why he keeps going.

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Because stopping—

Means feeling everything again.

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Present Day — The Truth

When Draven looks at others—

He doesn’t see enemies.

He doesn’t see allies.

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He sees:

Noise.

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And when he looks at Lucifer—

For the first time—

He sees something different.

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Not noise.

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Not prey.

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A mirror… that didn’t break.

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Core Emotion

Draven isn’t evil.

He’s what happens when:

Pain is mistaken for purpose.

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