Kai awoke to voices—some hushed, some tense. His body ached, but he was lying on something surprisingly comfortable. As his vision adjusted, he took in the surroundings. He was inside a house—not large, but sturdy. The foundation was stone, seamlessly blending into wooden walls reinforced with metal beams. A warm, flickering light cast soft shadows across the room.
Before he could gather his thoughts, a voice piped up beside him.
"Oh, you''re awake."
Kai turned his head. A young boy sat nearby, tinkering with a strange device. His copper-colored hair was tousled, his cobalt-blue eyes filled with curiosity rather than concern. He gave Kai a quick glance before returning to his work, as if his guest was more of a mild curiosity than a cause for alarm.
In the background, an argument brewed.
"You can''t just bring in every wounded creature you find," a deep voice said. It wasn’t harsh—just firm, measured, like someone used to making tough decisions.
The girl standing before him, silver-haired and silent, met his gaze without flinching.
"He needed help."
Her voice was quiet, but there was a finality to it.
The older man exhaled through his nose, rubbing the bridge of it. "That’s not the point, girl. You don’t know what he is, where he’s from, or if he’s dangerous."
The boy spoke up without looking up from his contraption. "If he was dangerous, he’d have attacked by now. Or died."
Kai twitched. "I''m right here, you know."
That got all their attention.
The girl immediately stepped forward and knelt beside him, scanning his face with a quiet intensity. Up close, her green eyes gleamed like moss in the firelight.
Kai swallowed, feeling strangely small under her gaze. "Uh… hey?"
The older man stepped forward too, and that was when Kai got his first real look at him. He was broad-shouldered, built like a man who had spent his entire life in battle. His beard was streaked with gray, his sharp gaze weathered yet steady. Unlike the boy’s casual curiosity or the girl’s quiet intensity, this man’s eyes were calculating—measuring.
Kai barely had time to react before a crossbow was leveled at him.
Not in a panicked or aggressive way, but with the calm precision of someone who had done this before.
"I’ll ask once. Who are you, where are you from, and what exactly are you?"
Kai swallowed hard. His body still felt sluggish, his limbs uncooperative, but his mind was sharp enough to understand that any wrong answer could make this a very short conversation.
"I—I''m… Kai. Kaito Haruto."
Silence.
The older man’s eyes narrowed slightly. "That’s not a name from these mountains."
Kai let out a breath. "Yeah, I figured. Look, I don’t know where I am, or how I got here. One minute I was exploring a cave, the next I woke up in a world where gravity wants to kill me."
The boy snorted. "Sounds about right."
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Kai turned to him. "And you are?"
The boy grinned. "Bram Ironhart. Engineer, genius, and certified survivor of my sister''s death glares." He jerked a thumb at the girl. "This is Thara. She doesn’t talk much."
Thara gave a small nod.
Kai looked between them. "Ironhart? So you''re siblings?"
"Twins," Bram confirmed. "She’s five minutes older, but I’m at least five times smarter."
Thara elbowed him in the ribs.
Kai turned back to the older man, whose crossbow had lowered slightly but not entirely. "And you?"
A beat of silence. Then—
"Durgan Ironhart. Their grandfather."
Kai stiffened. "Oh. That explains the ''I''m in charge'' energy."
Bram stifled a laugh.
Durgan sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You’ve got a mouth on you, boy."
Kai shrugged weakly. "It''s a survival tactic."
The air in the room shifted slightly. Durgan studied him for another moment before finally lowering the crossbow completely.
"Fine. You stay until you recover. After that, we’ll see."
Kai sighed, stretching his arms as he adjusted his position on the sofa. His body still ached from the days of struggling in the cave, but at least now he was warm and comfortable.
The Ironhart home was simple yet sturdy, built of solid rock and wood, and filled with the rich scent of smoldering coal. The warmth from the fireplace soaked into his skin, making him realize just how cold he had been before.
Across from him, Bram was still tinkering with some kind of small machine, occasionally glancing up at Kai with open curiosity. Thara, sitting beside him, remained quiet as usual, her moss-green eyes studying him.
Then, just as Kai was about to ask when Durgan and Bram had returned, something small and blue slipped out from his scarf.
A tiny yawn filled the room.
All three dwarves froze.
Kai barely had time to react before Bram shot up, nearly knocking over his chair. Thara’s eyes widened, and even Durgan, who had just entered the room, stopped mid-step—his usual steady presence suddenly laced with tension.
“What in the deep halls is that?” Bram whispered, his cobalt eyes locked onto the small floating creature.
Kai blinked, confused by their intense reactions. “Uh… Stardust?”
The Ironhart family didn’t move.
Stardust, completely unaware of the chaos it had caused, hovered lazily in the air, stretching its tiny glowing limbs before nestling against Kai’s neck with a satisfied hum.
Durgan finally broke the silence.
“…A spirit.” His voice was quiet, but there was a weight to it.
Thara’s fingers twitched, as if she wanted to reach out but wasn’t sure she should.
Bram, meanwhile, pointed at Stardust with a look of pure disbelief. “You—you have a spirit?! How?! Only elders or the blessed can have one!”
Kai frowned. “Spirit?”
Durgan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Don’t play dumb, lad. Where did you get that thing?”
Kai shifted uncomfortably under the old dwarf’s sharp gaze. “I… found it.”
“Found it?” Durgan repeated, his tone unreadable.
Kai sighed. “I woke up in a cave. There was this weird crystal pillar, and then… it crumbled. Stardust was inside an egg that was left behind.”
Bram looked like his entire world had just been flipped upside down. “An egg? Spirits don’t come from eggs!”
Kai hesitated. He had assumed Stardust was just some kind of magical creature, but now… “Wait—what exactly do you mean by ‘spirit’?”
Durgan studied him for a long moment before exhaling deeply. He crossed his arms, his weathered face unreadable. “Spirits are rare. Ancient. Not just any beast or magical creature—true spirits are fragments of this world’s will, bound by its laws.”
Kai swallowed. That sounded a lot more complicated than he expected.
Bram nodded rapidly. “And they don’t just show themselves to anyone! Most of the time, all people see of them are glowing dots, flickering in the distance.”
Kai blinked, glancing at Stardust, who was happily floating beside him, its tiny translucent fins waving gently. “Wait… so you guys don’t actually see Stardust?”
Thara shook her head. “It’s just… a floating light.”
Kai’s eyebrows furrowed. He saw Stardust clearly.
Durgan’s gaze was sharp. “You can see its full form?”
Kai nodded slowly.
Another silence filled the room.
Then, Bram gasped dramatically and pointed at Kai again. “You’re blessed!”
Kai nearly choked on his own breath. “Wait, what?!”
“That’s the only explanation!” Bram declared. “Only those who are chosen by a spirit can see their true form! That means you—”
Durgan cut him off with a quiet but firm “Enough.”
Bram immediately shut his mouth.
Durgan rubbed his temples before fixing his gaze back on Kai. “Lad, this isn’t something to take lightly. If this is truly a spirit, then it means you’ve been marked.”
“Marked?”
“It chose you,” Durgan said simply. “For what reason, we don’t know. But a spirit doesn’t attach itself to someone without purpose.”
Kai swallowed. That… was kind of a lot to take in.
Stardust, blissfully unaware of the heavy conversation, let out another soft yawn and nuzzled against Kai’s cheek.
“…Right,” Kai muttered. “Well, Stardust doesn’t seem to care about any of that.”
Bram stared at the tiny glowing creature with pure fascination. “Can I touch it?”
Kai glanced at Stardust. “Uh… I guess?”
Bram hesitated before slowly reaching out. His finger passed straight through the creature.
The boy yelped, pulling his hand back. “Wha—?! It’s not solid!”
Kai chuckled. “Yeah, Stardust kind of does what it wants.”
Durgan exhaled sharply, rubbing his face before shaking his head. “We’ll talk about this later. Right now, it’s best we eat and rest.”
Kai couldn’t agree more. He needed food before his brain melted.
As if on cue, the rich, savory scent of stew filled the air.
Bram immediately brightened, turning towards the kitchen. “Oh yeah! Food!”
Thara, still quiet, walked over and placed a steaming bowl in front of Kai.
He stared at it. A deep, rich broth, filled with chunks of dark meat, thick root vegetables, and herbs. The aroma alone made his mouth water.
His stomach growled loudly.
“…I don’t know what this is,” Kai admitted, picking up the spoon, “but I need it.”
The first bite hit his tongue.
Instant warmth. A rush of deep, savory umami, slightly smoky but balanced with rich herbal undertones. The meat—tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
Kai devoured it.
Bram watched in awe. “Whoa. You eat like you just escaped starvation.”
Kai didn’t even answer. He was too busy shoveling more food into his mouth, savoring every bite like it was the best thing he’d ever eaten.
Thara’s lips curled into a faint smile.
Durgan chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, at least you’ve got an appetite.”
Kai barely paused to breathe. This was the best thing that had happened to him all week.
At least, until he had to deal with the fact that he was apparently ‘marked’ by a spirit.
But that was tomorrow Kai’s problem.
Right now?
He had soup.