HEAVEN'S FORSAKEN SON

Exposure and Exile

The yard of the Darkveil clan glowed with solemnity. It was the inspection day.

The elders stood tall upon the raised platform. Their robes were lined with silver and crimson. Their eyes are sharp as blades. Before them, the clan’s youths gathered in rows with weapons in their hands. Each ready to display their progress.

For Arin, it should have been another day of humiliation. He should have been invisible and mocked like before. But fate was cruel.

And the system never allowed him to remain unseen.

“Kael Darkveil, step forward,” called the First Elder.

Kael walked to the front. His aura flared. Fire moved around him like a serpent of red flame. That made the crowd gasp. He executed a fierce strike, scorching the practice ground black.

“Excellent,” the elders murmured. “Truly, the clan’s brightest star.”

Kael smirked, basking in praise.

“Next,” the elder barked. “Bring forth the others.”

The names were called, youths performed, then applause rose and fell.

And unexpectedly, “Arin Darkveil.”

The yard was still. Laughter bubbled from the rows. “Why bother?” someone whispered.

Arin froze. He hadn’t expected to be called. His palms sweated and his heart hammered.

The system chimed coldly in his mind.

“Ding! Passive Quest Triggered.

Objective: Survive public inspection without humiliation.

Reward: Reputation +5.

Penalty: –2 years lifespan.”

There was no escape route for him.

He stepped forward. The eyes of the clan pierced him like arrows.

The First Elder raised a brow. “Show us your progress.”

Arin swallowed hard. His meridians were still fragile, only fragments restored by the system. He had no dazzling fire and no radiant frost.

Only the faint stir of qi and the Dragon Vein Fist.

His body trembled. He thought of remaining still, of failing quietly. But then… a shout came from a reckless clan youth, eager to mock him. He lunged forward suddenly with his blade drawn. “Why not let the cripple try to dodge this?”

Gasps erupted from the crowd. 

The strike was wild, but sharp enough to pierce flesh. It cut toward the elders’ platform. An elder, distracted, did not move in time.

Arin’s body surged without thought.

“Ding! Emergency Quest Triggered.

Objective: Prevent injury to an elder.

Reward: Minor Meridian Repair Fragment.

Penalty: –4 years lifespan.”

His feet slammed the ground. His fist coiled and released the Dragon Vein Fist!

The air cracked. The reckless youth’s strike shattered and the blade flung from his hand. The elder staggered back, unharmed.

Arin stood panting. His fist smoked faintly with qi. The yard was stunned into silence.

For a breath, no one spoke about what happened. 

Afterwards, people started murmuring about it. 

“He moved like a dragon…”

“Impossible.”

“The cripple… did that?”

The elder he saved looked at him with astonishment, but his gratitude never reached his lips.

Instead, his expression twisted into suspicion.

The Second Elder seized the moment. He stepped forward with his robes fluttering and his voice sharp as a dagger.

“You all saw it!” he thundered. “A boy with crippled meridians suddenly displays forbidden strength? That is not talent, it is unnatural!”

The council stirred.

“Unnatural…”

“A risk…”

“A curse in disguise…”

Arin’s chest clenched. He had saved an elder’s life. But instead of gratitude and acceptance, all he saw was fear.

The Second Elder’s words flowed like venom.

“For years, this boy has brought shame upon us. Now, suddenly, he wields a long-lost technique? Who among us can guarantee this is not some demonic art? A danger festering within our walls?”

Kael stepped forward. His eyes burned with false righteousness. “Second Elder is right. This cripple’s existence taints our honor. The heavens themselves crippled him. Should we now defy fate by letting him remain?”

The words cut deeper than any blade.

Murmurs rose one by one and heads began to nod.

The First Elder hesitated. His gaze was conflicted. “Perhaps exile is…”

The Second Elder struck the table with his palm. “Not perhaps. It is necessary! For the clan’s honor!”

The vote was swift and the verdict was final.

As the council declared exile, the system’s voice rang in Arin’s mind.

“Ding! Main Quest Generated.

Quest: Survive expulsion and reclaim your place within three months.

Reward: Major Meridian Repair + Unique Skill Unlock.

Penalty: –20 years lifespan. Immediate death if the timer reaches zero.”

A timer appeared in his vision.

“89 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes.”

Arin’s breath caught and his heart raced.

They didn’t allow him to pack. They didn’t allow him to stay a moment longer.

At sunset, Arin stood at the gates of the Darkveil compound. He had been stripped of all but the ragged clothes remained on his back. His mother’s cloth was tied around his wrist. In his palm, he clutched the faintly glowing fragment the system had granted him.

The gates clattered open.

Clan members watched from the walls. Some sneered, some whispered but none stepped forward.

His heart ached. Betrayal pressed heavy on his chest. He had given his life to protect one of them just hours ago. And still, they cast him aside even though his father was in support of it. 

“Mother,” he whispered to the scrap of cloth, “I swear I won’t die like they want me to.”

As he stepped toward the gate, Kael blocked the path.

His cousin’s lips curled in a cruel smile.

“Look at you,” Kael sneered. “Thrown out like the trash you’ve always been. Do you think the wilderness will spare you? You’ll be devoured within days.”

Arin clenched his fists. His voice was steady, though pain laced every word. “One day, Kael, the name ‘trash’ will choke in your throat.”

Kael laughed, stepping aside mockingly. “I’ll be waiting for that day… cousin. If you survive long enough.”

……….

….

As Arin stepped into the night, the system’s voice echoed cold in his ear.

“Ding! Wilderness Survival Protocol Activated.

Objective: Secure shelter, water, and food within 24 hours.

Penalty: –10 years lifespan per failure.”

The forest wind was strong. Arin tightened his grip on his mother’s cloth. His first steps into exile echoed in the air.