Kiran’s gaze fell on the reflection of the rising sun and the red hues that painted the morning sky. He closed his eyes as a cool morning breeze caressed his skin and a slow smile formed on his lips.

Ting.

Kiran’s eyes remained closed but his eyebrow’s furrowed as the familiar sound fell in his ears. His calm mind pondered but the white-clad man couldn’t think of anything that would cause his Status to change. Thus, with his forehead scrunched in thought, the bald man opened his eyes to read the notification.

As he read, however, his eyes widened and his pupils dilated. His face paled as the blood drained while his heart raced as his breathing hastened. Goosebumps erupted all over his body.

His bald scalp went numb.

His limbs trembled. His body shivered.

He stared at the notification.

The white-clad man fell to his knees but didn’t dare to dismiss the notification. He didn’t dare take his eyes off of the ethereal window. He didn’t dare move. He didn’t dare breathe.

His heart suffocated, paced. His lungs congested, his chest ached.

This could not be happening.

He stared. He saw. But he didn’t understand. How?

He knew the words. He comprehended their meaning individually. Yet, he couldn’t acknowledge the meaning they imparted when combined.

He stared. He saw. But he didn’t understand. Why?

He didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. He refused to understand. For what the words conveyed could not be true.

This could not be happening.

[Your level has been decreased. 1 Attribute point deducted from the most recently manipulated Attribute.]

Ting.

[Skill Level and Spell Level, both, exceed the Class Level. Levels have been adjusted.]

Ting.

[Skill Level lost. Skill [Anatomy Vision Lv.24] has been levelled down to [Anatomy Vision Lv.23].]

Ting.

[Spell Level lost. Spell [Stimulate Lv.24] has been levelled down to [Stimulate Lv.23].]

‘T-this cannot be happening!!’ It absolutely couldn’t be happening! Kiran refused to believe it.

But no matter what the white-clad man thought, the notification remained within his vision, blue as all the other ones. Innocent as all the other ones. Yet, mortals are but mortals. No matter their delusion or their rejection, they can’t change the truth. And the truth of the matter was that Kiran’s Level had been decreased.

This development signified just one thing.

The man, Kiran, who had once been an adorable little boy, had strayed from his path. He had strayed so far that his Class, [Shishya], the Class that was known to regress, had regressed.

He had known that such a thing could happen, of course. But never even in his wildest dreams had he imagined that it would happen to him. For never in his life, had he considered the possibility that he could stray away from his path.

Or that he had already strayed from his path.

The mere thought had been inconceivable. Yet, that unthinkable thought had manifested into Reality.

Kiran tried to get up but the shaking of his limbs caused him to stumble and fall. His body trembled from shock.

He continued to stare blankly at the notification for a few moments more before abruptly dismissing it. And just as abruptly, he stood up with his fists clenched and teeth grinding against each other.

He had been abandoned.

His nostrils puffed and his breath came in short bursts. His body burned as he felt the blood flow past his ears and heard the sound of his own heartbeat; the sound of it clearer than crystal.

He had been betrayed.

His face was twisted into an ugly sneer. ‘This! After years and years of sacrifice and sweat, this!’

19 years.

19 years of hard work. 19 years of sacrifice. 19 years of joyless existence. 19 years of fruitless drudgery. 19 years of loveless imprisonment. 19 years…

He couldn’t bear it. His heart suffocated and his chest congested.

He had started on this path when he had been mere 12 years of age. And now at 31, he had failed and reached its end. He had spent more time walking on this path than off. He had started at 12. He had barely been self-aware then.

For almost all the time that he had been self-aware, he had lived on this path. And when he had not been on this path, he hadn’t had much awareness. And now, his path had been lost. His journey had been ended. His life itself had been ended.

He couldn’t bear it. His breath came in short, fast. It was difficult for him to breathe.

Everything he had done, it meant nothing anymore. Everything he had suffered through, it meant nothing anymore. Everything he had sacrificed, it meant nothing anymore. All his efforts, his hard work, his sweat, his blood, it all meant nothing anymore.

He couldn’t bear it. The world began to darken and the edges began to blur.

And then his heart shattered.

No longer could he walk down this path ever again. No longer would his Class progress ever again. And no longer could he be an ascetic ever again.

At that moment, the hair that he had sacrificed long ago, began growing. It grew from dead follicles to long strands in but a moment and it continued growing. It grew so fast that the growth itself was visible.

His face, that had never had a single strand of facial hair on it, sprouted moustache and grew a beard. And they kept on growing. They grew until they had reached the middle of his chest.

His hair, meanwhile, had not stopped. It grew and it kept on growing. It grew past his shoulders. It grew past his waist. And it grew past his knees. It grew until it almost touched the floor.

Kiran looked down at his hair and clenched it roughly in his fist. He stared at it for a long moment. This had been his first sacrifice and it had now been returned to him.

But the 19 years that he had given to the path, they were gone forever.

He held up his beard, something he had never had before. And at that moment, he vowed; never would be cut a single strand of his hair. For they would be the reminder of everything he had lost.

He let his hair fall but, at that moment, the words of that woman resounded in his ears.

“SOON! It would be SOON!” Her raspy voice roared and Kiran felt her throat vibrate in his mouth. “You will come before me and I will laugh at your FACE! You will try to hurt me and I will laugh in your FACE! You will use me and I will still laugh in your FACE!”

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-