To raise a blade (Revised)

In the shadow of a blood-soaked conquest, a lone child survives the razing of their village by hiding among the corpses. That night, they attempt to assassinate the sleeping warlord responsible—a demon in human skin. But he awakens, grips their wrist, and looks into their eyes... and sees potential. Amused, intrigued, and perhaps moved, he offers the child a cruel choice: die now, or live—and become his student.