The sound of the train tracks hummed beneath them, steady and low, like a heartbeat.Outside the window, mountains stretched across the sky, their peaks cutting through the clouds.Inside the private cabin, the smell of fresh food filled the air.
Soren opened his eyes slowly.
His body was sore, stiff, and heavy. Bandages wrapped around his arms, chest, and leg. The pain was there, but distant — dulled by rest, or maybe by whatever medicine had been used. His vision was a little blurry at first, but then it cleared.
Across from him, sitting with his arms resting on his knees, was the silver-haired man.
Eidon.
He was watching him, calm but curious, and the moment he saw Soren sit up, he gave a small smirk.
"Took you long enough," Eidon said, voice low but relaxed. "Thought you might sleep 'til next week."
Soren sat up straighter, blinking. "Where...?"
"You're on a train. Headed east. You're safe."
Soren looked around. The cabin was wide, with red leather seats, polished wood floors, and gold-lined windows.But more than that — there was food.
Tables were covered with dishes. Hot grilled chicken, steamed rice, buttery pasta, sweet fruits stacked in bowls, cold water, orange juice, and a few sodas lined neatly in glass bottles.
Soren's stomach growled loud enough for Eidon to hear.
He laughed.
"Go on. Eat. You've earned it."
Soren didn't argue.
He moved over to the food and started grabbing whatever he could. Chicken, pasta, chunks of pineapple, rice — stuffing his face like he hadn't eaten in days. Because he hadn't.
Eidon leaned back and watched him.
After a few minutes, Soren finally paused to breathe.
"…Thank you," he said with his mouth half full.
"No problem," Eidon said, smiling faintly. "But now I've got some questions."
Soren tilted his head while chewing.
Eidon asked, "How were you able to copy that guy's concept? And even say a belief?"
Soren blinked, swallowed, then shrugged.
"I dunno. I guess I can kinda… copy someone's belief if I understand it. That's what it feels like."
Eidon stared.
Then suddenly broke out into laughter, loud and raw.
"What kind of wild ability is that!?" he said between laughs. "I've never even heard of something like that. That's not normal."
Soren just kept eating, not sure what was so funny.
Eidon wiped a tear from his eye and leaned forward again.
"Alright, alright… how long have you been a concept user?"
Soren paused to think.
"Two days."
Eidon froze.
"…Come again?"
"I got my powers like… two days ago."
There was a long silence.
And then Eidon laughed even harder, almost falling off the seat.
"You're just full of surprises, kid!"
Soren gave a tiny smile and reached for a soda.
Eidon caught his breath and looked over again, more serious this time.
"You got any family?"
Soren's hands slowed.
He looked down at his food for a second, quiet.
"…Yeah. I have a brother," he said softly. "But I don't know where he is."
Eidon nodded slowly. "Where are you from?"
Soren didn't even hesitate. "The Outer's Edge."
The bottle in Eidon's hand dropped.
He stared at Soren like he'd grown two heads.
"…You said the what now?"
"The Outer's Edge," Soren said again, casual.
Eidon stood up in shock. "YOU'RE FROM THERE!?"
Soren blinked, looking confused. "Yeah…?"
"THAT place is filled with poison gas. Monsters nobody's ever seen. Even the Guild doesn't go near it. It's a cursed zone! No one survives there!"
Soren calmly bit into a piece of chicken. "Me and my brother were born there."
Eidon sat back down like his legs gave out. He stared at the boy in silence.
"You're serious…?"
Soren nodded. "Twelve years ago, my brother left. I don't know why. But since then, I've just been walking. Town to town. Learning how to fight, speak, survive…"
He trailed off.
Eidon looked at him for a while, then leaned back with a sigh.
"You've been through a lot, huh."
Soren gave a tired smile. "I guess so."
Then, right as they both chuckled —BLERGH.
Blood suddenly splattered out of Soren's mouth.
Both of them screamed.
"AAAHHH!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
Soren reached for his drink and chugged it fast. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"
"You call that fine!?" Eidon yelled, eyes wide. "You just spit up blood!"
"It's just a little!" Soren grinned, blood still on his chin. "You should see what I usually cough up!"
Eidon slapped his forehead and groaned.
They both laughed again
After a minute, Soren leaned back and glanced over at him.
"…Hey. What were you doing all the way out there, anyway?"
Eidon leaned back against the cushioned bench of the train cabin, arms crossed and eyes half-lidded as the countryside rushed by outside the window. A cool breeze danced in through the small gap above the glass.
He glanced over at Soren, who was still chewing on a chunk of roast chicken, bandages wrapping most of his upper body.
"I was out here looking for someone," Eidon said casually. "My guild was hired to track down a man. Not just track — eliminate."
Soren looked up, blinking.
Eidon reached into his coat and pulled out a worn leather pouch. He untied the string lazily, then tipped it forward.
With a dull thud, something dropped onto the table.
It rolled once.
And stopped — staring.
A severed head.
Lifeless, cold eyes. Mouth frozen mid-scream.
Soren's face turned ghost-white.
"AHHHHH—!!"
He scrambled up, kicked open the window, and vomited over the side of the train. The wind roared past, carrying his scream into the hills.
Eidon tilted his head. "...Huh. Didn't realize you had a weak stomach."
"I WAS EATING!" Soren cried, voice muffled as he slumped over the window, panting.
The man chuckled, casually flicking the head off the table and back into the pouch like it was a fruit pit. "My bad."
Soren returned to his seat, wiping his mouth with a napkin, face pale.
"Who the hell was that?!"
Eidon's expression darkened. "Scum. A trafficker. He abducted women. Children. Sold them for parts or worse. One of his victims was the son of a prestigious noble family. Rich. Powerful. When the boy's corpse turned up, mutilated, the father swore revenge."
He held up a finger.
"One hundred thousand Gennies for his head."
Soren's jaw dropped. "One hundred thousand?!"
Eidon gave a firm nod. "And now that I've got it, I'll return it and collect the bounty. I was going to send a guild member, but... half are away, and the rest didn't want to chase a freak through the Dead Reaches."
He looked out the window for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"Instead, I got lucky. Found you."
Soren raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"
Eidon turned toward him, gaze sharp.
"Because you're joining my guild."
Soren nearly choked on his drink. "Wha— no. I'm not looking to join a guild. I came out here to find my brother."
Eidon leaned forward, resting one arm on the table.
"I'm not asking you to abandon your journey. You'll still travel. You'll still search. But with a guild, you'll be stronger. You'll have protection. Resources. Gold. And maybe, just maybe, someone else in the world might've heard of your brother."
Soren narrowed his eyes. "...Do I get paid?"
Eidon smirked.
He pulled another small pouch from his belt and tossed it across the table. It landed with a satisfying clink.
"That's your reward. For defeating Razor. He was a D-Rank."
Soren opened the pouch, eyes lighting up at the shine of gold coins.
"…Alright," he said, tying it to his belt. "I'll join."
Eidon smiled. "Welcome to Black Halo."
Then his tone shifted, more serious now.
"But there are rules."
Soren leaned in, listening closely.
"You're a D-Rank for now. That means you're only allowed to take on D-Rank quests — simple stuff. Bandits, minor beasts, escort missions, retrievals."
He raised a finger.
"You cannot take on higher-ranked quests — not C, B, A, or S — unless you're accompanied by a higher-ranked member. If you break that rule, you risk suspension... or worse."
Soren nodded.
"Every few months, we hold advancement trials," Eidon continued. "That's how you rise through the ranks. They'll test your strength, your resolve, your mind. Some pass. Some don't. Some die trying."
He leaned back again, folding his arms.
"But if you keep walking your path… you'll find your place. And maybe you'll find your brother too."
Soren looked out the window as the first glimpse of the city shimmered in the distance — a vast silhouette of towers and lights nestled in a mountain basin.
He smiled faintly.
"Black Halo, huh?"
Eidon nodded. "You're one of us now."
The wind howled.
The train raced forward.
And so did Soren's journey
The train screeched to a stop at the outer edge of a city built from weathered stone and old steel. Smoke curled into the sky as steam hissed out from beneath the wheels. Soren stepped off, still sore and bandaged, as Eidon stretched his arms.
"Welcome to Caldrith," Eidon said, glancing around the crowded plaza. It was noisy, full of vendors shouting, wagons rolling, and townspeople weaving through narrow roads.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a silver-edged card—the Guild ID—and handed it to Soren.
"Take this. Give it to the receptionist at the Black Halo guild. She'll know what to do."
Soren blinked. "Isn't this your ID?"
"Yup," Eidon said without care. "She'll get the message."
He scribbled something on a wrinkled piece of paper—messy lines, arrows pointing everywhere, a poorly drawn building that looked like a squished rectangle.
"There's your map."Then, with a casual smile, he turned. "See you later."
And like that, he was gone.
Soren stared at the paper. "What the hell is this…?"
Still, with a deep breath, he followed it.
What should've been a ten-minute walk turned into a full hour of chaos. He tripped into two potholes, one deep enough to swallow his whole leg. A wild dog chased him halfway through a street, and he barely escaped by climbing over a fruit cart.
Panting and scratched, he stumbled into a shady alley where a man with no eyebrows offered him a meat skewer that smelled like wet socks.
"Wanna try?" the man grinned.
"Hard pass."
He turned to leave——and instantly felt a hand slide into his coat.
"HEY!"
But it was too late. The guy sprinted off with one of Soren's pouches.
By the time he escaped the alleys and dusted himself off, the sun had started to dip. But finally, standing before him, was a massive stone building with a black sign shaped like a halo hanging above the tall double doors.
The Black Halo Guild.
It was huge.
Soren stepped forward and pushed open the heavy door.
The first thing he saw was a long wooden reception desk stretching across the wide hall. Behind it sat a woman with twin buns of bright pink hair, lazily chewing on a piece of candy and flipping through papers.
She didn't even look up.
Soren took a step closer.
Suddenly—FWIP!
A small knife flew past his ear, stabbing the wall behind him.
"What the hell?!" he shouted, stumbling back.
The girl finally looked up, eyes half-lidded. "What are you staring at, little shit?"
"I—I'm here to join!" Soren waved the guild ID in both hands like a flag. "I was sent by Eidon!"
She leaned forward, snatched the ID out of his hand with a flick of her wrist, and examined it.
"Oh, this is Eidon's..." She smirked and twirled it between her fingers. "Guess you're not completely lost."
She stood and cracked her knuckles. "Name's Nova. I'm the receptionist around here. Don't make me repeat myself."
Soren raised a brow. Nova? She acts like a war general, not a secretary.
Suddenly—SMACK!
She punched him square on the head.
"I HEARD THAT."
"YOU CAN READ MINDS?!"
"No, dumbass," she rolled her eyes. "I've just dealt with enough little punks like you to know what's going on in that tiny head."
He groaned and rubbed the bump forming on his scalp.
"Now," she said, tossing him a clipboard. "Sign this. Welcome to hell."