The next morning—
I slowly opened my eyes.
Soft sunlight entered through the curtains while the distant sounds of Valorheim echoed outside.
Immediately—
my gaze shifted toward Jasmine.
She was already awake.
Standing near the mirror while tying up her crimson hair calmly.
Her amethyst-purple eyes quietly met mine through the reflection.
Soon—
both of us began preparing to leave.
But before activating the disguise artifacts—
I suddenly stopped.
My eyes quietly shifted toward the hallway outside.
Silent.
Far too silent.
Then slowly—
I glanced toward Jasmine.
"…Stay here."
"I'll be back in a while."
"Hm?"
She looked toward me in confusion.
"Is something wrong?"
I remained silent briefly.
"…No."
Without another word—
I stepped outside and quietly closed the door behind me.
CLICK.
The hallway of the inn remained unnaturally silent.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Nothing.
My golden eyes slowly glowed faintly as I unsheathed Nocturne Veil from my back.
SHIIIIING—
Then—
I began walking downstairs slowly.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The wooden floor creaked softly beneath my feet.
Soon—
I stopped before a single room near the lower floor.
Faint whispers echoed from inside.
And the smell—
fear.
My expression slowly turned cold.
Without hesitation—
I pushed the door open.
CREAK—
Inside—
over twenty armed men immediately turned toward me.
Mercenaries.
Most likely they had seen Jasmine and me entering the inn yesterday.
And now—
their eyes widened seeing my real appearance directly.
Black-and-white hair.
Golden eyes.
The exact face currently spread across every news screen in Astryx.
"…Noctis."
One of them whispered instinctively.
Meanwhile—
near the corner of the room—
the little girl Nia and her mother remained tied up tightly.
Both cried silently while bruises covered their faces.
The moment Nia saw me—
her eyes widened desperately.
"Mmgh—!"
One of the mercenaries slowly stood afterward while grinning nervously.
"Well well…"
"So the bounty monster finally showed up."
Another mercenary laughed loudly to hide his fear.
"Tch."
"I told you it was them."
"Thirty million gold…"
"…we hit the jackpot."
Silence.
Then slowly—
I closed the door behind me.
CLICK.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Black and white mana quietly began leaking from Nocturne Veil.
The room itself trembled slightly beneath the pressure.
And one by one—
the mercenaries' smiles slowly disappeared.
Because instinctively—
they realized something horrifying.
They weren't hunting me.
I was hunting them.
And this—
was about to become a massacre.
...
A few minutes later—
Jasmine finally finished putting on her disguise artifact.
Her crimson hair faded away while her appearance shifted into that of an ordinary traveler once more.
After adjusting her cloak—
she stepped outside the room looking for Noctis.
But the moment she walked downstairs—
she stopped.
The inn was silent.
Not normal silence.
No creaking wood.
No voices.
No movement.
Just a suffocating stillness that made the entire building feel wrong.
Then—
the smell reached her.
Blood.
A thick metallic scent flooded the lower floor so heavily that Jasmine instinctively covered her nose.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Slowly—
her eyes moved downward.
Blood.
Dark red blood slowly seeped beneath one of the doors.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
For a brief second—
fear gripped her chest.
No…
Surely he wouldn't…
Without hesitation—
she rushed forward and pushed the door open.
CREAK—
And froze.
The room looked like something out of a nightmare.
The walls were stained dark red.
Blood covered the wooden floor beneath scattered corpses.
Broken weapons.
Shattered furniture.
Bodies twisted unnaturally after the battle.
The metallic scent in the air felt so thick it was difficult to breathe.
And at the very center of it all—
stood Noctis.
Black-and-white hair.
Golden eyes.
Blood stained his face, hands, and clothes while he quietly cleaned his black sword in complete silence.
No anger.
No exhaustion.
No emotion.
The horrifying part wasn't the corpses.
It was him.
He looked calm.
As though standing inside a room filled with blood and death was completely normal to him.
Jasmine slowly glanced toward the corner.
The inn woman and little Nia were alive.
Untouched.
But both trembled violently in fear.
The little girl clung desperately to her mother while staring at Noctis like she was looking at a monster wearing human skin.
Then—
Noctis slowly lifted his gaze.
Those cold golden eyes met Jasmine's.
And for the first time since meeting him—
Jasmine felt genuine fear crawl down her spine.
Those eyes felt empty.
Not cruel.
Not sadistic.
Just…
empty.
As though he had seen so much darkness that scenes like this no longer meant anything to him.
Then calmly—
Noctis walked toward the doorway.
Passing directly beside her.
"…I'm going to take a bath."
His voice remained completely normal.
That terrified her even more.
Meanwhile—
Jasmine remained standing motionless within the blood-covered room.
Listening to his footsteps slowly disappear upstairs.
And deep inside her mind—
a single thought echoed repeatedly.
How can a child become something this terrifying?
...
Rio silently turned the shower on.
Cold water poured down over his body while crimson blood slowly washed away beneath him.
The red liquid flowed across the floor before disappearing down the drain.
Silently.
Quietly.
Almost peacefully.
Meanwhile—
Rio simply stood there beneath the falling water.
Motionless.
"…When did it start?"
The thought suddenly echoed inside his mind.
Not about battle.
Not about power.
But his emotions.
Or rather—
the lack of them.
When exactly had he stopped feeling anything after killing someone?
Was it during the mission at the orphanage—
when he saw children dying helplessly around him?
Was it during the harbor—
when Astryx soldiers fell one after another beneath his blade?
Or…
was it far earlier than that?
Water slowly dripped down his black-and-white hair while his golden eyes quietly stared downward.
Then slowly—
another answer appeared within his mind.
Rio Valen.
The synchronization.
Perhaps that was the true reason.
Two broken lives.
Two people shaped by suffering.
Two souls that had long since become numb to pain.
Rio's hatred.
His loneliness.
His darkness.
And Rio from Aetheria—
who had already witnessed enough cruelty himself to stop reacting to it.
Eventually—
the two simply became one.
And now—
when he killed someone—
he truly felt nothing anymore.
No guilt.
No hesitation.
No satisfaction.
Just…
emptiness.
The water continued washing the blood away silently.
But somehow—
Rio felt like the crimson staining his hands would never truly disappear.
...
Soon—
Noctis finished changing into his disguise once more.
His black-and-white hair faded into ordinary brown while his golden eyes lost their unnatural glow.
After silently gathering their belongings—
he and Jasmine finally left the inn.
The moment they stepped outside—
Noctis briefly remembered the little girl's expression from earlier.
Nia's eyes.
The fear inside them.
The way she looked at him like he was some kind of monster.
He quietly looked away.
The neon lights of Valorheim illuminated the streets while rainwater reflected across the roads beneath them.
Jasmine walked silently beside him beneath her cloak.
Then eventually—
Noctis spoke.
"First…"
"…we need proper identification cards."
Jasmine glanced at him curiously.
"Astryx tracks its citizens through identification seals."
"Without one…"
"…we won't even be able to move between districts properly."
Security in Astryx was far tighter than Verilian.
Especially now—
after the harbor incident.
Jasmine crossed her arms.
"And where exactly are we supposed to get those?"
Noctis calmly continued walking through the crowded lower district.
"While dealing with the mercenaries…"
"…I found out something useful."
"There's a black market operating beneath the lower districts."
His eyes quietly narrowed afterward.
"We head there first."
Meanwhile—
far above the lower city—
gigantic screens still displayed the image of the wanted Verilian spy.
BOUNTY — 30,000,000 GOLD
And somewhere within the massive city of Valorheim—
people had already begun hunting for them.
...
Soon—
after traveling deeper through the lower districts of Valorheim—
the atmosphere around them slowly changed.
The futuristic beauty of the upper city disappeared completely.
Broken neon signs flickered endlessly overhead while criminals, addicts, and mercenaries wandered through the rain-soaked streets.
Eventually—
Noctis stopped walking.
Before them stood a stale-looking building hidden between two collapsing structures.
An old wooden sign swung quietly above the entrance.
The place looked abandoned.
"This should be it."
Jasmine blinked while glancing at the building skeptically.
"…Are you sure?"
"Let's check inside."
Without hesitation—
Noctis pushed the door open.
CREAK—
The inside looked nothing like a black market.
Just a small empty bar.
Dim lights.
Cheap alcohol.
Old tables.
And standing behind the counter—
was a young man with dark hair and a lazy smirk on his face.
The moment they entered—
his eyes quietly observed them both.
Then casually—
he spoke.
"What can I get you two?"
Silence.
Noctis calmly stepped forward.
Then slowly—
he revealed a small black emblem stained with dried blood.
"I carry the mark of the Midnight."
The bartender blinked once.
His eyes quietly locked onto the emblem.
Then—
his smirk slowly widened.
"…I see."
The atmosphere instantly changed afterward.
Without another word—
the bartender pressed something beneath the counter.
RUMBLE—
A hidden passage suddenly opened behind him.
Jasmine's eyes widened slightly.
But she wisely chose not to question anything.
Meanwhile—
the bartender simply leaned back lazily before speaking again.
"You may enter."
Noctis silently nodded before walking toward the hidden passage.
Jasmine followed closely behind him.
And slowly—
both of them descended into the darkness beneath Valorheim.