Halo was caught in a dilemma.
Before him lay more than a dozen bodies, blood pooling dark across the earth, the scene of complete devastation.
"You knew this… would happen, didn't you?"
What he prayed for came through, but even in the face of rejoicing, he couldn't show it. It was as though he had been devoid of that emotion.
The corpses belonged to the people he'd been traveling with, and nothing was left untouched. The wagon was dismantled, and it seemed the Sinner who attacked them had fled. But even amid the carnage, the towering man who'd guarded their wagon was still alive. Barely.
His body had been torn apart at the waist, his face deathly pale with blood seeping from his mouth.
But Halo knew what it looked like when faced with death, and the person before him was far from dying anytime soon. His eyes and senses were too energetic for a corpse.
"You are still young… I'm glad you didn't have to die pitifully like this."
Halo felt sorry for the man before him. Not because of his injuries but because of his state.
His injuries were severe, and probably from shock, his mind refused to register them. Halo hadn't been in a situation like this before, but he knew it would take a little while before the man drew his last breath. What worried him was how deeply witnessing this was affecting him too.
He sighed.
He had no reason to stay behind. They were still far from morning, and Sinners could approach them at any time. He needed to escape the scene.
But before he could take a step, the man spoke again:
"Don't be like that. I can't feel anything, not even my own life. Just kill me. Take my Sin Fragments and kill me."
Halo's eyes widened in realization with a soft smile forming on his lips.
That didn't cross his mind.
The man was dying anyway, so his Sin Fragments were useless to him, and considering Halo only had three Sin Fragments remaining, this was a great opportunity.
He turned to the man with sparkling eyes.
Halo's clone walked toward the man and adjusted him on the floor while Halo approached them before crouching down before him.
The man took a deep breath and exhaled, his eyes finally growing lazy, and yet there was no sign of agony in them.
"I don't have many Sin Fragments, but promise me this. I want you to remember me. That's all I ever wanted, to be remembered. Would you?"
Halo stared soullessly into the man's eyes. He didn't want to make any promises, after all, they barely knew each other. But Halo found himself leaning into the man's proposal.
This was a different life. The body count from before didn't carry over. Still, he couldn't forget his first kill. That one always stayed with you.
This man had taught him everything about patience and how time made all things possible. Yet ultimately, Halo had been forced to kill him to prove himself as an assassin. He never understood why he had to murder his own mentor. At twelve, he'd been too young to care about the reasons.
But this man was different. Unlike his previous kill, he knew nothing about this man, which made the decision hollow.
After staring into each other's souls for a moment, the man outstretched his hand toward Halo with a forced smile.
"It's fine… don't stretch it. We are nothing but strangers after all."
Halo said nothing but rather placed his hand into the man's to receive the Sin Fragments.
The moment their hands connected, the familiar bronze screen appeared.
***
[ You've received 26 Sin Fragments! ]
[ Congratulations! You've leveled up. You are now a Knight. ]
—
Sin Fragments: 29/ 10000
Dominant Skill: Reflexes.
Clones: 1 ]
***
Halo felt a cozy sensation surge through his body, forcing his body to twitch repeatedly from relief.
The man's smile instantly turned genuine the moment he realized Halo's eyes were tracing his status.
"By the way, my name is Light." The moment the words left him, he closed his eyes calmly, seemingly awaiting his death.
But his name took Halo aback. Strangely enough, his first kill in his previous life had also been called Light. Not a real name, in the underworld, everyone used aliases except Halo. He'd been the only one who kept his birth name.
Halo gave Light a warm smile, and without a moment's hesitation, he summoned his daggers, and barely a second later, the man's head was bouncing off the floor.
***
[ Congratulations! You've slain a Knight. ]
[ You've received a Sin Fragment: drive. 30/10000 ]
[ Your raw power has increased. ]
***
Halo rose to his knees with his face turning unreadable until it abruptly changed to an awkward smile following an intense stare from his clone.
He couldn't say why, but the look his clone gave him was loaded with meaning. Meaning he couldn't decipher.
The clone crouched on the floor and dipped its hand into blood before finally writing 'Light' across the soil.
Halo's confusion deepened for a moment, but the moment his clone locked eyes with him again, he understood what was happening.
"Do you want to be called Light?"
It gave only a firm nod, which made him smile.
He had no problem with it, considering the Light in his previous life gave him a very important phase about time and its essence, which he still uses to this day.
"Tempus est dominus. Time is the master."
Time could restore everything and rob them of everything too. This was the ideology that shaped his malevolent nature.
Both Lights were worth remembering, but even so, everything had its limits. He wouldn't hesitate to change the clone's name if it became necessary.
Time or not, this was his life.
***
Standing in the blood any longer was a risk they couldn't take. Soon they were headed for Mirror Steppe.
Halo was a Knight now, well-suited for his Purpose. He could easily afford wagon fare if another came along, but something else was bothering him.
He'd gotten the Sin Fragments and the strength they provided, but he wouldn't inherit any Flaws from them. Only whoever extracted the Fragments from the fallen bore that burden, meaning Light, not him. That part didn't concern him. What really troubled him was his new rank, Knight.
He'd never leveled up to Knight in the game, but he was certain Knights didn't need ten thousand Sin Fragments to advance. This was absurd. Not only was it different from the game, but this meant thousands of people and Sinners would have to fall by his hand.
His head was spinning in frustration, but still, he couldn't shake the feeling that this could make him strong enough to survive completely in this world.
His detached nature wasn't beyond reach.