"How were the academy days? Challenging, huh? Did you know the staff were actually there for their Purposes?"
Halo had devoured a loaf of bread with some dry porridge, and now satisfied, he could feel fatigue kick in.
But Noah simply couldn't stop talking, and Halo found himself engaging in the conversation more than he wanted to.
"People think being a Knight is hard, but it's simple. You protect and guard. Like me, my purpose won't end until this land's dust. Cool, huh?"
Noah wore a cheerful expression despite how tiresome his purpose sounded to Halo.
Noah claimed to have spent over twelve years in the Lost World, but this was just his second purpose, his first had been recovering the dark full armor he currently wore. Halo wasn't sure what exactly that meant, where did they come from? But to be fair, he barely cared.
None of these would matter if he died before his Purpose or never found the hero.
"A lot of Knights finished five purposes, some even less, and still became Assassin-ranked. Most just stayed Knights.
I don't think I'll make it that far. I might die on this one."
Halo shifted on the bench to face Noah. He didn't know much about ranks, but according to Noah, purposes were tied to them.
Just as Knights protect, all knight purposes involve protection and guard work. This pattern held across every rank, with each new purpose becoming progressively harder.
The explanations were useful, but Halo had other priorities. He needed to find the hero. The problem was, he didn't know how. He knew the surname, Asterion, but the game only ever called him "the hero." Nothing more.
How could he find someone with only their surname and a generic title?
He sighed. He had no choice but to identify him by looks.
"Silent Hill… what do you know about it?" Halo's blue eyes traced Noah's dark ones.
Noah frowned, and his eyes narrowed.
"Silent Hill?… don't tell me that's where your purpose sent you."
Halo was taken aback by Noah's sudden change in demeanor, his expression mimicking his confused thoughts.
Noah took an observant look at Halo.
Halo scowled.
From the expression on Noah, it was as though he was disgusted by the idea of Halo searching for the Silent Hill. But Halo didn't let his chaotic thoughts get the best of him. He waited.
"You don't even have a weapon! How can you face the Dark Saint like this?"
Halo's eyes narrowed slightly. The Dark Saint? Who was that?
Noah's expression grew more confused after a glance at Halo, but his eyes widened moments later in realization.
"Ah. I suppose you don't know her, since you've only just left the academy."
Halo had anticipated that, unlike him, many notorious individuals would spread their titles everywhere to lure in their nemesis since the system only gave them the titles of their nemesis.
He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Dark Saint was one of them.
"The Dark Saint… she's feared throughout this part of the Voiceless Region. No one knows her true rank. All we know is that last year, fresh from the academy, she slaughtered her nemesis and vanished into Silent Hill."
Halo gulped, sweat forming on his brow.
She had already killed her nemesis? Was she associated with the hero?
Despite Halo's terrified state, he understood the Dark Saint's perspective to some degree.
Though he hadn't yet received his own nemesis, he'd welcome knowing their identity and facing them sooner rather than later. That way, he wouldn't have to stress over how strong they might be.
But to make a name for themselves so early? They had to be something dreadful. Even the game didn't allow that.
Yet Noah's words raised an uncomfortable question in Halo's mind. What business did Noah have knowing so much about a figure that notorious?
"Do you know her?" Halo asked, his eyes squinting with suspicion.
Noah remained silent for a moment, rose to his feet, and began taking Halo plates from before him.
"It was around this time last year she came here… the Dark Saint. Same as you, chasing Silent Hill. Maybe that hill calls for all Awakened." Noah gave his words a beat.
Halo couldn't help but theorize. What if Dark Saint had gotten a fate similar to his? Someone who understood the game from a distant world.
He couldn't dwell much on his thoughts before Noah spoke.
"I never truly wanted any of this… and if I'm being honest, I hate every single one of you."
Halo's expression grew lazy.
Noah hadn't given him Silent Hill's location yet, and from the sound of it, he was preparing to dismiss him entirely.
"The moment I told her where Silent Hill was, right outside my door… she turned, walked to my best friend, stabbed him without hesitation, and then… she revealed her title."
He clenched his fist tightly as it trembled.
"He was an Assassin… an Assassin. My only friend for seven years. To see him die so casually, it was unbearable, insulting."
He slammed his fist into a table. "I… I swore I'd never show mercy again, and yet…" He let out a ragged breath. "Yet this wretched Flaw of mine won't let me."
Halo gulped.
He felt sorry for Noah, though he still hoped he'd reveal Silent Hill's location. Noah's Flaw of duty most likely compelled him to help anyone.
When they'd first met a few hours ago, Noah had said he wouldn't hurt Halo. He wasn't lying. Duty bound him to his rank's principle, protect and guard.
'Such a cruel fate. Duty shackles us all, but this poor man wears it as his skin. He's better off dead.'
Despite Halo's understanding thoughts, he bore a disinterested look.
Noah sighed. "That wasn't all. She slaughtered more than a dozen people, just because they dared to visit Silent Hill."
Halo shrugged.
"Why does it matter? If she kills me, so be it. If I fail my purpose, I die anyway."
Noah met Halo's words with silence, standing still and lost in thought.
After a moment, he walked over and ruffled Halo's dirty-white hair, but Halo remained completely unmoved, as if the gesture wasn't meant for him.
"How about this, I'll find you a better cloth and a weapon to take on the Dark Saint… but you'll owe me a favor in return."
Halo's mind immediately raced. If he hadn't mentioned Silent Hill, he was certain Noah wouldn't have made this request. But what would he have to do in return?
"What would that be?"
Noah's dimmed expression shifted into a dark grin.
"I want you to kill someone for me."
Halo scowled. 'What the fuck?'