***
[ You've received a purpose:
Amidst the triad of dreadful lands, Rascal, Inferno Moist, and Mirror Steppe, stands the Galactic Castle, known as the Changing Malicious Solemn. Within its shifting walls linger legends, memories, and forsaken souls the gods could not bear to erase. To guard it is to stand between decay and eternity, until Rascal Land meets its end. ]
***
Halo gulped and adjusted himself on the floor. His eyes shook frantically as they traced every word on the bronze screen before him.
"What? The Galactic Castle? The gods indeed hate you."
Dark Saint's voice echoed in Halo's mind before she followed it up with energetic laughter.
Halo's face began twitching in annoyance as he stared at Saint's tree.
He wasn't particularly irritated by Saint's laughter but by the fact that she knew something yet was holding it back.
It had been exactly four days since Halo finished his first purpose, and though he had expected his next purpose much earlier, having to wait this long wasn't a great deal either.
He had managed to fight two Toddler Sinners in this time period, and though he fought them with much more ease than he ever had before, he still didn't manage to obtain a single Sin Shard from either of them.
To receive a Knight-ranked purpose as an Awakened was uncalled for. It was suicide.
"You've not had it worse, D. Do you know what happens when your Sin Fragments run out at a certain rank? You downgrade! Imagine finally becoming an Assassin, only to drop back to Knight. Murder. Absolute suicide."
Halo's lips curled into a sneer. Despite Dark Saint's teasing, she had been extremely helpful over the past days. In fact, she had always been helpful ever since Halo met her.
He learned something important about this world from Saint.
Just as he had seen Noah and the characters in the game act, pressing their palms gently against each other as though giving a handshake, though a glance was enough to tell that wasn't the case.
That's how monetary transactions were made in this world. Sharing Sin Fragments!
He had only six! What would he downgrade to?
"I once dreamed of owning a castle… but dreams don't wait forever, do they?"
Halo glanced in Saint's direction. He felt the weight of her words, each beat and hidden emotion.
Though she was keen on their preparation to turn her into Halo's clone, the weight still had its way of seeping through. It had been like this all week.
"There are no nations here. No cities. No real societies. Only castles ruled by higher beings, safe zones under the strong, and estates guarded by Knights and Assassins. That's the order of this world. And I… I wanted the top. A castle."
Halo smiled.
"You know you can still own a castle after you become my clone, right?"
"To be rich is to be the strongest in this world. I am none."
Halo raised a skeptical eyebrow, yet Dark Saint met him with silence until she finally spoke.
"Mirror Steppe is a safe zone. Thousands live there. From here, if you travel on foot, it might take you nearly a week, assuming you don't run into any Sinners. There are wagons though, and you'll find a narrow road not far from here… ha. But you'll have to pay in Sin Fragments."
Halo began massaging his forehead. Everything within this world ran on Sin Fragments, from strength to meals, and yet he only had six of them.
However, that wasn't something he could do much about except slay Sinners and claim their Sin Fragments, so his concern lay elsewhere. If the Safe Zones had thousands of people living within them, did that mean they were fleeing from their purposes? Or perhaps it was their purpose to live a normal life, just like game?
"Normal life? Hardly. Street sellers, pickpockets, most are just doing what they must to fulfill their purpose. The rest are just trying to escape this world's cruelty."
This gave Halo a different perspective on this world. The gods' control extended beyond what he had originally imagined. At this point, there might have been humans born and raised in this world. What would happen to them?
He shrugged it off. Other matters needed his attention. The Galactic Castle.
Halo rose to his feet.
"What do you know about it? You need me alive as much as I do. Don't hide anything."
Saint gnawed annoyingly.
"I know only one legend about the Changing Malicious Solemn. Kysa, the strongest knight who ever lived, made that castle her home. They say she butchered Sinners, humans, even an army of Crawlers… yet never rose to Assassin. Some even say she's still in there, waiting."
Halo scowled, and his skin crawled. An army of crawlers? He had yet to see a Crawler beyond the Toddler he had slain, but a Knight handling an army of Crawlers spoke volumes. Kysa was no Knight.
"You don't really believe that… do you?"
Halo asked, his uneasiness becoming too intense to control.
"This world doesn't bother with conspiracies. If it's true, then maybe the system forced a wish on her… but she'd already grown past being a Knight."
Halo's uneasiness settled a little after Saint spoke. Perhaps he had been just too paranoid. It could be the purpose, he was an Awakened receiving a Knight-ranked purpose, after all. Kysa could be facing a similar fate.
But regardless of what his thoughts were, he knew he couldn't refuse a purpose. Failure would lead to his demise, and being reluctant too wasn't a luxury he could afford. This wasn't the right time to enrage the gods. He couldn't even buy bread with his rank.
With a heavy sigh, he began gathering his supplies into his sack, preparing to leave for his second purpose.
"What are you doing? Leaving for where?"
Halo turned to the trunk of the tree, he couldn't see Saint, but he was certain she was slapping her forehead in disbelief.
"Sinners grow stronger at night. Look at the sky, it's already darkening. Haa… you might still catch a wagon, but it'll be late. Wait till morning. Most drivers do. Fewer nights on the road means fewer chances to die out there."
Halo had to hold his breath to prevent himself from voicing his dirty thoughts, but he was certain Dark Saint had already picked them up. Calm and gentle, he began laying his things back down.
It was just a night. How long could it be? He just had to make sure he didn't strike a nerve.