Faust left his meal unfinished and went to open the door. The person standing there was none other than one of his brothers—Klint Eternal.The moment Faust opened the door, he started yelling — asking why Klint was wandering around the village at such an hour, why he was never where he was supposed to be, his voice echoing with irritation.
But it didn't feel like Faust was the only one with something to say.It was as if Klint, too, had a few words that had been boiling inside him for a while.
Klint clenched his teeth, furrowed his brows, let out a sharp breath through his nose, then steadied himself — his tone cold, controlled.
"I'm sick of your excuses. You know what's been happening lately, yet you still roam the streets like a damn stray dog.Are you even aware of what's going on in Corehold?"
Faust placed a finger under his chin, tilting his head to the side like a girl pretending to think.
"Hmmmm— ah, wait a sec... it's coming to me— no."
As they walked through the cracked, dusty half-dirt roads of the village, Klint's patience finally broke.Apparently, joking around at that hour wasn't the best idea — he began hurling insults and throwing punches: to Faust's face, his stomach, his shoulder — each hit accompanied by another curse.
It seemed like it was over... until Klint pulled back, twisted his shoulder and arm for momentum — and delivered one of the most devastating hits of the century straight into Faust's balls.
Faust... just stopped.He didn't scream. He didn't double over in pain.He simply stood there, silent — and when the full moon rose, illuminating the road, his face finally showed it.
He couldn't scream. He didn't cry.His eyes trembled, his lips quivered — he bit down hard, trying to swallow the pain.
"You bastard!? You— you— ah, goddammit, it hurts! You little shit! When we get back to Corehold, I swear I'll hang you from the ceiling by your balls!"
Klint quickly covered Faust's mouth, warning him to keep quiet. His shouting had echoed down the whole path — even when Klint's hand was already on him, the echo still lingered.
He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and tried to rest a hand on Faust's shoulder — but the height difference made it awkward.So instead, he pulled out a cigarette pack, took two, one for himself and one for Faust.
Faust's eyes went wide.
"I told you all not to sm—"
Before he could finish, Klint shoved the cigarette between his lips, lit both with a flick of his lighter, and took a deep drag, exhaling through his nose.As they kept walking, he spoke again:
"We both know everyone smokes behind the rules anyway. No point arguing about it.Let me just get to the point before we waste any more time.The news— isn't good."