The service for Rynn had recently finished. Vell stood at a distance from the other people attending.
Rynn had been his friend since their childhood. They had constructed play forts in the wooded area behind their houses and had told each other secrets. Now, he was dead.
A person touched Vell's shoulder. He turned and recognized his cousin. Her face looked pale. Before she could say anything, another person spoke in a louder and sharper voice that interrupted the quiet gathering.
"That's him. That's Vell. He's the one who killed Rynn."
Many people turned their heads to look at Vell. Whispers began among them, starting quietly and then becoming louder. Vell looked toward the person who had spoken. This person was a distant relative whose name he did not clearly remember.
Officers, who were already positioned at the perimeter of the gathering, started to walk in his direction.
His hands began to shake. He started to speak, saying, "What? No. I didn't…" but he did not finish his sentence.
Kana moved backward, creating distance from him. She avoided looking at his eyes.
The officers escorted him from the funeral. One of them, a man with a stern expression, informed him that he was being taken in for questioning regarding Rynn's death.
He did not resist. He was placed in a vehicle and driven to the city's main security building.
The days that followed involved him being in plain, undecorated rooms where he was subjected to accusations. The city where he had lived his entire life seemed to oppose him. He saw news headlines on public screens, such as "Friend Betrays Friend" and "Monster in Our Midst."
His own aunt and uncle, who were Kana's parents, informed him that he was not permitted in their home any longer. Their faces showed serious expressions when they delivered this news.
Other members of his family stopped responding to his attempts to contact them.
The trial process was not lengthy. The evidence presented against him was based on circumstances rather than direct proof, yet Kana's testimony was the deciding factor in the outcome.
He remembered standing in the courtroom and watching her as she gave her testimony. She cried while on the witness stand.
"I saw him," she had said. Her voice trembled as she spoke, but her finger pointed directly at Vell.
She continued, "He was there." She then hesitated before stating, "He killed Rynn."
Her words had a significant negative impact on him. He could not find a reason why she would tell a lie, or why she would act to damage the close relationship they had maintained since they were children, a time when they had depended on each other because their own parents were often not attentive to their needs.
He did not receive a prison sentence. Instead, a formal document was delivered to him. The document stated that he was expelled from the city's territory, and this expulsion was to take effect immediately.
He was also instructed never to return. He found this specific outcome to be unusual. However, at that time, the emotional impact of Kana's betrayal and the collective condemnation from the city's inhabitants prevented him from thinking logically about the comparative mildness of the punishment.
An officer accompanied him to the boundary line of the city. The officer remained silent and maintained a serious demeanor, watching him until he became a distant figure walking on the dusty road that led away from the city.
---
Several months went by. Vell moved between the outskirts of different towns, and he did not remain in any single location for an extended period. His clothes, which had once been in good condition, were now worn out and had tears.
His hair had grown long and was unkempt, often falling across his face and partially hiding his features. He found shelter by sleeping in the doorways of abandoned buildings or under bridges when such places were available.
The typical sounds of a city were usually a low, distant noise from his temporary locations, and he frequently experienced the sensation of hunger.
One evening, he was sitting in an alley located behind a bakery. The faint smell of bread from the bakery was noticeable. Earlier in the day, he had attempted to purchase a loaf of bread that was a day old.
However, the baker's wife had looked at him, her eyes widened briefly, and then she had shaken her head and quickly attended to another customer. This type of reaction was frequent. People often moved to the other side of the street when they observed him approaching.
Mothers would hold their children more tightly and speak to them in low voices. No one verbally abused him, and no one threw objects at him. They simply avoided him. They kept a significant distance from him, which indicated their fear and suspicion.
He adjusted his body, attempting to find a more comfortable position against the cold brick wall. His stomach contracted due to hunger. He had developed an ability to disregard the feeling of hunger for considerable lengths of time, but it consistently returned.
A short distance away in the alley, the lid of a waste bin was not fully closed. His joints felt stiff as he stood up and walked towards it. He lifted the lid carefully and looked inside. Among used coffee grounds and vegetable scraps, he located a half-eaten sandwich that was wrapped in paper.
The bread was hard, and the contents of the sandwich were not identifiable in the low light. He unwrapped it with care and started to eat. It was a small amount of food, but it provided some sustenance.
While he was eating, he heard the sound of footsteps nearing the entrance of the alley. Two men walked past, and their voices indicated they were engaged in an animated conversation.
"Can you believe it? He's level 50 already. That new Player, 'Runza,' completed the rank 5 dungeon by himself."
"Are you serious? I heard the rewards from that location are very valuable. I wish I had an awakening."
The voices became fainter as the men moved away. They were discussing Players. These individuals were regarded as new heroes and celebrities. They were people who had acquired special abilities after the first Zones and Dungeons appeared in various locations around the world.
These Players fought against monsters and increased their power. Vell listened to their conversation but did not feel envious. Their world seemed very different from his own.
A sudden, very loud crashing sound came from a nearby street. The ground under his worn shoes moved slightly. This was followed by screams that were high-pitched and sounded panicked.
Red lights started to flash from the public announcement screens that were attached to buildings in the vicinity. A synthesized voice announced a message: [Warning: An E-rank monster has escaped its master's control. Evacuate designated zones. Player assistance is on route.]
The usual background noise of the city was replaced by the sounds of panicked shouting and people running. Vell stayed in the alley and finished eating the last part of the stale sandwich.
"Monsters," he said quietly to himself. He felt an unusual sense of calm.
He pushed himself up from the wall and walked slowly in the direction of the commotion. He did not run. He moved through the side streets, which were now becoming empty, and he was a solitary figure moving against the direction of the people who were fleeing.
He arrived at a wider street. The scene was chaotic, with vehicles overturned, shop windows broken, and, in the middle of it all, a large, unusually formed beast. The beast was large and covered in matted, dark red fur; it possessed claws that were the length of his forearm and multiple rows of teeth that were sharp and thin.
It was positioned over something on the ground. Red stains, which appeared to be blood, were visible on its fur and on the pavement surrounding it.
He stopped walking.
He was aware that he should probably feel fear, and he knew that he should run away. But his legs did not move.
He thought, 'Why did I come to this place?' He felt a slight curiosity combined with a strong sense of tiredness. He did not have a weapon or any special power. If his life were to end at that moment, it did not seem to be of great importance to him.
The monster raised its head, and its snout was red with what appeared to be blood. Its small, black eyes focused on him. A low growl came from its chest, the sound was audible in the street. It took one step, then another, and then it charged towards him.
The distance between them decreased rapidly. He did not move though. He watched it approach.
Just before the creature was about to reach him, something moved very quickly past his side. A very loud sound occurred as this blur struck the monster. The beast was thrown to the side, moved across the asphalt surface, and collided with the side of a damaged delivery truck.
Vell blinked his eyes; his mind was slowly registering what had just happened.
A figure moved into his field of vision, placing herself between him and the monster, which was now on the ground. She wore dark armor. The armor did not reflect the emergency lights brightly, and in her hand, she held a weapon that emitted a faint light.
She turned her head slightly, and he saw her profile.
"Kana…" he said. The name came from his lips as a quiet, dry sound.
She then looked directly at him. Her eyes, which he recognized as the same eyes that had looked at him when she condemned him, widened, showing shock. He thought he observed another emotion in them as well. It could have been guilt, but her expression changed quickly to a different one.
"Vell?" Her voice sounded strained, and it was different from the confident way she held her weapon. "What… what are you doing here? You should not be…"
She glanced away from him for a moment, looking towards the monster, which was beginning to move, then her gaze returned to him, and her jaw muscles tightened. "This area is dangerous. You need to get to a safe place."
He remained standing in the same spot. His dirty, torn clothes and his thin, unshaven face likely presented a significant difference when compared to her appearance as a warrior.
"And where should I go, Kana?" he asked. His voice was quiet and showed little emotion.
She made a small, quick movement that might have been a flinch. She opened her mouth as if she was about to speak, but the monster made a loud roar and started to push itself up from the ground.
"Dammit," she muttered. Her attention returned to the immediate threat. "Just—stay out of my way." She turned and moved toward the beast with a speed and agility that he had not seen in her previously.
He watched her engage in combat. Her movements were smooth and strong, and her glowing weapon appeared as a streak of light in the dimly lit street. She was a Player and a warrior. This current version of her was very different from the cousin he remembered, the girl who had cried while pointing at him in the courtroom.
He noticed an expression that suggested guilt in the way she held her shoulders when she seemed to think he was not looking, but that expression was now covered by a display of firm resolve.
When the monster was finally defeated, its body broke apart into black particles. Kana stood for a moment, breathing heavily. She then looked around the street.
But Vell had already left. He had moved into the shadows of a narrow side street while her attention was focused on the creature. He did not know why he departed, only that he felt unable to confront her at that particular moment.
---
He walked without a specific destination. The effects of the adrenaline from the encounter gradually diminished, and he felt even more empty than before.
He eventually found himself in a section of the town that had sustained significant damage from a previous monster-related incident. There were blocks of destroyed buildings and lots covered in debris.
He looked for protection from the cold night air inside the remains of a collapsed shop.
As he moved deeper into the dark interior, his foot made contact with an object. It produced a soft, metallic sound. He bent down to investigate. Lying among the rubble was a cylindrical object.
It was approximately the length of his forearm and was made of a metal that was gold in color. Faint symbols on its surface emitted a soft, internal light. The object also produced a faint humming sound.
"What is this object?" he muttered. He felt a strong inclination to investigate it further. This feeling of curiosity temporarily overcame his general lack_of_interest in things.
He extended his hand, and his fingers paused just above the cool surface of the metal. A part of him suggested that he should leave it and walk away, but another, more significant part of him, which felt it had nothing remaining to lose, prompted him to proceed.
His fingertips touched the surface of the object. A strong energy was suddenly released from the tube. This energy forced him backward, and he collided with a deteriorating wall. He made a sound of pain when his head struck the concrete.
The glowing symbols on the tube appeared to rise from its surface. They moved in the air in a swirling pattern before quickly moving towards him. They made contact with his skin, and he felt a strong sensation of heat as they seemed to enter his body.
He experienced a level of pain that was new to him. This pain affected his entire body. He fell to the ground, and his muscles contracted repeatedly without his control. A dark, thick liquid appeared to come out from his skin, forming a pool around him.
He gasped for air, and his vision started to become unclear.
He heard a calm voice that did not seem to come from a physical source. The voice communicated directly into his thoughts:
[First stage complete. ]
[Results are satisfactory.]
[Activating beast forge...]
The intense pain started to lessen, leaving him trembling and physically weak, but he also felt physically lighter in a way he had not before. He slowly pushed himself up, first to his knees, and then to his feet.
He looked at his hands. The dirt was still present, but the skin underneath felt different, somehow cleaner. He clenched his fists. He felt an unfamiliar sensation of warmth in his limbs. This sensation was accompanied by a feeling of new, potential strength.
"What…was that?" he whispered, his voice sounding hoarse.
He looked down at the spot where the golden tube had been, but it was no longer there. He looked at his hands again, then he looked out at the ruined cityscape.
For the first time in many months, he experienced a feeling that was different from despair. It was not yet hope, but it was a tentative awareness that a significant change had definitely occurred..