Let's leave Barfoot's story for now and move on to someone else.
In Kortan, there's a secret hideout belonging to one of the gangs operating within the kingdom. A truck pulls into the hideout, loaded with a large shipment of stolen weapons. The gang's leader, Brak, appears and expresses how impressed he is with his men for successfully stealing all those weapons. Then, he asks if anyone followed them.
Of course, the gang members confidently say no. But we know that's not true.
A mercenary named Onaan had secretly hidden in the truck without anyone noticing. He steps out in front of the gang, drawing his black sword—crafted from a rare and powerful metal. Brak, the gang leader, is clearly annoyed that someone followed them, but he isn't afraid. After all, it's just one guy, and he isn't one of the Knights of Light, so surely he's no real threat... right?
Brak's men open fire with laser blasts, but Onaan deflects them all with his sword. Throughout the entire battle, Onaan remains silent and calm—he lets his actions speak for him. His face is hidden behind a mask.
One of the gang members fires a laser blast at Onaan's face. He dodges it, but a piece of his mask is chipped off. In response, Onaan swiftly kills the attacker, then takes down the rest of the gang and beheads Brak.
Later, Onaan visits Geto, the man who hired him to eliminate Brak and his men. Geto is impressed by Onaan's skills and hands him his payment.
Geto:
"Onaan, my friend. Your combat skills are incredible. I'd bet you could take down all the Knights of Light by yourself. But I have a proposal you might find interesting. Would you consider staying here and training my men to fight like you? I'll pay you even more than I did for this mission."
Onaan (calmly):
"I don't like sharing my skills with others."
Geto:
"Well then, at least tell us a little about your sword. What metal is it made from? I've never seen anything like it in all of Kortan."
Onaan:
"It's better if you don't know."
Onaan then heads to a grocery store to buy some pizza and drinks. The shopkeeper tries to lighten the mood with a few jokes to make Onaan smile—but Onaan doesn't even flinch. He's not one to fake politeness, and honestly, the jokes weren't that funny anyway.
Onaan returns home and begins eating the pizza. It tastes good, but he can't enjoy it—his depression is too heavy.
Despite being excellent at his job, Onaan hates it. He doesn't enjoy making money by cutting off people's heads. He once dreamed of becoming a doctor… but he failed. And now he does the exact opposite of a doctor—he kills people instead of saving them.
He goes to sleep.
Sleep is Onaan's favorite part of life—it's the only time he can escape his miserable existence, his guilt, and find some peace...
But the peace lasts barely an hour.
His home is suddenly attacked by a gang led by Max, Brak's brother, seeking revenge for his sibling's death. Max had tracked Onaan by using a dog to follow the scent from the broken piece of his mask.
Onaan's sword is far from him, so he's forced to fight without it. Luckily, his hand-to-hand combat skills are just as deadly as his swordsmanship. The gang opens fire, but Onaan dodges the blasts, tackles one of them to the ground, grabs his blaster, and takes out the rest.
Max finds Onaan's sword and tries to wield it—but it's too heavy for him. Frustrated by his failure, Max curses Onaan:
Max:
"Damn you, you son of a bitch!"
Onaan's expression turns furious. He charges at Max with a fierce rage:
Onaan (angrily):
"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that. You didn't know her. You have no idea how good my life was with her in it."
Onaan beats Max brutally. In a desperate last move, Max pulls out a grenade. Onaan quickly escapes just before it explodes.
Though he survives, his home is destroyed in the blast. He's lost everything—all because he forgot one tiny piece of his mask...
Onaan (thinking):
"Oh great. As if my life wasn't miserable enough—now I'm homeless too. I guess I deserve this. I never should've killed Max's brother. I never should've taken Geto's job to begin with. And I left behind evidence. Damn it… how could I be so stupid? What do I do now—sleep in the garbage? Is this really what I've been reduced to?"
Onaan lies down in a pile of garbage. He has no other option.
And then… he begins to dream. His favorite dream—his life before becoming a mercenary.
Now seems like the perfect time to tell the origin story of this broken young man…