Somewhere in that deserted wasteland of collapsed buildings that reeked of battle, the Shadow of Death knelt, drenched in bruises and blood, looking near death.

Before him stood Kysa, her stomach slit open, intestines spilling out grotesquely. Yet she clutched the wound with a burning desire to live.

Behind them all stood the woman in black with the cracked-looking mask traced with golden streaks, standing atop a partially collapsed building, her hands folded across her chest, observing.

"If this was enough to kill me, I wouldn't have survived half my life."

Kysa began to laugh.

Halo heard her alright, but at this moment, he was only praying his Only Sin, Death, would reincarnate him again when he died. If cutting her gut in two didn't work, then he didn't know what would.

"I must admit, Fade was right about you. I finally understand."

Even through her injuries, Kysa kept her composure. She turned to Saint and motioned toward the distance.

"Some supplies are over there. Bring them here."

Saint was hesitant for a moment but attended to it and brought them to her.

Once she retreated, Kysa produced two potions: one red, one blue. The red was identical to Halo's own, though he was too exhausted to notice.

"Give him this, and he will be okay."

She tossed the blue potion to Saint. Saint's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but after analyzing it, she quickly brought it to Halo.

The moment Saint forced him to gulp it down, Halo felt something.

He clutched his gut. "Ouch, that hurts."

It was subtle, but he felt his body slowly growing stronger. Strong enough to stop him from dozing off, which meant confronting all the pent-up pain in his body.

Taking in Kysa's condition, he nearly threw up. He'd done this to her, and yet the sight still sickened him.

Kysa dropped to her knees.

Halo frowned.

Wasn't she supposed to kill him? What was happening?

Kysa grabbed the red potion.

"I was going to give you this once you were near death."

Halo studied the potion and remembered where he'd seen it before. After Mika's torture left him too exhausted to move, his clone Light had given him something similar. It provided an adrenaline boost for several minutes before wearing off.

"It was supposed to give you the energy to kill me. Then you'd revive me, and I'd reward you with the blue one. But I guess that plan fell apart, didn't it?"

She smiled awkwardly, but Halo's confusion only surged.

"Huh? What do you mean? You want me to turn you into my clone?"

She nodded politely.

"Whatever you think a clone is, forget it. My clones don't breathe. They don't taste or smell. They barely feel anything at all. And the Sin Fragments needed for that… you couldn't even begin to imagine it."

Her expression darkened.

"I will get to have friends, right?"

Halo blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, I guess. If you're asking whether you'll be alone—no. You won't."

She wore a bitter smile.

"Then relax. I am Kysa, the Eternal Giant. For me, collecting Sin Fragments is nothing. I can bring you as many as you want."

Halo thought about it for a moment.

He grinned.

What was he thinking? Kysa was an army on her own. She could crush him, make him a Lost Lord overnight.

But wait, if she was going to die anyway, she could give him all her accumulated Sin Fragments. He would become a god!

"Okay. But you have to give me your Sin Fragments. All of them. Transfer them to me."

Saint closed in on them.

"Use your head… if she gives you every Sin Fragment she has, her power becomes nothing. The strongest Knight would collapse into an Awakened in an instant."

Halo's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh… true. Didn't think that far. But still, five thousand. You can cough up that much, yeah?"

Kysa shook her head in disapproval.

Halo frowned.

"Why so?"

She remained silent.

Halo locked eyes with Saint. She nodded, and that's when Halo understood. She'd probably made a Wish that prevented her from doing that.

He sighed and, through his agony, rose to his feet.

He managed to get near Kysa and rested his sword against her neck.

This wasn't a bad decision. Having someone as strong as Kysa would be a gift. But why? Why would she risk death just to make friends? Was it her Flaw's doing?

"Why even fight me if this was your plan from the beginning? It would've been far easier this way."

She looked at Halo. For someone with her insides spilling out, dying, there was no emotion in her eyes. She didn't seem to have any regrets at all.

"I am an honored Knight. I don't offer my service without reason. Fade advised me to test you, to see if you are someone I can follow."

She smiled.

"Anyone else would have run. But you… you lived up to the title of Fade's disciple. Despite everything against you, you still left me with a mortal wound. Strength like yours is scarce in this world. You are someone I would be honored to serve."

The praise nearly got to his head, but he understood. He would have done the same if he were in her shoes, though he doubted he'd want to die.

Halo smiled, and with one swing, Kysa's head rolled across the ground.

He wiped his brow in relief.

***

[ Congratulations! You've slain a Knight. ]

[ You've received a Sin Fragment: Depression. 5489/ 10000 ]

[ Your raw power has increased. ]

***

Halo smirked.

He finally understood why Kysa needed friends so desperately. With a Flaw like that, no wonder she hated people getting close.

However, amidst his thoughts, Dark Saint spoke.

"I think you should keep people in the dark about your ability."

Her tone was commanding and raw.

Halo frowned.

"People would line up to be recreated by you if they knew how it works. A body that can't die easily, a life without the world's limitations. But beneath all that power, you and I know the truth, you lose yourself with every clone you make."

Halo smiled.

She wasn't wrong. In fact, he could tell she cared deeply about his well-being.

"Okay. I will have to lie about how it works then."

The moment he spoke, he turned to Kysa's corpse.

"Wait, does this make me the strongest Knight? I mean, I just killed Kysa."

Dark Saint rested against a wall.

"She practically offered her neck. She didn't even fight for real. Tsk."

Halo turned to Saint.

"Wait, you sound very jealous right now."

"Tsk…"

Halo's expression turned deadpan once more.

***

[ Would you like to summon the fallen as a clone? ]

Price: 100 Sin Fragments

| Yes | No |

***

Halo gulped.

A hundred?

He closed his eyes and exhaled.

'Be a man, Halo!'

He exhaled once more.

'Yes.'

A shadow circled the floor, and suddenly a powerful wind kicked up. Halo searched desperately for something to hold onto, his body too weak to withstand the force.

A figure emerged from the swirling darkness, with red hair with a streak of white, born from shadow itself. It perfectly replicated Kysa's body from before her death, down to the star scar on her torso, which now glowed white like her eyes.

She hung suspended in the air, as though waiting for the entire land to bow in her presence. When she finally landed, the overwhelming force stopped.

She began glancing at her body.

"Wow, I don't feel anything, but I like it. And what are these stats? Humanity: tier-4 and Growth: tier-4."

Halo emerged from hiding the moment Kysa's voice sounded in his mind.

"You started at tier-4? That's new. Saint's humanity was tier-3."

Dark Saint approached.

"I believe she ranks a tier lower due to the amount of Sin Fragments she gathered over her life."

Kysa looked very confused.

"What are the tiers? What happens if I get to tier 3 or even 1?"

Halo shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't ask meq. I'd have to spend Sin Fragments to check, and I'm not throwing them away. You'll learn what each rank does after you reach it."

Kysa's eyes narrowed.

"What's with this obsession with Sin Fragments? You'll wish you never had them someday, you know?"

Halo remained silent. It didn't matter at the moment. He needed power, whatever form it took.

But really, it went deeper than that. He knew that if he checked the evolution status and discovered even the highest tiers couldn't restore Saint's humanity, even slightly, he'd be devastated.

While Halo struggled to walk, Saint began conversing with Kysa.

"Your telepathy only works on Halo and us clones. I just hope we're enough to keep you from dying of boredom."

Kysa moved to the corpse and stripped it, taking the clothes for herself.

"Then how do you communicate with everyone else? You talked perfectly well when I was human."

Saint gestured positively.

"That's because of my True Ability."

Kysa and Saint got along better than Halo had expected. Two of Voiceless's most notorious warriors were now his clones.

But something else demanded his attention. He still had to find Noah, that duty-bound tyrant, and kill him.

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