Sometime later…

Halo woke up to the constant and frustrating buzz of laughter and silly jokes. Typical of his clones.

He stared at the wooden ceiling for a while, blinking as he tried to process how he was alive. He couldn't feel any pain in his body, not even the stench of blood. The only thing noticeable was the fatigue in his body. More concerning, he was with his crew.

Was he dreaming?

He lay there awkwardly for a minute or two before someone spoke.

"Are you going to rot there, or do you think we're some moss-covered bark? Tsk."

Halo's eyes grew heavy. He didn't need to think much. Light's words were enough to prove a point.

'Haaa. I'm alive, alright.'

He forced his rigid body upright, his stiff back cracking as he moved. The moment he saw them all, Saint, Kysa, and Light, he felt at ease. After all, he'd been surrounded by nothing but trees and living vines. Of course, there were those bald bastards, but he preferred the vines to them any day.

"Are you certain you're alive? You look like a corpse."

Kysa said, squinting her eyes to get a better glimpse at Halo.

But Halo was so damn confused. If he didn't get answers sooner rather than later, he doubted he'd even be able to concentrate on breathing.

"Kysa can explain it better."

Saint said, hugging her legs tightly as she sat on the floor. Her silver hair spread across her shoulders, nearly obscuring her face. She looked like an abandoned child.

"Oh, yes. I wouldn't mind."

Kysa hurried to explain everything that had happened to him and how he might have ended up on the Imitation Sea, then how they'd fought the golem to rescue him.

Knowing he had been fighting deities all this while was a relief to some extent. But most things weren't answered. As far as he could remember, he'd had at least three holes in him, and his vision had been red.

"Oh, about that. White healed you. She felt very compelled to do it for some reason."

Halo then understood. White's True Ability could be very helpful when needed. But all in all, he was very glad to be alive.

A smile of relief tugged on his lips. Now he could save his sister, Delilah.

However, the room met him with unexpected silence. It was awfully quiet for a while, both Kysa and Light seemed quiet too. Very unusual. Until Saint spoke.

"When we reached the Imitation Sea, only Kysa could find you. Why?"

Halo weighed his thoughts for a moment. His brain was fried. He couldn't even think. Maybe it was because he hadn't had a coherent thought in some time.

He shrugged.

"Because she's higher-ranked in Growth than all of us… or something else?"

Light's tone was skeptical.

Finally, Halo caught up.

When Kysa had explained everything to him, she said she was the only one who could sense his presence, and so she came for him. He didn't think about it then, but it was a mystery to him as well.

"Or she simply has a knack for that."

Halo looked more confused than any of them.

Kysa's expression darkened.

"I never had that ability. I didn't know you until not long ago, and your presence isn't anything remarkable. I guess it's because my Growth is Tier-4."

The moment she spoke, her expression sparked. Bizarre, but she'd been surprisingly cheerful for someone who had been depressed for decades.

"I want to see what I can do once I hit the lower ranks. It's interesting, sure, but my personal feelings aren't for sharing."

She wore a disgusted look.

Saint also rose to her feet.

"I want to know too. She's the new one here. It's unfair."

Both Light and Halo gave them a lazy look.

"But I don't care."

Halo gestured toward Light.

"Whatever he said…"

He finally agreed with Light on something. Neither of them cared who was what or who wasn't. They were of the same being after all.

"But we care! She keeps bragging about it nonstop. I can't get a moment of peace. She claims she's more special to you than I am."

Halo and Light exchanged a disappointed look and slapped their foreheads in disbelief.

"Why's that a problem? You are all special to me."

Dark Saint and Kysa frowned.

"That isn't helping."

"That's what people say when they don't want to hurt your feelings. Believe me, I'd know. I've lived for a hundred and twenty-three years."

Light burst into laughter.

"But you had no fri—

Kysa shut him up with a headbutt that changed the shape of his head. It could have killed anyone else.

Watching them act like that made Halo happy, silently. It reminded him what it meant to have people around, especially his own clones.

He'd never wanted to check these things because of his and Saint's feelings, and also, he didn't want to spend Sin Fragments. But now, at least, it could be their reward for saving him when he most definitely needed it.

***

[ Would you like to learn the lore behind your clones' growth and evolution? ]

Price: 3 Sin Fragments.

| Yes | No |

***

It was from a place of goodwill and understanding, but it still stung like hell. This pushed him way farther from being an Assassin, and he'd spent twenty-one Sin Fragments on his clones alone.

Very painful.

He sighed.

'Yes.'

[ Clones' Growth and Evolution Explained:

Every clone is bound by a growth tier, descending from Tier Nine to Tier One. The lower the tier, the greater the potential it carries. The stronger the clone gets, the lower it descends.

A clone's first tier is decided by what it was in life. One who could not cleave a sword begins at Tier Nine. One whose strength could level a city may begin at Tier Four. At Tier One lies the highest possible potential.

No tier is permanent. A clone may descend as it grows or ascend if the system demands it.

But tier is not power.

A clone's strength and depth are governed by its master. As the master grows, the pool from which all clones draw expands. What was once impossible becomes attainable.

Thus, a Tier Nine clone beneath a god may wield power once reserved for higher tiers. With that power comes connection—awareness of past, emotion, and truth—deepening as authority increases.

There is no final limit. Only the height the master reaches decides how far the clones may follow. ]

Halo frowned.

He read everything to the clones exactly as it was, but he hardly understood any of it.

"I get it. So I was able to sense you because of my rank."

Saint spoke up immediately, hurrying her words. It was as if she knew Halo was still lost.

"The lower the tier, the stronger the bond and the looser the limits. I'm Tier-6 in Growth, that's why I can't compare to what you have with Kysa at Tier-4. As you grow stronger, the person closest to you gains the most, physically and emotionally."

Halo immediately got a better understanding.

"So the tiers exist just to chase my favor. The lower your tier, the more you gain. Makes me feel far more important than I probably deserve. Neat."

Saint sighed in disappointment. But then Kysa began teasing her again, implying she was right about being closer to Halo than Saint was.

Halo and Light were lost in thought. Great minds think alike, but in this case, it was more like rusty minds overthinking everything.

Halo didn't understand why that was possible because his clones' failure and success were tied to him. But actually, Light was a great mind. He wasn't caught at such a low altitude at all.

"The description mentions ascending tiers if the system demands it. So… what does it actually demand?"

Halo shrugged. He would have known if he'd thought about it, but his mind had been fixated on the same thing moments ago.

"Simple. If Halo weakens, we weaken. If he somehow becomes an Awakened again, our strength drops in comparison."

Saint said, and Light nodded in understanding.

It was odd. They could level up, but only Halo determined what they'd gain from it. He controlled whether their growth pool expanded or remained constrained.

But Halo barely heard a thing. This time, though, he worried about something important. Was the description of his clones' humanity the same as their growth? If so, then he might be able to get Saint her humanity back. He'd just need to get stronger.

For the first time, he had hope and most likely to check his clones' humanity more than ever.

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