"I'm not a teacher," Fade said.

This made Halo wonder what he would have done if he indeed were a teacher.

Halo could barely stand after the waterfall. Mere breathing crashed his lungs. But Fade ordered him to walk. And somehow… he was beginning to like it.

He'd known torture in his past life, but nothing this vicious. Yet the realization was dawning: harsh training from people like Light and Fade produced results.

But that didn't justify the abuse.

Fade gave him barely any rest before locking him in a room at Mill's for days. Something like bone-eating mist filled the space. Starvation nearly killed him, but worse was the constant focus required, and controlling his breath, channeling his regenerative energy, just to survive the mist.

And Fade never explained how. Just cryptic words: this would reforge him, help him shed his past-world identity. That was it.

Now, he stood in a flowing river, performing martial katas. The challenge: go days without falling. He had to learn balance under pressure to achieve harmony between his body and the natural world.

"I didn't expect you to last this long. Honestly, I thought you'd collapse on your first day."

Halo yawned.

"I am half dead, can't you see?"

Fade sat cross-legged by the riverside, carefully examining Halo's movements.

"No, I'm not joking. Your movements are far too clean for someone only midway through this regimen. Milton took three months to get here. So tell me… what kind of life did you live?"

Halo sighed. "I am a pro…"

He knew Fade was forging discipline into him, something he'd never learned in his past life, and he was still enjoying this training to some extent. He knew it would pay off. Still, he couldn't fully credit his results to his own desire.

"Well… for starters, when I was a kid, they dropped me deep in the forest and expected me to survive it. I think I was eleven. Maybe twelve. Honestly, I can't remember anymore."

Fade looked confused for a moment before nodding in understanding.

"Now I see it. You weren't trained to fight at all. You were forced to survive… and to make sure you always came out on top."

Close, but not quite. His training covered survival. That's it. How to actually win? He'd needed that, so he'd learned it himself for better efficiency and precision. He self-taught skills, because his mentor hadn't lived long enough to teach them. After two years of mentorship, Halo killed him.

"So… tell me about yourself. They claim you're as strong as a Forgotten Sinner. Is that really the case?"

Fade sighed.

"I told you not to lean too much into rumors."

Halo adjusted himself slightly mid-action and took a look at Fade.

"I'm not. I really want to know."

Fade gave his words a beat.

"Oh. Really?"

"…"

"Do you know why this region is called the Voiceless Region?"

"Why?"

"Here, nothing that happens holds weight with the gods. I've spent time in the Ashen Ages, completing some Purposes there, and let me tell you, the beings there, both Sinners and humans, make us feel like mere children."

Halo gave him another look.

"What are you talking about? We have the twelve legends, and probably more in other castles too. And the Sinners here? They're strong. Your Crawlers alone are terrifying enough."

Fade sneered.

"Stop being naive."

"Are you as strong as a Forgotten Sinner?" Halo asked.

"Tsk…"

Halo understood the setup. He'd never reached the Ashen Ages in-game, but he knew they were different somehow. The people there were settlers from this region, survivors who'd made the crossing. Still, he suspected Fade was just being modest.

"You let her kill you… because you were bored of life, and because you knew death wouldn't stick. Is that right?"

Fade gazed at him with a sarcastic look.

"Good theory, kid. Actually… I could use that to restore my reputation."

Halo's limbs were mostly numb. After enduring such intense training, a long rest would have been well-deserved. But he could still feel pain scattered throughout his body. He was far from being completely numb.

Halo was the type who learned better by knowing his teacher's worth.

An aspiring astronaut learning from Neil Armstrong would absorb everything. That validation, that proof of mastery, he craved it.

He would train his hardest regardless. He'd already seen what Fade could do. But those feats were secondhand knowledge, even from Mill. Once he heard Fade's story directly, he believed it would give him the determination to push through when he could no longer feel his limbs.

"That massive Crawler you took down before… how did you do it? Something that strong shouldn't fall without you even throwing a punch."

Fade gave Halo's words a brief silence, as though wondering if Halo was worth a response.

"It's not as powerful as you think. It wasn't even a fully formed Demonic Sinner. If their transformation isn't complete, killing them doesn't give you anything. And besides… I was its master. It submitted to me from the start."

Fade's words gave Halo some insight into the first Crawler he ever killed. He was confused to have not received any Sin Fragments for it. Now he understood why.

"How strong I am means nothing here. What matters is the strength you seek. Do you want enough power to claim your destiny, or just enough to endure this world?

You've been shaped by hardship before. The forest life proves that. This training is no different… it becomes whatever you forge it into."

The moment Fade spoke, he rose to his feet.

"That's enough questions. When you're done here, you'll be spending a few days sealed inside a cave."

Halo smiled.

Halo couldn't respect pursuing strength for its own sake. World conquest, titles, or being 'the strongest' were empty without deeper meaning. Power needed purpose beyond the thrill and vanity.

He wasn't sure what his strength would be for in the greater scheme of things. Right now, his mission was simply to gain enough power to join the hero's crew.

But this short life of his was already proving adventurous. He might discover a greater purpose beyond everything. He just needed to get as strong as he could.

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