***

[ You've received a purpose:

Since the dawn of time, StoneHaven has stood as the sanctuary of the gods' devoted servants. Now, as dark shadows gather once more, the charge falls to you: safeguard the land of StoneHaven from the threat that seeks to unmake it. ]

***

Halo's next Purpose arrived earlier than he expected. Actually, it just took three days, unlike the previous four days.

He had expected to receive it upon getting to Mirror Steppe to meet Liam and Seraph, but it arrived even before he could get into a wagon.

While he made his way to Mirror Steppe with his clones, Light and Tough, Dark Saint travelled elsewhere. She told Halo how to get to StoneHaven by catching a wagon at Mirror, then vanished, hoping to reappear whenever she learned something about Jihriel.

He, however, was rather calm about his new Purpose. Having protected the Galactic Castle and staved off Crawlers for nearly three months, he knew nothing could sting as much as that.

Based on Saint's knowledge about StoneHaven, it was a safe land full of riches, meaning stronger people lived there. This sounded like a vacation to him since he hadn't seen many go through much trouble to protect a safe land.

Now, he reluctantly leaned on the counter at Mill, the guardian of Mirror Steppe, with the shopkeeper behind it and Seraph and Liam standing beside him.

"My Purpose is to protect an Onyx Tree in the Gloom Forest. They mentioned I could get a wagon here to reach it."

Seraph said, adjusting herself.

"Mine still hasn't arrived… I don't get it. Last time, it only took three days."

Liam said with a saddened expression.

The instant he spoke, Halo began to understand there wasn't a fixed time for Purposes to be issued. He'd initially believed that since his first took four days and his second took three, the next would take even less. But judging from Liam's words, that wasn't the case. The previous one, it took them different days despite having the same Purpose.

"What about you, Halo?"

Halo's head snapped in Seraph's direction.

"Yeah, I am heading to the StoneHaven…"

The moment he spoke, Mill spoke up with a nostalgic tone.

"StoneHaven? Wow… it's been a while. Tch… nothing beats their meals, especially the one at Never Again Inn."

He began snapping his fingers, scanning through his mind.

"Hmm… what was his name? Ah, Silas! That's it. The guy's quite the chef, that one."

Halo stared at him, confused. This grey-haired man was nearly a century old, he might know something about their lands that would help them all, even Liam.

"What do you know about these lands?"

Mill adjusted his glasses.

"StoneHaven and Gloom Forest aren't far from each other… just a few lands away. But I've never actually been to Gloom Forest, never seen anyone there. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

Mill met Seraph with a soft smile.

"Don't worry about it… I'm not even sure she's still there."

It was obvious there was something about the Gloom Forest that Mill was hiding. He'd been lying and concealing important matters for months, and Seraph knew pressing the matter would be fatal. Halo knew that too. But Halo wanted to know about his own Purpose.

"What else do you know about StoneHaven? Is it under any threat?"

Mill's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's been decades since I last visited, and there was never anything noteworthy. Lately, though, I've heard stories of people trembling before weaker Sinners. It struck me as utterly pathetic."

"Weak Sinners?"

Mill nodded.

"Yes… mere insects compared to Crawlers. But perhaps there's more lurking beneath the surface."

Halo nodded in silence. There had to be more to the threat. Dark Saint had said the land was occupied by rich people, and in this world, riches meant strength.

People that powerful wouldn't be threatened by creatures weaker than Crawlers. Even if the creatures weren't going to outclass them in strength, it had to be something strength couldn't prevent.

'This place might be more dangerous than I imagined.'

He thought.

"Ha! My Purpose is set… I'm heading straight to the Shattered Perks!"

Liam said with apparent excitement. It was as though the threats each Purpose carried didn't matter to him.

"You're a lucky bunch. Shattered Perks is one of the prettiest places in this region. It's closer to Gloom Forest than SafeHaven, but any of you should be able to get there without much trouble."

Mill began attending to his vegetables.

Halo exchanged glances with the others.

"What now?"

"Yes, how are we going to do this, Liam?"

Seraph added.

Liam took a deep breath, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"Two months from now, I'll send crows to each of your lands. It will be in the afternoon. When you see it, kill it. If both of you manage to kill your crows, I'll send another one with the location of our meeting. But if neither of you kills it, or only one does, then there won't be a second crow."

He gave his words a beat.

"After a week or two, I'll send another crow and we'll repeat the whole thing. If one of you misses it, I'll try again a third time. But if either of you fails to kill the first crow three times straight, I'll assume something's wrong and alert the other so we can come get you."

His eyes narrowed.

"If none of you hear from me in the next two months, or if no crows arrive for either of the next rounds, wait one week before assuming I'm in trouble. If you're able, come help."

A soft smile played on Halo's lips. He would have let them go their separate ways and hoped that maybe someday they'd meet again.

But this guy, Liam, had really thought about this. He initially said weeks, but from how he spoke, Halo knew he lied. It'd been at least a month, if not months.

"That's a solid plan, Liam… but we must be on guard, or the crows will slip past us."

Halo nodded in understanding before turning to Mill, who was done rearranging his stuff.

"How dangerous are the roads to the lands, old man?"

Mill turned to him and adjusted his glasses.

"Other than Gloom Forest, the lands around there aren't too dangerous. And if you compare it to Rascal or Inferno Moist, it's about the same, maybe a touch more toxic."

He added.

"The road's fine, it's the land you need to watch out for."

Halo turned to Seraph, whose expression had darkened. She tried to hide it behind a facade, but Halo knew her well enough to see she was terrified.

With a heavy heart, he decided to say something encouraging to her before heading on his way.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.