A week later…

Halo's work at Boss's jewelry shop had been smooth and well-received. The robotic man barely showed any emotion, yet whenever Halo escaped to the library, he somehow noticed. But it was as though he enjoyed the company. His small gestures to overlook Halo's troublesome nature spoke volumes.

StoneHaven itself had received him well, and though he hadn't noticed anything lethal about the Chaos Eaters, he was already highly regarded as one of them despite spending less than two weeks in this land.

At some point, he began to believe the occurrence of Chaos Eaters was a natural phenomenon. Not once did he see anything slip through about the librarian, and though he'd reduced the number of nights his clones could hunt for Chaos Eaters, there still should have been something noteworthy. But there was none.

Beyond the dreadfulness, though, something put a smile on his face. He'd been receiving countless notifications for Sin Fragments. He couldn't attribute it all to Dark Saint, but the rumors circulating made it very clear.

Some claimed Dark Saint was building an army for war in the south-east districts of this region. They spoke of her with such eerie terror that it sometimes nearly got to Halo. But having racked up more than five hundred Sin Fragments in just a few days, it was safe to say she was the army itself.

After he realized how she'd been moving, he found himself reflecting on his own strategy to strengthen his resolve.

He trained with reasonable precautions, just as Fade instructed. Anything to keep his mind at ease, and humanity intact.

More than a week, and he still hadn't learned the librarian's name or gotten out on the streets himself at night.

Sure, he highly doubted he was the only one in charge of this Purpose, and if there were others, then it was reasonable to consider their approach and lay low. But as far as he could tell, he was on his own. He had to go by his own rules.

It was afternoon. After tending to the only two customers they'd had the entire day, Halo excused himself to the library.

There, the girl sat in her usual spot, reading. Her previous enthusiasm had long vanished, but she still managed a warm smile.

The moment Halo entered, he walked toward her right away.

"Hey."

The girl was startled for a moment, her brown eyes flickering up to Halo's blue ones as she adjusted her glasses.

She gulped.

"Hi…?"

Halo could see the confusion in her eyes as she spoke. He could read the question there: It's been about a week, so why now? He didn't want her to carry it to bed. He had to smooth things over.

"I'm Halo. I know I gave you the cold shoulder at first… it wasn't right of me, so I've been trying to apologize."

Halo wore a practiced smile.

She returned his with a genuine one.

"My name is Aeliana. It's alright… I wasn't offended in the slightest."

Aeliana attempted to return to her reading, but Halo wasn't finished. He grabbed a seat and settled in.

Her confusion was so apparent that a blind man could've seen it.

"Uhm… uh… what are you doing?"

The moment she spoke, Halo realized what she was thinking. Earlier, she'd responded casually because she thought he was apologizing because of the rumors about her. He feared for his life.

"I want to know you…"

Aeliana's face flashed crimson for a moment.

"Ahh… you've heard the rumors about me, right?"

Halo smiled.

"This world survives on rumors. The lands grow from them. They claim a comrade of mine slaughtered a whole group recently… but I don't take rumors at face value. True or not, I want to hear it from you."

Aeliana stared at him for a moment as though she'd met her hero.

"How can you be this open-minded? This is the Lost World."

Halo shrugged.

He wouldn't have bought his own shabby excuse if their positions were reversed, but it seemed to be working. Maybe she wasn't the corporate spy after all.

Aeliana's book dropped to the table, her eyes fixated on the floor.

"I arrived in this land five years ago, right when the Chaos Eaters first emerged. I won't lie, sometimes I wondered if I caused it. When you piece everything together, it fits almost too well."

She added.

"Unless there's some hidden part of me that awakens in my sleep, I can say with certainty I have no connection to the Chaos Eaters. I came here only to fulfill my Purpose."

Halo frowned.

What she said didn't make sense to him. As long as he'd been around, he'd never seen Aeliana work or charge anyone for the library. So how was she getting by?

To set up such a massive library with dozens of books required a heavy amount of Sin Fragments. How had she managed all that and eaten for the past five years without working or slaying Sinners?

He shook his head in disbelief.

'Poor Aeliana. Your words aren't doing you any justice.'

He thought.

"How about the fact that you were born in this world?"

Her eyes widened in panic.

"No. I'm from another world, same as everyone. I've no idea where those rumors came from. I look human enough, don't I?"

She was human, Halo knew that much. Even as they sat there, he searched for inhuman traits in her. But there were none.

"I can testify to that… don't mind what the others say. People in this world channel all the anger and fear they hold toward the unseen gods and unleash it on whoever stands nearby. That's how myths and rumors take root. This world survives on them."

There was a kernel of truth to every myth, no matter how distorted. Aeliana might be some kind of monster, but he sensed there was more to her story.

He needed to keep watch while maintaining their relationship. Besides, he had to see the Chaos Eaters with his own eyes before he could reach any real conclusions.

His talk with Aeliana went on for a while, but he was careful to keep things balanced: not asking too many questions, keeping the conversation flowing, yet revealing little about himself.

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