The "Adventure Guild" building was already behind him.
The sounds from inside still echoed in Raijin's ears—the footsteps of boots against the wooden floor, the quests pinned to the notice board, the conversations of Hunters, and the occasional glances directed at him.
In his hand was the temporary Rank B tag.
No happiness.
No pride.
Only exhaustion.
He was about to walk outside when a voice came from behind—
"Wait!"
Sofia.
Raijin heard her voice, but his footsteps did not stop.
As if stopping was simply not part of his nature anymore.
Sofia didn't give up. She ran toward him and caught up. Her breathing was slightly heavy.
"You helped us a lot," she said.
She opened her bag.
The shine of gold was clearly visible in the sunlight.
Raijin immediately pulled his hand back.
"No."
His voice was flat.
"I didn't do anything."
He continued walking, but after a few steps, he stopped on his own.
"At that time, I wasn't in my right mind. Whatever I did… I didn't do it consciously."
His eyes lowered for a moment.
"It was just the anger that had been building up inside me."
Sofia looked into his eyes.
She saw no excuse there.
Only a person carrying far too much inside him.
"We don't know what you were feeling at that moment," she said calmly. "Anger, fear, or pain."
She placed ten Gold Coins into his palm.
"All we know is that you saved our lives."
Before Raijin could say anything, Sofia turned around and walked back.
Raijin stared at the coins for a while.
He closed his fist and continued walking without looking back.
---
The city's crowd flowed around him.
A merchant called out to customers outside his shop. Children ran after one another, laughing. Across the street, several Hunters were arguing about their next expedition.
Despite being surrounded by so many people, Raijin felt strangely alone.
No one in this city knew him.
No one knew about his past or the secrets hidden within him.
For a moment, that feeling was frightening.
But the very next moment, he thought—
Maybe that was a good thing.
No one here expected anything from him.
No one called him by the name of the old Raijin.
And perhaps, for the first time…
he could start his life according to his own wishes.
He immediately pushed the thought aside.
"Trusting people this quickly isn't a good idea."
His footsteps continued forward.
As he walked, he felt the coins in his pocket.
The ten Gold Coins Sofia had given him.
He took one coin out and stared at it for a few moments.
"Why?"
That was the question circling through his mind.
He had helped them, but he hadn't expected any reward.
He didn't like owing anyone anything.
His previous life had taught him one thing very well—
Not every kindness comes with a price.
But sometimes, it does.
And the problem was that he could no longer tell the difference.
He put the coin back into his pocket.
"Maybe… not every person is the same."
A few moments later, he let out a quiet breath.
"But I still have a lot to see before I can believe that."
---
"First, I need a room."
He thought as he walked.
"Then I need food."
His eyes fell on himself.
His clothes were torn in several places. Dust and dried blood were still stuck to them.
"And clothes too."
His gaze shifted to his sword.
Its rusted edge was almost completely worn away, and the grip was loose.
It wasn't a sword.
It was simply something he had picked up out of necessity.
From the very place…
where everything had fallen apart.
A short while later, he stopped in front of a clothing shop.
---
There was a faint smell of fabric inside the shop.
Clothes were neatly arranged on wooden racks. Sewing tools hung along the walls, and a middle-aged shopkeeper stood behind the counter.
Raijin didn't say much.
He touched a few pieces of clothing and checked their thickness.
Eventually, he chose some simple but durable clothes.
A plain pair of trousers.
A white shirt.
Sturdy leather boots.
"That's all."
He took the clothes and went inside.
A little while later, when he stepped outside, the person standing in the mirror in front of him looked like a stranger for a moment.
The same face.
The same eyes.
But now the face hidden beneath the dust and dried blood was clearly visible.
He stared at his reflection for a while.
Suddenly, a blurry image flashed through his mind.
A different place.
Different clothes.
A different life.
Then another image appeared—
Sora was standing beside him.
The two of them were laughing.
Raijin blinked.
The image disappeared.
He looked at the mirror again.
"The face is the same…"
he whispered.
"But who am I?"
For a few moments, there was no sound in the room.
Then he shook his head.
"I won't find the answer right now."
He walked out of the shop.
---
From across the street came the sound of a hammer striking metal.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Raijin stopped.
A weapons shop.
The moment he stood in front of the door, something inside him changed.
Along with the smell of metal, an old memory suddenly awakened.
Takashi's shop.
The moment that name surfaced, the smell of iron, oil, and old wood filled his mind.
Old swords hanging from the walls.
A small room filled with weapons.
And that deep voice—
"Back again?"
A blurry scene appeared before Raijin's eyes.
He was standing in front of Takashi's shop counter.
He had asked about Lord.
Takashi had remained silent for a while.
Then he had warned him.
But everything after that was lost in the fog of his memory.
Raijin pressed his fingers against his temple.
"Again…"
Memories.
But incomplete ones.
As if someone had torn several pages from the book of his past.
Returning to the present, he slowly opened the door.
The shopkeeper's voice immediately came—
"What do you need?"
Raijin snapped back to reality.
"A sword."
The shopkeeper looked him up and down.
"A new one?"
Raijin nodded.
"Yes."
The shopkeeper led him inside.
"Follow me."
He showed Raijin several swords one by one.
Heavy ones.
Shiny ones.
Some decorated with intricate carvings.
Raijin picked them up and examined them.
The moment he picked up the first sword, he put it back.
"Bad balance."
The shopkeeper's eyebrow rose slightly.
Raijin picked up a second sword.
"The grip is too loose."
The third was somewhat better.
Its edge was good, but it was heavier than necessary.
"Useless in a prolonged fight."
The shopkeeper now watched him carefully.
"You know a lot about swords."
Raijin remained silent for a moment.
"An old habit."
Eventually, his eyes stopped on one particular sword.
Not too large.
Not too small.
Double-edged.
No decorations.
Just practical.
"This one."
The shopkeeper handed it to him.
Raijin took it in his hand.
His fingers automatically settled into the correct position.
His wrist shifted slightly.
His stance changed.
Even Raijin himself stopped for a moment.
He hadn't consciously done anything.
His body had moved on its own.
As if it didn't need a teacher.
He slowly returned the sword to its sheath.
"My power is weak…"
he thought.
"But my body still remembers."
Strangely, that realization brought him comfort.
At least everything had not been taken away from him.
The shopkeeper told him the price.
Raijin paid and took the sword with him.
But as he left, the shopkeeper's eyes remained fixed on his back for a while.
He had already realized—
This man knew far more than he appeared to.
---
The sun was directly overhead when Raijin stepped outside the shop.
It was already afternoon.
Raijin continued walking, and for the first time, he began paying closer attention to Eldhavn City.
Eldhavn was more than just a trading city.
People of different races could be seen walking along the same streets.
Some long-eared Elves passed by carrying their belongings.
Some heavily built Dwarves carried goods made of iron and stone.
Hunter groups headed toward the Guild with their weapons, while city guards constantly watched the streets.
In the distance, a tall building rose above all the others.
A symbol resembling an ancient royal crest was carved into its walls.
Raijin stared at it for a few moments.
"This world…"
he thought quietly.
"Is far larger than my previous one."
Voices in different languages and accents blended together all around him.
Yet, amid all that noise, he felt for the first time that perhaps he could carve out a place for himself in this world.
Suddenly—
Raijin stopped.
A faint shiver ran down the back of his neck.
The same feeling.
As if someone was watching him.
He slowly turned around.
The street was crowded.
Merchants.
Hunters.
Children.
Travelers.
But no one was looking at him.
Raijin narrowed his eyes.
He scanned the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.
For a brief moment—
he saw a black silhouette on a distant rooftop.
Raijin's gaze locked onto it.
The next moment—
the silhouette was gone.
There was nothing there.
He stared at the spot for a while.
Then he slowly placed his hand on the hilt of his new sword.
"Am I imagining things?"
There was no answer.
But one thing was clear to him—
Since arriving in Eldhavn, he had felt the same presence three times.
And all three times…
nothing had been there.
---
Raijin didn't think about it for much longer.
He quickly headed back toward the Adventure Guild.
He needed a place to stay.
After a while, he reached the Guild counter.
The same woman who had given him the Temporary Rank B was sitting there.
The moment she saw Raijin, she asked—
"Need something?"
"A room."
The woman checked a few records.
"There's one room available."
Without asking many questions, Raijin paid the rent.
"Third floor. Room seven."
"Thank you."
He climbed the stairs.
---
The room was simple.
A bed.
A table.
A chair beside it.
And a small window overlooking some of Eldhavn's streets.
Raijin stepped inside.
"Not too bad."
He looked around.
Then closed the door.
A few moments later, that strange feeling returned.
As if the air inside the room had suddenly become heavier.
The sounds outside grew quieter.
The same cold shiver ran down the back of Raijin's neck.
But this time, he tried to feel it carefully.
He closed his eyes.
Nothing.
Then—
Very faintly.
So faint that he could have mistaken it for his imagination.
It felt as though someone else was inside him.
Raijin's breathing stopped.
He turned his consciousness inward.
Nothing.
Then suddenly, an indistinct feeling emerged.
No voice.
No face.
Only a thought—
"Why… did you leave him behind?"
Raijin's eyes immediately opened.
He remained completely still for several moments.
"Who?"
There was no answer.
He closed his eyes and tried to sense it again.
This time, there was nothing.
"Maybe I'm just exhausted."
But somewhere deep inside, he knew—
This wasn't just exhaustion.
---
Suddenly, the sounds outside the room grew quiet again.
Raijin could hear his heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Every beat sounded unnaturally clear.
He reached toward the table.
The wood felt far heavier than it should have.
A faint pain rose in his fingers.
Raijin immediately pulled his hand back.
A few moments later—
everything returned to normal.
The sounds outside became audible again.
Raijin looked at his palm.
"Mortal Realm…"
The same power surfaced in his mind.
"Is this because of it?"
He thought for a while.
Then shook his head.
"Drawing conclusions right now would be pointless."
But he had understood one thing.
That power had not come for free.
---
Raijin sat down on the chair.
He took the coins from his pocket and placed them on the table.
Some of the ten Gold Coins had already been spent.
He counted what remained.
Three Gold Coins.
Seven Silver Coins.
That was all.
He stared at the coins for a while.
"I need money to stay here."
He separated one coin.
"And food."
He separated another.
"A weapon."
His eyes moved toward his new sword.
Then his expression became serious.
"And if Aegis Covenant is really following me…"
He gathered the coins again.
"Then I need strength too."
He finally understood—
Taking revenge was one thing.
But surviving in this world was another.
He needed to earn money.
He needed information.
And most importantly—
he needed to build the foundation of his new life himself.
Raijin leaned back against the chair.
His body was giving out.
His eyes were growing heavy.
He looked outside the window for a while.
Eldhavn City was still awake.
Lights glowed in the distant streets.
People were busy with their own lives.
No one cared about his past.
No one knew who he was.
No plan was complete.
No answers had been found.
Not even his memories of the past were whole.
But for the first time, there was a path in front of him.
Raijin slowly closed his eyes.
"We'll start tomorrow."
His breathing gradually became calmer.
Just before falling asleep, that same blurry image appeared in his consciousness again—
Sora.
His voice.
His laughter.
And an unfamiliar emptiness.
Raijin's brows furrowed.
As if someone sleeping deep within him had shifted in their sleep.
Then—
everything became quiet.
Outside, the lights of Eldhavn continued to glow.
And inside…
the distance between the two consciousnesses had become slightly smaller than before.