Streams of cold wind swept along the frames of concrete buildings, the past still affecting the present, but not for its original purpose. Instead of roads, there was destruction, and monsters roamed the empty streets, the ones coming out of the rifts that Keepers had failed to close in time.
Within a radius of hundreds of meters, there were only two people, two Keepers, and one of them had just entered his path. His face was dark with the knowledge that soon he would have to return to the Astral Dimension again.
"When...?"
Kain's hoarse voice rang out.
"When will the Arcane Scripture call upon me?"
Kreyn, looking up at the sunset, muttered. "The first time, any moment within a month. Maybe in a minute or maybe thirty days. It's different for everyone."
"Hmm? The first time? What does that mean?"
In response, Kreyn showed three fingers.
"After a Tainted returns from the Astral Dimension, he will have three chances to accept the call. If you refuse, the second shot will fall within three months. If you reject even after that, the third call will come in a year."
"And..." Kain gulped. "If the Arcane Scripture gets a refusal all three times, the Keeper will never be able to return to the Astral Dimension again, right?"
"Yeah. If you talk about it as a job, that's where your career ends. Sure, there are some ways to get a little stronger without the Astral Dimension, but they're all minor. From my experience, half of the Keepers don't even want to think about coming back. Another half hesitate and accept one of the three calls and only a few wish to re-enter the Astral Dimension as soon as possible."
A stark shock covered Kain's face. "W-What? Half? So out of a hundred Tainted, only fifty of them want to become stronger, and the rest are satisfied with the lowest rank?"
His naivety made Kreyn laugh.
"Hahaha, Kain, you don't seem to understand something."
"Agh?"
"Out of a hundred Contenders, 10 to 15 people go back, meaning about 10% become Keepers."
Kain continued his thought. "So only five out of a hundred go to the Astral Dimension a second time. The other 95 either die or give up three calls."
"Exactly."
Then, Kain abruptly raised his head with a strange look, staring at Kreyn.
"I only realized it now... You're Awakened, higher by one rank than Keepers. So you're one of the five!"
"Hahaha, Kain, you're wrong again! From the Astral Dimension, you still have to come back! So, less than five."
Kain's face turned grim. His idea of the Keepers as powerful people had been shattered.
Most were just cowards who couldn't find the courage to go on and take up the challenge of the Arcane Scripture.
'Tsk, these are not the heroes Max and Daniel were always talking about.'
After that, Kreyn's expression turned serious.
''Hey, put that grimace away now. The Keepers are guarding the boundaries of the domes and keeping order. They may not have the determination to go to hell one more time, but they're doing their job. I'm sure you can understand them, you've just returned from the Astral Dimension yourself. What's more, with your rune brand, it must be quite a road."
Kain blinked a few times. "My Rune Brand?"
"Yeah, you appeared here and not near your dome, so your Rune Brand was in the active phase. So it didn't just show up for no reason but because of some event. I wouldn't be surprised if a rift opened up in your town recently."
From Kain's shocked look, Kreyn immediately realized that he had hit the spot.
"I see... Don't worry, it happens from time to time. It just means that you've been unlucky multiple times."
"Hah, I'm used to it," Kain smiled bitterly.
Kreyn raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm serious. This kind of Rune Brands becomes unstable faster: it means you've had less time to prepare. Moreover, the runes act unexpectedly, which means Contender might find himself in a very dangerous place, and overall, his first run will be more difficult."
Basically, everything Kreyn was talking about happened to Kain. Everything except the way he got his Rune Brand.
"Alright, I won't burden you any further. There's a bed in the back, get some sleep, and we'll move out in the morning."
Kain flinched.
"Where to?"
"Isn't it obvious? I need to get you home. No offense, but you won't last long here alone. You're still too weak."
Straight to sleep?
Not that Kain had any other choice. Kreyn was right, he didn't want to wander the forbidden lands alone.
He didn't even know where to go.
...
At first, rays of sunlight, Kreyn and Kain set out on their road.
The night was one of the most dangerous times in the forbidden lands. Many monsters were afraid of sunlight or lived in a night cycle, preferring to hunt under the moon.
If not for Kreyn, the monsters would find Kain even at the top of the tower.
Step. Step. Step.
Holding his rifle on his back, Kreyn walked in the middle of the bridge, leading the young Keeper behind him.
"So, the Glistmor Village? Right at the border of the third dome?" Kreyn shook his head. "Damn, even I've heard of it. No wonder you have an active Rune Brand. You must have fought for your life, right?"
Kain scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, something like that."
At least he saved Vorg or hoped that it helped him.
Suddenly, Kreyn fell silent, stopping, his arm preventing Kain from going any further.
Slowly, a shadow emerged from the corner. The monster's silhouette showed itself, two powerful hind legs striking the ground with hooves, the front short paws carried claws and the elongated face wore a white mask cracked down the center.
A slick darkness covered its muscular physique while its curved horns caught the light, glinting.
'What are we going to do...?' Kain whispered, the monster hadn't noticed them yet.
Kreyn examined the monster and nodded deeply.
"Fight it."
"Gha...?"
A predatory glint ran across Kreyn's eyes. "What, is there a problem? Don't you want to see what your Codex is capable of?"
It didn't take long to persuade him.
Kain nodded deeply, standing up in the middle of the bridge.
"Invoke the runes, and you'll know what to do next!" Kreyn prompted.
His loud voice made the monster turn around in their direction, it seemed he did it on purpose.
However, Kain was not going to back down. The oncoming monster couldn't scare him, not now.
He was too eager to feel what power felt like.
Kain threw his arm forward as a wave of runes ran along, stopping around his wrist in a circle.
"My first order," he whispered. "The Forbidden Treasure!"
At his exclamation, the circle stopped as the runes flashed.
Then, above his hand appeared a fluttering crimson cross, burning like a flame but cold with a thorn pointing straight at Kain's palm.