Crackle.

The capsule's lid opened, and with a rush of steam, a tired-looking silhouette emerged from it. Without a second thought, Zayne made his way to his room and collapsed on his bed, instantly sinking into the sleep he so desperately needed.

It was deep into the night, and Zayne could sleep for as long as he wanted, but by coincidence, his eyes opened before it was even dawn.

"Damn... Why do I never get to sleep when I want to?" Zayne muttered with a bitter smile before he got up and headed for the exit.

He wasn't upset as he understood the reason why he didn't get much sleep. He felt intense hunger as if he hadn't eaten in days in a row, and the feeling was literally devouring him from the inside.

'The only thing that works now is a gas station, right? Well, I've got to fill my stomach with something or I'll be dead soon.' Zayne said inwardly while shaking his head.

There were several cars parked outside the gas station as well as drunken groups emanating streams of cigarette smoke and the powerful smell of alcohol. Zayne didn't pay any attention to this at all, and just walked on, under the stares of people.

"Hmmm... Who's that guy?" Someone asked, looking back at Zayne.

"Hah, some poor guy. He came here on foot, no car, screw him." The drunken girl smirked as she pressed her breasts against the man.

The man nodded slightly, picked up the bottle, and took a sip, then a wicked smirk appeared on his face.

Zayne grabbed himself some hotdogs, and a bitter coffee and headed for the exit. He had no desire to stay in a place that smelt so bad.

"Hey kid, where are you going?" Suddenly a man stood in front of him, blocking his way.

Zayne met his gaze, sighed, and headed on his way. For a moment, the depth of Zayne's eyes made the man freeze as if he had encountered something unfathomable.

'Agh... What was that...?' The man inwardly muttered as he turned around, 'Am I scared of him? No, I must have just imagined it, I've had too much to drink...'

Whoooooooooosh.

The man turned around, and at the same moment, the bag in Zayne's hands fell to the ground, from a sharp blow from behind.

"Oh, sorry, my hand slipped, I hope it won't be a problem for you to buy yourself a few more of these?" The man grinned evilly, taking a sip.

Zayne sighed, picked up the bag, and moved on, completely ignoring the man who was obviously trying to boost his ego in such a trivial way. It wasn't new to Zayne, so he knew there was no point in wasting his time on it.

"Agh...? You think you can ignore me?!" The man exclaimed furiously and threw the bottle at Zayne.

Zayne didn't see it and couldn't react in any way, but once the bottle was close enough a strange shiver went through his whole body, and he quickly tilted his head to the side, missing the bottle to his right.

Crackle.

The bottle shattered into small shards that showed reflections from the dim lantern illuminating the road.

"Well, I don't know what got into me, but now I want to do the same thing he did." Zayne muttered, exhaled cold steam, and gently tossed his coffee upwards like Enar his blades.

"What...? What are you doing...?" The man was puzzled.

Zayne stepped forward, then his foot became a blur. He didn't know any martial arts, so he didn't know the techniques and acted simply by sense.

Crack.

Zayne's foot collapsed on the man's jaw, knocking it out along with a few teeth, then Zayne bounced back, reached out, and caught his coffee, which didn't even spill over the edge.

Zayne looked at the others, whose eyes were wide with shock, and left the gas station grounds, heading for the park.

As the sun was just about to rise, Zayne stuffed his stomach with food and poured it with hot coffee, pondering what had happened.

'Damn... What the hell was that?' Zayne inwardly muttered, 'Even with speed and strength, it's impossible to fight like a martial arts master... I'm as far away from this level as the moon, of course, but... That kick came out on its own... Shit, I don't know how to explain it.'

Zayne crumpled up the bag and threw it in the trash along with the coffee before heading home at the beginning of dawn. He felt strange, as this kick was perfect naturally as if it was as familiar to him as breathing or walking.

'Maybe I gained some abilities while fighting Enar and the others, but not that much. People train for years to deliver precise blows, though... I doubt it would be enough to defeat Enar...' Zayne shook his head with a complicated look.

Back home, Zayne entered Fallen Fate as the only place he could go.

If he wanted to make money, he had to play - that had been his original goal, but there was also a slight smile on his face now as he liked being in that world so much more than he did in this one.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't even think about it, but I wouldn't mind staying in Fallen Fate forever... but... just with Mia." Zayne muttered, turning into a blue flash and appearing in that very spot on the obsidian lake.

Zayne shook his head and immediately opened his status.

[Name: Zayne Fellen

Species: Human

Level: 10 [1000 /1000 exp]

Title: First Sight of a New Era, The One Who Seeks Fear and several others.

Class: N/A

Health: 140/140

Mana: 80/80

______________________

Strength: 24

Agility: 34

Intelligence: 18

Vitality: 24

Endurance: 28

Fate Force: 3

Status Points: 0

_____________________

'Hah, my stats actually doubled... Is that even fair?' Zayne grinned inwardly, then he looked at his level, 'Looks like everything already indicates that it's time for me to go there...'

[Unknown Quest (????)

[Follow the clue of the mysterious stranger. You can ignore it, but then you might lose your chance to free your mind.]

It was the second quest Zayne got, but in terms of importance, it remained the most important since it was given to him by Gael.

'Gael... I still don't understand who you are and why you and the Black Wolf were in my mind... And it looks like they weren't hallucinations... Well, I hope I find out more about it there.' Zayne muttered and looked around which made his eyes go wide.

"Mr. Zayne!!!" A group of knights simultaneously exclaimed as they bowed low to show him their regard.

"What...?" Zayne was puzzled, he felt strange and unfamiliar.

Step. Step. Step.

A man in blue armor stepped forward. He had long black hair and azure eyes.

"Mr. Zayne, my name is Cyrus, and I am the Knight Commander under the Lareso Family. I was sent here to help you all return home after it was reported that you fought the Apostle." Cyrus said courteously.

"Yeah... I understand..." Zayne gulped.

Crackle.

Cyrus dropped to one knee as if before his master and with his hand on his chest said, "This may not be the right time, but I want to express my personal gratitude to you for what you did. You didn't just defeat a dangerous enemy, you saved thousands of lives, including the lives of my family."