Chapter 24: Where Fate Is Decided (1)

Morning came… yet the sun never rose.

—or rather, it did, but the eclipse swallowed it whole as always, leaving the world staring at that strange orange sky.

These were Ethan’s first morning hours inside Ashvarn… the City of Ash .

On one of the city’s wide streets, where horse-drawn carriages moved back and forth,

two men sat.

Both had shed their hunting armor and garments, replacing them with attire more suited to the city’s Victorian atmosphere.

Upon a simple wooden bench, Ethan and Raiden let their bodies rest while the loud bustle of the city flooded their ears.

Ethan looked completely different.

He wore a long coat, fitted at the waist and falling to his knees, draping around him like a shadow.

Its high black collar concealed his throat, while silver buttons gleamed whenever light touched them.

His hands were hidden in leather gloves .. the perfect disguise for his mechanical arm.

His boots were tall, black, immaculate.

These were not decorative clothes… but something closer to a keepsake hunters wore, to remind themselves they were still human.

Ethan sat quietly, one leg crossed over the other, gazing at the sky.

Raiden, meanwhile, stretched his arms across the back of the bench — one nearly wrapping around Ethan simply due to his enormous build.

Silence lingered between them for a while, until Ethan spoke first.

“We’re the only ones left.”

Raiden nodded.

“Yeah… as usual.”

Hearing that, Ethan smiled.

“Are we really that alone, you and I?”

Raiden snorted.

“It’d be nice if I had a girlfriend at this age… but unfortunately I don’t.”

“How about me?” Ethan mocked himself.

“I used to be a sex slave, and my lady doesn’t want me anymore.”

Raiden burst into laughter before gradually calming down.

“Who would’ve thought the gentle princess hid a face like that…”

Unlike him, Ethan didn’t look surprised.

“That’s human nature. Most people wear masks to hide their true intentions.”

His tone made Raiden feel he spoke from experience .. and he wasn’t wrong.

“I still want to believe in people,” Raiden said quietly.

“That there’s still good left in them.”

“Then prepare yourself for disappointment,” Ethan replied with a faint smile.

Silence fell again, and the rumble of passing carriages returned to fill their ears.

As they waited, both recalled what had happened a few hours earlier.

After the incident with Princess Lucille… everyone had gone their separate ways except them.

Moon had gone to deliver her report about the hunting operation, busy with the elders.

Alicia returned to her younger brother.

Little Chai had his mother — the last family he had left.

But Ethan and Raiden…

had no one.

“Tell me, Raiden,” Ethan finally asked the question he’d been avoiding,

“Did I have parents? Or siblings?”

Raiden shook his head.

“You did… once. But they all died in the hunt , war … that’s your family’s story.”

He gave Ethan a meaningful look.

“…Same as mine.”

Ethan nodded.

From that alone, he understood why they were close.

Similar pasts. Families lost to war and hunts. Same age. Same squad.

It would be stranger if they weren’t friends.

More than that .. Raiden treated him like a real brother, never leaving his side, constantly trying to stir his lost memories whenever he could.

“Tell me… what happens to me from now on?”

Ethan asked, referring to the very reason they were sitting here waiting.

Before them, beyond the broad road where carriage after carriage passed,

stood a castle.

A dark architectural masterpiece of ancient design.

It occupied vast space at the heart of Ashvarn.

The hunters’ headquarters .. ruled by the High Hearts.

Inside that place, Ethan Heart’s fate was being decided.

Staring at the imposing structure, Raiden sighed.

“Since you lost your level and became cursed… there’s a strong chance the elders will try to remove you from the hunters. That’s the scenario we’re trying to avoid. Moon will do everything she can to stop it.”

Ethan nodded. He had already expected as much.

“What happens if I’m no longer a hunter?”

Raiden glanced at him, then back at the castle.

“Someone will take your place. As for you… you’ll be forced into another sector .. and you’ll remain confined in Ashvarn for the rest of your life.”

Ethan’s expression darkened gradually after that..

Raising his hand, Raiden held up three fingers.

“The Hearts are divided into three divisions by order of the ruling Ardyn family.”

“Hunters .. that’s us. We’re allowed to leave Ashvarn , but only to fight the Curse and the Eternal Night. Long ago, most of the Hearts’ forces were stationed here… but the Ardyn family greatly reduced their numbers, limiting the hunters mostly to the younger generation.”

The moment he heard that, Ethan quickly grasped the implication.

“That’s why we’re still stuck in the First Zone.”

Raiden nodded.

“The Ardyn royal family doesn’t want to conquer the Curse .. nor the Night Lord. They only want to contain it… just enough so it never reaches them.

And that brings us to the second division of the Heart.”

He paused for a few seconds, arranging his thoughts before continuing.

“The Ash Knights .. our strongest are used in wars that serve the kingdom’s interests. They’re stationed either along the borders of Astria, or in the north against New Magnolia. Many of them even serve as personal guards to the king and the princes… I think I told you that already.”

“They’re allowed to move freely within the kingdom… but they cannot leave it except for war.”

The very warriors who should have repelled the Curse and slain its lords were instead forced into other battlefields .. all to satisfy the ambitions of a greedy ruling family.

“What a cursed fate…” Ethan murmured, pitying the harsh reality of the Heart clan.

Raiden didn’t answer. Instead, he revealed the final category.

“Those who fail to prove useful as fighters are forced to remain here forever, working whatever trade suits them — blacksmiths, merchants, builders… and so on. It’s not so bad… except for the fact that you’ll be trapped inside this city for the rest of your life.”

To Ethan, that was the worst fate imaginable.

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