Evan didn't know how things had ended up like this.
He covered his mouth, trying to stifle the cough threatening to break out. His entire body trembled as the throbbing in his arm refused to fade. Though the wound had already healed, the scar still pulsed with pain. His temperature was steadily rising, making him lightheaded and dizzy. All he wanted was to lie down and sleep, but he didn't have that kind of luxury.
His plan was falling apart. He had known it deep down the moment he failed his usual ambush on a passing group of merchants. And it was all because of that accursed woman.
He remembered how it all began.
Evan had once been the beloved grandson of the village head. Everyone liked him. He had been popular as a child. When he suddenly awakened his Aether Art, it felt like destiny. He believed he was meant to join the Starvanguard, so he left the village with high hopes. The villagers had tearfully bid him farewell, all expecting him to return one day in glory.
But life in the city was nothing like he had imagined. Back in the village, he had been the center of attention. In the city, no one cared who he was. If anything, they looked at him with disdain.
That was fine, he told himself. He only needed to prove his worth.
But the setbacks kept coming. When people discovered that his Aether Art could only produce weak, short-lived illusions, they scoffed. His control over it had been terrible back then, barely functional. Still, he pressed on, determined to join the Starvanguard through sheer persistence.
In the end, he failed.
Too ashamed to return home, Evan stayed in the city, reduced to just another poor villager-turned-drifter. He scraped by, barely surviving, until he got tangled with a criminal group that found surprising value in his abilities. For the first time since arriving, someone saw him as useful. He was needed. He had worth.
And that felt good. Maybe even great.
He finally earned real money. He could send it back to his grandparents instead of constantly begging for support. For once, he felt like an adult.
Then one day, everything changed.
His group targeted a suspicious man who looked like he came from the Eastern Ward, with jet-black hair and sharp eyes. He carried a suitcase he kept closely guarded. The group decided to make a move.
The man fought back fiercely. But in the chaos, Evan managed to snatch the suitcase and escape.
At a safe spot, he forced the case open. Inside was something strange. It was shaped like an egg, completely black and cold to the touch. Evan didn't know what it was, but he could tell it was valuable.
Before he could run again, the man they had attacked appeared before him.
His eyes locked onto the open suitcase, then narrowed on the item in Evan's hands.
"Give that back, you rat!" the man roared, lunging toward him.
Evan activated his Aether Art instinctively, but it was useless.
His power only worked on those who were mentally weak or vulnerable. This man was clearly neither.
Yet despite the man punching him and trying to reclaim the item, Evan's hand remained tightly shut, refusing to let go. Seeing Evan's stubbornness, the man pulled out a knife and said, "Fine, I'll just cut off your arm then."
Evan could only react on instinct, hastily pressing the object against his chest and turning away. The man, unfazed by the weak attempt at resistance, drove the blade straight into Evan's chest. A violent cough escaped Evan's throat, and blood dripped from his mouth. The egg he had been cradling close to his chest became soaked in blood, and it began to glow.
The man noticed it too and froze in panic. "You bastard. Give that back. That's mine."
He raised his knife to stab again, but the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. For some reason, a chill ran down his spine, and he slowly turned around.
There, in the shadows, stood another man. His face was hidden, but the glint in his eyes was unmistakable.
"M-Master... I..." the man stammered, his voice trembling as realization sank in. That couldn't be possible. He was certain he had escaped unnoticed. There was no way his master could be here, standing before him. He should have sent his shadow guards to do his bidding. And yet, no matter how much he tried to reason, his eyes wouldn't lie. He was here. And he was angry.
"I didn't mean to..."
"You've betrayed me. Die, Lin An," the man said coldly.
Schlck!
Something pierced Lin An's neck. He choked, his hand desperately grasping at the wound, then collapsed to the ground without another word.
Evan panted heavily and touched his chest. Somehow, his Aether Art had surged beyond his control. He had cast an illusion without thinking, and the man had fallen for it completely. The entire time he had only been talking to himself, giving Evan the chance to strike.
When Evan looked down, he saw the egg had fused into his chest, covering the wound the man had made.
Was it luck? Or fate?
He couldn't tell.
What he did know was that he had to leave. Whoever that man was, Evan wanted no part of it. He wasn't born in this city, and if he remained, it would only pull him deeper into trouble.
He made his decision.
It was time to return to the village.
When he arrived, he shut himself in his room and stayed there, trying to make sense of what had happened to him. The egg had both doomed and saved his life. It wasn't just some fancy cork that stopped him from bleeding out like a broken wineskin. What was even stranger was how his Aether Art had changed.
Before this, his ability had been weak, barely able to trap anyone in an illusion, and even then, only those with fragile minds. But now, he found that his powers could influence almost anyone. The illusions he could create were more vivid, more immersive, and far stronger than before.
He wondered what he should do next. Would the Starvanguard accept him if he tried again? No. Even if they did, Evan knew he had already crossed paths with the wrong kind of people. So instead, he returned to something he had picked up in the city: targeting passing travelers and merchants. It was a bad habit, but he didn't see much wrong in relieving the rich of a few coins. They were lucky to have that much to begin with. A little bad luck wouldn't kill them.
With his newfound power, he earned more money than he ever had before. The rush of intimidating others and taking their valuables became addictive. Unfortunately, he got greedy, and his actions started raising concern.
He overheard Gareth and Alric talking. They were considering reporting the incident to Starvanguard headquarters.
No. That couldn't happen.
Evan considered stopping. Maybe he could just lay low or even run away once things settled. But then, as he sat in his room, he began hearing voices.
"Why should you run away?"
"You're not doing anything wrong."
"The strong devour the weak."
"Just use your power."
Evan blinked slowly. "Yeah… that's right. Why should I be afraid? I'm strong now."
And with that, he came up with a mad plan. He would pretend to be a powerful Starfiend. Everyone feared those creatures. It was a dangerous lie to tell, but he pulled it off. Standing over the cowering villagers, he realized this was what he was meant to do.
From that day forward, Evan continued the act, posing as a Starfiend and using fear and illusion to expand his influence. As long as he didn't push them too far, the villagers kept quiet. The months passed, and he grew bolder, gathering more money and spreading more fear.
Then, that day came.
Everything had gone according to plan, just like always. He started by targeting the guide or anyone he believed would talk first. Once he forced people to kill someone, it became easier to control them. Guilt, doubt, and fear would eat away at them, making them less likely to go to the authorities. But Mira… she had dared to resist.
That was when he got this wound.
Evan gritted his teeth, recalling the events. Though he had been the first one attacked by the Starfiend, it eventually turned its rage on the merchant group. It tore through many of them before it was finally defeated, leaving only a few survivors, all of them injured.
That was when Evan made his move, finishing off the wounded one by one with his blade.
He had desperately wanted to chase after Mira, but he knew silencing the others came first. They couldn't be allowed to spread the truth. So he killed them all and did his best to clean up the crime scene.
Once the bodies were dealt with, he turned his attention to the wound on his arm. Thankfully, the infection hadn't taken hold. His newly awakened Aether Art had made him almost immune. But blood loss was still a problem, so he returned to the village and treated it in secret.
As he examined the bleeding, Evan told himself it would be fine. And it was. The wound had started to heal, with no strange markings in sight. Of course, the smarter choice would have been to see a healer and get it properly checked. But how could he explain how it happened? So, Evan kept everything to himself.
He held off from attacking more travelers for a while, focusing instead on cleaning up the aftermath of the incident and searching for Mira. Yet despite his best efforts, the woman remained unfound. The whole situation made him anxious and on edge. It felt like his hold over the villagers was slipping. He heard whispers. People were saying they knew what he had done. That they were going to report him.
Jack seemed the most suspicious. He often wandered the woods to gather firewood, and Evan was sure the man had seen him fleeing from the Wastes that day.
Eventually, he approached Jack, who looked surprised to see him there.
"Ah, Evan! What brings you here? Want to hang out and accompany this lonely old man?" Jack chuckled. "Here, I've got a spare axe you can use."
Evan accepted it silently. And when Jack turned his back, he lifted the axe into the air.
Then he brought it down.
Blood splattered across the underbrush, staining the fallen leaves.
Afterward, Evan cleaned up the body and washed his hands thoroughly. The cold water ran red as he scrubbed away the blood. He remembered how, as a boy, he used to trail after Jack through this very forest, begging to tag along on his trips out of boredom.
But even as the memory surfaced, it stirred nothing in him. No guilt. No sadness.
Just silence.
What did come to mind, though, was that Hilda often wandered the same area.
Ah. There was another person he had to kill.
A few days later, Hilda met the same fate as Jack.
But just when Evan thought he had everything under control, the news came: the Starvanguards had finally arrived in town.
From the second floor of a nearby building, he listened in on their conversation. Then he burst in, feigning urgency, and pinned the blame on Mira. It was a desperate move, but he knew it was the only one he had left.
Now, as he cowered in his hidden shelter deep within the woods, Evan knew time was running out. He had two choices: flee or confront the Starvanguards, who were likely already closing in.
A part of him urged escape. He couldn't take everything, but he had enough money to disappear.
But a larger, louder part of him refused to retreat. Why should he run? This was his home. His territory. Why let a few arrogant Starvanguards chase him out?
He was stronger now. Far stronger.
"Fight."
"Kill them."
"You're stronger."
"Do it."
In the darkness, Evan's eyes began to glow.
Unbeknownst to him, the egg embedded in his chest began to crack.
"Is it safe to assume that Evan is our culprit?" Erika asked as she observed the empty bedroom. Auren had left, accompanying the heartbroken Gareth, who kept insisting his grandson couldn't possibly be a criminal.
"It would be best to interrogate him properly, but the fact that he ran is rather damning," Alwyn replied, scanning the room.
Han leaned out the window, stretching his neck as if he could spot Evan hiding somewhere in the distance. Unfortunately, the sun was setting, and the world was slowly growing darker.
"You're the most familiar with this place," Erika said, turning to Mira. "Do you know where he might be hiding?"
"Ah… I'm not really close to Evan. Or anyone in the village, really. But… maybe in the woods?" Mira offered hesitantly.
"Well, better than nothing, I guess," Erika muttered.
The group headed toward the woods, leaving Auren behind to watch over the village. With nightfall approaching, the three teens pulled out their Lumen Lamps to light the way. The forest was large, and searching it all together would take too long, so they agreed to split up. Mira volunteered to help, even though she wasn't a Starvanguard. It was better than staying behind, locked in a village where people still glared at her like she was to blame for everything.
She walked aimlessly, trying to guess where Evan might be hiding. She remembered he had been injured during the attack. Had he avoided infection? Mira wasn't sure.
Then she heard them.
Not the wind or the rustling of animals, but the low, creeping whispers that had haunted her since childhood.
"Where are you?"
"You can't hide."
"Stop running."
Suddenly, a hand slammed her against a tree, fingers tightening around her neck.
Mira gasped, choking as her vision blurred. When it cleared, Evan stood before her.
As he lifted his head, her eyes were immediately drawn to the markings snaking up from his torso, reaching toward his face. His sclera had turned black.
"Found you," he said.