Damien stood gazing toward a town in the distance. They had been walking for about an hour when it finally came into view.

A giant wall encircled the entire town, complete with a massive metal gate at the front to allow entry. Ela had informed him that the town was built a few years after he had disappeared, during what people referred to as the "apocalypse."

After another 15 minutes of walking, they reached the front gate. A line of people waited to enter, while two guards collected mana crystals from each person before granting them access.

According to Ela, mana crystals had become the new currency. The old world's money was worthless now; strength was all that mattered. The crystals were mined from the earth by larger organizations that had formed under the new world order. Eventually, these crystals gained value because they also allowed individuals to absorb mana more quickly when held in their hands.

As they waited in line, Damien and Ela engaged in small talk, and soon it was their turn to enter.

“Ten mana crystals to enter,” said the guard on the right.

Ela summoned the crystals and handed them over before she and Damien stepped inside. Looking around the town, Damien noticed various shops bustling with hundreds of people going in and out.

“Follow me. Let's find an inn and get a room,” she said as she walked toward a nearby building.

The building stood three stories tall. Near the top, a sign reading “Grave’s Inn” was displayed, and the structure appeared to be made of a sturdy type of wood. Ela mentioned that the inn was owned by someone named Grave, hence the name.

As they walked through the front door, Damien was greeted by the enticing aroma of food, which made his stomach rumble.

Although Damien didn't need to eat, he certainly enjoyed it.

Ela glanced back at him with a smile. “Feeling hungry?” she asked teasingly.

Damien nodded seriously, and Ela headed over to a table, motioning for him to join her.

“Don’t you want to get a room first?” Damien asked, trying to suppress his excitement.

“It’s fine. I haven’t had anything good to eat in a long time. Besides, I want to share a meal with you after so many years apart,” she said thoughtfully.

Since the system had descended and Damien had disappeared, Ela hadn't eaten anything. Her only focus had been finding him.

Smiling, Damien took a seat across from Ela. Not long after he settled in, a woman approached their table.

“Hi, my name is Katty. What can I get you two?” she asked, beaming with a smile.

Damien was taken aback by what he saw.

‘Are those… cat ears?’ he thought to himself.

While Damien was lost in thought, Ela quickly placed an order for both of them.

After ordering, Ela noticed Damien staring at Katty's ears as she walked away. “Damien, stop staring; it’s rude,” she scolded, glaring at him.

Hearing her, Damien shook his head. “I’m sorry; it’s just my first time seeing someone with cat ears,” he replied.

“It’s pretty standard, to be honest, but I understand the sentiment. I had the same reaction the first time I saw a demi-human,” Ela said matter-of-factly.

“Anyway, what did you order?” Damien asked, curious.

“Well, let's just say I ordered something I'm pretty sure you're going to like,” Ela responded with a sly smile.

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After a few minutes, Katty returned, carrying a bowl of food in each hand. She set the bowls down and asked, “Is there anything else I can get you guys?”

“No, thank you. We’re good for now,” Ela replied, glancing at Damien. The look on his face filled her with happiness, more than she had felt in a long, long time.

As Damien inhaled the aroma of the food before him, he experienced a sense of nostalgia and familiarity that he had felt before when he looked at Ela’s necklace.

He picked up a fork and took a piece of beef from the bowl, savoring the flavors as the juice from the meat and the broth exploded in his mouth. In that moment, a vision of a woman smiling at him flickered briefly in his mind.

As he ate the stew, a tear slowly rolled down Damien’s cheek.

Noticing the tear, Ela smiled gently. “Is it good?”

“It’s wonderful,” Damien replied, his voice cracking with emotion.

After finishing the bowl of stew, Damien looked up at Ela. “Thank you,” he said, his gaze filled with gratitude.

Ela nodded and then waved Katty over to settle the bill. After paying, they rented a room and headed up the stairs.

Entering the room, Damien thought it looked cozy; there was a couch with a coffee table in front of it and a kitchen to the right. There were also two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.

Heading towards the couch, Ela took a seat and patted the space next to her, indicating for Damien to sit beside her.

Once Damien settled down, Ela began speaking earnestly, “Alright, what do you want to know about first?”

After spending a few moments in thought, he asked his first question, “What happened after I disappeared? What became of my parents and the world in general?” Damien inquired, his hopeful expression revealing his desire for his parents to be alive, even if that hope felt unrealistic.

Ela’s face saddened slightly as she responded. “The day you vanished, the world descended into chaos. Not only was I devastated by your absence, but the world itself fell apart. After the system descended and monsters began to appear, people became selfish, greedy, and some even insane.”

She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before continuing with a heavy expression. “Once we got our bearings, my parents and yours stayed close together, fighting every day to survive. We grew stronger over time, and eventually, we were able to start searching for you.”

Before she could elaborate further, Damien interjected, “How long did it take for you guys to get strong enough to look for me?”

“It took about a year,” Ela replied, her tone almost disappointed. “We wanted to ensure absolute safety for everyone and didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. If we had pushed ourselves, we probably could have been strong enough within two months.”

After a brief silence, she continued, “When we were finally ready, we attempted to figure out where you might have gone. Unfortunately, nothing turned up. It took almost 70 years before we discovered the organization that was holding you,” she said solemnly.

“The organization operates under many different names, which is why we simply refer to it as ‘the organization.’ At the time, we had no concrete evidence that they were the ones who kidnapped you; we just relied on guesswork, as they had been active even before the system appeared.”

Pausing again to gather her thoughts, Ela went on. “We believed they might have taken you because we had learned they were kidnapping people with special ‘blood’—that was their cover before the system. Now, we know it’s not just the blood itself but the ‘bloodline’ that matters. This is important because people with rare blood types are more likely to be bloodline carriers.”

“With that information, we concluded that you were likely kidnapped by them because you were born with a very rare blood type known as rh-null.”

“Wow, that was quite a lot of information!” Damien remarked jokingly. “Are you trying to make my ears fall off?”

Seeing her face light up a bit, he smiled. “Before I ask what’s special about that blood type, you never told me what happened to my parents, Ela.”

“You don’t need to hide it from me; if they are dead, just tell me, alright?” he said, offering her a comforting smile.

Her expression dropped as she bit her lip. “Alright, so after we discovered the organization, your parents became convinced they were the ones who had taken you. They, along with my parents, stormed one of their base locations while making me stay behind.”

As Ela spoke, Damien noticed her starting to tense up, her hands clenching and her nails digging into her palm, drawing blood.

Reaching forward, he held her hand gently, prompting her to continue.

Feeling a bit better, she spoke hesitantly, “After a few days of waiting with no sign of them, I was preparing to go myself, but then the soul fire for my parents and your mom went out.” Ela’s voice strained as she neared tears.

Though Damien wasn’t familiar with what a soul fire was, he could guess its significance. Choosing not to ask about it at that moment, he pulled Ela into a comforting hug. As he sat there in silence, a fire of rage ignited within him. He realized that Ela never mentioned his father.

If his father were still alive, Damien vowed he would do everything in his power to find him, no matter the cost.