Gray and the boy were on their way back to the village. They had spent the night, though Gray couldn't sleep—he kept watching the boy. But the boy showed no strange behavior; he simply slept peacefully.
"Who are you?" Gray asked. "You're clearly not human. I've heard of mutants—something between a monster and a man. Do you even have a name?"
"My name is End…" the boy said, as if cutting himself off mid-word.
"Nice to meet you, End. I'm Gray."
They walked through a dense thicket, where shadows twisted into eerie shapes under the sparse sunlight filtering through the leaves.
When they finally reached the village entrance, a guard called out:
"Hey, who's that you've brought with you?"
"Call Rayn. I've got something to show him."
Rayn arrived shortly after, studying the boy with narrowed eyes.
"Who is this?" he asked. "I sense something… unusual about him."
"A kid I found," Gray explained. "It looked like he'd taken down dozens of those creatures. Not just killed them—more like… I don't even know."
"I see," Rayn said. "Alright, let's head inside. This boy… He might be useful. Just like you."
Gray smirked. "Useful, huh? What, are you assembling your own squad?"
"Exactly!" Rayn grinned. "I need three loyal allies—people who won't betray me when it counts. I've already found two: you and Eileen. And speaking of Eileen… There's something about this boy that reminds me of her."
Just then, Eileen stormed over.
"Rayn, who the hell did you drag into the village this time?! Can't you see he's not even human?!"
"Calm down, Eileen," Rayn said, lowering his voice. "Mutants are people too." Then, under his breath, he added: "Assuming he even is a mutant…"