The Greatest Sinner

Evan smiled, headed for the coat, and quickly put it on.

Looking at Evan, Demien muttered: "Boy, now I can see why you wanted a coat like that. You look like you came off the cover."

The coat did indeed fit Evan perfectly. It was long, black with crimson trim and a scarlet collar. It had knot-like patterns on the sleeves and shoulders, made of a pale yellow metal called "Sandy Iron". It was a very flexible and pliable metal, and it had been also used to make a pattern in the form of a straight olive branch stretching from the collar to the waist. There were no buttons on the cape, just a few decorative rivets.

Evan came to the store in a loose white shirt and dark pants. And combined with the black raincoat, it was a beautiful contrast. To complete the look, Evan bought a massive thick belt wrapped in two gold chains from Demien.

Evan looked in the mirror, assessed every detail of his new look, and said contentedly: "Well done. You really have a talent, Mr. Demien."

Demien grinned: "I can say the same about you, it`s a beautiful and daring outfit, as well as its owner. Well, I'm off, if you like you can continue to admire yourself."

He walked away leaving the young man alone.

Evan looked at his new outfit and thought to himself, "I had the same coat in my last life, but this looks even better! I should give it a name... hmmm... how about - "Hidden Calamity"?

The young man smiled and muttered: "That's a great name, just right. Okay, well, let`s go now."

Evan said goodbye to Demien and left the store. He had only the bare necessities with him: some food, water, and, of course, "Reverse Death". The weapon was in an upright position on his back. The snow-white blade was inside, so "Reverse Death" looked like a spear.

Evan wanted to rest and get some fresh air in nature. But if any danger arose he would be only too happy to put his new weapon to work. He had already decided where he would go - to a high hill not far from Mossy Vulture. Evan expected to get there by evening.

Unfortunately, he couldn't fly or teleport, so he had to get there by himself. Evan did not want to ride a horse, as he was in no hurry and wanted to take a walk. He was going to enjoy the nature away from the big city, since he would leave that place very soon.

After the tournament, there won't be much time left before the "Academy of Magic" began to enroll the students. This would be an important event in Evan's life. He was very interested in the libraries of the "Academy of Magic" and was sure that there was a lot of useful and unique knowledge there.

Evan walked through the main gate of Mossy Vulture and headed into the forest. The young man was surprised by the flow of people coming in and leaving the town. Last time there had been many people, too, but this time there were many more.

<What was the reason for all this? Is Mossy Vulture really such a popular place?> Evan thought to himself as he passed hundreds of people.

Actually, Mossy Vulture had always been very popular with all the inhabitants of the "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes". But, now it was about the fact that in a few days there would be a tournament between young talents.

The Erden family and the Cross family didn't invite anyone personally. Anyone could enter the tournament if they had proved their strength before. Evan didn't know this fact, but right now there were qualifying trials in the city.

It wasn't a one-on-one fight, but the Erden and Cross families had appointed special people to determine whether or not a person was worthy of participating in the tournament. Evan didn't have to go through such a selection process, and not because Koen had invited him personally. But because he`d defeated Fien, which means he was more than worthy to fight in this tournament.

While walking, Evan didn't meet any more people. He left the main road and went deep into the woods. Every once in a while he encountered an animal that ran away as soon as it saw him.

<Hmm, when you think about it, I know nothing at all about the inhabitants of this world. This three-tailed fox and that hare with the sharp horn on its head are rather curious creatures.>

On the one hand, Evan was feeling sad and wistful as he realize that his life in the former world was over. On the other hand, he was glad to see so many new and interesting things, from magic to simple forest animals and this was just the beginning of his journey.

It wasn't a long trip for Evan, and he got to the right place late at the afternoon. Nothing had happened on the way, he just underestimated the distance he had to walk.

Evan, however, was in no hurry; he had nowhere to go. He enjoyed the cool breeze, the pleasant forest air and the beautiful nature around.

<From the moment I came into this world I haven't had a chance to just rest and do nothing. I fought for my life, fought to take the lives of others and fought to become stronger. I studied, trained and learned new things, it's time to take a day off.>

Saying this Evan made his way to the top of the hill and for the first time he looked at Mossy Vulture from above. When he had been going back to town with Zak, he had already seen it from afar, but the view from up there was very different.

It was already deep in the night and the bright blue moon behind Evan illuminated the whole town. He could see the tall Tower of Magic in the center of the city, the few neighborhoods with huge mansions, and the narrow streets with simple houses.

Countless lights burning in the streets and in the houses created a calm and beautiful picture. Evan crouched on a rock on the slope and just admired the nighttime of Mossy Vulture, the city that had become his home for a while.

Whoosh.

Suddenly a small butterfly with bright glowing blue wings flew to Evan. It flew several times around him and then landed on his arm. Evan was fascinated by its simplicity and beauty. He felt peace and tranquility deep inside. It was at that moment that Evan was finally able to forget everything and to rest, even if only for a moment.

Crack.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking and clanking of chains coming from nowhere.

To his surprise, Evan intuitively knew what was happening, for the ringing and crackling was coming from his "Warp", and only he could hear it. He concentrated, and in a second, he was in "Nirvana".

<What is this?>

Evan looked at his crimson "Warp", with a scythe as black as the abyss itself, inside it. There were three iron chains wrapped around his "Warp", one of which was shaking and crackling incessantly.