They stood side by side, their figures forming a contrast of colors—Nefer in white, Massa in green—facing Hope in his tattered black cloak.
The wind suddenly shifted.
A sharp, howling gust tore through the land, kicking up sand and dust, forcing Hope to react instinctively.
Without thinking—
He lifted his cloak, shielding his face from the storm of grit.
For a moment, everything was obscured.
The world turned into a blur of flying dust.
Then—
The wind died down, the air settling once more.
And as Hope lowered his cloak, shaking off the dust—
He froze.
They weren't looking at his face.
They weren't even looking at his eyes.
No—
Both Nefer and Massa were staring lower.
Right at him.
More specifically—
At the lower half of his body.
Hope's mind blanked for a second.
Then—
Realization struck him like a hammer to the skull.
Damnation.
The cloak had been the only thing covering him properly.
Without it—
His entire state of disrepair was laid bare.
His torso, marked with bruises, dirt, and dried blood, exposed completely under the merciless sunlight.
In short—
He looked half-naked, half-dead, and entirely pathetic.
And the worst part?
Neither of them said anything.
Nefer simply raised an eyebrow, an expression of mild amusement and doubt flickering across her sharp features.
Massa, on the other hand—
She just sighed and shook her head, as if pitying him.
Hope felt an overwhelming urge to disappear into the ground.
Desperate to salvage the situation, he coughed and spoke.
"I don't have any clothes or armor to wear," he admitted, his voice completely flat.
Then, with as much self-importance as he could muster—
"I only got this cloak after majestically slaying a corrupted fiend with a rock."
He patted the black fabric, as if that validated his claim.
A moment of silence.
Then—
Nefer's raised eyebrow arched even higher.
If there had been any doubt before—
Now, it was practically etched into her face.
Massa?
She simply exhaled through her nose, as if the weight of existing near him was an exhausting burden.
Hope could already tell what they were thinking.
Yeah, Right.
Nefer's gaze swept over him critically, as if she were reassessing his entire existence.
Then, in an unimpressed tone—
"You killed a corrupted fiend with just a piece of rock?"
Her words dripped with skepticism, her arms crossing over her chest.
Hope nodded solemnly, maintaining the illusion of absolute confidence.
"Yes."
Nefer's expression didn't change.
Massa turned to her, as if seeking confirmation that she wasn't hearing things.
Nefer just sighed again, shaking her head.
It was the disappointed sigh of someone who had given up on expecting logic.
Massa clicked her tongue.
"You're not serious."
Hope didn't flinch.
"Completely serious."
Nefer narrowed her eyes.
"With just a rock?"
"Just a rock."
A beat of silence.
Then—
Nefer shook her head, almost laughing.
Massa rubbed her temples.
Hope could see it now.
The doubt.
The disbelief.
They didn't buy it. They had both struggled to kill a corrupted fiend, which was already quite Injured, and this already half dead boy is telling them he killed one alone and with just a rock.
Good.
The more they underestimated him, the better.
Hope hid his smirk beneath an expression of pure nonchalance.
If they thought he was some reckless idiot, some lucky fool who somehow stumbled his way into survival—
Then they wouldn't see him coming when it actually mattered.
That was exactly how he wanted it.