After the man left, silence fell again — but this time it wasn't comforting.
Faro felt pressure on his chest — not fear, but the strange sensation that there's no way back from the path ahead.
He suddenly asked:
"Was he right? The man who came in… Am I just a lost kid?"
Leo stared at him for a long moment before answering:
"Those who never ask themselves that question… are the ones truly lost."
Before Faro could reply, Leo closed the book with a heavy thump.
He walked toward a shelf in the corner and unwrapped a gray cloth.
Inside was a metal card, etched with a symbol — like a closed eye.
"This… is a pass for your first test. Not for Nen — for the world."
Faro:
"What do you mean?"
Leo:
"You'll leave this place and head to a city called Kaiden.
There's an organization there — unofficial, but it holds open trials. Many who walked strange paths began there."
"I won't tell you what to look for. Just…
Observe. Ask. And learn when to be silent."
---
As he stepped out of the warehouse, Faro saw the sun clearly for the first time.
People, markets, shouting children, buzzing ads, the smell of broth, the rumble of buses.
The real world… wasn't what he imagined.
In the heart of the chaos, Faro was like a drop of ink in a painted sea.
And if you looked closely…
He resembled everyone — yet belonged to none.