Months passed.
Not all at once. Not cleanly.
They passed in bruises that faded, in scars that stayed. In contracts taken, contracts survived, and contracts barely walked away from. Owen stopped counting the days somewhere between his a hundred and fifteenth completed job and the night Stonehaven started calling their names with expectation instead of curiosity.
Owen climbed through the ranks faster than most mercenaries his age would.
By four months he had already reached A-rank and by the time he was eighteen he had broken into -S rank while Lysa and Brunn were A-rank.
And then one morning, a new notice was hammered onto the guild board.
S-Rank - Owen the manaless
People stared at it longer than they should have.
Owen changed without noticing at first. His frame filled out, muscle drawn tight and lean, movements sharper, posture straighter. He didn't just move through crowds anymore, he belonged in them. His hair stayed a little messy, his expression still calm, but the boy who once faded into the background was gone.
He talked more now.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just… present.
"Try it on."
Owen glanced at the shirt Lysa shoved into his chest. "That's not my size."
She rolled her eyes. "That was your size. Past tense."
He disappeared behind the curtain. A few seconds later...
"…This fits."
"Obviously," she said smugly. "You've been fighting monsters for months, not studying."
They moved through the market side by side, coin clinking comfortably in Owen's pouch. Stonehaven felt different now, vendors greeted them by name, guards nodded instead of watching, mercenaries stepped aside without realizing why.
They stopped at a weapon stall.
Owen flexed his hand. "I need a new blade."
Lysa eyed him. "You finally snapped the old one?"
"It didn't snap," Owen replied. "It gave up."
She laughed. "I mean... it was a low grade blade and you were moving like you're wielding the great blade Hamel."
As they walked, her gaze drifted to his chest.
"You always wear that pendant," she said casually. "Who gave it to you?"
Owen's fingers brushed it instinctively. "My mother. Before we got separated."
She slowed. "You were adopted, right?"
"Yeah."
"…That's a shame," she said softly. "Where were you before you came here?"
"The Landergrey Barony."
She stopped walking.
Owen noticed immediately. "What?"
"The Landergrey Barony?" she repeated. "You were under a noble's care?"
"Baron Aldric," Owen said. "He took me in."
Lysa stared at him like he'd just said something insane. "Then why the hell are you a mercenary?"
Owen didn't hesitate. "I hate orders."
She burst out laughing. "You're serious?"
"And I'd never climb the ranks," he added. "No mana."
She grinned. "Rebel."
They walked again.
After a moment, she asked, "Do you know anything about your real mother?"
Owen frowned. "No."
She glanced at him. "What do you mean, no?"
"When I try to remember," he said slowly, "it's like fog. The memories are there, but I can't reach them."
Lysa's expression sharpened. "That sounds like a memory restriction spell."
Owen shrugged. "Wouldn't know."
She studied him longer. "That's… weird. Especially since you can sense mana beasts."
Owen smiled. "True."
She shook her head, half amused, half unsettled. "Are you sure you're human?."
Owen laughed. "I wouldn't know."
The blacksmith's shop sat apart from the market, quieter, heavier. The moment Owen stepped inside, his chest tightened.
He felt it.
His eyes snapped to the counter.
A blade lay there, dull and strange, its shape unlike anything else in the room.
The blacksmith emerged from the back, wiping his hands. His eyes lit up when he saw Lysa. "Back again? Who'd you drag in this time?"
"Owen," Owen said. "Just Owen."
The blacksmith nodded, then followed Owen's gaze. "That thing? Scrap. My brother found it in some ruin. Eastern design, maybe."
"I've never seen anything like it," Owen said.
"Nothing special about it," the blacksmith shrugged. "Was about to toss it."
Owen smiled as he walked up to feel it out. "I'll buy it."
The moment his hand closed around the hilt—
The blade shifted.
Light rippled across its surface. The metal smoothed, darkened, patterns etching themselves like they'd always been there.
The room froze.
"That's-" the blacksmith whispered. "That's a eclipse grade weapon."
Owen unsheathed it.
Black as night.
Along its length, words shimmered faintly.
Seishi
Silence.
Lysa squinted. "How can you read that?"
Owen stared at the blade. "…I don't know."
She stared at him. "You just said it out loud."
"I know," he replied flatly. "That's the weird part."
She snorted. "Dumbass."
They left soon after.
At the door, the blacksmith called out, "Keep that blade hidden, not everyone is fond of eclipse blades especially nobles. And keep it safe."
Owen nodded. "Sure."
As the door shut, the blacksmith leaned back, smiling faintly.
"…He reminds me of something," he muttered. "What could it be?"
on the way back, they didn't talk about the blade right away.
Some things needed time to settle, like dust after a collapse.
Owen walked lighter that day, Seishi wrapped carefully and strapped across his back. It didn't weigh much, yet it felt… present. Not heavy. Not alive. Just aware in a way that made him keep his breathing even.
Lysa noticed.
"You're walking different," she said as they crossed the bridge back into eastern parts of Stonehaven.
"Am I?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Like you're listening to something."
Owen glanced over his shoulder at the wrapped blade. "Probably just new balance."
She didn't push it.
Back at the guild, Brunn was already there, elbow-deep in food, telling a story to anyone who'd listen.
"So there I am," he boomed, "hammer stuck in the ground, beast on my back-"
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Owen.
"…You get taller again?"
Owen sighed. "We were just together in the morning, stop acting like you've not seen me in two months."
Brunn chuckled as he leaned forward, squinting. "Ah new sword?"
"No."
Lysa walked past them. "Yes."
Brunn laughed. "Knew it. Kid upgrades faster than my armor budget."
Owen sat down, unwrapping Seishi just enough to rest it beside him.
The room didn't go quiet.
But a few conversations slowed.
Brunn's grin faded slightly. "That blade feels… expensive."
"Found it," Owen said.
Lysa snorted. "That's the biggest lie you've told all year."
Brunn hummed, eyes thoughtful. "Whatever it is, keep it sheathed in town. People start asking questions when things feel wrong."
Owen quietly nodded as his eyes locked onto Seishi curiously.
.