"Han, if you hadn't come after me, Luna might not be alive right now. Even though you didn't follow my orders, I'm grateful for this."
"Actually, I was going to wait for you to return with Luna, but when I heard the noises coming from there, I couldn't control myself. I'm glad you're not angry."
Magni put his hand on Han's shoulder and said,
"If my orders are wrong, I don't see a problem with you not obeying them. After all, you are my right hand."
"Your right hand? I guess you've finally decided."
"You are the only person on the team whose power is close to mine."
"Is that all?"
"For now..."
After a short 10-minute walk, they arrived at the beach. Han offered to buy some beers for Magni and sit by the seaside. Without a second thought, Magni went to the nearby market and bought six beers and some salted peanuts. Han had chosen a very beautiful spot for them. They sat down right in front of the view just before the sun set. Both were very tired; they opened their beers, clinked their bottles, and said at the same time:
"To victory!"
They drank half the bottle in one gulp. With this long sip, they threw off the day's fatigue, if only a little. Magni asked Han why he stayed at the school. He already knew that Han stayed there because he had no one, but he wanted to hear it from him. Han took another sip of his beer.
"I have no one but myself. I never knew my mother or father. I've been alone for as long as I can remember. I grew up on the streets. I was only 10 years old when I realized the existence of my Cosmyth. On an ordinary day for me, while I was arguing with street thugs and about to die, another Cosmyth user came and saved me. I still can't remember who he was. My memories are in pieces. He taught me how to use a sword, that it wasn't a weapon but a part of my body. He warned me not to attack anyone unnecessarily. I would only resort to my sword as a last resort. When I turned 13, there was an attack on the house we were staying in. That man, whom I could call my master, stayed behind to protect me. All I remember was him saying to me, 'The Gods... they are here, run!' I jumped down from the upper floors of the building. I think I was unconscious for a few hours. I had fallen into a trash can; because I hit my head on the lid, I fainted, which also caused the lid to close. When I came to, although I remembered most things, the man who saved me... I didn't remember my master. It was as if his face had been erased from my mind. I was back to the beginning. Homeless, alone, on the street... I did some dirty jobs to earn money. Since I was a child, no one suspected me, but because I was a child, the money I received was very little. Still, I killed people. Back then, my memory wasn't this clear. I didn't remember any of the advice my master gave me. One way or another, I had to survive. On another day when I took a mission, they asked me to kill a small child. I was 15 years old by then. The child they wanted me to kill was the same age as me, the child of a wealthy mafia leader. I managed to become friends with him somehow. He would always eat at a local restaurant after school. I think the restaurant belonged to his mother. After spending a few weeks together, I realized he was not at fault. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was just paying the price for his father's sins. On the last day of the mission, when I was supposed to kill him, I couldn't do it. For the first time, I couldn't kill my target. He was a child just like me. I couldn't do it. I went to the man who gave me the mission to report this. He had some members of the organization beat me up. I was covered in blood. My nose, ribs, cheekbone, shoulder... everything was broken. The next day, I learned they were going to the restaurant to kill that boy. When I heard this, I did my best to protect my friend. I put the whole team to the sword. The air around me smelled of blood, organs, and human carcasses. I hope I never have to smell that scent again. I had protected my friend. There was no one left who could harm him. Without being able to say goodbye to him, I came here with the money I had saved. When the state saw that I was a Cosmyth user, they took me under protection. I lived in the house the state gave me until this year. And now I'm here, Captain. Now you know my story."
"Wow Han, this is quite..."
"Scary? You must be disgusted by me. That's why I don't open up to anyone."
"No Han, I'm not disgusted by you. We are Cosmyth users. We are weapons. I could have experienced the same things you did, and I would have made the same decisions."
"No, you're saying this to make me feel better. I want to hear the truth, Magni. Tell me what you really think about me!"
"You want the truth? Fine, I'll tell you the truth then. I don't care how many people you killed or whether you regret it. The only truth I know is that I trust you enough to make you my right hand. Since you regret it, then fight back-to-back with me until your regret passes. Against monsters, against other Cosmyth users! Save more lives than you take... I have no more words to say to you."
"What? Did you understand what I said? I killed people! I took hundreds of lives for a single life!"
"One innocent life is worth a hundred sinful lives, Han."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes. And you? Do you think the lives you took were worth it for that boy you saved?"
Han sank into silence for a while. Magni opened the second beer bottles and handed them to Han.
"It was worth it."
"Then there is no problem."
"Yes... no problem."
The İwo friends had gotten to know each other even better. The more a captain knew his team, the better. Han took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and handed it to Magni.
"Ah, thanks, I don't smoke."
Han tried to light his cigarette, but the lighter was out of gas.
"Damn it."
"What happened?"
"Out of gas."
"Can I try something?"
Magni held his two fingers opposite each other. A low-voltage electrical current formed between them. Han used this to light his cigarette. After lighting the cigarette, they spent some more time on the beach. It got very dark. They went to the school dormitory and fell asleep as soon as they put their heads on the pillows from exhaustion.
The days until Friday passed similarly. After classes were over, the two of them would wander around together. Days were starting to seem ordinary to them now. They had War Training classes once a day. On Wednesday and Thursday, they received training in using war equipment and the environment. Since they wouldn't have a class on Friday, Aidoneus wanted to push their limits. All students first learned how to use a sword. The most unskilled at using a sword were Urania, Amor, and Hekate.
Magni tried even though he couldn't quite do it. He could do simple swinging moves. Sol and Luna were able to use advanced techniques with the training they received. Aidoneus held a duel with Han to show them how to use the sword. Although Han didn't want this duel, Aidoneus insisted. After a long fight, in their last clash, Han's sword cut and shattered Aidoneus's sword and himself. Although Aidoneus didn't have serious wounds, he was treated immediately. After the lesson, the teacher called Han to him. He congratulated him on his victory. He said he was handing over the sword lessons to him. He gave him the sword lessons not only for their own class but also for the upper classes. Also, Han was put in a priority position in case of a suitable mission. This meant that Han was now considered equal to the upper classes. But even though his techniques were perfect, he needed to develop. On Thursday, they learned how to use other weapons. Of course, they could use firearms like normal soldiers, but firearms did not affect most Cosmyth users.
After 2 intense days, Friday arrived. It was time to relax a bit now. The whole class met at a cafe on the beach in the afternoon. Before the meeting, Aidoneus had warned them about one thing. They would not use their Cosmyths unless necessary. He stated that he would only approve the meeting if they accepted this condition. No one opposed this condition. Everyone looked very excited. This meeting was the first place they would see each other outside of school.
Magni and Han were wearing what they wore when they went to drink beer.
Sol: white hoodie, jeans, green beanie.
Luna: black, slightly puffy dress and pearl necklace. She had braided her hair in a fishtail and let it down her back.
Urania: a pink cardigan with a cat picture on it and loose, brown sweatpants. She had curled her hair and put on light makeup.
Aurora: Denim jacket, under it a short-sleeved t-shirt with the emblem of one of the metal bands, cream-colored cargo pants and winter boots. She had let her hair down, throwing it over her shoulders.
Hekate: Yellow-black checkered skirt, fur coat and long boots. She was talking to Diana with her purple bag in her hand.
Diana: Black skirt, loose red sweater.
Amor: Leather jacket with chain decorations, red shirt, dark blue jeans. He had slicked his hair back. He had earrings in both ears. Silver studs in the right ear, gold hoop earrings in the left ear.
Neptune: Dark green short-sleeved top, black-and-white cardigan, black sweatpants. He was the simplest dressed person among them.
They joined two tables side-by-side in the cafe and sat down. They told each other things about themselves that they didn't know.