Eudora joins the Bound Path Guild, infamous for sending its members on deadly missions with no hand-holding.
This guild played a brutal role in his previous life—it forged him through suffering.
He encounters Marx, a calm, kind, and composed man (for now).
In this life, Marx hasn't lost his mind yet — he's still sane, still human.
Marx doesn't remember or recognize Eudora. In their previous life, they were comrades—but not friends.
We keep the tone harsh, bleak, and character-driven, full of emotional and mental strain.
Chapter 9 – The Gate of the Bound Path
The stone crest of the Bound Path Guild loomed overhead like a sentence carved in death. A sword pierced through a cracked skull—its message was clear:
"Only the unbreakable return."
Eudora stood before it, his clothes damp with sweat from the day's brutal trials. Behind him, the sun bled into the earth like a dying beast. Ahead of him, the entrance opened to his past.
He had returned to the place that taught him what pain was.
Not the pain of wounds or scars. But the deeper kind—the kind that hollowed men from the inside out.
The Bound Path Guild was no home. It was a graveyard that made warriors from corpses.
Eudora's fingers brushed the sigil as he walked in. The air was dense with iron, sweat, and the weight of dead names.
"New recruit?" A deep voice asked.
Eudora turned.
The man who approached was tall, dressed in worn leather and faded chainmail. His hair was pale blond, tied neatly. His expression was calm. Too calm.
He smiled—not with arrogance, but with genuine warmth.
"Don't worry," the man said. "It's hell in here. But not all of us bite."
Marx...
Eudora recognized him instantly.
A man once known in the future as The Crimson Hound—a title earned not for valor, but for his madness. A berserker who laughed as he tore through enemies. A kind soul shattered by blood and war. One who had carved a trail of bodies not out of cruelty—but because it was the only way he could stay sane.
But now... this Marx was whole.
Friendly. Grounded.
He extended a hand. "Name's Marx. You?"
Eudora hesitated, then accepted the shake. "...Eudora."
"Odd name," Marx said casually. "You look half-starved."
"First day," Eudora replied.
Marx grinned. "Then you're lucky to meet me. Most new blood get shoved into corpse detail or monster gut duty."
Eudora managed a faint smirk. The irony was heavy.
In his past life, Marx had once saved him from a dungeon trap only to nearly kill him a week later in a blood frenzy. They weren't friends—never had been. But Marx had left a mark on him, the way all monsters did.
"Come on," Marx said. "Let's get you signed in. Captain Varro will test you soon."
Inside the Guild
The Bound Path Guild was nothing like the noble chapters of the royal city. No polished marble. No stained glass. Just bare stone, training pits, and a constant smell of sweat and ash.
Veterans walked with limps. Some without arms. Most without smiles.
"Here," Marx pointed. "That's the mission board. Don't touch anything on the top rows unless you have a death wish."
The missions were ranked by danger. Red paper meant fatal odds. Black meant suicidal.
"Why do people take the black jobs?" Eudora asked, already knowing the answer.
Marx shrugged. "Debt. Pride. Revenge. Some people don't want to live—they want to die somewhere that matters."
Eudora said nothing. He remembered that version of himself too well.
Marx slapped his shoulder. "You've got that look in your eyes. Like you've already seen what's behind the curtain."
You have no idea...
Later That Night
Eudora sat in the barracks bunk assigned to him. The room was shared. Cold. Quiet.
From the cot across the room, Marx whispered:
"You ever kill a man before?"
Eudora didn't answer.
Marx sighed. "Sorry. Stupid question."
He paused, then added, "You ever wonder if some of us were never meant to survive this place?"
Eudora looked at him in the dim candlelight.
"You'll survive," he said.
Marx smiled faintly. "Not if I become someone I can't live with."
Eudora lay back against the wall, heart heavy.
You will, Marx. And I'll watch it happen. I'll watch you break, just like before.
But this time...
Maybe I can stop it.