After dinner, Edward stepped out of Caitlin's house.
Near Caitlin's home was a railroad for steam trains.
The whistle occasionally echoed in the air, a constant reminder of why the property value in this area was so low.
The scent of industry lingered in the air, heavy and stifling.
Edward's eyes landed on the distant tracks as he habitually pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
He struck a match and lit the cigarette, taking a deep drag, letting the smoke slide down into his chest before exhaling a puff of white mist that slowly dissipated in the cold air.
Since encountering those strange demons, Edward's craving for cigarettes had intensified.
The bizarre and terrifying experiences had left him feeling isolated.
In this world, no one could truly understand what weighed on his mind.
He felt trapped in a cage of loneliness, finding temporary solace only in the fleeting calm that smoking brought him.
He narrowed his eyes, enjoying this brief moment of peace as a sense of relaxation washed over him.
Just then, the sound of light footsteps approached from behind.
Without turning around, Edward knew who it was.
"Why did you come out?" he asked.
There was no need to look, he already knew it was Caitlin.
Her footsteps were soft.
Caitlin walked up to Edward, and in the distance, the whistle of a steam train grew louder.
The screech of metal wheels grinding against the tracks filled the air, sharp and piercing.
The roaring steam engine sped past, pulling freight cars behind it.
The wind it generated gently lifted Caitlin's dress and Edward's coat.
Caitlin glanced at Edward, hesitating for a moment before extending her hand.
She made a gesture with her index and middle fingers—a familiar signal.
Edward raised an eyebrow, momentarily surprised.
"You smoke?"
Caitlin nodded slightly, a trace of weariness in her expression.
"I used to smoke a lot, but I haven't smoked in a while."
Her voice carried a hint of helplessness and fatigue, as though the events of the past few days had drained her both physically and mentally.
Edward listened quietly, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and placing it between her fingers.
Caitlin held the cigarette between her lips and leaned slightly closer to Edward, preparing to light it from his.
Edward was already holding a lit match, bending down slightly to shield the flame, carefully bringing it to her face to ignite her cigarette.
The faint glow of the flame lit up their faces, casting a brief, calm light between them.
Caitlin took a deep drag, exhaling slowly as a cloud of smoke escaped her lips.
Her tired expression seemed to ease a little, filled with nostalgia and exhaustion.
"This cigarette doesn't have a bitter aftertaste. It has a bit of a pleasant smell. Must be expensive, right?"
Their gazes simultaneously shifted toward the distant railroad, where the sound of the steam train's departure still lingered in the air.
"This is government-supplied.You can't buy it outside," Edward replied casually, flicking the ash from his cigarette.
Caitlin let out a soft sigh, her voice growing quieter.
"I used to have a huge craving for cigarettes.
I smoked all the time. Sometimes I'd even steal money from my family to buy them."
"But after the family went bankrupt and my parents couldn't repay their debts, they chose to hang themselves."
"I took my brother and fled here, to White Deer Town."
For reasons she didn't fully understand, Caitlin began to recount her past.
When she spoke of her parents' deaths, her voice grew heavy.
She didn't cry.
Those painful memories had already become part of her life.
Edward stood beside her in silence, quietly listening to her story without interruption.
From time to time, they would silently take a puff of their cigarettes, letting the smoke rise gently between them.
"Later on, I had no money left, so I quit smoking. Do you think that's funny?"
Caitlin's voice carried a hint of self-deprecation, as if she were mocking her own past decisions.
Edward listened without responding immediately.
His cigarette had already burned out, and he tossed the butt on the ground, extinguishing the last ember with his shoe.
After a moment of silence, he spoke calmly, "Everyone has their troubles. There's nothing funny about it."
Caitlin turned her head, her eyes landing on Edward's face, filled with curiosity.
"You? Do you have your own troubles?"
Edward paused for a moment, as if weighing whether to share his inner thoughts.
In the end, he chose to keep them to himself, shaking his head lightly.
"Let's go back. It's getting dark. Don't keep Roy waiting too long."
Without saying more, Edward turned and began walking away.
He didn't want anyone to know too much about his inner world.
Edward's heart was heavy.
After all, he only had one year left to live.
The looming crisis weighed on him daily, filling him with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
He often feared that the next moment might be his last, that he might die at the hands of a demon.
As these thoughts churned in his mind, a sense of clarity came to him.
With only one year left to live, and with no certainty about what might happen next, why was he holding on to the remaining demon life energy?
With a sense of resolution, Edward decided to use up the remaining 20 years of demon life energy.
He hadn't expected much progress with 'Blood Boil,' but as soon as he made the decision, something unexpected happened.
He stood frozen, sensing a strange change taking place within him.
[Current Level]
[First Transformation]
[You've trained tirelessly day and night, and after 20 years, you've successfully surpassed the limits of ordinary humans.]
[Remaining Life: 10 years]
Edward stopped in his tracks, staring at the text before him.
First Transformation?
9 more years?
Did this mean he was no longer just a regular person?
Caitlin noticed Edward suddenly stopping and asked cautiously.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering where I'll sleep tonight," Edward replied nonchalantly.
The old Edward had often spent nights at gambling dens or brothels, and when money ran out, he would simply sleep in the office.
As a result, he didn't even have a house of his own.
Caitlin hesitated for a moment.
Despite still being somewhat afraid of Edward, she thought about how he had saved her and Roy's lives.
"If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay at my place tonight."
Edward was caught off guard by her offer, surprised that she would invite him.
Playfully, he reached out to touch her forehead, his tone teasing.
"You're not running a fever, are you? Why aren't you scared of me now?"
Caitlin smacked his hand away without hesitation, responding in a flat tone.
"Consider it thanks for the 500 you gave me."
With that, she turned and headed back toward the house.
Edward stood there for a moment, watching her retreating figure.
An unfamiliar feeling stirred within him.
In the past, he had never cared about his connections to others and wasn't afraid to use or hurt people to achieve his goals.
But now, with Caitlin, things were different.
For the first time, Edward felt that he was being drawn deeper into someone else's life.
Caitlin was beginning to affect something deep within him—something he had always avoided.
attachment.