William stood motionless.
Before him stretched the vast territory of the Black Cloud Sect Complex.
Towering mountains pierced the heavens.
Ancient structures rested upon the cliffs.
Thousands of disciples moved between halls, training grounds, and marketplaces.
To an outsider, it was a place of power.
A sanctuary where countless warriors sought greatness.
But to William—
It was a graveyard.
Not a graveyard of bodies.
A graveyard of memories.
His gaze remained fixed on one particular place where everything had begun
The place where his world had been shattered.
The place where he had spent countless days wondering whether death would have been kinder than survival.
His expression remained calm.
Almost too calm.
More than ten years.
A time had passed since he had last seen this place.
A time since he had escaped its darkness.
A time of training under Andrew.
A time of learning to understand the universe.
A time of becoming something beyond human.
Yet the moment he returned—
The memories came back.
The chains.
The cold floor.
The blood.
The endless questions.
The feeling of being less than a person.
A younger William would have trembled.
His breathing would have become unstable.
His thoughts would have collapsed.
But that William no longer existed.
He had overcome his fear.
He had accepted his past.
But acceptance…
Did not mean forgiveness.
William took a deep breath
Then he disappeared among the countless disciples.
The Black Cloud Sect was as lively as ever.
Merchants shouted about their treasures.
Young disciples argued over techniques.
Elders discussed politics and cultivation.
The entire place was filled with noise.
But William heard something else.
Thoughts.
Millions of them.
A power he had almost forgotten.
His very first ability.
Before atoms.
Before cosmic energy.
Before the threads of existence.
The ability to hear the mind.
The endless whispers of humanity.
The fears.
The jealousy.
The hatred.
It was merely information.
William walked slowly through the crowd.
His face remained expressionless while thousands of voices flowed through his consciousness.
"Did you hear that the Third Elder's daughter reached the Sword Heart realm?"
"They say she will become the greatest swordswoman in the sect's history."
"I heard the Third Elder is searching for a suitable husband for her."
"Someone said she rejected the son of another great sect."
Not useful.
William continued walking.
"The resources of the inner disciples have decreased again."
"The elders only care about the talented."
Irrelevant.
"I heard Kaite has become one of the Third Elder's most trusted subordinates."
William stopped.
The entire world seemed to become silent.
Not outside.
Only inside his mind.
That name.
Kaite.
For a moment, his expression did not change.
But his eyes became colder.
He looked toward the disciple whose thoughts had revealed the information.
A young man carrying a basket of herbs.
A nobody.
A person who had no idea he had just awakened the memory of a nightmare.
William approached him.
The disciple looked up.
"Can I help you?"
Their eyes met.
That was enough.
The disciple's expression became empty.
His consciousness was gently pushed aside.
Not harmed.
Not destroyed.
Simply guided.
"What do you know about Kaite?"
The disciple answered mechanically.
"Kaite become the Third Elder's personal enforcer five years ago."
"His influence has grown rapidly."
"He handles many of the Elder's hidden matters."
William's expression did not change.
"Hidden matters?"
The disciple hesitated.
"Punishments. Investigations. Interrogations."
The word struck him.
Interrogations.
The same word they had used years ago.
A pleasant name for torture.
His fist tightened.
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly.
But he controlled himself.
"What about the Third Elder's daughter?"
"She is currently training on the Elder's mountain."
"Many visitors have gathered to witness her sword practice."
"Even Kaite and several of his men are there."
Silence.
A dangerous silence.
William released the disciple.
The man blinked in confusion.
"Wait... what happened?"
But William was already gone.
The Third Elder's mountain stood high above the surrounding lands.
A symbol of status and authority.
A place that ordinary disciples could only admire from afar.
Today, however, many visitors had gathered.
Because the daughter of the Third Elder was demonstrating her swordsmanship.
William walked among them unnoticed.
The conversations around him were filled with admiration.
"Look at her movement."
"She is truly a genius."
"They say even the Elder himself cannot criticize her sword."
William looked forward.
At the center of the training ground—
A young woman moved with a sword in her hand.
Every movement was elegant.
Every strike was precise.
The blade moved like flowing water.
Like a dance.
The crowd watched in amazement.
"That must be the Third Elder's daughter."
William thought.
But he did not care.
He had not come to watch a demonstration.
He had come for one person.
His eyes slowly moved across the surroundings.
Searching.
Waiting.
Then—
He saw him.
Standing among several armed men.
Older.
More experienced.
His face had changed.
But William would recognize him even after a thousand years.
Kaite.
The man who had destroyed his life.
The man responsible for his suffering.
For a moment—
Everything Andrew had taught him disappeared.
The ocean.
The mountain.
The desert.
The forest.
The lessons.
The acceptance.
The understanding.
Everything was drowned beneath a single emotion.
Rage.
Pure.
Absolute.
Rage.
Without a word—
William raised his hand.
The laws of the world answered him.
The relationship between life and air—
Was erased.
Instantly.
The atmosphere across the entire mountain changed.
The wind vanished.
The voices stopped.
The expressions of everyone present transformed into horror.
They opened their mouths.
But no breath entered.
No sound escaped.
Thousands of people collapsed to their knees.
Clutching their throats.
Their eyes filled with terror.
Including—
Kaite.
William began walking toward him.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Like a judge approaching a criminal.
And for the first time in ten years—
Kaite looked at him.
Their eyes met.
The color disappeared from his face.
His entire body froze.
His lips moved desperately.
A name.
A name he never expected to say again.
"Wi... William?"
The terror in his eyes was unlike anything William had ever seen.
And for a brief moment—
William felt satisfaction.
A dark, terrifying satisfaction.
Until suddenly—
The sky changed.
The clouds above the mountain turned black.
A pressure descended from the heavens.
Something ancient.
Something furious.
Something that even William had never felt before.
His eyes widened.
"What..."
A bolt of lightning descended.
And it was aimed directly at him.