The morning after the attack, the Free Territories felt different.
The streets were quieter.
Not because the people had become afraid to speak, but because everyone was thinking about the same thing.
The attack had not been about the spiritual vein.
It had not been about territory.
It had been about William.
And now everyone knew it.
William stood on the roof of the inn, looking over the settlement.
Below him, people were repairing damaged buildings.
Some worked in silence.
Others argued about how the attackers had managed to enter the settlement without being detected.
Mira was among them.
She was helping carry stone with several other cultivators.
William watched her for a moment.
Adrian approached from behind.
"You've been staring at them for ten minutes."
"I'm observing."
"That's what you called it yesterday."
"It still is."
Adrian leaned against the wall.
"You know what I think?"
William looked at him.
"I assume you're going to tell me regardless."
Adrian smiled.
"I think you're trying to decide whether these people are ready."
"Ready for what?"
"To become the beginning of your force."
William didn't answer.
Adrian continued.
"You don't have to recruit everyone."
"I know."
"Then why hesitate?"
William looked toward the settlement.
"Because yesterday proved something."
"What?"
"People can become targets simply because they stand near me."
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"That's true."
"If I ask them to join me now, I would be asking them to accept that danger."
"Yes."
"And I don't know whether I have the right to do that."
Adrian looked at him for a while.
"Maybe you don't."
William turned.
Adrian continued before he could respond.
"But maybe that's why they should decide."
William remained silent.
"If you make the decision for them, you're controlling them. If you tell them the truth and let them choose, then their choice belongs to them."
William nodded slowly.
"You've become surprisingly wise."
Adrian laughed.
"Don't get used to it."
By midday, the repairs were nearly finished.
Mira approached William.
"You wanted to speak with me?"
William nodded.
"Yes."
They walked away from the crowd.
Mira looked at him.
"Are you going to ask me to join you?"
"No."
She smiled.
"I was hoping you wouldn't."
William raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what I want yet."
"Then don't decide."
She looked surprised.
"You really mean that."
"Yes."
Mira looked toward the settlement.
"I've lived here for years. I have friends here. People who depend on me. If I leave, I'm not the only one making a decision."
William nodded.
"That's exactly why I won't pressure you."
She looked at him.
"Then why did you ask to speak?"
"Because I want to ask you something else."
"What?"
"How did the attackers enter?"
Mira's expression became serious.
"We don't know."
"Think carefully."
She frowned.
"We have guards at every major entrance. Anyone entering through the mountains would have been detected."
"Unless?"
"Unless they were already inside."
William looked at her.
Mira's expression changed.
"You think someone here helped them."
"I think it's possible."
She lowered her voice.
"If that's true, then they could still be here."
"Yes."
Mira looked around.
"Who do you suspect?"
"No one."
"Why?"
"Because suspicion without evidence destroys trust."
Mira nodded.
"Then what will you do?"
"Find evidence."
William spent the afternoon investigating.
He didn't use force.
He didn't question people aggressively.
Instead, he walked through the settlement and watched.
The attackers had arrived during the night.
They had known exactly where to go.
They had known which guards would be present.
They had known where the spiritual vein was located.
That information wasn't public.
Someone had told them.
William examined the remains of the destroyed buildings.
Then the surrounding roads.
He eventually found something near one of the entrances.
A small piece of metal.
He picked it up.
Adrian examined it.
"An identification token?"
"Yes."
"From which organization?"
William turned it over.
There was a symbol.
Adrian's expression changed.
"I've seen that before."
"Where?"
"At the Northern Alliance meeting."
William's eyes narrowed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
William looked at the symbol again.
It wasn't identical.
But it was similar.
Too similar.
"We need to be careful."
Adrian nodded.
"Do you think they're behind the attack?"
"Not necessarily."
"Then why are you worried?"
"Because someone wants us to think they are."
Adrian frowned.
William continued.
"If the Northern Alliance actually ordered the attack, leaving this behind would be careless."
"And if someone wants us to suspect them..."
"They would leave exactly this."
Adrian sighed.
"So we're back where we started."
"No."
William closed his hand around the token.
"Now we have a direction."
That evening, William returned to the old woman's house.
She was waiting for him.
"You found something."
William placed the metal token on the table.
Her eyes immediately changed.
"You shouldn't have touched that."
"Why?"
"Because now whoever placed it knows you found it."
William looked at her.
"Do you recognize it?"
She nodded.
"I've seen that symbol before."
"Where?"
She hesitated.
"With people who work for the Northern Alliance."
Adrian immediately said:
"So they are involved."
The woman shook her head.
"No."
William looked at her.
"You sound certain."
"Because I know the symbol."
She touched the token.
"This is not an official symbol."
"Then what is it?"
"A variation."
William frowned.
"Why would someone use a variation?"
"To make people think it belongs to the original organization."
Adrian looked at William.
"Someone is framing them."
"Yes."
William stood.
"Who?"
The old woman shook her head.
"I don't know."
William looked at the token.
"But I know where to start."
That night, William returned to the place where the attack had occurred.
He waited until everyone was asleep.
Then he entered the forest alone.
The token in his hand began to glow faintly.
William looked at it.
He had deliberately activated it.
He wanted to see whether someone would react.
Nothing happened for several minutes.
Then he heard footsteps.
William turned.
A man emerged from the trees.
He wasn't particularly strong.
His aura was deliberately concealed.
William recognized him.
The man had been one of the merchants in the market.
"You."
The man froze.
Then smiled.
"I knew you would find it."
William remained still.
"Who are you?"
"Nobody important."
"That's not true."
The man laughed.
"You've become very suspicious."
"Someone has to be."
The man's smile faded.
"You want to know who attacked the settlement."
"Yes."
"It wasn't the Northern Alliance."
"I know."
The man looked surprised.
"You already figured that out?"
"I figured out that someone wanted me to blame them."
The man nodded.
"Then you're learning."
"Who are you working for?"
The man didn't answer.
William took one step forward.
"You have two choices."
The man smiled.
"Only two?"
"You can tell me who sent you."
"And the second?"
"You can leave."
The man stared at him.
"You would let me go?"
"If you leave now."
"Why?"
"Because you're not the person I'm looking for."
The man laughed softly.
"You're strange."
"Maybe."
The man turned.
Before disappearing into the forest, he said:
"They are afraid of you."
William watched him.
"Who?"
The man didn't answer.
He disappeared.
William remained alone.
He looked at the token.
The answer had given him another question.
They were afraid of him.
But who were "they"?
The Northern Alliance?
The information organization?
Someone else?
The following morning, William made a decision.
He returned to the old woman's house.
"I want your advice."
She looked at him.
"About what?"
"I want to leave the Free Territories for a while."
She nodded.
"Why?"
"I need to investigate the information organization."
Adrian looked surprised.
"You want to go back?"
"Not directly."
William shook his head.
"I want to investigate the people connected to it."
The old woman studied him.
"You're beginning to understand."
"What?"
"Information is a weapon."
William nodded.
"And someone has been using it against me."
"Yes."
"Then I need to know who has access to my information."
The woman smiled.
"Be careful."
"I will."
"You might discover something you don't want to know."
William looked at her.
"I already have."
Before leaving, William gathered the people who had been involved in the previous fight.
Mira stood among them.
William looked at everyone.
"I'm leaving."
Several people became surprised.
"Why?"
"Because I need to investigate who is behind these attacks."
Mira stepped forward.
"Are you coming back?"
William looked at her.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"I don't."
She smiled slightly.
"At least you're honest."
William continued.
"While I'm gone, I won't ask anyone here to follow me."
He looked around.
"If you decide that you want to leave, leave."
"If you want to stay, stay."
"If someone offers you another path, consider it."
Mira looked at him.
"And if we decide to wait for you?"
William smiled.
"Then I'll be grateful."
He turned.
Adrian followed.
After several steps, Mira called out.
"William."
He stopped.
She hesitated.
Then finally said:
"I think I want to join you."
William looked back.
"You don't have to decide now."
"I know."
She smiled.
"That's why I can say it."
William nodded.
"Then when I return, we'll talk."
Mira smiled.
"I'll wait."
William and Adrian left the settlement.
They walked for several hours without speaking.
Eventually Adrian asked:
"You really think someone close to you is leaking information."
"Yes."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think it's someone from your past?"
William looked ahead.
"Maybe."
"And if it is?"
William's expression became serious.
"Then I'll have to decide whether knowing the truth is worth what it will cost."
Adrian didn't ask anything else.
They continued walking.
Behind them, Mira watched from the edge of the settlement.
She had not expected to care whether William returned.
But now she did.
And that realization frightened her more than the previous attack.
Far away...
The woman who had first brought William to the organization entered a quiet room.
Darius was waiting.
"You let him find the token."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because hiding it would have been pointless."
Darius looked at her.
"You've become attached."
She frowned.
"No."
"You defended him during the meeting."
"I told him what I knew."
"You warned him."
"Because he deserved to know."
Darius smiled.
"You are starting to sound like him."
She looked away.
"Perhaps that's why I stayed."
Darius became silent.
After a moment, he asked:
"Did he discover who gave us the information?"
"No."
"Good."
She hesitated.
"Did you?"
Darius looked at her.
"No."
She frowned.
"Then who has been feeding us information?"
Darius's expression became serious.
"We don't know."
She looked surprised.
"Then why continue using it?"
"Because the information is accurate."
He stood.
"And until we know who is sending it..."
He looked toward the window.
"...we have no reason to stop listening."
William continued toward the next city.
He had begun this journey looking for people who might follow him.
Now he was searching for someone who had been watching him long before he realized it.
And for the first time...
The enemy was no longer simply someone standing in front of him.
It might be someone behind a message.
Someone behind a report.
Someone who knew where he had been.
Someone who knew what he intended to build.
Someone who understood him well enough to predict his choices.
William looked toward the horizon.
He had spent years learning how to control his power.
Perhaps now...
He needed to learn how to protect his life from people who never intended to fight him directly.