The next morning, William left the city with Adrian and Mira.
For a while, none of them spoke.
The road stretched ahead through a vast plain, and the silence between them was not uncomfortable.
Mira was still adjusting to the decision she had made.
She had not joined a sect.
She had not sworn loyalty to a family.
She had simply decided to walk beside William.
And yet William understood that the decision carried more weight than she probably realized.
After several hours, Mira finally spoke.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why are you doing this?"
William glanced at her.
"Doing what?"
"Building a force."
He thought for a moment.
"I've had many reasons."
"Which one is the real one?"
William didn't answer immediately.
He looked toward the horizon.
"At first, I thought it was because I wanted people around me who could be trusted."
Mira waited.
"But that wasn't enough."
"Why?"
"Because trust can become dependence."
Mira frowned.
William continued.
"If people trust me so much that they stop thinking for themselves, then I've created the same kind of structure I wanted to escape."
She looked at him.
"So you want independent people."
"Yes."
"Even if they disagree with you?"
"Especially then."
Mira smiled faintly.
"That sounds difficult."
"It is."
Adrian laughed from behind them.
"He's beginning to discover that leadership is unpleasant."
William looked back.
"You volunteered to accompany me."
"I know. I'm regretting it already."
Mira laughed.
For a few moments, the atmosphere became lighter.
But William's expression soon returned to seriousness.
Because he had noticed something.
They were being followed.
He didn't say anything.
Instead, he slowed down.
Adrian noticed immediately.
Mira didn't.
William glanced toward the distant hills.
Three figures.
Too far away for an ordinary cultivator to notice.
They weren't hiding particularly well.
Which meant they wanted him to notice.
William continued walking.
After another hour, they reached a small forest.
William stopped.
"We'll rest here."
Mira looked around.
"Already?"
"Yes."
They entered the forest.
William waited.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
Nothing happened.
Mira eventually sat beneath a tree.
Adrian approached William quietly.
"Three people."
"I know."
"Enemies?"
"Probably."
"Should we attack?"
"No."
Adrian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because they want us to."
Mira looked toward them.
"Are we being followed?"
William nodded.
She stood.
"How many?"
"Three."
"Then why haven't they attacked?"
William looked at her.
"Because the attack isn't the point."
Mira's expression became serious.
"They want us to react."
"Yes."
"To make us look aggressive?"
"Possibly."
William looked toward the forest.
"Or they want to see whether you trust me enough to fight beside me."
Mira's expression changed.
She understood.
The enemy was testing their relationship.
Not their strength.
Their trust.
William walked deeper into the forest.
"Stay here."
Mira immediately asked:
"Why?"
"Because I want to speak with them alone."
She hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
William disappeared between the trees.
The three figures were waiting near a small stream.
They didn't move when William approached.
The oldest among them smiled.
"You noticed us quickly."
"You're not trying to hide."
"We wanted you to find us."
"Why?"
The man looked at William.
"We were asked to deliver a message."
"From whom?"
"We don't know."
William's expression remained calm.
"What message?"
The man took a small piece of paper from his robe.
He threw it toward William.
William caught it.
There was only one sentence.
You are building something that cannot survive you.
William stared at the words.
The man said:
"That's all."
William folded the paper.
"Then leave."
The three figures looked at one another.
One of them laughed.
"You're not going to ask what it means?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you don't know."
The man smiled.
"You're right."
William turned to leave.
Then the oldest man spoke.
"They want you to understand something."
William stopped.
"They believe you're making the same mistake many powerful people make."
"What mistake?"
"Thinking that the people around them will remain loyal when the cost becomes too high."
William looked back.
"That's possible."
The man seemed surprised.
"You admit it?"
"Of course."
William's voice remained calm.
"People aren't obligated to remain with me."
The man stared at him.
"Then what happens when one of them betrays you?"
William looked at him.
"I'll deal with it."
"And if all of them do?"
"Then I'll be alone."
The man smiled.
"That's exactly what they expect."
William said nothing.
He walked away.
When he returned, Mira was waiting.
"What did they want?"
"To deliver a message."
"What message?"
William showed her the paper.
She read it.
Her expression changed.
"Do you believe it?"
William looked at her.
"I think it's a possibility."
Mira frowned.
"You don't seem worried."
"I am."
"Then why aren't you afraid?"
William smiled faintly.
"Because they misunderstood something."
"What?"
"They think the purpose of my force is to ensure people never leave me."
He folded the paper.
"It isn't."
Mira stared at him.
"Then what is it?"
"The purpose is to give people a place worth choosing."
She remained silent.
William continued.
"If they leave one day, I'll accept it."
"And if they betray you?"
"I'll accept the consequences."
Mira looked at him for a long time.
Then she smiled.
"I think I understand now."
They continued their journey.
By sunset, they reached a small settlement.
William decided to stay there for the night.
The settlement was peaceful.
People gathered around a central square.
Children ran through the streets.
Merchants closed their shops.
Nothing seemed unusual.
But William noticed that people were watching Mira.
Not him.
Her.
He understood why a few minutes later.
A man approached her.
"Mira?"
She froze.
"Do I know you?"
The man smiled.
"You don't remember me?"
Mira stared at him.
Then her face changed.
"You..."
William looked at her.
The man laughed.
"We trained together years ago."
Mira looked uncomfortable.
"Why are you here?"
"I heard you left."
"Yes."
"And now you're following him."
Mira didn't answer.
The man looked at William.
"Do you know what you're getting into?"
William remained silent.
The man continued.
"You should ask her about the people she left behind."
Mira's expression hardened.
"Don't."
The man's smile disappeared.
"You abandoned them."
"I didn't."
"You walked away."
"Because I had no choice."
"You always had a choice."
Mira clenched her fists.
William watched silently.
He could feel the tension rising.
The man turned toward William.
"She isn't the person you think she is."
Mira looked at him.
"Enough."
The man ignored her.
"Ask her why she left her previous group."
William finally spoke.
"If she wants to tell me, she'll tell me."
The man laughed.
"That's it?"
William looked at him.
"Yes."
"You don't care?"
"I care."
"Then why don't you ask?"
"Because her past belongs to her."
The man's expression changed.
He had expected suspicion.
Instead, he found trust.
The man looked at Mira.
"You told him?"
She shook her head.
"Then he doesn't know."
William looked at Mira.
"Do you want to tell me?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Not here."
William nodded.
"Tomorrow."
The man left.
That night, Mira sat beside the fire.
William sat across from her.
Adrian was nearby but remained silent.
Mira stared into the flames.
"I left my old group because I betrayed them."
William didn't react.
Mira continued.
"We were exploring a dangerous region. One of our leaders made a decision I thought would get everyone killed."
"So you disagreed."
"Yes."
"What did you do?"
"I took several people and left."
William nodded.
"Did they survive?"
"Most of them."
"And the others?"
She lowered her head.
"Two died."
Silence.
Mira's voice became quieter.
"I've always believed that I was right to leave."
William waited.
"But sometimes I wonder whether I should have stayed and tried to change the decision instead."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I was afraid."
William nodded.
"That's understandable."
Mira looked up.
"You don't think I betrayed them?"
"I think you made a decision."
"Even if people died because of it?"
"Yes."
She stared at him.
"How can you say that so easily?"
"Because if I tell you that you were innocent, I'm lying."
Mira's eyes widened.
William continued.
"But if I tell you that you were guilty, I'm also lying."
He looked into the fire.
"You made a choice under pressure. The consequences were real. You have to live with them."
Mira's eyes became wet.
"I've never heard someone say it like that."
William looked at her.
"You don't need someone to absolve you."
"What do I need?"
"To decide what you'll do with what happened."
Mira remained silent.
Then she whispered:
"I think that's why I followed you."
William didn't answer.
She looked at him.
"You don't pretend choices are simple."
William smiled faintly.
"They aren't."
Later that night, Adrian approached William.
"You handled that well."
William looked at him.
"I wasn't sure what to say."
"Neither was I."
Adrian sat down.
"Do you realize what happened?"
"What?"
"The people following us tried to create distrust."
William nodded.
"But instead..."
"Mira told you the truth."
William smiled.
"Yes."
Adrian looked toward her sleeping figure.
"That may be more valuable than recruiting ten powerful cultivators."
William nodded.
"Because she chose to tell me."
Far away, the three men from earlier delivered their report.
"He didn't react."
The person listening frowned.
"Explain."
"We showed him information that could have damaged his relationship with the woman."
"And?"
"He didn't accuse her."
"What did he do?"
"He let her explain."
Silence.
The person leaned back.
"So the first method failed."
"Yes."
"Not entirely."
The man looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"We learned something."
"What?"
The voice became quieter.
"His greatest strength may not be his power."
The man waited.
"It's his ability to let people remain themselves."
The next morning, William left the settlement with Mira and Adrian.
The road ahead was long.
But something had changed.
Mira walked beside William without hesitation.
Not because he had promised her strength.
Not because he had promised her protection.
And not because she had nowhere else to go.
She had chosen.
And William understood that this was exactly what he had wanted to create.
But somewhere in the distance, another plan was already taking shape.
The people opposing William had learned that direct pressure would not easily break the trust between him and those around him.
So they needed something else.
Something stronger.
Something that would force William to choose between two people he cared about.
And this time...
There would be no choice without a victim.