When Journeys cross path, emotions fester and from that, chaos is birthed
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The distance between his home and the training center was over 10 km. Sgt Campbell had expected Liam to fail on the first day, especially since he was suffering from a hangover, but he was shocked by what he saw.
Halfway through, Liam was already soaked in sweat and gasping like someone who had just completed a marathon. He even threw up and sat by the roadside for several minutes but never once did he request to end the training session or make an excuse.
Several times he needed to rest, but eventually, he always got up and continued running. The process made their journey to the training center take twice as long, but Sgt Campbell didn't complain. In fact, he was instantly enchanted by Liam's resilience and couldn't help silently cheering him on.
The training center was a towering skyscraper, mimicking the cylindrical shape and appearance of a glass pod found in laboratories. In it were several facilities aimed at improving the physical and combat capabilities of ascendants. The entire facility covered space large enough to build five-star resorts and hotels.
Massive was an understatement.
"You did really well today!" Sgt Campbell praised Liam, who was panting like a dog while staggering into the gym in the training center.
Liam staggered behind him, gasping between heavy breaths. To his surprise, everyone was already in the gym working out under the supervision of a military officer. They were all holed up in one corner of the gym, working out in silence and ignoring each other like they didn't go camping some nights ago.
For a moment, Liam stood there, stunned by the sight. He had expected this hell to be limited to just him and Denis because they were newbies, but seeing Jackson benching 350 kg under the motivational yells of his personal trainer like he was a newbie in the gym made him realize something.
This stressful routine might be a permanent part of his life till he died.
"Is he going to be okay?" Liam mumbled in shock, seeing Jackson work out.
This man had always been labeled weak compared to his peers—average at best—but the physical strength on display here would make competitors of the World's Strongest Man look like children.
If the world could consider someone like this average at best, what were the capabilities of an ascendant considered strong?
He wondered if his physical abilities would rise to this level eventually as he climbed the tower. However, Liam's appearance caught everyone's attention, and eyes naturally flew in his direction. He caught sight of Lia's gaze, and their eyes locked briefly, causing memories of last night to resurface.
Dancing, screaming, laughing, talking while looking deep into each other's eyes. The hazy images became much clearer for both sides as they quickly broke the connection and threw their faces in opposite directions.
"As you can see, the training never ends until you are dead. So I suggest you get used to this morning routine because it will be part of life forever." Sgt Campbell's words shattered his thoughts, pulling him back to reality.
The man approached with 20 kg dumbbells and a face that promised pain worse than what Liam had endured on the way here. His workout routine consisted of hundreds of curls until his biceps were sore, hundreds of bench presses until his chest was tight, squats, pull-ups, chin-ups, and many more.
After abusing his body for several hours until it was visibly red and puffy, he was forced to engage in a brutal one-on-one spar with Sgt Campbell, where he got his ass whooped so badly he started tapping out in a boxing match just to make it stop.
After that, he was dragged to the underground shooting range, where he was shown several weapons, each carrying a backstory that added no value to his life or knowledge.
Liam was forced to learn how to dismember and assemble every one of them. He spent the rest of the morning doing this until his wrists were sore and he could barely move his hands.
— Training Center Parking Lot, 12 p.m. —
Liam staggered out of the training facility, using the walls as support. His entire body was wobbly, threatening to collapse at any time due to overwork.
Watching him struggle from a distance, Lia couldn't help smiling at his dramatic actions. Every yell, scream, and argument Liam had with Campbell was hilarious and was aimed at frustrating the man just as much as he was frustrated.
She couldn't help catching herself smiling between exercises.
'I know dating him was to get rid of Kim Jun, but he is a lot of fun to be with,' Lia admitted to herself.
Putting her thoughts aside, she quickened her pace to catch up to her struggling boyfriend.
"You should be proud of yourself. That Denis kid passed out halfway through the training. It takes a lot to complete the training on your first try." She complimented him and tapped his shoulder.
Liam wanted to smile, but he was in too much pain to find delight in her words.
"Don't tell me I have to do this every morning for the rest of my life?" Liam complained.
He gave her a pleading look, and she nodded with a bitter smile.
"Unfortunately, that's the life we're stuck with. So yeah, going clubbing and partying every night is not a feasible lifestyle in this industry." Lia sighed bitterly.
"True." Liam nodded, shifting his attention to an approaching figure.
It was Jackson, with a towel wrapped around his neck and phone in hand. The urgency in his eyes as he raced toward them startled Liam, causing him to stop walking and wait for the man to catch up.
"What is this?" Jackson blurted out as soon as he approached.
Without hesitation, he shoved the phone in their faces. It was a news article, captioned Love Amongst Curses?
The article came with a picture of Liam and Lia dancing in the club and looking into each other's eyes. He expected a reaction from them, but there was none.
"What about it?" Lia responded with a question.
"What about… wait…" Jackson noticed the indifference in both their eyes. "You guys are dating for real?"
His question got Ruth's attention. She was just walking past but froze instantly upon hearing Jackson. Her shocked gaze fell on Lia first, wondering how the loner who had never bothered sharing a simple greeting with Jackson and her since her arrival fell in love with the crazy murderer in just 24 hours of meeting him.
'The weirdos found love amongst themselves?'
No matter how much Ruth tried, she couldn't remove the thought from her head. Liam noticed her arrival, acknowledging it with a brief glance before returning to Jackson.
"So what if we are dating? Is there a rule against it or something?" Liam asked in a dull tone, and Jackson flinched.
He gave Lia a questioning gaze, but she avoided his eyes and walked away. Not waiting for a response, Liam left as well, leaving Jackson and Ruth puzzled.
It took Jackson a second to recover from the shock, and he quickly called after them.
"Hold on… have you two gone the full way?" Jackson yelled, but there was no response from the two.
They kept walking away, pretending they didn't hear him.
"I can divine it and see everything that happened—everything! Don't dare me, tell me the truth now!" The old man wasn't backing down.
Liam and Lia ignored his words and kept walking, drawing closer to the fleet of identical SUVs lined up to pick them up. Standing beside each vehicle was a butler, and not too far from them were Renginald and an elderly lady dressed in matching butler attire.
At this point, the two slowed down and exchanged glances.
"I'm on investigation duty tonight. I believe it should be a good opportunity to expose you to mysticism. Can your body handle the stress?" she asked, and Liam's eyes dilated with genuine shock.
Not only did he not expect their training to begin so soon, he couldn't understand what an investigation had to do with mysticism. Before he could speak, Lia shushed him with her index finger firmly placed on his lips.
"You'll get to know everything about it tonight. For now, just go home, take a hot shower, have breakfast, and rest. Okay?" Lia gently styled his disheveled hair while speaking.
Liam responded with a nod. He stopped walking and she stopped too, both standing inches apart.
"One question before you go. Now we are officially dating, do we have to live the part?" he raised a brow.
Lia didn't respond quickly. She lowered her head a bit and thought carefully before speaking.
"Honestly, I'm curious about you. Since we are already doing this, we might as well give each other a try. Who knows what could happen?" she said.
"Alright then…"
Without warning, Liam pressed his hands against her cheeks and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"I'll see you later, babe."
Saying this, he walked away without waiting for her response. While he smiled victoriously, Lia was rooted to the spot, staring at him with a mixture of shock and embarrassment on her flushed face.
She watched Liam exchange greetings with Renginald and then wave at her before getting into the car.
Meanwhile, standing at the sidelines, Ruth and Jackson observed the exchange before sharing a simple glance.
"They haven't gone the full way," Jackson declared, and a small smile broke on Ruth's face.
The old man had no family or friends, so he naturally extended his parental love to everyone in the estate without noticing it. When she first came here a decade ago, he also fussed when she met her fiancé.
Their relationship only became official when he gave the go-ahead signal. It was a funny event that made her first years as an ascendant bearable.
However, this memory reminded her of the good days between her and her fiancé before things got a bit weird. Things happened, and she stepped out of her relationship once.
The guilt that followed was immense, and she had spent the rest of her life making it up to her fiancé, who was unaware of her betrayal. She always told herself her loyalty to him would be a means of atonement for her sin, but now things were different.
There was someone who saw her sin for what it was and not what she tried to pretend it to be. The fact Liam could see her adultery at first glance meant her walk of atonement had been pointless.
She was a sinner.
An Inquisitor who had broken the rules.
A hypocrite.
"Are you alright? You've been looking a bit down lately." Jackson's voice made Ruth flinch.
"Oh… oh… yeah, I'm good." Ruth's voice was shaky, and she avoided eye contact.
Not waiting for a response, she walked away, leaving Jackson standing alone, confused.
"What the hell is wrong with everyone today?"