The mountain disappeared behind William.
He did not look back.
There was no reason to.
The fifteen years he had spent inside it had already become a part of him.
Not memories he needed to revisit.
Not scars he needed to mourn.
They were simply...
A part of the road he had walked.
William continued forward.
His pace was neither fast nor slow.
For the first time since leaving the mountain, however, his thoughts were not occupied by his cultivation.
He kept thinking about the young man he had met.
The way he had spoken.
The anger hidden beneath his calmness.
The hatred he carried toward the powers that had destroyed his village.
But what interested William most was not his hatred.
It was the fact that the young man had refused to become what he hated.
That was difficult.
Much more difficult than simply taking revenge.
William understood that.
He had once wanted revenge himself.
For years, the Crimson Shadow Sect had occupied a place in his heart that no other force could replace.
He had hated them.
He had imagined confronting them.
And even after everything that had happened...
That hatred had not completely disappeared.
William stopped.
His gaze became distant.
Jack.
Maria.
For a moment, their faces appeared in his mind.
His parents.
The people whose absence had once made the entire world seem meaningless.
William slowly closed his eyes.
He had spent years running from the emptiness left behind by their deaths.
Then Victoria remained.
Angela appeared in his life.
And later...
His son.
The emptiness had not disappeared.
It had simply stopped being the only thing inside him.
William opened his eyes.
"Perhaps..."
He whispered.
"That's what strength is supposed to do."
Not erase pain.
Not erase loss.
But give someone something worth protecting after the pain.
His expression became calm again.
He continued walking.
Three days later...
William entered a small city.
There was nothing remarkable about it.
No ancient ruins.
No famous inheritance.
No legendary cultivator.
It was simply a place where ordinary cultivators lived.
William walked through its streets under the identity of Roman.
His appearance was different.
His aura was concealed.
Even his movements were slightly altered.
He had learned long ago that disguising one's appearance was easy.
Disguising one's habits was harder.
Anyone who had observed William long enough could recognize him from the way he moved.
So he deliberately slowed his steps.
He entered a restaurant.
Ordered food.
And sat alone.
He did not need to eat.
But eating among ordinary cultivators allowed him to hear things without attracting attention.
He listened.
Not because he expected to discover some great secret.
But because he wanted to understand what people were saying.
The Golden Era was everywhere.
People spoke about it constantly.
Some were excited.
Some were afraid.
Some wanted to become famous.
Others simply wanted to survive.
At the table beside him, a young woman spoke to her companion.
"You're really leaving?"
"I have to."
"Why?"
The man lowered his voice.
"The force I joined wants me to participate in a conflict."
"So?"
"So I don't want to."
The woman stared at him.
"You can refuse."
The man smiled bitterly.
"Can I?"
Neither spoke for several seconds.
William listened quietly.
The man eventually continued.
"My father spent his whole life telling me that joining a powerful force would protect me."
"And?"
"I believed him."
His fingers tightened around his cup.
"Now I understand."
The woman looked at him.
"Understand what?"
"That sometimes joining a powerful force doesn't protect you."
He looked toward the window.
"It only makes your death useful to someone else."
William lowered his eyes.
Again...
Different people.
Different lives.
The same problem.
People were looking for somewhere to belong.
Some wanted protection.
Some wanted revenge.
Some wanted power.
Some wanted freedom.
And some...
Simply wanted someone to tell them that their lives mattered.
William leaned back.
He had found what he was looking for.
Not an army.
A problem.
He needed to know what kind of people would willingly follow him.
And more importantly...
Why.
That evening, William left the city.
He had barely traveled several kilometers when he stopped.
Someone was following him.
He knew it.
The footsteps behind him were intentionally quiet.
Too quiet.
William continued walking.
He did not turn around.
The person following him accelerated.
William stopped.
The footsteps stopped too.
Silence.
William finally turned.
A young man stood several meters away.
William recognized him.
The same person from the ruined town.
The young man looked exhausted.
His clothes were damaged.
There was dried blood near his shoulder.
William's eyes narrowed.
"You followed me."
The young man shrugged.
"I did."
"Why?"
"I wanted to talk."
"You could have approached me in the city."
"I didn't trust you enough."
William stared at him.
The young man smiled.
"You're wondering why I followed someone I don't trust."
"I am."
"Because I trust the people chasing me even less."
William almost smiled.
Almost.
"What do they want?"
"You."
William's expression changed.
"Me?"
"They know you saved me."
"How?"
"I told them."
William's gaze became colder.
The young man immediately raised his hands.
"Before you misunderstand..."
"I did it intentionally."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to know what they would do."
William stared at him.
"You used me."
"Yes."
There was no hesitation in the answer.
That honesty surprised William.
The young man continued.
"I needed to know whether you were actually as dangerous as they say."
"And?"
The young man looked at him for several seconds.
"I still don't know."
William turned away.
"Then leave."
The young man's expression changed.
"You aren't angry?"
"I should be?"
"You were used."
"That happens."
"You're strangely calm."
William looked at him.
"I've dealt with worse."
The young man studied his face.
Then he asked:
"Why didn't you kill those people?"
William didn't answer immediately.
Because the answer was not as simple as it seemed.
He could have killed them.
Easily.
But killing them would have solved only the immediate problem.
It would not have solved the reason they had come.
It would not have changed the force they served.
And it certainly would not have stopped others from taking their place.
"I didn't need to."
The young man shook his head.
"That's not an answer."
"It is mine."
The young man smiled.
"Then you really are dangerous."
William frowned.
"Why?"
"Because people who enjoy killing are predictable."
He looked directly into William's eyes.
"But people who don't need to kill..."
"are harder to understand."
William remained silent.
The young man suddenly extended his hand.
"My name is Adrian."
William looked at the hand.
Then at Adrian.
"Roman."
Adrian smiled.
"I know."
William's eyes sharpened.
Adrian laughed.
"I knew it wasn't your real name."
"You don't know my real name."
"I don't need to."
Adrian lowered his hand.
"I know enough."
That night...
They camped beneath a cliff.
Adrian sat near the fire.
William remained several meters away.
Neither spoke for a long time.
Eventually Adrian asked:
"Why are you building a force?"
William looked at the flames.
"I haven't told you that."
"You didn't have to."
Adrian smiled.
"You asked me why I refused to join another force."
"You're searching for people."
"You're doing the same."
William did not answer.
Adrian continued.
"You don't want servants."
"You want people who choose you."
William looked at him.
"And if they stop choosing me?"
"Then you lose them."
The answer came immediately.
William's gaze lowered.
Adrian noticed.
"That's the part you don't like."
"What?"
"The possibility that someone you trust may leave."
William's expression became still.
Adrian realized he had touched something deeper.
But he did not stop.
"You've lost someone before."
William remained silent.
Adrian looked at the fire.
"So have I."
For the first time...
There was no anger in his voice.
Only exhaustion.
"My village wasn't everything I had."
He swallowed.
"But it was everything I knew."
His fingers tightened.
"When they destroyed it, I thought I wanted revenge."
"I spent months thinking about killing them."
"Then I realized something."
He looked at William.
"If I spent the rest of my life chasing the people who destroyed my home..."
"then they would still control my life."
William listened.
Adrian smiled bitterly.
"So I decided I would build something instead."
William's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"A place where people like me don't have to beg powerful people for protection."
William stared at him.
Their goals were...
Surprisingly similar.
But their methods were different.
William wanted a force.
Adrian wanted a refuge.
William wanted people strong enough to walk beside him.
Adrian wanted people who would never have to kneel before anyone.
Those differences would eventually matter.
But neither of them knew how much.
The next morning...
They were attacked.
No warning.
No declaration.
A blade descended from the sky.
William raised his hand.
The blade stopped.
At the same instant, Adrian disappeared.
William turned.
Three figures had surrounded him.
Five others were chasing Adrian.
"Take the boy!"
One of them shouted.
William's eyes became cold.
So...
They had come for Adrian.
Not him.
At least...
Not only him.
William released his power.
The battlefield changed.
His domain spread.
The attackers immediately felt the pressure.
One of them gritted his teeth.
"Galactic Domain..."
Another shouted:
"Impossible!"
William moved.
His figure disappeared.
A fist struck the man's chest.
The impact sent him crashing through the ground.
Another attacker tried to escape.
William connected the man's movement to the surrounding space.
His direction changed.
The man flew directly into the path of another attack.
Boom!
The battlefield erupted.
But Adrian was struggling.
Two opponents had cornered him.
He blocked one attack.
The second struck his side.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
William saw it.
For a fraction of a second...
He wanted to intervene.
Then he stopped.
Adrian had chosen his own battle.
If William saved everyone...
He would eventually create exactly what he had promised himself he would not create.
People who depended entirely on him.
Adrian fell to one knee.
The enemy raised his weapon.
Adrian looked at it.
Fear appeared in his eyes.
Real fear.
He knew he couldn't stop it.
Yet...
He stood again.
His body trembled.
But he stood.
William watched.
Adrian raised his weapon.
"Come."
The enemy attacked.
Adrian dodged.
Barely.
Then counterattacked.
The enemy's shoulder was cut.
Adrian stumbled backward.
But he was smiling.
Not because he enjoyed fighting.
Because...
He had refused to fall.
William's expression softened.
That was the kind of person he wanted.
Not someone who needed him to stand.
Someone who stood even when he wasn't there.
William turned toward the remaining enemies.
His aura changed.
The attackers suddenly felt something terrifying.
Not rage.
Not bloodlust.
Something quieter.
William looked at them.
"You should leave."
One of them attacked in desperation.
William's domain swallowed the attack.
The man froze.
William walked past him.
"I won't say it twice."
The remaining attackers fled.
Adrian collapsed.
William caught him before he hit the ground.
Adrian looked up.
"You waited."
"I did."
"You could have saved me earlier."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you?"
William looked at him.
"Because you need to learn how to stand without me."
Adrian was silent.
Then he laughed weakly.
"You're a strange person."
"I've been told."
Adrian closed his eyes.
After a moment, he said:
"I don't want to follow you."
William looked down.
"I didn't ask."
Adrian opened one eye.
"Good."
Then he smiled.
"But..."
He paused.
"I want to see what you're building."
William said nothing.
Adrian continued:
"If I decide I don't like it..."
"I'll leave."
William nodded.
"And if you decide you hate it?"
"I'll tell you."
"Even if I'm stronger than you?"
Adrian smiled.
"Especially then."
William finally smiled.
"Then come."
Adrian closed his eyes again.
"For now..."
He whispered.
"I will."
Far away...
A man stood before a map.
Several locations were marked.
One of them had been crossed out.
Another had been circled.
A subordinate stood beside him.
"They failed."
The man did not react.
"How many?"
"All of them."
"And the boy?"
"Alive."
"And William?"
"Still moving."
The man stared at the map.
For the first time...
A faint smile appeared.
"Good."
The subordinate looked confused.
"Good?"
"Yes."
He placed his finger on another location.
"Now we know something."
"What?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"William protects people."
He looked toward the distance.
"That means we don't need to defeat him."
"We only need to make him choose."
The subordinate's expression changed.
"And if he refuses?"
The man slowly looked at him.
"Then we give him a choice he cannot ignore."
Silence.
The man turned back toward the map.
He had no hatred for William.
That was precisely what made him dangerous.
He believed William's dream was naive.
He believed every force eventually became what it had once opposed.
And he intended to prove it.
Not by killing William.
But by forcing him to choose between his ideals...
And the people he loved.
That evening...
William stood alone beneath the stars.
Adrian slept nearby.
William looked at him.
He had known the man for less than two days.
Yet something had already changed.
For the first time...
The force William wanted to build was no longer an abstract idea.
It had begun with one person.
One person who had not sworn loyalty.
One person who had not bowed.
One person who had openly told him:
I may leave you.
William looked toward the stars.
Perhaps...
That was exactly how it should begin.
Not with obedience.
Not with fear.
Not with promises that could never be broken.
But with a choice.
And somewhere far beyond their current battlefield...
The first pieces of the enemy's plan had already begun moving.