The crowd slowly dispersed, but even as bodies began to move and return to their places, the feeling left behind by that encounter did not move… it remained hanging in the air, heavy, invisible, yet felt in every glance and every whisper.
It was clear to anyone with even a trace of awareness… that what had happened was not just a passing challenge between two disciples.
It was… the beginning of a clash that would not end easily.
Faiser stood in his place for a few moments, his eyes fixed on the direction where kael had disappeared, as if he wasn't looking at a person, but at something further ahead… at a result that had yet to happen.
Then Faiser said in a cold, calm voice, as if announcing something completely ordinary:
"After four days… it seems I'll finally find something to break this long boredom that has surrounded me since I entered this sect, because honestly, I've started to feel that everything happening here is just meaningless noise… but now… at least there is something worth looking at."
Shin exhaled slowly, then said while running his hand over his face as if trying to process what had just happened:
"You talk about boredom as if you're someone who came here for entertainment, not someone standing in the middle of an entire sect filled with tension, alliances, and hidden conflicts… and what's even stranger is that you don't seem worried even a little, and that alone makes dealing with you more exhausting than you think."
Then he added while looking at him directly:
"Because you don't just get into problems… you treat them as if they are something natural that should happen."
Inside Faiser's mind, the book laughed and said in a playful tone:
"I like that description… but it's not accurate."
Then it continued, laughing:
"Faiser doesn't deal with problems as something natural… he simply sees them as the only natural thing, and everything else is just boring waiting for what comes next."
Faiser didn't respond, but slowly began to turn away, as if the matter was already over for him.
But before he took a step—
A calm, clear voice reached him, carrying no tension, yet not light either. It was Shirin's voice…
Shirin said:
"Faiser… I want to ask you something, but I want you to answer honestly, not in your usual way where you dodge the real meaning of words."
Faiser stopped and slowly turned, then looked at her.
She stood firmly, not pretending strength, yet not showing weakness either… a direct gaze, without hesitation, as if her previous self—the one who treated Faiser as her savior… had suddenly changed.
Faiser said calmly:
"Ask."
Shirin said while looking straight into his eyes, as if trying to read what lay behind them:
"You're not doing this randomly, right? I mean… the way you provoked that person, the way you responded, even your words… they all seem intentional, as if you're not just speaking to reply, but to push the other side to act in a certain way. Am I wrong… or are you really doing all this for a reason?"
Faiser was silent for a second, then said calmly:
"If it were random… it would have no value."
Shirin narrowed her eyes slightly, then said:
"So you admit… that you deliberately push people, test them, put them in situations that force them to reveal their true selves, right?"
Inside Faiser's mind, the book said excitedly:
"Oh… this girl isn't stupid at all, she's starting to understand the situation at a frightening speed."
Faiser said:
"When people talk… you can hear their words… but when you pressure them… you see what lies behind those words."
A moment of silence followed.
Then Shirin said slowly, as if thinking while speaking:
"But this method… is dangerous."
"Because you're not testing ordinary people, you're dealing with people who have power, pride, history… and their reactions won't always be simple, which means you're not just testing them…"
Then she raised her gaze further toward him:
"You're pushing yourself to the edge of danger with them."
Faiser smiled faintly.
Then said:
"Danger is not something I avoid… it's something I need… to see if I'm still truly alive."
Shin's gaze trembled slightly, while Shirin remained silent for a second.
Then she said in a softer voice:
"kael… is not like the other disciples."
Faiser said:
"I know."
She shook her head and said:
"No… you say 'I know' in a way that makes it sound simple, but I don't think you understand what I mean. kael doesn't fight to win, or to prove himself, or even to gain recognition… he fights in a different way, as if fighting itself is not a means, but an end… as if breaking his opponent is the only thing that gives him meaning."
Inside Faiser's mind, the book said happily:
"Hmm, nice… we're entering the fun part."
Faiser said calmly:
"Then… he's honest."
Shirin was slightly surprised, so Faiser continued:
"People who fight for an external reason… can be predicted. But those who fight because they want to… are the most dangerous."
Then he added:
"And that makes it more interesting."
Shirin sighed lightly, then said:
"I'm not trying to stop you, because I know you won't stop even if I try… but I just… don't want to see the same ending repeat in front of me."
Faiser paused for a moment, then said:
"What ending?"
Shirin said in a calm voice, but with something deeper within it:
"The ending of someone who thinks they understand everything… only to realize too late that they weren't seeing the full picture."
A brief silence followed. Shin was watching his sister, as if he understood her change… and her intention.
Then Faiser said:
"That won't happen."
She asked:
"Which part do you mean?"
He said:
"That I realize too late… because I already see the full picture, and no one can change my perspective… because my perspective is always correct."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving both Shirin and Shin looking at him in shock at his words…
Inside his mind, the book laughed and said:
"You're such a comfortable person… you speak as if the future is something you've already decided."
Faiser said:
"Because it is."
Far from Faiser, inside the Sixth Elder's wing, kael stood inside the elder's room, calm and upright, while the Sixth Elder looked at him with narrowed eyes, as if he wasn't just seeing his disciple… but seeing through him what had happened outside.
The elder said slowly:
"So… tell me… after seeing him yourself, not through rumors and my messages, what is your true opinion of him? I don't want shallow words, I want what you felt when you stood before him."
kael was silent for a second, then said:
"He's not as weak as he looks… that's the first thing I noticed, because weak people don't look that way, nor do they speak with that confidence. But at the same time… he's not strong enough to justify that confidence, and that's what makes him strange."
The elder nodded slowly.
Then said:
"So… he's dangerous."
kael said:
"Not yet… but he might become so."
The elder smiled coldly.
Then said:
"Good… then don't kill him quickly."
kael raised his eyes slightly.
The elder continued:
"I want him to understand… that what he did was not just a passing mistake that can be ignored, but a mistake with a price… and that price must be paid in front of everyone, at the right time and place."
kael smiled slowly, then said:
"I'll make him pay it… step by step."
Back to Faiser, he was now walking alone, the corridor had become empty and the voices distant.
At that moment, the book suddenly said:
"Three sides… you, that student, and that elder…"
Then it laughed:
"This won't be just a match… this is truly the beginning of chaos, hahaha."
Faiser stopped for a moment, then said calmly:
"Chaos… is the natural state of the world."
He raised his gaze slightly.
"…and everything else is just an illusion."
Then Faiser continued walking, completely unconcerned with what was happening.
And in a distant place within the sect… an unknown person was watching everything from above.
He said in a low voice:
"So… this is the one…"
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"It seems this competition… will be far more entertaining than it should be, hahaha."