Journey to Become the Zenith

Ashes and Chains

The girl who saw Victor’s expression stiffen felt the air shift.

It wasn’t loud.It wasn’t explosive.

But it was dangerous.

She instinctively stepped behind Videl, fingers clutching the back of the blonde girl’s clothes. Her body trembled—not loudly, not dramatically—but like someone who had learned long ago that drawing attention meant pain.

Videl noticed the tension immediately and moved half a step forward, shielding her without hesitation.

Victor’s golden eyes sharpened.

”Val,” he said, voice low and steady, ”I’ll ask again. What did you do?”

He wasn’t shouting.

That made it worse.

Videl swallowed. The usual sparkle in her sapphire eyes was dimmed, replaced with guilt and stubborn resolve.

”It’s nothing,” she began quickly. ”I just saved this girl who was being chased by some bad men. I mean—look at what they did to her. They chained her.” Her hand gestured subtly toward the collar around the girl’s neck. ”And this collar... it has a very complicated rune structure. She’ll die if I forcefully remove it. So I was hoping you could remove it, Victor.”

Victor didn’t respond immediately.

His gaze had already shifted to the girl.

Fourteen. Maybe fifteen. Long black hair tangled from running. Big green eyes—too bright for someone who had seen too much. Dirt streaked her cheeks. Bruises on her wrists. The collar around her neck shimmered faintly with embedded script.

Slave collar.

Victor exhaled slowly.

”What happened to the men that were chasing her?!” His tone sharpened.

Videl’s expression changed instantly.

Cold.

”I killed them.”

No hesitation. No apology.

Though she believed in good. Though she always tried to see light in people. That line Victor had hammered into her—some people choose their end—had taken root.

She hated killing.

But she would.

If necessary.

”They reached a point of no return,” she added quietly, almost to herself.

Victor clicked his tongue.

”Tsk. We have no time. Show me where the bodies are.”

He had already understood the problem.

Killing them wasn’t the issue.

Ignorance was.

Videl didn’t know how slave traders worked. Didn’t know who they were connected to. Didn’t know what retaliation could follow.

That was his failure.

He should’ve taught her this before they even entered Fantom City.

Videl said nothing more. She crouched slightly.

”Climb on.”

The girl hesitated—but after one glance at Victor’s unreadable expression, she obeyed and wrapped her arms around Videl’s shoulders.

Victor and Lane followed easily as Videl began running.

The streets blurred past them, lantern light flickering against stone walls. The city felt alive—vendors shouting, horses clattering—but beneath it all was something darker. A network most people never saw.

As they moved, Victor spoke.

”You two need to understand something,” he said without slowing. ”Slave traders don’t operate alone. They have buyers. Backers. Sometimes protection from nobles.”

Videl’s jaw tightened.

”I didn’t know.”

”I know,” Victor replied. ”That’s why I’m explaining now.”

Lane ran silently beside him. Her face was calm.

Inside, her thoughts were not.

If someone touched me like that...I would burn the entire city.

She glanced at the girl on Videl’s back.

The girl had gone quiet.

Not crying.

Just listening.

Victor suddenly turned his gaze upward toward her.

”Did they kidnap you? Or were you sold to pay a debt?”

His voice softened slightly.

The girl froze.

Her fingers tightened in Videl’s clothing.

She didn’t want to answer him.

Not him.

His face—too composed. Too sharp. Too handsome.

No one that beautiful had ever spoken to her gently.

But after a moment, she swallowed.

”They burned our home,” she said quietly. ”They took all the women and children. They killed all the men...”

Her voice trembled at the last word.

But she didn’t cry.

She refused.

Videl’s grip on her legs tightened.

Lane’s gaze darkened.

Victor simply nodded.

”I see.”

That was all he said.

But his mind was already calculating.

The girl stared at him from above Videl’s shoulder.

He’s different, she thought.

When Videl saved her, she had been grateful.

When Victor appeared—

Her heart had done something strange.

He was terrifying.

But steady.

Strong.

There was no panic in him.

No confusion.

Only control.

She had never seen a man like that before.

Her pulse quickened without her permission.

She lowered her gaze quickly.

—

They reached the alley where the bodies had been left.

Three corpses lay crumpled against the brick wall.

Victor approached them without emotion.

He examined their clothing. Insignias. Rings. Hidden pockets.

”Small operation,” he muttered. ”No major crest. Probably independent contractors.”

Videl looked confused.

”What does that mean?”

”It means you were lucky.”

He straightened.

Lane remained silent, but her eyes flicked toward the collar again.

Victor walked over to Videl and the girl.

”Put her down.”

Videl obeyed gently.

The girl stood on shaky legs.

Up close, she could see him properly.

Black hair falling slightly over his forehead. Golden eyes that didn’t waver. Sharp features that looked carved rather than born.

Her heartbeat began pounding in her ears.

He was close.

Too close.

Victor crouched slightly to meet her eye level.

”What’s your name?”

She blinked.

”...Aria.”

Victor nodded.

”Aria. This collar—does it hurt?”

She hesitated.

”...When they activate it.”

”Good,” he murmured. ”That means it’s currently dormant.”

Aria swallowed.

She shouldn’t feel safe.

But she did.

Videl watched Victor carefully.

She knew that expression.

He was thinking ahead.

Not about the collar.

About something else.

Victor extended his hand toward the collar without touching it.

Threads of mana spread delicately from his fingertips, weaving around the rune structure like invisible silk.

Aria gasped softly.

It tickled.

Warm.

Gentle.

”Don’t move,” he instructed.

”I—I won’t.”

Her cheeks flushed.

Lane saw it.

Of course she saw it.

And something inside her twisted.

She looks at him like that too.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the script.

”Interesting,” he muttered. ”They used layered termination seals. Crude—but effective.”

Videl frowned.

”Can you remove it?”

”Yes,” he replied calmly. ”But not here.”

Aria’s gaze never left his face.

He didn’t look at her the way the traders had.

Not like property.

Not like prey.

He looked at her like—

A problem to solve.

And somehow that felt better.

When he finally withdrew his hand, she felt colder without his mana brushing against her skin.

”You’ll stay with us for now,” Victor said simply.

Aria’s heart skipped.

”With... you?”

”Yes.”

Videl brightened.

”You’ll be safe.”

Aria nodded quickly.

”Yes.”

Too quickly.

Lane noticed.

She’s already attached.

Victor turned away from the bodies.

”We burn them.”

Videl didn’t hesitate. She ignited a controlled flame, and the corpses were swallowed in fire.

As smoke rose into the night, Aria looked at Victor again.

”You’re... very strong,” she said quietly.

Victor glanced back.

”I try to be.”

Her cheeks grew warmer.

”I’ve never seen someone like you.”

Lane exhaled softly.

Victor didn’t respond.

But he heard it.

And he understood the effect he had.

He always did.

As they began walking back toward the inn, Victor’s thoughts sharpened.

This situation wasn’t just a rescue.

It was opportunity.

Videl needed to understand the world beyond ideals.

Aria could become—

Useful.

Loyalty forged from salvation ran deep.

And Videl’s growth depended on facing consequences.

Victor glanced sideways at Videl.

”You did well,” he said suddenly.

Videl blinked.

”I did?”

”You acted. You protected someone weaker.”

Her sapphire eyes softened.

”But I made a mistake too.”

”Yes,” Victor replied calmly. ”You did.”

She nodded.

She accepted that.

Aria watched them both.

She felt something unfamiliar rising in her chest.

Admiration.

Gratitude.

And something else she couldn’t name.

She didn’t know what the future held.

She only knew one thing clearly.

When Victor had looked at her and said her name—

For the first time since her village burned—

She had felt alive.

Victor walked ahead, already planning the next move.

Then an idea came to him.

This situation could be very beneficial—not for him, but for Videl.