Journey to Become the Zenith

A Path That Should Not Exist

Videl sighed.

”I really wanted to believe you.”

For some reason, those words seemed to affect her more than an accusation would have.

Her expression tightened.

”I...”

She stopped.

Videl didn’t pressure her.

He simply looked at Aria.

”Search her.”

Aria nodded.

She carefully checked the woman’s clothes and belongings.

Within moments, her expression changed.

”Videl.”

”What?”

”Look at this.”

Aria pulled out a small pouch.

Then another.

Then another.

The woman’s face became completely pale.

There were numerous bags hidden beneath her clothes, each filled with coins.

Some contained copper.

Others silver.

One even contained several gold pieces.

Videl stared at the collection.

There was no reasonable explanation anymore.

This wasn’t the first theft.

She had been doing this for some time.

The two men immediately recognized several of the pouches.

”Those are mine!”

”And that one belongs to me!”

The thief lowered her head.

The act was over.

There was nothing left to perform.

Videl slowly stood.

He felt no satisfaction.

He had proven himself right this time, but instead of feeling proud, he simply felt tired.

He had learned something important.

A person’s appearance could lie.

Their tears could lie.

Even fear could lie.

The guards arrived a moment later.

Videl told them what had occurred and handed the thief over to them.

The woman was taken away while still shouting and denying her guilt, although a great deal of the fight had gone from her voice.

The two men took back their possessions.

They then bowed to Videl before turning and walking away.

”Thank you for what you did.”

”We thought it was the end.”

Videl gave a slight nod to them.

”Next time, be a little more alert.”

They offered thanks again and left.

Aria watched them walk into the throng of people and then back to Videl.

”You do not seem pleased with yourself.”

Videl was silent for a few seconds.

The sunlight was finding its way through the buildings and cast long gold bars upon the street. People walked along their respective ways. Somewhere children giggled, and the shouts of the bread vendor were being called out. Life carried on oblivious to the interruption.

Yet Videl seemed disconnected from everything. He felt no warm glow inside his chest. Normally this help did make him feel like it was all for a purpose. No matter what he was helping someone with: a child that was lost or scared or a dispute between neighbors; it all gave him a feeling of purpose.

Now he looked at his hand - the hand that the woman had clutched desperately moments before.

”I do not know.”

Aria cocked her head.

”Do not know?”

Videl breathed out, long and slow.

”Initially I felt very proud.”

”Because you helped them?”

”Yeah.”

She looked toward the street where the men had disappeared.

”I thought being a hero would feel like this.”

Aria remained quiet, watching Videl carefully.

Videl’s expression became thoughtful.

”I thought there would be evil lords, armies of monsters, innocent people trapped beneath barbarian attacks...”

She gave a faint, almost embarrassed smile.

”Something bigger.”

Aria crossed her arms.

”Saving someone from being robbed isn’t heroic enough?”

”It is.”

Videl shook her head.

”That’s not what I mean.”

She looked toward the sky.

”But something has changed.”

The words came slowly.

”After the Elder Lich incident, everything became quieter.”

Aria’s expression softened.

”You don’t want people to suffer just so you can fight.”

”Of course not.”

Videl immediately answered.

”I don’t want anyone suffering.”

She clenched her hand slightly.

”But...”

The word lingered between them.

She couldn’t explain it.

There was something wrong.

Something she couldn’t see.

Her gaze drifted toward the distant horizon.

”It feels like the road I’m walking on isn’t the road I was supposed to walk.”

Aria frowned.

”What do you mean?”

Videl didn’t answer immediately.

Her thoughts returned to the words she had once heard from Niklaus.

A hero had a predetermined route.

A path carved by destiny.

A story that was supposed to unfold in a certain way.

Yet Videl’s path no longer felt natural.

Too many things had changed.

Too many expected events had vanished.

Too many roads had suddenly closed.

It wasn’t simply that fate had become unpredictable.

It was as though something had reached into the flow of her life and moved the pieces around.

She felt a chill despite the warm afternoon air.

It was like someone was controlling the path she was supposed to take...

No.

Her eyes narrowed.

It was more like someone was forcefully changing the course of her destiny.

She didn’t know why that thought had entered her mind.

But once it did, she couldn’t push it away.

Videl remembered something Niklaus had once told her.

A hero had a predestined route to take.

A route that could not be changed.

Yet somehow, that route seemed to have shifted dramatically.

Videl slowly raised her head.

”Maybe Niklaus has some answers.”

She paused.

”I probably should visit him again.”

----------------------

It took Videl about two days to find the cave where she had met Niklaus.

The journey should have been simple.

It wasn’t.

The cave itself was hidden deep within a rugged stretch of wilderness, far from the ordinary roads and settlements. Niklaus had deliberately chosen a place where even powerful cultivators would have difficulty locating him. His presence was almost completely concealed, as though the surrounding mountains themselves had swallowed him.

For most people, finding such a place would have been nearly impossible.

Even Amura, who possessed the ability to sense the presence of powerful individuals through the sword spirit’s connection to her surroundings, struggled to locate Niklaus.

The reason was simple.

Niklaus was suppressing his power.

He wasn’t merely hiding his presence casually. He was actively forcing his immense aura inward, preventing even the slightest trace of his true strength from leaking into the surrounding world.

Yet there was one problem.

As long as his power did not disappear completely, Amura could still sense him.

It was faint.