A Will Sovereign Chapter 13: Chapter 13—Zephyr.

Read chapter 13 of A Will Sovereign by Sloche on NovelPedia.

Night quietly settled over the Del Ray estate. Soft golden light illuminated the dining hall while distant Astra-guided vessels drifted silently across Astravale's skies beyond the crystal windows. The atmosphere around the table had gradually relaxed after the discussion regarding the academies. Lyanna was still excitedly asking questions every few minutes while Linley lazily slept beside her chair after overeating once again. Meanwhile— Soldret remained unusually quiet. His gaze rested calmly on the black metallic weapon case beside him. But inwardly— his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. Toward a certain person. Toward a certain memory from the fragments. --- It happened centuries into the fragmented future. Nearly four hundred years from now. Back when the entire world viewed him as a calamity. At the time— his name alone brought fear. Massacre. Slaughter. Violation. Corruption. Countless crimes had been pinned onto him. And eventually— people stopped questioning whether those accusations were true. Because it became easier to simply believe them. The fragmented memory slowly surfaced within Soldret's mind. A ruined mountain valley. Rain poured endlessly from dark skies while corpses littered the shattered ground. The smell of blood mixed heavily with burnt earth. Soldret remembered himself standing silently amidst the rain. Wounded and exhausted. Yet still gripping his blade. Around him— more practitioners gradually surrounded the valley entrance. Their expressions were filled with hatred and fear. One of them shouted immediately, "Monster!" "So the rumors were true after all!" "You slaughtered another caravan!" Another immediately roared, "People like you shouldn't exist!" More accusations followed endlessly. Like they always did. But then— someone else arrived. A lone figure slowly descended from the mountain path above. The moment he appeared— the atmosphere throughout the battlefield subtly changed. White robes fluttered lightly beneath the storm winds. Long white hair moved calmly behind him. Yet within those white strands— countless arcs of golden lightning flickered violently like living destruction. His eyes were calm. Cold. Indifferent. As though the chaos around him held no meaning at all. Zephyr. At this point in time— he had not yet fully completed his realization of Lightning. The golden lightning surrounding him still carried traces of violent instability. Far different from the future version whose lightning had become pure white. Several practitioners immediately recognized him. "It's Zephyr!" "The Martial Peak monster!" One of them quickly pointed toward Soldret. "Senior Zephyr!" "That monster massacred everyone here!" But Zephyr did not answer immediately. Instead— his gaze slowly swept across the battlefield. The corpses. The terrain. The remnants of battle. And finally— Soldret himself. Silence stretched briefly beneath the rain. Then— Zephyr suddenly asked calmly, "...What happened here?" The surrounding practitioners looked confused briefly. One of them answered quickly, "He slaughtered the caravan and everyone protecting it!" But Zephyr's eyes narrowed slightly. Because something was wrong. The battlefield itself contradicted the accusation. Several bodies near Soldret were positioned defensively. Some civilians were hidden deeper inside the ruined valley. And more importantly— many wounds on the dead clearly showed signs of internal conflict. Zephyr slowly looked toward Soldret again. For several seconds— the two simply stared at one another silently beneath the rain. Then— Zephyr asked again, his voice and gaze remaining as calm as ever. "I'm asking you." "...What happened here?" And for the first time in years— Soldret actually answered someone asking about the accusations. Because unlike the others— Zephyr had not immediately attacked. "Heh." Soldret suddenly chuckled. "Would you believe me if I told you they killed each other fighting over an essence crystal after I killed a Dark Star cre