"But even after Uncle Rhaziel's grief had begun to fade..."
Sogen frowned.
"...How did things reach the point of becoming a blood feud?"
"If Senior Khamas was proven innocent by a Truthbearer... why did no one believe him?"
Gale remained silent for a long moment before releasing a weary sigh.
"...Because my Aunt Sylvera's condition was only the beginning."
"There were many things that followed... things Father could never explain."
His gaze drifted toward the moon as if staring into memories he wished he could erase.
"After that incident, the Ironclad Mercenary Association launched investigation after investigation."
"They questioned Father countless times."
"Every single time..."
"He gave the exact same answer."
«'A monster attacked us.'»
"Nothing more."
"He never described the monster."
"He never explained where it appeared..."
"How everyone was separated..."
"Or how only he and Siana survived."
"Just those four words."
"A monster attacked us."
"The investigators believed he was hiding something."
"Some physicians claimed that Father had suffered severe psychological trauma after witnessing the deaths of his comrades. They believed the shock had damaged his memories, preventing him from recalling the details."
Gale let out a cold laugh.
"But to Uncle Rhaziel... that explanation was complete nonsense."
"My father had spent his entire life as a mercenary."
"He had walked through mountains of corpses."
"He had survived countless battles where death stood only a single step away."
"How could a man like that suddenly lose his memories because of trauma?"
"Uncle Rhaziel refused to believe it."
"And that was only the first crack."
He paused before continuing.
"When the bodies of the fallen mercenaries were finally recovered..."
"...every valuable possession they once carried had disappeared."
"Their weapons."
"None of them had any of thier cultivation resources, not even a little."
"Everything... was gone."
"The Association naturally questioned Father."
"They asked where those belongings had gone."
"My father looked at them without the slightest change in expression."
Then, in a flat, emotionless voice, he answered—
''They're mine now.''
''I'll keep them.''
Gale closed his eyes.
"Among mercenaries, scavenging the belongings of the dead wasn't considered unusual."
"If a companion died during a mission, their possessions often became the property of the surviving members."
"But..."
"My father wasn't just another mercenary."
"He was the man who had risked his own life countless times to save his comrades."
"He was the last person anyone expected to utter such heartless words."
"Those words shook everyone."
"The suspicions only deepened."
"Some even began whispering..."
"...that perhaps Father had murdered them himself."
"But when again Truthbearer examined him..."
"...Father answered exactly as before."
''I didn't kill them.''
''A monster did.''
"And once again..."
"...the talent confirmed he was telling the truth."
"The Association searched the entire battlefield."
"They investigated the surrounding mountains."
"They even invited experienced Beast Trackers."
"But they found nothing."
"No footprints."
"No lingering aura."
"No traces of a beast powerful enough to slaughter an entire mercenary squad."
"It was as though the monster Father spoke of had never existed."
"Days later..."
"Uncle Rhaziel personally confronted Father."
"He demanded the truth."
"He begged for an explanation."
"He even lowered his pride."
"But Father only repeated the same answer."
"A monster attacked us.''
"No matter how many questions were asked..."
"...those were the only words he ever spoke."
Gale's fingers slowly clenched.
"Uncle Rhaziel finally lost control."
"He demanded that the Association perform a Soul Search."
Sogen's pupils contracted.
"...A Soul Search?"
He knew exactly what that meant.
It was a forbidden technique capable of extracting memories directly from a person's soul.
But the price...
...was devastating.
Even if the target survived, their soul would often suffer irreversible damage. Some became crippled for life. Others never recovered their sanity.
"It was a desperate request."
"But the Association rejected it immediately."
"They had already confirmed Father hadn't lied."
"They also knew his character better than anyone."
"No one wanted to destroy an innocent man's soul simply because there were unanswered questions."
"Besides..."
"A Soul Search required an enormous price, As only people with, soul related talent, practice these methods."
"The Association had neither the justification... nor the willingness... to pay it."
Silence settled between them.
"That day..."
"A seed of hatred was planted inside Uncle Rhaziel's heart."
"And with every unanswered question..."
"...it grew."
"It wasn't long before whispers began spreading throughout the mercenary world."
"Khamas betrayed his companions."
"He stole everything they owned."
"He sacrificed them to save himself."
"Perhaps he bribed the Association."
"Perhaps one of the victims possessed a priceless treasure... and Khamas killed them to take it."
"The irony..."
Gale smiled bitterly.
"...was that the one who spread those rumors was Uncle Rhaziel himself."
"Whenever he drowned himself in alcohol..."
"...his grief became accusations."
"At first..."
"People dismissed them as the broken cries of a man who had lost his wife and his closest friends."
"But weeks became months."
"Months became years."
"And little by little..."
"The accusations stopped sounding like rumors."
"They became accepted as facts."
"My father was branded a traitor."
"A coward."
"A thief."
"A man who abandoned his companions for his own survival."
"And once the world accepts a lie as truth..."
"...no amount of truth can erase it."
Gale's bitter smile slowly faded.
"And the thing that hurt the most..."
"...was that Father never once tried to clear his own name."
"He never defended himself."
"He never denied the rumors."
"He never stood before people to explain what had truly happened."
"No matter how many accusations were thrown at him..."
"...he accepted them all in silence and became cold hearted to Uncle and others who asked him about that."
"As though the truth no longer mattered."
"To everyone else..."
"...that was as good as an admission of guilt."
"And with each passing year..."
"The rumors only grew stronger."
"People no longer questioned whether father had betrayed his companions."
"They simply accepted it as fact."
Gale lowered his head, his voice carrying an indescribable weight.
"But because he chose to remain silent..."
"Uncle Rhaziel lost the last reason he had to trust him."
"And from that day onward..."
"The bond between two brothers who had once entrusted each other with their lives..."
"...became a blood feud that neither side could ever turn back from."