Page 1
The old man takes one deep breath.
"That night — when I came back and understood what had happened — I didn't cry. I didn't shout. I didn't break anything."
He pauses.
"I just put on my clothes. I left my two sons with my sister. And I took my sword."
He looks at his hands.
"And I went."
Page 2
"I went to every base. Every factory. Every battalion of the Jouki Gang in that city and its surroundings."
Silence in the room.
"In that single night, I killed approximately three thousand people. I burned twenty villages. I destroyed all their operations in the region. And I eliminated seven of their commanders."
He looks at everyone.
"Among them — someone I believe you know."
Page 3
"Linsan. He was in one of those factories that night. He was one of their commanders."
He pauses.
"I faced him. I defeated him. I stabbed him three times in the chest and left him on the ground."
He looks at the wall.
"I thought he was dead. But he survived — in a way I still don't fully understand."
He breathes.
"And that very same night, my name began to travel everywhere. The Man of the Single Step."
Page 4
No one in the room speaks.
Thian takes one step back. His eyes are fully open.
Yuzuha looks at the old man as if she's seeing someone else.
Karki doesn't move.
Totoki places his hand slowly on his knee.
The old man doesn't wait for their reactions. He continues.
"After that night, I took my two sons. Changed everything. And disappeared."
Page 5
"Years later, I changed my name. I fought in defense of the Wall in the war twenty-one years ago. The King knew me because of that. But Ginzo and Linsan couldn't find me. They searched everywhere. They didn't know. They never reached me."
He pauses.
"But unfortunately… my sons grew up."
Page 6
"My two sons were named Shuzu. And Qurqur."
He looks at Thian.
"We begin with Shuzu. Your father, Thian."
Thian freezes where he stands.
He lowers himself slowly to the ground.
"You never told me about him. I want to hear."
"Shuzu was strong. I trained him myself. But when he learned the truth of everything — when he understood who I was and what I had done and what was hunting us — he couldn't stay."
Page 7
"He left home and joined the resistance forces with Lukaji, who was living in the village at the time. Against the King. They carried out attacks here and there. I didn't see him for a long time."
He pauses.
"Then one day he came through the door. He opened it and placed a small child in my hands."
He looks directly at Thian.
"You, Thian. He said he'd be gone for a short while and would come back."
Page 8
"He didn't come back."
The two words fall into the room like stones.
"I learned afterward from Lukaji that Linsan's forces eliminated the entire resistance. That's what made Lukaji leave and settle here."
Thian raises his head: "And what did you do?"
The old man looks at him — calm.
"Nothing. Shuzu chose his path. And his path ended where it ended."
Thian puts his hand on his head. He murmurs words no one can hear.
Mabu looks at him. He doesn't speak.
Page 9
"And the second. Qurqur."
The old man looks at Mabu.
Mabu raises his head.
"Your father, Mabu."
Mabu's face goes still.
The entire room looks at him.
"How? You told me you adopted me. How is this?"
"Listen."
Page 10
"Qurqur was different from Shuzu. He was very strong. Fair. Just. Everything you'd want in a son."
He pauses.
"I was proud of him in every way. Except one."
He looks upward.
"He gave his heart, his mind, and his will to his country completely. He left nothing for himself. Left nothing for anyone else."
Page 11
"And because of that strength and that loyalty, he became one of the most powerful war generals. He rose to positions no one his age had ever reached."
He pauses.
"And here lies the problem."
"Linsan saw in Qurqur a threat. A man with this much influence and power growing this quickly. If he grew further, he would displace Linsan and expose his deception of the King — and his position as one of the gang's leaders."
"So Linsan began digging into his past. Until he arrived."
Page 12
"Linsan discovered that Qurqur was the son of the Man of the Single Step."
He looks at everyone.
"And when you know the identity of his father — you understand why he couldn't allow him to live."
He takes one step.
"So he devised a plan. To eliminate me and Qurqur in a single night."
Page 13
"That night, Linsan issued an order to burn one of the neighboring villages. The claim was that it was sheltering one of King Tali's illegitimate daughters."
He pauses.
"And he sent Qurqur there."
"And at the same time, he sent a battalion of soldiers to my home to kill me."
"One plan. Two strikes. One night."
Page 14
"Qurqur went. But he was not someone who would burn innocent people's homes without reason. He tried to soften it. To stop it. To find another way."
He pauses.
"And after the village burned, he spotted a girl running toward the forest. He followed her. He caught her. And he learned she was the one the soldiers were looking for."
He exhales.
"He was on the verge of turning her in. But the girl said something to him. I don't know exactly what she said. But he chose to protect her instead."
Page 15
"They hid together. They fled together. And when the soldiers returned to Linsan with nothing — he killed all of them that night. Then he went to the King in haste."
He goes quiet.
"He told him that Qurqur had killed the entire mission and fled. That he was dangerous. That he was a traitor."
He looks at the floor.
"And the King believed him."
Page 16
"The King declared a manhunt for Qurqur. He placed a price on his head. And with one move from Linsan — my son became wanted dead or alive."
He pauses.
"Then it was my turn."
"The King charged me with conspiracy with Qurqur. And the following morning they arrested me and brought me before the King."
Page 17
"I was accused of deliberate murder. They called me a first-class criminal."
He smiles — a cold smile that carries no joy.
"But Bumer knew me. He knew I wasn't like this. He gave me a chance to speak."
"I told everyone I hadn't done anything. That I was in my home. Linsan was pressuring the King to issue an order for my execution. But Bumer gave me a choice."
Page 18
"Either I unite with them and help them find Qurqur and kill him. Or they kill me."
He pauses.
"I said I would help them. To buy time to reach my son before they did."
He breathes.
"But they kept me detained — waiting until they found him. Then, just two days later, a farmer learned Qurqur's location. And before I could reach my son, they forced me to come with them."
Page 19
"They put a mask over my head. Chained me. And we rode."
The old man stands. He takes one step.
"My intention along the way was clear. I was going to break the chains when we arrived and kill everyone there alongside my son."
He pauses.
"But Linsan knew that."
"He cast an incantation on me that sealed my power. And forced me to stand. And forced me to watch."
Page 20
Silence.
The old man doesn't continue immediately.
He takes a breath.
"I watched my son Qurqur be killed. And his wife with him."
One sentence. No extra details. No manufactured drama.
Just the truth.
Thian closes his eyes. Yuzuha looks at the floor.
"And when it was all over — Linsan left me, per the King's orders."
Page 21
"I went to Qurqur."
The old man pauses. He looks directly at Mabu.
"He was still breathing. Barely. I told him — if he gave me one signal, just one signal, I would kill everyone in that place."
He breathes.
"He didn't give me the signal."
"He only looked at me. And smiled."
"And said: Save my son. He's in the river."
Page 22
"I tried to persuade him. Many times. But he only ever answered with the same words. Save my son."
He looks at Mabu.
"So I went to the river that night. And I saved you, Mabu."
He pauses.
"But I was being followed. So I left you at the first house — quietly — went to a hidden place I kept, changed my clothes, and returned as if nothing had happened."
Page 23
"After that night I moved again. Disappeared. No one found any trace of me."
He takes one step. He sits.
"I went to that remote village under a new name. And I raised you both."
He looks at Mabu.
"I told you that you were adopted. Because I know what the past does to those who learn it too early. It consumes them. Changes them. Turns them into something they never wanted to become."
He pauses.
"I wanted you to grow up first. To become a human being before you became a vendetta."
Page 24
"Everything I did — every lie, every silence, every year of hiding — was for one thing."
He looks at Thian. Then at Mabu.
"So that you would grow. So that you would live."
He exhales.
"But I could no longer keep it hidden. Not after today."
A long silence fills the room.
Mabu sits on the floor. Tears on his face. He doesn't wipe them. He just looks at the old man.
"Impossible."
The old man looks at him.
Continued in Chapter Thirty-One