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William walked. Free. Unchained.

Much of the night remained, but not much of the storm remained. The snow storm was still going with the strong cold wind blowing, though it wouldn't last for long. The beast's cries had stopped a few moments ago, giving him much freedom to move in the mountain. Winds curled against his body as if missing him with the wisps of waves surrounding his body. He was fully free, including his channels, to do whatever he wanted with his power.

William still walked carefully, as if searching for something on the way. No, he was definitely not worried about those righteous fools to come in his way. Well, maybe a little, but he didn’t care about it much now. Considering they would be worried about better things, it made his job easier.

He found the corpse of his uncle a few minutes ago, lifeless and cold, and felt nothing. He found his father's apprentice too, unconscious in the cold, but he didn't care much for them.

What he wanted to do was find his father and have a talk right at this moment. Maybe for the last time, or maybe not with the man called Rojar Iker, but it would definitely be his last talk to the man he called father. It would not be wrong to say William was looking forward to it.

He had already decided what to do with it him, but he wanted to see what kind of emotion wash through him when he do it. Well, it would depend on what kind of mood he would have when they talk. Would he change his mind? Unlikely, he wanted much to learn what he thinks of his father. What place was he in his mind?

A few minutes later, William got what he wanted.

He stooped next to the half-naked figure on the snow, half-burned, chained, broken and unconscious. There were multiple burnings that seemed to have come from different spells. He presumed the charred skin on the chest from a lightning spell, Shailyn's speciality that she rarely uses until she is on the back foot. But others felt familiar to him, much like the burn in his arms. He raised an eyebrow. Some of the residual energy left in his body rendered his natural healing process of spiritual energy useless.

William provided some amount of energy and warmed the body for it to get conscious. When the body shook, he finally greeted. “Hello, Father.”

The half-naked, chained body shook and squirmed to open his eyes. Rojar Iker barely had any of the glorious and frightening air around him that he always showcased to intimidate his minions, and even his close ones. He looked more human than William ever remembered, ever seen. His eyes narrowed as his father opened his eyelids.

William’s face lost all emotion, waiting for his father to recognise him and figure things out.

“William?” Rojar Iker called, his lips white with snow shaking.

“Ah, you must be wondering how I’m here,” William said, a smile crossing his lips. “That’s the difference between us, father. You plan the whole task first and then work around it to prepare the escape plan. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that your escape mostly depends on the success of your task. While I, I prepare the escape plan first.” he paused for a moment. “You might’ve said I always think of the failure of my plan first, which doesn’t really go well with your arrogance. But look whose plan is paying off now?

“You finally hit an iron barrel, huh?”

“William,” his father repeated his name again. William was unsure if he understood what he said. “William, you came at the right time. Free me. We have to go find that girl. I have succeeded. All my hard work pa--”

“I almost felt sorry for you,” William cut him short, but still the smile lingered on his lips. “But get this straight. Nothing you worked for so long, nothing of it left behind. The girl you mentioned is probably under the protection of more than a couple of competent magi and a lot of knights. Maybe her majesty will be there too in a while. Even at your peak, father—which you're definitely not now—I’m afraid you’re not competent enough to do any damage to her.”

William laughed. “More importantly, you should be worried about how you leave this place. Most of the people here on the Mountain were too heavily injured or too tired to take you, but they would be coming soon enough. I don’t know, father, I’m almost looking forward to how you escape. Perhaps, Father, you’d show again why you’re the father while I’m just a helpless child.”

“William, William . . . We must get away,” he said. “We must escape and regroup with--”

“Regroup?” William chuckled. “I don’t know if you have heard, but there’s not much of a group left behind. Your apprentice Kiea had betrayed you, well, but if you’re sure to regroup with her, all you have to do is crawl in that direction for an hour or more and when you find her. You might as well find Uncle Sirius’s corpse there, who, as a matter of fact, betrayed you as well. That left only Rial. Thankfully, the fool takes the code of honour too seriously to even consider betraying. I wish you good luck finding him.”

William stood up and brought out a small bottle of alcohol. He stared at it for a moment and sighed.

“William,” Rojar Iker groaned. “You must take me with you. I’m your father. I gave birth to you. You’re my blood.”

“Come on, father. Don’t get sentimental over a few drops of semen you wasted on a whorehouse. It's beneath you.”

“William, don’t leave. You’re my blood. I taught you everything I know. You’re my legacy.”

William sighed without knowing. All the laughter and smiles vanished from his lips at that very moment. “I’ll give you a chance,” he said, crouching down face to face with him. “Your only chance. Father, do you remember how you started my training? Like you stranded me on one side of the island with your other offspring, asking us to cross it within a specific time. We will do it the exact way. Well, I can’t give you an island, competition, or the amount of time you have given me, but the distance is a lot less, wouldn’t you say? And you also know the secret passage.”

He stood up again and tossed the bottle of wine before his father. “I’ll wait till the sunrise, at the foot of the mountain. You know the way.”

“William, don’t do this. I’m your father.”

“There’s much for you to learn from me. Turn back, take me with you. I can teach you more.”

William, however, ignored all that and strode away through the snowy land.

* * *

Hours passed. William sat closed-eyed, almost in a meditative pose above a log of a huge tree, quite the opposite side of Victoria. He hadn’t moved much since coming here, and that was hours ago.

Scenes of childhood playing inside his head. Scenes of how he survived alone in a wild jungle full of threats. He felt so accomplished after he succeeded and got praised by his father at that time.

These scenes playing inside his head only made him more perplexed, but he remained silent and cold. He felt nothing of the past now. He left that behind when he tossed that bottle of wine at his living father. In Khasi heritage, it's a tradition for the firstborn to offer his or her father alcohol upon death. Well, William might not be the firstborn—though unlikely anyone from his elder half-brother or sister alive or know about this man is their father—nor was he dead, but the message was clear.

Even if Rojar Iker managed to come here, or get away somewhere, somehow, he would save him, but that person wouldn’t be his father.

As the first rays of sun hit his eyelids as he opened them, he heard someone coming from behind.

“You’re here,” he said and turned.

“Oh dear, you look awful,” said the newcomer. A young lady in white winter clothing with a reddish glow on her fair skin. She had a perfect heart-shaped face, and full rosy lips that anyone would want to suck the living breath out of irrespective of gender. Her obsidian-coloured hair was let loose on her back and shoulders as her purple misty eyes stared at William as if watching her new toy. “I presume you have failed.”

William said nothing and withdrew from eye contact. Even for someone who has a stronger mental fortitude and plays with others' minds, he felt intoxicated just by the look of her. The way she looked at him, the way she bit her lips as if wanting her—this was all too dangerous for her. Especially in his current state, where he was very exhausted and his mind perplexed—that sounds like a recipe to be eaten by a woman like her.

“You’re still no fun, Will, dear,” the breathtakingly beautiful lady said. “There’s so much disturbance on the mountain last night. Care to explain where you went wrong?”

“That’s for later to discuss, Priscilla,” William said, and wrapped his cloak around himself, wearing the hood on his head. “I presume you won’t get me out of here for nothing?”

“Oh dear Will, that’s hurtful,” Priscilla said, her mouth held in a pout that was too cute for most men to handle. “Here I came in such bad weather, from such a long way and--”

“I found you a new toy for you,” William cut to the chase. “He will be a great help to all the things you do and want to do.”

“I’m listening. . . .”

William strode away from there with the first rays of sunlight along with her. He left behind his past there in the mountain without giving a second look.

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