Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 125: Sentimental II

Chapter 125: Sentimental II

Gone was the white world. She was back in the realm of the Heavenly Tower. No matter how many times she saw the monstrous structure, she was wowed and took a second to soak it in.

She received another message from Kazi.

[ Kazi Hossain: I’m at the BBQ place ]

She knew where to go. She opened up her map and found the closest spawn point to Nulgupjisin Grill House. One click and voila! She was at the Nebulous Bazaar, which was full of people as it always was.

Kazi was already at the same table they were always at. A corner of the grill house that was practically reserved for them. Sun-young silently approved of the consistency; it was like sitting in the same spot at the café or university. At some point, it becomes a part of you.

"Tired?" Kazi saw right through her, smiling. His concern aside, today, he seemed strangely off.

"Mhm." Sun-young took the seat across from him.

"Sorry, I know you’re still healing."

"It’s okay."

Following that, a comfortable silence. The chill atmosphere wouldn’t be broken till the teenager arrived.

"Last one here. Sorry." Without missing a beat, William slid to the seat beside Kazi. "So what’s up? You made it sound serious on the phone."

Kazi’s smile waned. He didn’t beat around the bush. He looked straight at Sun-young and declared, "I know who Jack is."

The air gained a chill and her pulse raced.

"Who the hell is Jack?" William looked between Kazi and Sun-young, totally grasping at straws. "Can someone fill me in?"

"In a second," Kazi and Sun-young said in unison. With that, Kazi elaborated, "You mentioned it briefly, Sun-young, that you were able to slice Jack’s hand off with anti-magic. You mentioned his surprise and how he recovered by recreating his hand with dark magic. I did some reading at the House of Wisdom and learned the complexities of regenerating limbs at will, even with the System. What I concluded was that Jack likely never regenerated it back. Jack is still missing a hand and...you wouldn’t believe what I saw on the train."

Sun-young held her breath.

"That’s right, there was someone with a very strange hand. A hand that clearly wasn’t fully usable."

’He was there then. He was there on the train.’

William understood the tension. He glanced between the two adults and asked, "Okay...who is this Jack then?"

Kazi exhaled. "I can’t say."

That was it? He can’t say? What?

"Why not?" Sun-young asked. Her eyes checked their surroundings. Sure, the place was full, but was it really that big a risk? It wasn’t like this was a conspiracy, right?

"No, as in, I literally am unable to say it. I can’t even write his name down either. It’s like..." Kazi’s lips fell into a flat line, eyebrows narrowing. "...some sort of curse is blocking me from saying it."

"But you never met Jack," Sun-young pointed out. "If anyone should be cursed, it should be me."

"Technically I have," Kazi said. "Either Jack somehow cursed me and everyone else on that train without noticing, or..."

Sun-young leaned forward. "Or?"

Kazi looked like he didn’t want to say it. "The terrifying option: that nobody in existence is allowed to speak his real name."

’Nobody...in existence?’

That was impossible. Impossible. So why? Why was she shivering? Why was she considering the unlikeliest possibility?

"Stay saucy, lady."

Who in the world had she encountered?

"I considered telling everyone about Jack on the train. Unfortunately, the cons outweighed the pros. With so many people on the train, with Sun-young weakened, Jack could have very easily taken a hostage," Kazi explained. "I thought about creating a strike team. Quietly tell select people about Jack and then jump him."

William was starting to understand. "So why didn’t you?"

"One, I didn’t have enough time. The situation was already tense with Tony’s death, so there would have been too much convincing and not enough time." Kazi looked straight at Sun-young, whose heart dropped. "Two, assuming I told the right people, assuming everything went right, there was still Sun-young. Jack was certainly aware of what he did to you."

"And he would have exploited it," Sun-young muttered. "I’m sorry."

"It’s not your fault," he comforted.

"I was too weak."

Something she had reprimanded Marta for. Look where she was now. How the mighty fell...

"Trust me, there was no dealing with Jack at the moment," Kazi insisted. "There was the trial, John, Tony, and Paul. There was already so much confusion thrown around. Another accusation would have led to tension and more confusion."

’But if I wasn’t there, then you might have been able to beat him.’ Sun-young clenched her fist. God, she hated being weak.

"Then there’s the other thing I mentioned." His deep hazel eyes went over to William. "This is about you, William."

"M-me?"

Sun-young was perplexed. ’William?’

"Do you know why Nash was so willing to let his friend’s murderer go?" Kazi’s question was met with puzzling confusion.

"No...?"

’Wasn’t it because...well, you’re Kazi. Who wouldn’t want to listen to you?’

"I won’t mince words—it was because of you. You terrify him."

"Huh...? Me?"

"You don’t remember it but during Gate 7 you went on a rampage." Kazi was not holding back. He went right to the heart of the matter. "You nearly killed Nash’s entire team and came close to killing me. You were arrogant and you thought yourself a god or something."

William looked like the blood had been drained from him. He swallowed the bile in his throat, chewed on his inner cheek, and wiped his hand down his face. The colour was gone from him, replaced by a paleness full of anxiety. "The blood...I knew..." William swallowed again, as if memories were beginning to stir. "Oh god...is it because..."

"So you know?"

Now it was Sun-young’s turn to be lost. What were they talking about?

"The bite," William said. "I...I’ve been having nightmares recently. Vivid stuff where I’m back at the blood lake and fighting against something and...dying."

"Your head constantly hurts, doesn’t it?"

No answer. Kazi marched on until he did.

"Every time you’re stressed, you scrunch up your forehead. You always make a fist too. Pills, I suspect?"

"I..." William found the fear to speak again. "I-I used to take them back home. But here...medicine isn’t really the same."

"What kind of medicine? What for?"

William buried his face in his hands. "I...I don’t want to say."

Kazi softened. "William, we won’t think any less of you—"

"You will! Trust me, you will." William breathed through his nose and covered his eyes. "Everybody does."