Chapter 208: The Beginning of His Own Path

Why?

Why had she made the journey harder?

The question echoed relentlessly inside Yuuta’s heart long after the notebook had crumbled into dust. He stood there motionless, unable to tear his eyes away from the empty space where Erza’s notes had once been. A hollow feeling slowly spread through his chest, leaving him strangely numb. He couldn’t understand it. Erza had been the one who encouraged him to grow stronger. She had entrusted those notes to him herself. Then why would she deliberately make them difficult to understand? The thought gnawed at him until another emotion quietly surfaced.

Betrayal.

It was small at first, but with every passing second it grew heavier.

Why...?

Why would she do this to me?

The question repeated itself over and over inside his mind. No matter how hard he searched for an answer, none came. It felt as though everyone around him knew something he didn’t, as though he alone had been left in the dark. Before he could sink any deeper into those thoughts—

Thwack!

A sharp pain exploded across his back.

"Ouch!" Yuuta cried, immediately rubbing the sore spot as he turned around.

Isvarn stood behind him with a wooden stick resting on his shoulder. His expression remained completely indifferent.

"You’ve got quite the nerve," the old dragon said sternly. "Becoming distracted during my lesson."

Yuuta lowered his head again.

"I’m not distracted..." he replied quietly, though even he knew how unconvincing he sounded. "I was just... thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

Yuuta hesitated before speaking.

"Why Erza did this."

His voice sounded distant.

He wasn’t asking Isvarn anymore.

He was asking himself.

Isvarn remained silent for several moments. Looking into Yuuta’s eyes, he realized the young man had finally reached the point he had been trying to avoid. Yuuta was beginning to notice the invisible gaps surrounding his own life. He didn’t know the truth, yet he could instinctively feel that something enormous was being hidden from him.

The old dragon let out a quiet sigh.

"I know," he said calmly. "I know you have countless questions. You want to know why Erza did this. You want to know why so many strange things keep happening around you."

Yuuta slowly lifted his head.

"I also know," Isvarn continued, "that you want answers."

Yuuta’s fists slowly tightened.

"Then tell me," he said, unable to hide the frustration in his voice. "What reason could possibly justify this? Was she not happy to see me become stronger? If she believed in me... then why make everything more difficult?" He looked down at the ground, breathing unevenly.

"Why does it feel like... everyone is keep hiding something from me?"

The garden fell silent.

Isvarn watched the young man carefully.

For the first time, he truly pitied him.

Yuuta wasn’t blind.

He wasn’t foolish.

He had sensed for a long time that pieces of his life didn’t fit together.

Strange coincidences. Unanswered questions. Nightmares dreams.

He knew something was wrong.

He simply couldn’t see what it was.

Not because he lacked intelligence.

But because the truth itself had been sealed away.

Slowly, Isvarn lowered himself until he was kneeling in front of Yuuta.

It was the first time the proud dragon had ever lowered himself before someone he considered a lesser being. His ancient violet eyes carefully studied Yuuta’s face, and for a brief moment, genuine sympathy appeared within them.

The old dragon knew everything that had been hidden from this young man. His past. His origin. The farewell that had never been explained. The sealed connected to his existence. Even the memories that should have belonged to him had been stolen away.

None of it had been Yuuta’s choice.

Without warning, Isvarn reached forward and firmly gripped Yuuta’s shoulders.

Yuuta’s eyes widened in surprise.

The old dragon looked directly into his eyes.

"Do you know why people hide things from you?"

Yuuta slowly shook his head.

"No..."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I don’t."

Isvarn’s grip tightened slightly.

"Then tell me this."

His Voliet eyes never left Yuuta’s.

"Do you know how many things are being hidden from you?"

Yuuta remained silent for a long moment before lowering his gaze once more.

"No..."

He answered honestly.

"I know something is happening around me."

"I’ve felt it for a long time."

"But I don’t know what it is... and I don’t know why."

Isvarn kept his hand firmly on Yuuta’s shoulder as he looked directly into his eyes.

"Do you know why Erza... and everyone else... keeps hiding things from you?" he asked quietly.

Yuuta clenched his fists.

"I don’t know," he answered, frustration evident in his voice. "I don’t know why everyone keeps hiding things from me. Every time I think I’m getting closer to the truth, someone pushes me further away. I don’t understand any of it."

Isvarn remained silent for a brief moment before speaking.

"Because you are weak."

Yuuta froze.

"...Weak?"

"Yes," Isvarn replied without hesitation. "You are weak, human."

The words struck harder than any physical blow.

Seeing Yuuta’s expression, Isvarn continued.

"If you truly wish to know who you are... if you truly wish to understand what is happening around you... then you need power." His gaze never left Yuuta’s. "People are not hiding the truth from you because they hate you. They are not even hiding it because they do not trust you."

He slowly tightened his grip on Yuuta’s shoulder.

"They hide it because you are weak."

Yuuta’s breathing grew heavier.

The old dragon continued, his voice calm yet merciless.

"The moment someone possesses greater power than you, they also gain the ability to decide what is best for you. They decide what you should know. They decide what you should remain ignorant of. They decide when you may act and when you must remain still."

Yuuta’s pupils slowly contracted.

Isvarn looked straight into his eyes.

"Because you are weak, you lost control over your own life."

Those words shook Yuuta to his core.

"People like Erza were forced to make decisions in your place. Whether those decisions were right or wrong no longer mattered. They possessed the strength to choose, while you did not."

Yuuta stood completely motionless.

For the first time...

He understood.

Isvarn continued speaking.

"Listen carefully, human. This universe has never been ruled by fairness. It has always been ruled by power. The powerful decide what is right. The powerful decide what is wrong. The powerful write history, while the weak are forced to live inside the stories written by others."

His ancient eyes narrowed.

"In your case, the truth was hidden because those around you possessed enough strength to decide your fate. They built a world where you could only see what they allowed you to see. They controlled your blind spots because they had the power to do so."

Yuuta’s fists trembled.

Not from fear.

From anger.

Isvarn slowly tightened his hand on Yuuta’s shoulder one last time.

"So tell me."

His voice became deeper.

"If you truly wish to know the truth..."

"If you truly wish to decide your own fate..."

"Then become powerful enough that no one can make those decisions for you ever again."

He leaned slightly closer.

"Will you spend the rest of your life begging others to reveal the truth?"

"Or..."

"Will you become the kind of man before whom others willingly reveal everything because they recognize your strength?"

Yuuta slowly looked up. The confusion inside his eyes had not disappeared, but something else had appeared beside it. Anger. Not toward Erza. Not toward Isvarn. Toward himself.

He slowly tightened his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"I understand now," he said quietly. "As long as I’m weak, people will continue deciding my life for me. They’ll keep choosing what I should know and what I shouldn’t."

His voice gradually became firmer.

"I’ll become stronger."

He took a deep breath.

"No..."

His voice became firm.

"I’ll become so strong that no one will ever decide my fate again."

He looked directly into Isvarn’s eyes.

"I’ll become powerful enough that people won’t hide the truth from me."

His gaze sharpened.

"I’ll become so strong that nobody will ever have the right to hide the truth from me again. I’ll become powerful enough to decide my own fate."

Isvarn smiled.

Not because Yuuta had spoken about becoming the strongest.

But because, for the first time...

Yuuta wasn’t seeking strength to impress Erza.

That was exactly what Isvarn had wanted.

Whatever method it took, the old dragon only needed Yuuta to take one more step. One final push was enough to awaken something that had remained dormant within him for far too long.

For the first time, Yuuta’s reason for becoming stronger began to change.

Before, he had chased power so he could stand beside Erza without shame. Every ounce of effort had been driven by the desire to prove that he was worthy of her.

But now...

His purpose had become far deeper.

He wanted power because he wanted the truth.

He wanted to know who he really was and why everything was hidden.

That single realization resonated with his very soul, replacing desperation with purpose. It was no longer about proving himself to others. It was about uncovering the origin of his own existence.

Neither master nor disciple noticed the change that followed.

Hidden beneath Yuuta’s clothes, the Eternal Ring resting upon his finger began to glow with a deep crimson light.

The glow pulsed like a heartbeat, growing brighter with each passing second, as though it had sensed that something about to begin In Yuuta and Erza relationship.

To be continued...