Night came slower than expected, but perhaps that was because the day had been eventful. It felt like it was ages since the last time night fell, for they’d run into two more groups of supersized rats, which was ultimately no problem. Nothing more dangerous and only a single casualty from both attacks.

At the end of the day, they had five casualties. Among the five, two were permanent members of the Steel Fang, leaving a total of fifteen of them.

Eight were from the Steel Fang and seven weren’t.

A total of nine people had died and six had returned to the city, which left them at exactly half the initial number. Thankfully, they were on their way back. After half a day’s worth of travel, they’d be back.

Then, they’d return for a second excursion. Whether Adrian would come back or not was something even he did not know.

He’d never expected a hunt to have so many casualties.

And he’d survived, somehow.

“Remind me to never get convinced by you again,” said Adrian as he focused the Qi into a scratch on his triceps, of which the dull ache made him completely forget the complete lack of a sleeve on his left arm.

It had to be torn or it’d have been limply hanging from the shirt by a few threads, making it impossible to properly fight with it flailing around.

“But you’re still alive, aren’t you?” asked Emma.

This time, they didn’t have the luxury of camping within a cave, for there were none around. In the plains, it was impossible to find such a place and after around twelve hours’ worth of travel, they’d get back to the Blue Pavilion City.

Walking back was the worst part of it all.

“I’ve walked more than fifty miles today,” growled Adrian, eyes wide open, a wry grin on his face, “It’s absurd, is what it is.”

Emma scoffed.

“What?” he hissed.

“You’re interesting,” she said and shrugged.

Adrian rubbed his calf sourly and felt it sting, leaning on a rock. Despite being a Cultivator, he was still prone to exhaustion for the great strength that he’d gotten was used to move around his body that was just as heavier. Even if his lungs didn’t feel it, his body did, and it reacted accordingly.

The pain was nothing compared to the searing pain from before, but it was a bother nonetheless.

Emma was sitting atop the boulder, looking at the distance.

And he’d have to walk with it present tomorrow as well.

“You’re Adrian,” said a man from behind. It was a voice that felt oddly familiar but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. So he turned around to see a boy of his age with one side of his lips curved up into a smirk, hands raised in the air, “I mean no harm.”

He was from Timothy’s gang. He was present when they were beating Adrian until he was inches to death.

“Get lost,” grumbled Adrian.

“I wouldn’t want to get lost, especially out here,” said the boy.

He rolled his eyes.

“What do you want?” asked Adrian and hopped back to his feet. One of his eyes twitched at the sudden sting from his calf but that was nothing compared to the injuries he’d sustained in the last two days.

“Just wanted to make sure you’re, well, you,” he said and then added, “I’m Gary, by the way. And I saw it. When it touched Tim.”

Adrian’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“Yeah, that thing,” said Gary.

“What’s that?” asked Emma, a smile on her face.

“None of your business,” Adrian said casually, shaking his head with an open mouth. Slowly, his expression contorted to a smile —a genuine one. Then he mumbled underneath his breath, “It’s real. Ha!”

“That said, I think it’d be best to join, well, this team of yours. I’d have a better chance of surviving than with them. As you’d expect, they don’t like me. Most of them were, well, bullied, by Tim. And since I hung out with him, they hate me as well. What is to say that I mightn’t accidentally trip during an attack, and say, get mauled to death by a rat?” asked Gary and turned his head toward Emma, “Of course, I’m willing to do all the dirty stuff, like extracting the Crystals out of the beasts. Nobles shouldn’t do that, after all. Do I have your permission?”

Emma narrowed her eyes.

“I won’t touch any of you, of course. I know you hate that,” added Gary and gestured at his hands raised up to the air with his chin, “That’s why I’m keeping them raised.”

“You may lower them,” said Emma with practiced ease.

Gary shrugged and let it down, the smirk still on his face.

“Now then, I think it’d be better if we were left alone. I can see Young Master Anderson has some questions for me, which I assume he doesn’t want you to know about. For your own safety,” said Gary, and then after a moment, he added, “Or, we could leave you for a second, if you’d prefer that.”

“I want to hear it,” said Emma.

Gary turned to Adrian and slightly gestured at her with his head.

“It’s dangerous,” said Adrian, the smile still partially on his face, but it was rapidly fading away.

“I’m stronger than you,” said Emma and hopped down from the boulder, “And I have better resources to exact revenge if it’s the so-called king you were talking about.”

“It’s not enough,” he answered.

Emma opened her mouth and closed her eyes, as if thinking, then spoke, “Your father may be rich, but House Beaumont has an army. I could mobilize a part of it for revenge after our marriage.”

“An army? Just an army? Of what? Fifty Body Refinement experts and five or so Mind Refinement experts?” asked Adrian, an eyebrow raised, “That’s not enough for him.”

“What are you talking of, brat?” said the Shadow, joining the conversation from inside his head.

“None of your business,” Adrian growled inside his head.

“I agree. I doubt even the General will be able to hold a candle to him, and I’ve met him before. That thing was stronger,” said Gary, a finger on his chin, staring up at the night sky.

“Tell me, or I won’t train you again,” said Emma, as calm as a cucumber.

It was a valid threat.

“Are you sure?” asked Adrian.

“I’m your wife. I have a right to know, and I have a slight inkling that it has something to do with that thing of yours,” said Emma and tapped on his forehead with a finger.

But he knew what she was referring to.

“It was immaterial. Something that no one could touch. It passed through anything and anyone that it passed through, started acting weird. Out-of-character, if you will. Like they weren’t the same anymore,” said Gary and looked at Adrian, “And after it passed through Tim, he started going off about how much he wanted to beat up Adrian, turned around and did the deed. A Cultivator beat up a mortal for no reason at all, as far as anyone else was aware. I saw Adrian look at it as if he could see it but I could never get close enough to him.”

“Where is he?” asked Emma, her eyes glazed with bloodlust —like back when she cut off Diana’s hand.

“Dead. The birds took care of him,” said Adrian, “That’s all you need to know about that man. He made Tim beat me up.”

“Interesting, so an Enforcer indirectly caused the death of your mother,” said the Shadow, “That is an unexpected turn of events.”

Enforcer?

“It’s something that shouldn’t be in the Outer Continents, but times have changed. All or none of you could be special in this new world,” it added.

“What does that mean? What are they?” asked Adrian.

“The Will of the Heavens must be enforced, and it is them that are tasked with it. They change the very futures of those that they pass through, and most are helpless against it. But not you, or that boy, for that matter. You are deviants whose very existence goes against the Heavens, and it is only you that can fight back against it,” said the Shadow, “Do not think much of it. It couldn’t see you. Perhaps it directed that boy who beat you up to kill a deviant, and as far as it’s aware, you’re dead. You are size… for now.”

If that was the case, why did Timothy attack him rather than Gary?

It didn’t make sense.

There was a sour expression on Adrian’s face now: a scowl.

“So, I’ve spilled everything I know but it seems that he knows a bit more than me. Calling that thing he, that is,” said Gary, and nodded his head.

“It was a man. He wore brown fur as a cape and had a long beard. There was a helmet with horns on his head and an ax in his hand. Looked old, all his hair and beard were white,” said Adrian as he shook his heads slightly with each word, looking down at the ground, “I could see that, even if he was blue.”

“Hmm, I see,” said Gary and shrugged, “That’s all I wanted to know, but quite frankly, I don’t care. I wanted your trust, and yours too, milady, so I could possibly get home in one piece. Will I?”

“If you watch that mouth of yours, you might,” said Emma, a smirk of her own on her face.

Adrian could see none of the antagonization from before in Emma. When she lashed out at the Titan and Diana, the look in her eyes and her expression seemed like she was staring at trash, like it was something foul.

But still, an Enforcer…

What the hell was that?

“How strong do I have to be to defeat it?” asked Adrian in his head.

“Stronger than me,” it answered.

“I will be. How much stronger?” he asked again.

“The strongest in the world, perhaps. None can challenge the Will of the Heavens, but I must admit, I’ve never seen a Fateless go far,” said the Shadow.

But he’d challenge it.

That’s what took away his mother.

It called him a Deviant, a Fateless, but those names meant nothing to him. If that meant the Enforcers couldn’t see him while he could, then so be it. It was enough of an advantage: better odds than he’d ever had.