Chapter 108: Cha.107 Old Team (4)

The moment Nasun returned, his team surrounded him.

"What happened?"

"What did they tell you?"

"Why do you look like that?"

Nasun said nothing.

He simply looked at them.

Then he slowly shook his head.

"I can’t tell you."

The three stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because it’s a secret."

Mark frowned.

"You don’t trust us?"

"It’s not that."

Nasun took a breath.

"I don’t want you to know."

He reached under his shirt.

"I know something I shouldn’t have known."

He pulled the fabric aside.

The team froze.

On the left side of Nasun’s chest was an eye.

A real eye.

A bloody, circular eye embedded in his flesh.

It slowly moved.

Looking around.

Then it stopped.

Looking directly at them.

Syran’s face went pale.

Gareth’s hand tightened around his shield.

Mark took a step back.

"What... is that?"

"A curse."

Nasun covered it again.

"Because I learned something I wasn’t supposed to."

"Did the Shadows do this to you?"

"No."

Nasun shook his head.

"They didn’t force me. They warned me."

He looked down.

"I knew there would be a price for learning the truth."

His expression hardened.

"And I still chose to know."

Silence filled the room.

"Now that I know..." Nasun whispered, "I’m terrified of what the future holds for this kingdom."

Their leader had always been the strongest person among them.

The one who walked into danger first.

The one who always had an answer.

Seeing him like this made them understand something.

Whatever he had learned...

It was serious.

"What are you going to do?" Syran asked.

"I’m going to the king."

"The king?"

"I need his help."

Mark immediately stood.

"Then we’re coming with you."

"No."

Nasun’s answer was immediate.

"Your safety is my responsibility."

"But—"

"Whatever you saw underground stays secret."

His eyes hardened.

"I don’t want any of you involved."

Nobody argued.

Not after seeing the eye.

Nasun eventually secured a meeting with the king.

He entered the room alone.

He explained everything.

The roots.

The temple.

The underground city.

The creatures.

The Tree Race.

And what the Shadows had told him.

The king listened.

He didn’t interrupt.

He didn’t look shocked.

He didn’t even look concerned.

When Nasun finished, the king simply remained seated.

"Is that all?"

Nasun stared at him.

"Yes."

"I see."

That was it.

No orders.

No panic.

No questions.

Nothing.

Nasun slowly left the room.

As he walked through the hallway, a cold thought entered his mind.

He already knows.

The thought stopped him.

What if he already knew?

Nasun’s expression darkened.

He couldn’t stay there.

He needed to talk to someone else.

Yorness.

When Nasun found him, he told him everything.

Yorness listened with a skeptical expression.

"The king wasn’t concerned?"

"No."

"Then it’s probably not important."

Nasun stared at him.

"You really believe that?"

"Of course."

Yorness crossed his arms.

"The king is far superior to anyone else. Even other kings."

Nasun slowly reached under his shirt.

"Then explain this."

He revealed the bloody eye.

Yorness’s expression changed instantly.

His eyes widened.

"What the hell is that?"

"A curse."

Nasun covered it again.

"Now listen carefully."

He spoke slowly.

"Maybe the king doesn’t understand how serious this situation is."

Yorness frowned.

"Impossible."

"Maybe."

Nasun continued.

"Or maybe..."

He paused.

"...the king knows exactly what is happening."

Yorness didn’t answer.

For several seconds, he simply stared at Nasun.

Then his voice became quieter.

"The king sees people as pieces."

Nasun said nothing.

"Chess pieces," Yorness continued. "He moves them where he needs them."

He looked away.

"So if what you’re saying is true..."

His expression became darker.

"...maybe the Tree Race was simply discarded by him."

Nasun’s heart tightened.

"But that doesn’t mean he’s planning something evil."

Nasun stepped closer.

"What if he is?"

Yorness looked at him.

"What if this isn’t something he abandoned?"

Nasun’s voice became quieter.

"What if he’s using it?"

"For what?"

"For something bigger."

He stared directly into Yorness’s eyes.

"Something far away."

His voice dropped.

"Something far more horrible than we can imagine."

Bang!

Yorness slammed his fist onto the table.

"That’s bullshit!"

His voice shook the room.

"Do you know what this kingdom looked like before the king came?"

Nasun remained silent.

"People were dying!"

Yorness’s eyes burned with anger.

"My mother told me everything. She told me how she watched her parents die from hunger."

His voice cracked.

"She was pregnant with me."

He clenched his fist.

"She told me my father cut pieces from his own body just to feed her."

Nasun’s eyes widened.

"Fortunately, the king arrived in time."

Yorness’s voice trembled.

"Otherwise, my mother would have given me her own flesh just to keep me alive."

He pointed at Nasun.

"And now you’re standing here accusing the man who saved us?"

Yorness took a breath.

"You dreamed of becoming a Royal Knight, didn’t you?"

Nasun didn’t answer.

"If you keep saying things like this, you won’t become one."

Yorness’s eyes narrowed.

"You’ll be imprisoned."

Nasun looked at him calmly.

"If losing a name means saving this kingdom..."

He turned toward the door.

"Then so be it."

He left.

Yorness remained there, trembling with anger.

The next few days changed Nasun.

He gathered information.

He spoke with people from across the continent.

Beastkin.

Goblins.

Travelers from small kingdoms.

Merchants.

Adventurers.

Anyone who might know something about the king’s past.

And with every piece of information he collected, his suspicion grew.

The same conclusion kept appearing.

The only way to protect Corwata Kingdom from the future he feared...

Was to remove the king.

Nasun had spent years dreaming of becoming a Royal Knight.

Now he was ready to throw that dream away.

If that was what it took to protect the people he loved.

His team made their choice too.

They would follow their captain.

No matter where he went.

No matter what he had to do.

One evening, Nasun gathered them together.

They stood around him in silence.

Nasun looked at each of them.

"I’ve made my decision."

Mark’s playful expression disappeared.

Syran crossed her arms.

Gareth waited silently.

Nasun took a deep breath.

"We’re going to corner the king."

He looked toward the door.

"And we’re going to make him tell us the truth."

His voice was firm.

"Who he really is."

"What he’s planning."

"And what the hell happened to the Tree Race."

Nobody moved.

Nobody backed away.

They simply stood behind their leader.

Ready to challenge the king himself.