38: The Belated Judgment (XI, Cycle)

Chapter 656: 38. The Belated Judgment (XI, Cycle)

Everyone had things they could never forget, whether young or old, poor or rich, beautiful or ugly.

A dissolute young heir might possess a past so pure it made one blush, while a beggar shivering in a street corner might once have sat in a palace, savoring exquisite delicacies.

Zabriel was no exception. It was simply that, compared to ordinary people, the things he could never forget likely dated back a very, very long time.

At the time, he was only fourteen and had just completed the Order's basic training. As an apprentice of the proper age, life in the Order had not been easy for him. Any knight could subject him to harsh trials.

Beyond that, he had to remain on the training grounds for ceaseless assessments. For a half-grown boy, it was not something easily endured, even with honor to sustain him.

So he had to find some way to vent.

For Zabriel back then, that outlet could be measured in a span of time—every night before bed, he would crowd into the dormitory with apprentices like himself, discussing the day's training beneath dim candlelight and encouraging one another.

The discussions would end only when the old man responsible for their daily care entered with a ruler in hand and extinguished the candles.

Yet that peaceful time of finding joy amid hardship did not last long. He soon completed his advanced training and began undergoing augmentation surgery.

After that, everything changed swiftly. Zabriel never again sat knee to knee with anyone in the dead of night—and from time to time, he would always think of those nights, or rather, the feeling they represented.

It was a tranquil power, beyond all else, enough to calm him at any moment. Regrettably, he