The white hair swayed in the wind as Raymond slowly shook his head.
"Revenge can never be a dream," he said more quietly this time. "It's a desire."
Sam raised his brows slightly and turned the skewer once more, watching the surface of the meat darken and split as heat worked its way inward.
"When you dream every night of the chains," he replied evenly, "and the face you want to kill— isn't that a dream?"
The wind carried sparks upward into the open sky. For a moment neither of them spoke.
Raymond's usual smirk faded.
Chains.
He studied Samuel more carefully now—the way his shoulders remained tense even at rest, the faint scars circling his wrists, half-hidden beneath dirt and shadow, the way his eyes did not reflect the firelight so much as absorb it.
"That's not a dream," Raymond said after a while, his voice lacking its earlier teasing tone. "That's trauma."
Sam didn't react to the word.
"It's the same thing," he answered calmly. "It keeps you awake. It shows you images. It tells you what you want."
"No," Raymond insisted, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. "A dream is something that pulls you forward. Revenge just chains you to the past."
A faint, humorless smile touched Samuel's lips.
"Chains," he repeated softly.
The river rushed beside them, relentless and cold.
Raymond frowned slightly. "Who did that to you?"
Silence stretched.
The fire crackled. Fat hissed. A piece of wood shifted and collapsed inward, sending up a brief flare of light that illuminated the hard line of Samuel's jaw.
"Someone who thought he was untouchable," Sam said at last, thinking back how he cut of Henry Tarakans family plans.
"A noble?" Raymond guessed automatically.
"No."
"A guild master? A criminal?"
Sam shook his head once.
"Worse."
Raymond waited.
But Samuel did not continue. Instead, he pulled one skewer from the fire and handed it over without looking at him.
Raymond accepted it slowly, still watching him.
"You know," he said carefully, blowing on the steaming meat, "if revenge is all you have, what happens after you get it?"
Sam didn't answer immediately. He stared into the fire as if the flames were replaying something only he could see. Pictures of the men who laid him in chains, killing him and chaining him again to be an labor rat. The month of pain, hunger and death.
"Then I'll see," he said finally.
"That's not an answer."
"It's enough."
Raymond took a bite, winced at the heat, then chewed thoughtfully.
"For what it's worth," he muttered between bites, "I don't think you're the kind of person who only lives for one thing."
Sam glanced at him sideways.
"You don't know me and you talk too much."
"And you think too little about the future."
The wind swept across the river again, stronger this time, bending the flames sideways. Somewhere far off, beyond the water and the open land, a deep rumble rolled faintly across the horizon.
Neither of them commented on it.
Till Raymond asked; "What if there was no need for Revenge? What would you do?"
Samuel didnt answer But his eyes shifted toward the distance for just a fraction of a second.
Then he returned his gaze to the fire.
"Eat," he said. "We move at night."
"Yeah, yeah!" Raymond waved him off and took a large bite, continuing with a full mouth. "I wanted to see my father again. That's why I tried to return home so quickly with teleportation. My uncle wrote to me—the king was deathly sick."
He swallowed and stared into the flames for a moment, their reflection dancing in his light eyes.
Samuel simply watched him chew, gnawing quietly at his own piece of meat.
Raymond sighed and shook his head.
"And now I, the prince of Kaelvire, am sitting here in the middle of the wilderness… with a wild man."
He stared off into the distance dramatically, ignoring the way Samuel's eyebrow rose at that comment. After a second, Sam just shrugged.
"Even if you didn't ask," Raymond continued, voice softening, "my dream was… is… to become a great and respected king. Like my father."
He fell silent after that, finishing his food without another joke, without another grin.
Samuel did the same—but his gaze lingered on Raymond, thoughtful now.
Something else… besides revenge?
The question echoed quietly in his mind.
He stared into the fire and let his thoughts drift backward, further than he usually allowed them to go.
How he had arrived in this world…Right.
He hadn't even been born here.
His old life surfaced in fragments—dark streets lit by flickering neon, fists bruised from underground fights, the barking of dogs in illegal rings where he did everything just to earn enough for his sister's tuition. Medicine. She had wanted to become a doctor.
His mother…
His jaw tightened slightly.
Even before this world, his life had never been gentle.
The fire cracked loudly as a piece of wood split in two.
Samuel spoke before he could stop himself.
"I think… if there were no revenge…" He paused, the words feeling unfamiliar. "I'd like to build a thermal bath. Even if it started as a simple bathhouse. That would be good."
Raymond blinked.
He suppressed the wide grin that immediately tried to spread across his face and instead asked casually, "Why?"
Samuel stared into the flames for a long moment before answering in his deep, calm voice.
"On birthdays, there was one thermal bath that was free to enter. It was like the calm eye inside a life-taking storm."
His eyes closed briefly.
He remembered the steam rising in soft clouds. The warm mineral water easing the tension from his shoulders. The muffled quiet beneath the surface. The rare moments where no one expected anything from him.
And his mother's hand resting lightly on his head while he leaned back against the stone edge of the pool.
For those few hours, the world had been quiet.
Raymond studied him carefully.
"Am I allowed to say that's a beautiful dream?" he asked gently.
Samuel opened his eyes again.
Raymond beamed now, no longer hiding the smile, and took the last bite of his food. "For someone who claims revenge is his only dream," he added, licking grease from his fingers, "you think a lot about peace."
Samuel didn't answer immediately. Looking at the screen that hovered infront of him, a interface he didn't open since the day he arrived here.
——— Strongest Shop System ———
All functions locked.
Unlock requirements: Complete the first task.
Task:
• Secure Property: Buy a suitable plot of land to shape your future.
————
The river roared steadily beside them, carrying foam and reflections of starlight downstream. The night air felt cooler now, brushing against their skin after the warmth of the fire.
Why is it even called the strongest system, if i can't even use it? Thought Samuel and shook his head. Then with a flicker formed a small text infront of him.
[Automated answer: ?If the host is asking why it's called the strongest system? If there is only one system, isn't it the strongest one?]
He blinked to times in disbelief and rubbed his head before the automated answer disappeared. Crazy…
Finally, Sam found his words again and spoke."Let us depart." And closed the system window.