DEREK MORRISON CAME BACK FOR REVENGE

Chapter 6

Not long after Derek left the mountain, he arrived in Blue Lake City, and the moment he stepped through the main road leading into the heart of the city, his eyes widened because everything had changed so much since the day he left fifteen years ago that he almost did not recognize the place anymore.

Blue Lake had always been a decent city back then, a place where families lived comfortably and where merchants traded goods without too much trouble, but now it had become something else entirely, something far bigger and far more modern than Derek had ever imagined it could be.

Everywhere he looked, there were tall skyscrapers made of glass and steel that stretched so high into the sky they seemed to touch the clouds, and the streets were filled with luxurious cars that moved smoothly along wide roads that had been paved perfectly without a single crack or bump. The buildings were clean and bright, their walls covered in advertisements and digital screens that flashed images and colors Derek had never seen before, and people walked past him dressed in expensive clothes, talking on phones, carrying bags from stores he did not recognize, living lives that looked nothing like the life he had been living on the mountain for the past fifteen years.

He stopped on the sidewalk for a moment and just stared.

This was the world Patricia West had been living in while he had been grinding herbs and learning medicine in a stone room on a mountain that most people did not even know existed.

No wonder she had sent him that letter.

No wonder she had decided to cancel the marriage arrangement without a second thought.

Who would want to stay tied to someone like him when they had access to all of this? Who would want to marry a man with no family, no money, no status, and no future when they could walk through a city like this and have everything they ever wanted within reach?

Derek did not blame her for the decision.

He was not angry about it, and he was not hurt by it either, because the truth was simple and clear: Patricia had moved forward with her life, and Derek had spent fifteen years standing still.

Still, he was not here because of the marriage.

He was here because Master Zachariah had told him to heal Old Master West, and Derek had never ignored his master's instructions before, so he was not going to start now.

He pulled the small card from his pocket, looked at the address Master Zachariah had written on the back of the letter, and began walking toward the West family estate.

It did not take him long to find it.

The estate sat at the edge of the wealthiest part of Blue Lake City, surrounded by tall iron gates and thick stone walls that stretched for what looked like miles in both directions. The main gate was massive, at least fifteen feet tall, with gold-trimmed designs carved into the iron and a security camera mounted above it that tracked his movements the moment he stepped close enough.

Derek stopped in front of the gate and looked up at it.

This was not just a house.

This was the home of one of the Five Gods of War, a family that commanded armies, controlled borders, and held more power than most governments.

He reached forward and pressed the alarm bell five times.

No one answered.

He waited, still no one, he pressed it again.

This time, after a few long seconds, the massive gate began to open with a low mechanical hum, and Derek stepped back as the iron doors slowly swung inward to reveal a long stone path that led toward the main house in the distance.

However before he could take a single step forward, he saw three people walking toward him from the other side of the gate.

The first was a woman in her late forties, dressed in an elegant dark blue gown that probably cost more than most families made in a year, her hair tied back in a neat bun, her posture straight and proud as she walked with slow, deliberate steps. Beside her was a tall man with broad shoulders and graying hair, wearing a dark suit that fit him perfectly, his face calm and serious as he walked beside the woman with one hand resting lightly on her lower back. And walking just ahead of them both, moving faster than the other two, was a younger woman dressed in a full military uniform with so many badges and medals pinned across her chest that Derek could see them glinting in the sunlight even from a distance.

Patricia West.

Derek had seen a picture of her once, many years ago, when she had still been a child and the marriage arrangement had first been made, but the woman walking toward him now looked nothing like that little girl.

She was tall, strong, and carried herself with the kind of confidence that only came from winning battles and earning respect through blood and sweat. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight braid, her jaw was set, and her eyes were sharp and cold as they locked onto Derek the moment she stepped through the gate.

He could tell immediately, even before she opened her mouth, that she was angry.

Furious, even.

Patricia stopped a few feet away from him, her parents coming to a halt just behind her, and the moment she spoke, her voice was filled with venom.

"What did I tell you?" she snapped. "I told you not to show your lazy face here again. Did you not get my message?"

Derek opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say a single word, Patricia's father stepped forward and spoke in a low, steady voice that carried just as much anger as his daughter's.

"So you got my daughter's message, and you still had the audacity to show yourself here?" He crossed his arms over his chest and looked Derek up and down like he was inspecting something worthless. "I knew it. I knew the moment you received that letter, you would come crawling here looking for trouble."

Patricia's mother stepped forward next, her eyes narrowing as she looked Derek over from head to toe, and when she spoke, her tone was sharp and dismissive.

"How much do you need?" she asked. "I know you must need money. Who would not need money when you have no family anymore, no background, no status, nothing at all? So stop playing games and stop beating around the bush. Just tell us how much you need, and we will give it to you so you can leave."

Derek remained still, his face calm, but before he could respond, Patricia exploded.

"You are not going to give him a dime," she said, her voice rising as she glared at her mother. "He does not deserve it. I already made a mistake years ago when I accepted that marriage proposal, but I was young and foolish, and my grandfather was the one who pushed for it. But now? Fifteen years later? How would you expect me to get entangled with someone like him, someone who does not even come close to my status?"

She stepped even closer to Derek, her eyes burning with anger, and the military uniform she wore only made her look more intimidating as the badges on her chest caught the light and reflected it back toward him.

"I am a War Goddess," she said coldly. "I command armies. I protect this country. I have earned everything I have through my own strength, and I will not let some nobody from a dead family drag me down."

Immediately Derek looked at her for a moment, then sighed and shook his head.

"Will you guys just cut off all of this?" he said, his voice calm but firm. "First and foremost, let me make one thing very clear: I am not here because of the marriage."

Patricia's eyes narrowed.

"I got your message," Derek continued. "And I accept it. One hundred percent. I am not here to argue with you, and I am not here to beg you to change your mind."

Before he could say another word, Patricia cut him off.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" she snapped. "If you got my message, and you accept it, then you have no business being at this gate. So why are you standing here wasting my time?"

Derek did not look at her.

His eyes moved past her, toward the large estate behind her, and when he spoke again, his voice was steady and clear.

"I am here because of Old Master West," he said. "Specifically, I was told that I should come here to heal him. That is the only reason I am here, not because of the marriage. I am not going to force you to do what you do not want to do."

He finally looked back at Patricia, his expression calm and unshaken.

"Please lead me to where Old Master West is."