The bridge stood quietly above the river.
It wasn't large.
It wasn't beautiful.
It was made of old wood and thick ropes that had clearly survived many years.
Feroz looked at it carefully.
"There doesn't seem to be anything special about it."
The younger man smiled.
"That's because you're looking at the bridge."
Feroz looked confused.
"What should I be looking at?"
"The space between."
Without another word, the younger man stepped onto the bridge.
Feroz followed.
The wood creaked beneath their feet.
The river flowed peacefully below.
Halfway across, the younger man stopped.
He leaned against the wooden railing.
"Tell me something."
Feroz waited.
"What kind of person do you think becomes strong?"
Feroz answered almost immediately.
"Someone who never gives up."
The younger man nodded.
"A good answer."
"But not the best one."
Feroz smiled.
"I expected that."
The younger man laughed.
"Strength isn't only about refusing to fall."
"It's also about knowing when to stop fighting."
Feroz frowned.
"I thought you should never stop."
The younger man shook his head.
"That's pride."
"Not strength."
The words stayed with Feroz.
He looked down at the river.
It flowed around every obstacle.
Never trying to prove itself.
Never trying to win.
It simply continued.
The younger man noticed where Feroz was looking.
"The river has taught people for thousands of years."
"But very few listen."
Feroz remained silent.
Then the younger man suddenly asked,
"Do you hate Zarqaan?"
The question came without warning.
Feroz's face became serious.
He thought carefully before answering.
"I don't know."
The younger man nodded.
"That's an honest answer."
Feroz looked toward the horizon.
"He betrayed my father."
"He joined the Free Masons."
"He tried to make me accept that strange figure."
A pause.
"But..."
The younger man waited.
"I also felt like he didn't want me to die."
The younger man smiled slightly.
"Interesting."
"Why?"
"Because most people only see one side."
"You noticed both."
Silence filled the bridge.
The younger man continued.
"The world is rarely divided into good people and bad people."
"Most people stand somewhere in between."
Feroz remembered Zarqaan's face in the valley.
He had attacked him.
But he had also warned him.
He had told him to focus.
To stay in control.
Even Haroon had looked confused by Zarqaan's actions.
Nothing about him was simple.
The younger man suddenly began walking again.
They reached the other side of the bridge.
There was only one thing waiting for them.
A single tree.
Smaller than the ancient tree Feroz had seen before.
Its leaves moved gently in the wind.
The younger man walked toward it.
He placed one hand on its trunk.
"Do you know why bridges exist?"
Feroz looked around.
"To cross rivers."
The younger man smiled.
"Yes."
"But they also connect two places."
Feroz slowly nodded.
"They don't belong to either side."
"They simply allow people to move forward."
Those words reminded Feroz of himself.
He no longer belonged to his old life.
But he hadn't reached his future either.
He was somewhere in between.
Just like this bridge.
The younger man looked directly at him.
"You're standing on a bridge too, Feroz."
"A bridge between who you were..."
"...and who you'll become."
Feroz took a deep breath.
For the first time, he truly understood why this place was called the Learning Path.
It wasn't teaching him how to fight.
It was teaching him how to think.
Suddenly—
the ground beneath the tree began to glow.
Soft golden lines appeared around its roots.
Feroz stepped back.
"What is that?"
The younger man didn't seem surprised.
"The next lesson."
The light grew brighter.
Then the earth beneath the tree slowly opened.
Stone steps appeared.
Leading underground.
A cool breeze rose from the darkness below.
Feroz looked at the staircase.
Then at the younger man.
"We're going down there?"
The younger man nodded.
"This is where most people turn back."
"Why?"
The smile disappeared from the younger man's face.
"Because below this tree..."
He paused.
"...you won't be answering my questions anymore."
Feroz felt a strange uneasiness.
"Then whose questions will I answer?"
The younger man looked into the darkness.
His voice became calm.
"You'll answer your own."
Without another word, he stepped aside.
Leaving the entrance open.
Feroz stood at the top of the stairs for several seconds.
Then, without looking back—
he took his first step into the darkness beneath the tree.