(Cyrus POV)
I felt a cold breeze slide across my forearms, abruptly awakening me from being knocked out. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light peering into the room I was being held in, I noticed a tray of food and a cup of water placed on a table. Looking down, I saw that my hands were handcuffed together. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't break out of them. It felt like the cuffs were dampening the effects of cosmic augmentation.
"Where am I," I muttered to myself as I gazed upon the darkly fashioned room. There were no paintings, no murals, or anything that suggested taste or personality. It was just a room filled with black marble walls and floors. There were only these three large floor-to-ceiling windows. I got up off the ground and headed straight for the windows. Wherever I currently was, it was several miles away from the port at least. I was high up on a cliff overlooking the entire shoreline and sea.
The bustling port city looked small and insignificant from here, but still within reach if I escaped. I wondered if I would survive the fall if I made the jump from this window. I knew chances would be slim, but I had to try something. So I imbued cosmic energy into my dominant leg and threw a kick with all the strength I could muster—only to fail and get repelled backward.
"I wouldn't try that too many more times if I were you," a calm and regal voice said as I heard footsteps clack against the marble floors. "Every inch of this place is reinforced with high-grade celetium. You are nowhere near strong enough to break through yet. So just sit and eat."
The voice I heard coming from the hallway was now in focus, jogging my memory of the events that led to my capture. The man before me was wearing the same cloak with the sleeves cut, the same mask with a serpent coiling around an eye. The man's presence dominated the room—it was almost like the atmosphere changed, making it harder to breathe.
"It's you," I said as I scrambled to my feet after getting repelled from the window. "You are a murderer. You killed my mom and clan in cold blood. Why would you do such a thing?"
"Murderer? Who, me? You are one to talk. You've racked up quite the body count yourself, haven't you? First, you killed some of my subordinates—oh yeah, then there was Adam as well. I'm sure your father didn't like that one, did he?"
"How do you… I was defending myself."
"Sure you were. Or did you just want to give in to that rage you have deep inside you? Who was that rage meant for, I wonder?" my family's killer said.
"You know exactly who it was for… Lord Enzo."
"Cute. You've found out my name. Let me guess—through Adam's memories?"
"Yes. And what do you think the people of this continent will do when they find out who framed and killed my clan?"
"Nothing… Nothing will happen at all. I don't think you truly understand how the world really works. Everything is run based on power—and who has the most of it. I have the most wealth, and with that wealth, I have control. The continent is in the palm of my hand. They all buy my product, and they need my product. So even if you were to escape somehow and spill the information, no one will believe you—and no one would actually care."
"You are evil, you know that," I said as I spat at Lord Enzo.
"Maybe I am, but what I do is necessary. Just like you killing those men of mine—and Adam. We are more alike than you'd like to admit."
"We are nothing alike. I would never do what you have done."
"If that's what you believe. But I'm sure you'll see my side of things in due time. Master will help break that facade you have."
"In due time? What do you mean, in due time? The only thing that will happen in due time is me killing you."
"Funny for you to say, since you're shackled. Just how are you going to do that? The only reason you're not dead yet is because you will serve great use to our cause—and to the plans of my master," he retaliated.
I remained quiet for a while as my captor sat in one of the chairs at the table. Something about him felt familiar. I wondered if it was the memories of Adam still seeping through. I quickly shed that thought—it was something that resonated with me on a personal level. The way Lord Enzo spoke to me—it was as if he was trying to teach me a lesson. A lesson only a teacher or mentor would try to give. His tone was stern, yet it was laced with concern.
"If you intend to take me back to Arthenos, why don't we just leave now? Sooner or later, my dad will find my location. I know you know who he is… Do you really think you can defeat him? Judging from your core, I'd say you can't," I said as I tried to casually release three quick bursts of cosmic energy, masquerading as an attempt to escape my cuffs.
"Actually, I am hoping he does find you… I want him to. It makes my job so much easier," Lord Enzo said, tilting his head as if he had just noticed something.
"My father recently fought an Empyrean-stage Starbound and defeated him. What's so special about you that makes you think you can win?"
"Oh, you must be talking about Kael. He was a formidable warrior, for sure. But let me just tell you—he was nowhere near my level. Also, just because someone is a stage ahead of you doesn't mean you can't win. You learned that firsthand, didn't you?" Lord Enzo said as he began to release a sinister aura that was the embodiment of death itself.