Chapter 53- A Hand That Stretches From The Darkness (Part 1)

Chapter 53: Chapter 53- A Hand That Stretches From The Darkness (Part 1)

Chapter 53- A Hand That Stretches From The Darkness (Part 1)

"..." Rize stared at him for a second before he rolled his eyes. "If you wanted to get to know me. Maybe you could’ve handled me with more care, you know?"

"Ah, I’m sorry about that. My men wear their emotions on their sleeves, so you are not particularly a favorite around here." The man said coldly. "If I leave you to them, you would’ve wished we struck your head with a bullet rather than the back of a gun."

Rize could only sigh. ’He is clearly not planning to keep me alive, but he also... seems a bit curious about me. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.’ Rize thought to himself.

"I’m Rize." He replied. "May I know yours?"

"Rize? Your name is odd." The man said as he tapped his forehead. "I’m Vigil."

"Vigil?" Rize frowned. "And you’re calling my name odd."

"Funny, kid. But your sharp tongue won’t get you out of this situation." Vigil said as he stood up and looked at Rize. "We will bring you with us back home, where the elders will decide your fate."

"..."

"You might be food for our little pets, or you might be spared to serve us and tell us what we need to know."

"Huh? I’m just a nobody." Rize replied.

"That you can fool someone else with, not me," Vigil said. "We are going to extract every piece of information you have in that skull of yours."

’Great. As if things weren’t already splendid. If I go back with them wherever they came from, I doubt I could really escape. I need to find a way to escape this place now, or I’m really screwed.’ Rize mused as he tried to remain stoic and calm. ’Or, if I could somehow... Wait...’

"If you really think this is the way to do whatever you want to do... I’m going to warn you. After what happened today, you and your people will be chased to the ends of the world and hunted down like birds. The King and the Royal Family are not the kind of power you could mess with."

"..." Vigil sat down as he stared at him silently.

"Even if you kill me now, trust me, they will find you, and when they do, you will be wishing that you never really poked the dormant beast."

Silence trailed off after Rize was done speaking and then... Shockingly, Vigil exploded into cold laughter. His laughs sounded sharp and loud, making the boy shudder. He looked as if he had heard the funniest joke ever.

"Do you think I’m not aware of who I’m dealing with? The reality is, you and your people poked us first. You came to us and tried to steal what’s ours. You should be paying the consequences for your actions."

"Why attack innocent people? Why not go for the Royal Family instead? Children and the elderly are not your enemies."

"Yes, they are. You do not know what you’re talking about. You all pay for what we suffer. Every dime you give to those rotten bastards is causing the suffering of my people."

Rize stared at the man silently as he started piecing things together. He had already had a hunch that this entire attack was fueled by a desire for revenge. Whatever the reason was, these people carried a grudge, and they wanted to make the Royal Family pay.

’Knowing they can’t really do much facing the army or the Royal Knights, they decided to go for something simpler but still effective... Civilians.’ Rize mused. ’It’s evil, but effective.’

"Do you want to bring more misfortune for your people?" Rize asked. "Now that you did that, they will hail down hell on you."

"And so what? We were already doomed. We would rather die fighting than give them what they want on a golden plate." Vigil said as he patted his cat. "We will make an example of you and everyone else who opposes us. Come take him away! I don’t want to see his pathetic face anymore."

Rize could only stare at Vigil as the other man dragged him out of the room. A thousand thoughts crossed his mind, but he could not put them into words. His biggest concern was to escape this place before they took him away somewhere unknown.

But being tied made it impossible to try anything. He couldn’t even free a single finger, let alone an entire hand. So, with not much to do, Rize decided to focus on the layout of the place, with even more intent this time.

He looked at every detail, every window, every door, and every single face he could see. In his mind, he started creating a rough map of where things are. Finally, he was dragged through the doors back to the place where he was imprisoned before.

This time, however, Rize noticed something. There was a particular door near his cell that was closed shut. But from the window, he could see glimpses of the inside.

’Is this where this bastard sits? If it is... Maybe... Maybe my phone is there.’ He thought to himself. ’If I could access my phone, I could send a signal to Venera of where I am currently. I just need to get my hands on the phone.’ Rize thought to himself. ’If they didn’t break it, that is...’

His chances of finding the phone intact were slim, but with no other choice and little to no other solution, he had to put his bet on that. That left one major hurdle: getting out of these chains.

’Easier said than done, I’m so damn weak!’ He clenched his teeth as he felt the man stop before he grabbed the end of the chain and pulled it toward the hinge that kept him suspended in the air.

"Oh come on, man. Please don’t put me upside down again." Rize said. However, the man ignored him as he continued pulling him up.

Rize felt the blood pool in his head, and the dizziness hit him again. Then, he watched as the man walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving him in the cold darkness again.

’Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!’ Rize cursed in his breath. ’What the hell am I supposed to do?’

His panic only settled in when the darkness consumed him again. He was stuck there, upside down, for God knows how long, with no real way to escape or a chance of being found.

What was left for him was a sense of hopelessness that seemed to eat away at his mind. He tried to keep himself calm and to take things slowly. He was professionally trained for such situations, so he knew that panicking would only make his chances of survival slimmer.

Sucking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused on his inner mind.

’I will get out of here somehow. Whether that is by sheer force or trickery. I will make it out.’ He kept saying it in his head again and again, like a mantra.

Unbeknownst to him, what he was about to experience was going to reshape everything...