“Well, there’s something I didn’t expect.” A loud voice came from his left. “Is that Caine admiring his annoyingly good looks?”

  A man wearing brown robes - typical of the desert of the Prillescia Kingdom - showed up in front of Caine. The man walked closer to him, his pace strangely slow; his hair fluttered in the air, almost as if dancing in a nonexistent breeze, making his walk seem overly dramatic, and Caine couldn’t help but slap his forehead as he witnessed this scene.

  The man had dark brown hair, floating graciously in the air; he was rather handsome, not exactly like Caine: while Caine was more rough around the edges, his features were strong and defined, but this man seemed more delicate. His tan skin was extremely clear, clear of any defects, almost as if he was made of porcelain, and while he was notably shorter than Caine - but still of average height - he carried himself with incredible confidence and power.

  “Ra’Hul, is it really necessary to use magic to make an entrance when it’s just us two?” Caine asked.

  The man stopped suddenly, his brown hair falling gently over his shoulders at once, and he glared at Caine.

  “Yes, it is, Caine.” He replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Master always told us that an entrance is important, and in his land, this is how you make an entrance, especially in plays. Wind blowing through your hair, and a ‘slow-motion’ walk, he called it.”

  Caine sighed, reminiscing about that conversation they had so many years ago, and a smile crept up on his face. Caine took a step towards him and pulled closer in a tight embrace.

  “Ra’Hul, I missed you, little brother.” He said, his voice full of love.

  “We’re the same age.” Ra’Hul retorted, laughing.

  “Three days. I am older by three days.”

  They let go of one another and began walking, Ra’Hul leading the way and Caine following blindly until they reached a bar - a different one from the one Caine was in earlier that day - and sat down, the two of them drinking a cold beer.

  “Caine.” Ra’hul spoke solemnly. “I must admit, I am shocked. We’ve known each other many years, but I never thought I would see the day.”

  The sudden shift in his tone worried Caine; ever since they met, Caine rarely heard him talk seriously, unless there was serious trouble, of course. Caine readied himself for whatever Ra’Hul was about to tell him, scanning his surroundings to ensure that there was no danger nearby.

  “You, Caine, were on a date with a woman, and a beautiful one at that.”

  Caine clenched his fist, fighting the urge to punch him in the face, knowing full well that if he were to do that, the fight would last days, and would lead to the destruction of the better part of the city. Despite this, he seriously considered if it would have been worth just punching him.

  “Don’t speak so seriously about something stupid, you had me worried.” Caine admonished him. “It was not a date. She was a colleague, and I managed to become a Professor at the Academy. Thanks for congratulating me.”

  “Congratulations!” Ra’Hul shouted, gathering the attention of everyone in the bar. “Hey everyone, my brother is a Professor at the Arman Academy!”

  A loud cheer erupted, and all the people in the bar raised their drinks, with some shouting out a few congratulatory words.

  “Happy?” Raa’Hul asked with an irritating smirk on his face.

  “Yes, but it would have been better if you did that of your own volition rather than doing it because I asked… but can we do? The moment’s gone.” Caine added as the two started laughing.

  A pleasant atmosphere surrounded Caine whenever he was with Ra’Hul, but - as always - he knew that there were problems that needed to be solved. Caine looked across the bar, at the small glass window, and imagined what sort of lives other people lived.

  How would a person live if he wasn’t consumed by one single desire?

  “Caine, here’s the yearly reminder: you know how I feel about your ‘purpose.’ I want something more for you, for us, but I understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s okay for you to change your mind. We can get out of this.” Ra’Hul spoke slowly, his voice full of warmth and concern for his brother.

  Silence lingered after his words, and the two stared at each other, the pleasant atmosphere slowly dissipating, yet remaining comfortable. Caine had not replied, but Ra’Hul knew that the silence itself and the look in his eyes were the answer.

  “Very well.” Ra’Hul said, smiling again. “A new Subjugation will take place in The Forest. It will begin in five months, so it’s a good opportunity for you to grow your fame. At this point, as a Professor, you need to let people know about you. Leonidas is not enough anymore.”

  Caine agreed wholeheartedly, especially now that he was a Professor, he needed people to trust him, to believe in his strength, and for people to willingly follow him, and showing his superiority and absoluteness in a Subjugation was the perfect opportunity.

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  “I see. I’ll be there. But you didn’t come all the way here to tell me this. What’s really happening?”

  “The Subjugation will take place in five months because more people are needed.” He said, his voice turning serious, and his smile fading. “Caine. Demigods will be there.”

  His mind went blank for an eternal moment.

  ‘Demigods. Those fucking monsters.’

  He clenched his fists, feeling his face grow hotter, and the rage burn brighter in his chest, never having disappeared for all this time. Instead, he merely learnt not to let it control his life, but that was only when he knew Demigods were not around.

  During the Subjugation, will he be able to remain in control, or will he try to kill them as soon as he lays eyes on them? That was the real reason Ra’Hul was there, to ensure that Caine would be able to handle himself when the time came.

  “Caine.”

  Ra’Hul grabbed his arm, making Caine aware of his surroundings. He looked at his brother, his face full of concern, and then looked at the people in the bar, all of them looking down at the ground, their faces pallid and fearful.

  “Calm down. Release your Authority.”

  Caine took a deep breath and tried to ground himself, fighting against the rage that festered in his heart to regain control of his Authority. His mind races, trying to think of something to calm him down, until the image of a beautiful woman’s face flashed before his eyes.

  Luna’s.

  For the first time in years, today was extremely relaxing; despite everything that happened, and the fight he found himself in, he enjoyed the day to the fullest, finding Luna’s presence calming and enjoyable.

  His breathing steadied, and he shoved his rage deep within him, in a corner of his heart reserved only for that rage. Silence still engulfed the bar, but people were now staring at each other, whispering about the pressure they all felt.

  “This is it for the night. Time to leave.” The barkeep shouted, his face still pale and covered in sweat.

  He didn’t need to even finish the sentence as people were already rushing to leave the bar, while Ra’Hul went to the barkeep offering him five golden coins, a token of apology for what had just happened, without revealing that Caine was the cause of it, of course.

  The two left the bar, once again Ra’Hul leading the way, while Caine followed blindly, still reeling from what just happened.

  “Sorry.” He told him.

  “It’s alright. It’s my fault, I should have told you somewhere more private.” Ra’Hul reassured him, although it hurt Caine to hear him take the blame for his own wrongdoing.

  The two walked around the city, catching up after having been apart for over three years. Caine learned how Ra’Hul managed to finally fulfill one of his childhood wishes, and started a clothing business, designing clothes, mainly inspired by the ones Oliver would tell him about and the ones he made for him, excited by how well he was doing.

  Caine on the other hand, told him how he spent the last three years in The Forest, without ever leaving, hunting down anything he saw, learning the weaknesses and behaviour of those mindless beasts, and finally understanding how to better hunt them, even when alone.

  “Ra’Hull, guess what. The Headmistress of the Academy is more proficient in Spatial Magic than you.” Caine noted. “I’m not exaggerating, she may be one of the strongest mages I ever met.”

  Ra’Hul stopped, turning to Caine with a confused expression.

  “Caine.” He began. “You do know that Headmistress Zeraphyn is considered the strongest human in history, right? Obviously, she’s better at Spatial Magic than me.”

  Caine stared at him, his face devoid of any emotion.

  “The strongest human in history?” He asked incredulously.

  “Yes. This is why I always tell you to be more interested in what happens in the world, this is common knowledge. Seriously, what even are you doing?” Ra’Hul laughed.

  “I am interested in what happens in the world. In fact, why are we here, Ra’Hul?”

  While they met at the plaza, where the buildings and the streets were clean and well-maintained, now they were in a completely different place; the streets were full of litters, the stone roads cracked and broken down, completely unusable. Even the buildings were breaking down, barely held together, and not a window in sight was not broken.

  Caine simply followed Ra’Hul and he was led into the slums of Arman. Ra’Hul looked around and sighed, realising that Caine caught on.

  “Funny that you mention it. I have a job for you.” He was still smiling, but his tone completely shifted, now turning much more serious, his previously playfulness nowhere in sight.

  He held out his hand, materialising a book out of thin air, and showed Caine a page of it. An extremely realistic drawing of a bearded man was on it, seemingly too realistic for a mere drawing.

  “Caine, this is a photo of Baroc, a part of the Arman Underworld. Under his orders, his men abducted and experimented on countless children, and the authorities aren’t doing anything about. This is s-”

  “Ra’Hul.” Caine interrupted him. “You don’t need to explain, I trust you completely. If you tell me this man needs to die, he will die.”

  “He needs to die.” Ra’Hul spoke coldly.

  “Do you know where I can find him?”

  “Yes, we are going towards his last known location. Every night he goes to a whorehouse, his own personal one, just on the last alleyway of this road. It’s heavily guarded, but he will be vulnerable, and your affinity to Shadow magic will be helpful. I wish I could kill him myself, but I… I just can’t.”

  “I know.” Caine’s voice was comforting. “I will do it for you. Give me a name, and they will die. I’ll go right now, I got my mask, so go home and rest.”

  Ra’Hul smiled softly, although Caine could see the vast pain and anger hidden behind his fake smile.

  “By the way,” Caine stopped Ra’Hul as he was leaving. “How is that drawing so realistic?”

  “Oh, it’s something Oliver told me about once. I’m using light magic to capture an image, and then I’m guiding the light onto a surface, which creates the photo. Honestly, Oliver tried explaining how it works, but I only understood the basic principles of it.”

  “Of course, Master really was the type of guy to share some weird magic, and not even explain it properly.” Caine laughed. “Anyway, I’ll see you around. I would walk you home and all, but you know… got a murder to commit.”

  The two laughed and parted ways; Caine looked around, found a dark alley, and calmly walked there, trying to not get the attention of the people in the slums. While the street may have been empty, he knew full well that there was always someone watching in the slums, it was the one common characteristic of slums across the world, regardless of Kingdom.

  He looked at his left palm, and imbued mana into it, revealing one single rune, designed by Oliver himself. He could clearly see the rune, but it seemed that a hex was placed on it, because regardless of how much attention paid to it, he couldn’t process what he was seeing, a blur only appearing on his palm.

  A black mask materialised in his palm, showing a demon’s face, bearing its sharp black teeth. It had two large eye holes, but somehow, one couldn’t see through them. It was most likely due to the series of intricate runes adorning it, which - according to Oliver - hid the person wearing… even from the Gods.

  And Caine decided to wear the mask as he had to go hunting.