Night slowly receded and the brilliant sun graced the massive city of Rosa with its warm embrace once again.
The city's walls stood strong against the sun's comforting rays and its protectors still patrolled to top of it.
Various sounds reverberated through the lively streets of Rosa, the loud bustle could be heard all over the city.
Even beneath it…
Xaryus suddenly jolted awake as if he just had a nightmare, his breaths shallow and hoarse.
Slowly, he moved his hand to his side and winced in pain, vaguely remembering the powerful blow that sent him flying. His body was covered in bruises from the skipping across the ground like a ragdoll.
Glancing around the dark area where he awoke, he quickly noticed the improvement of his vision, specifically in the dark.
Xaryus was sitting in a room slightly larger than his previous home, the stone walls were covered by a thick layer of dust. In one corner there was a stack of old wooden crates and a wooden chair in another.
Behind him, a large metal door that didn't allow a single inch of light into the room sat menacingly.
To his left, Zadius was laying on the ground, unconscious.
"Where are we?"
Xaryus said as he slowly rustled his brother awake.
Without much work, Zadius' eyes slowly opened before they quickly shot apart. In a swift motion Zadius rose to his feet in confusion, an obvious look of anxiety and fear permeated his entire body.
"Zadius…"
Xaryus called out to Zadius, calmly standing up near his older brother.
Zadius shifted his attention to Xaryus for a moment before his posture calmed.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"I'm not sure…" Xaryus responded, taking a step towards the heavy metal door.
"There's no way we can move or break through this thing." Xaryus added as he placed his hand on the door.
The moment his words left his mouth, a heavy latch could be heard coming loose on the other side of the door.
Hearing this, Xaryus quickly stepped away from the door whilst Zadius stepped forward to meet his brother. The heavy door groaned and dragged across the stone floors of the dusty room.
The door revealed another much larger room made of similar material behind it. This one was in much better condition but they couldn't get a good look because…
Andrew was standing in the centre of the doorframe.
Now, he had removed his coat and rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows.
Andrew took a moment to look at Xaryus and Zadius, both now standing in basic fighting stances that betrayed the look of terror in their eyes.
"How cute." Andrew said softly.
"But to still have a will to fight after the beating I gave them… Impressive, if not utterly stupid."
Andrew laughed to himself for a moment before returning a sharp gaze towards the brothers.
"Good Morning…" He greeted them in an almost genuine cheerful tone.
Neither Xaryus or Zadius had expected such a thing to occur. \
Andrew didn't seem to have any obvious malice towards them but they also understood that could change in an instant.
Too scared to speak, they both stayed silent.
"...Do you not have any manners!" Andrew roared, a sudden rage filling his voice.
His words echoed throughout the dusty room, sending shivers down the spines of both Xaryus and Zadius.
"I said, Good… Morning." He continued, taking a step forward.
His voice softened once again but the rageful look in his eyes still remained.
"G-Good morning."
"M-Morning."
Both brothers weakly responded, not even able to meet Andrew's gaze.
"That's better, Follow me." He commanded, turning towards the door and walking back into the larger room.
Xaryus and Zadius followed him closely, each of their steps were filled with anxiety.
The room they entered appeared to be some sort of underground chamber made of stone bricks. It was furnished with various crates and barrels to store supplies, and a dining table with a set of chairs.
Next to the wall opposite of the door they exited was a long table and single chair.
On the wall, there were a plethora of pages stuck to it by stone needles with a red line of string connecting various pieces of parchment in a vast interconnected web.
The table itself was littered with a wide swath of documents as well as an array of sheathed weapons and Andrew's longcoat.
"Take a seat." Andrew said, gesturing towards the dining table in the middle of the room.
The dining table was currently equipped with various plates of fruits including apples and grapes.
Near two of the chairs were bowls of soup, each accompanied by two slices of fresh bread neatly placed on a small platter.
Andrew stepped around the table, grabbing an apple before taking a seat across from the two brothers.
"You can eat, I made those for you two."
Reluctantly, Xaryus and Zadius stared at the bowls of soup.
What were the chances he was going to poison them?
Their mother had always told them to not eat from strangers. But they were too hungry.
Eventually, they dug into their meals yet their focus never seemed to leave Andrew; too afraid to take their eyes off him.
In a moment's notice, they finished their meals and to their surprise it was expertly made, better than anything their mother had made for them.
Wiping some breadcrumbs away from his lips, Zadius steeled himself and decided to speak.
"What do you want from us?" He asked.
His question put Andrew to a pause, an extremely long one.
Xaryus felt as if they were suddenly going to be assaulted by Andrew's fists once more, but his vicious blows never came.
"You may not know it now, but you and your brother are extremely special and I intended to use you as much as I physically can…"
Andrew's statement was brief and direct.
There was no room for negotiation in his statement. The brothers could only despair, neither of them brave enough to voice their reluctance.
In the face of such an overwhelming and unpredictable foe, they were forced to comply.
Shortly after Xaryus finished eating, Andrew began to lecture them on how their new life would be under his tutelage.
Constantly referring to them as his "Blades".
From listening closely to the things Andrew said and didn't want to say - Directly at least - Zadius deduced that he seemed to be from a renowned guild of awakened.
But he was reluctant to share its name, or rather, say its name lightly.
Eventually, he revealed another of his cynical actions…
"What is this!?" Xaryus exclaimed, looking down at his stomach.
Resting on his skin, there was a tattoo of three black rings encircling each other around his belly button.
The mere sight of it had unnerved Xaryus to his very core.
Zadius lifted his shirt and saw that he had the same marking on his stomach.
"Stop overreacting, that is what we call a minor slave mark. Or more precisely, a mark of bondage. It prevents you from moving a certain distance away from a desired point…" Andrew responded wistfully.
He wasn't paying much attention to the brothers anymore, his focus now grasped by the intricate web of information that he set up on the chamber wall.
"...Besides, that is the least of your worries." He added with a wide toothy grin, his eyes once again filled with boundless madness.