The Greenhouse, 6pm.
Hugo had cleaned the building, Miguel was playing solitaire on the floor and Titus was drawing.
Titus was struck by a cold sweat breathing heavily every second, his eyes were dilated and a ringing sensation in his ears was continuous.
Miguel and Hugo had already discussed the latest conflict earlier, they had been deeply unnerved by how those men fought. It was as if they had no sense. It wasn't coordinated at all.
They figured it was a diversion for something but couldn't decide what. Their boss was supposed to deal with all of them so how were they able to escape him.
Hugo was sitting on one of the few tables that still had structural integrity. He looked at Titus with a genuine sad expression.
"It's such a shame that you couldn't help us."
Titus didn't respond.
"Leave him be, he'll get used to it." Said Miguel.
Hugo sighed and stretched his arm on the table.
"Tem certeza? Olhe para ele."
Miguel looked at Titus' sketchbook, then at him. As he was about to speak he was cut off again.
"Does the air feel heavier?" Titus quivered.
!
"He's here…"
An overwhelming fog blasted into the building, Titus almost choked. A will was emanating so intensely with fury that he could sense it, his senses were drowned in it.
A man dressed in a red trench coat walked towards the building, the overbearing mist seemed to emanate from him. The evening sky became shrouded in it. He was surrounded by an entourage of 15 people.
"Titus, this is our leader. Kneel."
He immediately obeyed, he knew even without ever seeing him before that he is the most dangerous out of everyone he's seen.
The entourage around him moved with an almost eerie uniformity as if a single misstep would land their death.
As he walked closer the overwhelming anger weighed on Titus even more. He didn't dare look up. The man donned in red stopped, his entourage immediately stopping in their tracks. He looked up at the bleeding sky then continued walking, his steps were direct and efficient. He entered the building and looked down on the three of them.
The fog was so thick that it obscured his face.
"Stand."
He said with a steely tone. All three of them stood up, Titus raised his head and saw Enrico, his presence was terrifying but Titus remained calm.
"They fought you here." He stated.
"Yes." Hugo confirmed. "I kept one of them alive, he is willing to talk."
"I don't care." he said coldly.
"Clean up your hair and dispose him." Adjusting his coat, he left for the upper level of the building with his entourage.
Miguel quickly left as well for the corridor.
Struggling through the pressure, Titus snapped back into his senses and placed his sketchbook in his jacket. He wiped the sweat off his face and looked at Miguel.
"What is this weight? It's painful." He asked.
Miguel was struggling as well, the tyrannical will enveloping the building was physically crushing.
"Don't get overwhelmed or you might die or lose your powers, the fog will subside eventually. Then I can introduce you to him."
"Eventually… How long will that take?"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
I can never get used to this pressure.
Hugo hunched into the building's courtyard , his hair glistened with water. Citrus trees, tejocote and calamansi dotted the scenery, their trunks were unnaturally stout and their leaves vibrant green.
When Hugo looked to the centre of the courtyard, he smiled.
"Wow, I didn't think someone as pathetic as you would still be alive.."
In front of him, a man was sitting still on a wooden chair. No hint of life could be seen on his face. Bruises covered his face and his clothes were tattered.
"I could have just used the good old wet towel to make you talk. But no, I had to be curious..."
He pursed his lips.
"I guess you can't hear me."
Hugo tapped his forehead and life returned to the man's face and he gasped and coughed furiously.
Fear was etched into his face.
"P-please l-llleet me gooo, I've agreed to talk. I've been here f-for so-ooo long."
Hugo tucked his hands in his shorts and held in a chuckle while approaching him, he walked behind the chair and slowly grabbed his temples.
"Please, I was forced to do this. For Aose's sake please." He quivered.
Hugo couldn't help it. He bursted into maniacal laughter. He let go of his neck and hugged his own stomach, tears fell down eyes.
"With all the years you spent sitting, you couldn't think of a way to escape… Kh-Kh-Kh-Kh."
"Well, time to go."
Hugo curled his hand into a fist and slammed it into the man's neck, a violent crack resounded from him then nothing more.
The man slumped over the chair, truly lifeless.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Miguel, traga o garoto, ele quer nos ver." Disse Hugo.
Miguel stood up and gathered playing cards from Titus and the floor.
"We're going to the roof."
With a dejected sigh, Titus nodded.
The building seemed at ease, the pressure and fog exerted on it had subsided.
A subtle chandelier hung from the ceiling, ornate and broken, the entire building was faded beige and red in colour. It had 8 stories with many rooms and a courtyard, there was a lack of lightbulbs in the area, the only sources of light were from the windows, lamps and natural light that flowed from the courtyard.
Titus was lost in thought ascending the ornately tarnished building.
A door opened and the glittering radiance of the moon, a rooftop littered with chairs, broken wood and broken glass bottles, flowers, fruit trees and a blue pool was revealed before him.
Close to the edge of the rooftop, a man wearing a red trench coat was reclining in a lawn chair with his hands firmly clasped.
"What is your name?" He asked sternly,
Titus looked around to Hugo and Miguel, then pointed to himself.
"Me?"
"The lanky one with the jacket."
"Oh… My name is Titus."
He paused, "Titus Blacklander sir…"
The man in red clasped his hands tighter.
"You may refer to me as Dom." He said scornfully.
Titus approached him under the permission of a gesture.
When he looked at him, Titus noticed that his coat was not originally red, it also seemed waterproof. He could also smell a hint of iron emanating from cloth. The Dom studied him as well and approved with a nod. With inhuman swiftness he kicked his chest.
The rooftop floor rushed past his legs, then he was enveloped by open air.
His stomach tightened as the realization of imminent death splattered through his mind. He knew he had to teleport, even with the fatigue he had gained from using it earlier.
He knew that fighting the man in red was insane, but nothing else could be done. He had already tried to kill him, he wasn't going to teleport away from him. He was a whole continent away from home with no knowledge of his surroundings. Apologising or asking for Miguel's help would work either.
In a twinkling of a second, his will surged. Titus contorted his body to fix his gaze on the Dom's temple and braced his leg. Vision became reality and he was right in front of him ready to reciprocate the kick.
Then he realized something: he was striking air, immediately the Dom grabbed his leg and launched him into the pool.
As he was writhing in pain underwater, he became indignant that he dodged so easily, he was now furious, not only did he throw him to his death, he casually threw him into the water. All he wanted now to get a clean hit on him, he lost all reason and focused on combat.
Titus appeared against him, primed to strike a punch to the liver but was blocked by his elbow.
Titus recoiled in pain as he felt a sharp pain in his gut; he couldn't breathe, he fell to the ground to see that Enrico's knee was raised.
"Why did you try to kill me?" Heaved Titus.
His fist was still tightened and blood was running down his nose. Enrico didn't show any emotion. Miguel and Hugo looked at him with no emotion either.
The Dom walked towards him.
Water from the swimming pool began to coalesce into a watery drill in his hand. He thrusted it into the shoulder of Titus, oddly enough it did not injure him, his body absorbed the water.
It moved through his body then appeared on his right shoulder like a tattoo, it was the insignia of the Casavernanda and interlocking of the letters C, V and A. Titus couldn't do anything about it, the pain crippled his body. The only thing he could do was watch in anger.
He stood back and tucked his hand inside his coat.
"You are a part of us now, you will fall under the patronage of Miguel and will be assigned to work in the British Isles. Find the limits of your niche and most importantly be useful to me. "
His decree was plastered to the mind of Titus, he was going to do what he commanded, aside from that he now found a new goal; he would get stronger not only for himself but to be able to punch him right in the face one day.
Enrico looked at Titus then Miguel.
"You know my will, act your rank." Enrico said.
"Yes sir." Miguel replied. He then pointed his attention to Hugo.
"You've been doing nothing but boxing, assist the Brazilian ambassador's escort tomorrow. "
Hugo nodded knowingly, he bowed and took his leave for the night. Miguel looks at Titus still writhing on the floor.
"You're lucky he didn't kill you on the spot for attacking him, he wanted to see for himself that you could teleport. Don't take the offence to heart." Titus looking at him from the floor struggled his way to feet.
"..."
Titus hissed, he then glared at the Dom who still showed apathy to him.
"Titus, I'm going back to the U.K, are you going to need my help getting there?"
"Nah, I'm good," Titus responded, preparing to go back to Berwick.
Using the last of his strength, Titus tried to focus on the vision of his home. He dropped to the ground, unconscious.