The chains fell to the ground with a metallic clang.
Ryuu landed on his feet, though his legs trembled under his own weight. "Pain Nullification" kept his mind clear, but his eight-year-old body remained a physical wreck: torn muscles, open skin, and a fatigue that weighed like lead in his bones.
"Disappointing."
The voice resonated from the dungeon entrance, laden with an absolute authority that admitted no reply.
A tall man stepped into the torchlight. He wore a black ceremonial kimono with the Oboro Clan emblem embroidered in golden thread over his chest. Elaborate embroidery covered the sleeves and waist, tracing meandering paths with threads that looked like small golden vipers slithering over the dark fabric. His hair was a cascade of ebony, and his eyes, identical to Ryuu's, were abysses of indifference.
It was the Father. The Leader. The nightmare of this body's childhood.
The executioner knelt instantly, pressing his forehead against the dirty stone. Ryuu remained standing, breathing with difficulty, holding the newcomer's gaze.
"They found you trembling in the mud like a rat." The Father advanced with slow, silent steps. "An heir of the Oboro Clan running from his own training."
He stopped in front of Ryuu. He was a mountain. His presence radiated a suffocating pressure, a murderous aura refined over decades.
"We are assassins, Ryuu. We live in the shadows, but our reputation is iron. Do you think we can afford the luxury of the world seeing my son as a useless coward?"
Ryuu opened his mouth to reply, but the air moved.
The blow arrived before his eyes could register the movement.
*BAM!*
The world spun violently. His small body was launched like a ragdoll, crossing the room in a fraction of a second.
He impacted against the stone wall.
The masonry cracked. A spiderweb of fractures spread across the wall behind his back, and rock dust rained down on him. Ryuu fell to the floor, coughing up a mouthful of crimson blood that stained the gray slabs.
The system blinked in his peripheral vision.
[Alert: Massive blunt force damage.][Body integrity: 5%]
The Father lowered his hand slowly, impassive, without a trace of effort or sweat on his face. It had been a casual movement, like someone swatting an annoying fly, but with enough force to shatter bones.
The executioner held his breath, waiting for the usual sobs. The Ryuu of before would have been screaming, begging for forgiveness amidst tears and snot, terrified by his progenitor's brutality.
But silence reigned in the dungeon.
Ryuu planted a hand on the floor. His fingers, trembling but firm, found purchase.
He pushed himself up.
His legs wavered, but he forced himself to straighten up. With the back of his hand, he wiped the trail of blood running down his chin. Then, he looked up.
His black eyes locked onto the Father's.
There was no fear. Nor pleading. Only an unnatural calm, cold and empty, the product of the skill that had silenced his nerves.
The Father blinked. For a microsecond, his mask of ice cracked, revealing a flash of genuine surprise. He expected to see a broken child; instead, he found the cold gaze of an adult.
He composed himself instantly, recovering his usual coldness.
"I hope you don't run away again," the man's tone turned dangerous. "Staining the clan's name is a sin that not even your blood can wash away. Until now, the outside world does not know you. We have kept you hidden because you are... incomplete."
The man looked at the cracks in the wall, and then looked back at his son, evaluating him again.
"The training you couldn't withstand...
Tomorrow we will continue where you left off."
It was a death sentence. Or it would have been for the old Ryuu.
"Rest tonight." The Father turned around, his Kimono rippling with elegance. "Go to the Healing Pond. Use it. You will need it if you want to survive the dawn."
The Leader made his way out of the cell without looking back, plunging the room into gloom once again.