Funeral and returning to Heaven Dou

Kai watched silently as his father's casket was being lowered into the ground. Rain fell around them, making an already gloomy day worse. Aside from Evelynn, Oscar and Ashe the funeral service was relatively small, with only Wang and Nicole being invited from the Draken Clan.

It had been a week since Kai's father, William, passed away. During this time quite a bit had happened. Firstly, Dorian had been arrested and with the testimony from Walter and some of the other witnesses was quickly sent to prison for life.

Draven eventually woke up, however for unknown reasons acted extremely erratically. Due to the danger he posed to himself and those around him he was heavily sedated before being sent off to some facility. Throughout the entire process he kept screaming about monsters and the shadows that kept following him.

The clan went through some major reforms with the support of the Spirit Pagoda. Under Walter's influence, Uncle Wang found himself as the acting Patriarch of the Clan with Nicole and a few others as potential candidates to be heir.

Kai looked away from the casket and to the ground, staring at his reflection in a puddle. He was wearing a black suit, his shirt loosely buttoned and revealing the bandages wrapped around his chest. His arm was in a sling, through constant use of his second spirit ring it was slowly healing.

As he gazed into his reflection, he thought back to the last conversation he had with his father.

…

"Dad?" Kai asked meekly as he entered the cell, ignoring the terrible stench. Not waiting for a response, he rushed forward to the man against the wall. Noticing how weak his father was tears formed in the corner of his eyes. "Dad!"

William shifted weakly, his eyes opening slowly he spoke.

"Kai?" His voice was dry and raspy. William was silent as he watched Kai before frowning and continuing "What happened to you? Are you alright?"

Kai just nodded wryly as he reached forward and placed his hands on his fathers' restraints. Activating his first spirit ring the chains vibrated furiously for a moment before some of the links shattered, giving William some respite.

"I'm fine father" Kai said as he leaned over and hugged his dad. "I've missed you so much!"

William and Kai were silent for a moment. William tried his best to raise his arms. To hug his son one more time after all these years. But he was too weak, his arms shaking slightly by his side. Soon Kai pulled away, his eyes red and lip trembling.

"Who did this to you?" William asked.

"Draven…" Kai reached into his pocket, pulling out one of the emergency pills Oscar had given him. He raised it close to his father's mouth. "Dad, eat this. It should help."

William remained silent, he glanced at the pill before looking back up to Kai.

"It was made by my Teacher, Oscar" Kai desperately tried to explain. "You can trust him, please just eat it!"

William opened his mouth, letting Kai place the pill on his tongue. William closed his mouth followed by the sound of swallowing. William's face suddenly flushed with color for a moment before disappearing and returning to its previously pale state.

Kai swiftly pulled out another pill and pushed it towards William. William only shook his head, refusing the pill.

"There's no use…" William said, his gaze warm as he looked into Kai's eyes. "I'm too far gone."

"Just take it, please!" Kai pressed the pill to his father's mouth, but William kept his lips sealed. Eventually Kai pulled back, his body shaking as he stared at this father.

"I'd rather hear about this Oscar" William said. "No, tell me about everything since you left."

Kai wiped the tears from his face as he began to recount what he had been through. He sat down next to his father, telling him about the everything from the time on the train with Luna, to the fight he had just had with Draven.

For the next little while they were both able to relax, finally having a normal father son moment after so long. Listening to the story William would be surprised at points, sometimes he would laugh or even tear up. Eventually, finishing the story after recounting how Oscar stopped him from killing Draven.

"You've made some good friends" William said, smiling weakly. "And even better Masters."

"You don't think I should've killed him?" Kai asked. "After all he's done?"

William was silent for a moment, thinking about what to say.

"They say that when seeking revenge, one should always dig two graves" William paused for a moment as he observed his son. "One for your enemy and one for yourself."

"You are not above the law, Kai" William continued. "Had you killed him you would be thrown in prison."

Kai was silent for a while, processing what he had been told. William shook his head as he continued.

"They had the right to be angry" William said.

"Doesn't change how they treated you and I over the years" Kai grumbled angrily.

"Your mother and I, we- "William suddenly coughed harshly, his entire body convulsing as he did. He looked closely at Kai, his breathing getting weaker. "I have so much I wish I could tell you… Do you still have your mother's ring?"

Kai nodded before reaching to his neck and wiping the blood of the ring. Seeing the ring William gave a warm smile.

"Make sure you keep it safe" William's voice was soft. "As long as you have it, your mother will always be able to find you."

Kai nodded as he watched his father slowly go limp, his breathing fading away. Tears burst from Kai's eyes as he leaned over and gripped his father's body tightly. He stayed in this position for a few moments before getting up and leaving the room, occasionally looking back; hoping that his father hadn't truly died.

…

"Kai Draken?" A woman's voice shook Kai out of his daydreams. Looking around he realized everyone had left, leaving Kai alone in the rain. Before him was the blonde woman who bore a striking resemblance to Ashe. "You're William's son, correct?"

Kai nodded, unsure of the woman's intentions. Seeing this the woman produced a box the size of her palm and handed it towards Kai.

"Your father wanted you to have this" The blonde woman said.

Kai looked down at the box curiously. He slowly removed the box lid, revealing a black bracelet. It's style wasn't too dissimilar from the ring that hung around his neck. The only difference being five golden stripes that section off the ring into fifths.

"A bracelet?" Kai asked, not looking away from the bracelet.

"It's a spirit guidance device" The woman explained. "It was your fathers from before he joined the Draken Clan."

"Joined the Draken Clan? But my father was born here…" Kai looked back up, his voice trailing off once he found that the blonde woman had disappeared.

Kai looked around curiously but found not traces of the woman. Putting the questions of what she said into the back of his mind he picked the bracelet out of the box. He fumbled around with the bracelet, injecting his spirit power to inspect it.

He found that the storage device had a space of about 5 cubic meters, surprising him. It was larger than the one he had gotten from Evelynn. Focusing back on the ring, it suddenly slipped out of his hands due to the rain.

Trying his best to stop it from falling into the mud, Kai reached out with his left arm unconsciously as he was holding an umbrella with his right. Tearing his arm from the sling, Kai grimaced in pain but continued to reach for the bracelet. Despite not being able to grab it, due to its large size Kai's hand easily went through the hole.

Suddenly the bracelet shrunk in size, forming itself to Kai's wrist snuggly. Kai frowned and cradled his arm. While the bracelet was tight, it was not uncomfortable, though he found it strange how it morphed to fit his wrist.

"Kai!" Ashe's voice called out from nearby, she jogged through the rain without an umbrella as she continued. "Are you alright?"

Kai turned to face Ashe, a small smile on his face.

"I'm fine" Kai said. "Just thinking."

Ashe nodded as she wrapped her arm around his, hiding underneath his umbrella with him. Looking at him for a moment she saw the bracelet on his wrist.

"When'd you get that" Ashe asked, nodding towards the black bracelet. "It's so cool!"

"It's a gift from my father" Kai paused for a moment, wondering if he should ask Ashe about the woman. Deciding against it, he shook his head. If the woman didn't want to show herself there must have been a reason. "What's up, why'd you come get me?"

"The cab's here, we need to head back to the hotel and get our stuff remember?" Ashe jammed her elbow into Kai as she spoke with a mocking tone, causing him to wince. "We're heading back to Heaven Dou tonight!"

…

Nearby a woman with black hair and deep purple eyes watched on as Ashe and Kai left the cemetery. Her face was red and puffy from crying. Soon the blonde woman, Elizabeth appeared next to her.

"Why don't you just go see him, Cass?" Elizabeth asked.

"I could ask the same of you!" Cass snapped back as she turned away. She soon spoke again, this time her voice much warmer. "Did he like the gift?"

Elizabeth shrugged.

"Dunno, left before I could really tell" Elizabeth said.

Cass rolled her eyes before turning to face the horizon.

"Come, I've been here too long, and they'll have locked on to me by now" Cass stretched her body as she spoke. She took one last glance towards Kai, a pained expression on her face before she dashed away, Elizabeth close behind.

…

Back in Heaven Dou city a Conrad was silently reading a report in his office. As he put the report down, he smiled and let out a satisfied smile.

"Everything seems to have gone well" He mumbled to himself, reaching under his desk, and taking out a bottle of alcohol. "Aside from the surprise of William being chained in some dungeon then dying, I'd say everything was a success!"

Conrad poured himself a glass of alcohol.

"Kai now owes the Pagoda, whether he likes it or not" Conrad took a sip and smiled. "And I intend on putting that favor to good use."

End of Volume One: Awakening

Beginning of Volume Two: Prison of Blood