Reuniting with William

Kai activated his second spirit ring, the sound of chimes spreading through the arena as a purple butterfly appeared next to him. The butterfly floated towards Draven, landing on his back before dissolving away. The sound of a soft and elegant flute bringing a refreshing feeling to those who heard it.

Kai approached Draven, the latter's wounds slowly healing and causing the blood to stop flowing. Soon Kai stood above Draven, staring down coldly before smirking.

"Get up!" His voice boomed, carrying with it an indescribable power. Draven's body shook for a moment as he opened his eyes. Some of the nearby people in the stands were also affected, their eyes glazing over as they stood in their seats.

Dorian watched in horror as his son struggled and pushed himself up, Draven's bones and joints cracking audibly as he moved.

"Stop this at once!" Dorian screamed as he stepped forward. Walter reacted quickly, however, slapping Dorian in the chest with his palm. Dorian stumbled back a couple steps, a stream of blood trickling from his mouth.

"You've made your choice already" Walter spoke coldly. "Now sit quietly before I make you!"

Walter released a portion of his Spirit Power. It bared down on Dorian, as though he were being compressed on all sides.

Dorian nodded meekly as he sat back down in his chair, no longer daring to look back up.

By now Draven had finally gotten to his feet, the boy's breathing ragged and shallow. His body was covered in blood and dirt. Kai didn't seem to mind as he observed the boy, resting his finger against his chin while he thought.

"Kneel" Kai commanded. Draven immediately fell to his knees, the impact causing his already damaged body to seize as he coughed up some blood. Draven pressed his head into the ground, as though praying and asking for forgiveness.

"What did you do to my father?" Kai spoke coldly, glaring down at Draven. Kai silently activated his first spirit ring, amplifying Draven's answer for everyone to hear.

"What did I do?" Draven raised his head as he spoke, giving a light chuckle before he continued. "What haven't I done?"

Draven spoke as though he were dazed, his words slurred and somewhat broken.

"I've beat, cut, starved and humiliated him!" Draven continued to speak, the crowd becoming silent as they listened in disbelief. "Hell, I've even- !"

Before he could even continue, Kai reeled his foot back and kicked Draven's head like a soccer ball. A stream of blood arced through the air as Draven's body flew to the side. Kai was breathing loudly, his fists clenched as he walked towards the now unconscious Draven.

Kai reached down, picking Draven up by the neck. Kai raised Draven's body into the air with one arm, glancing towards Dorian he spoke.

"Tell me where my father is" Kai's voice was cold and filled with killing intent. "Or I kill Draven right here and now!" Kai screamed like a madman, tightening his grip on Draven's throat slightly.

Dorian was silent, his face completely pale as he looked down at the child in the arena. Kai was covered in blood, one of his arms bent out of place. His clothes torn and bloody, revealing Kai's well-trained body. Despite his injuries, Kai still looked domineering, his Amethyst circlet and Purple Eyes seemed to glow with power.

Evelynn was silent and calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was boiling with anger. Her Spirit Power already circulating. She glared at Dorian, using all she had to not rush over and kill the man where he stood.

Uncle Wang wasn't too different from Evelynn, except he clearly portrayed the anger on his face as he stared towards Dorian. William was one of his closest friends, someone he considered a brother. To his side Nicole looked away squeamishly and covered her face, glancing towards Kai every once and while through her fingers.

Ashe gripped the seat in front of her in anger, the seat cracking under the pressure of her hands. After a couple moments she brought out her hammer, ready to jump down and kill Draven in Kai's stead. Oscar stopped her however, placing a hand on her should as he shook his head. Frowning, Oscar observed Kai worriedly.

Seeing that Dorian remained silent Kai roared out madly "Tell me now!" He shook Draven's limp body in the air, Draven's face was now becoming a deep shade of red.

"I'll tell you!" Dorian shouted out in a panic. "Just let him go!"

Kai was silent as he continued to stare at Dorian, Draven's face slowly turning to a shade of blue.

"He's beneath the Clan Hall!" Dorian had tears in the corners of his eyes as he yelled out. "Please, just let my son go."

Kai, however, didn't let go of Draven. Kai's eyes were filled with rage and madness as he turned away and faced the boy in his hands. Just as he was sure Draven was going to die, Oscar appeared next to Kai and grabbed his wrist and forcing Kai to let go of Draven.

Kai looked to Oscar furiously. He tried his best to pull his arm away, wanting to get back on top of Draven and bash his skull in.

"Let me go!"

"No!" Oscar said coldly. Turning to face the half dead Draven he continued. "He's not worth it…"

Kai continued to thrash about until he no longer had any energy.

"I wont kill him" Kai gave up now, wanting to see his father before passing out. Oscar finally let go of Kai, who immediately walked forward and knelt next to Draven. Oscar moved to stop him but stopped, realizing what Kai was doing.

Kai used his Spirit Bone's ability, Siren's Charm, one last time. Using more Spirit Energy than required, Kai whispered three words next to Draven's ears. The silver and amethyst circlet glowing slightly as he spoke.

"Despair for me."

…

Kai stumbled his way through the Clan grounds, supported by Ashe. Nearby, Evelynn and Oscar watched on nervously.

"Kai, just rest for a moment" Evelynn spoke out of concern. "Your injuries are quite bad, we can go get your father for you."

Kai didn't look back as he continued walking. Evelynn opened her mouth, wanting to convince Kai to stop when Oscar just rested his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Let him" Oscar said under his breath. "You won't be able to convince him otherwise."

Soon they were underground, in the same dark and dreary passage Dorian and Draven had walked many times in the past couple years. Kai's pace continued to speed up as he heard the shallow breathing of his father somewhere down the tunnel.

Along the way the group was appalled by the conditions of the hallway. Mold and grime covered the walls, the scent of feces and rot constantly assaulting their noses. Every couple steps a rat would scurry by. If the hall was like this, they could only imagine how bad the cell was.

They eventually made it before a thick metal door, a series of locks keeping the door shut. Not waisting a second Evelynn activated her Martial Spirit, a series of fox tails appearing as her nails grew longer and sharper. With a simple swipe the locks on the door were broken. Evelynn deactivated her Martial Soul as she looked towards Kai.

"Go on" She nodded towards the door. "We'll wait out here."

Kai didn't speak as he entered the cell, the metal door clanging shut behind him. Once Kai had entered the cell Ashe immediately burst out in anger, slamming her fist against the nearby wall.

"Stupid!"

She slammed another fist into the wall. Her knuckles bleeding slightly from the impact. Ashe then turned towards Oscar.

"You should have just let Kai kill that sick shmuck!" Ashe yelled out, pointing a finger at Oscar. "He and his father both deserve to die!"

"It's not that simple" Oscar said, his fists clenched at his side. He didn't necessarily agree with this either, he was furious with how the father and son had treated Kai's father. Oscar continued to stay silent for a moment, thinking back to what a certain blonde woman had told him recently. "Killing them wouldn't solve anything."

Ashe was grumbled to herself angrily as she turned to Evelynn for support. Evelynn, however, averted her gaze and stared down towards the ground. Just as Ashe was about to speak up a voice echoed from the dark hall they had just come from.

"They will be punished appropriately" Walter soon emerged from the darkness, a grim look on his face as he took in the surroundings. "And I can guarantee their punishment will be anything but light."

"Shouldn't you be with Dorian and Draven?" Evelynn asked curiously.

Walter shook his head.

"The police arrived and took over so I decided to come here" Walter paused for a moment. "How is William?"

"We don't know" Oscar shrugged. "We let Kai see him alone first."

Walter nodded understandingly. The group waited in silence, the air tense as time slowly ticked away. Soon the metal door opened again, its hinges screaming from a lack of oil. From the cell Kai walked out, his eyes red and his fists clenched at his side.

"Kai, what's wrong" Evelynn rushed over to Kai, kneeling in front of him. She placed a hand on his shoulder while the other reached towards his face and gently wiped away one of his tears.

"He's…" Kai hiccupped as his lip trembled. "He's dead!"

Kai burst into tears as Evelynn pulled him in close. She stroked his back and hair as she tried her best to comfort him as she too began to tear up slightly at the sight of her distressed disciple.

Oscar and Walter's faces were grim as they stepped forward and into the cell. Ashe frozen in place as she watched all this happen.

Right as the two men entered the cell they immediately recoiled in disgust. The smell was rancid, they were surprised Kai had managed to stay inside for so long. Soon they found William lying against the wall, his snow-white skin wrapped around his bones loosely.

He laid in a pile of his own feces, his body covered in bruises and cuts. There was heavy scarring around his wrists and ankles where he had been shackled. Walter swiftly excused himself, even in his long life scenes like this were rare.

Oscar continued to walk forward, eventually kneeling before the now dead William. Looking into the corpse's eyes Oscar saw they were red from crying, looks like Kai at least got to talk to his father for a bit.

Oscar observed the man for a while, a series of thoughts rushing through his mind. Finally, he thought of something Elizabeth had told him the other day. Oscar reached his hand forward and closed Willaim's eyes. Looking down at William's corpse sympathetically as he spoke.

"Rest peacefully, Will" Oscar said quietly. "May you find direction in the Everlasting Void."