Chapter 5: Power of the rings explained!

Sal woke up the next morning feeling rather well rested, considering what had happened the night before, he thought he would have had more trouble sleeping than he did, clearly having slept like a baby. He slowly stared at the ceiling before he sat up and pulled the covers off of him so he could stretch his arms into the air, yawning loudly as he did so.

Kicking his legs off the side of the bed, Sal stood to his full height, taking a look in the large mirror as he did.

From what he could see, he seemed a little taller and slightly more muscular than he had done before. But still, he dismissed the thought as he slapped his face with his hands.

"A new day..." He said, trying to remember what he had done the night before was for the greater good and that he was not a murderer.

Suddenly the door opened revealing two men in black suits, bidding Sal good morning.

"Good morning sir, we have prepared some breakfast and a chance of clothing for you." One of them said, placing the tray down onto the large table before taking the metal lid off for him.

"Please feel free to eat and then take a shower." He said, making sure fresh towels had already been placed in the bathroom for his use.

"Umm... Yeah, thanks," Sal said, not really sure what else to say.

The man nodded his head and exited the room, leaving with the other who had hung his clothing up in the wardrobe for him.

Sal took a good look at the breakfast, seeing that it was a selection of fresh delicious looking fruit that had been cut up into eatable chunks already on a small plate. On the main plate was a full English breakfast, laid out in perfect fashion looking very tasty.

Sal picked up his knife and fork and dug in, not realizing how hungry he was as he took his first mouth-watering bite. After he was done he took a shower, letting the jet blast from all directions wash him clean, taking his time as he had never experienced a shower as amazing as this one in his life.

Once he was finished in the shower he grabbed a towel and used it to dry his hair, flicking it back as he wiped the steam from the mirror to look at his face. There were also plenty of fancy soaps and face creams lined up along the sink complete even with a variety of aftershave that he could choose from.

Sal took his time as he used everything he could, taking the chance to splash out and make himself feel as fresh as he could until he had had his fill and walked out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist, heading to the wardrobe to look at the clothing that had been provided for him.

It was a dark grey suit complete with a white tie and a black shirt, it even came with a belt and a pair of black shoes, somehow all being a perfect size and fitting him without any issue.

Sal put everything on apart from the tie, having forgotten how to tie the knot and so he left it on the bed, also keeping his top and the second button undone, feeling there was no need to do it up.

Sal headed to the door that led out of his room, reaching for the handle before the doors suddenly opened, with the guards on the outside opening the door for him and stepping to the side for him to enter the main room of the penthouse.

"Good morning sir." Both of them said, standing to attention as he walked past them.

"Thanks... And good morning!" Sal said feeling awkward as both men looked a little scary.

Flavio was standing by the window, looking out over the city as he smoked his morning cigarette, noticing that Sal was there, however, not taking his eyes away from the city.

"Good morning boss," Flavio said, still not turning to look at him.

"Morning," Sal said, looking at him weirdly.

"Flavio smiled, taking his cigarette out of his mouth with his fingers and blowing the smoke out towards the window.

"Did you sleep well?" Flavio asked, finally turning around to look at him.

"I did thank you," Sal said, placing his hands in his pockets as he felt a little strange wearing a fancy suit.

Flavio smiled as he looked him up and down, seeing how fresh he looked.

"At least now you are starting to look the part," Flavio said pointing at him before he flicked the ash from his fag into an ashtray on the table next to him.

"Right..." Sal said, having somehow forgotten he was supposed to be the next boss of a powerful mafia family.

Flavio put his cigarette out and turned back to the window, waving for Sal to come next to him so he could see.

Sal did so and took a look at the view, getting a great look over the city.

"Tell me, Sal, what do you see?" Flavio asked.

Sal took a moment to answer, not sure where he was going with this.

"I see the city I guess..." He said, looking back at Flavio.

Flavio smiled before he chuckled a little, not being able to hold it in.

"Well, you're not wrong." He said as he walked away from the window and took a seat next to the table.

Sal gave him a confused expression as he watched him sit down, deciding to do the same, taking a seat at the other side of the table on the free chair.

"I think it's time you learnt how far your empire stretches Salvator..." Flavio said, crossing his legs as he said it.

Sal looked at him, feeling the sudden change of tone with the use of his full name.

"You see... The Mogavero family is more than a criminal organisation. It is a family, a name if you will, one that stretches across the entire world with ties to almost every major power known to man. That includes banks, governments, police forces, military, technology, hospitals, space travel, war... You name it, we most likely have some sort of connection to it." Flavio said, causing Sal to open his eyes a little wider in surprise as he listened carefully.

"The Mogavero family have for the last 2000 years been a part of every great rise to power, either leading from the front or from the shadows, giving rise to power and also taking it away... Nevertheless, your blood holds power unlike any other... And your name makes those who know it shudder in fear." Flavio said, causing Sal to feel like a but was coming.

"But..." He said, confirming Sal's suspicions.

"The Mogavero is made up of many branch families that operate in many parts of the world, all sharing the same connection to the family in one way or another," Flavio said, pulling out another cigarette.

"The main family, formerly going by the name of Mogavero, reside in Italy, holding main control of the motherland. However, I am sure you have heard of other members of the family, such as the Yakuza... Or the Chinese Triad, hell I'm sure you know about the famous Kray twins of London having lived here so many years?" Flavio said, striking a match.

Sal was confused now, not seeing how different criminal organisations around the world could be related to the Mogavero family.

"Are you saying that the kray twins were related to the Mogavero family?" Sal said not believing it.

"I am," Flavio said, taking a large puff on his fag.

"No way..." Sal said, honestly shocked.

"They were not directly related to the Mogavero family, more like long-distance cousins if you will. However, 2000 years is a long time, giving rise to many different branch family names all over the cause of our history and many with diluted blood." Flavio said.

Sal took a moment to think about it, remembering that Flavio had told him the branch families were fighting over who would be the next boss.

"So does that mean there are more than just me who possess the blood of the Mogavero, more people with another ring?" Sal said, getting a thumbs up from Flavio.

"Bingo..." He said, breathing out the smoke from his mouth.

"There are seven to be exact..." Flavio said getting a shocked look from Sal.

"S-Seven!" Sal shouted, not having any idea there were that many of these rings.

"That's right, seven." He said again.

"Whenever the time comes for a new boss to be selected, all of the families will put forward a candidate of their choosing, one of pure enough blood who can inherit the power of a ring, passed down through the generations of their family dating back to the first seven who unlocked the powers, to begin with, and formed the first family," Flavio explained.

Sal sat quietly, taking in all of the information only leading him to have more questions the more he listened.

"But if there are seven rings that date back to the first seven members of the family, how did they decide who was the leader?" He asked, getting a large smile from Flavio.

"That's simple. He said, flicking the fag ash into the ashtray.

"They fought." He said, causing Sal to gulp.

"W-What do you mean they fought?" Sal asked, not seeming to understand.

Flavio sighed, leaning forwards so he could explain in more detail.

"And here I thought you were catching on... It's as simple as it sounds young Salvator, they fought one another to decide who was the strongest and most worthy to become the first leader." Flavio said, slowly leaning back into his chair.

"Who won?" Sal asked, getting another smile from Flavio.

"It was the first boss, the one who inherited the blue flames," Flavio said, causing Sal to stay quiet.

"You see, there are seven rings in total, however, each ring does not grant an ability based on the ring itself. The ring grants the ability most suited to the user, meaning you could be given one of the seven elements depending on your genetics, or whatever the ring decides you are worthy of." Flavio explained in further detail.

"There are seven rings and of course seven elements of which can be granted." He then said, holding up a small flip chart with a picture diagram. Something Sal wasn't sure where he had gotten from.

"The power or rank of these abelites was determined over hundred of years of fighting between the seven candidates, who eventually came up with a power scale for their abilities, listing as such." He said, flipping the first page for Sal to see.

"The one considered the weakest of the seven elements was Air." He said, showing Sal, who nodded slowly.

"Next comes Fire, then Earth, then Ice, then Water and then lightning..." Flavio said, stopping for a second before he flipped over the last page.

"Meaning that your blue flames are seen to be at the top, being considered the strongest of all" Flavio then said, flipping the last page for him to see.

Sal nodded slowly, looking at his ring before looking back up at Flavio.

"So you are saying that my blue flames are the strongest power of all of them?"

"That's correct..." Flavio said, giving him a nod.

"However... Don't let that fool you into thinking that the other elements are a joke, because they are not." He said with a serious tone.

"It has been proven many times in the history of the Mogavero family wars that those who possessed the blue flame did not always come out on top, meaning there is more to these abilities than simple power," Flavio warned.

"There has been a large number of bosses in the past who did not have the power of blue fire, so don't think yourself above the others," Flavio said, watching the reaction on Sal's face.

"In fact, your great grandfather possessed the Lightning element and was hailed as one of the strongest bosses of all time." Flavio then said, catching Sal's attention.

"Hold on a minute, are you saying what I think you are saying?" He asked, hoping Flavio didn't mean what he think he did.

"Yes, young Salvator... I am afraid so." He said with a serious face.

"N-No way! I can't fight the others, whoever the hell they and their crazy powers are!" Sal yelled as he almost jumped out of his seat, seeming to have completely ignored the mention of his great grandfather.

"Salvator... It has long been a tradition that a direct descendant of the previous boss is the prime candidate for the position of the next boss. In fact, if all the branch families agree upon meeting you, and are unable to provide a candidate of their own, then you will automatically become the next boss by default anyway." Flavio said, trying to get Sal to relax a little.

"S-So are you saying I won't have to fight?" He asked, slowly sitting back down in his seat.

"I'm saying it's highly likely, considering that the America branch family is currently unable to provide an heir." He said, giving Sal a reassuring smile.

"Besides, the last time a tournament for the position of boss was held was over 100 years ago now. That means no fighting and no bloodshed." Flavio then said, lifting a weight from Sal's small shoulders.

Sal seemed a little more relieved knowing that he wouldn't have to fight anyone else with powers like his, but still, he had plenty of questions about this whole thing, knowing that it sounded completely insane, if not for the fact that he could summon and seemingly control blue flames from his hands.

"Anyway, I hope you have eaten because we have a plane to catch," Flavio then said as he stood to his feet, cracking his neck as he did.

Sal looked at him in surprise but then nodded, having accepted his fate a little more now, guessing that he had no choice in the matter anymore.

"It's time for you to come home, lord Salvator." Flavio finally said, bowing ever so slightly to him as a sign of respect.

"It is time to return to Italy!"