Chapter XXI: Captive Proposal (Pt.1)

It was October 18th. Za'Fia sat as she woke up, not remembering when she'd fallen asleep. She must've fallen asleep out of boredom.

Since being brought there, Za'Fia hadn't seen or interacted with anyone other than Junichiro, who was there to keep watch. They'd placed suppression cuffs on her and had taken her from Tymon's house to some giant building in the middle of nowhere.

Once inside, her suppression cuffs were removed, and she was thrown into a transparent semi-circle container built into the metal wall behind her.

The entire building seemed to be made from metal and concrete.

It looked like an old three-story building from the outside, but on the inside, it was a large oval-shaped area that could fit an ice rink.

From Za'Fia's point of view, to her right was a lab of some sort. There were a bunch of expensive-looking screens hanging and equipment operating, and five large cylinder tanks with tubes attached to them were also built into the walls. Two of the tanks were filled with a greenish-yellow liquid and had an unidentifiable silhouette floating in them.

To Za'Fia's left at the other end of the room were two large double doors that served as the entrance and exit. To the left and to the right of the doors were sections marked in black and yellow proximity lines on the floor meant as guidance for different shipments being stored there.

There were large quantities of substances like uranium and diethyl ether, a small reserve of francium and PRP, and various other substances Za'Fia wasn't familiar with. Each item was locked inside display containers similar to the one she was in.

From the looks of it, Avarice had a stock of the world's rarest and most dangerous substances.

In the middle of the room across from Za'Fia was a four-step pedestal with a throne made from gold and red cushion crafted onto it facing the double doors. A large red box was painted onto the floor ten feet before the throne.

It was one end of a long, red path stretching to the double doors. On the right side of that line was a table that Junichiro, Wren, and a new guy in orange, she assumed was the other High God, were sitting at.

So, they decided to give me more company today, she mused.

As Za'Fia watched the three, she noticed each had a dark ring around their wrist similar to the ones she and the other Primordials had.

She looked down at the two markings around her wrist.

Maybe I should ask Viraa what they mean. She thought to herself.

She dropped her wrist and looked around the room again.

First, I have to figure out a way out of here.

Za'Fia stood.

"Hey," Za'Fia yelled as she smashed her fist against the polycarbonate glass. "Let me go! I've been sitting here for days, and Avarice still hasn't shown himself. I'm tired of waiting."

The guy in orange smiled as he got up from his seat.

"Sorry, but that's not happening. We've got our orders," he said as he approached Za'Fia's container.

"Trevor, try not to do anything stupid," Junichiro said as he watched Za'Fia fervently.

Za'Fia could tell that Junichiro was a serious problem. They were all a problem, but Junichiro's discipline and astuteness put him above the other two. Plus, from what she was sensing, he was the most powerful of the three.

She didn't know what they had planned for her, but she wasn't going to let them kill her, and she was tired of playing along. She'd hoped to see Avarice again and find out who Greed was, but after two days of waiting, she no longer cared.

The container she was in appeared to dampen her power so she couldn't melt her way out. But, after looking around the container, she saw a panel that was probably the circuit breaker powering the suppression lights. She could either break it to regain her power or smash through the glass to escape.

Her only real challenge was figuring out what to do afterward since the High Gods were right outside her container. If she could find a way to escape them, that'd be great.

Or....she could wait until only one of them was around and then act. They were underestimating her if they thought a cage like this would hold her. She'd show them how wrong they were soon enough.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and Avarice and a woman Za'Fia didn't recognize walked in. The last time Za'Fia saw Avarice was a few decades ago during a charity event. Like back then, she couldn't detect any power from him, but she still instinctively knew he wasn't human.

Behind him was the woman Za'Fia didn't recognize. She couldn't sense any energy from her either, and something must've happened before they arrived because she looked pissed.

As she walked by them, seething in frustration, the building began to quake, seemingly in response to her.

"Heyyy, Verin? Everything okay? You're doing that thing again," Trevor said nervously.

Verin's eyes snapped at him, resulting in Trevor taking a few steps back. Then, she glanced at Junichiro and Wren, who had put plenty of room between themselves and her.

She took a deep breath as the shaking began to stop.

As Za'Fia watched, it dawned on her that the person she was looking at, this Verin, had to be Despair. And from the looks of it, she really was the High God's superior. It made Za'Fia worry about how powerful she must be to cause such powerful people like Trevor and the others to be afraid of her.

"What happened," Trevor asked.

"We wasted a perfect opportunity to grab Tymon a couple of days ago. I still don't see why, but Avarice feels there's something else going on. He also felt a unique energy coming from this century's Watcher. I admit I did too, but I don't see how that had anything to do with Tymon or our goals," she sighed, conceding. "But the decision was made to wait before taking him. Avarice thinks that we may learn something."

 "Still ranting and raving about it, I see," Avarice said calmly as he walked up to Za'Fia's container.

Verin glared at Avarice before walking away.

"Why did you kidnap me?" Za'Fia asked, not wasting any time. "And what's the point in doing all of this – teaching humans spirit manipulation? Killing Tymon? What are you after?"

Avarice ignored her.

"What messed up plan do you have that someone with your power and influence needs to keep secret? Whatever it is, I'm sure it has something to do with why you've been hiding from the rest of us."

Avarice's calm expression morphed into that of a deep scowl.

"Hide? I'm not hiding from anyone. Not humans, not Watchers, not you Primordials; no one. Sure, I've kept it a secret, but only from humans. They're easier to manipulate when they trust someone and feel their decisions are their own. If they were to discover my plans and identity, it would only lead to confusion, enmity, and chaos. I prefer order. As for the rest of you, I've surveyed each of you throughout time. Considering none of you are capable of stopping me, I have no reason to keep it secret from you. In fact, I welcome any of you to challenge me. You'll lose, but at least I'll be entertained."