-Break
Φ THAT bastard, does he not know who I am? I am Captivant Nightfall! The man who moves nations alone, rather than the man who makes all the richest and most powerful people seek him out to ask for his power. Someone who might is so strong, whose influence is so deep that the most arrogant of people will learn how to bow their heads just so they can avoid my wrath. I am the maker of this generation; I am the one who decides how this story goes, yet he felt he could take from me. I will end his life, I will gather all the resources, allies and power I have to crush him and everyone he cares about till none remains on any level, and then he will look at me and bow his head in fear as the blades of my wrath render and slash his flesh.
Those thoughts were what flung through my head constantly during the few moments of consciousness I had before being knocked out by Siegrund again. Pathetic thoughts I had to tell myself again and again, not to shatter my own mind at the fear of the power he had produced against foes I couldn't even perceive. A sickening process that polluted me each moment I engage in it, yet it came to a halt as I felt the pressure of the ground smack against me.
Location: Abundant Kingdom, Varage; Village of Zaad Ziener
As my eyes open wide as the force against my backside surges through my body, I stare forward at the sight of Siegrund in front of a carriage, paying it before it goes away. Then, turning himself towards my sight, he looks at me like I am nothing but trash.
Aiming my anger at him, I quickly try to stand up before falling to the ground moments later, as I notice my legs and wrists are tied with a strange kind of rope. Forcing Spirit Energy through my body, I push against the restraints, yet they tighten as I do, keeping me restrained.
"Use some degree of sense, you child."
"Getting restrains that can hold back Spirit Energy, what else would someone be able to expect from a Sieg Bisumod. I guess we are finally at Cordum, so you can ship me off to Molstoria."
He cuts off the leg restraints and says, "Has your brain really been so corrupted to the point you can't even recognize were you stand?"
Using my legs to stand up, I look around at an area covered with dying fields, surrounded by large buildings scattered in the distance, filled with a series of withering forests all around the area.
"Am I supposed to remember every backwater heap that I see?"
"Then come with me, and you'll see, hurry up."
He starts to pace forward, and I follow behind him, yet I make sure to keep a strong distance between us, causing him to say, "If you somehow have deluded yourself into thinking you can escape from me with enough space, I might need to exorcise whatever spirit has possessed you."
"Oh shut up, I am making an effort not to get lobbed off by your blade, Mister Royal Sieg Bisumod."
"Are you still hung up about such a thing, Adrian? Have you become such a small man?"
"Small man? Well, that's what people like you think all the time, isn't it? Being from a family of people blessed with the blood of another race allows you to speak with such arrogance."
"So the answer is yes."
"Keep talking all you want, but soon the rest of the 7 Miracles will appear and bring an end to your life. You managed to defeat 3 of them, but I can see none of your injuries has fully healed. You're dead if they attack you."
"It won't be happening, as I have already spread the information of your disappearance and the death of the three to rival nations of Gevurah. Right now, sending men into the meat grinder that is my existence is the least of their worries. Though maybe an angel from what they perceive to be heaven might come and smite me for them."
"THAT'S NONSENSE! I AM CAPTIVANT. THERE IS NO WAY THEY WOULD ABANDON ME AND LET ME GO?"
"It is a matter of economics. If they feel like they could lose more than they could gain, they won't send anyone for you. While you are strong, so are 1st seats, and so is their fear of someone who can take out three of their 1st seats. It doesn't make economic sense to lose another great general. Especially since at the very least I could kill at least one more 1st seat before I fall myself."
Sweating as a pain starts to move through my lungs, I say, "Is this some kind of elaborate revenge by the Sieg Bisumods for destabilisation of Molstoria? Are you all trying to kidnap me to end my life? I can assure you I am better off alive, and I could do more for you if I liv-."
"No, they have no idea I have any connection to you, or of what I've done. Though after they hear that three of Gevurah's strongest have fallen with no identifiable person, I am sure I will be blamed, and they will spread my name as a way to establish power."
"So this is all some kind of ploy from you? To try and strengthen your family's position and your place in it. I heard the Sieg Bisumods pick the one who has the most non-human blood to be the next head as well as the strongest warrio-."
"I've already become the next head of the Sieg Bisumods Captivant, when I killed my brother one month ago."
His words send a chill through my body, before I start bursting out in laughter and say, "So that's the kind of man you are? You'd kill your own flesh and blood to try and gain more power?"
"You're correct, I am a monster, but at least we can share that in common."
Coughing, I say, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"We're almost there, so you'll see."
Walking forward, I follow him until we reach a high vantage point and staring down, I see a sight that forces my mind to a halt. The same land formation I saw every day, the same landscapes I slept all over, the same landscapes that I cursed as I left, but it isn't. The windmills that protect the land look worn down as if they have been poisoned, the lush and green landscapes that filled each and every corner of this land are rotted away. Mansions larger than my own home stand in the beautiful forests used to live, but more disgusting than anything, giant black blemishes that look like factory cover every single edge of the land.
"What kind of illusion is this? We should be somewhere near Cordum. Didn't you plan to take me back to your home?"
"No, I just took you back home."
"This isn't my home, it can't be?"
"Deny reality all you want, but know this is Zaad Ziener."
I fall to my knees as the sight of the home I once knew, the home I had abandoned, lies warped and distorted in front of me, with the only words coming out of my mouth being, "This is Zaad Ziener?"
"Get up. We have a lot more to see." He walks forward, paying no attention to my state, and as his Spirit energy flows across his back, I feel the implicit threat sent my way, causing me to stand up and follow him.
-Break-
Dirty, disgusting, and putrid are all the words that pop into my head as I stare at the broken-down and beaten sights of the land all around me. The stupidly happy faces of the people who once worked the fields are filled with tired and battered bodies of humans whose faces are completely unrecognisable to me, wearing clothes that look like they need to be washed multiple times over with cuts and wounds across their bodies, yet the only water sources within eyes' view are dirty, as if they have taken in all the filth in the world.
Each step we take makes us bump into the bodies of the people moving past us. The happy, cheerful expressions and manners that each person always exuded every single moment of their sickening positive lives are no longer to be seen, and throughout it all, sound fills the entire area, making the peaceful, tranquil sounds of nature that once filled each area of the land fade completely. Feeling annoyed by their movements, I send Spirit Energy throughout my body, making them fall down as each of them knocks into me, earning me a scornful stare from Siegrund.
"Look at me all you want, I have no obligation to let these people push me down."
Grabbing me, he holds me close and, using his light touches and taps, he weaves his way through the crowd without taking anyone down. Bringing his mouth close to me, he says, "You should claim responsibility for your actions."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Look around, do you not recognise the feature on these peoples face. At the very least, I am sure a man whore like you would notice the women's differences."
My eyes move from face to face, yet I can't make sense of the words he says. "I don't get what you're on about, if the bitch whore doesn't have a nice face, why would I bother to remember i-." My mind, regardless of my will to do so, comes to a realisation of who all these people are.
"Refugees from all the lands around the area. Some are even from Enotita and Molstoria."
"What the hell is going on? Did my father start importing them on the back of the Cursed Slab Bull?"
"No, it's the actions you've caused. Haven't you seen how warfare and battles have been increasing across the world? First was Da Wèilái consolidating large amounts of power while holding a very strong pan-Enotitan view, which he sees as a necessary response against and every growing militaristic actions from Western powers. Ever since you left his court, he has been preparing to go to rapid wars with the rest of Enotita. It seems like he wants to unite the Continent during his lifespan."
"No way, Wèilái isn't the type of person to start a war for no reason."
"But he is, haven't you been keeping up? Or have you been so eaten by your own ego that you haven't noticed? Well, look around, all those Enotitans you see walking around are due to Wèilái, but you can notice the wide range of features, can't you? It's because there are refugees from all across Terrafide and Molstoria?"
"Why, even if you factor in all the wars, it's way too many people."
"Obviously, they aren't all from war-torn areas. Civil unrest has been on the rise all across the world, thanks to someone. People have been getting attacked in their countries more often, but worse than that, multiple countries are rapidly expanding their military, and are forcefully taking young men and kids to start preparing them for war, since Spirit Energy development cares about how long you've been practising with it. Many have fled their countries, being branded traitors who can never return, and they have struggled to find where to go, as any other country will put them in the same state.
Many have tried to reach Skydust, but they are a very tight-knit community that often doesn't accept outsiders who don't marry into the country. The only other countries to think of are Varage, which doesn't have a large standing military, as their land is very close to that of Blestemate, and anyone who chooses to invade is seen as provoking Dumitra, who no one can do in this current state, making this the hotbed country, and one man is foolish yet kind enough to accept them all."
"Father."