The damp, dimly lit underground corridor bore witness to Kaivan's awakening from darkness. His vision blurred, his head felt heavy as if pressed by iron, his body weak. He blinked slowly, adjusting to the faint glow of an old lamp flickering in the corner. The air was stale, thick with the scent of moss-covered concrete and rust, a prison that reeked of decay. Every breath felt like inhaling the remnants of a forgotten tragedy.
As his consciousness returned, a sharp, mocking laugh broke the silence. Kaivan turned his head. Across the room stood a man with a confident stance and a smirk carved into his face. William. His old enemy.
"How are you feeling, sleeping prince? Hahaha!" William strolled closer, spinning something that glinted under the weak light. Kaivan narrowed his eyes. His karambit, his soul weapon, was now in his enemy's hand.
Kaivan stayed silent, his sharp gaze unflinching. His mind raced, analyzing, searching for an opening, calculating possibilities. His hand moved subtly toward his back, though he already knew the weapon was gone.
William chuckled. "Looking for this?" He twirled the karambit tauntingly. "It used to be in your pocket. Now, it's mine."
Kaivan remained calm. His eyes traced William's movements, reading his rhythm. The man kept talking, savoring his illusion of control.
"If you hadn't interfered back then, the UN Summit would've ended in an explosion. The world's trust would collapse, investors would flee, economies would crumble. And that woman, she would have joined the government!"
William swung the karambit, letting it spin before catching it with practiced ease. His movements were confident, too confident.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he raised a small remote and pressed a button. A large screen in the corner flickered to life, filling the room with the drone of a national broadcast. His psychological game began.
"Breaking news. The Governor of West Java was found dead, the cause ruled as suicide..."
The anchor's flat voice echoed through the space. William smiled in satisfaction, then turned the screen off. Silence returned, heavier than before.
"What a shame, huh? If you hadn't meddled, she might still be alive."
Kaivan finally spoke. His voice was low, steady, and sharp. "She took her own life. Not because of you, William."
William laughed, the sound cold and hollow. He pulled a weathered book from his pocket. Its pages shimmered faintly, the Tome of Omnidream.
"This book grants me the power to control anyone's dreams within their subconscious reach. Now, dreams and reality bend to me."
Kaivan met his gaze, emotionless. No fear, no awe. He had learned long ago, true strength didn't come from a Tome, but from a clear mind.
William stepped closer, arrogance radiating from him. "What are you thinking now, Kaivan? Go ahead, keep overthinking, like always. It won't save you."
Kaivan gave a faint smile, one that made William frown.
"I was just thinking… grilled squid sounds good once I get out of here."
William burst out laughing. "You think you can get out?! Without the Tome of Omnicent, you're nothing! I have the Tome of Omnidream, and the legacy of the Tome of Valor!"
With a single hand, he lifted a heavy wooden table as if it were a sheet of paper.
"I am powerful, Kaivan! Stronger than you could ever imagine!"
His eyes glowed with madness, a tyrant convinced of his own divinity.
Kaivan stayed composed. He knew William had strength. But he also knew there was something that could never be stolen, his mind. Since losing the Tome, he had learned that physical and magical power meant little without intellect. Strategy and foresight, those were far deadlier.
William kept laughing, intoxicated by his arrogance. But Kaivan was already thinking ahead. Even without Omnicent, his mind could still predict, still plan. Quietly, he mapped out the next move while William drowned in his own delusion.
"You're just a prince without a kingdom," William sneered, unaware that Kaivan had already begun to see the cracks in his armor.
In the dim, suffocating chamber, Kaivan sat still. Pain pulsed through his body, but his gaze remained cold and steady. Across from him, William stood tall, that smug smile of his painting the air with arrogance. The room felt tighter with every breath, not from the walls, but from the weight of power hanging between them.
"Too bad," William mocked, eyes glinting. "That right-hand girl of yours, the one descended from Omnivalor, won't be saving you this time."
Kaivan's silence was cutting. His eyes didn't flinch.
Then, unexpectedly, a faint smile curved on his lips. As if William's taunt was nothing more than dust in the wind.
"You think I'm the only one who can use Omnicent?" His voice was low, calm, but sharp enough to slice the air. There was something hidden behind his tone, something William couldn't see.
William froze for a heartbeat, then burst into laughter. "Hah! Tome only chooses one bearer! One! Until death! There is no replacement, Kaivan!"
Kaivan didn't answer. The quiet smile stayed. He knew something far greater, something that made the ground itself seem to hum.
Then,
BANG!
A gunshot thundered from the room next door. William flinched, his head snapping toward the door. The echo crashed against the silence, a violent reminder that the game was far from over.
The air grew heavy. The ceiling lamp trembled, its shadow dancing wildly across the cold brick walls. William, once composed, now stood rigid. More gunfire erupted outside, shaking the floor. Something was happening, something beyond his control.
"What was that? Who's out there?!" he shouted, voice cracking between rage and fear. He drew himself upright, ready for whatever unseen threat waited beyond.
Before him, Kaivan remained bound, but his eyes burned with life, sharp and knowing. And then he laughed.
It was not a desperate laugh, it was a victorious one. It filled the room with sound and certainty. "I told you, William... did you really think I was the only one who could use the Tome of Omnicent?"
William's eyes widened. For the first time, doubt broke through his mask. "Shut up! I don't need your tricks!" He grabbed a stone from the table and hurled it toward Kaivan.
Kaivan tilted his head slightly, the rock missed, shattering uselessly against the wall.
"Slow," Kaivan murmured, smiling faintly. "You never change, William. Always muscle before mind."