"And that is what that voice told me. Honestly, at first I was surprised. I didn't know what to say for a while, but then I got to thinking. This world we live in, it's already flawed. People's minds and hearts have already been perverted against each other. To find a kind soul anywhere would be like searching for a rat of sunshine within this tenebrous Empire. It is nothing but an elusive concept.
"So then, what good is it to hold on to hopeless morals, when I can use the people around me to fuel my own power. Think about it, father, with power such as this, I can finally avenge my mother's death. Better yet, I can free this town from their oppressors, even if they don't really deserve it.
"Still, it would be beneficial to us, most of all. With me at the top, we won't have to worry about another threat looming over us. We would only have to answer to the Emperor and his people. No one else."
Kennedy's expression darkened as he listened to his son's words. As much as he wanted to say what was on his mind, he restrained himself. He didn't feel like it was his place to speak up, despite his position as the latter's senior. His head slowly shook, a faint sigh escaping his lips as he stared town at his meal dejectedly.
"So, then, I plan on killing these damned vampires for the sake of my goal. Whether you like it or not is not my business. I've already made up my mind on that matter."
Kennedy's jaws clenched, veins bulging through his forehead as he struggled to withhold his emotions further. He had remained patient so far, trying his best not to criticize his son's thought patterns. But now…
"Ezeikel, what has gotten into you?!" He barked, slamming his fist against the floor. His crimson eyes narrowed, focused entirely on the person sitting before him. "How could you just say such nonsense? Become a killer? Why in the world would you throw away your morals for the sake of power? Do you really want to become like the tyrants who rule this world? Do you want to be the cause of countless deaths just because you have a score to settle?
"How many times must I tell you this, Ezeikel? She was also my wife! Do you think it didn't pain me when that bastard broke into this house and took her life? Do you think I don't hate myself every day because of that? I risk my life everyday just to protect you. That was the last thing she made me promise her before her death. During the Rumbling, when Darion was about to kill you, I intervened! Son, please, don't defile your mother's kindness and efforts with such wretched acts, I beg of you!
"Forget about power. Forget about vengeance. Let's just keep on living our lives the way we always have. We're able to make enough money to pay the Darkhavens and the Abyssal Gang. Let's just keep up with what we can, son. Don't let the desire for power corrupt you," Kennedy's voice cracked as he spoke, numerous thoughts squirming within his mind as he gasped for air frantically.
Ezeikel didn't reply right away. He allowed the silence between them to stretch past seconds. And then, his words, cold and dismissive, enveloped the rigid atmosphere like the mechanisms of a gluttonous infection.
"Nothing you say or do can sway my decision. What you say is true, but let me ask you this: how long? How long can we keep on living like vermin within this unforgiving Empire? How much longer do you think we will last under Raphael's tyrannical rule? Or under the Emperor malevolent claws? Do you think we will live to see ten more years? My, what am I saying? Ten is too generous. Considering the nature of the Abyssal Gang, if someone manages to aggravate them, they'll just go on a killing spree till their satisfied.
"We were lucky during the last Rumbling, but who's to say another one isn't going to happen soon enough? Life is unpredictable, and danger always happens to look just around the corner. I know that, and you know it, as well, so stop trying to deny it."
Ezeikel got up from the floor, straightening his ragged clothes as he continued:
"Don't try to stop me, unless you want to be my first victim. I might just take your life if you get too close."
And with that, he walked out from the enclosure, leaving his father in grim solitude. Kennedy didn't give chase, he knew already that no matter what he tried, he would not be able to convince his son to abandon this path. His mind was set, and only reality itself could intervene. Surrounded by his own negative thoughts, he clasped his hands together and began to pray. He prayed for his son to leave such a dreadfuk journey before it was too late. And he also asked for forgiveness for not being a good father and husband.
"Whatever action he plans on taking moving forward, he would have to bear the consequences, whether he likes it or not," Kennedy said tk himself after his prayer, heaving out a defeated sigh as he returned to his meal. With each bite he took, his mind kept wandering to the conversation he recently had with his son, and what sort of activities he may be doing beyond the walls of their home.
It was then that he heard a voice,soft and fleeting, trail past his hearing, injecting his soul with deeply buried guilt and fear.
'Our son… why are you letting him go down this dangerous path?'
He turned his head all across the sparce space, scanning frantically for where the sound came from.
"Samantha… what that you?" He asked, his voice infested with a heavy sense of longing. Minutes passed after he spoke, but no one answered. He considered getting up and searching further, but he eventually decided against it. "...Perhaps I have started hearing things. Old age and stress has really gotten to me," Kennedy contemplated, his gaze leaving the grimy walls of the enclosure as he took another bite. "But still, what if I wasn't hallucinating?"
*******
The citizens of Fluxton enjoyed the quiet reprieve of slumber during this time. This meant that all across the streets, the only living things one who hope to find are the shadow-bound creatures prawling about for easy flesh. They were the scavengers of the settlement, and could only be found devouring corpses of vampires or their own kind.
Ezeikel ignored the pesky creatures as he walked down the street.
His crimson eyes peered forward, nostrils searching for possible lives to harvest at this quiet hour. He walked past abandoned crates, piled rubbish, and miniature rivers of contaminated water on his search for prey. Soon enough though, his efforts paid off.
As he turned a corner, three starved vampires came into view—a mother and her two children. Their clothes were heavily dirtied and ripped, bodies starved to the bone. Their hair danced as canopies of dirt and infection, eyes sunken and oozing with despair and gripping starvation. He saw himself in this forsaken family, at least what would have become of him if he didn't set his eyes on his current goal.
"...Is someone there?" A sweet, yet pained voice called out, her hands already struggling to break free from her mother's grasp. This had become their routine after several nights of living on the streets. After hours of scavenging for food, they would all huddle tightly together, praying that nothing wiuld cease their lives under the veil of unchanging darkness. Fortunately, even the perverted males of the town showed no interest in their mother. Poverty and starvation had already left deep scars, driving away all those who would desire her for unrighteous deeds.
Ezeikel didn't respond to the girl's words. He simply stood there, waiting, watching to see what would happen next. It didn't take long for the girl to free herself from her mother's embrace. Perhaps the latter was too drained of energy to cling on any further. Whatever the case might have been, all that rained between her and the stranger were but a few meters.
From what he observed, the girl would've been around half his age, meaning that she was more than capable of walking. However, she barely managed to crawl clumsily towards him, pained gasps escaping her lips with every movement she made.
'Remember, this is the path you chose. There's simply no other way to achieve what your heart desires,' the voice spoke, catching Ezeikel off-guard for a moment. He wished to ask how the voice could communicate with him despite him being fully conscious, but he pushed those thoughts away as the girl's mother shot him a deranged glare.
Her lips slowly parted, oxygen tunneling ravenously through her throat as she pushed through the insidious throes of starvation to speak.
"What do you want, boy?" She questioned, feeling her chest ache immensely as she arched forward, a hedious wave of coughs filling the air. Below her head, a small pile of blood began to form with each harrowing cough, her vision swaying as her grip on her son loosened further.
"...I'm sorry," he finally said, the words struggling to unravel from his mouth. His gaze moved back to the girl crawling painfully towards him, and the next moment, a wave of orange energy shot out from his hands, aimed right at her head. The girl's mother couldn't even register the attack on time, and just like that, her daughter was no more. The swipe of orange energy ripped through her right eye socket, piercing through flesh and bone and protruding through the back of her head. A sudden shriek followed as the beam of light tore through her head, her body dropping to the ground right after.
He remembered the conversation he had with that enigmatic voice, the part of the story he chose not to narate to his father. Concentrate, locate, channel, and release—the pattern through which he can apply his powers. The groundwork was laid, and now, the reward for his actions was ushered onto him.
A sudden jolt of energy enveloped his core, proof that the words of that voice were indeed true.
His gaze returned to see the girl's mother already scrambling to her feet, gripping her son's hand tightly as she struggled to flee. Her legs ached as they moved, and for a brief moment, she turned to look back at the young man who stole her daughter's life. Ezeikel's steps were drowned by her erratic words, the distance between them growing shorter and shorter with each fleeting moment.
And then, she heard it—the noise of death. Her son's body grew limp within her grasp, and before she could do anything, a sharp pain assaulted her neck. Seconds later, and her head rolled off, striking the ground with a sickening thud.
Just like that, three vampires were slaughtered. And just like that, three embers were added to the ravenous flame of Ezeikel's power.