"You wish to join my gang? Now that your life is on the line, you've resorted to such cheap words thinking they will save you? How foolish," Raphael laughed, eyes shimmering with delight. "I expected nothing less from scum like you."
Right after, his grip around Ezeikel's head loosened, allowing the vampire to finally gasped for oxygen. Blood gushed from his mouth as he panted raggedly, veiny eyes trembling with fear.
"Just look at yourself. Moments ago, you were more than happy to kill helpless vampires, but when death comes knocking at your door, you coil up and plead for help. How hypocritic. You disgust me," his lips curled into a grin as he continued. "However… I might just let you join, but on one condition."
Darion's lips thinned as he heard Raphael's words. His jaws clenched, but he withheld himself.
'What is he thinking?' Darion thought, glancing at Jay from the corner of his eye. The latter seemed to understand his thoughts, shaking his head in response.
Meanwhile, Ezeikel struggled to gather himself together. He felt the bones within his skull pierce flesh, blood oozing from gastly punctures as his vision slipped. Still, he willed himself to remain conscious. His power, however much they had grown, were quickly channeled to heal his wounds. Raphael looked on in intrigue as bones reformed around supple flesh.
"He's a strange one, alright. A mutant, without a doubt. Though it would've been nice to see what he could do. Maybe I shouldn't have speed blitzed him like that,' Raphael thought, nodding his head.
Finally, Ezeikel was restored. No longer was his skin a ghastly sight of punctures or famine. The eye bags were gone, replaced by a mask of healthy skin that betrayed his roots.
"Am I really looking at who I was speaking just a while ago?" Raphael mussed, stepping closer. "I'm still waiting for your response? Will you agree to my request, or do I have to disfigure your pretty face once again?"
Ezeikel took in a deep breath, feeling his lungs operate as smoothly as they were supposed to. He was taken aback for a moment, but quickly shook off the feeling. His gaze returned to Raphael as he towered above him.
"...I accept," he said, voice laced with uncertainty.
"Very well, then. To join the Abyssal Gang, you must kill someone dear to you. Considering the fact that you've taken so many lives already, I don't suppose taking one more would be a problem now, would it?"
Ezeikel's heart sank as he heard those words. Images of his father flickered in his mind, and he broke down in tears.
"Please, I can't let any harm come to my father," Ezeikel pleaded, pressing his head against the dirt. "He's all I have left in this world. I beg of you!"
Raphael's laughs overshadowed Ezeikel sobs. The former stomped his foot against the ground, sending a wave of crimson light that pushed Ezeikel back a couple metres. .
"Do you think the people you killed are any different. They still had people they cared about, yet you took them away like it was nothing. Now that the tables are turned, you beg for your loved ones lives, as well. You're no different from me, brat. You say a chance to impose your dominance, and you went for it will all you had. If you really wanted to make a statement, you should've come at us from the start. Going after small fries just shows how big of a coward you are."
Raphael swiftly covered the distance, hoisting Ezeikel up by the scruff of his shirt.
"I bet you can't do that little trick over and over again. Maybe if I beat you half to death a couple more times, you'll understand that lives don't grow on trees."
Ezeikel struggled to break free, but it was of no use. Raphael's grip was ironclad, and soon enough, a wave of crimson lightning ripped through his body like torns. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he coughed out blood, his body trembling under the siege of agony.
Darion smirked as he witnessed his brother in action. Now this was the Raphael he knew. He questioned whether the previous negotiator was an imposter or not. Even Jay was pleased by the sudden shift, doing little to hide his amusement as his lips curled upwards.
Raphael then let go, allowing Ezeikel's body to his the floor with a loud thud. Black smoke rose from his body, skin charred black by the hedious attack.
'My, my, what a precarious situation you've ended up in,' the enigmatic voice rang in his ears, but Ezeikel ignored it. He found himself dangling between the threads of consciousness and unconsciousness, his mind leaning towards the latter further by the second.
'If I…say anything…this bastard might do something worse,' Ezeikel thought, stumped on what to do.
However, Raphael chose to make that decision for him. His foot raised up in the air, blood aura coating it as it rippled with power. As he brought it down, it struck the ground with devastating force, rising a mass of dust and debris into the air.
"You dodged. I'm surprised you're still conscious after that last attack," Raphael commented, turning his head to look at Ezeikel gasping for oxygen by the side.
'Let me just say this. With all the times I've been helping you so far, you owe me a lot,' the voice said, but once again, Ezeikel ignored it.
"Please…leave my father out of this… He's innocent!" Ezeikel begged, his voice cracking as he spoke.
Raphael gathered his blood aura into a crimson sword, covering the distance in moments. The weapon hissed as it cut through the air, and Ezeikel saw his life flash before his eyes. However, the blade never slit his throat. Raphael paused at the last moment, the blade hovering dangerously close to Ezeikel's neck. His smile grew wider than it already was.
"Stubborn to the very end, at least you have some qualities I admire," he said, allowing his weapon to dissipate into a whirlwind of sparks. "Maybe we can arrive at a compromise, instead."
Ezeikel froze, taken aback by Raphael's words.
"A… compromise?" he asked, his vocal cords struggling to articulate his words.
"Indeed. You see, what I said earlier, that first condition, it was a lie," Raphael revealed, covering his face as he chuckled. "It was merely a test to see how loyal you are to your beliefs. Now that I know you're willing to die for what you believe in, I'll allow you to join. People with a strong will like yours are hard to come by around here, which makes them so valuable to have."
Ezeikel's blood boiled as he listened to Raphael's condescending tone. He gritted his teeth, but was met with the agony from his burned body. His eyes barely managed to register his surroundings. He was beyond hopeless in whatever idea of a confrontation he had in mind.
"However, just to make sure you don't betray us down the line…" his voice trailed off, a spiral of crimson light shimmering above his palm as an object materialized within it. "You'll have to be branded."
Ezeikel's blurred vision started to clear, and it was then he caught sight of what Raphael was holding.
"A branding tool… So I'm basically becoming his slave?" Ezeikel muttered, feeling his heart sink.
"The mark never goes away once someone is branded," Raphael continued. "Even if the Abyssal Gang falls apart, remnants will bear the mark for the rest of their lives."
Raphael ripped through Ezeikel's garment, revealing his bare chest. The branding tool hovered mere inches away from his skin, the intense heat whipping his eyelids wide open.
"What is your choice? Death…or servitude?" Raphael asked, his tone dripping with averice.
The world seemed to still for the young vampire. His gaze shifted between the lightless sky, the branding tool, and the two men standing behind them both. The street dwellers remained, their sunken eyes fully engrossed in what was transpiring. It was a rare thing to witness Raphael do such much in such a short amount of time. Perhaps they wouldn't live long enough to witness such a gripping moment ever again.
"I don't have much of a choice now, do I?" Ezeikel asked himself. He remembered his goal, his burning desire to avenge his mother's death. Even if it meant selling himself to the devil, somehow, someway, he would prevail. He would surely take the life of Sarah's killer, even if it leads to his own untimely end.
"Servitude," Ezeikej finally said.
"Excellent," Raphael replied, his hand moving forward, burning flesh.
Ezeikel's screams were a terrible thing, robbing the tenebrous town of quiet sanctuary as he coughed out blood.