Chapter 27 - Ripples

At the far northern section in the city of Higrove, stood a luxurious mansion. Inside this decorated, lavish mansion that was attended by a small army of guards, the sounds of clinking, and breaking could be heard intermixed with veritable curses.

The lavish mansion's young master was currently wreaking havoc, while a group of scared maids was shivering at the edges of the master's bedroom.

"You good for nothing, useless pieces of garbage! All of my men are useless! AARGH!!" with a loud curse he threw another priceless artifact, a simple looking vase towards the maids at the door.

"Tell me, why shouldn't I just kill you all?! My shitty father has grounded me, just because I lost 2 of my own men! Who does he think he is?! I'm not a kid anymore, he thinks he can just boss me around as he sees fit?!"

Taking a deep breath, the young master Leon, forcibly calmed his nerves, then with his usual arrogant tone, he ordered the 3 shivering maids.

"Get the hell out of the room, and don't let anyone in until I say so. Got it?"

The maids nodded, still shaking with fear, and quickly scurried out of the room closing the door behind them. They were right to be afraid, as it wouldn't have been the first time when a servant was killed or used as an outlet for his dark fantasies by the young master in a fit of rage.

"Now-now, young master Leon, throwing a temper tantrum will not serve our purpose…" as the maids left the room, a dark corner of the room suddenly vibrated and a tall and muscular man, covered in black leather armor. His face was covered with a black faceless mask that also covered his eyes. However, the lack of vision did not seem to hinder the man at all. Without waiting for the answer from the young chubby man, he continued in his raspy voice.

"If you truly intend to be a part of the organization, the results you showcased so far will not be enough. The deadline for the test is still ticking. Instead of behaving like a spoiled brat, you should plan your next steps."

The arrogance was replaced with fear and anxiety as Leon listened to the voice berating him. With his palms clasped together, he hesitantly answered.

"I...I'm trying my best sir. However, I met some unexpected difficulties back with that old hag in the forest. I wanted to take over her business, but she had this… this kid-"

"You are telling me, that you got your fat, ugly ass handed to you by a small kid and a senile old hag? Tell me again, do you really plan to join us..." he paused in his monologue, and a small shining blade slowly emerged from the depth of his leather gloves as he leaned closer to Leon's scared face "...or am I just wasting my time with you?"

Gulping audibly, he shook his head.

"N-n-no, sir! I will make sure that I will pass the test set out to me by the deadline! And as a bonus, I will make sure you will have my father's head! I promise this to you! Also... may I req-"

Once again, without letting the young master Leon finish, the man raised his hands to stop him in his tracks.

"You may not. The test is set to you to pass by your own merits. If you cannot overcome this small hurdle, you have no place in the organization at all. Don't make us regret giving you this chance." At the end of his words, the man slowly dissipated to black smoke, vanishing from sight completely.

As the man disappeared, the young master fell on his ass on the floor and sighed loudly. The last few days were probably one of the worst days of his life. Starting with his failure in taking the old hag's business, losing his trusted bodyguards in the process, which caused his other plans to fail as well and worst of all, being shamed by his father, beaten and grounded like a little child in front of the staff.

"I will not fail you… By the end of the deadline, you will have my father's head presented to you, along with the completion of the task assigned to me… And you were right, I need to make new plans…"

The evil grin once again appeared on his face, as he stood up, making his way towards the desk, to scribble some new notes and devise a new plan. After all, he still had a lot of manpower at his disposal, and a lot of money to throw around as well. The loss of 2 of his man, is not the end of the world, and although the humiliation still burned deep in his heart, he had to focus his attention on the task at hand, and later, when everything is set, he could repay the 'favor' that the annoying black-haired kid gave him.."

---

Somewhere in an underground chamber, on a throne made of various skulls and bones sat a dark-robed figure. The only source of light was a set of candles carefully placed around the room. His face was covered in a faceless black mask, and a ragged hood that was part of his tattered black robe.

His hands were covered in black leather gloves. Slowly lifting his hand and pointing his index finger that was decorated with a red skull-shaped ruby ring in a hollow, otherworldly voice talked to the seemingly empty dark corner of the chamber.

"What news.. do you have... number 4?"

The empty space of the corner vibrated, and with a puff of black smoke, the same man that just visited Young Master Leon appeared. As he appeared, he immediately got down to his knees and with a bow, he respectfully replied.

"Grandmaster, the candidate has not made any progress so far. However, I do believe that he could still complete the test we assigned to him. Should I keep watching him, or shall I end his initiation test?"

The figure lightly shook his head, and with his unnatural voice, he replied.

"No need… Just, let him continue… for now. Watch him… from the shadows…" Looking at the other empty dark corner of the room, he continued after a brief pause. "I will trust your… judgment. If you decide… that he is doomed to fail… finish the task you were given…. And end his initiation as well… If you need help…. You can contact number 6… and 7… Come back to me only… when his test is finished… or you completed your assigned task…" With a wave of his hand the figure forcibly removed number 4 from the room, then as the black smoke dissipated, with his vision still looking at the empty corner of the room, he gave another set of commands.

"You have your task as well..., number 3…"

A soft and sweet-sounding voice replied from the empty space, "Yes, grandmaster." and the empty air vibrated briefly, as the invisible figure ported away.

As the chamber once again, regained its peace and quiet, the clothed figure, with his left hand caressing his ruby ring, looked in front of him and an unearthly cackling sound left his mouth. As the unrecognizable sound left this mouth, the skull-shaped ruby ring started glowing, its faded red, slowly became brighter. The energy slowly transformed, and a thick, red smoke slowly engulfed the room, blowing the candles, and shrouding the presence of the figure, as he receded back to his throne, becoming a part of it…

His plan was finally set in motion, and even if some uncalculated variables suddenly emerged, he was confident that he had set the necessary countermeasures to deal with them...

---

In the forest, the slender frame of a dark clothed figure appeared on a thick branch on top of a tree. The figure sighed and looked down at the small cozy little hut that stood in the middle of a clearing. Inside, a small family was currently happily enjoying their dinner that was their spoils from today's hunting trip.

Watching the small and happy family, the figure sighed once again, then with a silent wave of its hand its presence vanished into thin air.

---

Inside the hut, the trio was enjoying their much-earned dinner. Aiden, while not showing any change on his face, was currently checking his map, and having a discussion with Enya, his ever-present resident inside his soul space.

'Are you sure, the new arrival is not hostile? It just appeared suddenly, we don't know what it wants after all…' asked Aiden inwardly. He noticed a new blip on his map suddenly appearing out of nowhere on a nearby tree. While the presence did not show any hostility, its life signature was grey, the color of neutrality, meaning the system could not clearly identify if it as either good or bad.

[The figure currently only seems to be watching you without any hostile intentions Aiden. Keep an eye out, but I would advise against alerting the others for now. I will monitor its movement and behavior and notify you if anything changes. For now, just try to lay low, and do not use your transform.]

'Just who is this person? Why did it come here? What does it want?' sighed Aiden inwardly. He had a bad feeling about this new turn of events...