She agreed. And so, Kayden followed their footsteps in silence, walking behind them, accompanied by his heavy thoughts.
Elsewhere… Inside Adam's apartment.
Adam did not enjoy a peaceful sleep. He woke with a start, his breath ragged, his body resisting the effect of the medicine like someone refusing to drown in comfort. He hadn't slept long, nor had he even gotten enough unconsciousness.
He looked around, tired, and found that the sun was still casting its faint glow from behind the curtains.
"How annoying..." Adam muttered.
He got out of bed with heavy steps and headed to the bathroom.
He washed his face with cold water repeatedly, until he felt his skin wince from the intense cold, and tied his hair back calmly.
When he came out, he sat on the edge of the bed, slightly bent over, staring at the floor... at that spot where there was nothing special, yet it drew him in with something invisible.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. He bent down slowly and reached his hand under the bed. His fingers felt the wood until he found the box... still fixed as he had left it, stuck firmly to the wooden frame. In the same place... the same position.
Adam had placed it there very carefully, with an obsession almost like a ritual.
He was aware that a flaw had begun to creep into his mind... but he didn't acknowledge it, only watched it in silence, like someone watching cracks appear on the wall of his soul.
Every day, he would return to check the box's existence...
Open it, then look inside, and at the black armor he had made, specifically for his body alone.
Armor that suited only him... as if his body and that black metal had become familiar with each other, sharing the same pulse.
Adam's home seemed like a curse bound within its walls, excessively organized. Everything in it was placed with a surgeon's precision, but that precision wasn't a sign of order... but a means of survival and maintaining focus.
After ensuring the box was there, he pulled his hand out and wiped his face wearily.
When he looked at his palm, he noticed the necklace dangling quietly on his right wrist.
Its golden thread gleamed softly, wrapping gently around his wrist as if refusing to let go. At its end dangled a black metal piece, shaped like an unconventional cross, with curved protrusions extending from its edges like claws or frozen sparks.
In its heart, thin golden lines flowed, adorning it with a mysterious, ancient pattern. Its design was sharp and undulating, as if created to be a weapon as much as an ornament.
The necklace bore no direct religious symbol, but rather seemed created to represent strength.
He stroked it with his fingers, gently, as if it were the last thing connecting him to a world he no longer knew.
Adam breathed deeply. He knew... he wasn't alone.
He got up and walked slowly towards the living room. When he entered, he saw shadows condense, take shape... until a man appeared from nowhere.
"You noticed my presence quickly," he said, in a cheerful tone hiding a layer of caution underneath. "You told me before that you have a very expensive weapon in your home."
Adam glanced at him for a few seconds without reply, then said simply, "Hugo, it's good that you remember... but there are some things I'd like to do first. You're the one who broke into my home."
Hugo smiled and sat on the sofa, comfortable as if the place were his. He showed no tension, but rather seemed to be enjoying the scene.
Not long passed until Adam returned carrying two cups of tea, placing one in front of him. "It's not poisoned, if you're wondering."
Hugo raised an eyebrow in amusement, observing this eccentric stranger who serves him tea instead of dragging him into a fight. He murmured in wonder, "You... are truly eccentric."
But Adam showed no annoyance. He sipped his tea and said, "Black tea... it's excellent, it fixes almost everything. Headaches, lack of sleep, bad mood... even good mood! It's much better than alcohol."
Hugo looked at him for a moment, as if something inside him quietly broke. He hadn't expected to share a cup of tea with someone who came to fight him. Instead, he suddenly felt a strange desire to postpone the mission. "You're a tea lover?"
"How old are you?" Hugo asked directly.
"Twenty," Adam replied without hesitation.
Hugo slapped his thigh in denial. "Too young! Why do you fight then?"
"I'll turn twenty-one in September! Specifically on the fifteenth. You can bring a gift, you know," Adam immediately retorted with a counter-question, "And you? Why do you fight?"
Hugo was silent, then said after brief thought, "I didn't find peace in stillness. Staying without work might kill me... Besides, I follow lord Ron Feng, so I try to be a good follower. What about you?"
Adam sighed. "I follow my venerable lord... Idmaniel. But I fight for something simple... to improve, nothing more."
Hugo sank into his thoughts. He had come here to smash everything and leave, and here he was now drinking tea with a tired, quiet man... he was even about to ask him for some sugar!
As if Adam read his thoughts, he asked, "Would you like something to eat?" Hugo slowly shook his head, then muttered in a more serious tone, "After this... we'll finish it."
Adam laughed lightly, then said, looking at him with a hint of sarcasm, "Don't rush your fate. Haste brings nothing but trouble... and you're a follower of Ron Feng, surely you know that better than others."
Moments later, Adam returned carrying a plate full of colorful sweets. He chose a piece containing a little sugar and ate it quietly.
He said in a thoughtful voice, his eyes not leaving Hugo's face, "But you're an enthusiastic person, aren't you? You love movement, you even live for it... yet you think about every step you take. Doesn't that seem exhausting?"
Hugo stopped chewing and looked at Adam, as if something inside him began to stir...
Hugo smiled lightly, raising an eyebrow as if confessing a not-so-embarrassing secret. "I'm just... an enthusiastic person, that's true. But I love life. There's so much I want to do, and I'm still looking for more."
But Adam's look changed, and he suddenly asked in a calm tone hiding a tiny poison, "What about Fiona? Didn't she have a life?"
Hugo didn't seem flustered, just sipped his tea slowly, then said seriously, "Let's make a blood pact. If I'm lying... I die."
But Adam just shook his head, whispering with steady confidence, "No need for that... I can distinguish liars."
A moment of silence passed, then Hugo ran his hand through his chestnut hair, fidgeting with it as he searched for the right words. "Do you know that man... Kayden?"
But Adam raised his hand to his mouth, trying to stifle a light laugh tinged with clear gloating. "Don't tell me..."
Hugo shook his head with a sigh. "I fell into the same trap, yes. But I wasn't weak like him. Arbela didn't plant the desire for death in my heart; she planted a strange desire... to do what shouldn't be done."
Then he sighed and continued, "Fiona... she could have run away. I left the door open, I deliberately left it for her. But she stayed, for the child's sake only."
He wiped his eyes with his thumb, eyes whose colors wavered between green and brown, as if they hadn't yet decided their allegiance, and said, "Arbela's power is like... slavery. Strange and disguised, but real slavery. When I saw Kayden, I knew he still lives under those chains, breathes them. As for me? I cut the chains."
Adam smiled, but that smile carried something evil, glinting in his eyes. "So, why are you still with them?"
Hugo shrugged with feigned nonchalance and replied in a lax tone, "I'm looking for a new job."
Suddenly, the warmth drained from the room. Hugo finished eating the sweets at the same moment Adam finished focusing his spiritual powers inside the black necklace.
Adam's right eye darkened, the one that was dark blue, like the sea before a storm. It no longer held any light. His gaze transformed... something within him completely changed.
Hugo looked at him intently, then asked in a tone unsure whether serious or astonished, "Are... you blind?"
Adam smiled a faint smile and said, "Did I ever say I was blind? But... do you feel pity?"
Hugo spoke, his voice this time more human than ever before. "It's not a pity... you are strong. But you're young, too young. You're not like those crazy immortals... even Kayden is still young in a way."
Time stopped for a moment for Adam, who always seemed composed. This time, he smiled a different smile. Soft, sincere, as if something inside him had been shifted from its place.
He got up silently, and with a calm movement, Hugo followed him...
A new moment of stillness began, but behind it, something was coming... something not yet said.
The necklace dangled from Adam's hand and gleamed for a fleeting moment.
Hugo felt something strange in the air, so he stepped back and quickly drew his gun... expecting an explosion, a storm, something loud... but nothing happened.
Then, the sound of a violent crash echoed from the kitchen.
Water surged from the sinks and pipes, moving as if it were a living creature… like a serpent, coiling around Adam's body in a motion both smooth and terrifying at once.
And with a movement of his hand, the water transformed into dozens of sharp arrows, launching like a flood towards Hugo.
But the moment they reached him, everything vanished. The water, the attack.
Adam's eyes widened, and he took a step back instinctively. "They… disappeared."
But the sound of gunfire forced him to focus. Gunshots rang out from invisible angles, seeming almost random…
But Adam was not fooled. He raised a water shield at the right moment.
Until he noticed something strange… One of the bullets did not ricochet, did not disappear. It simply vanished, as if it had pierced something he couldn't see.
Quickly, he gathered the water around him, moving to avoid injury.
He thought he had survived… until he touched his shoulder and felt the heat of blood flowing.
'When…?'
He realized in a silent moment that Hugo's abilities were not mere visual deception, but went beyond that.
He plays with the threads of perception and speed… Truly annoying abilities.
Adam said with deadly coolness, while examining the wound, "Your abilities are impressive, Hugo."
Hugo smiled proudly as he reloaded his weapon. "I know… I'm amazing."
" I'm truly jealous." Adam responded with a new attack. Faster, fiercer. Waves of water and ice surged towards Hugo, forcing him to use his full energy to avoid them.
The room turned into chaos. Furniture shattering, walls cracking, the ceiling nearly falling.
Amidst the blows, Hugo realized a terrifying truth. "Staying here any longer means… death."
The distance between them began to narrow. At a critical moment, Adam raised his foot and kicked. One blow was enough to shatter Hugo's defense.
A muffled scream escaped from between Hugo's teeth. He felt the bones of his arm groan under the strike. He looked at Adam's foot… it was covered in ice, which explained the intense pain.
"Your abilities are so annoying… you bastard…" Hugo muttered in severe pain.
Adam noticed that his opponent's caution had receded. With a swift motion, he launched a barrage of ice arrows, but only one arrow was intended.
The arrow struck Hugo's arm. A direct hit.
Hugo immediately shifted into full defensive mode, trying to hide himself again. But the pain had preceded the camouflage.
He looked at the arrow and removed it quickly, but the cold had already begun to eat into his limbs.
Adam was watching him in silence… then said, "You know… The percentage of water in the human body ranges from fifty to seventy-five percent, varying by age, gender, and build." He tilted his head slightly, as if delivering a scientific lecture.
Hugo's features froze… He now realized what this meant. He had read those words before in lord Ron Feng's rare books.
He quickly began purifying his arm from within using his spiritual powers, trying to expel any trace of the icy energy.
But Adam was faster. The necklace began to glow again, and soon Hugo's hand was completely frozen.
"The matter here… is only a question of speed." Adam's voice became strange… as if he were singing, not speaking.
Hugo understood something important at this moment: Adam had not been fighting with full seriousness… not yet.
"Why… does the necklace glow?" Hugo asked, watching that faint pulse of light in Adam's hand.
Adam answered him honestly, his voice carrying no attempt at mystery.
"Actually… I am currently dividing my spiritual energy. Between attack, defense, and what remains, I put into the necklace."
"You truly excel at dividing your spiritual power," Hugo whispered with resentment, aware of how difficult that was.
But Adam… does it calmly, as if pouring a cup of tea.
Adam looked at him in surprise, as if Hugo's features had begun to annoy him. Then he asked in a cold tone not devoid of sarcasm, "When will you fight seriously? Or will you keep running away like a mouse soaked by a storm?"
Hugo laughed. For a moment, he seemed to be enjoying himself despite the pain. He moved his injured arm slightly… but the movement was so painful he trembled from it. "Let's calm down for a moment, shall we?" he said, sighing.
Adam stopped, breathed calmly. His body had become colder… he didn't feel anything specific.
But that brief moment of "calm" ended.
Adam suddenly moved with tremendous speed, and the water returned, surrounding Hugo from all sides.
"I do a lot especially for you…" Adam whispered in his calm voice.