Capítulo 74: Ye Han
A few nights later, Ye Han was sitting on his bed in his room in complete darkness. He had forgotten how long he had been sitting there, staring blankly into space, with his head in his hands, his usually luscious locks of black hair poking out of his fingers in disheveled clumps.
He could not believe or even accept the different things he had been hearing over the past few days. This group of immature kids, these punks, had actually reached Black Gold Rank! They must have been only 15 years old at most, and one of them, a frail girl, had even reached Legend Rank!
What fantasy world had he woken up to when he came back to Glory City after only two years??! How could so much have changed?
Just a few days ago, he had been on top of the world, the shining beacon of hope for the younger generation of the human race. At only 20 years of age, he had reached 3-Star-Gold Rank, and was comparable to Lord Ye Mo, the legendary hero who was Glory City's invincible paragon and divine protector.
Ye Han had thrown himself into constant life and death battles with demon beasts for years in order to grow stronger, and temper himself with real and bitter battle experiences. He had a Golden Horned Land Dragon demon beast spirit, which had one of the closest bloodlines to an authentic dragon tribe! And he had been practically guaranteed in his position as the successor to the City Lord...or so he thought.
Now, it seemed like everything had changed. Not only had this group of misfits grown immensely strong at a miraculous and impossible speeds, there were even many other 'geniuses' identified within the new sect system of the city, who appeared to have been imparted amazing cultivation techniques, and were progressing even faster than when he was in his youth!
Ye Han's heart felt like it was being crushed by a giant fist, hammering a feeling deep into his soul that he had long forgotten about. That same feeling when he was just an orphan before Ye Zong adopted him, completely unwanted, unloved and hopeless. When his adoptive father had taken note of his innate talent, and that path of hope had opened up to him, he had promised himself that he would prove himself, and never feel inferior again. That he would never let anyone look down on him again.
This very vow that he had made in his heart had just been shattered into a million pieces.
He sat there stunned and completely overwhelmed by the sense that he had lost his way and purpose in this world again, after painstakingly building up his position and being at the head of the pack for so long. According to the realistic standards of Glory City, his growth was absolutely faster than anyone could reach. He still could not wrap his mind around what was happening around him.
As despair crept into his heart like a dark shadow, he felt an unspeakable rage building within him and felt the urge to go outside so that he could cause some pain to vent out the uncontrollable anger inside. He growled loudly as his eyes flashed yellow and turned snake-like. As his emotions took over, he was losing control over the demon beast he had merged with.
He ran out into the night looking for something or someone to release his pent up fury, but as he stepped out 100 yards out of the City Lord's Mansion, he tensed and came to sudden stop when a terrifying black sickle shaped object swung towards his neck, stopping a mere inch away. He could not sense the rank of his attacker, but he instinctively knew that his enemy was at least at Black Gold Rank.
He caught his breath and narrowed his eyes, "Do you know who I am? I am the City Lord's son and if you attack me, there will be consequences you have to bear."
An eerie male voice whispered into his ear. "Of course I know who the precious Ye Han is. You used to be the one all the girls idolised and longed for. The dashing champion of the younger generation."
"Then what are you trying to do? How dare you hold a weapon to my neck?" Ye Han was emboldened as they continued speaking, and began to try to intimidate the person in the shadows, who seemed reasonable enough to listen to his words. His blood ran cold as an evil laugh chuckled silently next to him and he realised that the assassin would have no hesitation to kill him if he resisted.
"What do you want?"
The man paused for a moment, as though deciding whether to just kill him and be done with it, before speaking again in an emotionless voice. "My boss told me to keep a watch for you, and to bring you to her for a chat the moment I sensed killing intent erupt from your aura. It seems that that time...is now. Are you willing to come?"
The final question was asked with absolute calm objectivity, but Ye Han almost felt like the man was daring him to say no so that he would have an excuse to dispose of him. He barely hesitated, "I'll come. I won't create any problems."
"Wise choice."
.....
Ye Han was blindfolded, with his hands firmly bound behind his back, then thrown over the assassin's shoulders like a sack of potatoes, and carried with terrifying speed to an entirely different part of the city.
He was seated on a stool in a dingy room with the blindfold still in place, where he could smell the stench of mildew on the wooden walls, and even hear the faint squeaks of rats scampering around. He instinctively pulled up his feet to sit cross-legged on the stool so that no rats would gnaw at his feet. He had grown up with a distinct sense of hygiene, and was not preferential to unsanitary places.
As he waited for maybe two hours, he wondered if his captor has just brought him here to torture him and then end him, but he took extra effort to resist taking off his blindfold and trying to escape. He knew that the assassin who caught him was far more powerful than he could hope to compare against, and that he wouldn't be able to take two steps before losing his head if the man was anywhere in the vicinity.
Finally, he heard footsteps approaching him slowly and confidently. His forehead furrowed as he heard the distinct sounds of female shoes knocking against the hard, wooden floor, and he could smell the scent of perfume made from rare violet lilies, over the mildew of the room.
A low and seductive voice drawled, "Ye Han, so we meet at last."
He made sure to bow his head politely. "I'm not sure who I have the privilege of meeting. Would you mind if I remove my blindfold so I can greet you properly?"
"No, I'd prefer if you kept it on." she replied, nonchalantly. "Ye Han, I know your heart. You thought that you had the whole world at your fingertips, and now that it's gone, you were going to find ways to hurt those around you, who care for you and have raised you."
He shook his head in indignation, "No! That's completely untrue. I don't know who's been feeding you lies but I would harm a hair on the head of the City Lord or his daughter! You have my word!"
The gentle voice continued, "We'll agree to disagree. Petty people with weak hearts will always choose to harm others, even when it's no intentional. Given half the chance, you would ally yourself with the Dark Guild or even the Sacred Family, and do harm to the city and its families."
Ye Han was in complete confusion. He hadn't even processed his anger enough to create any strategies or actions, and he actually didn't know what routes he would have taken. "I'm so sorry about what you've been hearing about me. You can ask the City Lord or Elder Ye Ming when he returns. All I've ever done is to protect this city and its people. Growing stronger is to serve that purpose!"
A musical laugh tinkled from the lady in front of him. "How very noble of you. If I didn't know the truth, I may actually be convinced by you." Her voice hardened with sudden cold steel, "Nevermind, this has dragged on too long. You have two choices. Either you die right now and here, or you receive a soul brand and serve my Shadow Organisation which protects Glory City from the shadows."
"Soul brand?" He had barely heard of such a thing. The only time he had heard it mentioned was in a random conversation over dinner where the City Lord had briefly spoken about how the Dark Guild had placed all its members under this cruel method, so that any betrayal would be met with instant execution, no matter where the member fled.
"Please, no...I've heard terrible things about this method. Is there any other way? I'm willing to swear on the gods of the Divine Continent that I will be loyal to you!" he frantically scrambled out words to try to change the mind of the woman in front of him.
"I'm sorry, there's no flexibility in this decision. I'll give you 10 seconds to make your decision, and we'll proceed. Know that I have no sympathy to your situation at all." she replied with a tone that allowed no complaint.
He didn't even wait 10 seconds. "I'll do it! I'll allow my soul to be branded! Please don't kill me!"
"Wise choice. Stay in this chair. When our...specialist is ready, he will come and place the inscription which will ensure your loyalty to this organisation and the city. You will experience some pain but you will live and retain your combat capabilities, as long as they are used to serve our purposes." she concluded as her footsteps echoed out of the room.
It was many hours later when two sets of footsteps walked back into the room. Ye Han noted with curiousity that the second set of footsteps sounded much lighter than the original woman. Was it another assassin-type, who trained his footsteps to be quiet?
"It's good that you're awake. Shall we get started?" The original woman's voice drifted seductively into his ears. She pushed a wooden spoon into his mouth to clench his teeth down on, without even waiting for his response. "You may need this...you know, for the pain. Don't struggle or it would mean that you're breaking the terms of the agreement, and we may have to break your arms or legs as a penalty."
"Unngggghhhh..." Ye Han bit down on the spoon as his heart started racing with an almost uncontrollable primal fear. What kind of pain was she referring to? He didn't have time to think anymore as his shirt was torn off his torso, and a sharp scalpel-like knife began carving an intricate rune over his heart.
"Mmmmmmpppphhhh!!" He grunted in agony as more and more precise cuts were made over the next hour or two, but finally could not help but let the spoon slide out of his mouth and begin screaming as a burning salve was applied into the inscription carved into his flesh, accompanied by a frigid soul force from the person applying it.
His screams continued through the night as he felt the chilling energy churn all around the carved flesh of his chest, then slowly invade all the way into the deepest part of his soul.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
AerynSun
AerynSun Apologies for the delay. It's really been such a busy stretch for me. I'll try to come back and update once in awhile. :(
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