5th of August 2006, 7 a.m. – Hugo visited the Atramentum once again. Walking through the several check posts, he finally reached the Erebus Sanctum arriving soon at the cell holding the White Bolt.

  A key carrying guard patrolling the area opened the door for the Zaatsu. He slowly stepped inside the pitch black block with stoned walls and no windows and handed his lantern to the guard. Vincent was chained to the wall. Hugo observed for a moment.

  “Could you bring me a chair?” he asked.

  The guard quickly walked out and fetched a chair for him. He placed the chair at the doorway and the lantern besides it.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Hugo said and moved the chair inside. “Take the lantern and close the door.”

  “But, sir, there’s no light…”

  “I know. Leave.”

  The guard quickly did as he was asked, and the cell fell into complete darkness.

  “Vincent,” the Zaatsu said. He placed the chair an inch from the door and sat on it. The prisoner was chained to the opposing wall merely 6 feet away.

  Hugo waved his right hand in the air and two tiny balls of fire got lit on the two side walls illuminating the room. The chains tearing into Vincent’s forearms stuck to the walls, and the iron clamps tying his knees to the ground were now clearly visible. There were bruises, scars, and dried blood all over his body.

  “I know you can hear me,” Hugo said. “You’re wide awake.”

  In an almost whispering voice, Vincent responded, “I fail to understand why you’re here.”

  “At least show some decency and look at me when I’m talking to you!”

  “Go fuck yourself…”

  ‘I’m gonna need some privacy,’ Hugo thought and chanted, “ASORTO-MARTIMUM-REMENTO…”

  As he then touched the wall beside him, the cell got cut off from the outside world. No one could hear, see, or sense anything on the inside nor could the two of them sense anything on the outside.

  “Self-flagellation,” the Zaatsu said and waited. He stroked his hair as Vincent remained unmoved. “It was considered a blasphemy by Petrichor,” he eventually continued. “Pollux argued that it may well have some positives. Surprisingly, Rasalhague practiced it religiously. What is your affinity with the Shadow Master?”

  The White Bolt subtly shook his head then said, “I am not in the habit of beating myself up if that’s what you mean.”

  “You spent many years with Warren. I did too. I know what he was. He was so caught up with the heroes of the past that he couldn’t help but beat himself up for our current condition… and I don’t mean literally… you know what I’m saying.”

  After a pause, Hugo leaned ahead and said, “He believed in excessive criticism and the condemnation of one’s self – shunning ego and forging a spirit of pure thirst of a higher purpose. And in his misconstrued monkhood, he never married, never had children, and basically never had a life beyond his endeavours as a student of the ways of the Sanctum of Prostasia.”

  “Everyone travels their own path, clown,” said Vincent. “Without knowing a person’s story, you cannot find the reasons for their choices.”

  “You were tortured severely by Ambris, weren’t you? And then Warren gave you a life the only way he knew he could.”

  Vincent did not reply.

  “How else could you have such a high threshold for pain? But that is beside the point.”

  “Oh…” the White Bolt whispered. “So, there’s a point to all this...”

  “Our ranks have been compromised, kid. The Eye isn’t functioning properly anymore. I need people strong enough, smart enough, knowledgeable enough, and sceptical enough to keep an eye out.”

  The bounty hunter finally picked his head up, looked at the Zaatsu dead in his eyes, and asked, “You want to go to war with the people who feed you, huh?”

  Hugo smiled at the sarcastic retort and sighed. “Ah, Vince. Nobody goes to war anymore, man. People have gone too soft for that. Now, we just let the strong ones rule without resistance. The tainted spirits of this weak world, in accordance with the so called modernity, remain in a constant state of self-oppressiveness and, in turn, a state of self-loathing. Weakness is celebrated and actual strength is antagonized. Might isn’t always right, but weakness isn’t either.”

  “So, the Eye has been run over by a bunch of degenerate hooligans, and you want a less than interested bounty hunter to help you set things right… I’ve gotta say… brilliant strategy.”

  “I don’t want the bounty hunter to help anyone. I want the bounty hunter to do a bit more than his current job description.” Hugo leaned back in his chair again and continued. “You have somehow accepted this behind-the-scenes part in this world, a spectator who watches from the side-lines as the world burns in a fire fuelled by its own flesh and blood. Why? Those with the capacity and capabilities to do something have a duty to do exactly that!”

  Vincent dropped his head, shook it, and whispered, “With great power comes great responsibility…”

  “You have acquired all this knowledge, wisdom, and power, and for what? To just watch from the sidelines?”

  “Who said I acquired anything?”

  “What?”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “You think I wanted any of this, clown?” He looked up again. “Knowledge is a curse, you of all people should know that. Did Warren teach me the liquefaction magic because I asked him to? He did it because he deemed it necessary for me to know that. Do you think I wanted to learn about Mysticism? No. People made me read books to better understand the world. What person in their right mind would go and acquire knowledge that the world fears, hates, has left behind or wants to destroy?”

  Hugo clasped his knees and took a deep breath. “We are both students of misfortune, Vincent,” he said, softly. “Fate sends us wherever we are meant to be, but what we do there is our choice, and these are the very choices that make up our destiny. Our lives, our deaths, are but a sum total of all our choices. We have knowledge. What do we do with it? We have power. How do we utilise it? It’s all in our own hands.”

  “So… the choice is yours…”

  “It most certainly is.”

  “Then why choose to go out of your way to help your people?”

  “Because I know that it is the right thing to do.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “No.” The bounty hunter pushed himself back and rested his head against the wall. “You chose it because it is what you were taught to do.”

  “Oh, God,” Hugo shook his head with his eyes closed.

  “There really is no freedom of choice. Our choices reflect upon our upbringing or the continuous drilling by our teachers, mentors and trainers, or our faith.”

  “You have a strange thought process, Vincent, do you know that?” He again leaned ahead. “Do you believe in God? A higher power?”

  “Every person worth a fucking dime does. Even those who say they don’t, it is their belief that there isn’t a higher power which becomes the higher power for them. We all answer to someone or something. A higher power, a grand objective, a grand narrative, the prevalent narrative, our own lust, or our past.”

  The Zaatsu sighed and looked down. He slowly whispered, “You haven’t understood the concept of a higher power yet, kid.”

  “I know I haven’t. In actuality, no one can…”

  Hugo nodded and asked, “What do you desire from your life then? Do you just want to deny your alleged destiny? You wish to live in a way that once you die, you’ll be able to tell all the inmates in hell that you did it... you went against the plan.”

  “I will have only done what I was always destined to do.”

  “That is exactly what I don’t believe. I believe everyone has a choice, Vincent. Even you and I.”

  “Ha!” Vincent closed his eyes and then whispered, “The infinite play…”

  “Infinite play... What’s that?”

  “Every character has a role to play here,” he replied, opening his eyes. “Deny the role and you are replaced by someone better suited for the job.”

  “No one can know what their role is, Vince.” With a half smile, he said, “We can only live the present to the best of our intentions. And in the present, you always have a choice. No one and nothing can influence that decision unless you allow it to.”

  Vincent chuckled and looked away.

  “And yeah sure, you can just believe that it is all a grand plan, and we have no free will of our own. To be honest, that works far better. It makes for a much easier life.”

  The bounty hunter looked at him and said, “Will you stop with the philosophical babble?! I know you’re here to ask me something so ask! Fucking clown!”

  Hugo chuckled. “Fine then,” he said. “Tell me, where can I find Derek?”

  Vincent shook his head. “Now wasn’t that easy,” he said. “You could have just started with that.”

  The Zaatsu brought his right leg atop his left and said, “Since we sparred out there, I have been seeing Warren inside you. The way you deal with confrontation, physical or otherwise, is very Warren-esque – with aggression, authority, and haste. That man has clearly left a lasting effect on you, and that worries me, probably more than it should, but that worries me. He could never stand irregularities, always demanding and enforcing control.”

  Vincent did not reply again.

  Hugo scratched the back of his neck with closed eyes and continued, “The man had very little humanity left in him. He purged himself of ego, hate, anger, and lust.” Opening his eyes, he looked down and rubbed his hands together. “All these are human emotions, Vincent.” He looked up at the bounty hunter. “Ego is bad, but you’ve got to have a little bit of pride in what you do and who you are. Hate is a negative thing, but how can anyone truly love without hating? Sure, get rid of all your anger, but then what will you do when people start running all over you or the ones you care about?”

  He paused and shook his head. “Ah, Vincent. The guy was a robot, a machine, not a human. He woke up every day to go over a pre-determined routine he called his life and would then just go back to sleep. He had set slots for taking dumps. Vincent… the guy used to shit at the same time every day, not before, not after. He could not be surprised nor excited. He could not feel a thing! He lived a poor life and expected everyone to live the same. You tell me, was that the right way to live?”

  “How about you answer my question first.”

  “Ask away…”

  “Why is it that under his leadership, the Outsiders were strong enough to keep the leadership of the Eye in check? When he began to age and his strength began to decline, everything fell apart… why?”

  Hugo smiled and slowly said, “A good leader leaves their followers in a state where they could go on and on years after their demise just as well or may be even better than in their own lifetime. A man who dies with his secrets, or a man who had no secrets just pure brute strength, is either way the most worthless human being that can ever lead anything!”

  Vincent smiled and looked away.

  “Not only did he live like that, but he also expected all his pupils to go through the same rigorous routines as well.”

  A few moments of silence later, the Zaatsu sat straight with both his feet now placed on the ground, and continued, “In order to give you that strength, he would take something away from you… he would take away your humanity.”

  “Oh, let’s not give him all the credit for that one, clown,” Vincent replied with a chuckle.

  Hugo checked his watch and decided to cut the conversation off. ‘It’s already been too long,’ he thought. ‘Let’s just get to the point then.’

  “Let’s just wrap this up,” he said. “It’s been long enough.”

  “So...” Vincent smiled. “You want to find Derek.” He closed his eyes.

  “Yes. I do.”

  “It’s impossible.” Vincent laughed, looking at Hugo.

  “What do you mean?”

  “No one can find him unless he wants to be found. Even if I tell you where he may be right now, he will sense you from miles out and would just get up and leave.”

  “We could teleport there…”

  “Where?”

  “Wherever he may be.”

  “No one knows where he is exactly. Best I can do is ask a few people and give you the country, province, or city where he would be.”

  “Who is he, really?”

  “I already told the torturists. He is a tongue-man – the best one you’ll find. If there is any info in the undergrounds about the remnants, he’ll know.”

  “So, what do you suggest?”

  “You’ve already made it very difficult for me, so why not a little more?”

  “Hmm,” Hugo smiled. “I like the sound of that…”

  “Take me along. Stay six miles out and use a shadow replacement to listen and watch through me. He knows me and will let me in.”

  Hugo nodded and said, “Well done.”

  Getting up quickly, thereafter, the Zaatsu removed the privacy spell, lighted out the fires, and walked straight out.