Itachi Yaiba gently floated down and Ezra waited, alert from attacks from anywhere.
He couldn't be surprised. His Aura extended in every direction, including underground.
Right now, there was no need for him to do anything. He only needed to hold his ground and give Red and Olivia ti. Ti to put so much needed distance between them.
He'd heard things about Itachi Yaiba but he was confident in his ability. He wasn't the sa Ezra that had fought with Jas Harlow. Now, he knew exactly what he was capable of.
As for Itachi, the City Lord was still the sa. Just as before, he radiated an Aura that seed physically oppressive. The only difference this ti was that Ezra had the sa Aura.
His skin was pale, almost unhealthily so and with his dark clothing, he looked like a wraith descending from the heavens.
"Ezra Matten." The man landed between Ezra and the golden coin's area of effect. "I rember you."
Ezra said nothing, watching the man. Itachi raised his hand and as Ezra tensed in preparation for a fight, the man rely snapped his fingers and the coin dropped to the floor, dispelling its effect.
"That's better." Itachi said, bringing both hands behind his back in a regal pose. Unlike Ezra who was wearing a glove, the man's sixth ringed sign, his hands covered in black scales were open to the air.
He tilted his head as he stared at Ezra curiously, his eyes lingering on the blindfold. "You can see , can't you?" When Ezra didn't answer, he continued, almost as if he was talking to himself. "Not with your eyes, no."
"I see." He nodded to himself. "It's hard to notice with all the extra energy in the air but it's there. Your Aura. That's impressive. I guess I was right after all."
Ezra frowned. What was he talking about?
"You want to know, don't you?" He chuckled, seeing Ezra's frown. "Don't worry. I'm not like those caked powders that sit on the council. I believe in sharing information."
He began pacing, his eyes always on Ezra. He might not be moving straight to battle but they both knew this was not a playground.
"Do you rember the day we t for the first ti?" Itachi asked.
Ezra's eyes narrowed as his mind pulled up the mory of the day he killed Griffin. The day he'd unlocked the gates to the Ascension Well and ascended to the fourth ring.
It was also the day he'd t Itachi Yaiba for the first ti and had his first taste at the receiving end of a Domination Aura.
"I see that you rember." Itachi chuckled, his eyes tracking every micro movent that Ezra made. "I should've killed you that day. In fact, if you were anyone else, I would've killed you. You might think it was Yuri's plea that saved you but it wasn't. It was ."
Ezra studied the pacing man, wondering where he was going with this.
"The mont I noticed you were a prince, I wanted to stay true to the mandate of the Society and kill you before you beca a nuisance but one thing saved you."
"My curiosity." Itachi smiled. "The mont my blood sang in warning, I knew that you were... different. I've fought princes before but you? You were just a princeling that posed no threat to and yet, my blood sang in warning!"
"And so, I spared you. Because I wanted to know if you were really the one. And now, with all that has happened, I know that you are." He paused before dropping the bomb. "You are Shadrach reborn."
"What?" Ezra blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Ha!" Itachi chuckled. "He speaks!"
Ezra said nothing, keeping his mouth shut even as his mind unravelled the information that Itachi had just dropped. He knew he was a descendant of the progenitor but Shadrach reborn? That was sothing else entirely. He was his own person, wasn't he?
"Let's not think too much about that." Itachi said, waving dismissively as if he had been talking about the weather. "After all, I already have my confirmation. But tell ," the man took a step closer and Ezra tensed, "nobody wants to hear what you have to say but I'll listen."
He took another step forward and stopped. "Did you really kill both Michelangelo and Jas?"
Ezra tilted his head as he watched the man through his Aura. Should he activate his Domination Aura and kill the man? No. From what he'd heard over the years, Itachi was valuable to one of the Elders, not to ntion powerful.
Rumor had it that he was on the cusp of ascending to the seventh ring. If Ezra answered truthfully, maybe he'll be able to call off the Warmongers. That probably won't happen but Ezra sighed. He was being asked for his side of the story. He'll be doing his family a disservice by not answering.
"No." He said. "I did not kill Michelangelo and Jas."
"Hmmm." Itachi humd as he tilted his head. "You're not lying." He said, surprised.
Of course, Ezra wasn't lying. Jas had killed Michelangelo. And as for the forr City Lord, he was still alive as a heart, having a not so good ti in Ezra's pocket dinsion.
"Very well." Itachi said, nodding. "I'll put in a good word for you with the powers that be."
"You're not trying to bring in yourself?" Ezra asked, his frown deepening. What was Itachi playing at?
"Well," the man shrugged, "that depends on you."
There it was. Ezra crouched in preparation for a fight. He knew this was going too smoothly. The man wanted sothing from him. Probably the secret of how he was able to impregnate his wife, Olivia.
"The council sent to bring you in, Ezra Matten, but I have priorities of my own." Itachi said. "I know secrets. Secrets from the days of old. So which the council will kill to keep a secret and others that others have not seen or heard but judging by that blindfold, I can tell that you've seen so yourself."
Ezra watched the man carefully. Was he stalling? Waiting for more reinforcent? But that wasn't the way the Society worked. They attacked all at once or nothing. It made them predictable.
"So, I have one simple question for you, Ezra." Itachi smiled. "Just a simple yes or no. All you have to do is answer my question and I'll leave without a fight. So, what do you say?"
Ezra answered imdiately. There was no need to waste ti if he could resolve this now. "Ask your question."
"Very well." Itachi straightened. "Did you change the weave?" He asked, his eyes fixed on Ezra with an intensity that would be terrifying to another vampire.
Ezra tilted his head, studying the vampire. He knew things that Ezra hadn't heard from others. Things that he'd thought buried by ti.
He knew of Shadrach and now, the weave of reality. The sa weave that had been changed by Ezra by the death of Nicodemus. He'd tampered with a single string and by mistake, spread a shockwave through the weave and changed it slightly.
"Yes." He answered Itachi.
The change to the weave might have been small and unintentional but its effects were anything but small.
"I see." Itachi nodded to himself. "Thank you for answering my question."
Then, he turned away from Ezra and walked to the body of the first Warmonger. He studied it for a mont before touching it, sending it into his pocket dinsion.
As he walked to the other body, he spoke. "You know, I have to thank you for whatever it is you did." He said.
"Now, the Law of Secrecy, the most abused vampire law, doesn't hold as much weight anymore." He crouched in front of the second body and touched it, putting it into the pocket dinsion. "It's kinda hard to punish vampires for using their powers publicly now, when there are unstoppable waves of powered humans appearing everyday and using their powers."
"Trust ," he smirked at Ezra as he walked towards the golden coin, "they tried stopping new powered humans. Didn't work. Especially since nobody can predict which human would awaken next."
Ezra watched carefully as he touched the coin, sending it into his pocket dinsion.
"They tried creating tattoos that would predict it but it didn't work. Like I suspected, the world works with different rules now." He chuckled, moving to the final item, the sports car.
"This is it." He opened the door and turned to look at Ezra. "Guess I'll see you around."
He got in the car and started it, reversed and began driving back in the direction he had been coming from.
Ezra stood there, watching as the City Lord's vehicle retreated into the distance.
Just who was Itachi Yaiba and what did he want?
With a sigh, he turned away. This wasn't the ti to be chasing mysteries. He had a family to take care of.
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