Shalenpore Country ; Melbore City
In the center of this always moving and functioning city stood a mansion like a true art, carved straight out from a storybook.
It stood like a sovereign over its domain, a structure so immense that to call it merely a mansion would have been a blunt insult to its history and grandeur. The polished stone bore the weight of centuries, whispering stories of war, triumph, sacrifices, and adaptation.
At a glance, it was the pinnacle of classical refinement, with towering pillars, sweeping staircases, and ornate archways that belonged to a distant history. Yet beneath the elegance lay a mind, a purpose; this was no ordinary estate.
Every angle of its architecture was designed not only for beauty but for dominance. The foundation of this mansion could withstand more than just the passage of time, while the seamless integration of modern technology has transformed it into an unshakable fortress.
Security systems woven into the very walls that keep watch on everyone, hidden passages leading to places unknown, and a structure both welcoming and impenetrable in equal measure.
For those lucky or unlucky enough to step within its gates, it was more than a home where they could just take a stroll. It was history, power, and unwavering intent bound into the legacy of a family that rules more than one-fourth of this country.
This is the home of the Melbore family.
Step Step
In the hallway of this building, a man could be seen walking, his step purposeful; with every step he took, a pressure enveloped his surroundings, subtle but dominating, marking his territory like a predator.
His steps halted only upon arriving at his destination, a room whose door had been sealed shut for the past two days, with no expectation of it opening anytime soon.
Standing beside the door is someone who has just recently joined their little family, something that should have filled their life with a fresh breath of joy, but the one who is responsible for doing it has neglected her in such important times.
"Father," Anora said with a worried look in her eyes, which she tried to hide under her smile.
He did not speak for a few seconds but just observed his newly wedded daughter-in-law.
Her face had lost some shine since he first met her, and her hands had a few marks, probably from clenching her hands too hard. Looking at her worn-out condition, a slight anger appeared in his heart.
"Enough is enough," he thought.
"Anora," he acknowledged her greeting with a slight nod.
"You should go and have some rest," he said.
"But David may need me." Anora protested in a low voice.
"Don't worry about it; just go and rest." He ordered this time with a tone that accepts nothing except a 'yes.'
Before Anora could put up a weak protest against him, he interrupted her, this time in a much gentler tone, like a father speaking to his child.
"Just go, daughter; don't worry, I will speak with him," he continued with a determined tone.
"I think it's about time that he learns something from his father too."
Anora did not hesitate any longer because she knew that after everything he had said right now, any slight refusal from her would be an insult to him not only as her father-in-law but also as a family head of the Melbore Keepers family.
Someone who has emerged victorious from the recent war among the families and obtained the right to get their hands on a pivotal opportunity through his sheer intelligence and power.
He is William Melbore.
William keeps looking at the distant figure of Anora till she is no longer in his sight.
The moment he became sure that she was gone, his head snapped toward the door behind which his son was drowning in the echoes of loss.
He did not knock because he knew it was futile; instead, he clenched his fist and punched the door.
Thud
The moment his punch connected with the door, no unnecessary noise was produced, just a small sound like a very small stone had just bounced back from the door, but for William, it was enough.
The door, which was sufficiently stronger and steadier to handle a direct hammer strike several times, began to crack.
The cracks began from the part where the punch landed and kept spreading like a spiderweb with no sign of stopping until it covered the whole door and then crumbled down like a sandcastle.
Despite such a precise control of strength, William did not even glance at the crumbled door; instead, he moved straight inside the room.
The scene that came into William's view is nothing but a complete mess.
empty bottles of alcohol, an untidy room, every source of light in the room is either cloaked or destroyed, and the one responsible for everything is lying on the floor, his clothes unkempt, lips dry and cracked, and hands still clasping a recently opened liquor bottle to avoid breaking it.
Sigh
William shook his head with a sigh, disappointed by the way in which David is handling his grief.
William walked toward him with slow and steady steps, making his presence known completely.
When he reached near him, William crouched and took the bottle away from David's hand and started pouring it on David's face directly.
David's eyes opened abruptly; his brain could not understand just what was happening to him in his own home, the safest place in the country.
He tried to get up, but a hand pressed him down. He tried to scream, but the constantly pouring alcohol had filled his windpipe. He tried to force his way, but the hold did not lessen.
A feeling of drowning began to appear on him.
William watched with an indifferent face as David tried to get away from his grip.
He knew what David was experiencing right now, and that's exactly what he wanted, so he did not stop until the whole bottle got empty.
The moment William let David go, he rolled on the floor, desperately struggling to breathe like a fish just returned to water; tears had formed in his eyes, and mucus mixed with alcohol began to fall from his nose and mouth.
Cough Cough Cough
William did not let David stabilize; he grabbed David by the collar and forced him to face himself. His voice boomed with authority.
"David Melbore, look into my eyes."
His voice was cold enough to tear the fog of confusion looming in David's mind like a ray of light moving through a dark veil of night.
David was forced to meet his father's eyes that were glowing like a predator looking at his prey.
"Explain one thing to me, David Melbore: has this father of yours failed you in his teachings?"
William questioned, His tone requires answers because it's not a request; it's an order.
David remained stunned, words stuck in his throat, but William did not care.
"Answer me," William pressed further.
"No," David answered in a quiet voice.
"Then tell me, what the hell is this pathetic display of self-healing?" He did not wait for David's answer.
"Can you not see that your actions are negatively affecting those who care for you?"
"Will you waste your time just like right now even if I were to be killed one day, or will you move forward to protect what's precious to you and our family?"
In the face of this sudden barrage of questions, David cannot help but reflect on them, on his actions, how he ran back to his home along with Anora the moment he regained his movement.
How he never answered or explained anything to her but she understood everything on her own, and worst of all, how he neglected her in the past two days while drowning himself in alcohol, something that does not work on an evolved human like him.
He has really acted like an as#hole.
David cannot help but unconsciously lower his eyes in shame and guilt, but William remains merciless in his approach.
"Keep looking into my eyes," he ordered.
"Tell me, David, what rules this world?"
This time William's voice softened just slightly to express the importance of this question.
"Power,"
David answered instantly, because it's a point that not only his father taught him but something he himself had already experienced beforehand in front of that masked man.
"Good, at least you know this, and' I, your father, also know this fact much more clearly than you."
" That's why I have earned a chance for our family to achieve that absolute power, but..."
He did not continue his words.
David's breathing hitched as he listened to his father's words because he knew that if there was something that even his father, a peak third-level Evolved human and the head of the Melbore keeper family, called an opportunity, then it should be unique in itself, so he could not control himself.
"But, what, Father?" David asked.
"But after watching your pathetic act, I can feel that you are not qualified for it, not yet," William completed his sentence.
David ignored the former part and instead focused on the last words, 'not yet.'
"If that's the case, then I will prove myself to you, Father"
"once again, and after today I will never fall again"
" I promise."
David's voice resounded in the room, his tone filled with newfound determination and absolute confidence in himself.