Two days after the battle, the Ice Clan Branch HQ of Z City lay in ruins. The frozen rubble and scorched debris of the battlefield told the grim tale of the hot fight where one Kai Ciphera and one Trevor Cryoson clashed. Kai still remained tired after helping Celine Cyroson and Pyrus Cyro clear the debris and repair whatever they could. Direct descendent of the Ice Clan, Celine was naturally appointed as the new branch head. The burden was hers to bear, and though a rightful title, she didn't think she would have to shoulder it so soon. While standing before their eyes, commanding the rebuilding effort, Kai walked toward her.

  "Celine," he called.

  Dust rolled off her sleeves as she turned to him. "What?"

  Her expression was unreadable. "I thought you should know… Trevor didn't die from my attack."

  "What do you mean?" Celine frowned.

  "The Amplification Pill he took—it was what killed him. The side effects were too much for his body to take." Kai explained.

  Celine was silent for a moment.

  Then suspicion darkened her eyes.

  "Amplification Pills aren't easy to obtain. Only someone with a definite underground connection could have supplied these."

  "Do you have any idea who might've given it to him?" Kai asked.

  Celine drew in a long breath, and her jaw tightened. "Only one name comes to mind… Giorgio Guido."

  Pyrus flinched. "You mean the kingpin?"

  Kai raised an eyebrow. "I met him once during the Mercenary Tournament, but who is he?"

  Celine crossed her arms. "Giorgio Guido is one of the most powerful and untouchable criminals in Z City. The government's been trying to take him down for years, but his money, influence, and sheer manpower make it impossible. Even with a 10-million Credit bounty on his head, no bounty hunter has been able to kill him."

  Kai smirked. "Ten million, huh? Didn't know he got a bounty like that. If I knew back then, I could've taken him down."

  Celine gazed at him, almost burning him with her stare. "Don't get any ideas, Kai. Taking down Giorgio isn't as simple as fighting some cryokinetic soldiers."

  Kai chuckled half-jokingly. "I wasn't planning on it… yet."

  Celine sighed and shook her head. "Either way, we'll deal with that later. Right now, you should come with me."

  Kai tilted his head. "Where to?"

  "The Mystic Array."

  Celine led Kai through the deeper chambers of the Ice Clan HQ, passing through heavy iron doors that were accessible only to Clan Heads. The atmosphere thickened with frigid air, and traces of ancient energy were felt from the walls.

  At length, they entered a dimly lit chamber in which a vast circular platform faintly showed ethereal runes.

  "This is the Mystic Array," Celine explained. "Every Clan must have one, as required by the government. It allows our people to refine their abilities and level up faster. The higher your level, the harder it is to grow stronger—but this array helps accelerate the process."

  Kai stared at the glowing formation, intrigued. "So this is how you guys get stronger."

  Celine nodded. "You can use it anytime you want, Kai. Consider it a gift."

  Kai sniggered. "I won't say no to free power-ups."

  Without another word, he walked into the center of the array and sat down, shutting his eyes.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Almost immediately, the array bathed him in a rush of energy as his abilities began to receive eldritch refinement far beyond normal.

  Celine watched him quietly for a moment, then turned to leave.

  "Take your time. You're going to need all the strength you can get."

  She departed the chamber, leaving Kai to meditate alone.

  While Kai was meditating in the Mystic Array, the scene shifted to Don Giorgio Guido's grand villa—the most feared and untouched crime lord of Z City.

  Inside his heavily furnished office of mahogany wood, Giorgio Guido sat in high-back leather comfort, a cigar lazily smoldering between his fingers. Across from him stood John Igna, the fiery and ambitious leader of the Fire Clan, his face dark with a vengeance.

  The two men locked their eyes upon each other for a nonverbal exchange of power and intention.

  "So, you want to buy Amplification Pills?" Giorgio asked, his voice smooth yet dripped with amusement.

  "Fifty pills," John replied.

  A slight lift came to Giorgio's brow. "Fifty? That's quite a lot... even for a man of your standing."

  Giorgio smiled at him, taking another slow draw from his cigar, "Ah... So this is about Kai Ciphera, isn't it?"

  John's eyes flashed with rage as he said that name. "That bastard humiliated me. I will not let him go unscathed."

  Giorgio chuckled, flicking off the ashes onto a golden tray beside him. "Revenge, huh? An expensive obsession, Young Master Igna."

  He gestured to one of his men, who stepped forward and placed a sleek black briefcase on the table. The man carefully unlocked the briefcase with a soft click to reveal rows of small metallic-red capsules—the infamous Amplification Pills.

  "Five thousand Credits per pill," Giorgio said. "Fifty pills. That brings us to two hundred and fifty thousand Credits."

  John snapped his fingers, ordering the soldier next to him to place another briefcase on the table, one stacked with neatly arranged cash.

  "The money's all there," John said coldly. "Now, hand them over."

  Giorgio leaned forward, staring at the briefcase full of credits with a glint in his eyes.

  "Pleasure doing business with you, " With a nod, Giorgio signaled his man to slide the briefcase of pills across the table.

  Without a moment of hesitation, John grabbed the briefcase, turned on his heel, and marched out of the villa without another word. His footsteps echoed through the marble hall into the darkness of the night as he was consumed with the one single thought of destroying Kai Ciphera.

  Once the door clicked shut, Giorgio reclined in his chair, still grinning at the sight of the money.

  "What a fool," he whispered while chuckling.

  A shadow shifted beside him. Giorgio's Consigliere, Niccolo Stewart, stepped forward and leaned in, whispering something into the kingpin's ear.

  The smile on Giorgio's face faltered.

  "So Trevor's dead, huh?" he muttered as he stood from his chair and turned to view the massive window behind him.

  The city lights of Z City glimmered and twinkled before him, but his concentration lay on something else.

  "Who killed him?"

  "From what I’ve gathered, he was defeated by an unknown masked fighter... but it wasn't the battle that killed him. It was the drug that you sold him."

  Giorgio took a long, slow pull on his cigar, exhaling once more against the cold glass, his breath clouding for a moment. "How poetic, " he mused.

  Niccolo continued. "With Trevor gone, the Ice Clan of Z City is significantly weakened. This is an opportunity to start moving in from the shadows."

  Giorgio raised a hand. "No."

  "We still have to wait," his gaze pinning Niccolo.

  Niccolo frowned. "May I ask why?"

  Giorgio tapped his cigar against the ashtray. "Trevor had been in talks with the V City Ice Clan Branch before his death. If they decide to take action, we can't risk exposing ourselves too soon. We need to see how they react first."

  Niccolo thought for a few moments and then nodded in agreement.

  Giorgio reclined back in his chair, a slow, devilish grin creeping over his face. "Besides," he said, "We already have the Fire Clan in the palm of our hands. With John Igna and his men relying on our pills, they'll dance to whatever tune we play."

  He chuckled lowly, satisfied with himself. "All we have to do... is wait for them to burn themselves out."