Kozuna
So what… I'm just supposed to leave all the talking to Zara? I need to speak my mind…
Zara coughed lightly, covering her mouth slightly.
"The most important thing to say… is that Kozuna saved the city, as I'm sure you've heard. I admit, we knew of his curse before the attack; that much is true… However, we learned of his curse not even a few hours before the attack happened. Kozuna was in the same boat as us. He was unaware of his curse only hours before Yvira or I were… And he didn't lay waste to the city. That blame lies with the traitor Nazun, the man Kozuna defeated, with a bit of help…"
"Do you have any evidence to back up your claims?"
"I have evidence for some of it. Many of my people who manned the attack helicopters witnessed Kozuna fighting against Nazun, and… There is another person in this room who saw what happened, firsthand. Before my arrival."
Zara pointed straight to Helix, who quietly gulped, his eyes darting between his fellow councilors. Everyone in the room turned their attention to him as sweat slowly tricked down his already-glossy forehead…
"I… don't know what you're talking about…"
What?
"Helix, you're a member of the High Council. You shouldn't be lying in front of… Clan Lord Izanai, as well as the entire Ozukashi populace."
"Zara. Do you have any proof that I was there? The testimony of anyone that saw me?"
I didn't like Helix before, but now… It's clear just how much of a sellout he truly is…
Zara groaned, shaking her head.
"Another thing, Zara… There is evidence that goes against your claim about knowledge of his curse. We have proof that at a young age, Kozuna discovered his curse and killed his parents! The orphanage he was placed in hid this truth from the world out of fear the same thing might happen to them! But once the truth of his curse had been revealed to the clan, they came forward…"
The other five councilors all had tiny grins on their faces, watching Helix spout off lies…
What is Helix talking about? My curse was dormant my entire life until just recently!
Several cameramen were in the room, filming the trial and giving live footage out to the clan… Thanks to that, there was a sudden increase in volume outside the palace… Zara and Yvira glared at me without a second thought…
No way… No way they're lying on my name like this… I need to defend myself!
Though still bound, my fingers twitched, and I was forced to contain myself as much as I could…
"That never happened! I've never even met my parents! Show us your so-called proof!
"Once again, no need for exorbitant shouting." Izanai waved his hand dismissively. "Councilman Gio… please present the evidence…"
The lanky dude among the councilors, bearing his shiny silver cloak beneath brown hair and hazel eyes, took to his feet, holding a rolled-up document. He made sure to show off the official government seal that clasped the paper shut…
"This is the proof we have that you killed your parents, provided to us by the orphanage you grew up in..." Carefully removing the seal, Gio unraveled the document. "At the age of three, Kozuna Ozukashi discovered his curse abilities… He murdered his parents in cold blood, simply because they planned to put him in an orphanage… His parents were rightfully scared to have a cursed child living under their roof; it's why they wished to give him up... Attached is a picture of his parents, Avela and Doron. They were two people of high status who died under alleged mysterious circumstances. Their bodies were found long after death, when only their dried up blood and skeletons remained…"
"You guys are lying! What are you getting out of this? That never happened!"
"We also performed several DNA tests, just to be sure. They do indeed match as your parents. The others may not have known about your curse for long, but you sure as hell did, Kozuna…"
"There's no need to play dumb any longer, Kozuna… You're guilty and you know it…" Izanai uttered, sipping his water.
"It'd have been nice to know this happened, Kozuna…" Zara growled, turning away. "Now we might all be in serious trouble…"
By then, Yvira was trembling in her boots, staring at the floor without blinking…
"I… can't believe this…"
Does it even matter what I say? They're obviously trying to make me look evil…
"I couldn't kill parents I never even fucking MET! This whole trial is rigged so you all can execute me! If you were gonna do that, you could've saved me the public humiliation from the beginning!" I paused for a moment, briefly shutting my eyes momentarily. "Oh for fuck's- you guys aren't planning to kill me, are you? There's no reason to go to these lengths... You're the clan leader, you can just do whatever the hell you want... What are you playing at?"
Damn, that guy from Sand Tower was right. I'd much rather Izanai just straight up say he's gonna kill me, rather than all of this fucking bullshit...
"You're right. I'm not planning to execute you. You'll be the first cursed person to be put on trial and not be executed... a truly... historic moment. First, I will give my verdict for Yvira and Zara..."
Izanai stood up and took a couple of steps forward, letting his large garment fall past his knees.
"Zara and Yvira, you two are hereby stripped of your respective ranks. You will no longer be in prison, but you'll both be confined to The Primary until I give you full rights to travel again. Zara, you are to move your personal belongings from your lab to your house. You'll have twenty-four hours to remove everything, starting from the moment you leave the trial…"
Yvira let out a deep breath.
"Well, we got off easy, I guess..."
Zara nodded and sighed.
"Can't say the same for mister parent-murderer here, though…"
I never even knew my parents, Zara… Let alone killed them. But... there's no use in saying that, is there?
The guards readily freed Yvira and Zara, immediately escorting them away and leaving me in shackles... My vision was slowly growing blurry… Once Zara and Yvira were gone, though, Izanai was ready to continue.
"So... don't waste my time. You've done enough already, tell me what my undeserving fate is."
Izanai's mouth curved further into a smile.
"I'm glad you'll accept it like a man, not some pansy who'll grovel at my feet. That's respectable. You'll be kept in the highest reaches of Sand Tower. You'll be fed just enough food to sustain usage of your curse, and you will only see sunlight if the clan has a use for your… abilities..."
Sounds familiar to what that boy from earlier said...
"So, I'm a slave? What makes you think I'll even listen when you pull me out of my cell? Why not just kill me right now? It wouldn't make a difference to me at that point... Better yet, just give me a gun. I'll kill myself. Anything's better than slavery…"
"Oh please, quit it with all the self-righteousness. This isn't about you or me. I'm keeping you alive- which goes against my morals- but I can't keep you in the public. If you go haywire one day, then everyone could be killed. Besides, if we bring you out to respond to invaders, you'd be fighting to protect the people. If you truly are an ally to the Ozukashi, you'd listen instead of going against me. Don't you see? This is all for the sake of the people..."
I growled in frustration. Izanai was trying and succeeding at being manipulative. The shouting and screaming from the crowd outside had calmed down, then progressed to cheering. The people were happy. It seemed no one was upset that my freedom was yanked away. Izanai and his stupid High Council successfully painted me to be a villain…
By then, the physical pain in my body had dispersed; I didn't feel so sluggish anymore. I wanted to try and attack, but I knew fighting just then wasn't a good idea. It certainly wouldn't look good in the public eye at all. At the time, all I could do was reluctantly comply…
"I've given my final verdict. Now, escort the… employed prisoner… back to his cell..."
He's referring to me as an employed prisoner now? This is LITERALLY slavery with extra steps...
The guards dragged me out of the throne room on live television without hesitation. I turned my head, looking at the council. All of them were smiling, except for Helix. He was… unexpectedly looking sorry for me… Despite what he did…
...damn it all, this is not how the rest of my life is gonna be... One way or another, I'm gonna find a way out of that tower... Even if I have to leave this clan behind…
***
Civilians lined the streets yelling incoherent language, practically cursing me to death. I met eyes with Kaiten, Anari, Yvira, and Zara, who were by then all near one another. The public paid little attention to Yvira and Zara in comparison to me. But that was no surprise…
Much as I didn't want to be, I was the main event…
Wonder if Kaiten and Anari believed those lies… As bright as Yvira and Zara are, they both started looking at me like I'm a monster, just because of a curse and a well-timed lie… Wait… What's going on with Nikai..?
I couldn't even talk to my friends or try to clear my name. The soldiers tossed me back in the buggy without wasting a second… Surrounded by other vehicles, we took off right toward Sand Tower once again.
This is what I get for showing my curse to the public, huh? Lost my freedom and my friends. Guess I get to hear my cell neighbor yell at me all day… Whatever… Beats dealing with this bullshit all day…
I sat up in my seat, continuously bouncing around, thanks to the bumpy road we were traveling on. The ride alone was irritating enough with the chains jangling around violently, but the constant shouting of people with every turn we took just made it more unbearable…
"Murderer!"
"How could you kill your parents?"
"You should be the one dead!"
"Good thing Lord Izanai is locking you away!"
Why bother defending people... if they'll turn on you when they hear one thing they don't like? Did even one person stop to question it? Stop to think for a minute and make their own opinion? By the time the reinforcements arrived, the city would've been in ruins… If I wasn't there…
***
Upon reaching the prison, the guard escort brought me straight back to my cell without saying a word. With the quick removal of my bindings, while guns remained pointed at me, they shoved me back in my cell and promptly locked the door... I sat beside my bed, silently glaring at the elevator.
"So, lemme guess, they did exactly what I predicted?"
I shot a glance over to the side.
"Yep. First the public emasculation, then making me a… 'prisoner with a job,' fancy-ass title for a slave… It's not like I even know how to activate my curse… Still figuring this stuff out…"
The other dude sat beside his bed, mimicking my position a little with a head shake…
"Idiot… They just served your dumbass a five-course meal of supreme injustice… Don't tell me you actually want to please them. Are you even an Ozukashi?"
"Hell no, I don't want to please them. I… don't know what I want right now... Izanai made up some false accusation and then went ON to CREATE evidence... He used a governmental seal- which he stamps on papers his damn self... Everyone believed him... So now… I guess most of them see me as a killer…"
My neighbor laughed a little.
"Ah. The classic clan-wide humiliation. What did he use against you?"
"Nice choice of words, dick... Izanai said I killed my parents when I was little, but I never knew my parents. Then he said I knew of my curse since then, which is also a LIE. I only found out about my curse a few days ago... He's manipulating everyone... and even though they're all… hatched-faced nimrods... it's… not their fault..." My gaze flipped to the ceiling. "I don't plan on staying in this damn tower forever though… I've got goals that I can't accomplish if I'm locked up in here…"
"Well, what did you expect? The only Ozukashi who know the truth are the higher-ups. They can make up whatever shit they want… Good luck with breaking out. Even if you knew how to activate your curse, it's not like you can use it. Some device keeps curses from being activated on the top five floors. I've tried everything to escape. If there was a way out… I'd have found it by now…"
A slight smirk grew on my face.
"Do you know how to activate your curse?"
"Yeah, I do... That's partly why they're able to abuse my power... They just beat the shit outta me until I use it since I never cooperate..."
Practically jumping to my feet, I sprung over to the cell bars and held onto them.
"Teach me. Teach me how to activate my curse. I need to know."
"And why the hell should I do that? Just because you're in jail with me doesn't mean we're buddies. You're the only person to yell at. That's it. That's our relationship."
"Damn it, if I'm ever going to master this power… I need to be able to use it on command!"
My neighbor stood up and walked over to me.
"Tell you what... Get me to tell you my name, and I'll teach you how to activate your curse. Deal?"
I reached my hand through the bar, waiting for him to give me a handshake.
I'll find a way to master my new abilities… One way or another…
"Deal."
The other prisoner showed the slightest hint of a smile with a scoff, returning the handshake after pausing for a moment to scan my palm.
My situation had changed drastically in just a matter of days… Between my curse awakening, fighting against other curse users, my lack of knowledge on Nikai, the trial, and the apparent loss of my allies… I needed a new outlet.
I was pinning my hopes on the other inmate, not that it was bound to help much… With the anti-curse tech blocking him from escaping, I had basically no chance of getting out with my extreme lack of experience…
Though I was doing a good job of not showing it too much, I was pissed…
Izanai and his council... They were responsible for the circumstances I was in... Everyone was so quick to lie and judge, and not one person looked at me with remorse… other than Helix… despite him being one of the biggest liars in the palace… But Helix wasn't the main problem.
I'd been observant as long as I could, and the first person I'd seen wearing that silver cloak was also the one on the council happiest when he heard the verdict… Like he planned it.
Among the clan's leadership, he's the one truly in charge... The mastermind… Livian Ozukashi…