For the next few days Javier suddenly had a lot more free time to dedicate towards using his newest punching bag, his frustrations at failing to locate Damian seeping into every punch and kick he hurled against the blackened Leather of Jaspers armour. It just didn't make any sense, he had compelled Damian to tell him the truth during his interrogations and knew that he would never leave his companion behind even if it meant his own death, he was loyal to a fault and seemed overly protective of the younger man and yet there had been no signs of him anywhere.
Javier had gotten into the habit of throwing a handful of nails into empty pockets of space in the hopes of catching the brute by surprise with no luck so far, the only thing he did know was that he was still inside the building or at the very least he hoped so. Javier and his men had sealed all the known entrances and exits and had even used some reinforced alloy plating to cover any weak points such as the windows, which clouded Reserve in a deep shadow which only bolstered Javier's abilities even further but he still could not locate the pest, so he was busy letting of some steam.
Jasper was in a terrible state, his armour was scratched with clear marks of damage and blood now covering its once pristine surface, the exposed sections of skin around his body were covered in thick coatings of blood which had stained his skin in a reddish tone, unlike Damian he wasn't chained to a wall. Instead his hands were pressed together and nailed to the ceiling with one large heavy nail which left him hanging in the middle of the room, the blood covering the ground under his feet as he let out short breaths each time a strike slammed into him.
From what little consciousness he still had these days he knew something had happened, Javier was angrier and more forceful than before,, not even bothering to ask him the same repeated questions over and over again before assaulting in fact the man barely spoke at all, only muttering curses as he vented his frustrations. If it wasn't for the powerful armour Jasper wore he was certain he would have died by now but with every day his defences were weakening ever so slowly.
What's worse is that he couldn't even fight back if he wanted to, without the ability to move around his Aspect and unnatural physical prowess he had been gifted were inaccessible, his only action was to summon a memory but without the use of his hands he would have no use for it, so for now all he could do was wait, and hope that Damian was able to escape sooner or later, Jasper hated being repeatedly saved but in situations like this, there was very little he could do and Javier knew it
Javier had spent some time with Jasper until he inevitably wore himself out and decided to leave, taking his pair of guards with him, all he wanted was for Jasper to give up his mind and body to his cause, at the moment that offer was finally starting to sound pretty good even if the benefits were a little underwhelming.
Chuckling softly at his own stupid jokes was the only reason he was still able to hold onto his sanity, without them this whole experience would have driven him mad by the third or fourth day in this damp cellar. He looked over the isolated room with an expression of sadness, if he didn't do something soon then this may very well be the last place he ever sees. However no matter how many times he struggled in the past he couldn't break free of the Nail holding him in place and even if he could, he was in no state to be moving around, his body was barely listening as it was.
The room had looked how it had before, with mold growing on the cracked alloy walls where the moisture from the ground above had seemed in, the dried blood staining every surface with it having gone brown and rotten from age and the terrible smell was all but enough to put a strain on the senses, however something was different today as he looked towards the door as it was locked from the outside a strange yet familiar sight appeared before him. Jasper's eyes went as wide as possible as he looked at the man he suddenly slumped at the door, his body was covered in half healed wounds which had painted his skin with a sickly tone, his body had lost a lot of its mass in comparison to when they first met.
His army uniform was torn to shreds and soaked in blood and sweat as he looked up at the hanging man he pulled a single finger to his lips to signal for him to be quiet, Jasper was happy to comply with his friend's command, he was already happy enough to see the man alive even if he was in a state much like his own, but his face, there was something written in his expression, a deep look of shock and fear as he sat by the door with uneven breaths, the look of a man who has seen something that will haunt him for life but Jasper wasn't in any condition to be asking any questions.
So they sat in silence, Damian kept his head against the door in the event that Javier picked up on his location and had to hide away quickly by listening out for his movement and Jasper just hung from where he was studying Damian's expressions in the hopes of gathering a glimpse of what had happened. Eventually Damian stood up approaching Jasper quickly before whispering to him in a low tone,
"It's good to see you're still alive. I was worried that you had been… Never mind that, I promise I'll get you out of here shortly but they have locked the place down and you're in no state to fight."
He looked back at the door quickly before turning back
"Do you have the strength to summon the [Devourer's Sight]? I think I know a way of defeating Javier but I'll need its power to make it possible."
Jasper didn't say anything, his body was too weak for that but he searched inwards of himself and thought about the reward he was gifted upon destroying the Lesser Devourer, as the sparks appeared in the air beside him he recalled its description,
"A blade forged from the madness of a prince who longed to rule the lands his father had built, in the end his king consumed him too, soon Shadow arrived and banished the king to eternity, trapped beneath the watchful guise of the stars."
A strange one for sure, he had shared it with Damian before but they had little luck deciphering its meaning, the only insight they had was that from Damian's nightmare they knew that Shadow referred to one of the gods of the realm of nightmares. It was unclear about who this king and prince were or if they had truly existed, but their story no matter how brief made them both feel like there was little love left in the world, if a man would eat his own child, even if it wasn't literal, what would stop him from devouring everything.
Soon enough the gorgeous khandjar of shifting blue and green metal was woven into reality, Damian managed to grab it before a noise echoed through the chamber as the locks of the door opened and Javier, fully prepared for battle walked through, his helm still with the large crack covering its surface and the coiled Nail in hand burst into the room, but all he found was his prisoner, alone in his cell.
He knew Damian had been here, he swore that he had sensed his presence in here just moments ago and yet he was nowhere to be seen, that man's Aspect was by far the most annoying that Javier had ever encountered, how could he find someone or something which hid itself from the senses of others, no that wasn't totally right, it was more like he rejected the idea of being detected by others senses.
But in the end it wouldn't matter, he hadn't spent his time just waiting for him to show up, he had been planning, setting the stage for their final confrontation whether Damian wanted it or not, if he could not go to Damian, he would just force him to reveal himself. After hitting Jasper a few times just for fun he left the cellar and began his march up the stairs into the main hall, his guards trailed behind him with someone else in their grasp, the one who had failed in his duties a few short days ago, he had quickly given into Javier's charms and revealed he had helped Damian escape and for that, the punishment would be death.
They dragged the man into the main factory hall, with guards positioned all around the perimeter and around the higher floors near every window of Reserve. After this no man, woman or child no matter how strong will kneel before him, he would truly be a god after this day. Positioning the man in the middle of an elevated platform he forced him to his knees before shouting out,
"On this day, I declare that any and all transgressions against me will result in your death. This man before you is guilty of the heinous crime of heresy against his one true GOD! If there are any objections to my decision, make yourself known now, so that you may join this man in the afterlife."
The room went silent, no one would be foolish enough to oppose their leader no matter how badly they wished too, many wanted to turn away not wanting to watch the cruel treatment but the force within them compelled them to stare at the execution.
Javier looked around to see if any of his cattle would speak up, of course they would be too afraid to do so even if they had wished too, he lifted the Coiled Nail high and prepared to pierce the kneeling man's skull, the man could not speak for his throat had been crushed the day before, yet he tried anyway as he saw his life flash before him, he had wished he had never saved the man bound by chains from his imprisonment, he cursed Damian's name as his final act of life…or so he thought.
He had found himself some distance away, able to see Javier's weapon piercing the ground where he had once been now staring at him before he spoke,
"So glad you could join us Damian, I was starting to think you would let this poor cattle die to keep yourself safe, I was going to kill him earlier but I realised something, you never lied to me did you? When I had asked about your flaw you had told me exactly what it was, so I will ask something of you now, reveal yourself and face me or I will drown everyone here in a flood of Darkness, Okay?"
Javier stared at the space with eagerness burning in his eyes as he watched the air shimmer as the figure of a rather imposing man appeared as if from nothing holding a rather beautiful looking blade in one hand, Javier smiled as a sudden rush of movement spread around the factory floor as a sudden torrent of darkness spewed forth from nearly every surface as his body became shrouded in Darkness, as every source of light was hastily covered in a vile miasma.