Ezekiel’s wife knew how important this was for them and didn’t mind that Ezekiel couldn’t make it She knew that he was doing this only because he cared She also believed that naming the child Randidly was a good idea
They never explicitly fought about it but Ezekiel couldn’t help but notice how wounded she was in the wake of surprising him with the name and watching his expression Ezekiel wasn’t even sure what emotions were clear on his face But they were true and they were honest They never spoke of it after
When their fight eventually exploded and they were divorced Ezekiel could have maintained a better relationship with his son who he called Rand
When he saw his son struggling with his own strangeness which Ezekiel privately thought was due to the boy being on the autism spectrum perhaps he could have intervened But rather than that Ezekiel believed that the world was a much better teacher than he could ever be In the sharp wounds left by bullies Rand would find armor or he wouldn’t very little Ezekiel could have done would have likely changed that
A part of him suggested that Ezekiel should feel bad for treating his son so callously
As Ezekiel rose to prominence at his company he was oddly dissatisfied with his current lot in life The positions above him were occupied by competent people who rose ahead of him and wouldn’t leave anytime soon Again he seemed stuck No matter how hard he worked he couldn’t force out anyone above him
That is he one day realized he couldn’t force anyone out by playing by the rules
He didn’t think twice about any of the hard decisions that he had to make after that
It was serendipitous in a way that the System would come right after he was named CEO of his company Because at that time he had accomplished his goals in 7 short years and now was left empty Finally his dream was realized the company was his But this wasn’t what he wanted What he wanted was to ride that high of the bitter hunger that let him slaughter his way to the top
Those bitter claws that had seemed so fragile and ugly had become masterful tools to dismantle another person His teeth had grown sharp In terms of empathy he ranked even lower than his autistic son
Normal people would have enjoyed being at the top
He didn’t It stunk of sloth and pride and those were not Ezekiel’s sins No he was gluttony and he wanted more
Was he surprised at his Class Obviously not And originally he had been very happy with it But eventually as time passed Ezekiel came to realize the astronomical price he had to pay in order to not have his stats regress One life a week was required Sure every time he killed someone he took their greatest Skill But he didn’t get any stats and he didn’t receive the PP that those people had He could only grind up his Skills the old fashioned way His stat gains were some of the highest Ghost had ever seen but it wasn’t enough
Ezekiel wanted more
And he would fight to take it
As Ezekiel followed Hank towards the source of the sound he winced feeling that strange otherness of the Class inside of him still complaining of hunger Truly Ezekiel feared Hank in a straight up fight and he didn’t think that Ghost would accept if Ezekiel arranged for an accident to befall the man he was too useful a tool to let go
No for now Ezekiel would need to find other ways to
He froze his jaw dropping A young man stood there kicking the ground and swearing to himself He was tall and athletic lean and powerful His black hair was cropped short only a few curls making it down to his forehead and around his ears But most noticeable were his eyes piercing and emerald and seemingly luminous even in the afternoon light
They were his mother’s eyes This was his son
Rand Ezekiel’s mouth moved without him even thinking about the action or what might come next All normal intelligence was smashed to the side by raw shock coursing through Ezekiel’s veins He was alive He was alive
They both moved appearing before each other like apparitions stopping about 1 meter apart both searching the other’s face and body for hints of how they survived To have reached this point both had gone through almost unimaginable situations Ezekiel had even felt he had lucked out in a lot of ways a friend hadn’t told him explicitly that the System would occur but was hosting a party and inviting over a lot of contemporary business leader Ezekiel was lucky enough to be chosen
For the first several hours the man’s personal guard protected them and they were informed about the System what little was known Afterall the forewarning had been exceedingly vague but it was enough to prepare some things Unfortunately they underestimated the power of the monsters that appeared and after the first few hours Ezekiel had to fend for himself It was a hard thing
To Ezekiel’s surprise his son seemed none the worse for wear even though his fitness made it clear that he was a fighter now and a strong one if he was a member of this party from Zone 32 If anything the kid was thriving
When Ezekiel realized that the silence was stretching he forced himself to raise his hand half meaning to wave half meaning to shake his son’s hand Neither gesture was sufficient to convey the raw relief coursing through his body but what else could he do You you look good
Instead of reaching out to take his hand Rand did something that completely floored Ezekiel literally Rand opened his arms and tackled him hugging him to the ground There was no malice in the movement so Ezekiel just let it happen But as soon as they touched Ezekiel wondered if he COULD have resisted The boy’s grip
it was sorta hard to breathe
There were only two one for each eye but there were tears on Randidly’s face I can’t believe I never thought I’d see you again
Ezekiel’s shock softened into warmth Although they weren’t particularly close they were blood He should have known that would be enough to keep their bond healthy Reaching out a hand Ezekiel planned to pat his son’s head even though he was probably 22 or 23 by now but he didn’t see his hand but the monster’s hand
He saw the hand of a man who framed or blackmailed coworkers to rise to the top He saw the hand of a man who had taken one life a week for a year His fingers were gnarled and blackened his nails were sharp and bloody His hand twitched and stop midair Deep in his chest Ezekiel felt a deep stab of fear
Ever since the divorce Ezekiel had pushed his son towards excellence hiding his feelings of pride for his son’s accomplishments for fear of making the boy complacent like he had been Could he truly let that all fall away and just connect with his son They had been so distant for so long
You are a coward Hank’s voice repeated and something in Ezekiel snapped
He didn’t want that stuck up cowboy to be right not about this not about his son
Hesitantly Ezekiel put his hand on Randidly’s head I’m sorry
Randidly looked up blinking then grinned Well it’s not like I was a great son Things were hard after you left But compared to all we are fighting against now that stuff feels a little small doesn’t it
Yea Ezekiel said feeling strangely overwhelmed and touched by the sudden intimacy between them now It would likely pass but this moment was a warm moment and Ezekiel wanted to stay here for as long as possible
For the moment even his hungry was quelled as though simply being in Rand’s presence was enough to sate him It was a relief
Chapter 501
As the two figures approached each other Hank eyed them both carefully Ezekiel because of the information he had just revealed to him and the young man because he was the obvious answer of who had yelled with such concussive force Perhaps his Skills related to sound or air pressure
When the two stopped and regarded each other for several seconds Hank could see the resemblance between them Strangely they were a demonstration of opposites even while sharing many features The young man was tanned and athletic while Ezekiel was thin and pale like a scholar The son seemed to burn with health and vigor while the father had pale skin and always had bags under his eyes hidden by his glasses The sun’s face was full of warmth and joy and the father hesitated fear clear in his frantic eyes