Umbra shot up as he regained consciousness. His body was immediately racked with pain causing him to halt his movements temporarily. The once hooded man found himself bandaged and in a dimly lit room with no recollection of how he had gotten there. The last thing he could remember was telling Folorunsho their next encounter would not go in his favour as he was rescued by the hooded stranger.
Speaking of the hooded stranger, Umbra was still confused about who that man was. As though he was waiting outside, the man in question walked into the room, his face still hidden behind a hood.
"Glad to see you're awake," The stranger said as he walked in.
Umbra lunged to his feet and pinned the man against the wall. He manifested an energy blade through his fingertips and pointed it towards the man's throat.
"That's no way to treat the man who saved you,"
"Who are you?" Umbra said.
"A mysterious benefactor who is intrigued in seeing how far your cause can go," The stranger replied. "As for a name, you can refer to me as Zaru,"
"Saru?"
"Zaru," He corrected. "Please do your best not to confuse the two again. Now, why don't you release me? We have things to discuss regarding the destruction of your government, no?"
Begrudgingly, Umbra released his grip on the stranger and extinguished his blade. He did not trust this 'Zaru', but he could not deny what he had done for him. Had he not intervened, Umbra would be in police custody and his revolution would have failed.
The two left the room and into the rest of the space they were currently inhabiting. It was some form of underground bunker that seemed to have been built at least a century ago. Umbra was surprised to find the rest of the Ebon Shroud were here as well. He counted them with a glance and found there were only 100 members left. Not even his strongest members were able to make it out of the Helix Centre.
"I managed to tangle up the rest of your friends for you," Zaru said as the two walked. "You're welcome by the way,"
"Why are you helping us?" Umbra asked.
"Would you be satisfied if I said I'm acting on the kindness of my heart?" Umbra replied with an expressionless stare. "I guessed as much,"
"I do have my personal motivations for why I'm helping you and the Shroud, but you don't really care about what they are and I don't care to elaborate on it. What you should be concerned with is what you plan on doing next,"
"There is no next action," Umbra muttered. "The majority of our force has been captured and our bombs have been rendered useless,"
"So is that it?" Zaru asked. "Is that how fickle your desire for change is? Are you going to put a halt to your ambitions just because of a simple roadblock? That's a load of crap!"
Umbra punched the closest wall to him, leaving a crack in it from the impact. His hazel eyes glared at the masked man in front of him.
"What would you have me do?!" He yelled. "Should I stake the rest of my people's lives for a cause that is no longer feasible?!"
All the members of the Ebon Shroud stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to their leader. Murmurs began to break out amongst a few of them as they wondered what had him so riled up. Umbra did his best to regain composure. This was not the time for him to show weakness. Not when his group was at its weakest.
"If I didn't think there was something you could do, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of rescuing you, now would I?" Zaru said. He turned to face the rest of the Ebon Shroud. "If I didn't think there was something you all could do, would I have brought you here?!"
"Do not forget why you came here! Did not come here to wreak havoc on Shandel, or to make a change?! a change in a system that does not care whether you live or die, so why should care about the lives of those who propagate that system?! Until your last breaths, the Ebon Shroud will be that necessary darkness! The night that ends the current system, and fades to the rising light of a new age! An of the people!"
The Ebon Shroud was whipped into a frenzy. They began cheering and chanting, ready to risk their lives for their cause. Zaru gave several small bows and turned to face Umbra. The man wore a wide look on his face, bewildered by what he just witnessed.
"Your people aren't giving up," Zaru said. "Who are you to do so?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Use me," The hooded stranger placed a hand on his chest. "I'll be the medium through which your goals will be achieved,"
"You say that, but there is no way for us to take out all members of the government like we could have at the Leaders of Pedtro Conference,"
"Your Helix Centre bombing may have failed but it succeeded at one thing- it got all your targets in one place,"
"So what?" Umbra scoffed. "You want us to kill every government under the cover of the night? We'd be discovered before dawn,"
"Why waste our time when the sky falling on them would do the trick?"
Umbra's eyes widened.
"You don't mean..."
Zaru placed a finger over his mouth and tapped it softly.
"But that would kill everyone in Shandel!"
"You were more than willing to let everyone in and near the tower die in your initial plan. What's a dozen more eggs? A million deaths are a statistic, no?"
Zaru patted Umbra's shoulder.
"If you need explosives to get the deed done, just let me know you're ready. I know you'll come around eventually,"
The hooded stranger took departed, leaving Umbra alone to ponder the price of change.