Immediately he left the knights fortress, he quickly dump all the previous clothes he was wearing into a trash container and took some replacement from the local laundry of the street.
Tom sat in the darkness of his small, shabby apartment. The moonlight barely filtered through the tattered curtains, casting long, ominous shadows across the room. His hands trembled as he stared at them, covered in blood, still sticky and warm from the night's massacre. It wasn't fear or regret that made them shake it was exhilaration.
For the first time in his life, he was in control with nothing holding him back
The knights, those symbols of power and oppression, had fallen to him. He had turned their own strength against them, and it had been effortless. No longer was he the weak and overlooked eldest son, the one deemed unworthy of the Crowley name. He was something else now, something terrifying, if only they knew who was behind that helmet.
The elder knight's voice echoed in his mind, the same voice that had tormented his dreams since he was a child. It was clearer now, sharper. Power requires a sacrifice. Are you willing to pay the price, Tom?
Tom clenched his fists, pushing the voice away. Sacrifice? He had already paid with his soul, hadn't he? His mother's blood had been spilled, his life shattered by the very people he had once called family. What more could this power demand from him?
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Tom froze, his breath catching in his throat. No one ever visited him here. It had been months since he'd cut off contact with his family, and his few remaining acquaintances do not even know where he lives. The knock came again, louder this time, more insistent.
Slowly, Tom rose from his chair and crossed the room. He paused just before the door, his senses heightened, his telepathic ability reaching out. Whoever stood on the other side had a mind clouded with fear. But there was something else—a flicker of hope buried deep beneath the surface.
Tom opened the door.
Standing there was the figure he used his mind control on, so he can bring deep information to him. a young man, barely more than a boy, with wide eyes and a nervous smile. His clothes were plain, but he wore the insignia of the knights—a trainee, perhaps. The boy's hands fidgeted at his sides, clearly unsure of how to proceed.
"You're Tom Crowley, right?" the boy asked, his voice shaking slightly. "I...I don't know but I just get the feeling I must find you, and I don't know why."
Tom raised an eyebrow, his mind already probing the boy's thoughts, searching for answers. But the boy's mind was closed, it was as if he was thinking nothing, blocking Tom's usual ease of access. Intrigued, Tom folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe.
"And why are you late?" Tom asked, his voice low and menacing.
The boy swallowed hard, glancing nervously over his shoulder before answering. "There's… there's something you need to see. The knights… they're planning something. Something big. And I thought—well, I thought you should know. I don't know why am telling you all these."
Tom's interest piqued. He had expected a trap, what if they found out the boy was under his mind control, but the boy's fear seemed genuine. Still, he wasn't one to trust easily not knowing the present circumstances. "Why should I care? The knights are always planning something."
The boy hesitated, as if searching for the right words. "It's about your brother."
At the mention of his younger brother, the only one who had ever shown him kindness, Tom's blood ran cold it was as if his humanity flashed in. His hand shot out, grabbing the boy by the collar and yanking him forward. "What about him?"
The boy's eyes widened in terror, but he forced the words out. "Your brother… he's awakened, not fully, but his powers are beginning to manifest."
Tom's grip loosened slightly, his mind reeling from the revelation. The power of the hero knight, he kept on seeing that vision for days but he had no idea about the message the vision was trying to pass to him. the ancient rival to the elder knight's, had awakened in his brother. He has known right from the beginning that the universe would also reincarnate someone who would match him in battle, and try and stop him, but he had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that it would never come to pass.
"He doesn't know yet, but I also know he wants to stop the person terrorizing the city. I also heard them whispering to each other, that his powers are very unique, more unique than your other siblings" the boy continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "But the knights do. They're training him, preparing him to take you down. They have also been investigating every corner of the city trying to fish the person under the Helmet out."
Tom released the boy, his mind racing. His brother, his only remaining connection to the life he once knew, was being groomed to become his enemy. The irony wasn't lost on him. The one person he had tried to protect would now be the one sent to figth him.
* * *
He had the chance to kill Chris that night but something got his mind out of it. Instead he channeled all the blood lust on all the knights present in the mansion that night. Bringing fourth a new era of fear.
* * *
"Where is he?" Tom demanded, his voice harsh.
The boy looked down, avoiding Tom's gaze. "I....I don't know. They've taken him somewhere secret, some where only few higher-ups knows, since they heard about your powers they and how you can read people thought, they had to make sure this one was secret has possible as they can. I was only able to overhear bits and pieces, but… they're planning something soon. I thought you should be warned."
Tom stepped back, his emotions a tangled mess of anger, rage, and something else—something he hadn't felt in years. Regret. He had known from the moment he accepted the elder knight's power that he would lose everything, but the thought of losing his brother… that was a pain he wasn't prepared for.
"Get out," Tom said, his voice barely above a growl.
The boy flinched but didn't argue. He turned and hurried down the dimly lit hallway, disappearing into the night. Tom closed the door, his mind churning with conflicting emotions.
Your brother is your greatest threat, Tom, the elder knight's voice whispered in his mind. He will come for you, just as the hero knight always has. The only question is—will you destroy him first? I told you before that love his every man's weakness. it is a decease that cannot be cured.
"He is not my enemy, and he will never be my enemy, and stop referring to him as the hero night you don't know that yet, stop concluding your own stupid facts. Love may be your decease, but not mine."
Tom clenched his fists, trying to block out the voice. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to face the inevitable confrontation that was coming. But deep down, he knew he couldn't avoid it forever. The hero knight and the elder knight were destined to clash, and this time, it would be him and his brother standing on opposite sides.
He sat back down in the darkness, his mind heavy with the weight of what was to come. The power he had embraced, the power that had given him the strength to take down the knights who had once oppressed him, now threatened to take away the last piece of humanity he had left.
But there was no turning back now.
The darkness was his, and he would wield it until the bitter end.
---
It didn't take the city long time, before they started giving him name, some calls him: the dark knight, and others calls him: The dark knight of justice.
Some of the awakened that were hiding, just to escape the confrontation of joining the knights faction. Begin to come out from their hideout causing ruckus in the city also, all in the name of "the dark knight of justice"
Why did they not join the knights faction if they pay the knights good money??
The thing is that! It's not every body that joins the knights faction that are highly welcomed. when joining the knights, at first they treat you well just to settle in, after some weeks some individuals would start regretting their decision.
They are four major class in the city:
Class X: This are known as the highest elites of the city, whose bloodlines has the most successful, and most strongest awakened individuals. Chris and Tom family falls into these category. And they are few of these family in the city, rather the entire world.
Class A:.....