Day IX-no. Wait... is it Day XI?
A different door each day would open, but only the masked man would ever enter. Since day four...or maybe six... the mysterious man would enter, tell Edward that he was a terrible person and force him to agree to his sins with torture. Dousing the young man's face in water seemed to be the most preferable method, but sometimes the stranger would resort to merely punching, kicking, or slapping the pained individual.
Edward agreed to whatever the man wanted. He had suffered without resistance for days. What was he supposed to do?! Clearly, this agony and misery wasn't sufficient enough for repentance alone. What else could he do?!
With a final punch in Edward's abdomen, the man left the room through a door different than the one he entered through. The wooden door closed and the sound of a lock being turned echoed in the emptiness of the room. The stranger had enervated Edward. He was afraid to sleep. He was afraid to deny the man whatever he demanded. Only once, had Edward considered that the man might actually bestow death upon him. The young man had blacked out from the frequent short breaths in between the cups of water being poured on his face, but the stranger resuscitated him only to continue with his torture.
The agonised individual looked down at his bare chest. The bruises; the cuts; the blood and filth...it felt just as bad as it looked. He looked absolutely savage. He felt savage... once every few days he was fed and watered like a caged animal. He was walked by his chain to a corner of the room to urinate and defecate in. Once a day the man would clean the filth. It was humiliating at first, but what did it matter? He had been stripped of his agency, his dignity, and his identity. Why care about anything? He was worthless. A waste of air. Of all the disgusting and foul matter that inhabited the room, he was by far below it.
"No."
"Why not?" Desider gawked at Adam.
"If someone sees you going to where Edward is, it'll give away his location. He's safe, I promise. No one will find him. He's actually happy and I think we almost have him convinced that Ludvig Maxis is a dangerous man." Adam smiled.
As much as Desider didn't like it, it was best for Edward. "Can you give him his homework, at least? Oh, I brought his book for him to read also." The simple blond gave the brunette man the stack of papers and "Old Heidelberg".
Bastian stepped through one of the doors in the back of the pub. He removed his mask and the black robe that covered his actual clothing. His face was hardened and stern as if he was mentally suffering from a deep and emotional burden. He walked over to the table Desider and Adam were seated at. Bastian snatched his pipe off of the table and frantically lit it. "Why didn't you leave those down stairs?" Adam awkwardly inquired of the tall and broad shouldered man. "They need to dry."
"They smell like they could use a wash." Desider fanned away the distasteful aroma. "Perhaps you should tend to that now?" Adam rhetorically asked Bastian who was intelligent enough to take a hint. With the black robe and mask in hand, the broad shouldered man left the pub.
"What are those clothes for?" Desider couldn't conclude their purpose on his own.
"Special rituals...um..like business meetings? Your father wears a white coat to show that he's a doctor, yes?" Desider nodded. "Well, those are what we wear to show that we are members of our organisation." Adam glanced over at Adolf. He didn't expect the petite man to add any valuable input, but Adam relied on the man's expressions when he lied. Adolf would laugh or snidely snicker if a lie or explanation wasn't convincing enough. At least, Adam could say that Adolf was of some use to him.
"What do they discuss?"
Adolf bowed his head and smirked, anticipating Adam's reply. "You're still a class three member. You can't know that yet. Even I don't know everything that they discuss. Bastian was probably requested personally by The Circle. Never ask anyone about their discussion with The Circle. It is extremely classified." Desider nodded, but he had stopped listening. He was bored. Since the Illuminati started to protect Edward, Desider would go to their meetings in the pub, have a few drinks, and talk to Adam about...almost anything. However, no matter how often the two gentlemen talked or how many topics they discussed, Desider always felt distant from Adam. As if he would never truly know who the man was. An almost indescribable distance. Like, never knowing the name of your best friend. Or perhaps it was more like having a friend who knew everything about you, but you knew nothing about them. Awkward, but worse.
Desider finished his drink as he watched the two men at his table converse. He wasn't listening, but he watched their facial expressions and hand gestures. They were arguing. Adolf scowled at Adam and slammed his hand on the table before replying heatedly to whatever Adam had said. Desider would always feel distant from Adam, but at least their friendship wasn't as discordant.