The tip of the dagger quivered in the air, pointing at the map in Lucian's hands. The Elder's words hung in the room like a death sentence—cold, final, and sharp.
"Be her hero... or her greatest disappointment."
Lucian's blood turned to ice, then boiled a second later. That wasn't a choice—it was a cage. A prison built from Elara's sacrifice, with bars forged from her hope.
"You think this is a game, you damned old man?" Lucian snarled, voice hoarse from the rage choking him. Every word scraped his throat like shards of glass.
The Elder slowly pulled back the dagger in a theatrical flourish. His smile widened, a grotesque crack on his withered face.
"No game, Lucian Aurelius. This is the destiny you chose," he replied, voice slick as oil. "The girl just sped it up. She gave you a grander stage for your final act."
Lucian crushed the map in his fist. The paper crackled like it could feel the storm inside him. Elara had sold her freedom to this devil—for him.
"She shouldn't have done that. Her stupid sacrifice won't change anything," he muttered, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
"Oh, but it changes everything," the Elder chuckled, savoring Lucian's anguish. "Now, every life you take in Cadogan will belong to both of you. Every drop of blood—proof of her love."
The word love was spoken like a curse, cruel and mocking. The Elder had twisted Elara's purest act into a blade meant to torment him.
Lucian slammed the crumpled map onto the table. His silver eyes—cold and sharp—locked onto the Elder's dark gaze.
"I will strike Cadogan. Not for her. Not to prove anything to you," he said, voice tight with pure hatred. "I'll do it because they deserve to die. They're Valerius' dogs."
A flicker of surprise crossed the Elder's face before that sinister grin returned. He liked defiance. It was more entertaining than blind obedience.
"Good. Hold onto that rage, boy. It's the only real thing left in you," he said, voice thick with grotesque approval.
Lucian didn't give him the satisfaction of a response. He turned and walked away, his steps heavy with purpose.
"Lord Cadogan is no fool," the Elder called after him. "His elite guard—the Silver Jackals—were trained to kill Heirs. They won't fall easily."
Lucian paused at the doorway, but didn't look back.
"Then they'll die hard," he said coldly, slamming the door behind him.
Inside his cramped room, silence rang louder than any scream. Elara's empty bed was an open wound. He could still feel her presence—faint traces of desperation and courage in the air.
He reopened the map, fingers tracing the estate's layout. Cadogan's manor was a fortress within the noble district—high walls, watchtowers, and likely dozens of Silver Jackals patrolling the grounds.
A suicide mission.
A soft, pale-blue notification blinked before his eyes, echoing his internal chaos.
[Warning: Abyssal Energy Unstable. Emotional Fluctuations Accelerating Physical Vessel Degradation.][Mental Stability: -7%][Recommendation: Consume High-Level Soul Essence to Stabilize. Targets like the Silver Jackals are optimal.]
The system didn't care about morality. It didn't care about Elara. It only cared about fuel—for survival. Ironically, to silence the monster inside him, he had to feed it.
"She chained you, Lucian," came Gem's voice—sweet, seductive, and poisonous. The Abyss entity whispered in his mind. "She tied hope around your neck like a leash. She wants you to be her loyal pet."
"Shut up," Lucian growled into the void.
"You know I'm right," Gem pressed. "Prove it. Burn Cadogan Estate to the ground. Leave no one breathing. Show her the monster she helped create."
Lucian's head throbbed as he closed his eyes. Gem pulled him one way—toward annihilation. Elara's sacrifice pulled him another—toward a prison made of her faith.
He couldn't be the hero she wanted. That man was dead.But being her greatest failure? That betrayal felt worse somehow.
To hell with both cages.
He opened his eyes. His resolve froze over into something jagged and cold. He wouldn't choose between their chains. He would carve his own path.
He would strike Cadogan.He would slaughter the Silver Jackals.He would rip out Lord Cadogan's heart.
Not as a hero.Not as a monster.But as Lucian Aurelius—the Broken Heir, here to collect a blood debt.
He checked what was left of his gear—a cracked dagger, worn leather armor. Not enough. He needed an edge.
His gaze fell on the coin pouch the Elder had tossed him. The insult still burned—but now it was a tool.
He snatched it up and stormed out.
The Elder hadn't moved an inch, still lounging in his chair like a spider in its web.
"I want intel. Patrol routes, structural weaknesses, guard shift schedules," Lucian demanded, throwing the coin pouch onto the table. The sound it made was pitiful.
The Elder glanced at the pouch with disdain.
"Information like that costs more than pocket change, boy. The girl paid with something far more valuable," he sneered.
"I don't care what she gave. I want my share of the deal," Lucian snapped. "You want me to succeed? Give me the tools."
The Elder studied him for a long moment, black bead-like eyes calculating.
"You've got fire, I'll give you that," he finally said, pulling a scroll from beneath his robe. He slid it across the table. "Here's the patrol schedule. But there's one thing you won't find on there."
Lucian grabbed it, eyes narrowing. "What?"
"Lord Cadogan has a pet," the Elder said with a sly smile. "A tamed Darkness Creature. Locked in his underground vault. They call it The Warden. His last line of defense."
The thought of a nobleman controlling a creature of darkness made Lucian's stomach turn. This dome was more rotten than he'd ever imagined.
"That Eternal Contract Elara signed... what did it say?" Lucian asked suddenly. The need to know eclipsed his pride.
The Elder's smile turned sadistic.
"She pledged her soul to me. Bound by blood. If she betrays the contract—or if you die before vengeance is served—" he paused, savoring the moment, "—her soul is mine. Forever."
Lucian's world spun. This wasn't just about freedom. Elara had gambled her eternity on his success. She'd shackled her fate to a vengeful monster like him.
Rage erupted inside him—at the Elder, at Elara, at himself.
This was no longer just revenge. This was a race against damnation.
"She'll never belong to you," Lucian said, voice cold as death. It was a promise.
He turned and walked out, the scroll in hand burning like molten lead. Every step weighed down by a sacrifice he never asked for.
That night, the noble district felt different. The air was thick with the stench of wealth and hypocrisy.
From the roof of a crumbling building, Lucian gazed at the grand Cadogan Estate. Crystal lights glowed from its windows—false warmth in the cold night. Above the gates, Cadogan's sigil—a silver wolfhound—stared down at him, proud and arrogant.
Below, the Silver Jackals moved in perfect formations. Their polished armor shimmered in the moonlight. They were the iron symbol of the system that had shattered his life.
Lucian inhaled deeply, lungs filling with tainted air.
Gem's voice returned—not as a whisper this time, but a cold truth.
"They all must die. For you. For her. For us."
Lucian didn't argue.
He pulled up his hood, shadows swallowing his face until only two silver eyes gleamed with unholy light.
Tonight, he wasn't carrying Elara's hope.Nor the Elder's hatred.Only himself.
He wasn't here to save his soul.
He was here to make sure no one else ever owned hers.
With a silent leap, he vanished into the night.