Diego sat inside what he had named his makeshift office, leaning back in a wooden chair, his boots resting on the edge of a nearby table. The air was thick with the smell of cigar smoke, a faint haze hanging in the air. His eyes were sharp, dark, and calculating as he stared into the shadows, deep in thought. Across from him sat Mateo, one of his most trusted aides, who seemed more nervous than usual. He had seen Diego in many moods, but tonight there was something different, something darker."You know," Diego said, his voice low and contemplative, "I’ve been watching Emilia closely."Mateo’s brow furrowed, unsure of where this conversation was going. "Emilia, boss?" he asked carefully. "What about her?"Diego’s gaze remained distant, as though he were seeing something beyond the room. He stroked his beard, his fingers brushing through the coarse hair slowly. "She’s been going down to the dungeon to feed Andrew."Mateo’s eyes widened in shock. "What? Emilia? Feeding the captive? Why

The cold stone walls of the dungeon closed in on Andrew. The air was damp and thick with the scent of rot. His wrists were raw from the shackles that bound him, and his head was heavy from frustration. He sat against the back wall of his cell and rested his head on his knees, as his mind raced but his body was still limp with exhaustion.Suddenly, a faint hum broke the silence. Andrew didn’t need to lift his head to know what it was—who it was. A soft blue light flickered in front of him, announcing it's presence. It was Valkyron, materializing like it always did—unwanted and at the worst possible time.–Master...–Andrew clenched his jaw and stayed silent, ignoring the soft, insistent voice of his system. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Valkyron. Not now. Not here. His pulse quickened with anger, but he forced himself to stay still, his eyes fixed stubbornly on the floor.–You can’t ignore me forever, Master.–A muscle twitched in Andrew’s cheek, his fists tightening. He had spent

Emilia froze the moment she heard Diego's voice. She felt her heart sink into her stomach and a new wave of fear washed over her. "Diego!" Emilia breathed as she turned to face him, her eyes bulging in surprise. Her face had turned white—as if she had just seen a ghost—but what she had seen was worse than a ghost. "Hey, Emilia," Diego said casually and went to put his arm around her shoulders as he turned to face Andrew. Sweat had broken out from every part of Emilia's body as she stood under Diego's hold. "You know you've done a very good job sweetheart," Diego said to Emilia, peeling his eyes off Andrew and resting them on Emilia while he pinched her cheeks playfully. "I never would have known that it would be this easy for you to make Andrew trust you completely." He said, the slick smile still on his face. Andrew's words were stuck in his throat as he looked from Diego to Emilia. "She's a great actor, you know." Diego's gaze fell on Andrew whose insides were burning with rag

Patrick felt his heart sink into his stomach as he read through the text message. His fingers began to vibrate—his eyes glued to the message on the screen. 'My speculations were right!' Patrick screamed inside his head. He looked around the grand living room as if expecting anyone to rush toward him and grab his phone from his hand. He quickly slipped the phone back into his pocket and began to make his way out of the house. Lisa came down just in time to see Patrick making his way hurriedly out of the house. "Patrick, where are you rushing to all of a sudden." Lisa inquired, a frown on her face as she descended the stairs. Patrick spun around to see Lisa approaching him. Lisa couldn't sense that something was off. He was actually so strangely and despite the cold temperature, his clothes had been soaked in his own sweat. She had barely left him for ten minutes to grab her phone from her bedroom. "Uhm, I'm sorry I can't wait anymore, I have to catch up with something." Patrick s

Andrew made his way through the labyrinthine-like corridors, beckoning to the voice that called out his name repeatedly. He stopped to listen assuring themselves that he was moving towards the right path where he could hear his name emanating from. When he was sure that he was headed in the right direction, he continued in his tracks, making his way in the dark, with the images in his head being his only leading light. After a mile of endless walking, Andrew didn't seem to hear his name anymore. "Where are you?!" Andrew asked and then paused to process what he had just said. He didn't think that he was asking the right questions. "Who are you?" Andrew finally asked after a moment of thinking. Everything seemed to go at a slow pace, including time, he felt that he had just walked for about an hour when in fact, it wasn't even barely up to a minute. "Keep walking dear child, we are just over here!" The voices echoed through the walls causing Andrew to fa on his feet, trying to bloc