*****Still, inside the vast, quiet dining hall, the three brothers remained frozen in place, staring blankly in the direction their father had just vanished.They stood in stunned silence for a long time, until finally—“He… he just left… like that?” Aldric stammered, suddenly exchanging bewildered glances with his brothers as if the scene they had just witnessed was one that could never be real.Once again, the hall returned to silence after Aldric’s question, until finally;“Usually, he would tear into us and make us kneel outside all night, even for the smallest mistake,” Roland muttered, still half-expecting the old man to storm back in, refusing to believe he was gone just like that, but when not even his shadow could be felt, Roland scratched his head in bewilderment.“This… what we just did was a major screw-up. Is he really going to leave us unpunished?” he inquired, his voice dazed and filled with confusion.Like his brothers, he had braced himself for a punishment se
*****Contrary to what the three brothers initially believed, their father, the elderly master of the Blackwood family, hadn’t actually left as he’d pretended to. Instead, he had remained concealed just outside the hall, positioned in a blind spot, waiting to see if his sons had come to any realizations of what he had done.“To think I can’t even keep such a small detail from those brats,” he murmured, letting out another deep, exasperated sigh as he recalled how quickly they had guessed the reason why he failed to punish them.Recalling all this, the old man stood in silence for a moment before finally, a small, helpless sigh emitted from his throat as he muttered softly, “How could I even bring myself to punish them when I was even more shameless tonight?”His gaze grew distant as he thought of how close he had come to losing control tonight, nearly executing Xavier after he had realized that he could no longer bring him closer, and had Cassandra not unwittingly intervened, he m
*****“Hmph! So much for a ‘reputable first-rank family’!” Xavier suddenly snorted, muttering with disgust as he strides down the brightly lit Blackwood villa path.Although he had been walking for what felt like ages—over twenty minutes now—he was barely halfway to the estate’s gate. Not that he noticed, since his thoughts had been tangled since leaving the dining hall, seething with rage."To think that miserable old man would even consider attacking me despite the fact that I haven’t even asked for any explanation and instead, giving them such a priceless technique even though his sons had poisoned me!” He snorted, his jaw tight as he kept moving, each step simmering with contempt and unbearable rage.Xavier was exceptionally livid at this moment, reliving the twisted memories of his time within Blackwood walls. From the sneers and unhidden hostility from the sons, who looked at him and acted as if he were a cockroach they couldn’t wait to squash, to the poisoned meal, to Cassa
*****“This would also serve as a great reminder to stay cautious of where I go and what I eat from now on, since as much as my immunity may be a blessing, it could just as easily become a curse if word got out.” Still strolling the quiet street which only contained security guards of the Blackwood, who were patrolling the place, Xavier finally mumbled to himself.His thoughts had already calmed down enough now, and considering the danger that night had nearly brought him, a flicker of unease and fear flashed in his eyes, recalling Grandpa Zev’s stern warning to him before he passed on.With a sigh, he brushed the beads of sweat from his forehead, an involuntary shiver crawling up his spine as he imagined himself becoming prey, torn apart for his immunity.….By now, Xavier had already put some distance between himself and the villa which housed the dining hall, almost at the gate.With his thoughts finally clear, he looked ahead, and seeing that he still had some steps to cover
*****As soon as the truth dawned on Xavier, he found it extremely difficult to believe it.Who… who would beat up someone so old like that… and why?” he muttered, stunned, recalling the gentle driver who’d shared his own story to advise him earlier.Xavier continued standing there, the cell phone still pressed to his ear, listening to the relentless sounds of violence on the other end.Finally, his fists clenched, anger sparking through him, and unable to bear it any longer, he ended the call, his lips pressed tightly together.“No matter his offense, why would anyone brutalize such an elderly man to this extent?” he growled, his anger and irritation mounting.And with this, he paused for a tense moment until eventually, he murmured, “The call may have been accidental, but I did tell him to reach out if he ever needed me. And since he has… I have no choice but to grudgingly help him,” He sighed, trying to justify getting involved with the old man’s business since it was the num
*****In one of Riverton City’s most forsaken slums, where rows of ramshackle homes stood, neglected and decayed. Without electricity, drainage, or even the slightest decent roads, exuding a stench of decay and despair.Although it was currently very late into the night, with most of the other parts of the city asleep, this pitch-black street that hadn’t felt the presence of electricity in the past few years was currently alive with people.In front of a nearly collapsing, patched-up wooden house, a group of weary adults gathered, each clutching a flashlight in their hands, their faces heavily contorted with pity and horror at the grim sight presently unfolding before them."Argh! This... this sight is unbearable!" suddenly muttered a worn down, poverty-stricken middle-aged man, with only one functional arm, the other hanging crippled and useless beside him. His jaw tightened in frustration, voice thick with helpless anger.“Why? Just why does God allow such an injustice and horr
*****Although God’s Time had driven like a man possessed, fueled by his wife’s despairing call and prayed desperately against all hope that he wouldn’t be too late, he had, unfortunately, arrived, only to find out that… he was a moment too slow.That’s right.He had arrived just in time to witness the horrifying scene of his frail, helpless wife, savagely beaten by the landlord until she collapsed and fainted.The scene could be said to be the scariest he had ever witnessed in his life, a sight beyond nightmare—a blend of terror, heartbreak, and disbelief, unlike anything God’s Time had ever thought he would ever witness.He had literally frozen in place for what felt like an eternity, his body locking into place as if turned to stone, paralyzed as the scene replayed in his mind over and over, searing itself into his memory until… he had snapped and lost it.Yes, he had lost it.Despite being known for his calm nature and aversion to violence, God’s Time had felt a surge of ra
***** "Please… please, sir, let my husband go! He’s going to die!" A frail, battered woman with graying hair abruptly pleaded, her voice laced with desperation as she crawled forward, her knees scraping the rough ground, and nonstop tears streaming down her face. Though traces of her former beauty still lingered beneath the scars of hardship, she was now a shadow of herself, worn down by years of suffering. This was Selene, God’s Time’s wife, a woman once known for her resilience and grace. At this moment, however, she appeared utterly devastated, shattered, and teetering on the brink of collapse. She seemed broken, helpless, and terrified, with her hands trembling hysterically as she knocked her forehead repeatedly on the cold, hard, and unforgiving ground, pounding it until blood seeped from her brow, mixing with the dirt as she pleaded over and over. But the elderly man standing before her—a bloated, graying landlord with a fresh bandage wrapped around his head—remained as c