What struck Andrew the most was the blackened, swollen bruise blooming under her left eye.Andrew reached out and gently tugged at the edge of Emilia’s shawl, trying to get a better look at her bruised face. "Stop," Emilia whispered, her hand weakly covering the fabric, but Andrew didn’t stop. He pulled it back completely, revealing the full extent of the swelling and discoloration around her eye. The bruise was worse than he imagined—deep, ugly shades of purple and blue, spreading down toward her cheek"What do you think you're doing?!" She yelled out nervously. “You,” Andrew muttered, more in disbelief than recognition. “Emilia... Who did this to you?” Andrew whispered, anger simmering under his voice. Suddenly, Emilia jerked away from him, her expression shifting from sadness to frustration. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snapped, her voice sharp and defensive. She grabbed the shawl back from him and quickly tried to cover herself again, though her hands
"Tell me where it is so that we can go there." Andrew said with urgency in his voice. Emilia sighed and looked forward. She pointed toward the empty space in front of her. "Down that hall," she whispered, pointing toward a distant door with two faint silhouettes standing guard. "That’s where the source is. Two guards, always stationed there. We’ll have a small window between shifts, but it won’t be long." Andrew’s jaw clenched. "I can’t leave without getting into that room." Emilia turned toward him, her face pale under the dim light. "Andrew, this isn’t a game. If they catch us, Diego won’t just throw you back in the dungeon—he’ll kill us both." "I know the risks." Andrew’s eyes darkened with determination. "But I have to see it. If I don’t, Diego will always have the upper hand." Emilia shook her head, exhaling a shaky breath. "You’re so stubborn. I swear you’ll get yourself killed." Andrew’s lips curled into a grim smile. "Better to die trying than live as a pawn in hi
The air around Andrew thickened suddenly, as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. A strange buzzing noise hummed in his ears, growing louder and louder until the walls of reality blurred. He staggered backward, his vision twisting, then everything went black. When the world came back to normal, Andrew found himself standing in a realm that felt like a dream. Before him hovered Valkyron’s glowing, faceless screen, flickering like a pulse. –Congratulations, Master. You have acquired the key.– Andrew’s hand felt heavy, and when he looked down, he saw a sleek black watch materializing on his wrist. Its face glowed faintly with symbols he didn’t recognize, swirling and rearranging like a language waiting to be deciphered. "What’s this?" Andrew asked, stunned. –It’s a conduit. With this watch, you can tap into your powers now. Go on, try it.– Andrew raised his hand cautiously, the strange energy coursing through his veins. He flexed his fingers, and to his astonishment
Andrew’s feet hit the pavement steadily, but it was as if he were walking in circles. The streets were unfamiliar to him and that was when it dawned on him that he didn't remember his way back home. He stopped, looking around at the empty streets. It had been too long since he was taken. Too much had happened. His clothes were tattered, his hair unkempt, and his skin darker from days in the dungeon. He glanced down at the sleek black watch on his wrist. The symbols on the face glowed faintly, as if whispering something only he could understand. A spark of excitement surged through him. "I need to test this out," Andrew murmured. He closed his eyes and concentrated, picturing every detail of his house. He imagined himself standing right there, just outside the entrance. The earth beneath him shifted, and a strange sensation rushed over his body, like the entire universe folding in on itself. In the blink of an eye, the air around him shifted, and when he opened his eyes, He was
Lisa’s hands trembled as she cradled Andrew’s face, brushing away the grime and exhaustion etched into his skin. Her heart swelled with joy, disbelief, and overwhelming relief. "I still can’t believe it’s you," she whispered, caressing his cheek. "I thought I’d lost you forever."Andrew smiled, though it was a tired, weary smile. "I’m back, Lisa. I never gave up trying to come home to you and Dora."Dora, still perched on Andrew’s lap, clung to him like she would never let go. "Daddy, don’t leave us again," she pleaded softly."I won’t, baby. I promise," Andrew murmured, kissing her head. Lisa wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffing as she forced a smile through her emotions. "You’re safe now. That’s all that matters."But as she looked closer at Andrew’s battered body, her heart sank. The bruises on his arms, the cuts along his face, and the exhaustion in his eyes. "Andrew... what happened to you?" she asked, her voice cracking.Andrew exhaled, leaning back against the couch. The
The next morning was like no other for Patrick, he woke up with a serious ache in his head and a pain in his guts. The moment he got up and sat on the bed, he wondered what the cause of the pain was. "Ahhh my head ached so bad!" He said as he placed his hands slightly on his head. The pain was growing as the minutes went by and it felt like his head was about to split open. "I need to take some painkillers," Patrick said, getting up from the bed. He searched his room for his box of medicines but couldn't find it anywhere. He grew concerned because he knew that he had kept the box of medicines on the table that was close to his bed stand. When he had searched his room and he still couldn't find it, he decided to give up the search and just ignore the pain like it wasn't there. He made his bed and put his room in order before making his way to the kitchen to prepare his meals for the day. It took him a while to finish cooking. After he was done, he dashed into the bathroom to take
As Patrick sat back and watched as all the staff headed one at a time out of the door. He had to wait till they were out of the room before he made his way to the office. He had notified the people coming to meet him still that he didn't want to have any conversations with anyone until he got to his office and he was glad that they respected that. When they had all left, he stood up and turned to see the secretary still taking the last minute. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that he didn't see the need to call her attention, thereby distracting her. With calculated steps, he carried his suitcase from the table and made his way out of the conference room and into his office. He opened the windows for ventilation and settled down in his chair when he heard a knock on the door. Patrick looked up at the door wondering who it must be. "Who is there?" He finally called out but instead of responding, the person at the door just kept knocking. "Alright then, make your way in
Andrew was still getting used to his newfound powers. Each time he used one of them, it always felt like he was trapped in a dream world—he wasn't used to the fact that he possessed supernatural powers. Sometimes, the powers took over him and controlled his mind. Whenever he was asleep and saw places in his dreams, he always woke up to find himself in those places. It took him a while before he could stop transporting himself occasionally to the places that appeared in his dreams. Hiding the powers from people, especially from his family was the hardest task yet, he was only glad that he had not yet disappeared in front of Lisa, else she could faint from the sight or worse, she could suffer a heart attack and he didn't want any of that to happen. He could summon Valkyron whenever and wherever he wanted him to be and while he was alone in the room that afternoon, that was exactly what he wanted to do. He covered the watch whole with his palm, closing his eyes and imagining the scre