Before the shadows. Before the god. Before the pact... there was me.
"People called it paradise. I called it prison."
I grew up wrapped in velvet lies and golden chains.
They praised me. Bowed. Smiled.
And yet, I could always hear the truth hiding behind their teeth.
"He's not fit for the name."
"His father was a lion—he's just a cub."
"Soft. Weak. Spoiled."
They thought I didn't hear. But I did.
Everyone played their part in that performance of perfection. Yet through the fog of falsehood, two lights had always guided me: my closest friends.
Reina—a firestorm in human form. Her words could cut deeper than swords, but behind them was someone who still believed in good.
Elior—silent strength. Always watching, always knowing. He made the world quieter just by being in it.
They meant everything to me. And somehow, they never saw how deeply they meant to each other.
Both in love. Both blind to it. Or maybe they did—just too scared to admit it. Both pretending. Both waiting for a sign.
Only I saw the whole picture. Only I knew, I had seen the way Reina's eyes lingered when Elior walked away. How Elior always remembered the smallest things about her. They thought they were hiding it, but to me... it was as loud as thunder.
Then came that night.
The night everything ended... and began.
The moon hung low, bleeding silver onto the city. I had run—barefoot, heart thundering—away from the mansion. Away from expectations. From whispers. From myself.
I sprinted through alleyways drowned in moonlight. Past empty stares and hollow buildings. Into the woods.
Into silence.
That's when I heard it.
Footsteps behind me.
I stopped—right where the trees give way to the cliff.
And turned.
Uncle Ross.
My father's closest friend. Trusted like blood.
Jimmy.
His son. My senior. A brother in name only.
"Zaire," Ross said, too calmly. "You don't have to do this."
Everything in me screamed run.
But I stepped forward.
He hugged me.
"Why are doing this to yourself think about your parents "
He silenced ,
"Your father was a fool," he whispered. "You're just a bonus."
I felt a very sharp Pain
I was stabbed.
I gasped, eyes wide.
A blade, straight into my back.
Cold. Precise.
Jimmy's laughter rang like a broken instrument. "Took you long enough to crack."
Ross whispered in my ear, "Your father was always a fool. So easy to charm, so hard to kill. You? Much simpler."
I gasped, barely understanding—until Jimmy joined in. Laughing. Kicking me. Over and over.
Ross stabbed me again. And again.
Pain blurred everything. My body collapsed. My voice cracked with every breath.
Until… nothing.
But in that silence, under that cursed moon, I said the one thing I knew with every shattered piece of me:
"I will return. And I will end you both.
I'll kill you both.
I'll burn your names into ash.
This betrayal…
I will avenge."
---------
Zaire blinked.
Back in the present.
Beside him, the god of death—Anubis—walked with a strange grace.
He was muttering to a small jackal beside him. Something about ear symmetry.
They had returned to the mortal realm. The air was cold, quiet. Forest shadows stretched endlessly.
Anubis paused. "You sure about this? No last-minute breakdowns? Screaming into the wind? Dramatic poetry?"
Zaire gave a slow, tired look. "...No."
"Good." The god turned serious, for once. "This war—this revenge—it's yours. Not mine. Keep it secret. No one must know where your strength comes from. And don't forget the deal.
Zaire nodded with another tired look in his eyes. "Yes, .....boss."
The jackal beside Anubis yipped.
"Oh, right," Anubis said. "I almost forgot."
The jackal's form shimmered, twisting like smoke and shadow—until standing before Zaire was a majestic black dog, sleek and elegant, eyes glowing with a golden shimmer.
"Meet Rael," Anubis said. "He's more than a pet. He's your guardian. Treat him well, and he'll be your shadow."
The dog walked to Zaire and sat beside him without a sound.
Zaire glanced at Anubis. "You're not coming?"
Anubis's cloak melted into the night. "Where I go, shadows follow. Where you go... is where this tale truly begins."
And then—he was gone.
Zaire stood there, beneath the same cursed moon that had once witnessed his death.
He looked at the dog.
Rael blinked at him, tail flicking lightly.
Zaire sighed. "...What do I even tell them? 'Hey, I'm back from the dead. Want to kill a few traitors with me?'"
Rael just stared.
"…Thought so."
They started walking—toward the mansion. Toward the storm.
Toward vengeance.
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End of Chapter Two
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