It was already a week since the incident. The morning air was thick and oppressive as Lucian left his house, a faint weight pressing against his chest. He shook it off, or at least tried to, adjusting his suit jacket as he walked to his car. It wasn’t just the humidity that felt heavy; it was something that gnawed at him from the back of his mind like a faint hum of static he couldn’t shake. He felt as if he were being watched, though every time he looked over his shoulder, he saw nothing but empty driveways and silent, neatly trimmed-lawns. He slid into the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly, his eyes flickering to the rearview mirror instinctively. Empty. But the feeling didn’t leave. He let out a frustrated breath and started the car, the hum of the engine a temporary distraction as he pulled out of his driveway and onto the street. The feeling stayed with him as he navigated through the familiar city streets. It twisted his mood, curdling his thoughts and making
Xavier's resident.A taxi rolled to a stop outside.Xavier stepped out, stretching his stiff muscles, and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. It felt good to be back after his long business trip. For days, he had longed to be back home again and reunite with his family. But as he approached the front door, something felt different. He couldn’t quite place it.He unlocked the door and walked inside, he hadn't informed them beforehand as he had planned to surprise them. "Hello! I’m home!" His voice echoed through the silence. Frowning, he set down his bags and walked into the living room. Normally, Stella would come running to greet him, eager to tell him all about her latest adventures at school. “Daisy?” he called out. “Stella?” A moment later, he heard footsteps in the hallway, and Daisy, his wife appeared, wearing a faint smile but looking oddly tense. She gave him a quick hug. “Welcome back, hubby,” she said happily. “Thanks, love. It’s good to be back,” he said, a bit
Stella wandered through a vast, hollow cavern floating in the depths of space, illuminated by an eerie, pulsing red glow that leaked from the jagged cracks of nearby floating asteroids. Twisted trees loomed on either side of her. A cold mist seeped through the floor, swirling around her feet, as if the ground itself was alive and trying to pull her deeper into its clutches. In the shadows, she could make out a figure, a familiar shape moving with quiet, determined steps. He was following her. It was almost a comfort, but something about his presence here felt wrong, out of place. “Stella!” His voice called out, echoing eerily in the depths of the void. It was the voice she knew so well, deep and steady, with a warmth that used to make her feel safe. But here, in the oppressive darkness, it was strained, laced with something she couldn’t place. “Stella, wait!” She quickened her pace, navigating through the thorny undergrowth. “You don’t belong here! Please, just go back to your f
Stella’s cubicle stretched across her desk and illuminated the scattered paperwork she hadn’t yet managed to sift through. She felt cold and disoriented. The nightmare from the previous night hovered over her, as real as any of the files she was supposed to be focusing on. “Stella?” a voice broke through her haze, and she looked up, blinking to see her friend, Jane, the receptionist, giving her a concerned glance. Stella forced a small smile, realizing she'd been staring blankly at the same page for who knows how long. Jane didn’t press further, only leaving a fresh stack of documents on her desk before hurrying off back to the lobby. Stella exhaled, rubbing her temples. As much as she tried to shake it off, unease from her dream clung to her sending her heart racing that she found herself flinching at the slightest noises in the hallway. It was around noon, and Stella was still in a daze when Lucian appeared at her desk. He wore an expression that held a hint of worry. “You
Xavier approached Grandma Rosie's house house with a growing sense of dread. The house sat at the end of a narrow, overgrown street. It was quiet, unnervingly so. The silence pressed against him as he approached the cracked pavement leading up to the house, and he took a deep breath before stepping forward. This was the only place he knew he could find her. The house looked abandoned. The windows were dark, and the paint was peeling as if no one had lived here in months. Weeds curled up around the edges of the porch. He shivered, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. “Stella? Hello. Anyone home!” He called softly, hoping his voice would draw her out, but the silence answered him back. Xavier moved toward the door, noticing it was slightly ajar. He nudged it open and slipped inside, his gaze sweeping the room. The faint scent of dust and old wood filled his nose as he took in the emptiness. The furniture was untouched but covered in a layer of dust. He walked slowly, eyes sc
The throne room was silent. Shadows pooled around Lucifer’s onyx throne, where he sat with grim patience. His fingers tapped against the armrest, echoing in the quiet chamber as he waited for his minions’ return. Suddenly, the air rippled, a shiver passing through the silence, and with a flash of shadow and brimstone, his minions appeared, kneeling before him in their dark forms. He leaned forward, the intensity of his gaze burning through them as he awaited their news. They looked hesitant, but a serpent-like demon with flickers of red light in his eyes gathered the courage to speak. “My lord,” he began, his voice trembling, “we have found him.” Lucifer’s eyes blazed brighter, their fire illuminating the cavernous throne room in a sudden, brilliant glow. He rose, descending from his throne with powerful, measured strides. As he approached the kneeling figures, his presence seemed to grow, filling the room, pressing down on them like a weight. “Speak,” he commanded, his voi
Stella tightened her coat around herself, feeling the cold bite of the autumn air as she walked to her grandmother's house. The path before her was mostly empty, lined with bare trees, their branches casting dark, reaching shadows under the moonlight. She walked briskly, listening to the crunch of fallen leaves beneath her feet, the only sound breaking the silence of the evening. Yet, as quiet as the path was, Stella couldn’t shake the sensation that she was not alone. At first, it was just a tickle in the back of her mind early in the morning as she was going to work. She’d brushed it off as nothing more than her own imagination. But as she continued, the feeling only intensified. Stella’s heartbeat quickened. The sense of being watched wrapped around her prickling her skin with unease. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing nothing but darkness. The empty road stretched behind her, the shadows unmoving, silent. But the feeling didn’t go away. Her pace quickened instinctively, he
Lucifer’s message cut through the dark like a knife, his words heavy with an authority that left no room for misinterpretation. He called upon his most trusted minions, and his voice echoed across the realms, which signified the gravity of his command. “Listen very well,” his voice resonated, each syllable imbued with fire. “The girl has lingered at my son’s side for too long. She is a threat to my purpose.” His tone darkened, sending a chill through his followers. “I want her gone, removed from his path by any means necessary.” Lucifer’s words were like a binding decree, impossible to ignore. His minions understood the urgency. "Charge!" They scattered immediately, each driven by the resolve to fulfill their master’s will. They knew that failure was not an option. ~~~~~~~~~~ Lucian adjusted his cufflinks as they stepped out of the sleek black car, casting a sidelong glance at Stella. Tonight, she looked nothing short of extraordinary. Draped in an elegant midnight blue gown
It was around five after she had taken a nap when Stella came down."Master said you should meet him in his study," a maid informed Stella when she asked for him. "Uncle Xavier?" she called hesitantly at the door of the study room. "Come in, Stella," came his deep, commanding voice. Stepping inside, Stella found herself enveloped in the same suffocating air she had felt the night of her accident, something unearthly only that it felt pure and harmless. To her shock, the room was filled with strangers, her uncle's friends who had welcomed her earlier on. A dozen figures sat on the sofa, their expressions filled with excitement and expectant gazes. Each exuded an aura of power, their very presence unsettling. Stella faltered, her voice shaking. "Who… who are all these people? What’s going on?" Xavier motioned for her to sit in the high-backed chair opposite him. "Come, Stella. There is much to discuss." Her legs carried her forward, though her mind screamed for her to run. She sa
Stella sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her hair, though slightly disheveled from the days spent in this sterile environment, framed her pale face. Today marked her discharge, and she was eager to leave behind these white walls.Morgan stood by the window, arms crossed as he surveyed the bustling hospital grounds below. He was ever the most overprotective sibling. The hired car was already waiting downstairs, and he'd triple-checked her prescriptions, ensuring everything was in order."You ready, Steh?" Liam asked, turning toward her. His voice was soft, but the concern etched in it was unmistakable.Stella offered him a small smile. " Very ready. Let’s get out of here before the doctors change their minds."Morgan chuckled and moved to grab her bag. "No one’s keeping you here anymore. Let’s go."As they exited the hospital doors, the crisp air greeted them, carrying with it the faint scent of freshly cut grass. Stella inhaled deeply, relishing
The city was quiet in the early hours of the morning, the silence heavy as if in anticipation of something violent and inevitable.Lucian moved like a shadow through the streets. Tonight was the day when he was going to have his rival under his palms. His target was a man who was willing to use every dark means possible to subdue him. His destination lay just outside the city’s limits, where opulence and influence masked ruthless neighborhood. The mansion, a fortress of wealth, stood only a hundred meters from where he stood.~~~~~~~~~~~ The grand staircase groaned softly under Lucian’s boots as he ascended, a sharp contrast to the eerie stillness of the mansion. The door at the end of the corridor was slightly ajar, revealing a sliver of the dimly lit room beyond. Lucian pushed it open without hesitation. Inside, Lucas lay sprawled on his massive bed, his chest rising and falling in oblivious slumber. Lucian stepped inside the room, his presence a shadow against the muted gl
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE.Lucian stood at the door of the dimly lit warehouse, watching his prey. The man sat tied to a chair in the center of the room, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his face, his eyes still closed from the sedative his men had injected him with earlier. Lucian watched him, his gaze cold and detached, the man before him was once his trusted right-hand man, his assistant. Ben. Lucian allowed himself a moment to take in the sight. The last time they had faced each other, it had been in a storm of gunfire, in the alley behind the warehouse around six months ago. Lucian could still feel the ghost of pain in his shoulder from the bullet that had torn through him that evening. The wound had mostly healed, but the betrayal remained, raw, like a wound that refused to close. Tonight, he would make Ben understand. Not by killing him, no, death would be too quick, too merciful. He wanted him to feel every bit of pain, that he would wish to die, but
Lucian sat at his desk, staring at the papers scattered across in front of him. The clock on the wall ticked steadily, but his focus remained elsewhere. His pen hovered over a document that required his signature, yet his hand didn’t move. The silence in his office was suffocating. He glanced to the right, where Stella's glass-walled office used to be. It had been cleared out two days ago, but in his mind, Stella was still there, where her desk remained untouched in the corner. He could almost hear the soft clicking of her keyboard, the gentle hum of her voice as she fielded calls and the way she’d occasionally glance at him when she thought he was not looking. Now, there was nothing but emptiness. Lucian closed his eyes, trying to focus, but it was no use. Stella had left a void, one he wasn’t sure anyone else could fill. He missed the way she’d hand him his coffee just as he realized he needed it, the way she’d slide a perfectly organized stack of documents onto his desk second
The Eternal Spire.In a boundless, luminous realm, the room pulsed with a life of its own enclosed by shiny black stone walls that shimmered faintly with a silvery hue. Whispers of forgotten voices curled around the edges of the space, merging with the flickering light of spectral flames that hovered above a massive black table at its center. Xavier sat at the head of the table, his sharp, angular features partially obscured by the fluctuating light. His pale eyes bore into the twelve individuals seated before him, each a master in their own right. The guardian's protector, his elite task force, was a collection of talents unmatched in the mortal realm. "Silence!" Xavier's commanded, his voice cutting through the murmurs of conversation, a chilling authority in his tone. The expanse responded, muting the otherworldly whispers, making the silence more oppressive. The assembled figures straightened in their seats. Tonight the tension in the air was suffocating, and their leade
Xavier sat at his favorite corner table in the cafe, a newspaper in his hand, lost in his routine:of skimming headlines, reading editorials, and occasionally pausing to linger on a story of interest. His casual scan of the pages was abruptly interrupted by a photograph on page four. It was a striking image that seemed to jump out at him, capturing his full attention and sending an odd shiver down his spine. The photograph showed two people: a beautiful young woman with dark curls and piercing eyes looking like an angel fallen from heaven, only that she really was an angel, and next to her was a man, who in his sight was nothing like a human, very handsome to be one. Xavier squinted his eyes at the lady, he couldn't have mistaken her, it was Stella, her niece, or so she thought. A wave of unease washed over Xavier. His hands trembled slightly as he held the paper closer, studying the image. His mind raced. As he stared, Xavier felt something stirring deep within him, an ine
Stella squinted her eyes. The harsh, sterile light overhead pierced her vision, making her wince. She groaned softly, feeling a sharp, dull ache pulsing across her face and around her torso. Every movement seemed like a hassle to her. Her mind was foggy, as though wrapped in gauze, but fragments started to come back to her.The gala. The highway. Lucian.Her breath caught, and her fingers reflexively gripped the sheets, clinging to them. Images flashed through her mind, the hum of the road beneath them, Lucian calling her name, his hand reaching for her, the explosion, and then darkness.“Stella?”She turned her head slowly, her gaze settling on Morgan. Her brother’s ocean blue eyes were wide with concern, his face pale, etched with worry. He looked like he hadn’t slept for days, dark circles shadowing his normally sharp features. His hand rested on hers, his fingers trembling slightly.“You are awake,” he said, his voice thick with relief. He tried to smile, but the worry in his eyes
Lucifer’s message cut through the dark like a knife, his words heavy with an authority that left no room for misinterpretation. He called upon his most trusted minions, and his voice echoed across the realms, which signified the gravity of his command. “Listen very well,” his voice resonated, each syllable imbued with fire. “The girl has lingered at my son’s side for too long. She is a threat to my purpose.” His tone darkened, sending a chill through his followers. “I want her gone, removed from his path by any means necessary.” Lucifer’s words were like a binding decree, impossible to ignore. His minions understood the urgency. "Charge!" They scattered immediately, each driven by the resolve to fulfill their master’s will. They knew that failure was not an option. ~~~~~~~~~~ Lucian adjusted his cufflinks as they stepped out of the sleek black car, casting a sidelong glance at Stella. Tonight, she looked nothing short of extraordinary. Draped in an elegant midnight blue gown