Tales slammed the first aid kit on the table, the sound is sharp and echoed in the quiet room. His lips are pressed together and his brows are slightly furrowed as if he's controlling something. He is indeed controlling his emotions. 'Just why did I do that earlier? My body react so much, I feel disgusted.' He know he shouldn't felt anything from that kind of act, yet there he is, arching his back that seems like he's begging for more. 'Damnit. What a whore.' he cursed in his mind. The last thing he needed was to let Raja see how deeply he was affected. That's why he's doing his best to hide his emotions. Raja who's sitting and leaning leisurely against the wall, didnât seem discompose in the slightest. His smirk widened as he sluggishly extended his injured hand toward Tales. Blood still dripped from his fingers, the red liquid staining the floor indicating how deep his wounds are. âTaking your time, huh?â Raja drawled, his tone is taunting Tales. âOr are you too busy thinking a
The days leading up to the ambush were slowly approaching and each day were filled with relentless preparation. Raja insisted on keeping the rigorous training, ensuring Tales knew his role to perfection. The two trained in the training room, its walls echoing with the sound of clashing weapons, hurried footsteps, and Rajaâs barked orders. Tales, despite his obvious disdain, threw himself into the drills. He absorbed everything Raja taught him about combat training with a sharp focus that even Raja couldnât mockâmuch. âYour stance is too rigid,â Raja remarked during a sparring session, deflecting Talesâ blade with his own with ease. Tales scowled, stepping back to reassess. âMaybe if my trainer wasnât so insufferable, Iâd improve faster,â he bit out, his tone is sharp as his strikes. Raja chuckled, parrying another attack. âOh, I think youâre doing just fine. Anger suits you.â Tales gritted his teeth, attacking again. Despite his irritation, he couldnât deny that Rajaâs instructio
The ambush was supposed to end cleanly. The team had scattered after the granary flooded, regrouping in pairs. Tales and Raja moved through the complex tunnels, the walls are damp and cold. Their path was lit by the faint glow of a single flashlight coming from Raja's watch, they can barely hear their footsteps because of the sounds of rushing water. Tales walked ahead, still gripping his dagger tightly. His thoughts are a mess and tangled. âYou shouldâve planned better,â he muttered, his voice echoing faintly. âComplaining again, Tales?â Rajaâs voice came from behind, still frustratingly calm despite the danger they barely escaped. âYouâre welcome, by the way, for saving your ass back there.â âI didnât need your help,â Tales snapped, though the memory of Danteâs bullet nearly put him to sleep forever was still fresh in his mind. Raja chuckled, a low sound that aggravated Tales. âSure you didnât.â Before Tales could retort, a faint sound caught his attentionâtoo faint that even Ra
As the group emerged from the granary, the night air greeted them with an icy chill. Tales let go of Raja the moment they were outside, letting the man stagger. For all he cares. The men who's fine without any injuries immediately positioned themselves in the periphery to guard and observe the surroundings incase an ambush will happen again. âSee? Still standing,â Raja said, spitting BS despite the blood seeping through his side. âBarely,â Tales retorted, brushing dirt off his hands. Raja side eyed him for doing that but didn't say anything. âYou shouldâve dropped back there and saved me the trouble.â âOh, donât pretend you didnât enjoy holding me up,â Raja teased, his smirk widening. "You're worried about me, that's why you came back." Tales stiffened, his eyes narrowing. âEnjoy? Youâre lucky I didnât just leave you to bleed out.â Tales didnât even turn around. â And come again? Worried?" He ask as if trying to make it clear that Raja really did say that. " Maybe I am... Worri
Fatherâs hand cruelly wrapped around Talesâ throat, lifting him without much effort off the ground. Tales gasped, his fingers burrow at Fatherâs strong grip as his legs kicked frantically in the air. âYou shouldâve learned your place,â Father hissed, his tone is frighteningly mad and full of monstrosity. âBut I suppose fools like you only understand pain.â Without waiting for a response, he slammed Tales against the wall. The thud echoed through the room as Tales let out a strangled cry, his face screams pain, a bead of tear fall from the end of his eyes, and blood trickling down from the fresh wound on his temple. Raja's men closed their eyes as their brows furrowed. They don't like how it is going but they can't do anything. They're afraid of 'father.' Raja stood sternly, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His expression remained cold and emotionless, but his eyes and jaw betrayed him. âNothing to say, Raja?â Fatherâs voice was taunting, his grip tightened more on Talesâ
The chirps of the nocturnal insects and the faint sound of waves were all they could hear from outside. The small room felt like a cage made to trap animals; its walls were cold and bare, the air is stuffy and suffocating. In the corner, a child sat curled up, his shoulders are shaking as tears streamed down his face. His sobs broke the silenceâsharp, irregular and the only noise in the cramped room. Near the door, an older boy sat with his brows furrowed and fists clenched tight. His eyes were filled with annoyance, and his patience was running thin as he looked at the boy who was crying. Clearly, the crybaby was from a privileged background. Judging by his clothes, he might be the son of a wealthy businessman. âStop crying,â he snapped, his voice sending a warning. âItâs not going to help.â He looked out the small window and saw that they were far from urban areas. This place was most likely isolated. Outside, gunmen patrolled, keeping watch for any signs of rebellion. The younge
Tales' heart fastly beats as Jake's words sank in. The room seemed to close in around him and the air became heavy with suffocating tension. He scooted back into the bed, trying to distance himself with the crazy person."Do you have a screw loose?" Tales muttered, his voice filled with disdain.Jakeâs grin widened, his eyes sparkle with a strange, unpredictable light. He settle himself casually on the edge of the bed, as if this was just a friendly chat. "Insane? Oh, Tales, what a harsh word. Canât we just call it... eccentricity? Itâs charming, donât you think?" He leaned closer, lowering his voice creepily . "I mean, who wouldnât fall for you after that feisty glare you shot at Father? It was mesmerizing, like watching a handsome storm roll in."Tales feel abhorrence towards him, his expression is twisting in disgust. "Donât you dareâ"Jake laughed by Tales reaction, throwing his head back, the sound is sharp and nettle.'How amusing.' "Dare? Oh, Tales, I donât need to dare. I jus
Tales' pulse quickened as Raja suddenly stepped into the room. Raja's face was so different from before. His face looked troubled. He had dark circles under his eyes, and it was obvious he hadn't been sleeping well. His face immediately filled with questions.' Why is he here again? What does he want this time?'But Tales squeezed his eyes shut, noticing the tension that had overtaken the room between Raja and Jake. 'Damn this.' The shift in atmosphere was insane, as if someone had cranked the AC to full blast. Tales stiffened, holding his breath. He knew Raja was trouble, but tonight, the man was pure menace. The way he looked at JakeâTales felt like Raja could kill him at any moment.'Yet what's with Jake? He's smiling even more widely.'Jake glanced up, his lips curving into that cocky grin. âWell, well, the prince himself. I was starting to think Iâd be the only one having fun around here.âDamn. Now, we're doomed!Raja didnât speak; he didnât need to. His lips pressed together, a
"Are you out of your damn mind?!"Tales blinked because of the familiar voice. He rubbed his eyes to get a clear view of who it is and when he confirmed who it was, he immediately turned his face away. It's Raja!âWhy are you... hereâĶâ Tales managed to rasp, his voice thick with the weight of everything unsaid, all the pain that had built up in his chest. "You should've just stayed hidden. You tormented me so much and now you appeared and act like a hero? If you don't love me anymore, then don't bother. Do you take me for a pushover?!"But even so... even if I am a pushover âI missed you.Rajaâs gaze softened for just a second, but it was gone almost as quickly as it came. He shook his head, his voice dropping to a more dangerous tone. âYouâre an idiot, you know that? You think drowning yourself in alcohol will bring me back? It wonât.âTales stared at him, his breath coming in short gasps. His mind reeled, trying to process everything. Raja was here. Raja was standing in front of hi
Hah. Hah. Hah. Tales stopped running in the middle of the road as he put his two palms on his thighs. He was out of breath and his sweating buckets. His heart was pounding so much from running and the information he acquired. 'Oliver Ortega, even now, you're still hunting me and making me miserable.'Does Raja knew? Why? Why would he want me to know that Oliver is my father? When he could just bury it for the betterment of us. Even now, the taught of Raja's disappearance seems to bury the weight of the recent information he just acquire.Call... I should make a callâOh.Tales crouch in frustration. He don't have a phone, and even if he had, be don't know Rajas personal number. Still, if he had, he could have ask his unanswered questions. Why hadnât he called? He couldâve at least sent a message, some sign that he wasnât lost to him forever. But he had vanished. Not just physically, but emotionally, disappearing without a trace, leaving him with nothing but the ache of abandonmen
Tales stand up and patted his pants before walking back inside the headquarters. He went into his room and find out that his belongings are still there. He clench his teeth. This hurts like hell. He may not want to admit it but Raja's disappearance leave a bitter taste. He packed his belongings but he stop midway when he heard that he's not alone. Who is it?Is itâIt couldn't be himâThe sound of footsteps echoed down the empty hallway of the headquarters. Tales immediately towards the terrace and looked down from above. His hand grips the rails tightly anticipating the person who's here but to his disappoinment it wasn't him butââTales?âHe blinked, caught off guard by the familiar voice. Then his vision become clearerââRia?âShe stood in the base of the staircase, a little out of breath, holding a paper bag in one hand and a curious look in her eyes. Her long black coat fluttered as she stepped inside. For a second, she didnât move. Then she smiled.âWow. Youâre really here.âTa
A Month Later.Tales had healedâphysically, at least. The bruises had faded, the wounds had closed. He hadn't been discharged, he was just given pain meds and instructions to rest to avoid stress. But resting was impossible.Because Raja never came back.At first, Tales had understood. He told himself Raja was busy. That he was handling his men, making sure they had shelter, rebuilding what was lost.But a week turned into two. Then three. Then a full month.No visits.No calls.No messages.Tales tried to ignore it. Tried to pretend it didnât hurt, that it didnât eat away at him every time he glanced at his phone and saw nothing.But it did. It really did.He hated how much it affected him.How much Rajaâs absence felt like a wound all on its own.Tales feels like waking up in the aftermath of a storm that only he rememberâwhere the sky looks calm, but everything inside him is in ruins. Itâs like carrying around a wave of silence in your chest, every breath echoing against his jumbl
The hospital was colder than Raja expected. Too white and too sterile. The scent of antiseptic seems to clung desperately to his skin, mixing with the dried blood in his body. He hadnât moved from his spot beside the bed since the doctors had taken Tales in.He will not leave. Not until Tales opened his eyes.If Tales were to... No. That can't happen. It shouldn't happen or else he'll really follow him to hell.When he had first stormed into the emergency room, carrying Talesâ limp, bloody body in his arms, the entire hospital had gone silent as if the scene they're witnessing straight out of the movies. The nurses had frozen in place, their eyes widening as they took in his disheveled state."Get me a fucking doctor!" Raja had roared, his voice slicing through the silence like a blade."Sirâ" one of them had started hesitantly."Put him into the bed. Now." One of the personnel that seems like a doctor shouted to gain the attention of the people who's in dazed and is hesitant to appro
Back to the present.The air smelled strongly of blood. It soaked the concrete of the building, pooling around the bodies of Jakeâs men, their throats slit, skulls broken, guts spilling out onto the floor. Raja stood among the massacre with his chest heaving and sweat mixing with the splattered blood that coated his skin. His blade dripped, each drop of blood falling with a rhythmic pat against the ground.Jake on the other hand sighed after his long flashback of memories. He's irritated of why he remembered that now. He look at Raja who's attention is not on him but on Tales. âYou really like him huh,â he mused, gazing towards Tales direction. âDidn't really know you like used products." He dissed.Raja flinches and his aura darkened, but after sometime, his facial expression is relax. "You can't get anything by saying such nonsense, Jake. You still have to die." He says while his focus was still on Tales. His body. His breathing even though it was shallow and faint. Too faint."Oh
Jakeâs resentment festered like an untreated wound.For years, he swallowed the bitterness, forced himself to held his head high in front of Oliver, forced himself to play the loyal unambitious son, even as something in him curdled and rotted with every passing day.He shouldâve given up. He shouldâve accepted it. Raja became Oliverâs favorite. Raja became the chosen one. Raja was the one who mattered.But Jake wasnât built to accept. He wasnât built to be cast aside. He was trained for survival. So if Oliver didnât see him as his sonâThen Jake would make sure Oliver had nothing left to see at all. If he couldnât be Oliverâs greatest creation, he would be his greatest failure.However, that alone wasnât enough to burn Oliverâs empire to the ground. Being a disgrace would only give a little to no impact towards Oliver and the organization. NoâJake wanted to carve it apart, piece by piece, while Oliver was still alive to witness it crumble.And so, he planned.He started with Victor.
Jake had always done exactly as he was told.From the moment he could walk, Oliver had shaped him like a bladeâsharpened his mind, hardened his body, stripped him of anything weak. And he had obeyed. He had followed orders. He had killed. He had smiled when Oliver wanted him to smile, knelt when Oliver wanted him to kneel, and suffered when Oliver wanted him to suffer. Because that was what a son was supposed to do.He was not loved.He was not special.He was a project. A tool. A thing to be possessed and used.Jake learned early that love was something you had to earn. That it wasnât given freely. That if he did everything Oliver askedâif he followed the rules, if he never mess up or doubt, if he obeyedâmaybe then he would hear something kind. Maybe then his father would look at him like he mattered. Maybe his father would look at him with love.So he obeyed.The first time Oliver threw him into a fight, Jake was seven. Small, underfed, shaking. His opponent was olderâtwelve, bigger
The night air was suffocating as Raja approached the entrance of Jakeâs hideoutâa rotting industrial complex left behind from another era. The rusted metal and broken windows appeared like coarse teeth in the dark. Raja's boots crunched over debris as he stalked forward, carrying a gun and a long knife in both of his two hands, his breathing slow and controlled despite the ache in his battered body. Bloodâdried and freshâclung to his clothes. He looked like a man crawling out of hell. Maybe he was.This was it. The end of the line.He passed the first perimeter silently, his blade and gun glinting faintly in the moonlight. Jake's guards had been stationed like cattle, unaware that the slaughter was coming.He was just announcing himself walking with his head held high, however seems like the security is too lax.Raja didn't waste time.The first man barely made a sound as Rajaâs knife sliced clean through his throat. The second caught the glint of blade too late, a gun halfway raised