*****Silence seemed to reign like a tyrant, suffocating the very air around the Myron estate at this very moment.It wasn’t simply quiet… it was unnatural, the type of stillness that seemed to mute the world itself, where even the wind dared not blow, and the chirping of insects ceased as if the earth held its breath.And yet, within that heavy silence, no one within the Myron family residence reacted. No one could. They were too overwhelmed, frozen not by fear, but by an overwhelming cocktail of disbelief, dread, and awe.Why?Xavier’s words.…Somewhere not too far from where Sage Myron, his family, and their guards stood dumbfounded, six enigmatic silhouettes hovered in the night like ghosts of the void.They had become one with the darkness, woven into the fabric of the shadows themselves.Even if one stared directly at these six figures, they would appear as nothing more than an indistinguishable part of the night.This concealment wasn't mere stealth… it was an art. A

*****“Wow,” a voice said slowly, almost laughing in disbelief. “No one has ever dared to turn my threat back on me before.”The words struck like a thunderclap, electrifying the air.It was as if lightning had cleaved the atmosphere in half—sharp gasps erupted across the villa like a chain reaction. Everyone jolted backward involuntarily, as though an invisible blast had ripped through their spines.Tremors shook even the sturdiest figures, faces turned pale, lips parted in horror, and breath caught in countless throats.All eyes turned, almost in unison, toward the source of the voice.Bloodfang Viper.The demon himself had regained his composure. He now stood tall, having shed his earlier disbelief.His composure had returned, but it came with a spine-chilling aura. His once-surprised face had twisted back into a wicked grin, though his eyes gleamed with something dark and unreadable. Not rage. Not curiosity.Something far more lethal.Everyone present knew it then.This wasn’t a w

*****Everyone had originally assumed that Bloodfang Viper had only decided to kill Xavier because he had already seen Xavier, thinking that the task was originally meant to be carried out by his subordinates. After all, that made more sense.But now? It was certain, it was certain that the mission was going to be concluded by Bloodfang Viper himself.A deadly hush spread through the onlookers like poison gas. The revelation twisted their stomachs and froze their limbs.Suddenly… they didn’t just fear for Xavier.They pitied him.‘If it were me, I’d have chosen a coma over certain death,’ many thought grimly, exchanging glances filled with unease.But then… Xavier’s voice rang out once more.“So…” he repeated, coolly. “What did you choose? Coma… or death?”That sentence shattered the silence like glass underfoot.Gasps echoed around him, and everyone stared at Xavier in a daze… utterly unable to comprehend what they had just heard.‘He… was throwing the 'offer' back again?’

*****For what felt like an eternity, an unnatural stillness blanketed the world.No one moved, no one blinked. No one even dared to inhale.Time itself seemed to hold its breath.It wasn’t just the onlookers at the Myron estate or the members of the Nightshadow Guild who were in this state—everyone in the city of Riverton was also in it. From the streets to every home, every single person was frozen in a moment of stunned disbelief.The sheer shockwave from the impact had not only shaken the ground, but it had also rattled their very perception of reality.Just moments ago, Riverton City had begun to settle into a fragile sense of calm because those who had felt the earlier oppressive aura had believed the danger was over after it disappeared.Murmurs of relief had started to spread through the city as people slowly clung to the hope that the mysterious intruder had disappeared or moved on. The city’s defenders had even paused their frantic search for the source of that overwh

*****“Um… Little Lola is confused. Why is everyone saying Uncle died in that explosion… when Uncle had never left where he had been standing from the beginning?”The voice that just spoke was very soft, gentle, and filled with so much innocence. Yet it immediately thundered through the air like a bolt of lightning.Every head immediately turned toward the source of the voice, their bodies going rigid as if stricken by an invisible blow. Then their eyes locked onto the small figure at the center of the chaos—Little Lola.The little girl’s eyebrows were scrunched together, a look of genuine confusion and perplexity plastered across her cherubic face. She gazed at the crowd, clearly puzzled by their expressions of mourning and shock.For a moment, not a single soul could find a word to speak. They could only stare at the little girl in a daze, stunned, mystified, and unblinking.Finally, however, after what felt like an eternity, someone choked out a response. “What… what did you