******The truth was, “Muscles” wasn’t his name.It was nothing but a joke born from the smirks of teenagers mocking the way his arms usually bulged beneath his two sizes too small shirtsHe had hated it at first, hated them, and hated himself.Countless times, he had wanted to snap at them and remind them why people once feared him before life had beaten him into this version of himself.But then Ethan came along.He had said the name differently… not mocking or laughing.He had called it warmly and friendly.Even now, Muscles could still remember the first time Ethan had called him “Uncle Muscles.” He had been furious and ready to lash out. After all, it had been a horrible day for him that day... everything in his life collapsing piece by piece.But then he had seen Ethan’s innocent concern… those earnest eyes as he asked if he was okay, even offering him a piece of advice no grown man would have expected to hear from a kid. And somehow, the anger had melted.That day

******First, Ethan’s gaze fell on Muscles, who remained pale and stiff, his expression caught somewhere between guilt and defiance as he knelt on the floor, almost as if bowing to his own disgrace and terror.Then his gaze shifted to the gangsters surrounding them, their eyes glinting with barely contained violence, each of them gripping their weapon as though they couldn’t wait to unleash chaos and destruction.And finally… he turned to James.James wasn’t speaking, but at this time, his eyes… those eerie, unsettling, glimmering eyes were fixed entirely on himself.That's right, and what Ethan saw in them made his stomach twist. The look wasn’t human; it was cold, fascinated, and hungry. As soon as Ethan saw this, a sudden chill crawled up his spine, spreading until his legs weakened beneath him.Then his knees almost gave out beneath him. Fortunately, he caught himself on time... only barely. James's gaze… it wasn’t the gaze of a man looking at a boy.It was the look of a

******An abrupt wave of murderous, suffocating aura erupted from all directions, pressing down on Ethan with an unseen force.It was as if the ground itself was trying to devour him whole.And before he knew it, his knees nearly buckled, feeling the raw intent to kill in his very bones.Rapidly and in the blink of an eye, cold sweat drenched his back, his breath turning forceful, shallow, laborious, and panicked.“I… I... I… I…” he stuttered frantically, struggling to form any words, but his tongue felt completely heavy, his voice looping like a broken record.His mind screamed for him to say something… anything, yet his lips only trembled uselessly.But just at that moment…“Little cunt! You really knew the person who dared to humiliate our own young master?!” one voice roared, brimming with disbelief and fury.“You are so dead today!” another voice barked, sounding even more ferocious and aggressive.“You are just finished and done for!”“You are so going to wish you wer

******At this moment, James looked like a pauper who had just stumbled on buried gold after a lifetime of poverty, his chest heaving violently, his body trembling, and his entire being lit with crazed exhilaration.“This is incredible!” he howled, tears actually spilling from his eyes. “Hahaha! I knew there was no way fate would deny me my revenge! It’s real… hahaha! It’s all fcking real!”He laughed harder, the sound almost breaking.His joy was monstrous, feverish even. “I knew it! I knew I would get my chance to repay him one day! Hahaha! Is this it? Finally?!”His hysteria consumed all the air in the courtyard, causing the tension to thicken once more… but this time, heavily laced with unease.Even the thugs… men who had seen cruelty, blood, and terror, couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably, their earlier bravado fading into nervous silence.Watching James now was like watching someone dance on the edge of madness.He was no longer the young master of prestige or control;

****** Ethan had seen psychopaths before… on screens, at least. He had watched crime thrillers, gangster flicks, and stories about men so consumed by vengeance that sanity had long abandoned them. But this… this was worse than anything he had ever witnessed in his life. It wasn’t a movie. There was no camera and no comforting sense of fiction. It was real, and it was standing right in front of him. James looked less like a man and more like a creature dragged straight out of hell. His grin was unnaturally wide, and his laughter was so sharp that it could cut through bone. And being the one opposite this demon in human skin, all the hair on Ethan’s body stood at attention, his instincts screaming for him to run and to do something, but his body refused to obey. His heart pounded so violently in his chest that it felt as though it was trying to burst through his ribs and flee without him. Before long, his shirt was already clinging to his back, completely soaked in cold