******At this moment, Glenn, completely oblivious to the fact that merely because of him… Ethan had been condemned to a worst nightmare, sat at the far end of a modest restaurant, his expression relaxed, his posture casual, and a faintly nostalgic smile curving his lips.He was the perfect picture of calm detachment, lost in a quiet reverie while, elsewhere, utter chaos brewed because of him.The restaurant itself wasn’t large… just an average-sized spot tucked along the busy street. It had a humble charm, though age had clearly taken its toll on it.The once-bright paint on the walls had faded and flaked in corners, and the ceiling fans seemed to compete in volume with the customers’ laughter, spinning lazily while rattling more than they cooled.The air itself was very rich with the aroma of sautéed garlic, spicy creamy chicken casserole, spicy jellof rice, and something sweet... perhaps caramelized plantains and freshly baked apple pie, wafting from behind the closed kitchen

******Back to the present.Although where Glenn was originally heading before recollection hit him and he branched here was very important… urgent, even, he wasn’t in any rush to get there, not after he saw who he came forSo, he stayed right where he was, seated at that corner table with his calm eyes observing the life around him, making no move to interrupt the rhythm of the restaurant.He remembered this time vividly... it was etched in his mind from the days he had spent here. It was rush hour... the daily surge between noon and two, when tired workers, impatient students, and hungry employees flooded the place like a tidal wave. For those two hours, chaos reigned… plates clattered, spoons dropped, the air was filled with laughter & shouting, and somehow, through it all, everything ran smoothly.He knew it wouldn’t last long. From what he remembered perfectly well and comparing it with the time from the wall clock, the flurry of activities would ease any moment from now

L******Red stood frozen for a moment, unable to react, then her brow furrowed, her lips twitched, and almost immediately, the calm, indifferent expression on her face vanished like it had never been there before.And before anyone could process what had happened…“You want me to gouge out those eyes, don’t you?!” She suddenly snapped, her voice thundering across the room like a slap.This time, her voice was no longer the casual snarl of before… it was deep, fierce, and unmistakably real.And as soon as it echoed, nearly every heart in the restaurant skipped a beat, then in the next second, spoons paused midair, chairs creaked, and a wave of shock swept through the room.For a fleeting moment, the only sound left was the hum of the ceiling fan.Then, almost as if on cue, dozens of eyes turned in unison toward the unfortunate soul who had just earned Red’s fury.It was a young man in a neat formal suit… clearly not a regular here.His posture screamed outsider, and the moment

******Everyone adored Red, but even then, they also understood this fact deeply and instinctively that their affection had limits.You don’t cross her line... unless you've got a death wish or a burning desire to experience pain in new, creative ways.Because the moment you pushed that line even an inch… her wrath would come crashing down like a hammer from the heavens.Yet now…It was as though the world had turned itself inside out.Every single person inside the low-end restaurant… men, women, the young, or the old, sat or stood frozen in place, appearing as if time itself had come to a complete halt.Faces hung midway between disbelief and terror, eyes widened, and mouths half-open. No one could move, blink, or even swallow too loudly.The silence was so heavy that it felt alive... pressing against every chest, coiling around all throats, and turning the very air into something heavy. Even the lazy spin of the ceiling fan became deafening in an instant.And just like t

******It was just a single step… one lone, sharp, deliberate motionAnd yet, somehow, in a way that defied explanation, it struck like a thunderclap that reverberated through every bone and nerve in the room.The sound of Red’s heavy combat boot meeting the floor echoed through the silence in the restaurant like the beat of a war drum… sounding hard, precise, terrifyingly final, and signifying the start of a war.Even the air itself seemed to flinch for a second, becoming tensed as though bracing against a storm and danger only it could sense.Then there were the people in the restaurant. They jerked instinctively the moment the boot hit the ground, some recoiling as though struck by an invisible force, while the others froze mid-breath, their bodies trembling before their minds could catch up.Hearts thudded in terrified unison, loud enough that one could almost hear them over the echo of that single step.However, before they could even finish processing the first step that