Finished with his morning run, Eric pushed the door open and stepped inside. Warm air greeted him, thick with the rich, comforting aroma of food.‘Food. Food. Food. Food.’He froze at the doorway.Eric slowly turned his head, scanning the room like someone who had lost his grip on reality. The voice echoed inside his skull, insistently cheerful, unbearably familiar.It wasn’t his voice and it sure as hell wasn't Oracle’s.‘Please. Please. Please. Please. Please, times five. Just say it. Say it. Just say the word.’Eric staggered back and leaned against the door, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His hands flew to his temples, fingers digging in as he squeezed his eye shut, trying to steady his thoughts.Ever since he put on that strange ring, the voices... He opened his eye and looked down at his tattooed left arm.Last night, the tattooed rings had burned like fire. And for a fleeting second, just a heartbeat, he’d sworn there were people standing in the room with him.‘I’m not

Calvin Kenton sat in the dim glow of his bedroom, his hands hovering over his keyboard, fingers tapping methodically, as he ran search after search.“Horn-related…” he muttered, running the search again.Horn trafficking, horn experiments, horn hunters, horn syndicates. Every variation, every permutation, every translation he could think of.And each time, he found… nothing.But then it made sense. A true criminal organization wouldn’t leave a breadcrumb trail and that made Calvin’s teeth grind in annoyance.He leaned back in his chair, massaging his eyes, then let out a frustrated sigh. ‘So much for the easy route.’He had nothing to do, and the memory of that dungeon burned in his mind even though he would never admit it.What Eric did to them. They were just standing and all of sudden, their heads were rolling on the floor.His curiosity was killing him but he knew Eric wouldn't tell him why he was that powerful while making everyone believe he was E-rank.The only thing Calvin cou

Eric had to settle for something simple. None of his suits fit anymore, his body having changed far beyond what they were tailored for. In the end, he wore straight black jeans, a plain T shirt, and a jacket.Outside the house, a black Range Rover waited by the curb.The door opened and an angry woman stepped out. The moment her sharp gaze landed on Eric, his presence visibly irritated her.“You… you…” she snapped, eyes scanning him from head to toe. “Why are you dressed so plainly? Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is? Wearing cheap things like that in public.”His mother in law, Elise Patel, spoke with ice in her voice.Elise was striking. She looked like an older version of Sheila, graceful and refined, carrying herself with effortless elegance.“Mom, please. Not now,” Sheila pleaded.Eric’s calm, indifferent expression only made things worse.“Are you deaf or mute?” Elise barked. “Look at you. A complete loser. My daughter marrying someone like you feels like we have hit

Outside the Patel family villa, Sheila’s fingers clung to Eric’s hand as if letting go would break something fragile. Her voice was low but insistent. “You should go home with me, Eric. Tomorrow, you can bring your things.”Eric sighed as he looked at her. “It’s not that simple, Sheila. I understand I signed a contract and I get all that comes with being a live-in son-in-law. But I cannot leave my father’s house, and my sister as well.”Then he gently removed her hand from his. “I’ll go home first, then we’ll talk later.”Sheila’s shoulders slumped. She wanted to argue, to insist, but she knew she couldn’t force him so she nodded reluctantly.Eric hailed a taxi and immediately headed home.Inside, his phone began to ring and he recognized the hunger to be Regan’s. They must be really curious.The moment he hit the answer button, Regan’s angry voice came through. “Are you mad, Eric?! Do I have to call you before you’ll know what you need to do?! This should better not repeat itself or

Eric arrived at the address Calvin had given him and saw him standing in front of a tall building, partially concealed as he peeked out from its side.“Why am I here?” he asked.“Shhh,” Calvin muttered, pulling him further into the blind spot beside him. “This is the third C-rank gate to appear in Westford in two days.”Eric peeked out and saw the gate suspended in the air not far from where they were hiding, its surface rippling with unstable energy.Still puzzled, he looked at Calvin. “Alright. So why are we here?”Calvin straightened and met his eyes. “I went through the raid records yesterday and discovered that there are more teams like Landon Caroll’s who always take in last-minute additions. And in every single case, those additions die. Eric, after what happened to us, you can’t tell me that’s a coincidence. They’re offering them up to the magic beasts.”Eric grew more attentive and asked, “And why do you think they're offering people up?”Calvin shrugged. “I mean, the motive