The God of Endless Revenge

3

Across the street from the outer slave bazaar, thirty elite Blackwood guards stood watch before the iron gates.

Between the stone pillars, massive red barrier stones hummed with deadly alarm magic.

A direct attack would alert Damien before Lucas took ten steps, and the dark energy inside his body still needed to be hidden.

System, Lucas called out in his mind. Hide this aura.

[Phantom Shroud Activated. Cost: 200 Fate Points.]

[Remaining Balance: 900 Fate Points.]

A faint grey mist sank deep into Lucas’s skin, completely burying the violent energy until he felt like an ordinary mortal.

Yet looking at the glowing red stones in the dark, Lucas knew a mortal disguise could never slip past imperial barrier runes.

I need a way past these guards without setting off the alarm, Lucas commanded.

A pale blue prompt flashed before his eyes.

[Infiltration Options Available:]

[Option 1: Time Freeze. Cost: 400 Fate Points. Duration: 10 Minutes.]

[Option 2: Future Self Summoning. Cost: 50,000 Fate Points. (Requires System Level 5).]

Lucas let out a quiet scoff under his breath.

Fifty thousand points... That is an enormous amount of points. I wonder when I will ever have that much.

He looked toward the gate, his jaw tightening.

I guess it would be worth every drop, though. If I could summon my future self, I would already know every trap Damien has laid.

Pushing the thought aside, he focused on the first choice.

[Warning: As a Level One host, you cannot harm living beings or move objects during Time Freeze, or time will snap back and freeze you instead.]

"The ten minutes should be enough," Lucas whispered into the wind. "Freeze time!"

[400 Fate Points Consumed. Remaining Balance: 500 Fate Points.]

[Time Freeze Activated: 10 Minutes Remaining.]

A silent wave washed outward from Lucas’s chest, stripping all color from the stormy night until the entire world turned grey.

Heavy raindrops stopped dead in mid-air like hanging glass beads.

The shouting guards stood completely frozen under the motionless torch flames, and the glowing red barrier stones went entirely dark.

Lucas moved swiftly past the frozen sentries, stepping through the gates and slipping into the underground bazaar.

He hurried down the carpeted hallway, but as he passed an open archway, his boots froze against the floor.

Inside a lavish private room, Damien sat in a soft velvet armchair, a golden wine cup frozen inches from his mouth.

Sitting directly on Damien’s lap was Celeste, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her head thrown back in silent laughter.

Her face was glowing with pure joy, her red silk dress spread across Damien’s armored knees.

A wave of suffocating fury slammed into Lucas’s chest, so hot his vision blurred with red.

His hand gripped the hilt of his dagger until blood trickled from his knuckles, every nerve screaming at him to slit both their throats right now while they were frozen.

Then the system's warning echoed in his mind: Strike a living target, and time snaps back to freeze you instead.

Lucas forced his shaking fingers away from the hilt, his teeth grinding together until his jaw ached.

"Laugh while you can," Lucas whispered, his voice trembling with deadly wrath. "I will end both your lives with my own hands."

He turned away from the room and sprinted down the damp stone corridor.

At the end of the hall, a spiral staircase led deep into the underground holding pens.

Lucas reached the bottom of the stairs, feeling the cold weight of the timer ticking down in his head.

Five minutes left.

He drew his hood low, scanning the long row of rusted iron cages lining the wet floor.

In the darkest, coldest corner of the cellar, he saw a tiny shape huddled in the dirt.

A small girl lay curled on the damp straw, frozen in time, her thin body wrapped in a filthy burlap sack.

Lucas’s heart stopped beating.

"Lily..." Lucas whispered, his voice cracking as he rushed to the iron bars.

The sight before him nearly brought the battle-hardened commander to his knees.

Just four days ago, Lily had been the sweetest girl in the city, smiling gently as she watered her little flower pots.

Now, her pale arms were covered in raw whip cuts and purple bruises.

Her bright blue eyes were gone, burned shut into milky white scar tissue that had ruined her sight forever.

She lay completely motionless, locked in the frozen seconds like a broken doll thrown into the mud.

Hot tears spilled from Lucas’s eyes as he grabbed the heavy iron lock on her cage.

Channeling his power, he twisted the metal until the iron latch snapped, the sharp edge cutting deep into his palm.

Lucas ignored the blood running down his hand, threw the gate open, and fell to his knees in the straw.

He reached out and gently tapped Lily’s shoulder, using his system authority to release her from the freeze.

The moment time returned to her body, Lily flinched in absolute terror, scrambling backward until her spine hit the iron bars.

She threw her thin arms over her head, curling into a tight ball like a dog that had been beaten too many times.

Only a dry, broken whimper escaped her throat, unable to form a single word.

"Lily, stop, it’s me. Brother is here." Lucas wept, catching her frail wrists gently so he would not bruise her skin.

Lily fought wildly, crying soundlessly against his chest as blind panic consumed her mind.

Then, her trembling fingers brushed across Lucas’s right hand, sliding over the thick, jagged scar at the base of his thumb.

It was the scar he had gotten five years ago, catching a poisoned dagger to save her life when she was only ten.

Lily froze instantly.

Her trembling fingers traced the rough scar over and over, feeling every single edge she knew by heart.

Her cracked lips parted, shivering as silent tears poured from her ruined, milky eyes.

"Brother...?" a broken, soundless shape formed on her mouth.

"Yes, Lily! It is me!" Lucas sobbed, pulling her tightly against his chest and wrapping his cloak around her cold body.

He buried his face in her tangled hair, his broad shoulders shaking with heavy, ragged tears.

"I am so sorry, Lily," Lucas cried bitterly. "Brother was a blind fool. I left you alone with monsters."

Lily grabbed his shirt with desperate strength, burying her face into his neck and soaking his skin with her burning tears.

She held him so tightly, terrified that if she let go, she would wake up back in the cold dark.

Lucas gritted his teeth, his hand pressing against her back.

I have to fix this right now, Lucas thought, trying to channel his energy into her ruined eyes and throat.

The moment the dark power touched her skin, Lily gasped in pain as black smoke rose from her flesh.

Lucas pulled his hand back in horror.

The energy he had taken from Boss Kael was violent and demonic; it was built to kill, not to heal.

System! Lucas shouted in his mind. Heal my sister! Fix her eyes and her voice!

A pale blue prompt appeared in his vision.

[Target: Lily Vance.]

[Condition: Eyes destroyed by acid. Vocal cords severed by silver blade.]

[Full Restoration: Costs 1,000 Fate Points.]

[Current Balance: 500 Fate Points. Insufficient for Full Restoration!]

Lucas’s chest tightened with unbearable helplessness.

[Alternative Protocol: Host may restore ONE function.]

[Option: Vocal Restoration Protocol. Cost: 400 Fate Points.]

Lucas looked down at the weeping girl in his arms, his heart bleeding.

He could not give her back the light today, but he could give her back her voice.

"I will give you your voice, Lily," Lucas whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "Tell brother what they did to you."

System, spend the four hundred points! Restore her voice right now!

[400 Fate Points Consumed. Remaining Balance: 100 Fate Points.]

[Vocal Restoration Engaged!]

A warm, pure golden light flowed from Lucas’s fingertips into Lily’s bruised throat.

Her body trembled as the dark poison dissolved, her severed vocal cords knitting back together like fresh green vines.

Lily choked, coughing up a thick clot of black blood onto the dirty straw.

She drew a deep, ragged breath of air, her chest rising and falling.

"Brother?!" a voice cried out—soft, hoarse, and trembling with sheer terror.

Hearing her voice again, Lucas pulled her close, tears running down his face. "I am here, Lily. You can speak now. Brother is right here."

Lily clutched his collar with wild panic, trying to push him away with her frail hands.

"Brother, run!" Lily screamed, her voice breaking with desperate fear. "Run away right now! They are going to kill you!"

Lucas held her steady, smoothing her hair. "Nobody is killing me, Lily. Calm down. Tell me what happened."

"Damien and Celeste!" Lily sobbed, her fingernails digging into his arms. "They are monsters, brother! They planned everything!"

Lucas’s eyes turned cold as grave iron. "Tell me everything, Lily. Do not be afraid."

"Three nights ago..." Lily wept, her breath catching as the nightmare returned. "Celeste said she felt sick, so I brewed her tea to take to her room."

She buried her face into his chest, her small body trembling violently.

"The door was open. I looked inside... and I saw Damien in her bed! They were holding each other, laughing about you!"

The blood drained from Lucas’s face, leaving his skin as pale as ash.

"Damien said you were too powerful, that the Emperor would never make him Grand Marshal while you lived," Lily cried out. "Celeste laughed and told him she had a dye to fake the plague, because she knew you would carve out your core to save her!"

Lucas sat completely still in the dark cell, feeling his entire past turn to poison.

Every sweet smile Celeste had given him, every vow they had made—it was all an execution trap.

"They heard me drop the tea tray," Lily wept, shivering against his neck. "I tried to run to warn you, but Damien caught me and threw me down."

"What did they do to you, Lily?" Lucas asked softly, his heart tearing into pieces.

"Damien held me down while Celeste poured acid into my eyes," Lily sobbed, tears washing over her scarred cheeks. "Then they cut out my tongue so I could never tell you the truth."

Lucas felt his vision blur with pure, suffocating fury.

The demon attack Celeste had wept about three days ago was a complete lie.

His wife had personally blinded and muted his sister to send Lucas into a panic, ensuring he would carve out his core without a second thought.

"They brought me here yesterday," Lily whispered, her weak voice trembling. "The guards said Damien ordered them to put me on the stage for the Grand Velvet Auction in two days."

Lucas looked down at her, his brow furrowing. "The auction? Why would they sell you?"

"They said I am going to be sold to a desert slave caravan heading across the southern sea," Lily wept. "They want me gone forever so nobody ever finds me. Brother... I am so scared."

Lucas tightened his arms around her, feeling the cold air creeping into the cell.

Two minutes left on the stasis.

He could not take her out right now; carrying a blind girl past thirty elite guards the second time unfroze would only get them surrounded.

"Listen to me, Lily," Lucas said, his voice softer than it had ever been, carrying the weight of an unbreakable oath.

Lily turned her scarred, sightless face toward him, her breath hitching.

"Nobody is taking you across the desert," Lucas swore, gently wiping the tears from her ruined cheeks with his cut and bleeding thumb. "Nobody is putting chains on you ever again."

"Brother...?" Lily whispered softly.

"In two days, the Grand Velvet Auction will begin," Lucas said, his eyes glowing with terrifying resolve. "I will be standing in that room. I will bring more gold than this rotten city has ever seen, and I will buy your freedom in front of the entire realm."

He pressed a warm kiss against her pale brow.

"Trust your brother, Lily. Wait for me for two days. When I come back to break this door down, I will make every single person who touched you beg for death."

Lily nodded slowly, resting her cheek against his chest. "I trust you, brother. I will wait for you."

Lucas gently laid her back onto the straw, pulling the burlap sack over her to keep her warm.

In his desperate rush against the dying seconds, Lucas had no idea that fresh blood from the deep cut on his right hand was dripping steadily onto her sleeve, leaving a bright crimson stain on the ragged cloth.

He stepped out of the cell, pushed the broken lock into place so it looked untouched, and sprinted up the stairs just as the ten-minute timer reached zero.

The grey world shattered like glass behind him, the roar of the rain rushing back into the night.

Lucas pulled his hood low as he slipped into the dark alley, his eyes burning with cold, unquenchable fire.

Two days. He needed half a million gold, and he needed more power.

It was time to make the capital bleed.