Home / Urban / The Silent Commander ( God of War) / Chapter 2: The Blood Oath Awakens
Chapter 2: The Blood Oath Awakens
Author: Lady Dreamer
last update2025-10-13 11:08:37

By dawn, Blackridge was humming with rumor.

“The Vitale princess lives,” the whispers said.

“An ambush at the docks.”

“Someone fought like ten men and walked away without a scratch.”

They called him the dog who bit back. The newspapers wouldn’t print his name, but the underworld already had one for him: the Ghost Soldier.

Inside the Vitale mansion, silence reigned. The marble gleamed as if nothing had happened, but everyone moved a little slower, as though waiting for a storm that hadn’t finished breaking.

Ethan stood by the tall window of Don Vitale’s study, hands clasped loosely behind his back, eyes tracing the gray veins of rain across the glass. He’d been summoned. Again.

Behind him, the Don sat at his desk, cigar trembling slightly between his fingers. Elena occupied the armchair opposite her father, perfectly composed, though her eyes betrayed the exhaustion of a sleepless night.

Finally, the Don broke the silence. “You have some explaining to do, boy.”

Ethan turned, face unreadable. “If I hadn’t moved, your daughter would be dead.”

“That’s not what I mean.” The Don’s tone carried the weight of authority that had built an empire. “My men said you fought like a demon. You threw a steel rod through a sniper three stories up. You—” He gestured vaguely, frustration mounting. “You moved faster than the human eye could track. So tell me, Ethan Cross, how does a mechanic do that?”

The room’s air seemed to thicken.

Ethan said nothing.

Elena’s gaze flicked to him, her voice a soft, dangerous whisper. “Father, maybe he—”

“Quiet,” the Don snapped. He leaned forward, studying Ethan the way a hunter studies something that shouldn’t exist. “Who trained you?”

Ethan’s eyes met his, steady and gray as storm clouds. “You don’t want to know, sir.”

The old man’s chuckle was low and humorless. “You think you can threaten me?”

“I’m telling you the truth,” Ethan said. His voice wasn’t raised, but the silence that followed it was deafening.

Something cold crept down Elena’s spine. She had seen her father face rival dons and armed assassins without flinching, but in that moment, something in Ethan’s calm unsettled even him.

After a long pause, the Don waved a dismissive hand. “Get out. Both of you. I’ll decide what to do with you later.”

Elena rose at once, but Ethan didn’t move until she touched his sleeve. Only then did he turn and walk out, the heavy door closing behind them with a final click.

The hallway was dim, lined with oil paintings of men who had built empires on other men’s bones. Ethan’s footsteps echoed as he walked beside her, the tension between them as sharp as broken glass.

“You should tell him something,” Elena said. “Anything. He thinks you’re hiding a crime.”

He gave a dry laugh. “I am.”

Her brow furrowed. “Then tell me what it is.”

Ethan stopped at the top of the stairs, looking down at her. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

He looked away, eyes unfocused. “What would you say if I told you I remember killing gods in another life?”

Her lips parted, confusion flickering across her perfect composure. “You’re joking.”

He wasn’t.

The way he looked at her—tired, haunted, deadly serious—made her heart trip in her chest. For the first time since she’d known him, Elena realized she had no idea who her husband really was.

That night, Ethan couldn’t sleep.

He sat on the balcony outside their room, cigarette glowing in the dark like a single ember. Below him, the garden swayed under the rain. Somewhere deep in the estate, a clock chimed two.

He exhaled smoke and thought about the moment at the docks—the impossible speed, the way time had stretched and bent around him. It hadn’t felt foreign. It had felt familiar.

The rain whispered against the stone balustrade. Then, beneath that whisper, came another sound—a hum, soft and steady, like distant chanting.

Ethan frowned and leaned forward.

The courtyard below shimmered faintly. The puddles of rainwater glowed, the light rippling like molten gold. Then, slowly, the lines began to form—thin, deliberate strokes carving themselves across the wet stone.

A sigil emerged, ancient and blinding: a sun with twelve blades, each pulsing with a heartbeat that wasn’t his but somehow matched his own.

Ethan froze. His breath hitched as a tremor ran through his chest. He knew that shape. He had seen it in his dreams, burning into the sky above the red dunes.

He yanked open his shirt. The skin over his heart looked normal—but the heat was there, searing from the inside out.

And then came the voice.

“Do you remember me?”

Ethan spun around, hand reaching for the knife on the table. A man stood at the far edge of the balcony, impossibly dry despite the rain. His coat was the color of ash, and his eyes carried the calm of eternity.

“Who are you?” Ethan demanded.

The man smiled faintly. “I am the echo of your oath.”

“What oath?”

“You once called me brother,” the stranger said. “You swore to guard the Sun King’s legacy. When you fell, the gods buried your name. But the world bleeds again, and war has called for its champion.”

“You’ve got the wrong man,” Ethan said, voice sharp.

“Then why does the blood oath burn?”

The stranger’s outline flickered—then vanished, dissolving into the mist like smoke.

Below, the sigil flared one last time and then went dark, leaving only the rain.

Ethan dropped to his knees, heart hammering. The world spun between two realities—the quiet night of Blackridge and the memory of another world made of fire and gold. For a moment, he saw it all again: towers of molten stone, soldiers kneeling in radiant armor, skies torn open by light.

He gasped, gripping the railing until his knuckles whitened. The vision faded, leaving him trembling.

Behind him, the door creaked open.

“Ethan?”

Elena’s voice was soft but uncertain. She stood barefoot at the threshold, robe loose around her shoulders, eyes wide. “Who were you talking to?”

He turned, forcing his breathing to steady. “No one,” he said. “Just… a dream.”

She looked past him toward the courtyard, where faint traces of the symbol still glowed under the rain. Her eyes widened. “I saw that. It was coming from you.”

He said nothing.

“Ethan, please,” she pressed, stepping closer. “What’s happening to you?”

He met her gaze, his expression carved in stone. “Go back to bed, Elena.”

But she didn’t move. Her eyes searched his face, desperate for something human to hold onto.

Finally, she whispered, “I’m scared.”

Ethan’s hand twitched, almost reaching for her, but he stopped himself. “You should be.”

She flinched, not from the words but from the truth in them.

When she finally turned away, she caught one last glimpse of him—kneeling in the rain, the faint golden light pulsing beneath his skin.

By morning, the sigil was gone, but its echo lingered in Ethan’s bones. He moved through the day like a man haunted by something only he could see. Every sound—the hiss of coffee pouring, the whisper of silk against marble—felt sharper, too clear.

Downstairs, the Don barked orders into his phone, furious that word of the ambush had reached their rivals before he’d spun the story. Elena avoided her husband’s eyes all through breakfast.

But when she finally glanced up, she caught him staring out the window again, expression blank, eyes distant as thunderclouds.

For a heartbeat, the morning light reflected gold against his irises. Then it was gone.

That night, while the Vitale guards switched shifts and the house sank into silence, Ethan sat awake again, tracing the faint scar of heat over his heart.

The world bleeds again, and war has called for its champion.

He didn’t know what that meant—but deep down, he knew one thing.

The man he had pretended to be—the obedient husband, the harmless dog—was dying.

And something far older was beginning to wake.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan the code to download the app

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 14: The Price of Loyalty

    The rain hadn’t stopped for three days.It came down in silver knives, cutting through the industrial skyline, washing away the filth that the city could never cleanse on its own. Inside the warehouse, the air was heavy with rust, oil, and unspoken words.Ethan sat on the edge of a steel crate, sleeves rolled up, eyes fixed on the floor. His shirt clung to his skin, dark with sweat and rain. Across from him, Ava paced, arms wrapped around herself as if she could hold the weight of her guilt together.They hadn’t spoken much since she arrived.He’d offered her dry clothes and silence — two things he knew she needed more than forgiveness.Now, as thunder cracked over the harbor, she finally broke the stillness.“Do you ever regret it?” she asked softly.Ethan’s eyes lifted. “What?”“Us.”He studied her, his gaze steady and unreadable. “Every day,” he said after a long pause. “And never once.”She exhaled, the tension in her shoulders trembling. “You make that sound like a punishment.”“

  • Chapter 13: Bllid in the Water

    The Langston estate had never felt so cold.Ava stood by the window of her father’s study, watching the storm sweep across the grounds. The world outside looked like glass and smoke—beautiful, but fragile. She could almost see Ethan’s reflection in the clouds, that look of disbelief when she’d tried to explain herself. “You betrayed me to save me.”His words had been quiet, but they cut deeper than a scream ever could.Behind her, the heavy oak doors creaked open. Her father entered, his steps measured and deliberate. The scent of cigar smoke followed him, curling into the air like poison.“So,” he began, settling into his chair, “you told him.”Ava turned sharply. “You knew he would find out. You set me up.”Langston’s lips curved. “You think I needed to? Ethan Carter is a man who destroys himself. All I did was show him where to look.”Her jaw clenched. “He loved this family. He rebuilt everything you lost when you gambled away the company’s name.”“Love,” her father scoffed. “Love

  • Chapter 12: Bloodline of the Valentines

    Ava Valente was elegance herself today as always. That morning, the Valente estate glowed with the sheen of old money and quiet menace. Marble floors reflected chandeliers that dripped crystal light; portraits of dead ancestors stared down with eyes too knowing. Every corner smelled faintly of cigars, roses, and iron discipline.And through that grand foyer walked Ava — head high, heels sharp, crimson dress catching the dawn light. The silk hugged her form, a weapon in itself. Her expression was poised, serene, but her eyes — a molten amber inherited from her mother — missed nothing.Every glance. Every whisper. Every betrayal.The men in her father’s service called her la fiamma silenziosa — the silent flame. They thought she didn’t notice the way their gazes lingered when she passed, or the way they said her name with equal parts awe and fear. But she’d grown up under Don Alessandro Valente. She knew the difference between admiration and weakness. And she’d learned early that both

  • Chapter 11: The Echo of Steel

    It was night and the rain fell in silver threads over the rusted bones of Blackridge, washing grime from rooftops that hadn’t seen sunlight in years. Neon signs flickered above shuttered pawnshops and brothels, their dying light reflecting in oil-slick puddles that painted the streets in fractured color.Ethan Cross stood beneath a dented awning, his hood pulled low, cigarette burning to a tired ember. The smoke curled upward, lost to the wet night. He had always liked the rain—it silenced the world. Hid the gunshots. Blurred the past.This street had been his once. The Iron Syndicate’s old quarter. Back when he’d been someone men whispered about. Back when “Wolf General” wasn’t just a name—it was a warning.He hadn’t come here to remember. But some ghosts are louder than reason.Now he was just Ethan Cross—the unemployed son-in-law of Alessandro Valente, a man whose dinner table was a battlefield of politics, whose words could end empires. Ava’s husband. The quiet one. The disappoint

  • Chapter 10: The Serpent Queen's Hunger

    Morning came pale and thin over the Langston mansion. The marble floors still bore the marks of the night’s battle: scorched wood, shattered glass, the scent of smoke. Outside, the city went about its business as if nothing had happened, but inside, a war was quietly taking root.Isabella hadn’t slept. She sat by the window of the east wing, watching the dawn creep across the skyline. Her hands trembled when she lifted her coffee cup. The previous night’s images replayed endlessly: the sigil, the assassins, the impossible light pouring from her husband’s skin.She could still hear his words: They’ve remembered me.Her father’s voice broke her trance. “You’ve brought ruin to this house.”Alexander Langston stood in the doorway, immaculate in his dark suit, eyes cold. Behind him loomed two of his enforcers, men who had served him longer than she’d been alive. He didn’t raise his voice; he didn’t need to.“I didn’t bring them,” she said quietly. “They came for him.”“Which means,” her fa

  • Chapter 9: The War Lord's Memory

    The storm hadn’t stopped.By midnight, Blackridge was drowning in thunder. The city’s lights flickered like dying stars, painting the skyline in shards of gold and electric blue. Ethan stood in the courtyard of the Langston estate, his coat heavy with rain, his mind slipping between centuries. Every heartbeat pulled him deeper into a place he had once sworn never to return.He could hear it again—the sound of war drums rolling through his veins.The pulse of gods. The breath of eternity.Kryos.He closed his eyes. Lightning split the heavens, and for a second, the courtyard wasn’t made of marble and rain but ash and fire. He stood on a battlefield carved into the bones of the earth. Thousands of warriors screamed his name, their blades dripping with celestial blood. He remembered standing on that same soil as a god, watching the world burn for him.Then came the betrayal.Then came the fall.A sudden gust dragged him back to the present. The storm smelled of ozone and danger, but ther

More Chapter
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on MegaNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
Scan code to read on App