CHAPTER 233: DOMINATION

Late at night, a single moon hung in the sky, its pale light struggling to break through the sickly clouds overhead. Those clouds never cleared—like an ancient curse clinging to the world itself, smothering not just the sky, but every lingering trace of warmth or hope.

Adyr walked slowly through the streets.

Crushed cars lined the roads, left abandoned where their drivers had lost control—most likely after collapsing at the wheel while watching the broadcast. Whether they’d fainted or died, it didn’t matter. The result was the same.

The houses weren’t dark. Lights burned inside many of them. From some, the sounds of wailing could be heard—people mourning their dead. From others, there was only silence. A silence heavier than grief.

Streets weren’t truly empty either.

People wandered aimlessly. Shattered by the day’s events, too numb or broken to return to the homes they once shared with loved ones now gone. Some sat quietly against dirty sidewalks. Others drifted without purpose, unable to make sense of what their lives had become.

From time to time, a few would lift their heads and notice the lone figure walking past.

A man in an STF uniform, swords crossed on his back.

Some looked at him with hatred.

Some with awe.

And just as a few of them—driven by desperation or misplaced hope—tried to approach him, his silhouette seemed to vanish, swallowed by the flickering streetlights.

For a moment, they wondered if he’d been there at all.

Perhaps their exhausted minds had simply imagined him.

Adyr kept walking, silent and indifferent, like a ghost passing through a city that no longer belonged to the living. The people he passed—their fear, hatred, or curiosity—meant nothing to him. Whatever they felt, whatever words they wanted to say if they had the chance, none of it mattered. His steps were driven by only one thought.

Family.

Whether he felt true emotion or not, Adyr saw them as a part of his life. Marielle and Niva weren’t just names to him—they were a constant. Something real in a world that felt less real with every passing day.

His passion had always been blood. His enjoyment came from killing. That was his nature. Yet even a heart like his needed something to keep it steady, like hardened sailors who, after months of battling violent seas, felt relief the moment they reached the calm of a familiar harbor.

For Adyr, that harbor had always been them.

He could have stayed hidden if he wanted to. He didn’t need to reveal what he truly was—not to the world, and certainly not to them. Deception was easy for him; playing a role had never been difficult. He could have kept the mask on forever, living as the man they thought he was.

But tonight, he didn’t want to.

This time, in this life, he didn’t want that. This time, he wanted to stop hiding. Not for the shadows watching him, not for those trying to use him as a tool, and not as part of some calculated display of strength. He needed to show his real face—for himself. It wasn’t about strategy. It was about control. Taking back his own life had become a necessity.

That decision had finally led him here, standing in front of a truth he had avoided for too long.

Without realizing it, his feet had brought him to the front door of the quiet two-story house.

It was a place that once brought him peace.

Now, as he stood there, looking at its familiar walls, all he felt was uncertainty.

The lights inside were on. That alone was strange. Normally, at this hour, the entire district would be in darkness, electricity cut as part of the nightly energy-saving regulations. But tonight, that rule had clearly been suspended. Perhaps the government had allowed it, recognizing that this night wasn’t ordinary.

Adyr approached the door slowly. His hand reached into his pocket, fingers brushing against his keys.

He hesitated.

Then, after a brief pause, he pulled his hand back from his pocket and simply pressed the doorbell.

The doorbell rang once.

Almost immediately, hurried footsteps echoed from inside. The door opened without delay.

Niva’s face appeared first—surprised for a moment, then softening into a wide, genuine smile as she looked up at her brother.

"Brother! You’re back!" Her voice was bright, her excitement obvious and real.

For a moment, Adyr just stood there. But then, almost without realizing, a faint smile touched his own lips. He hadn’t expected such a welcome... yet he had hoped for it.

"Yes. I am," he said softly, his voice low and tired.

Stepping inside, he found Marielle waiting just beyond the entrance. She looked at him with the same warmth, the same familiar expression, as if it were just another ordinary evening.

"Son," she said gently, pulling him into a light, familiar embrace—the kind she always gave him.

Nothing had changed, neither in their voices nor in their eyes. They saw him just as they always had.

But as Adyr looked around, he realized it wasn’t just the two of them.

There were others.

"Anvil brother!" Boy’s voice shouted from further inside the house. He rushed forward, beaming with excitement and happiness. Right behind him, a blonde-haired girl—around the same age—smacked him lightly on the head in a scolding, big-sister sort of way.

"What’s ’anvil,’ idiot? It’s Adyr. Say it properly. Aaaadyr."

It was Boy and Zelda. And standing a little farther back, quiet yet smiling faintly, was Neris.

Adyr’s gaze lingered on them for a moment. Then he understood.

The house felt alive tonight. Filled with people. With faces he recognized.

And it was no coincidence.

Marielle and Niva hadn’t said a word, but the message was clear. They had brought these people here deliberately. These weren’t just guests. They were reminders.

Zelda. Boy. Neris.

Each of them was a life Adyr had saved.

No one had said it aloud—but the implication was undeniable, as clear as if it had been spoken outright.

These lives exist... because of you.

Adyr didn’t call them out. He didn’t mention the quiet message behind what they’d done. He simply played along.

He nodded toward Neris in quiet acknowledgment, ruffled Boy and Zelda’s hair with the barest hint of amusement, exchanged a few casual remarks, and allowed himself to settle into the warmth of the scene.

"Son, are you hungry? We were just about to eat dinner," Marielle said, her voice calm and natural.

At this hour, dinner didn’t make much sense. But when Adyr glanced at the table, it was obvious—the meal had been prepared for him. They had waited. Even without knowing for sure he’d come home tonight... they had waited.

"Yes. I haven’t eaten in a while," he answered, offering no resistance. Now that he was here, surrounded by this quiet, familiar atmosphere, he could feel the hunger more clearly.

"But first, go take a shower and change your clothes. You smell," Niva wrinkled her nose dramatically, her tone half-scolding and half-playful. "And don’t just wipe yourself down with some wet cloth. Take a real shower. We actually have hot water tonight."

Adyr laughed softly at her comment. For once, it didn’t feel forced.

Without argument, he headed upstairs.

He stripped out of his STF uniform—the same one he’d worn through the entire day—and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away everything clinging to him.

When he finally came back down, dressed in clean, comfortable clothes, the table was set. The food had been reheated, waiting for him.

The family and their guests ate together, enjoying the warm atmosphere. Adyr joined them quietly, observing it all in silence.

When he looked at Marielle, he saw the face of his mother from his previous life. The same face he had last seen strapped to a butcher’s table—cut open piece by piece as she clenched her teeth against the pain, never screaming, only looking at him with eyes full of love, whispering the same words over and over.

Son, close your eyes. This is just a nightmare.

When he looked at his sister, Niva, he didn’t see the cheerful girl sitting at the table. Instead, in his mind, he saw a fragile child sitting on cold concrete, her blonde hair falling messily over her face, silently clinging to him. Living in the same house as a monster had filled her with constant fear, and the only comfort she found was wrapping her arms around him, as if holding him close could keep the nightmares at bay.

Then his eyes landed on the children—Zelda and Boy—laughing, teasing each other as they ate like siblings. In them, he saw the innocence he had never allowed to live.

Adyr kept eating, his expression calm, even faintly amused. But deep behind his eyes, something darker stirred. A single thought floated to the surface.

This world...

His gaze dropped to the rare slice of meat on his fork. His eyes dimmed.

...deserves my domination.

He didn’t speak. But the vow left his soul loud enough for the world to hear.

That night, a few people still walking the streets, those who happened to glance at the sky, noticed something odd—an almost imperceptible shift in the heavy black clouds that had long blocked the moonlight. As if, for a moment, the darkness itself had trembled.