Grayson staggered backward, his breath breathless, his pulse beating in his ears. The twisted vision of his mother's death vanished, but its weight pressed down on him like chains. The ballroom was gone. The shadows retreated. And yet, the dread of what he had seen still coiled inside his chest, refusing to let go.
With his hands in his pockets, Lucian stood before him, observing with a slack-jawed glee.
"Now you know why your father wanted to kill you so badly."
Grayson balled his hands into fists. His body shook, but it was with anger rather than fear. The treachery of his father. The sacrifice made by his mother. The unresolved questions, the years of lies, and the nagging feeling that something had never been right. Everything makes sense now.
She had been more than a casualty. She had given up.
Lucian approached slowly. Grayson, tell me. How does it feel to realize the truth at last?
With a tightening jaw, Grayson raised his eyes. "You believe that I will be broken by this?"
Lucian tilted his head, that damn smirk never leaving his face.
"No," he murmured. "I think it will remake you."
The room hummed with lingering blackness, the walls still bearing the echoes of the vision. Grayson forced himself to regulate his breathing, his thoughts working rapidly through the ramifications.
Lucian let the stillness extend before speaking again. "I didn't bring you here just to watch, Grayson."
He gestured toward the city skyline beyond the glass windows. "You see that? The planet you formerly ruled? It's dangling on a thread." He turned back to Grayson, eyes glowing. "I'm offering you a choice."
Grayson tensed. "What choice?"
Lucian moved a step closer, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.
"Acknowledge that you are the Shadowbound King's legitimate heir. Accept the authority that has always been yours.
Grayson felt sick to his stomach. He had resisted the darkness's attempts to take him for years. He would have to become everything he hated if he accepted it now.
Lucian grinned more broadly. "Or..."
Grayson let out a loud sigh. He was aware already.
Lucian lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in a little.
"Remain strong and see those you care about crumble." one by one.
Grayson did not recoil as the words struck him like a blade.
Lucian stood up. "You're not understanding, are you?" He gave a little laugh. "Your dad was always in control."
Grayson gasped for air.
"He just acted like he did."
Once more, the room grew dark, with the shadows clinging to Lucian's feet like living creatures.
"Grayson, Alexander Blackwell is returning."
Lucian sounded almost joyous.
"And he's taking everything this time."
The world changed again before Grayson could even react. Below him, the walls stretched and twisted into countless passageways that descended into the abyss, while the floor rippled like liquid darkness.
He swung around, but there was no way out, just more paths that led into eternity.
Lucian's warped laughter reverberated from all directions. "You really don't understand yet, do you?"
The shadows pulsed, and suddenly Grayson wasn't alone.
He froze.
Standing before him was… himself.
But not like he was now.
This version of him stood higher, eyes flaming with an unearthly brightness, his veins darkened as if darkness had replaced his blood. Power emanated off him in choking waves.
"This is who you could be," Lucian said, his voice twisting about him like smoke. "The one who stopped running. The one who embraced his birthright."
Grayson could hardly grasp it before the image altered again.
Another version of himself appeared—this one broken. His physique looked emaciated, his eyes empty, his stance stooped in defeat. Chains tied his wrists. Old scars on his skin served as terrible memories of his agony.
The voice of Lucian slithered in. "And if you allow your father to win, this is what happens."
Grayson's breathing became labored. No.
The flashes of a thousand hells continued to come.
One where he had set Monarch Enterprises on fire.
One in which he had been totally broken by Alexander Blackwell, leaving nothing in his wake.
One in which he had never retaliated. There, helpless to stop it, he had witnessed the deaths of those he loved.
Clutching, whispering, and dragging him down, the shadows stumbled toward him.
"Grayson, this is your fate." Now Lucian's harsh, icy voice was in his ear. "You simply need to decide which hell you like best."
A sharp light suddenly tore through the emptiness as the darkness grew stronger.
As the dazzling light ripped through the illusion, the shadows flinched back, hissing like injured animals.
As the nightmare started to come apart, Grayson gasped and staggered back. The oppressive blackness began to peel away as the interminable corridors broke into nothingness.
Then—Lila.
Her blade glowed with golden energy as she stood in the middle of the turmoil, her face angry. The shadows were forced to back off as the Forgotten warriors rushed in behind her, their weapons drawn.
She fixed Lucian with her gaze. "You bastard, get out of his head."
As though slightly irritated, Lucian sighed. Then he grinned. "Oh, the best part was just around the corner."
He brought his shadows to life, and the room shook. Twisted, inhuman figures appeared from the walls, the floor, and even the air itself; their bodies moved strangely, their eyes shining like voids.
A fight broke out.
Lila's sword cut through Lucian's shadow minions with deadly accuracy as she confronted the first wave of them. Light and darkness clashed as the Forgotten warriors pursued, their attacks driving the darkness back.
Still reeling from the visions, Grayson forced himself to move, but instinct took over. His gaze shifted to Lucian, who was standing in the middle of the confusion, watching him with anticipation.
"The second round?" Lucian grinned. "Let's see if you have gained any new knowledge."
Grayson clenched his fists.
No more delusions. No more gimmicks.
He was prepared this time.
It was a chaotic conflict. Shadows clashed against light, swords met in deadly arcs, and the room trembled under the sheer force of power unleashed.
Grayson moved with precision, cutting through Lucian's minions with practiced ease. But the shadows weren't retreating. They were circling him, drawn to him.
Then—it occurred.
A pulse. A shift in the air. Something inside him snapped.
The shadows surrounding him reacted. Not to Lucian. Not to his adversaries.
To him.
They curled around his body, tendrils of living darkness rising at his command.
Lucian froze.
"No…" His voice was low, barely above a whisper. "That shouldn't be possible for you."
The always composed, always smirking Lucian appeared terrified for the first time.
Grayson sensed a shift in the rules. The control Lucian had imposed on him, the power he had used so easily, was eroding.
Because Grayson wasn't merely putting up a fight.
The rules were being rewritten by him.
The building itself seemed to react to him as the room shook violently and the walls cracked.
Grayson turned to Lucian and spoke calmly, his eyes blazing with dark energy. "It appears that there are others with tricks besides you."
Lucian stepped back. Then another.
The entire skyscraper moaned as Grayson's will caused the foundation to give way.
The structure then started to fall apart.
The dust had just begun to settle.
With the ruins of Monarch Tower falling in their wake, Grayson and his friends had managed to flee just in time.
Lucian was gone—vanished into the darkness.
They reunited at the hideout, the air dense with tension. The Forgotten soldiers were gathering their breath, Lila pacing restlessly.
Then—the screen flickered to life.
A live broadcast.
The moment Grayson saw him, his blood ran cold.
Alexander Blackwell.
Standing before the world, undisturbed by time, his presence dominating, his voice steady.
"Hello, son."
Grayson's jaw tightened.
His father's gaze bore into him, as if he knew exactly what had transpired. As though he had been anticipating this.
"I think we should wrap up what I started."
There was silence in the room.
Grayson let out a long sigh. He balled his fists.
"So let's get this over with."