I've always wondered why people act the way they do.Life answered that question for me. Brutally. No refunds.
Life doesn't come with gold tags or receipts. You earn every lesson the hard way. Chapter by painful chapter.
This one started with a bathrobe, hot coffee, and an ocean-facing sunrise.My secretary was already listing disasters lined up for the day, trying to keep my crumbling career from falling off a cliff, all thanks to the devil I somehow made my enemy.
Ten years of work. Everything is riding on this one morning.
I checked the mirror one last time.Perfect. Except for the scar slashing across my left eye. Looked like I'd wandered into someone else's pirate story.People used to say I was attractive. Until he gave me that scar.Now, every morning, he's the first thing I see. Cute, right?
The drive to the Secretariat blurred. I was anxious. And not for nothing.
"Lucas!" someone called. I jumped a little. Just Ralph, walking over while fixing his tie.
"Is he already in there?" I asked.
"The white-head? Yep. Somehow, that delinquent shows up early when it's least convenient."
We walked into the hall. Big room. Heads turned.I usually live for this kind of attention. Not today.My seat? Right next to the devil himself. Great.
"Will you put that stupid game away, Viktor? You're getting on my nerves," someone snapped nearby.
Black suit. Silver hair tied back.Viktor strolled in behind his crew, gaming on his phone like this was a casual Monday.He saw me, smirked. I gave him a stiff nod.He lowered his shades. Icy blue eyes. Pretty. Annoying.
"Hold on to it till the end, Drey," he muttered, handing his phone to the annoyed guy behind him and sliding into the seat next to me like he owned it.
"I checked the stats again this morning. He shouldn't win. Why's he so chill?" Ralph whispered, tapping his wristwatch like it owed him answers.
"When is he not chill?" I muttered. "Breathe, Ralph. Golden era, remember? Manifest it."
I glanced at Viktor. Cross-legged. Slouched. Radiating that smug 'I know something you don't' energy. I hate how cool he looks.
The jury entered. The room fell quiet. We stood.
"I, Roman St. Clair, Governor of Aethera, hereby announce the next Ultra-Elite, as voted by the council..."
BANG.
The chandelier shattered.Smoke everywhere. Chaos.
Masked figures dropped from the ceiling.Purple aura. Fireballs. Screaming. Mess.
"Lucas! Come to your senses!" Ralph shouted, shaking me.
Viktor rolled his eyes. "Starting without us? Rude."He launched a barrage of ice spears like it was nothing.
I needed answers. But Viktor was wiping out the evidence.
"Fire Serpent!"The purple-streak girl summoned a dragon of flames, torched a squad, then fist-bumped Viktor like this was just Tuesday.
I leaned into Ralph. "Distract his team. I'm grabbing one of them."
"Eternal Whirlwind!" Ralph yelled, throwing a tornado into the chaos.
I bolted after a masked guy with a scar across his eye.He ran, hurling electric zaps behind him like some off-brand Pikachu.Good thing I had an artifact that absorbed low-level shocks.
The streets were wild. Civilians panicking. Security everywhere.
He ran back into the building. I followed.We ended up on the rooftop.He turned, ready to fight. But I wasn't here to play.I summoned vines. Thick. Fast. Aggressive.
His lightning fizzled out. I had a higher aura level. I won.
I stepped forward. Time for answers.
Then...
Something sliced through the air behind me.
Fast.
Before I could react, it hit me straight through the chest.Lungs froze. Everything went still.
And then...
I fell.