Chapter 1 – Worship and Hatred
The morning breeze slipped through the window of a luxurious mansion on top of a mountain. Beside it, pools mirrored the sky; the gardens were perfectly arranged. The mansion, decorated in white on the outside and inside, reflected the light of that calm morning. The small rays of sunlight that pierced through the bedroom window illuminated a 150-inch screen. Inside the room, near the screen, a man lay on the bed. The silence was, at times, so deep that it was only broken by the rhythmic sound of his breathing. He slept on an extremely comfortable bed. His body was neither thin nor muscular, but his skin was smooth like a baby's. Black hair brushed against the sheets.
For the man's name was Kaios Dervios.
TICK! TICK!
An alarm clock, beside his nightstand, rang with a shrill sound impossible to ignore. Kaios couldn't help it — he threw the sheets over the pillow. He was shirtless, wearing only black pants. He stretched with an absurdly sleepy yawn, his appearance showing that sleep had not completely faded away. With effort, Kaios got up and walked to the door on his right. That door led to the bathroom.
Kaios approached a bathtub full of water. He placed his arms on the edge and frowned, clenching his teeth.
"Too cold."
It didn't sound like he was mocking the water, but rather surprised by the cold that seemed to come straight from the Arctic. Still, without hesitation, he washed his face. His skin trembled. The water was so icy that it woke him up completely. Now, with his face washed and shaken by the cold, he looked toward the exit door and ran his hand through his silky hair.
"I should've heated it before touching."
Back in the bedroom, his hair was impeccable. His handsome face, now framed by the neat hair, made him even more charming. He grabbed a white robe and put it on, wearing a black coat over it.
"Uff."
He took a deep breath and, opening his palms, at that instant, a coin appeared over his arms. It pulsed with an intense red glow, as if forged from infernal lava. The coin had two distinct sides:
Heads on one side_
And on the other_
Tails_
Kaios held the coin between his fingers and tossed it into the air. His eyes followed its spin intently. With each turn, his eyebrows twitched. When the coin was about to hit the ground, Kaios caught it with his right hand. His heart pounded hard. He stared at the coin in his hand: it was tails. His eyes lit up, and a faint smile of satisfaction appeared.
At that moment, Kaios opened the door to his left and left the room. The coin was no longer in his hand — it had vanished. He descended the stairs leading to the living room on the lower floor. Heavy footsteps echoed through the mansion. Reaching the last step, he stood in the living room, where there were expensive accessories and a minibar, next to the staircase leading upward again.
To the left of the room was the door that granted access to the exterior of the mansion. But before Kaios could reach it, a female voice echoed throughout the house, loaded with exhaustion.
"You're going out again? We promised we'd go to our cousin's house today!"
Frozen in front of the door, Kaios stiffened. He knew that voice belonged to his sister, Cath. He looked back to see if she was there, but no. The voice came from her room. Kaios sighed, relieved.
"Sorry, but that's going to have to wait until tomorrow!"
He said in a depressive tone, as if forced to do something he didn't even want.
He stepped out through the front door. Outside, the scent of a freshly watered garden filled the air. The pools reflected the sunlight. Several cars were parked in the garage. Down below, from the mountain, only the road and the forest could be seen.
Kaios walked up to one of the cars, an orange model from an absurdly expensive brand. He got in, started the engine, and exited through the gates. The wheels spun over the road that snaked down the mountain. In seconds, he was already cruising the highway toward the city.
Soon his speed increased.
VROOMM!
Other cars also traveled the road. With windows down, their occupants stuck their heads out and shouted desperately:
"I love you, Kaios! Please, let us touch your skin! We beg you! We worship you!"
Even those walking along the road cried out the same thing. Kaios, indifferent, merely waved with his left hand, and that alone was enough to drive them even more hysterical, as if they were seeing a god.
His car sped on at high speed. The strong wind made his black hair rise, creating a dramatic effect. He followed the road until he reached the city: tall buildings, busy streets… But the entire city stopped to admire him. Children, adults, the elderly — everyone stared at Kaios in fascination.
"When I grow up, I want to be like Kaios!"
Said a five-year-old child in his mother's arms, near a building close to a nightclub. It was the same nightclub where Kaios parked his orange car. Several muscular men, dressed in black, approached. They seemed to have been waiting for him. A sign above the entrance read:
"Welcome, Kaios Dervios. We adore you!"
People crowded closer, trying to touch Kaios's soft skin, but were blocked by the massive-armed guards. They opened the nightclub door for him. As soon as Kaios passed, the door closed.
Inside, black lights streaked across the room. The loud sound of music made everyone dance. The smell of sweat, cigarettes, and alcohol was intense. Everyone danced — until they noticed Kaios Dervios.
They stopped. They just stared at the man with the face of a prince charming.
"He's so handsome… I want to dance with him. I have to ask nicely!"
Men and women whispered the same thing.
Kaios walked to the stage. People cleared the way. Once there, he grabbed the microphone from the DJ's hand and, with a firm and seductive voice, declared:
"Drinks for everyone. All on me."
The crowd exploded in joy, screaming his name. Kaios stepped off the stage and went to a nearby couch. Women, dressed in minimal and sensual outfits, abandoned their partners to approach him. They caressed Kaios's neck with gestures of pure desire.
The boyfriends watched from afar, laughing and drinking.
Among them was Lin, a bald man dressed in white. He watched his girlfriend stroking Kaios and murmured:
"This is amazing. Finally, my girlfriend got the chance to touch Lord Kaios's skin. I'm so proud of you, love!"
He said happily, with a sick kind of excitement.
While Kaios was surrounded by women, time slipped by unnoticed. When he looked at his pure gold watch, it read 0:21.
He stood up and left, circling around the women. The guards followed him. Outside, the city was silent. Only the muffled sound of music from the nightclub could be heard. Kaios yawned. Without saying goodbye to the guards, he got into his orange car and started the engine.
He accelerated.
The wheels spun as if famished for the road. He drove back toward the mansion on the mountain.
Upon arrival, he stepped out of the car and, without bothering to park, entered the house. He climbed the stairs slowly, careful not to wake Cath.
He went to his bedroom, lay down on the bed — and fell asleep instantly.
[✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓]
The next morning, the sun's rays hit the screen near Kaios's bed.
TIC TIC
The sound of the alarm clock was extremely loud, as usual, impossible to ignore. Kaios woke up, raised his arms upward and stretched. His soft black hair touched his face. Getting out of bed, Kaios headed to the bathroom and, once again near the bathtub with water, he muttered:
"Ahh, again I have to wash my face with the coldest water on the planet. Damn it!"
He said, depressed. But even without wanting to wash his face, he needed to, so he wouldn't look sleepy. Then, in a quick act, Kaios washed his face and brushed his white teeth.
Leaving the bathroom, he raised the palm of his right hand.
The same coin as always, with a red glow, appeared above his arm. Pinching it with two fingers, Kaios threw the coin upward. His eyes didn't move away from it as it spun in the air. Before it could hit the ground, he caught it precisely with his left hand.
His pulse and his breathing were accelerated. Taking a deep breath, he opened his palm and looked at the coin.
But it no longer represented tails.
The coin represented heads.
"What the fuck!"
His voice seemed loaded with disappointment. He spoke through clenched teeth. The coin disappeared again. Kaios grabbed the pocket of his coat and remembered something — a memory from the night before. He had forgotten his wallet at the nightclub.
"Seriously? It's not enough to deal with this damn coin, I also had to forget my wallet!? Great way to start the day!"
He grumbled, depressed and sarcastic. He opened the door, left the room and went down the stairs. The sound of his footsteps on the steps was so loud it seemed like he was stomping on purpose, such was the anguish he carried.
Reaching the last step, Kaios arrived at the living room, where the main door was. Inside the place was his sister, Cath. Black hair, pink pajamas, soft skin like her brother's, beautiful face like his. She saw Kaios opening the door to leave.
"Are you kidding me? You promised that today we'd go to our cousin's house!"
She spoke with a slightly arrogant voice, so exhausted she was. Kaios didn't answer. He simply left, passing by the orange car he hadn't even parked in the garage. He got into another car, this one red. Started the engine and drove through the mansion's gates, heading toward the city at high speed.
VROOOMM!
A car also driving down the road passed so close it almost collided with Kaios's. The driver rolled down the window and shouted, with a loud voice full of hatred, as if he had hated Kaios forever:
"You deserve to die! Nobody loves you, you pathetic idiot! One day I'll kill you!"
The words were so intense they didn't sound like a joke.
Kaios ignored it, as if he hadn't heard anything. He just drove, intending to retrieve his wallet. People on the sidewalks stared at him with threatening looks. Some threw stones at the car. Others simply repeated that they hated him.
His arrival in the city sparked whispers everywhere.
"He will never be welcome here. He should be dead already!"
People wouldn't stop talking. There were cars trying to crash into Kaios's. All driven by such irrational hatred that they couldn't even explain why. They only knew they hated him.
Kaios parked his car near the nightclub. But this time, no security guards came to welcome him. Even the guards nearby stared at him with disdain. Kaios entered the place. There was no music, no crowd. Just a bartender and four men drinking red wine. Among them was Lin, bald, dressed in blue pants and a white t-shirt.
On the nightclub's wall, the clock read 13:35.
Kaios walked to the couch where he had sat the previous night. When the four men saw his arrival, they stood up and came toward him.
"Oh! You idiot, are you looking for this? Well then go to hell!"
The voice echoed — it was a voice of pure hatred. Lin spoke, showing the wallet Kaios was looking for. The other three laughed at him. Lin waved the wallet with his left hand.
Before Kaios could say something like "Can you hand that over to me?", Lin pulled a gun from his waist with the same hand. In a sudden movement, he didn't hesitate. He aimed the gun and, the next second...
PA!
Lin pulled the trigger. The shot was thunderous. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. The bullet pierced Kaios's head — right in the middle of his forehead. Blood dripped down. The bullet also pierced the clock on the wall, which now read 13:36.
Kaios's body began to fall. But, before it touched the ground... he rose again. Alive.
"Are you going to hand me my wallet?"
Said Kaios, already out of patience.
Lin and the others stared at him in shock. They were certain the bullet had gone through his head. They had seen the blood. They had hit him.
But now... they didn't see a single drop. The hole in his forehead had vanished. It was as if he had never been shot.
Lin trembled. His hands no longer had the strength to hold the gun. He dropped the wallet and the revolver. The others trembled as well. Without hesitation, they fled outside the nightclub.
Kaios watched them without caring. The woman behind the counter was breathing heavily, terrified. Kaios simply picked up the wallet from the floor, stood up and left the nightclub. People on the street looked at him with the same contempt as always. The same hatred.
He got into the car. Started the engine.
Sped toward the road.
[✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓]
Upon arriving at his mansion, Kaios got out of the car and entered the house. In the living room, on the couch near the door, was Cath, lying down, with her feet resting on the table. Her expression was deeply sad. Small tear marks were visible in her eyes. She held the phone in her hands.
Kaios walked past her without any greeting. He just headed to the minibar near the stairs.
He grabbed an expensive bottle of vodka, opened it, took a huge gulp. Only then did he glance at his sister. He didn't want to ask, but seeing her like that... he couldn't ignore it.
"Are you going to tell me what happened? Or are you just going to sit there crying?"
Cath didn't loo
k at Kaios. She kept staring at her phone. With a trembling voice and a weight of loss, she said:
"Our cousin... she _"
She hesitated for a moment. And then continued:
"She just died at [13:36]."