The book began to tremble violently, dark energy swirling around him like an ominous storm. His eyes widened in horror.
"What the actual hell was happening?"
Blood ran down his arms and a searing pain ripped through his body. He barely had time to comprehend the situation before everything faded to black.
When he awoke, he was chained in a dark room, his body aching, covered in bruises and abrasions. His vision blurred, but soon a girl with chilling
red eyes emerged from the shadows. She smiled sweetly, cruy.
"I've been waiting for you to wake up," she whispered.
Panic surged through him. He struggled against the chains, but they held firm.
He winced as pain shot through his limbs, and she tisked in disapproval."
"Pain is necessary," she said almost lazily. "It teaches you a lesson."
His mind reeled. "What lesson? What the hell
was going on?"
She sighed as if disappointed. "This shouldn't have happened to you. But it's your own fault. Your cruelty, your arrogance, your selfishness. It led you here."
He clenched his teeth. "Excuse me, what?"
Ignoring him, she continued, her voice carrying an eerie certainty. "You were meant to hurt others, to make them despise you, to make them hate you, and then you would belong only to me."
A chill ran down his spine.
The girl's lips curled into a grim smile. "But something changed." "No matter." Her red eyes gleamed. "I'll fix you with my love, no matter how long it takes."
His breath hitched, his stomach twisted.
"What? We can talk about this. We will always be together. Not even death can separate us."
And that's when he screamed. Abir or now Ryan jolted awake, gasping for breath. His heart pounded like a war drum. Cold sweat clung to his skin as he clutched the sheets, struggling to convince himself that it had been just a dream. Or was it?
His body still ached. His arms still burned where the chains had held him. It felt real. Glancing at his arm, his breath caught. The cut from earlier was still there, the same one he had used to awaken the book. Dread crawled down his spine.
If this book was supposed to be a cheat, then why did it feel like it was actively working against him?, as he questioned himself.
With shaky hands, he flipped open the book again.
And there, staring back at him in ominous lettering, was a warning.
"You cannot change deatiny. Otherwise you will die."
. .