Elara kept staring at them as if the letters might suddenly move or change. The red paint—no… not paint. It looked thicker than that. Darker. Almost like blood.
WELCOME BACK, AERES.
A cold silence filled the hallway.
Elara slowly turned toward Adrian.
Or… Aeres.
His face had changed.
Not his features, not physically. But something inside him had shifted. The softness that usually lived in his eyes had vanished, replaced by something older… darker.
Dangerous.
"You didn't tell me they were still watching you," Elara said quietly.
Adrian didn't answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the message.
"They were never gone," he finally said.
His voice sounded calm, but Elara could feel the tension radiating from him.
"Who wrote that?" she asked.
Adrian stepped closer to the wall, running a finger across one of the letters. The red substance smeared slightly.
"Someone who knows exactly where to hurt me."
Elara's chest tightened.
"So this… this is about your past?"
Adrian's jaw clenched.
"No."
He turned toward her slowly.
"This is about my future."
The words sent a strange chill through the air.
Elara folded her arms, trying to control the storm of questions inside her head.
"You said Aeres was someone you used to be," she said. "But whoever did this clearly thinks that person still exists."
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
Then he gave a quiet, humorless smile.
"They don't think he exists."
A pause.
"They know he does."
Elara's stomach twisted.
"Adrian—"
A sudden BANG echoed from somewhere inside the mansion.
Both of them froze.
Another loud crash followed, like glass shattering.
Adrian's expression instantly hardened.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"Absolutely not."
He looked at her sharply.
"Elara—"
"You think I'm going to stand here while someone breaks into your house?"
Adrian didn't argue further. Instead, he moved quickly down the hallway, his steps silent and controlled.
Elara followed close behind.
The mansion felt different now. The warm lights suddenly seemed colder. The long corridors stretched endlessly into shadow.
Another sound echoed from downstairs.
Voices.
Low.
Male.
Adrian stopped at the top of the staircase and looked down.
Three men stood in the living room.
They weren't trying to hide.
In fact, they looked very comfortable.
One of them was sitting casually on the couch, spinning a silver knife between his fingers.
The moment Adrian stepped forward, the man looked up.
And smiled.
"Well," he said lazily. "Look who decided to show up."
Elara's heartbeat quickened.
The stranger stood slowly.
He was tall, with sharp features and dark hair tied loosely at the back. His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Adrian Vale," he said. "Or should I say…"
His smile widened.
"Aeres."
Adrian walked down the stairs without fear.
"Elara," he said quietly without looking back. "Go upstairs."
"I'm not leaving."
The stranger laughed softly.
"Oh, let her stay. This might be entertaining."
Adrian stopped a few feet away from them.
"You broke into my house," he said coldly.
The man shrugged.
"You broke our world first."
Elara frowned.
"Our world?"
The stranger's eyes shifted toward her.
"So you don't know," he murmured.
Adrian's voice dropped dangerously.
"Don't."
But the man ignored him.
He looked at Elara with clear curiosity.
"You really have no idea who you're living with, do you?"
Elara's pulse pounded.
"I know enough."
The man chuckled.
"No," he said softly. "You really don't."
Adrian stepped forward.
"This conversation is over."
The other two men behind the stranger immediately straightened, their hands moving slightly—ready.
But the stranger lifted a hand, stopping them.
"No violence tonight," he said lightly.
He stepped closer to Adrian.
"You see, Aeres… we didn't come here to fight."
Adrian's expression remained cold.
"Then why are you here?"
The man tilted his head slightly.
"To invite you back."
Silence fell across the room.
Elara felt her breath catch.
"Back where?" she asked.
The stranger's smile returned.
"To the throne you abandoned."
Adrian didn't react.
But Elara saw his fingers curl slowly into a fist.
"We managed without you for five years," the man continued. "But things have changed."
His voice dropped slightly.
"The Consortium is collapsing."
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"That's not my problem."
The stranger leaned closer.
"It will be."
A heavy pause stretched between them.
Then the man whispered something so quietly Elara almost missed it.
"They found Olympus."
Adrian's reaction was immediate.
His eyes flashed with something sharp and dangerous.
"That's impossible."
"That's what we thought too," the man said.
Elara felt completely lost.
"Olympus?" she asked.
No one answered her.
The stranger stepped back.
"Well," he said cheerfully. "I've delivered the message."
He started walking toward the door.
"But we both know how this ends, Aeres."
He paused at the doorway.
"You can hide as Adrian Vale all you want…"
His eyes glinted.
"But sooner or later…"
A slow smile spread across his face.
"The monster always comes back."
The three men left as suddenly as they had appeared.
The mansion fell silent again.
Elara looked at Adrian.
He hadn't moved.
"Adrian," she whispered.
He still didn't respond.
"Adrian."
Finally, he turned toward her.
But the expression on his face made her heart skip.
Because the man standing in front of her no longer looked like the quiet, controlled Adrian she knew.
He looked like something far more dangerous.
"Aeres…" she murmured softly.
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
Then he spoke.
And his voice carried a weight she had never heard before.
"They found Olympus."
Elara swallowed.
"And that means?"
Adrian opened his eyes slowly.
"It means," he said quietly,
"the war is about to begin."