The sun was just starting to rise over the city of Oakhaven. The sky was a pale purple color mixed with dark gray clouds.
Inside the grand home of the Caldwell family, there was no peace and no sleep. The large mansion felt completely cold and empty.
Lord Marcus Caldwell paced back and forth across his massive office. His expensive leather shoes made a heavy tapping sound on the beautiful wooden floor. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked at the clock on the wall again.
He was waiting for a phone call. He was waiting to hear the wonderful news that Caspian and Lyra Valerius were finally dead.
Desmond sat in a soft leather chair in the corner of the room. He was shaking violently. He kept biting his fingernails until they hurt.
He kept looking at his wrapped hand. This was the hand where Viper had cut him deep to take his blood. The pain was sharp, but the fear in his stomach was much worse. Desmond knew he had made a deal with true monsters.
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound broke the quiet morning.
The heavy glass window of the office blew open with massive force. Pieces of broken glass flew across the room and hit the wooden walls. A freezing cold wind rushed into the warm office, blowing papers off the large desk.
Marcus stopped walking. He froze in his tracks.
Desmond jumped out of his chair and let out a loud scream of pure fear.
Three figures dressed in completely dark clothes climbed through the open window frame. They were the Blood Shadow killers. They smelled like copper and dirty city streets.
They were breathing heavily and looking behind them as if a ghost was chasing them. They carried something very heavy between them.
They walked directly to the center of the room and dropped the heavy object straight onto Marcus Caldwell's very expensive rug.
It was Viper.
The top killer of the elite Blood Shadow was completely paralyzed. His dark eyes were wide open and filled with absolute terror.
He could not move his arms or his legs. He could not turn his head. He could only breathe in short, wet gasps. His body was stiff like a wooden board.
Marcus stared at the broken body on his floor. His face turned as white as a sheet of paper. He could not believe what he was seeing.
"What happened?" Marcus asked. His voice was shaking so much he could barely speak the words. "Where is the useless husband? Is he dead? Did the shadows trap you?"
One of the killers stepped forward. He did not look tough or scary anymore. He looked like a frightened child waking up from a nightmare. His hands were trembling.
"We failed completely," the killer said quickly. His voice was tight with panic. "The Valerius Tower is a total death trap. A single guard fought all of us at the very same time. He was too fast. And then the husband came outside to the courtyard."
"The husband?" Desmond asked. He sounded like he was going to cry. He stepped behind his father to hide. "Did he have a massive army hiding in the tall grass? Did they shoot you with weapons?"
"No," the killer answered. He swallowed hard and wiped sweat from his face. "He was wearing loose pajamas. He was holding a cup of warm tea. He looked like he just woke up from a nap. Viper tried to stab him in the chest. But the husband just sighed. He looked annoyed. He used one single finger to tap Viper on the chest. That one simple tap reversed all the wild energy inside Viper's core. The husband broke our fearless leader without even dropping his tea cup or raising his voice."
Marcus felt his knees get very weak. He reached out and grabbed the edge of his heavy desk to keep from falling onto the floor.
He realized the terrifying truth right then. The useless son in law was not a coward. He was actually a martial arts monster hiding in plain sight.
"The sleepy man gave us a direct message for you," the killer added. He backed up slowly toward the open window, eager to escape. "He told us to tell Lord Marcus Caldwell that his down payment was not big enough to buy his life. He said if you bother his family ever again, he will not be nice next time."
The three killers did not ask for their promised money. They did not bow or say goodbye. They simply turned around, jumped out of the broken window, and ran away into the early morning light. They wanted to get as far away from the city of Oakhaven as humanly possible.
Marcus looked at Desmond. Desmond was shaking uncontrollably and crying softly. The great plan had failed perfectly.
"Go to your bedroom right now," Marcus ordered. He sounded completely defeated and old. "Pack your bags. Take all your expensive jewelry and any gold you can find. We are leaving the city today. We must run far away. If we stay here, the Valerius family will destroy us completely."
Desmond nodded his head rapidly. He did not ask any questions. He turned and ran out of the office to pack his things.
Marcus sat down heavily at his large computer desk. His hands were sweating and slipping on the keyboard. He moved the computer mouse and quickly opened his private banking screen.
He needed to transfer his billions of spirit stones to a secret bank account far away so they could run away and start a brand new life in hiding.
He typed his secret password with shaking fingers. He pressed the enter button and waited for the screen to load his massive fortune.
The computer screen suddenly flashed bright red. A loud error sound beeped through the office speakers. It hurt his ears.
Suddenly, the red screen disappeared completely. A live video call popped up right in the middle of the monitor.
Marcus stared at the screen in pure shock. Sitting on the other side of the live video call was Bastian. The famous Shadow Broker was sitting at a very clean, bright desk. He wore his perfect midnight blue suit. He looked completely relaxed. He was taking a slow, calm sip from a white coffee cup.
"Good morning, Lord Caldwell," Bastian said smoothly through the computer speakers. He offered a polite and professional smile. "You are awake very early today. I hope you slept well."
"What are you doing on my secure computer network?" Marcus shouted. He hit his fist hard on the wooden desk. "Unlock my bank accounts right now. This is illegal."
Bastian placed his coffee cup down gently. He adjusted his silver glasses with one clean finger.
"I cannot do that, Marcus," Bastian said. His voice was calm, professional, and entirely ruthless. "You see, the Obsidian Vault had a very busy night while you were sleeping."
"While you were hiring dirty underground killers to attack my valued clients, my financial team was busy buying papers. We bought every single debt the Caldwell Trade Union owes to any bank in the world. We bought your unpaid business loans. We bought the mortgages for your warehouses. We bought the paper for the mansion you are sitting in right now."
Marcus felt a cold sweat run down his back and chest. He felt sick to his stomach. "What does that mean? Tell me what you did."
"It means you have a zero balance," Bastian explained simply. He did not sound angry, just factual. "You are completely bankrupt. You have nothing left."
"The house you are sitting in right now belongs to my bank. The expensive broken window belongs to my bank. Your cars, your fancy clothes, and your shoes belong to me. You have exactly ten minutes to leave my property before the city police arrive to arrest you for trespassing on private land."
Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but absolutely no words came out. His chest felt completely tight. His heart was beating too fast. The empire he built for thirty years was gone in ten seconds.
The office door opened quickly. Desmond ran inside carrying two very large, heavy suitcases. He was breathing hard. "Father, I am ready. I packed the gold. Let us go before the monster comes for us."
Marcus slowly turned his head to look at his son. A single, sad tear rolled down his wrinkled cheek.
"Leave the bags on the floor, Desmond," Marcus said quietly. His voice was broken. "We do not own those clothes anymore. We do not own that gold. We are officially homeless."
Desmond dropped the heavy bags. They hit the floor with a loud thud. He fell to his knees and started crying loudly like a small child. The great and arrogant Caldwell family was completely ruined before they even ate breakfast.
The video call ended with a soft click. The computer screen went totally black.
Later that exact same morning, the mood at the Valerius Tower was completely different. It was full of life and joy. The bright sun shined down warmly on the large stone courtyard. The air felt fresh and clean after the long, dark night.
A large team of strong construction workers was busy fixing the heavy iron gates that were broken during the big battle. The loud, happy sounds of hammers hitting metal and saws cutting fresh wood filled the morning air.
Lyra stood proudly in the very middle of the busy courtyard. She was wearing a bright yellow hard hat over her dark hair to stay safe. She held a large roll of blue building plans in her hands.
She was pointing confidently at the stone walls and giving clear orders to the workers. She looked like a strong, successful leader who was finally bringing her family back to greatness.
Caspian was not working at all. He was sitting in a quiet corner of the green grass on a very cheap, plastic lawn chair. He wore his simple, comfortable gray sweater. He was happily drinking sweet fruit juice from a small cardboard box. He looked completely relaxed and completely harmless.
Standing right next to his plastic lawn chair was Silas.
Silas was not wearing a hard hat. He was busy working a very different job. Silas was holding a very large, colorful beach umbrella high over Caspian to block the bright sun from hitting his face. In his other hand, Silas held a small battery powered fan. He was pointing the fan directly at Caspian to keep the cool air moving over him.
"Is the wind speed okay, brother in law?" Silas asked nervously. He kept his eyes completely fixed on Caspian, too afraid to look away. "I can run inside and get a bigger fan if you are too warm. Just say the word and I will sprint to the kitchen."
Caspian took a loud sip from his juice box. He smiled lazily and relaxed his shoulders. "The wind is perfect, Silas. You have a real natural talent for this specific job."
"Thank you," Silas said loudly. He puffed out his chest and looked very proud of himself. "I aim to please the head of the house."
Lyra rolled up her blue building plans and walked over to them. She looked at her older brother holding the colorful umbrella and the tiny fan. She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed a beautiful, loud laugh.
"Silas, you look absolutely ridiculous right now," Lyra said with a huge, warm smile.
Silas stood very tall and frowned at his sister. "I am providing a necessary service for the most important man in this family. Do not mock my hard work, Lyra. I am keeping the boss cool."
Caspian chuckled softly and looked up at his beautiful wife. "He is actually doing a great job. I think we should pay him a weekly salary. He makes a very good, loyal butler."
Lyra shook her head in pure amusement. She walked right up to the lawn chair and leaned down. She gave Caspian a very soft, sweet kiss right on his cheek. She did not care who was watching them.
"Thank you," Lyra whispered softly so Silas could not hear her words. "Thank you for getting the building contract for me yesterday. Thank you for protecting our home last night. You gave my broken family a second chance at life."
Caspian looked deeply into her bright, happy eyes. He felt a strong, warm feeling grow inside his chest. It was a feeling he had not felt in a very long time.
"I just want you to be completely happy, Lyra," Caspian said gently. "Now go build your heavy gates. I need to finish drinking my sweet juice."
Lyra smiled brightly and walked back to direct the busy workers. Caspian closed his dark eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze from the small fan. He finally felt peaceful in this small city.
But true peace never lasts long for a hidden Sovereign.
Far away from the sunny city of Oakhaven, deep underground in a hidden mountain cave, the main base of the Blood Shadow was dark, wet, and completely freezing.
The rough walls were made of solid black stone. Wooden torches burned brightly with strange, magical red flames that cast long shadows on the floor.
In the very center of the large stone cave, Viper was lying flat on a cold stone table. He was still completely paralyzed. He could not move his fingers.
Standing over his broken body was a massive, terrifying man named Goliath. He was the true master and leader of the Blood Shadow army.
Goliath was incredibly tall and wide. His arms were thicker than old tree trunks. His entire face and chest were covered in terrible, raised scars from countless old battles. He did not wear a shirt, proudly showing off his huge, powerful muscles to his men.
A dark doctor wearing a dirty gray robe was carefully checking Viper's chest. The doctor used his glowing hands to feel the invisible flow of energy inside Viper's broken core. The doctor looked very worried.
Goliath crossed his massive, scarred arms over his chest. "Tell me exactly what happened to my best killer. Desmond Caldwell told my men that a sleepy man tapped him with one single finger. I do not believe in cheap magic tricks."
The dark doctor stepped back quickly from the stone table. He wiped nervous sweat from his face. He looked terrified of Goliath.
"It was not a magic trick, Master Goliath," the doctor said quietly, bowing his head in respect. "It was a very real, very advanced martial arts move. The energy inside Viper was not just stopped by a simple block. It was completely reversed."
"The attacker hit a very specific, hidden meridian point near the heart with perfect accuracy."
Goliath narrowed his cold, violent eyes. "Many skilled masters know how to hit a simple meridian."
"Yes," the doctor agreed quickly, not wanting to make his master angry. "But the energy left behind inside Viper's chest feels different. It feels like the deep, crushing weight of the dark ocean. It is an ancient, forbidden technique. It is called the Abyssal Seal Strike."
Goliath stopped breathing for a second. He took a heavy step forward. The solid stone floor cracked loudly under his large, heavy boots.
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Goliath asked. His voice was low, deep, and full of dark, terrible danger.
"I am entirely sure," the doctor said. He kept his head bowed low. "Only one person in the entire world uses that specific meridian strike. Only one person has that kind of deep ocean energy inside their core."
A terrifying, incredibly ugly smile slowly spread across Goliath's scarred face. He looked down at the paralyzed Viper and started to laugh. His dark laugh echoed loudly through the entire freezing cave, sending shivers down the spines of his men.
"The High Regent King thinks his absolute biggest enemy is dead," Goliath said loudly. His voice was full of dark, twisted joy. "The whole entire world thinks the Shadow Commander was killed three years ago in the great war. But he is not dead. He is hiding in Oakhaven playing house."
Goliath turned around slowly and looked at his massive army of outcast killers waiting quietly in the deep shadows of the cave.
"Gather the elite battle squads right now," Goliath ordered loudly. He reached behind him and pulled a massive, heavy steel axe from his back. "The Caldwell family gave us the absolute greatest gift in the entire world. We are going to Oakhaven tonight. We are going to hunt a god."