Chapter 1 – The Night Everything Ended
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound came again, louder this time, rattling the thin wooden door like someone was trying to break it down.
"Jaden," a voice called out, half-laughing, half-awkward. "Open up, man."
Laughter followed. Nervous. Curious.
Whatever joke they expected, it wasn't answered.
From behind the door came muffled sounds instead. Low breaths. A sharp gasp. The creak of a bed pushed far too close to the wall.
The knocking stopped.
A few seconds passed.
Then someone cursed under their breath.
"Are they serious right now?"
As far as reunions went, this one had already gone off the rails.
Ten years since graduation. Ten years of drifting lives, unfinished ambitions, and quiet comparisons. A rented house. Loud music. Cheap liquor. Familiar faces pretending they hadn't spent years measuring themselves against one another.
Most people came to catch up.
Jaden came to forget.
Inside the room, he barely registered the voices outside. The world had narrowed to heat, closeness, and the dizzying relief of being wanted, even if only for a night.
Susan clutched at his shoulders, nails digging in as if afraid he might vanish. Her breath was unsteady. So was his.
Maybe it was reckless. Probably stupid.
But it felt good.
And right now, that was enough.
By the time the others realized what was happening, it was already too late to pretend innocence. No one was bold enough to force the door open, and after a few tense minutes, the group gave up.
Music was turned up. Someone cracked a joke. The moment passed, filed away as something to laugh about later.
Life moved on, as it always did.
An hour later, Jaden stepped back into the living room, shirt half-buttoned, hair still a mess. A few heads turned immediately.
Some smirked.
Some looked away.
Susan never came out. She was asleep, sprawled across the bed, a faint smile lingering on her face as if caught in the middle of a pleasant dream.
Jaden grabbed a bottle from the counter and took a long drink.
The burn in his throat grounded him.
"Done having fun?" Jacob asked, eyebrow raised.
Jaden shrugged. "Guess so."
Mark didn't laugh.
He stared, jaw tight, eyes sharp with something that went beyond annoyance. "We're all here for a reunion," he said. "And you couldn't even last the night without pulling that?"
Jaden met his gaze calmly and took another sip.
No apology.
No excuse.
That only made it worse.
"If you wanted to show off," Mark continued, voice rising, "you could've at least waited—"
"That's enough," someone cut in quickly. "Relax, man."
The tension hung heavy, but it didn't explode. Not tonight.
Games followed. Karaoke. Drinking. Forced laughter. Familiar stories told with new exaggerations.
For a while, it almost felt normal.
But as the alcohol piled up, so did the thoughts Jaden had been trying to drown.
Ten years.
Ten wasted years.
Some of them had businesses now. Careers. Families. Stability.
And him?
Fired. Again and again. Temporary jobs. Empty apartments. Nothing solid to show for the time that had slipped through his fingers.
Truth or dare came up at some point. He drank instead of answering.
He drank when someone mentioned promotions.
He drank when someone joked about settling down.
He drank until the noise blurred into something distant and dull.
By the time the night ended, his head was spinning and his limbs felt heavy, but he waved off offers to call a ride.
"I'm fine," he insisted, stumbling toward the door. "I live close."
The streets were quiet. Too quiet.
Cold air bit at his skin as he walked with no real direction, guided more by habit than awareness. Streetlights stretched into hazy halos. The world tilted slightly with every step.
He fumbled for a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply.
The warmth in his chest was fleeting, but he welcomed it.
At least tonight, he didn't have to think.
Then the fog rolled in.
Thick. Sudden.
It swallowed the street whole, turning familiar shapes into distorted shadows. Jaden slowed, squinting ahead.
"This isn't right," he muttered.
The road vanished beneath his feet. Sounds warped. Footsteps echoed where there should've been none.
Figures moved in the fog.
Not people. Not quite.
His heart pounded as his vision swam. A piercing light cut through the haze, blinding him.
A horn blared.
Pain exploded.
He barely had time to register the impact before he was thrown backward, the world spinning violently out of control.
As he lay there, breath shallow, something moved.
Something massive.
Jagged wings unfurled, stretching impossibly wide. Enormous blue eyes fixed on him, glowing with a presence that crushed the air itself.
A monster.
No—worse.
It regarded him with cold curiosity, as if deciding whether he was worth remembering.
The fog thinned.
The pain intensified.
Jaden laughed weakly, blood filling his mouth.
"So that's it," he thought. "This is how I go."
At least he hadn't died untouched by life. At least he'd felt something. Pleasure. Desire. Heat.
The world dimmed.
Darkness closed in.
Then—
"Young master!"
The voice was sharp with panic.
Jaden gasped and sucked in air like he'd been underwater too long. His head throbbed as he opened his eyes.
A woman knelt beside him.
She was older than the girls he knew, yet carried herself with a composed elegance that made it hard to look away. Red hair framed her face, eyes warm and fierce with concern.
"You're safe," she said quickly. "Thank the heavens."
He tried to sit up and failed.
"Where… am I?" he croaked.
She smiled, relief washing over her features.
Before he could ask another question, something clicked inside his mind.
A sound unlike anything he'd ever heard echoed through his skull.
[Ding.]
[Binding successful.]
[System acquired.]
Jaden froze.
And for the first time that night, fear eclipsed everything else.