The city burned.
Not with fire, but with lies. With greed. With the slow, quiet rot of people pretending to be good while they destroyed each other behind closed doors. Elias stood at the window of his penthouse, watching the skyline, the neon, the rain. The contract on his forearm pulsed faintly, like a second heartbeat. It had changed overnight. The symbols were sharper, darker, as if they had grown stronger while he slept.
Lira stood beside him, silent, her presence like a cold draft in the room. She didn't speak unless he asked. She just watched, like a shadow that had learned to smile.
"The second stage begins today," she said, her voice soft, like wind through dead leaves.
Elias didn't turn. "What does it give me?"
"More than before," she said. "You'll see not just auras, not just ghosts, but the truth behind them. The hidden fears. The buried sins. The lies they tell themselves. And you'll be able to take more than a piece of their soul. You'll be able to steal their memories. Their will. Their very identity."
"And the cost?"
"The same," she said. "A piece of you. A piece of your past. A piece of your humanity."
Elias finally looked at her. "I don't care."
She smiled. "I know."
***
The next morning, Elias went to his company's headquarters. SoulLink Industries was a fortress of glass and steel, a monument to his power. Thousands of employees moved through the building like ants, each one a cog in his machine. He walked through the halls, not as a CEO, but as a predator, testing his new power.
He could see more now.
Not just auras, not just ghosts, but layers. A man in a suit, smiling, shaking hands, but his aura was split — one part bright green (ambition), the other part black (fear of failure, fear of being exposed). A woman in the elevator, calm, professional, but her aura flickered with red (rage, resentment, a secret affair). A security guard, loyal, disciplined, but his aura was stained with gray (guilt, a past crime he thought no one knew).
Elias didn't stop. He just absorbed it. He stored it. He filed it away for later use.
Then he saw her.
Sarah, his assistant, the one he had taken a piece of in the study.
She looked different. Thinner. Paler. Her aura was weak, the green almost gone, the dark veins spreading like cracks in glass. She moved slowly, like a puppet with broken strings. When she saw him, she flinched, then forced a smile.
"Good morning, sir," she said, voice quiet, hollow.
Elias looked at her, not with pity, but with calculation. "You've been avoiding me."
She swallowed. "I… I've been busy, sir."
"You're afraid," he said. "Not of me. Of what I did to you. Of what I can do."
She didn't answer. She just stared at the floor.
Elias stepped closer. "You're weak now. Useless. But you're still alive. That means you're still useful."
She looked up, eyes wide. "What… what do you want?"
"Everything," he said. "Your memories. Your will. Your loyalty. I want to know who you've been talking to. Who you've been afraid of. Who you've been planning to run to."
She shook her head. "I… I haven't told anyone. I swear."
Elias didn't argue. He just reached out, not to touch her, but to focus on her. He could feel her soul, her fear, her memories. He grabbed a larger piece this time, not just a thread, but a chunk.
Sarah gasped. Her body jerked. Her aura shattered, the green breaking apart, the dark veins spreading like cracks in glass. She fell to her knees, gasping, eyes wide, like she was reliving her worst memory.
Elias didn't stop. He kept pulling, feeding on her soul, making her weaker, more broken.
Then, he pushed.
He forced her to relive the moment she had first decided to betray him. The moment she had chosen greed over loyalty. The moment she had sold her soul.
Sarah screamed again, louder, more desperate. She clawed at her head, at her chest, like she was trying to tear the memory out.
Elias watched, calm, cold, like a scientist observing an experiment.
After a few minutes, Sarah collapsed. She didn't move. She didn't breathe.
Elias checked her pulse. Nothing.
She was dead.
Not from a heart attack. Not from a stroke.
From soul loss.
Elias felt nothing. No guilt. No fear. No regret.
Just the cold, sharp hum of power.
He called security. "Sarah had a heart attack. Clean it up. Make it look natural."
They did.
No one questioned it.
No one ever did.
***
That night, Elias stood in his study again, looking at the city through the rain.
Lira appeared beside him, silent, watching.
"You killed her," she said.
"Yes," Elias said.
"Did it feel good?"
"No," he said. "It felt… right."
Lira smiled. "Good. The first stage is complete. The second stage begins tomorrow."
Elias looked at his arm. The contract glowed faintly, the symbols shifting, changing.
He didn't feel human anymore.
He didn't want to.
He wanted power.
He wanted control.
He wanted the game.
And he was just getting started.
***
The next day, Elias tested his power on a bigger target.
He went to his company's main lab, where his scientists were working on the next version of SoulLink. He walked through the rows of machines, the rows of people, watching their auras.
Most were gray, mixed with fear and obedience. A few were green, ambitious. One, in particular, stood out.
Dr. Alan Reed. Lead scientist. Brilliant. Arrogant. Ambitious. His aura was bright green, almost blinding, with thick, dark veins of pride and greed.
Elias had known for months that Reed was planning to steal the SoulLink design and sell it to a foreign government. He had let it happen, waiting for the right moment.
Now, the right moment had come.
He called Reed into his private office.
Reed walked in, confident, smug, like he already owned the company. "You wanted to see me, Elias?"
Elias didn't stand. He just looked at him, at his aura, at the greed, the pride, the betrayal.
"Yes," Elias said. "I wanted to talk about the SoulLink 8 project."
Reed smiled. "It's going well. We're ahead of schedule."
"Good," Elias said. "Because I'm going to kill you."
Reed's smile froze. "What?"
"I said, I'm going to kill you," Elias repeated, voice calm. "Right here. Right now."
Reed laughed, but it was forced. "You're joking."
"No," Elias said. "I'm not. You've been planning to steal my work, sell it to the Chinese government, and disappear. I know everything. I know the dates, the contacts, the money. I know you've already transferred half the data."
Reed's face went pale. "You… you can't prove that."
"I don't need to prove it," Elias said. "I just need to act."
He stood, walked around the desk, and looked into Reed's eyes. "You're not the first traitor. You won't be the last. But you're the first who's going to die because of what I can do now."
Reed backed away. "Security! Security!"
No one came.
Elias smiled. "They can't hear you. They can't see what I'm about to do."
He reached out, not to touch Reed, but to focus on him. He could feel Reed's soul, his will, his fear. He grabbed a larger piece this time, not just a thread, but a chunk.
Reed screamed.
Not from pain. From terror.
His body convulsed. His aura shattered, the green breaking apart, the dark veins spreading like cracks in glass. He fell to his knees, gasping, eyes wide, like he was reliving his worst memory.
Elias didn't stop. He kept pulling, feeding on Reed's soul, making him weaker, more broken.
Then, he pushed.
He forced Reed to relive the moment he had first decided to betray Elias. The moment he had chosen greed over loyalty. The moment he had sold his soul.
Reed screamed again, louder, more desperate. He clawed at his head, at his chest, like he was trying to tear the memory out.
Elias watched, calm, cold, like a scientist observing an experiment.
After a few minutes, Reed collapsed. He didn't move. He didn't breathe.
Elias checked his pulse. Nothing.
He had died.
Not from a heart attack. Not from a stroke.
From soul loss.
Elias felt nothing. No guilt. No fear. No regret.
Just the cold, sharp hum of power.
He called security. "Dr. Reed had a heart attack. Clean it up. Make it look natural."
They did.
No one questioned it.
No one ever did.
***
That night, Elias stood in his study again, looking at the city through the rain.
Lira appeared beside him, silent, watching.
"You killed him," she said.
"Yes," Elias said.
"Did it feel good?"
"No," he said. "It felt… right."
Lira smiled. "Good. The first stage is complete. The second stage begins tomorrow."
Elias looked at his arm. The contract glowed faintly, the symbols shifting, changing.
He didn't feel human anymore.
He didn't want to.
He wanted power.
He wanted control.
He wanted the game.
And he was just getting started.