The halls of the kingdom stretched endlessly, golden chandeliers casting a glow over polished stone. Valen Zayn Wells walked with a quiet certainty, his presence heavy, his steps measured. He was the prince, the second-degree Overlord, and in his mind, the rightful ruler of everything before him. Yet, despite all his indulgences, his power, his endless supply of fleeting entertainment, there was still one thing missing—Nyx.

  For Valen, life was not about honor or duty. It was about pleasure, about control. He had spent years indulging in the luxuries his status afforded him—grand feasts, endless nights of vice, and an endless stream of people who existed only to entertain him. He used them, discarded them, trying to fill the void that Nyx had left. But none of them mattered. None of them could replace her.

  Because unlike them, Nyx was not just another conquest. She was real. She was the only one he had ever truly wanted. And yet, she was the one who refused him.He wanted her, but not as she was. He wanted Nyx like every other girl—obedient, accepting, willing to play the part he assigned her. But Nyx was none of those things. She hated him. She saw through him, and she was the only one who dared to challenge him. She barely even acknowledged his games, let alone let herself be hurt by them. She didn’t fear him, didn’t flatter him, didn’t try to win his favor. And that only made him want her more.

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  He knew his sister, Eris, had ambitions, but they were laughable at best. He made sure to remind her of that every chance he got. Every remark, every dismissal, every calculated insult reminded her of her place beneath him. “You’ll never be the princess,” he had told her once, leaning lazily against his throne, a smug grin curling on his lips. “You don’t have what it takes. You don’t deserve it.”

  But Eris was not weak.

  In the shadows of the grand kingdom, she trained. Her hands bled from endless combat practice, her mind burned with the desire to prove herself. She refused to be just Valen’s overlooked sister. She refused to be told what she could or couldn’t be. One day, she would stand against him. And when that day came, she would show him exactly who she was.

  Far from the kingdom, in a place untouched by light, the creature watched.

  It was a name few knew, a presence that lurked just beyond recognition. It did not seek power in the way that Valen did. It did not hunger for control. No, the creature wanted something far more terrifying—chaos. It wanted destruction, the unraveling of order itself. And the best way to do that was to let the players believe they were the ones in control. Valen, Nyx, Eris… they were all pieces on its board, moving exactly as needed.

  “Let them fight,” the creature murmured, its voice as cold as the void. “Let them believe they can win.”

  In the end, they would all break. And when they did, it would be waiting.