Chapter 52 – The Darkness That Welcomes

  The ship floated on the dying ocean.

  No crew.

  No music.

  Just the stench of burnt flesh and the iron scent of blood painting the waves red.

  The flag fluttered weakly on the mast.

  A symbol — jagged, alien.

  The sigil of a false god.

  A lie the world hadn’t even realized it was swallowing.

  Somewhere deep in the ship’s gutted insides, a voice crackled on broken radio:

  "H-help u-...they...took it—"

  Static swallowed the plea.

  Then the ship exploded.

  No warning.

  No fireball.

  Just gone.

  A memory erased in a heartbeat.

  The news storm broke across the planet.

  Screens glowed in every city.

  Headlines screamed from every mouth still brave enough to speak.

  UNKNOWN FORCES INVADE EARTH

  NEW WEAPON LOST – HUMANITY'S LAST LINE BREACHED

  WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY WANT?

  Panic bloomed faster than any virus.

  Politicians smiled in press conferences with plastic faces and dead eyes.

  "Our military capability is second to none," they promised.

  "This is under control," they lied.

  "Human spirit will prevail," they prayed.

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  And still, behind the curtains—

  Generals drank whiskey with trembling hands.

  CEOs signed secret deals with unseen monsters.

  Religions rewrote their books overnight.

  The world wasn't ending.

  It was beginning again.

  And it was going to be very, very ugly.

  But none of that mattered—

  Because a few days ago—

  Something even more unbelievable happened.

  The camera crews assembled like vultures at the gates of the High Judiciary.

  Every network.

  Every radio.

  Every feed.

  An ocean of bodies pressed against military barricades.

  Guns gleamed under the winter sun.

  Helicopters circled overhead.

  All for one man.

  The heavy black vehicle rolled in.

  Armored. Cursed.

  It hissed open like the jaws of a coffin.

  And Grim stepped out.

  Chains on his wrists.

  Chains on his ankles.

  Chains on his soul.

  The press exploded.

  Microphones were shoved. Cameras flashed like lightning strikes.

  Shouts.

  Screams.

  "GRIM! LOOK HERE!"

  "GRIM, WHY DID YOU DO IT?!"

  "IS IT TRUE YOU SLAUGHTERED A COUNTRY?!"

  Above it all—

  HEADLINES screamed:

  THE GRAVEST SERIAL KILLER IN HUMAN HISTORY.

  IS HE EVEN HUMAN?

  THE DEMON IN CHAINS.

  Then—

  The second man stepped out.

  Tailored suit.

  Sunglasses.

  That kind of face you could sell gods to.

  He landed next to Grim with a casual smirk, the crowd parting for him like peasants before a king.

  The internet died and was reborn.

  The memes hit like a plague.

  "When your bodyguard hotter than your criminal."

  “If crime got me a bodyguard this hot I’d be a serial killer too.”

  "When Grim killed 3 million but you still think he's cute."

  "Grim x Security Guard yaoi confirmed???"

  Grim didn’t flinch.

  Didn’t react.

  Not to the shouts.

  Not to the noise.

  Not even when someone threw a rotten tomato that splattered across his chest.

  He just stared forward.

  Past the screaming world.

  Past the thousands who would never understand.

  He climbed the marble steps alone.

  Each step sounded like a drumbeat at the funeral of innocence.

  The gates of the Judiciary loomed above him.

  Old stone.

  Older hate.

  They creaked open.

  A darkness deeper than shadow waited inside.

  Not the sacred darkness of demons.

  Not the noble darkness of rebellion.

  No.

  This was the darkness of law.

  Of cages made not of metal, but hopelessness.

  Grim stared at it.

  His face didn’t change.

  He took one step inside.

  Then another.

  Then disappeared into it.

  The doors slammed behind him.

  The sound echoed across the frozen city.

  And across the world.

  End of Chapter 52 – The Darkness That Welcomes