Bound by the king of destruction

Elyen's car rolled up to an enormous, glimmering hotel. The moment he stepped out, he tripped on nothing and fell flat on the pavement.

His driver froze, horror flashing across his face. Any scratch on Elyen and he'd be paying with his job or worse. But Elyen was always like this. Clumsy.

"Oh… I fell," Elyen muttered from the ground, his voice so tired it sounded like he might just stay there forever.

Inside the hotel lobby, a man and two women waited eagerly. The instant Elyen walked through the doors, his aunties descended on him like a pair of overly dramatic queens.

"Oh my dear God, Elyen, finally you're back!" cried Vivienne, clutching his arm as though he'd been lost at sea. "Do you know how many sleepless nights I've had? It's been two years! Two years!"

Since he'd gone abroad, his return had been kept almost secret.

The man, his father Varek, cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem… excuse me, I'm here too, you know."

"Hey, Dad," Elyen mumbled, still sounding exhausted.

"Hey, son. How was your flight?"

Before he could answer, Vivienne flapped a hand dismissively. "Never mind the flight! You must be starving. Come, come, sit down before you fall on your face anytime soon."

"Your mother isn't coming today, either," Charlotte said with a huff as they seated him.

"She's always been like that, fixated on her work," Vivienne added with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

Elyen said nothing.

The hotel glittered with polished marble, crystal chandeliers, and the quiet murmurs of the city's elite. But Elyen didn't even look around. Fancy places never impressed him.

Then Charlotte gasped so loudly that half the lobby turned to look. "What is this? A scratch? On your cheek? Elyen! What happened?"

"I fell," he repeated flatly.

Charlotte's sharp gaze snapped to the driver. He tensed like a man facing a firing squad.

"Well, you see, Miss Charlotte, I—"

"Don't you dare say a word!" she cut him off, hands on her hips. "You had one job. One! Get him here safely, and you bring him bleeding? What do you do as his driver?" She grabbed a napkin and started dabbing Elyen's face with surgical precision.

The driver thought miserably, My job is driving, not babysitting…

Varek cleared his throat again, louder this time. "Would you two quit it? He's a grown man. Stop treating him like a glass ornament."

"Of course we have to pamper him!" Vivienne shot back, flipping her hair. "After all, he's the only boy in the Blackthorn family. Do you expect us to just let him bleed?"

But the scratch wasn't even that visible.

Charlotte leaned forward, lowering her voice but not her intensity. "I heard you're enrolling at Wilson Castalis… but why? We're rich! You could stay home and live like a king. What if something happens to you?"

Elyen stayed quiet, his expression unreadable.

Vivienne clasped her hands dramatically. "And of all departments, why Hunters? You're so smart, Elyen! You'd dominate the Exorcist Department without lifting a sword. A genius like you doesn't need muscles—just that big brain of yours."

They're forgetting the Exorcist Department involves combat too, just trickier, Elyen thought.

Varek sat with his eyes closed, pretending not to hear them. Finally, he muttered, "Maybe he wants to follow in my steps, since I am a hunter."

"Oh, shut up, Varek. We're talking to Elyen," Charlotte snapped.

"Great. Now I'm invisible," Varek muttered. Why do I even bother? I have never won against Charlotte.

Elyen finally cut through their bickering. "Can I just get some food?" His voice stretched like he had zero energy left. "I'm kinda hungry."

"Yeah, sure!" they both said at once, signaling the waiter with the urgency of generals calling for reinforcements.

Varek leaned closer, lowering his voice. "But seriously, Elyen. What's the real deal? You returned from abroad out of the blue and submitted your enrollment before you even booked a flight."

"Knowing you hate any kind of hustle, I can't wrap my head around it. Is this something personal?"

Elyen hesitated. He wasn't even sure of the answer himself.

"It's just a hunch, Dad," he said.

His vague reply left everyone blinking in confusion.

---

Outside, the city stirred with its own rhythm. Advertisements flickered across hovering screens, casting shifting colors on the wet pavement. Above, the hum of drones layered over distant sirens and the murmur of a world that never truly slept.

---

Beneath it all, I regained consciousness in the alley.

The ground felt cold and uneven, littered with broken glass and yesterday's smoke. My breath came in short bursts. Every bone in my body ached like I'd been dragged through a storm I didn't remember.

I blinked around, my head buzzing with static. Van jolted forward, wrapping me in a grip so tight I almost choked.

"Mas—" He caught himself. "Fiel! Are you feeling better?"

I stared at him, startled. He almost called me Master again.

"Van, you're holding too tight."

He sprang back, his stiff expression clearly saying, I don't care.

"I doubt you have enough shirts left in there," he muttered with a glance at my burned clothes.

"It's getting harder to endure the pain," I whispered, mostly to myself.

I dug into my backpack, pulled out a clean shirt, and slipped it on. "I'll buy more soon."

The alley was growing colder by the minute. I stood and pulled out my phone to check the time—only to find the screen dead and cracked.

"It broke when you slammed down earlier," Van muttered, crossing his arms like a sulking cat.

---

We left the alley, walking away from the city's bright hum into dimmer, sleepier streets. This part of Elaria never changed. Or maybe no one cared to change it.

"Van, let's go surprise Grandma Elunara. She has no idea we're arriving today."

We'd barely taken a few steps before Van started whining.

"Can't we just not walk?" he groaned.

I wasn't about to let him merge with me again, so he ended up trailing behind, dragging his feet like he was going to collapse on purpose.