Chapter 156: Obsession and Fear

If there was one thing Damien didn’t like, then it was the color pink. This made it pretty much obvious where that dislike and possible hate came from.

Silas.

He hated Silas to the very core for no apparent reason. This wasn’t something uncommon. In fact, it was very common. You would always have someone hating your guts just because you exist. That was how Damien’s hate for Silas was.

Despite getting beaten to near death and being hospitalized for a month and some weeks, Damien still didn’t learn. He was still hellbent on paying back Silas in blood. He was seeing Silas everywhere, and it had never been more disgusting to him.

On TV, it was Silas. On social media platforms, Silas dominated, even going as far as getting a huge fanbase, which Damien himself was part of. In his dreams, he saw Silas. It was annoying, disgusting, and... obsessive.

For one part, he didn’t understand why he joined his fanbase in the first place. It was strange to even himself, but he couldn’t find himself leaving no matter what. He rather found himself chatting more and more on the platform.

That was a topic for another time.

Damien was currently seated in the chair in his room, staring at his phone.

His room wasn’t decorated as you would expect from someone with his polished, almost princely image at school. It was the room of a gamer.

A massive triple-monitor setup occupied one corner, each screen displaying different things. One had a paused strategy game. Another showed a live stream muted in the background. The last displayed performance statistics from his computer. LED strips ran along the edges of the ceiling, glowing in soft violet and blue.

Shelves lined one wall, stacked with collector’s editions of games, action figures, gravity-themed comics, and trophies from gaming tournaments he’d won years ago.

A racing simulator sat near the window, complete with a steering wheel, pedals, and a bucket seat. Headsets hung neatly from hooks, while controllers were arranged by color. His mechanical keyboard glowed rhythmically while his expensive gaming PC quietly hummed under the desk.

Unlike his arrogant public image, this room looked lived in and comfortable, messy in an organized sort of way. A half-finished can of soda rested beside several energy drink cans waiting to be thrown away.

A hoodie had been tossed over the back of the chair. His bed remained perfectly made. He rarely used it. Most nights, he fell asleep in front of the computer.

At this moment, however, none of those things held his attention. His gaze remained fixed on the video playing on his phone. It was shaky security footage. Someone had clearly recorded it while trying not to be noticed.

The footage showed a dim facility, with rows of prison cells stretching endlessly into the darkness. Every steel door remained firmly locked. Every electronic lock still blinked green. Nothing appeared damaged or to be forced open, and yet every single cell was empty.

The camera slowly moved farther inside. The person recording kept muttering under their breath.

"What the hell..."

"They were here thirty minutes ago..."

"No alarms..."

"No broken locks..."

"Where did they-"

The video suddenly tilted downward. The recorder had noticed something. Painted onto the concrete floor was a symbol, a beautifully intricate symbol. It was an arrow pierced directly through a heart. Surrounding the heart were six magnificent wings spreading outward like a divine crest. The symbol glowed faintly with a soft pink hue despite there being no visible light source.

Damien frowned.

"What is that?"

He replayed the last few seconds, and the symbol appeared again. Something... something about it...

"Why does this feel familiar?"

He leaned closer to the screen, and his heartbeat became strangely irregular. Without realizing it, his blue irises slowly began changing, as a faint pink shimmer flashed across them. It lasted less than a second, then disappeared.

Damien froze.

"What?"

His hand moved on its own slowly, almost reverently. His fingertips drifted toward the phone screen, toward the symbol, toward the heart pierced by the arrow.

"I..."

His finger stopped barely an inch away when an overwhelming urge consumed him.

Touch it.

Touch it.

Touch it.

He couldn’t explain why. He simply needed to. His breathing became uneven, his chest tightened, and his heartbeat accelerated. Then, a second emotion erupted inside him. Fear.

This was not ordinary fear, but primitive fear, the kind that crawled beneath the skin and whispered that something incomprehensibly powerful was watching... watching him.

Damien’s hand trembled violently.

"N-No..."

He suddenly jerked backward, almost dropping the phone. Cold sweat drenched his back. His breathing became ragged, while his eyes darted around his room. But he saw nothing.

No one was there, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. Someone had found him. Someone was looking directly at him.

"Silas..." The name escaped his lips before he realized it. His pupils shrank.

"Why did I say that?"

His mind screamed that it made no sense. Silas wasn’t in the video. Silas wasn’t anywhere near him. There wasn’t even the slightest connection between the two. Yet the fear, it pointed toward only one person.

Silas.

It was as though merely thinking of him had become dangerous. Damien clenched both fists until his nails bit into his palms.

"No." His breathing steadied little by little. "No... I’m not afraid of him."

He repeated it again and again.

"I’m not afraid."

His expression slowly hardened as the fear receded, only for something else to take its place. Obsession. It was no longer simple hatred. It had become a fixation.

Every achievement of Silas, every television appearance, every victory, every smile, and every headline. Damien wanted to erase them all, not because he simply hated him anymore, but because he couldn’t bear the thought of Silas standing above him.

"I’ll surpass you..." His voice came out barely above a whisper. "I’ll beat you."

His grip tightened around the phone.

"I don’t care what I have to do."

The image of the six-winged heart remained frozen on the screen. For just an instant, the symbol pulsed, almost as if it had heard him. Then, deep within Damien’s soul, something dormant stirred.

It was not enough to awaken, or enough to reveal itself, but just enough to whisper... a whisper so ancient that even Damien couldn’t hear the words. Only the feeling. A strange longing.

********

Goodness Gracious!

This is the end of Volume 2, Jotun Inheritance.

If you loved it, leave a review, a comment, or a gift. Any would be very appreciated. The next volume would explain more of Chloe’s ability and inheritance, and also show the identity of the being she inherited her power from, and Anna’s true identity.

I don’t want to release so many spoilers. I’m trying to give each of Silas’s women screen time in each volume, while filling in clues to what is coming soon.

As for the number of women... There are more to come.

Have a great day and Happy New Month in advance!