When he woke up, he was lying on a bed in a massive room. The bed was soft, the blankets thick and warm, and the pillows felt like clouds—something he had never experienced before.
The room was bright, a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room, and under it was a small coffee table.
In the corner across from his bed were two massive windows, covered by beautifully designed curtains with gold stitching, giving it that expensive look.
On the opposite side of the room was a door with a golden knob.
He slowly sat up, noticing he was still wearing his tattered clothes. Then he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," he called out.
The door opened, and through it, a girl entered the room. She was about the same age as him, maybe a year younger. She had long orange hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. She walked toward him and placed a set of clothing at the edge of his bed.
While she had her back turned, he asked,
"Where am I?"
That startled her. She turned.
"You are in the Great House."
"What?" he snapped, jumping out of the bed, attempting to leave, but she blocked his path.
"You can't go. I was asked to keep you here," she stumbled over her words.
He loomed above her, his red eyes glaring down at her.
"Move, stupid girl."
Her eyes became watery. She started shaking. She slowly backed away as Sylas moved forward—until she stumbled and fell to the ground.
He ran out of the room barefoot.
He sprinted through the massive hallway. Guards were stationed around, watching him. He dashed toward them. Using his mobility and reflexes, he slid under one of them, sidestepped, jumped, and leaped off another toward the stairs.
The hallway was huge, filled with paintings of all the great warriors of the Virelia family lined up.
He ran nonstop. All he wanted to do was leave this place.
He ran down the stairs toward the main door. He pushed the door open.
Outside was a massive garden, filled with rows of different-colored flowers. On the far left was a huge training ground. On the right were many small houses where the maids stayed. And in front of him was an enormous gold metal gate.
He ran toward it. He just wanted to get out of this place.
The maids and guards stared at him in confusion. But he kept running.
He smiled as he ran toward the gate, clutching his chest, trying to catch his breath.
Then the smile suddenly disappeared. He stopped a few feet away from the gate.
He realized—his necklace was missing.
He started panicking. He checked his pockets, looked around the floor, but it wasn't there.
He rushed back into the house, thinking he might have left it in the room. He ran back and opened the door.
And when he was about to run up the stairs—he saw a boy standing at the top of the staircase.
He was about the same age as him. Red hair. Brown eyes. He had the look of a brat. And he was holding his necklace.
Sylas looked at him, calm and confused.
"Who are you? And hand it over right now."
The boy smiled.
"I'm the 13th son of the Virelia Kingdom—Luis."
"I don't care. Now hand over my necklace," Sylas said, extending his hand.
Luis smirked as he extended his arm, the necklace hanging from his grip.
"Come and get it."
Sylas slowly walked up the stairs, his hand reaching out for it. At that moment, nothing else mattered. He only saw the necklace.
Step by step, he walked toward Luis, his hand reaching out. His eyes filled with relief.
Right before he was about to grab it—Luis kicked him in the chest and threw him off the stairs.
Everything slowed down at that moment.
He fell backward. The only thing he saw was Luis grinning.
He didn't understand why.
He continued to fall—until his reflexes kicked in.
He flipped and landed on his feet.
He lowered his head.
"What the hell did you do that for?"
Those words barely escaped his lips.
"I don't know why they even brought you here. It's pointless. Not like you'll survive the trial."
Sylas stood there, frozen, confused.
Then he lifted his head. His gaze was sharp. He reached out his hand again.
"I don't care about any of that. Now hand it over."
But Luis ignored him and continued to blabber.
"It's pathetic. It's just a bronze key necklace. We all have gold, platinum."
He paused for a moment and smiled.
"Maybe I should destroy this useless thing."
"Why are you doing this? We have never met or even seen each other in our lives, so why?" Sylas muttered.
A disgusted look formed on Luis's face as he went on to insult him further.
"Son of a slave has no right to be part of the Virelia family," he laughed.
Sylas didn't want to be part of this family. He had been brought here by force.
His mind and body filled with anger the more he listened to him. His hands trembled uncontrollably.
He clenched his fists. His uneven nails dug into his palms, trying to make it stop, but it didn't work.
Luis continued, laughing harder.
"She thought she could get out of her class. She was nothing but street trash. She was a w—"
Snap.
Sylas didn't give him the chance to finish the sentence. He ran toward him.
He leaped. Kicked off the rail. Pushed himself off the wall in a zigzag motion—left, right, left, right.
Before Luis knew it, Sylas was above him. His knee ready to strike. His red eyes locked on him. His face became expressionless. His eyes filled with anger.
Then, in an instant—his knee connected with Luis's face, sending him flying down the hallway.
He didn't give him the opportunity to get up. Or a chance to fight back.
He ran to him. Grabbed his necklace in his left hand. Got on top of him.
He didn't say anything. He just stared. His face still expressionless. He stared him down. His eyes cold.
"Everything that's about to happen now… it's on you."
Bam. First punch.
"I'm sorry," Luis muttered.
Sylas looked at him. Without a word, he punched him again. This time on the nose.
Then he started punching him in the face nonstop.
One of the times Luis moved his head—Sylas ended up hitting the solid ground.
He looked at him again.
"Did I say you could dodge?"
But that didn't stop him. He kept going. Now more aggressively.
Blood stained Luis's face. He screamed for help. He begged Sylas to stop. But Sylas kept going.
His hand was bruised, covered in both his and Luis's blood. But he couldn't feel anything.
His breathing was heavy. His mind went blank—as if something inside him had snapped.
Hearing Luis scream for help, the guards showed up. The scene shocked them.
One of the hired guards called out for him to stop—but instantly froze when Sylas turned and glared at them.
His eyes were wide. And red.
"Back off."
Then he turned back—and continued to beat Luis down.
Seeing the situation getting worse, one guard forced himself to move. He locked his arms around Sylas's waist, pulling him off Luis.
"Young master, stop. You're going to kill him," the guard shouted as he pulled him away.
The other two ran to help Luis.
He wasn't done.
He struggled uncontrollably. Then he elbowed the guard that was holding him. Grabbed his sword. And charged toward Luis.
He was about to strike him—when something shot past him. A blur.
And in the blink of an eye—he was unarmed.
"That's enough, Sylas," a familiar female voice said.