Chapter 153: The Architect of Misfortune
Rivan straightened up, brushing a non-existent speck of dust from his sleeve. "Well, since your pathetic story is about to reach its conclusion, I suppose it's only fair you understand the plot. Let me explain, in great detail, exactly how I engineered every single moment of your lives to bring you right here, right to this point of absolute defeat."
He paused, letting the weight of his words—and his gravity—sink in. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, a shimmering, translucent barrier erupted around the three of them. The world outside—the unconscious form of James, the worried faces of Aria and the others—vanished, along with all sound. They were now in a perfectly isolated pocket of space, completely cut off from the outside world. Nothing would escape this bubble unless Rivan willed it.
"Comfortable?" Rivan asked, his tone mockingly conversational. "Good. Let's begin with a blast from the past. Actually, do you remember Ruok?"
The name sent a jolt of visceral memory through both brothers. The sadistic killer. The one who had hunted them down and ended their lives.
"Yes, that guy who killed you once," Rivan continued, savoring their reaction. "Well, did you never wonder why he chose you? You might have thought it was just bad luck, being in the wrong place for a single day. But there's always a deeper reason." He leaned forward slightly, his smile widening. "Actually, I sent him there."
He let the confession hang in the air, allowing the sheer scale of his manipulation to dawn on them.
"You see, I knew about his... particular fetishes. So, I contacted him. I posed as a middleman, someone desperate for money, and in exchange, I fed him the locations of fresh, interesting targets." Rivan's voice was chillingly matter-of-fact. "And to ensure he never grew suspicious, I had him eliminate five or six others first. You were just another name on a list I provided... until it was your turn."
The revelation was a poison, seeping into the foundation of their most traumatic memory and corrupting it. It wasn't random. It was a hit.
"And now," Rivan said, his eyes glinting, "don't be shocked that I know about your little reanimation ability."
This struck Kai with the force of a physical blow. His mind, already reeling, latched onto this new horror. First the Zambandari, and now him? How many people know? How deep does this secret run? The one thing that had always been their ultimate, hidden card was apparently an open secret among their most powerful enemies. The walls of their world were not just closing in; they were revealing themselves to have been a carefully constructed cage all along.
Rivan continued his monologue, each word a carefully aimed dagger designed to flay their souls.
"And do you remember that seven-tailed fox?" he asked, his voice dripping with false nostalgia. "The one that got attacked by 5 professional ? I tortured it first, then provided it with just enough resources to force its evolution. I needed it to gain the system's attention, to trigger a gathering of powerful individuals. All so that Ruok would notice you. And he did, just as planned."
He paced slowly in front of them, a conductor detailing his grand symphony of misery.
"Then, I was the one who planted the idea in Ruok's head to use Ashveil assassins. After that, I personally made the anonymous call to Tom Lee, directing him to go to Ruok Room. I needed him to witness your little fighting ability, to be impressed, to recruit you. And you desperate little orphans... you took the bait, didn't you?" He let out a soft, cruel laugh. "Did it never strike you as a bit too convenient? First, you found James Lee, and then his foster brother, the great Tom Lee, just happens to show up and offer you a prestigious job? The sheer coincidence of it all should have been a screaming alarm."
He wasn't finished. He was dismantling their entire history.
"I even built the Dark Veil Order on the side. Its primary purpose? To harass and pressure Ashveil, to create a situation so desperate they would rush to hire any powerful assets they could find—like you two."
He revealed the final layer of his deception. "I tracked down prisoners from the underworld, secured contracts with their families, and brought them into my fold. Every enemy you fought, every mission you undertook, was a piece I placed on the board."
He stopped and looked down at them, his expression one of utter domination.
"And look at my manipulation! From the moment you stepped into my web until the very second it closed around you, it all felt natural to you, didn't it? You thought every step you took was your own choice, your own free will. But it was an illusion! I manipulated your entire environment, giving you the mirage of freedom while I pulled the strings. Tom, you, Moon, Ruok... every single one of you. You were all just pawns in my game."
As his final words hung in the air, the last vestiges of Moon and Kai's reality shattered. The entire foundation of their lives—every struggle, every choice, every hard-won victory—crumbled into dust, exposed as nothing more than an elaborate script written by Rivan. The sense of "I," of their own individuality and agency, was utterly broken.
Kai's pride, his entire identity as a master strategist who controlled his own destiny, evaporated. His analytical mind, which had always been his anchor, now had nothing to grasp. He was hollowed out.
Moon, while not as reliant on intellectual control as his brother, was no less devastated. The fury that had defined him was now revealed to be a tool Rivan had used to steer him. A profound, soul-crushing toll settled upon him.
With a flick of his wrist, Rivan dissolved the soundproof barrier. He looked upon their broken faces—Kai's vacant stare, Moon's trembling, impotent rage—and a smile of pure, unadulterated pride spread across his face. He had won not just the battle, but the war for their very minds.
Seeing that smug smile was the final straw for Moon. A raw, guttural roar erupted from his throat. He ignored the searing pain, the gravitational pressure crushing his bones, and forced himself forward. His body screamed in protest, ligaments tearing and bones cracking under the immense force, but he still lunged, driven by pure, undiluted hatred.
But it was futile.
DHAAM!
The pressure intensified exponentially, slamming him back down into the floor with finality, pinning him completely. He was trapped, not just physically, but in a prison of Rivan's design, built from the ruins of his own life.
Kai did not sob. No sound escaped his lips. But from his eyes, tears began to flow—a silent, desperate torrent of utter defeat. These were not tears of physical pain, but of a soul realizing its entire existence has been a lie. His brilliant, sapphire-blue eyes, usually so sharp and calculating, were now completely drowned out by the angry, bloodshot red of his sclera. The contrast was jarring—a stormy sea of blue swallowed by a crimson sky of despair, like a fallen angel weeping tears of shattered pride.
The scene was frozen in this moment of absolute desolation when the main door creaked open.
"Hey! Why is it so quiet in here?" Minji's cheerful voice called out as she stepped inside. "Are James and Moon missing or something?"
Ruby followed close behind her.
The smile died on their lips. Their eyes landed on the scene in the living room. Four strangers stood watching. And on the floor lay James, Moon, and Kai—all three pinned down, broken.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Ruby screamed, her body flaring with essence energy. Without a second thought, she and Minji launched themselves at Rivan, the obvious threat.
It was over before it began.
Rivan didn't even look at them. He simply flicked his fingers. An invisible, crushing weight slammed into the two girls, driving them to the floor alongside their friends, their cries of protest stifled by the overwhelming pressure.
Rivan's gaze then fell upon Ruby, who was struggling with ferocious, futile intensity against his power. A slow, cruel smile of recognition spread across his face.
"Ruby...? Isn't it?" he mused, his voice a low, mocking drawl. A dark chuckle escaped him. "Hahahahaha... It is so sad to see the one who gave me permanent scars in my childhood lying on the floor like this, licking the dust. Wasted potential, isn't it?"
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes tracing her form. "But I have to admit, you've dedicated yourself to becoming quite beautiful. Though... I do miss the old, chubby one. There was more fight in her."
Dismissing them, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Well, it seems the final guests have arrived. No more time to waste." With a telekinetic command, the two contract scrolls floated into the air before him. He began to weave intricate patterns of energy over them, and the parchment started to glow with a sinister, bloody red light—the unmistakable sign of a slave contract being forged.
"Please, Big Brother, stop!"
Aria's voice cut through the tension. She stepped forward and placed her hand gently but firmly over Rivan's, a desperate plea in her eyes.
"Don't make them your slaves," she begged, her voice trembling. "They are also our brothers. You have the contracts; you have four chances to make them do anything you wish. Please, let it be just that. Don't strip away their very souls."
Rivan's face initially darkened with a flash of irritation at being challenged. But just as quickly, the anger subsided, replaced by a calculating calm. A new, even more vicious idea seemed to dawn on him.
"Wait," he said, a sly smile playing on his lips. "I haven't even told them about you yet." He turned his gaze from Aria to the broken forms of Moon and Kai, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent.
Rivan's voice cut through the heavy silence, laced with a theatrical, mocking kindness. "Well? Don't you recognize her? Take a good, long look." He gestured flamboyantly towards Aria, who stood with a quiet, pained dignity amidst the chaos he had created.
When the brothers, crushed both physically and spiritually, could only manage confused and hateful glares, Rivan offered a cruel hint. "Oh, come now! Does her face not remind you of Uncle Jacob and Aunty Tanya?"
The names—Jacob and Tanya—acted like a key, violently unlocking a long-sealed vault in the deepest recesses of their minds. The dusty, fragmented memories of their early childhood, memories they had buried under years of survival and self-reliance, now surged to the surface with painful clarity.
They were only four years old. Their father, Jacob, with his strong, gentle hands that could lift them both at once. Their mother, Tanya, whose laughter used to fill their home with warmth. They remembered the palpable joy, the whispered excitement. Their mother was pregnant.
But the joy was short-lived. Shortly after their sister was born, Jacob and Tanya vanished. No explanations, no goodbyes. They were just… gone. The newborn baby girl stayed with Moon and Kai for a few months, cared by maids and nanny . They were too young to understand, but old enough to feel a deep, aching loss and a burgeoning responsibility. Kai, even at four, would sit vigil by the crib, his small brow furrowed. Moon would try to make the baby laugh by pulling funny faces.
Then, their little sister fell gravely ill. It was a sickness that normal healers couldn't cure. She was taken away and placed under advanced mechanical supervision in a specialized facility. In the chaos that followed their parents' disappearance, they never even got to give her a name. She was just "the baby," a ghost of a family that had been ripped away from them. Eventually, they were told she had not survived. It was a lie that cemented their status as orphans, alone in the world.
Now, decades later, in their own shattered living room, the truth was staring them in the face. The puzzle pieces that had never fit now clicked into a horrifyingly clear picture.
Kai's mind, reeling from the systematic deconstruction of his life, now made the final, devastating connection. That's why she intervened during the fight with Monkey and Shami. That's why her help felt so… innate. It wasn't just strategy or a trick. It was a sister's instinct to protect her brothers, even if they didn't know her. The realization was a unique form of agony, a beautiful truth delivered in the most horrific way possible.
Moon's fury was momentarily eclipsed by a wave of profound, disorienting grief. The little baby he had tried to protect was here. She was alive. And she had been fighting alongside the man who had orchestrated their suffering.
Rivan watched the dawning comprehension on their faces with immense satisfaction. "Yes," he confirmed, his voice dripping with smug finality. "She is indeed your sister. Your own blood sister. The one you thought was dead. Quite the family reunion, isn't it?"
He then made a great show of pondering, tapping a finger on his chin. "Well, well... Aria here has always been like a little sister to me as well. And she has never asked me for anything before." He sighed, a performative gesture of magnanimity. "Very well. I suppose, for her sake, I can be... lenient. Besides," he added with a dismissive wave, "I only need you two for a few small tasks anyway."
With that, he turned and began to walk calmly towards the teleporter room, the two glowing contracts floating beside him like obedient pets. Monkey and Shami fell in step behind him without a word.
Aria stood frozen, torn between the family she had just found and the one she had always known. Her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, darted between Rivan's retreating back and her brothers, broken on the floor.
Shami, sensing her hesitation, gently but firmly took her arm. "Come on, Aria," she whispered, her voice low and pragmatic. "We are not their enemy right now. But if you stay here, all their rage, their confusion... it will have nowhere to go but towards you. No one here is stable enough for this conversation."
Aria's resolve broke. A single tear traced a path down her cheek as she allowed herself to be led away. But before she stepped through the teleporter, she turned back one last time. Her gaze—a complex mix of sorrow, apology, and a desperate, unspoken love—swept over Moon and Kai. It was a look that held a lifetime of separation and a silent promise that this was not the end. She held that long, poignant eye contact for a heart-wrenching moment, imprinting the image of her brothers on her soul, before finally turning and disappearing into the crimson light, leaving behind a silence more deafening than any explosion.
The gravitational pressure lifted. But the weight on their souls was heavier than ever. They were free to move, but they were trapped in a new prison—one made of betrayal, shattered memories, and the haunting image of the sister they had lost and found in the same devastating instant.
To be continued….