It has been eight years now, and Calus and Lina had become like father and daughter.

Slowly, he laid down his sword, and blood became a rare sight as he distanced himself from killing.

Lina had filled the void in his heart, and as she grew, Calus could swear she resembled Eva even more. At this point, he even doubted if Eva had a twin they never knew about.

Now, at eighteen, she was beautiful—a young maiden.

Over time, Calus had settled in the city, built a flourishing business, and enjoyed each day with Lina.

Of course, like Eva, Lina was mischievous and had tried on several occasions to match Calus with women. But Calus always calmly declined, even though many of those women had already developed a faint attraction to him because of his handsome features.

*****

At a manor on the east side of the city…

The scent of delicacies being prepared spread through the air, and the servants all wore envious expressions.

The lord was about to cook once more for his daughter. His food was always the best, as if it came from a time they could not comprehend. But only the lord's daughter had the privilege of fully enjoying it.

Still, the servants could taste the crumbs and leftovers and even that was enough to take them to heaven and back.

"Are you almost done?" a charming male voice was heard as plates were set down and wine glasses were filled.

"Yes, Dad… let's serve the dishes," a magnetic feminine voice replied.

A middle-aged man in an apron walked out, smiling, sweat covering his face.

"Good girl, let's begin," the man said with a gentle smile as he looked at the stunning beauty before him.

And so, Calus and Lina sat down to eat together. Lina rushed through her food, making Calus laugh and smile.

Finally, they were full, and the maids carried everything away.

"Dad, a toast to us," Lina called out with a bright smile.

Calus chuckled and took the glass.

"A toast to us," Calus said.

Clink…

The two wine glasses touched.

Calus drank the wine.

"…Mmm."

"That's a great wine," Calus said, lifting the glass with a smile.

"Yes… it sure is. Probably the last you'll ever drink."

"…Huh?"

Just like that, Calus felt an itch.

Everything slowed as he heard Lina's voice.

That voice, once filled with joy and warmth, suddenly turned cold.

It felt strange… unnatural.

His body, his mind, everything lagged behind reality.

How could this be? How could this happen? There's no way… no possible way…

Why would Lina speak like that?

Calus stiffly turned to look at her and froze.

A wicked grin spread across her face as she stared at him.

"Lina… you—"

His words died in his mouth as his body trembled.

He felt weak. His power was sealed, fading away rapidly.

Clap… clap… clap…

A steady series of claps echoed.

Calus dropped to one knee, struggling to support his failing body. Then his eyes widened in horror as he saw a familiar face.

Fre.

"How dare—"

Calus felt his head grow light…

…and everything went black.

Fre smiled as he patted Lina's shoulder.

"You did well, kid," Fre said with a smirk.

Lina bowed.

"Yes, Master."

*****

Calus slowly awoke, groggy, to a new environment.

Torches lit up the dark room. Thick bars stood before him, and his wrists and ankles were tightly bound.

Looking closer, he realized he was chained in a dark underground prison.

"Ahh… you're awake," that familiar voice rang out once more.

Calus felt all his emotions surge and explode at once.

"Fre… what did you do to Lina? Did you control her? Turn her into a puppet like your organization does? I won't forgive you for this!"

He gritted his teeth as he spoke. He still felt extremely weak, his body on the verge of collapse.

"Hahaha… forgive me?" Fre laughed, holding his stomach as he stepped out of the shadows, a wide smile on his face.

"I don't need it." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"And we never mind-controlled her. You're wrong about that."

Fre paused as Calus furrowed his brows.

Could it be…?

Did Lina do this on her own? No… that's impossible…

"But you are correct about one thing," Fre continued.

"She was our puppet."

He winked.

Calus's body trembled.

"What…? This can't be… this isn't possible…"

"Shocked?" Fre smirked. "Let me open your eyes."

"After murdering your family, I thought about what you would do, so I prepared some countermeasures. We created a clone of your daughter—Lina."

He leaned closer.

"And don't fool yourself into thinking she was forced. She wasn't. Even as a clone, even with her face... even with her memories... she still chose this...… your own daughter betrayed you. How does it feel?"

Calus felt like he was being eaten alive.

His eyes reddened as tears fell.

How had Fre fallen this far?

Calus wanted to kill him… destroy him… make him suffer…

But he couldn't.

Something had been done to him.

Something terrible.

His power was sealed.

He was now a mere mortal, perhaps even weaker than an ordinary man.

He couldn't do anything.

He truly regretted ever calling Fre his best friend.

"Yes… that expression," Fre said softly. "The desire to kill me… to destroy me… to punish me… but you can't."

"Because you're weaker. I could kill you right now."

His tone darkened slightly.

"I was once like that too… when my so-called best friend murdered my twin sister right in front of me."

Fre walked closer to the seated Calus and bent down to meet his eyes.

"Now you've felt it…"

"Do you know how much I wanted you to feel this? How much I wished you would experience what I did?"

"This powerlessness… when facing a stronger foe…"

"Bastard… you faced it too, and now you're angry yet you still dare to want to kill me? You're the worst brother anyone could have… even your family in hell would hate you for your actions."..., fre spat on calus as he said.

"FRE!!!"

"You piece of shit! How stupid are you?! You're being used by the organization… they're using you, damn it! You're nothing but a pig blindly following them, you fool!"

"How can you be so… stupid?!" Calus shouted as he wept.

His eyes bulged as he tried to lunge at Fre but the weight of the chains was too much. The moment he stood, he was forced back down.

Boom…

Boom…

His knees slammed against the solid ground, blood seeping out.

Yet his eyes burned with intense fury as he glared at Fre.