The door creaked open slowly as though he was afraid of incurring his wrath. From his memory, he had seen the former Silver slap servants around for opening the door too slowly or just too fast.

Punishments came whenever his moods deemed so.

An arrogant young master through and through. He really knew how to play his role as a villain.

"Young master."

The middle-aged man who stepped in was tall had brown hair and green eyes, dressed in a full black suit, and carried himself with the dignity of a high-level servant.

After all, he was a high-level servant sent by his uncle to keep an eye on him and make sure he degrades even further into his obsession.

The former Silver on top of his obsession with the heroin, was a bit of an alcoholic having been introduced to it by his servant.

The servant, Sander, stopped a few steps from Silver and bowed slightly, but his gaze never left him, which was a disrespectful act from a servant.

Silver ignored it since the former never reacted to it, he took it as normal since he did take the man as his friend and a sort of parent.

He had raised him for ten years since his parents died during a beast tide while saving the sanctuary. At the moment, he was eighteen.

Silver crossed his arms, looking down at him.

"Why did you come? You have disturbed my rest when I specially gave instructions not to." He coldly asked, words leaving his mouth before he could fully comprehend.

Truth is, he had done that by pulling the closest servant and passing the command while in panic.

For a split second, silence filled the room then Sander lowered his head slightly more.

"My apologies, young master. The summons has come from the main hall."

Silver’s eyes twitched slightly.

"From who?"

"The family head, young master. "

His heart skipped a beat.

’So it starts’

This was the start of his downfall. A small progressive step that he himself never noticed.

The family head was his grandfather, the very same one who had promised marriage to Arkland’s family, the villainess family.

He was the current head of the family and managed everything with an iron fist. A dictator through and through.

But even a dictator plays favorites, his parents weren’t, while his uncle his father’s brother was the golden child.

"Is it time for the awakening already?" He asked, unfolding his hands.

Sanders glanced at him, his gaze narrowed.

"Yes young master, you have been looking forward to it," he said, his lips curved slightly, "Miss Cruella will be present. She said she will only accept your gift after your awakening ceremony. "

The memory trickled at those words. He visibly winced at the stupidity of the original owner.

Miss Cruella Broomfield was the heroine he had been chasing after, who rejected him at every turn.

As he sifted through his memories, Silver noticed something concerning about her.

Even during her public rejection, she would always take the gifts he brought to her.

The rejections weren’t the outright NO one would expect from a woman not interested, but the vague, it’s not yet time, I want to be free a little longer, my family doesn’t allow underage relationships and they all ended with thank you for the gift or you should take your gift back.

She never really gave it back because as expected Silver was one of the perfect Fish in her tank.

He would always threaten with, if you don’t take it then throw it away. The gifts weren’t cheap either.

Silver visibly cringed at that.

’How am I even supposed to crawl from this grave’

Silver forced a smile.

"Then why are we here, we should hurry."

He said his tone gaining a little warmth. He couldn’t risk a sudden change of behaviour yet, he needed something impactful to make it less suspicious.

Sander stepped aside instantly.

"I will escort you."

Of course he will.

’So you can watch me more closely... and report me later’

Silver walked past him without another glanced but his mind was racing.

The halls outside spread long and silent, lined with polished and reinforced stones to keep it standing for a while against a beast attack long enough for escape.

Servants moved along the walls head bowed, body tense each trying to blend into the environment as much as possible.

Silver clearly noticed this. They were scared of him. He was sure each of them had more or less gotten on the former Silvers bad side and had a tango with him.

They walked in silence until they reached a tall arched window.

Beyond the glass, stood a city built in layers. The Delta 3 sanctuary. A mid-level Delta sanctuary.

The outer expanse spread wide. It was chaotic, uneven, and visibly crowded.

Buildings pressed together as though looking for support against each other, their rooftops patched and mismatched.

There was movement everywhere, too many people each trying to go about their business without knocking against the other.

That was the poor district. The slums as they called it. It was where all the unfortunate who needed protection but lacked the courage and talent to go outside the walls stayed.

At the outer edge of the Slum, a massive wall rose, cutting through like a scar. Cold stones stuck into something that protected the whole sanctuary from the merciless outside world.

That was the outer defense walls.

Silver’s gaze shifted, because that wasn’t all, at the inner edge of the slum rose another wall.

Slicker, stronger, and heavily guarded.

The inner wall. And beyond it stood order. Wide clean streets, structured buildings, and a completely different world.

This was the rich district. This was where Silver had been born and raised, where the elite lived untouched by the rot below.

The elites as they call themselves. The pillars of the sanctuary.

"Young master?"

"Mmh."

Sanders voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He brieftly glanced back at the man before continuing forward, his thoughts sinking back in.