thief of fate-Chapter 50: Do you want to become my follower?

The stone hall was drowning in a heavy silence, broken only by the faint flicker of black torches mounted on the walls, their flames dancing on stones tainted with the smell of mold and ash. The light was dim, not illuminating but rather choking. In that moment, the great door opened with weight, its creak slicing through the skin of the place.

Ethan entered.

His steps were quiet, confident, but carried a hidden weight... no sign of joy, nor arrogance.

At the end of the hall, Vine sat on a simple throne, if it could be called that. It was made of old bones and black metal, as if it had been assembled from corpses. His eyes settled on Ethan as he walked in. On either side of him stood statues.

"I knew you would succeed... but not this quickly."

Ethan didn’t respond immediately. He stopped a few steps away, then bowed slightly, without lowering his eyes.

"The opportunity was there. I don’t waste opportunities."

Vine let out a low, short laugh, but it wasn’t sarcastic. It was... reassuring? Or entertained? Hard to tell. Then he gestured with his hand.

"Come closer. I have something for you."

Ethan approached without hesitation. Inside, he was still—or at least, seemed to be. But he felt it... that slight flutter beneath the skin, in his chest. It wasn’t joy. It wasn’t pride. It was something like... anticipation.

"You succeeded."

He slowly raised his hand and pulled something small from his inner pocket, something faintly glimmering.

"This is for you."

It was a black ring, engraved with the symbol of the split moon, but in its center, a small burning circle was etched. A seal granted only to those with many accomplishments within the organization. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Don’t underestimate this. Whoever wears this ring... they obey him."

Ethan took the ring slowly. He looked at it for a moment, without speaking. But inside, the conflict raged. This ring meant more than power. It meant responsibility, blood, eyes watching you, mouths waiting for you to slip so they could devour you.

Ethan’s thought: "So... I’m no longer just a piece, I’ve finally become one of the players."

He wore the ring on his index finger. At first, it felt cold, then a strange heat followed.

"You have another reward."

He clapped once, and a side door opened. A person entered carrying a small box, placed it in front of Ethan, bowed, and left as if fleeing from the two men.

Ethan opened the box slowly. Gold. Money, rare gems, and a contract sealed with a red stamp.

"Half of this box keeps you alive, and the other half... reminds you that you no longer belong to the world of the ordinary."

He paused for a moment, then rose from his throne and approached. He stood before Ethan, looking at him as if excavating through his bones.

"But I didn’t summon you just for the reward."

Ethan wasn’t surprised. Vine rarely had only one reason for anything.

"There’s a boy... his name is Alexis. A rare talent, but corrupted. Wild. Fierce, without discipline. And that... makes him useless."

He looked at him for a long time, then smiled a strange smile, neither warm nor cold, but... deep, unsettling.

"I want you to tame him. Train him. Shape him. And if he’s unworthy... break him."

"And if he resists?"

"You’ll break everything in him... until only obedience remains."

Ethan fell silent. That wasn’t strange to him. He had been broken once, and he learned how to break others. But he felt something strange creeping into his chest. Not pity. But... a reflection. As if he were looking at an image from his past, and being asked to erase it with his own hand.

Ethan’s thoughts started spinning: "Was I like him? Was I wild? I don’t remember. Maybe I was just a small thing screaming in the dark... until you came, Vine, and crushed the scream inside me."

He looked up steadily and said,

"I’ll handle him."

"Good. He’ll arrive soon. Don’t try to get close to him. Don’t become his friend, and don’t sympathize. Train him, or destroy him."

Vine turned and returned to his throne.

"And remember, Ethan... what we create here is not allowed to love. Love weakens. Love ruins. And we create men, not humans."

At that moment, the door knocked again.

Its creak, this time, sounded sharper... as if the place itself groaned at the newcomer.

Ethan looked toward the door, his body motionless. Only his eyes advanced. And before the boy entered, he heard a faint whisper from Vine:

"Here he is... Alexis."

Finally, Ethan was led to another place.

It was isolated from the noise of the base, a large room in the basement, its walls smooth and cold gray, slender lamps hanging from the ceiling casting dim light, as if reluctant to reveal everything inside. No windows, no sounds, only tense silence like that before a storm.

Ethan walked in front of Alexis, his steps steady, not looking back. The heavy iron door closed behind them tightly, its thud echoing.

"The air here... is heavy."

He inhaled slowly, deeply. A faint scent, barely noticeable, like mold mixed with rusty iron, unlike anything familiar, but ominous. His eyes narrowed, as if his instincts rang an invisible alarm.

In the center of the room, a round table made of black stone, and two opposing chairs. Ethan sat quietly, pulled out a small box from his pocket, opened it, and took out carefully carved chess pieces, black and white.

Ethan asked Alexis, "Do you know chess?"

"It’s a hobby for the mentally ill. I learned it at seven. Hated it at eight... because it was too easy."

Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly for the first time, a sign of real interest.

"Let’s see if it’s still easy."

The game began.

The first moves were standard, classical, both watching each other like hunters watching prey. But as minutes passed, a flicker of surprise began to show in Ethan’s eyes. Alexis wasn’t just reacting he anticipated moves, countered them, used a rare style, as if playing above the board, not on it.

"This boy... isn’t just smart, he’s... terrifying. Every move carries hidden intent. Every step, a feint. Who taught him? No... who created him?"

But Alexis wasn’t just looking at the board he was watching Ethan as one dissects a complex machine.

"This spider... hides hundreds of plans under his skin. Every word wrapped in calm, but his breath constantly measures the distance between us. He’s not playing chess he’s testing me... like a web made of silk."

A young servant suddenly entered, carrying a silver tray, with two cups of agate color, light steam rising.

"A special drink for both of you. Prepared by Section Four."

Ethan looked at the drink, then the servant, then the liquid itself... an unfamiliar color, a faint synthetic scent, as if concealing something. His eyes slipped for a moment toward the ceiling... the air still felt stifling.

"I’m not thirsty."

"Strange... I thought you’d trust him." Alexis mocked.

"Trust... is a luxury I don’t have."

Alexis laughed softly, took a sip without hesitation, as if declaring a challenge.

The game continued. But the dialogues grew more venomous.

"If you followed me... you could become more than just a tool in Vine’s hand."

"And who said you’re something worth following?"

"I’m the new thing, the different one. I don’t carry a tainted legacy. I’m not someone stuck in old loyalties but someone planning the coup."

"Coups are planned by people like me... not like you."

"But their end is decided by people like me."

Every sentence was a needle in the other’s skin. Both trying to shift the balance of power.

Each thought to himself: "He’s a snake... smooth, fluid, but his bite is deadly. He doesn’t show his intentions, but hides them under his skin, approaching with a smile until he strangles you."

"He’s a spider... doesn’t move fast, but weaves his web around you silently, until you find yourself trapped without realizing."

Then... the final piece fell. The black king was toppled.

Heavy silence.

Ethan looked at the board, then slowly raised his eyes. He felt slight dizziness. Sudden. His throat dried up, cold sweat crept down his neck. His eyes lost focus for a moment.

"When? When did it happen?... I didn’t drink anything... was it the air?!"

He looked at Alexis, who sat calmly, leaning back, staring at him with wide eyes... as if waiting for this moment.

"The air here... is filthy, isn’t it?"

The words struck Ethan’s chest like a slap. It was a trap.

"You... you planned this from the start."

"I don’t plan, Ethan. I live the plan."

Ethan fell to his knees, his breath quickening, heart pounding like war drums, but his mind still resisted... thinking.

Ethan began begging for his life, "The antidote..."

"At my command. Just admit one small thing... that you belong to me now. Not to Vine. Not to the organization. Just me."

Ethan nodded slowly, as if every resistance crumbled one after another.

"...Agreed."

Alexis handed him a small bottle, a faint blue liquid. Ethan drank it quickly, and after a few moments... the dizziness began to fade. But he was no longer the same. Something inside him had changed.

"I’ve gotten myself entangled with a little devil..."

He rose slowly, looked at Alexis. The latter said calmly, as if addressing his executioner:

"We’ll make the world a game. And I’ll move the pieces... and you’ll make sure no one touches the board without my permission."