The sight of Grandma being tied next to the couch felt like a punch to my gut.
Her frail body was slumped awkwardly against the ropes that bound her, and dark bruises marred her usually kind and gentle face.
The image burned itself so deeply into my mind that I could not even bring my mind to process it.
My breath hitched, but I didn't let myself falter any longer.
I snapped back to the man on the couch, the smirk on his face making my blood boil.
He had done this.
He had dared to touch her, to bring harm to the one person who had given me so much when I had so little.
My lips curled into a snarl, and a single word escaped me, laced with all the fury I had.
"Gluttony."
The air around me seemed to grow heavy as anger consumed me.
A pale, simmering orb of liquid began to swirl around my palm, its surface rippling as though alive.
My veins thrummed with power as I focused on the orb, feeling it grow denser, heavier with potential.
This was it.
This was the power I had awakened.
The power that would devour and dissolve anything it touched.
Without a second thought, I rushed forward, my arm swinging with reckless determination.
The orb shot from my hand, aimed directly at the man's smug face.
He didn't move, didn't even flinch, as though he had no intention of avoiding the attack.
For a brief, exhilarating moment, I thought I had him.
The orb collided with his chest, the pale liquid splashing across his black cloak. But then... nothing.
Nothing happened?
The liquid clung to his cloak for a moment before sliding off, harmlessly pooling on the floor.
My heart sank as the realization hit me like a blow.
The attack hadn't worked.
The man chuckled, a low, mocking sound that grated against my ears.
His smirk widened into a full-blown sneer as he finally broke the silence.
"Pathetic," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "I don't even know why I was assigned to kill you."
His words were a slap to my pride, but before I could react, his hand shot out with lightning speed.
His fingers closed around my wrist, iron-strong and unyielding.
I tried to pull away, but his grip was too rigid. He remained seated, uncaringly calm, as though he had all the time in the world.
He repeated himself, his tone almost bored. "Let's make a deal... shall we?"
For a moment, my anger faltered, replaced by genuine confusion.
The power I'd been so proud of, the power I'd felt coursing through my veins, had failed? My mind raced, trying to make sense of it.
What had gone wrong?
I was sure I had managed to read atleast half of that Book of Sin overn the time I had it opened and every page was etched into my memories.
Everything it had written inside it so far had come true—my awakening, the tattoo, the power.
But this... this wasn't what I'd expected.
The pale liquid, was exactly how it was described in the book. It matched the descriptions perfectly.
Yet it had done nothing.
How was this possible?
Frustration and doubt gnawed at me, but I forced myself to focus.
I couldn't let him see my hesitation, couldn't let him know how lost I felt.
Summoning every ounce of strength I had, I yanked my arm back with a burst of adrenaline.
His grip held for a moment before slipping, and I stumbled backwards, putting as much distance between us as I could.
"What the hell do you want?" I spat, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and fury.
My eyes darted to Ma, her shallow breaths the only sign she was still alive.
"Who sent you? Why are you here?"
The man leaned back against the couch, his body language almost lazy.
He tilted his head slightly, as though amused by my attempts to buy time.
"Now, now," he said smoothly, his tone laced with mockery. "Is that any way to talk to someone offering you a deal?"
My mind raced, desperate for a plan. I couldn't fight him—not like this.
My power had failed me, and physically, I was no match for him.
I needed to stall, to think of another way.
"Answer me!" I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady. "Who sent you?"
He let out a soft laugh, his hood shifting slightly as he turned his head toward my Grandma.
"You're more concerned about who sent me than the fact that your precious grandmother is sitting there, bound and bruised?
How noble of you."
You motherf—
I held my words in, afraid that I'd make this man angry.
I had to resist the urge to charge at him. That was exactly what he wanted. He was toying with me, testing my limits.
"What deal?" I asked through gritted teeth, forcing myself to stay calm.
"What could you possibly want from me?"
His smirk returned, and he gestured lazily toward me.
"Oh, it's simple, really. I'll let her go—no strings attached. In return, you give me something of yours."
My stomach churned at the implication. "Something of mine? Like what?"
He shrugged, as though it didn't matter. "Your grandma, your freedom, your life—
Take your pick."
I froze, no.
Stay calm. Noah.
He's stronger than you.
ARGHHH
I groaned, unable to come to terms with my situation.
He wasn't here to negotiate. He was here to break me, to take everything I had just gained.
But why?
Why me?
My thoughts spiralled as I tried to piece together his motives.
Nothing made sense. Who was he working for?
I had known that an assassin was come… but I did not know that these so called powers would be useless!!
The man's voice cut through my thoughts like a blade.
"Tick-tock, kid. I don't have all day."
Panic threatened to overtake me, but I forced it down. I couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me crack.
"You're not getting anything from me," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
His chuckle was low and sinister, sending a chill down my spine.
"Oh, I think you'll reconsider.
But sure, take your time.
I enjoy watching people squirm—"
I glanced at my grandmother again, the sight of her bruised face reigniting my anger.
I had to do something.
I couldn't let him win.
Right then, I was reminded of one single ace up my ass.
Yes. That could actually work.
I looked straight into the man's eyes and raised my hands in the air.
What do you want?
Trying to steady my arms, I stared deeply at the purpling bruise stretching across her cheek, a clear reminder to me that negotiation wouldn't work.
Heh-
That was exactly why I was using negotiation.
Grandpa had given me an emergency item in case something happened.
The only problem was that it was upstairs in my drawer.
Fuck.
I needed to buy time somehow and retrieve 'that' to turn this situation around.
The man in black leaned in, his hands holding the armrest of the couch as if nothing mattered to him...Like he was prepared to die at any second-
I heard his smooth voice echo in the silent rome as I waited patiently.
He must have a motive for coming here.
And I was damn sure it was not just to kill me. h
"Your-" A faint groan interrupted our conversation, making me realise that our situation had just gone from bad to worse.
Grandma had been stirred awake, her head lifting weakly.
She fluttered her eyes open, unfocused and glazed with pain.
"Noah…"
My breath caught in my throat. "Grandma!"
Her gaze shifted to the assassin, and terror filled her expression.
She struggled against her bindings, her voice trembling. "Please… don't hurt him.
Take me instead.
I'll do whatever you want.
Just... let him go."
The assassin turned his head toward her, amusement flickering in his cold eyes. "Cute," he said mockingly. "But I don't need your life, old woman. He's the one I've come for."
"No!" Ma cried, her voice breaking. "He's just a boy! Please!"
The assassin's smirk deepened. "Desperation suits you," he said with a cruel indifference.
Something inside me snapped.
I couldn't let this happen.
I couldn't let her sacrifice herself for me.
I had to do something, anything.
Ahhhh!!
I groaned out loud, shouting.
Do you even know who she is? Dont mistake her pleas for weakness.
You fatherless bastard.
She is the previous Matriarch of one of the 7 Commandments-
She was the one who everyone in the 9 seas feared.
She is none other than the one everyone thought had disappeared.
SHE IS SYLVIA ROMERO.
I saw the assassin's mouth twitch, a wry smile on his face.
"If I had to give the award for being cringe, boy?
That would certainly be you."
Even though he seemed to be mocking me, I did not mind it and saw as frustration started to cover his face.
"You think I don't know her?
Do you think I don't know that her mana core was sealed?
Or the fact she was exiled from the Romero house?
Boy, you are too naive."
my brain ran in circles as I tried to make sense of the situation.
How did he know all this?
I thought that our Patriarch was the only one who knew all this.
What in the world was happening in that kingdom?
A bad premonition hit me as I reached the only other conclusion I could think of.
'Unless'
The one who sent this assassin was from the house itself.
"...FUCK."
We were royally fucked.
Just looking at the situation..I realised that this was all thoroughly planned.
"Noah! Run. I'll hold him off. Run as far as you can!!"
I saw grandma shout at me with frustration as memories of what I had read in the book surfaced to me.
That version of me had run. He had left Grandma aside and escaped this hellhole.
Ughhh
No.
I can't leave her.
My face paled as I barely resisted the urge to vomit.
Ma would detonate her mana core and kill the assassin along with her while I had ran away to hide in the shadows.
Pathetically waiting to have my revenge.
But that won't happen again.
I screamed in my mind.
'I did not know what ending this book named "The tower of Sin" had in store for me.
All I knew was that this was not how I wanted to live.
I did not want to lose my grandma.
And I certainly did not want to fall to the dark side!!
Whoever this bastard of an author was, I am not gonna let him or this weird book define my life.
After all, I had awakened my powers way before the me in the book had.
My mind raced as I frantically skimmed through the things I read in the Book of Sin.
Just then, I realised.
One line had stood out when I had read of my physique, a cryptic verse I hadn't understood until now:
"The liquid consumes not what it touches but what it desires. Shape the will; the rest follows."
***