The door clicked shut behind Tielen, locking out the world and its growing dangers. Jackim stood frozen by the window, the dim streetlights casting long, stretching shadows across the polished floor. The faint hum of the city buzzed beyond the glass, but inside the room, silence reigned heavy and thick.
Jackim, twenty-one, slim but athletic with sharp, thoughtful brown eyes and slightly disheveled black hair, looked smaller in that moment—as if burdened by a thousand invisible weights. He wore a plain dark gray hoodie and black jeans, his sneakers worn from years of blending into the background.
Across from him stood Tielen, 23 years old, a towering figure of calm menace. His skin was tan, marked by a faint scar on his left jawline—a memory from battles long hidden from the public eye. Dressed sharply in a fitted black leather jacket, white shirt, and dark jeans, Tielen gave off the quiet authority of someone who knew how to kill without raising his voice. His black boots, still slightly muddy from the rain, creaked lightly as he shifted his weight.
Jackim found his voice first.
"What do you mean... my bloodline?"
Tielen's dark eyes narrowed. He pulled a folded, weathered document from inside his jacket and tossed it onto the small round table. It landed with a heavy thud that echoed in the silent room.
"Everything you think you know about your life," Tielen said, "is a lie."
Jackim hesitated, his hands trembling slightly as he unfolded the document. It wasn't a government form. It was older—parchment-like, almost antique. His eyes skimmed over names written in bold ink:
— Bernardo Sinclair — Classified: Deceased
— Eunice Valemont Sinclair — Classified: Deceased
— Jackim Sinclair — Status: M.I.A.
Underneath were a series of strange seals: a phoenix crest intertwined with a crown, and beneath that, a blood-red mark shaped like a dagger.
---
Flashback, 16 Years Ago
Date: December 5, 2009
Time: 1:13 AM
Location: Unknown estate, mountains outside Haidan City
A storm raged in the distance as a young boy, no more than five years old, clung to a tall man's leg. The man—Bernardo—his hair silver at the temples, his strong frame cloaked in a dark overcoat, knelt down and hugged the boy tightly.
"You must disappear, Jackim," he whispered, voice breaking. "For your own survival."
The boy whimpered, clutching a small silver locket tightly in his tiny fist—the only thing he would take with him.
---
Jackim's breath caught as the memories, long buried under layers of survival instinct, clawed their way to the surface.
He wasn't just some nobody. He wasn't just a struggling student.
He was the last living heir of a fallen dynasty that once ruled the hidden veins of the city.
---
Tielen's voice dragged Jackim back to the present.
"They'll come for you," he said. "Some already are. Gloria... Susan... others you haven't even seen yet. They either want you dead... or under their control."
The mention of Susan made Jackim flinch.
Susan—the unattainable beauty of Haidan City.
Age: 22.
Profession: CEO of Vallentine Enterprises, a high-end corporate empire in tech, real estate, and entertainment.
Appearance: Golden-tanned skin, long silky blonde hair that curled naturally at the tips, piercing ocean-blue eyes, and a flawless, hourglass figure that made her the most desired woman in the city.
Attitude: Ruthless, ambitious, coldly calculating behind her warm public smile.
Outfit Tonight: A fitted crimson dress that hugged her curves and black stilettos that made her presence impossible to ignore.
Susan wasn't just a beauty. She was a viper, wearing silk.
And somehow, Jackim was now on her radar.
---
In a private lounge high above Haidan City's skyline, Susan swirled a glass of red wine lazily in her manicured hand. Beside her, a dossier lay open, filled with photos of Jackim: at the university, at the café, even blurry snapshots of him entering and leaving his apartment.
Behind her stood Sophie, stiff as ever in her neat navy suit, her short bob framing her serious face.
Susan smiled faintly as she traced Jackim's face in one of the photographs.
"He's not ready yet," she mused.
"But when he is… he'll either kneel—or break."
The lights of the city reflected coldly in her eyes.
---
Jackim gripped the document tightly, anger, fear, and a strange fierce pride boiling up inside him.
"What do I do now?" he asked, voice low.
Tielen's lips pressed into a grim line.
"You stay low. Blend in. Finish university. Play dumb. Until you're ready to take back everything that's yours."
Jackim nodded slowly, feeling the heavy chains of fate start to wrap around him.
A new thought surfaced.
What if I don't want any of it?
But some doors, once opened, can never be closed again.
In the deepening night, the future sharpened like the blade of a dagger.
The hunt had already begun.
--