CHAPTER III
The Crimson Game
Nexa's Point of View
The wind is silent tonight — but the silence isn't empty.
Five severed heads lie before me.
Eyes removed.
Lifeless.
Still.
Isn't it fascinating?
I never wanted to become this — a creature feared, a name whispered in dread.
I never wanted to hurt people…
Not at first.
But this world… this twisted, backstabbing, glory-hungry world — it changes you. It forces you to adapt. To survive. To evolve.
And somewhere along the way, I stopped running from the darkness…
And became it.
I am Nexa.
In a realm ruled by magic, by bloodlines, by ancient power — I carved a throne for myself out of broken laws and stolen spells. Here, the ones with the most magic sit highest. And I? I made sure I had more than anyone else.
By day, I am a teacher. I guide young minds. Show them how to harness their gifts, how to light candles with a whisper or bend wind with a finger. I smile, I praise, I lead.
But by night…
I steal.
I kill.
I take what others were too weak to protect.
Not because I have to.
But because I enjoy it.
The rush. The hunger. The power.
It's addictive — like tasting the stars and knowing they now belong to you.
This world… it doesn't belong to the vampires, or the werewolves, or the witches and demons who walk like gods among mortals. No.
This world was built by humans.
And it belongs to us.
If driving those beasts back into the dark means taking a few lives, ending a few bloodlines, then so be it. I will become the blade that cleanses the rot. I will be the terror they learn to respect.
But every great game has its obstacle.
And mine… is Aurora.
Gods, how I loathe that woman.
She walks around like some savior, some protector of balance and peace. But all she is… is a crack in my perfect plan. I've tried to scare her, break her, twist her path into dead ends. I've used illusions, traps, blood rituals — I even took the face of someone she trusted once.
But she didn't flinch.
She never flinches.
I should admire that.
I should… but I can't.
Because every time she breathes, my dream grows smaller.
Every time she lives… my world stays incomplete.
I didn't want to kill her. I really didn't.
But now?
Now she's begging for it — walking headfirst into shadows she doesn't understand, peeling back layers of a story I've hidden for years.
She's chasing a truth she's not ready for.
So no, I'm not going to run from Aurora anymore.
She will run from me.
She thinks I'm the villain.
She thinks I kill out of pain or desperation or some tragic past.
How cute.
No… I kill because I love it.
Because I can.
Because every stolen power sings inside my veins like a chorus of victory.
And if she wants to stop me…
She'll have to become something darker than I ever was.
So tell me, dear Aurora —
Are you ready to lose everything?
Because the next time we meet…
I won't hesitate.
And I won't miss.
Let the game begin.
Secrets, Sarcasm, and a Devil's Claim
Nexa's Point of View
I was still lost in thought — in her thought. Aurora.
Her name echoed like thunder inside my head, unsettling, unavoidable, like a tune you can't unhear. I hated how often she lived in my mind rent-free. But before I could drown in another storm of grudges and twisted plans, a familiar voice pulled me back to the room.
Jenny.
"Nexa," she said, stepping closer with that ever-so-calm tone of hers. "Why do you always think about Aurora?"
I smirked, half-amused, half-annoyed. "And who else do you expect me to think about?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You keep this up, and you're going to fall in love with her."
I laughed bitterly — not out of humor, but out of how absurdly ironic it sounded.
"Love?" I echoed. "I can't fall in love, Jenny. That emotion requires a heart. And mine? Well… my heart belongs to a Devil."
There was silence for a moment. Jenny didn't say a word, but I could feel her eyes scanning my face, trying to pull truth from behind my sarcasm.
She finally sighed. "Why don't you ever tell us the truth about yourself? Every time we ask, you brush it off with riddles and curses. You say your soul is bound to a devil, your heart is under his control, that you're his servant… but which Devil, Nexa? Which one from Inferno has your honorship?"
I stepped back slightly, letting my expression grow unreadable. "That's not something you need to know, Jenny."
And just as I said it, the door slammed open.
Malti stormed in like a wild flame and within seconds, her hand was around my throat.
"You traitor," she growled. "I helped you! I stood by you! And now you want to destroy my world?"
I didn't flinch. I didn't even blink. I simply tilted my head and said with cold indifference,
"And what's so wrong with that?"
Malti's grip tightened for a moment, then she let go with a frustrated huff. She turned to Jenny, exasperated. "Why haven't you taught her how to lie properly? Or at least how to talk to people like she's not trying to set them on fire?"
Jenny threw her hands up. "Do you think I haven't tried? Every day, all she does is think about Aurora or sulk or scream. And when she's not doing that, she's planning someone's doom."
"Oh, so now she has a thing for Aurora?" Malti asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
I rolled my eyes. "I've never even seen her face to face. And if I'm being honest, I don't like girls like her — the ones who latch onto a single cause and chase it like it's the only truth left in the world."
Jenny, always the voice of reason, muttered, "It's her job, Nexa."
"Yeah?" I sneered. "Well, maybe she should find a new one."
Malti circled around me, arms crossed. "Look at you. The way you dress, the way you carry yourself — it screams unhinged. Someone has to teach you how to speak to people without starting a war."
I smirked. "Why don't you try?"
She ignored that and got to the point. "By the way, Nexa… what magic do you really use? You're one of the only people I've met whose powers I can't fully read — and that bothers me."
At that, I paused.
I looked at Malti — directly, steadily — and smiled. Not the sweet kind. The kind that warns of storms.
Then I turned my back and walked toward Jenny.
"We'll be in my room," I said. "She wants to fix my 'appearance' apparently."
Jenny followed me out, clearly unsure if she should be laughing or crying.
And as the door shut behind us, I heard Malti mutter under her breath,
"That girl's going to burn the whole damn world down if we don't keep her chained."
If only she knew…
The chains were already broken.
And the Devil had already given me permission.
Let the game continue.
Because I?
I'm not done playing yet.
To be continue....