Chapter 155: Reaper

Book:Back To Thrones Published:2024-10-15

It was a kind of intimidating gaze that he’d never met. The moment their eyes met, Damion felt like breaking down.
How could there be such a terrifying and cruel creature?
He tried to look away but couldn’t. It was as if he was spellbound. Weird.
Damian had never felt fear like this before.
Then Kayden smiled. Just a small, twisted thing, but it was enough. Enough to make Damian’s insides twist with panic. It wasn’t human, that smile. There was no warmth in it, no pleasure. Just a cold, calculated cruelty.
“Ah!” Damian’s scream tore through the silence, his body curling into itself as if that would somehow protect him.
“No! No!” His breath came in ragged gasps, his voice high-pitched and desperate. He stared at Kayden, wide-eyed, like a man staring into the face of death itself.
“Please!” Damian’s voice cracked as he dropped to his knees. “Don’t kill me. Please, don’t kill me!”
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. He didn’t care anymore. Pride, dignity-those things didn’t matter now. All that mattered was staying alive.
He had never begged for his life before. Not once. When he walked out of Devil’s Gorge, he had accepted his fate. He had been ready to die, had even embraced it, thinking there was nothing left in this world that could scare him.
But now, staring into Kayden’s eyes, he realized how wrong he had been. He wasn’t ready. Not for this.
He didn’t understand it. How could he, Damian, the man who had survived the worst life had to offer, be so utterly terrified? Where was the fearless warrior now? Why was he reduced to this-shaking, pleading, like a child?
It was those eyes. They pierced through him, dragging every hidden fear to the surface, making him feel small. Weak. Vulnerable. He thought he had conquered fear, but now it bloomed inside him, uncontrollable and raw.
Kayden’s expression didn’t change. If anything, his eyes grew colder. He let out a breath, his lips curling into something that might have been amusement.
Damian had seen men like this before-men who enjoyed watching others break.
But Kayden was different.
He wasn’t just a killer; he was something far worse.
“You think surviving Devil’s Gorge makes you immune to fear?” Kayden’s voice was low, almost a whisper, but it cut through the air like a knife. “You’ve seen nothing. You’re just a scared little boy playing at being strong.”
Damian froze, his mind racing. Devil’s Gorge had been his proving ground, the place where he’d faced death and come out the other side.
But now, hearing Kayden’s words, it all felt so distant. Small. Insignificant.
Devil’s Gorge was nothing compared to what Kayden had seen. Damian could feel it in the way he spoke and the way he moved. Kayden had been through something far worse-something that had stripped away any last shred of humanity and left a monster in its place.
Kayden’s laugh was soft, almost mocking. “You beg for your life now,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain. “But soon, you’ll beg me to end it.”
Damian’s heart pounded in his chest. The words hit him like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of him. He gulped for air, his throat tight, panic clawing at his insides.
There was something worse than death.
He could see it now. In Kayden’s eyes, in his voice, in the way he held himself. There was something far worse than dying, and it was staring Damian in the face.
“Death…” Kayden’s voice was almost thoughtful now as if he were explaining something to a child. “Death isn’t always the worst thing. Sometimes, it’s a mercy.”
Damian’s mind reeled. He had always believed that death was the end-that nothing could be worse than dying. But now, standing in front of Kayden, he realized how naive that belief was.
Kayden had been through something far beyond death. Something that had broken him reshaped him into this cold, terrifying thing.
Damian’s voice was hoarse, raw with desperation. “No, don’t do this! Please! My master is Kameron!” He spat out the name like it was his last lifeline, the only thing standing between him and certain death.
He was out of options. The name of his master-Kameron, a man so legendary that even the most hardened killers hesitated at the mention-was his final, desperate gambit. When Damian had crawled out of the hellish depths of Devil’s Gorge, it was Kameron who had found him. Kameron, the man whose reputation alone could stop wars.
His master had once told him, “If you’re ever truly cornered, use my name. There are few who would dare challenge me.” Damian clung to that, hoping-praying-that it would be enough here, now.
For a moment, it seemed to work. Kayden’s eyes flickered, something unreadable passing across his face as the name registered. “Kameron Moreno…” he muttered, almost to himself.
Damian’s heart skipped a beat. Kayden knew the name. He recognized it. Maybe-just maybe-this nightmare would end.
But the relief was short-lived.
In a flash, Kayden’s boot slammed into Damian’s chest, the force of the blow knocking him to the ground. Pain exploded through his ribs as he gasped for air, clutching his sides.
Kayden loomed over him, eyes dark with fury. “So what if your master is Kameron?” he snarled. “Does that give him the right to beat my wife? To kill my brother?” His voice dropped, low and dangerous. “Even if Kameron stood before me right now, I’d put him on the ground. I’ve already said-no one leaves here alive.”
Before Damian could react, Kayden’s fist lashed out, slamming into his knee with a sickening crack. The sound of bone shattering echoed in the air, and Damian screamed-a raw, guttural sound ripped from deep inside him.
His leg was ruined. He could feel it-the jagged edges of his kneecap grinding together, the tendons torn beyond repair. He’d never walk again.
Damian’s breath came in ragged gasps as he glared up at Kayden, his vision blurred with pain and fury. “Just kill me,” he spat, his voice trembling. “If you’re going to do it, and then end it. I’m not going to beg.”
Kayden’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Oh, you’ll beg,” he said softly, his voice almost a whisper. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging me to end it.”
Damian’s heart pounded in his chest. He had seen men like Kayden before-men who enjoyed breaking others, who took pleasure in watching their enemies crumble.
But for Kayden, this was normal. On the Battlefield, he had tortured many dangerous criminals by any means just to get useful information from them.
Kayden reached into his jacket and pulled out a small silver case. From it, he drew a long, slender needle that glinted in the dim light. He held it up, letting it catch the light as he spoke. “This is a Bone-Shattering Needle,” he said, his tone almost conversational. “Once it enters your pressure points, it’ll slowly break down your bones, piece by piece. And when your bones are done, it’ll start tearing apart your insides.”