AN: Warning! Mature themes ahead. Skipped this chapter if drugs, abuse, and sexually suggestive scenes make you uncomfortable.
Chapter 31: Evil Incarnate (Bonus Chapter)
No one cared.
It was this motto that kept his body going for as long as it did. Something he genuinely treasured, this singular thought motivated him in this uninviting, dull reality. And because no one cared, it meant he could do anything as long as it didn't break any rules.
For Luke Castellan, it meant everything was limitless as long as he stay within the boundaries set by those around him.
Born into a family whose riches were beyond comprehension, life was easy to begin with. Never in his life did he struggle with anything. Everything he ever needed and more was handed down to him on a silver platter.
But there was something else no one know.
His mother never cared for him. In the public eye, they act as though they were a close kitted family, but the reality was anything but. As for his father, he was such a womanizer that his mother wouldn't even bat an eye to the many affairs he's been having.
Growing up, he came to understand the true reality of the world. There was no repercussion if you play things by the rules, and there won't be serious punishment even if you did cross the line a few times.
But things took a sharp turn in his middle school years.
His father went to prison for tax fraud as well as a first-degree charge for physical abuse. No one would tell him who his father harm, but back then, even he had a solid idea what was going on already. The media kept them in the spotlight for many years, and no one could forget about his father's prison sentence.
Of course, he kept a brave face early on, hoping that the stories would quiet down soon enough. It became impossible. No one would leave him alone during that time with gossip tabloids and rumors about his childhood. They have turned what was a supposedly innocent kid into one that was expressionless and impassive to anything.
There was no time to process anything through his father's ordeal. At first, he blamed his father for taking away his childhood. But soon enough, that blame shifted toward the people who prosecuted him and that damn wretched woman for getting the police involved. Before he knew it, he couldn't help but feel like the world had stolen his father away instead. If nothing like this had ever happened…. He began to convince himself that his father was the victim instead, and he was falsely accused of his minor crimes that didn't even hurt anyone with serious consequences.
To add to his delusion, his mother suddenly announced that he would be stepping in to be the heir of the company his father created, taking his CEO position with a group of advisers to help him navigate the company to a better future. Obviously, he knew it was all bullshit, a public statement intended to cover up the fact that his mother was not willing to lose her privilege and status, and so she unanimously took away his freedom to be a regular kid in school too.
Now in high school, it was then he found out about the second truth of reality.
People loved to take from others without a care in the world. First, they took away his father with a twenty-year prison sentence, then his mother took away his childhood and freedom all for the sake of herself.
Everyone was selfish.
And if he wanted to survive too, then he needed to be just as selfish as everyone else. The reason why he played along with his mother as it happened now: it was all a ruse because he intend to take away from her what she valued the most, her privilege and the riches she's been benefiting from his father, who was suffering in prison.
It was a day he had envisioned a dozen times, and the mere imagination of his mother in a broken and homeless state brought a smile to his lips every time he saw it.
Next, he will take back his father who was locked up in prison, no matter the cost nor how he intended to do it. He would recruit people in his advisers' table who were more trustworthy and loyal, creating an empire that's even bigger than his father's so his luxuries, riches, and privilege would never end.
Everything would be his, and the pleasures of this cruel world who had taken so much from him, he was going to get it all back without lifting a finger. There was no more reason to be afraid anymore.
Flick-
Stoking a fire from the lighter, he brought it toward the roll-up piece of paper between his lips. It ignited, and he eagerly inhaled with a deep, long breath. It filled his lungs with a familiar warmth as he sat on a golden, luxurious, and hand-crafted cushioned chair. His apathetic gaze looked aimlessly at two lifeless nude bodies on his hotel bed.
"Puff…" He exhaled, smoke blew from his nose and in between his lips.
Of course, they were still breathing, but it was so faint that he wouldn't have picked up on it if he wasn't paying attention. Scattered around the floor of his hotel room were their Goode school uniforms and skimpy underwear. It was three o'clock in the middle of the night, and Luke had been abusing these two girls from his school for his own enjoyment.
Luke watched on from the sideline as the smiling and tired girls moved together on the bed to share a wet kiss. Yet, it didn't give him anything.
He didn't feel anything.
Because there was an undeniable truth biting at his heels.
No matter how much he humiliated or abused them, whether it was the same girl from last week or someone totally new, it was all just mindless sex to him. A physical endeavor to prove his dominance, but it never satisfied him in the way he truly wanted.
What he truly sought was something out of his reach, something that the cruel fate had refused to give to him no matter how much he had starved for it.
The pleasure of love.
And no, it wasn't lust he's after. He had plenty of experience in that to know it didn't satisfy him, not in the truest sense. Years upon years of his life wasted, he never figured out what could satisfy that deep hole in his heart. Since then, that longing, aching, and sharp pain in his chest grew wider and wider, like a bottomless pit of darkness devouring everything yet never becoming full.
No matter how much he got: luxuries, riches, or pleasures, nothing ever truly returned for him.
Until he met her…
It was then he had it figured out. What he truly seek: it was love in its purest form, unconditional and unwavering, the satisfaction of sucking up every last drop until he was satisfied. That was his sole desire.
"Tsk…" Luke blew another puff of smoke and filled his hotel room with the smell of strong cannabis. The emptiness filled his soul again.
Ah yes… I sense a worthy soul for my army…
Luke jolted and looked around. Did someone just talk?
His gaze eventually took him away from the girls he barely know in school to a painting on the wall. A single dark color willow tree hanging over the riverside. A man was standing on the small wooden pier with a fishing rod, yet the image felt so life-like.
Yes… You are correct, Luke. Come, let's talk for a bit…
Who are you?"
It doesn't matter who I am… What matters is your desire for vengeance, isn't it? Luke Castellan?
Luke thought it might have been the smoke he's been inhaling, but he never had an illusion this real before. This was very much different, and there was no way the man talking in this otherworldly painting was a byproduct of how high his mind was right now.
Vengeance?
Yes… You seek the girl, don't you?
The girl? You mean Annabeth?" The sudden thought of her made his tongue twist and he made a disgruntled sound at the ugly event that happened between them.
Luke… I can show you how to take your revenge on her. But first, you must swear your loyalty to me and be here for my beck and call.
He didn't hesitate, even not knowing who was talking to him.
Sure. I'll give you everything you want, as long as you tell me how I can make sure Annabeth suffers the same humiliation she made of me. Then I want her to submit to me and no one else, only then will I be able to fully indulge in her love and enjoy her to my heart's content.
Yes… I sense you've been starving for some time. Yes… You are the perfect host.
The man with a hood on his head seemed to turn his head at him through the painting, but the face was eerily empty. There was nothing but endless darkness within. Pitch black, it felt rather like home to Luke who was staring at the face of some old friend.
The man in the picture smiled just below some part of his hood.
Luke Castellan, you'll be given my powers, no matter how weak they might be currently, you will possess strength unimaginable.
Luke smiled and felt confidence rising in his very soul, and for a moment, it filled the black void in his heart, yet it was so brief that the deliciousness was gone before he knew it.
Such sweet but fleeting taste, Luke grew even more starved.
Now, let me tell you how…
AN: Now that ends arc 1 of this story, but I'll continue writing and updating just the same. I hope you all have been enjoying yourself thus far. Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows. Most importantly, thanks for taking your time to read all my stories. I really appreciate everyone's support. Till next time :)
