Ray had heard whispers of Deimos, the so-called "God of Rape, Torture, and Murder," but nothing prepared him for the man who now stood before him. The air around Deimos seemed charged, heavy with an unspoken menace, as though a storm brewed just beneath the surface. He exuded a calm that was unnervingly deliberate—the calm of someone who had long since abandoned any pretensions of morality. His very presence was enough to make Ray’s skin crawl.

Deimos stood with his arms crossed, his gaze cold and penetrating, studying Ray as if he were an insect pinned under glass. Despite the knot of unease tightening in his chest, Ray held his ground. He couldn’t afford to show fear—not now, not with everything on the line. But the chill creeping up his spine refused to be ignored.

"You’re Ray," Deimos said, his voice deep and measured, carrying the weight of an unspoken threat. "The boy they’ve all been whispering about."

Ray nodded, his fists clenching at his sides. "What do you want with me?"

Deimos’s lips curled into a smile, but it was a smile devoid of warmth—sharp and cruel, more akin to a predator baring its teeth. The sight of it twisted Ray’s stomach.

"What I want is simple," Deimos said. "I want to see if you can survive this world. I want to see if you’re strong enough to hold onto that flicker of light inside you… or if you’ll fall, just like all the others."

Ray said nothing, his heart pounding against his ribs. Deimos’s words hung in the air like a guillotine poised to drop. The man’s presence was suffocating, a vulture circling, watching for any sign of weakness. But Ray refused to falter.

"I’ve seen so many fall," Deimos continued, his tone almost conversational, as though recounting a fond memory. "They fight, they struggle, they cling to their ideals. But in the end, they all shatter under the weight of this world’s cruelty. And when they do… when they break… I’m there. I’m there to help them see the truth."

Ray’s jaw tightened as he struggled to keep his voice steady. "What truth?"

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Deimos stepped closer, his presence looming. "The truth that darkness is always there. You can try to outrun it, you can fight it, but it will consume you in the end. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be free. Free from the lies the world tells you."

Ray felt a knot twist in his chest. He wanted to reject Deimos’s words, to hold on to the belief that the world was more than cruelty and despair. But the conviction in Deimos’s voice made Ray question whether the man was simply a monster… or a reflection of the world’s harshest truths.

Deimos’s smile deepened as if sensing Ray’s internal struggle. "You think you’re different. That you’re stronger. But you’ll see. One day, you’ll see. And when that day comes, you’ll understand why I do what I do."

Ray’s fists clenched tighter, his nails biting into his palms. "I’m not like you."

Deimos chuckled, a dark, humorless sound. "We all say that. We all think we’re better, that we’re immune to the darkness. But deep down, there’s a line. A line between what we want to be and what we truly are. And you, Ray… you’ll cross that line. Sooner or later, you’ll cross it."

Ray’s heart pounded in his chest, his defiance wavering. The weight of Deimos’s words bore down on him like a stone, suffocating and relentless. Was there truth to what the man said? Was the darkness inescapable? Ray refused to believe it. He couldn’t let himself believe it.

"Maybe," Ray said finally, his voice quieter but still steady, "but I won’t become like you."

Deimos’s smile widened, his teeth gleaming like a predator’s. "You don’t have a choice. The world will mold you into what it needs you to be. And when that day comes, I’ll be here. Waiting."

Ray’s resolve hardened, even as doubt clawed at the edges of his mind. He wouldn’t let Deimos define him. He wouldn’t let the man’s nihilistic philosophy become his truth. But the encounter left him shaken. Meeting Deimos was like peering into an abyss, one that threatened to swallow him whole.

As Deimos turned to leave, his parting words lingered in the air. "Remember, Ray. The darkness isn’t your enemy. It’s your destiny."

Ray watched the man walk away, his mind racing with conflicting emotions. Deimos was more than a monster; he was a force of nature, an embodiment of everything Ray feared he could become. The encounter had carved itself into Ray’s soul, leaving behind a scar that would never truly heal.

For the first time, Ray felt the weight of the world’s darkness pressing down on him, suffocating and insidious. Deimos had planted a seed of doubt, a question that Ray couldn’t ignore: Was it truly possible to escape the darkness, or was it only a matter of time before it consumed him?

One thing was certain. This was only the beginning. The meeting with Deimos had changed everything, and the path ahead was darker than Ray had ever imagined.