Disclaimer: I am adding this because it seems the tags and other warnings I've included here are not enough for some people. The main character from who's perspective this story is told is an awful person who does horrible, screwed up things to other people. As the story is told from his perspective, many of these things are presented in the way that this character sees them. I do not in any way condone these actions in real life. If you are not comfortable with this, this story is not for you. You have been warned. Please do not leave comments and reviews to this effect.  What do you do when you have nothing left, when everything you’ve ever loved is torn away time and time again until there is nothing left but fear, determination, and ice-cold rage? What do you do when the world is cold and dark and you are a tiny, insignificant speck living on a tiny, insignificant island. Orion never wanted any of this. Once he might have been happy living out his life as son, brother, husband, father, and perhaps one day, grandfather. Life had other plans for him. Time and time again he was too young, too poor, and too weak. When you have nothing left, when everything you hold dear has been broken and torn away, what is there to lose? If it takes a monster to claw out a future for yourself, than a monster he would become. In a world where power is life, there is nothing Orion would not do to survive As mentioned above, absolutely horrible, screwed up things can and will happen. Do not read if you are uncomfortable with that sort of content. As the author, I do not agree with, condone the actions, nor share the opinions of many of my characters. I believe that through fiction we can explore worlds and situations that are foreign and horrible. Do not be inspired by and seek to copy the actions of these characters. On a similar note, please be advised that the story contains explicit content. If you do not want to read that sort of thing, then this story is not for you. All the tags are there for a reason. The story contains explicit depictions of sexual activity, violence, and other NSFW things. To comply with RR policies, certain scenes have also been removed on this platform. Read with caution. [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]