"AAAAAA—!"
The scream ripped through the house, sharp enough to tear Alan out of sleep. His mother's voice echoed down the hallway, frantic and unbroken, as if she couldn't stop herself.
"ALAN! ALAN, HELP ME!"
Alan groaned and rolled onto his back, rubbing his face. "Damn it," he muttered. "Where is that bastard…"
Lucas's name nearly left his mouth, but the memory of the humiliation at the hospital made his jaw tighten. He swallowed the curse instead.
Beside him, his wife stirred and turned over, her voice thick with sleep. "Alan, just go check on her," she said. "She keeps calling your name."
"Yeah, yeah. Fine," he snapped, swinging his legs out of bed.
The house felt unnaturally quiet as he stepped into the hallway. It was cold, far colder than it should have been, and even the wind outside had gone silent.
The only sound left was his mother's screaming, tearing through the darkness again and again.
Alan shivered despite himself and opened the door to her room.
Adelyn was already sitting upright on the bed. Her eyes were wide, glassy, fixed on him as if she were staring at something horrifying behind his shoulder.
"Alan," she whispered hoarsely. "They're coming for us, son. They're coming to punish us."
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, rocking back and forth. Alan leaned against the doorframe and exhaled slowly. He didn't need a medical degree to recognize what was happening. His mother's mind had been unraveling for years.
She had dropped out of treatment long ago, but the signs were obvious. Constant anxiety and obsession with locks rearranging the house as if someone were watching.
Praying every day, sometimes for days without eating and drinking, as if repetition alone could keep something away.
"They're not coming, Mom," he said, forcing his voice to stay calm. "It's all in your head."
He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for the bedside table. His fingers rummaged through it until he found her medication.
He was just about to hand it to her when she grabbed his shoulder with sudden strength.
Her grip was tight for someone with a stroke. Sweat rolled down her temples despite the cold, and that was when Alan noticed it. Her skin looked thinner. Her face became more sunken.
She seemed older than she had just days ago, aging at a pace that made his stomach twist.
"Lucas is going to kill you," she whispered urgently.
"And he'll torment me again. They're coming for us. You have to fight him when it happens."
Her eyes rolled back. Adelyn went limp in his arms, collapsing against him without warning.
"Mom?" Alan said sharply, panic rising as he caught her. "Mom?!"
But she didn't respond.
Alan stared down at her unconscious body, his mind racing. Her words echoed in his head, twisting into something cold and heavy.
Lucas will kill you.
He swallowed hard. "What the hell are you talking about…?"
***
Lucas came back in the morning without feeling tired at all. If anything, his body felt lighter and stronger.
Something inside him had changed, and he could sense it clearly now.
The shadow beneath his feet was no longer passive. It was alive, breathing quietly, hiding within his own silhouette like a loyal beast waiting to be unleashed.
He checked his phone and frowned.
An email notification sat at the top of the screen. Unpaid holiday with no end date.
Which, in normal words, meant he was effectively fired.
Lucas groaned and rubbed his temples as he fell back onto the bed. "Great," he muttered. "So that's how it is."
After a moment, his thoughts shifted. "Right. The grimoire and that system." He sat up.
The Grimoire of Wrath was no longer in his hands, but he could feel it. It was close, bound to him.
He focused on the image of the book, and in the next second, it materialized in his grasp as if it had never left.
"Can I see my status without opening the book?" he asked aloud.
The pages rustled on their own, glowing faintly as words formed across the surface.
[Yes.]
[Do you want to see your status?]
Lucas nodded.
The pages turned.
—
[Lucas Ford]
[Black Witch – Tier 2]
[Mana: 200 / 200]
[Attributes]
[ATK: 50 | DEF: 25 | SPD: 40 | INT: 30 | CHA: 50]
[Active Spells:]
[Shadow Realm]
[Description: Allows the user to control the shadow within themselves and manifest it as a weapon. It feeds on negative human emotions to evolve.]
[Cost: 10 mana per minute]
[Rat Manipulation]
[Description: Allows the user to command rats, share their vision and hearing, control their bodies, and weaponize them.]
[Cost: 5 mana per minute to use senses | 10 mana per minute to control bodies]
[Limitation: only 20 rats at the same time within 5 km radius]
[Active Objective:]
[Steal the Lady of the House]
[Progress: 0%]
[Make Esme Wright fall in love with you, stain her marriage, and lead her to the path of Asmodei.]
[Learn new spells and complete objectives to raise your witch tier.]
[For every 25% objective progress, you will receive one spell ticket, redeemable for a new spell. A proper price will be required.]
—
Lucas's eyes widened. He had expected something extreme like murder, cult-building, mass sacrifice. But this?
"This is… twisted," he muttered.
He stared at the objective again, then slowly turned toward the mirror. His bangs had grown long, messy, hiding most of his face.
"Yeah. This is one of the way," he said. "I need a new haircut."
Decision made, Lucas changed his clothes and stepped out of his room, intending to head straight to his usual barber. As he passed through the kitchen, however, he stopped.
Esme was cooking breakfast, a pan of sausages sizzling softly in her hand. Karina sat on one of the stools, legs swinging as she poked at scrambled eggs on her plate while scrolling through her phone.
Esme noticed him and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Lucas. Come on, eat breakfast with us."
Karina froze mid-chew and twisted around. "Ew. Why would we?" she said flatly. "Let him eat somewhere else."
"Karina!" Esme snapped. "Watch your mouth!"
She turned to Lucas, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry."
Karina shrugged without even looking at him. "Why should I? Dad never says anything."
Lucas smiled. Originally, he had planned to skip breakfast and head straight out, but instead he walked over and sat on the stool beside her.
Karina immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust.
This time, she wouldn't get away with mocking him so easily.
She was fourteen, still young enough that outright punishment would be… complicated. But that didn't mean she didn't need correction. Harsh parenting had clearly failed her.
'Yeah,' Lucas thought calmly. 'I'll just mess with her head a little.'
He smiled at her. Karina glared back.
And somewhere beneath the kitchen floor, his shadow stirred in quiet approval.