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Bonus Chapter 145: Caged within
The woman sat at the wooden dining table, her expression distant as she carefully placed food onto seven plates. The once vibrant house had grown quiet, each footstep echoing through the empty corridors like a reminder of the tension that lingered in the air. She worked silently, methodically, her hands moving with an eerie precision.
After finishing, she wiped her hands on her apron and called out, "Come eat, everyone."
The children emerged from their rooms, their movements sluggish and hesitant, as if something unseen weighed heavily on them. Their father came last, his figure looming large as he took his place at the head of the table, watching silently as his wife distributed the plates. They all began to eat in silence, the only sound in the room the clinking of utensils and the soft rustling of clothes.
Throughout the meal, the woman interacted with her children, her tone gentle but strained, as though she was forcing herself to maintain an air of normalcy. She played with their hair, asking about their day, her laughter too light, too rehearsed.
"Thank you, Mum," Loki said, his voice small but filled with a childlike innocence as he licked the last bit of food from his plate. His wide eyes gleamed with a fleeting happiness, his small form curling up in her embrace as she ruffled his hair.
"You're welcome, my brave boy," she whispered, her smile faltering for just a second.
One after the other, the remaining children came up to her, each murmuring their thanks, each receiving a soft pat on the head in return. But the joy was thin, like the warmth of the sun on a cold day—there, but barely felt. The air in the room had shifted subtly, growing heavier with each passing moment.
Once the meal was over, the children helped their mother clear the plates, their routine almost robotic, as if rehearsed over and over. They moved together, washed the dishes together, and finally, they left the kitchen, each child retreating to their own room.
"Kids, we're out of food," their mother said suddenly, her voice cutting through the air like a knife.
A silence fell over the house, thick and suffocating. The children froze in place, and for a moment, no one said a word. Then, without a sound, they returned to their rooms. No protest, no questioning—just a retreat into the dark, quiet corners of the house.
Loki clung to his older brother Thor as they lay in the small, cramped room they shared, the light outside fading into darkness. The shadows grew longer, the night colder, and Loki's small hands trembled as he pressed himself closer to Thor.
"Big bro," Loki whispered, his voice shaking. His face was pale, filled with fear, though he tried to mask it. "Do you think... it's going to happen again?"
Thor's heart clenched painfully. He wanted to protect his brother, wanted to shield him from the horrors that were bound to unfold. But deep down, Thor knew the truth. He swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a smile.
Their family had once had so much—things other families might have envied. But money wasn't one of those things. With ten children, food never lasted long, no matter how much they scrimped and saved. When their mother announced they were out of food, it was always a death sentence for one of them.
The next day, the hunt would begin. Their parents would arm themselves with knives and hunt their own children, and when one was caught, they would be slaughtered and eaten. It was a gruesome ritual, one born of madness and desperation. Refusal to participate meant death, swift and brutal. Thor had watched it happen—his siblings being butchered one by one until only four remained.
And now, they were fewer still.
As the eldest, Thor felt the crushing weight of responsibility. He had tried—oh, how he had tried—to save them. He had found work, scraping together money, anything to pull them out of the abyss of poverty. It was around that time that he had awakened his ability, a powerful talent that should have changed everything. But the world was cruel, and power alone couldn't save them.
When he had offered his parents the money he'd earned, believing it would end their insanity, they had only laughed. Instead of taking the money, they had handed him a knife and told him to join the hunt. To become like them.
Thor's world had crumbled then. To know that his siblings had been slaughtered for nothing more than their parents' twisted pleasure—that no amount of money or power could change that—had broken him. He had refused, threatening to take his siblings and run far away, to escape this nightmare. But it had been too late.
The hunt had begun, and his parents had turned on them all. His sister was the first to die, her life snuffed out in an instant as she tried to flee. Thor had watched, helpless, as the light faded from her eyes.
He had tried to protect the others, but his parents were relentless. John had been next, his life hanging by a thread until Thor intervened, but the damage had been done. John died in Thor's arms, his final breaths filled with pain and fear.
Thor's rage had boiled over. In a desperate, last-ditch effort, he unleashed his power, attacking his parents with all his strength. But his attack had gone too far. The explosion had leveled the house, killing both his parents, and in the chaos, John had died as well. Only Loki had survived, but not without scars—both physical and emotional.
In the aftermath, Loki had turned on Thor, blaming him for everything. And Thor couldn't blame him. What kind of big brother was he, if he couldn't even protect his own family?
Now, Thor was left with nothing but guilt, shame, and the weight of his failure. Every month, he visited their graves, the memories of that terrible night playing on repeat in his mind.
He could never escape it.
*The reason why lightning shall always come with dark clouds... Every light must come with its own darkness.*
***Author's note***
Miss the first volume. This volume is growing to become a universe, less actions, more adventure, adult content, smut probably, love and conflict...