CLEAVER OF SIN

Chapter 2: Hell Mode

Chapter 2: Hell ModeSunlight filtered gently through the windowpanes, casting a warm glow across the room. A boy lay beneath his duvet, peacefully asleep. Suddenly, a subtle twitch flickered across his eyelids.

Without warning, he eased himself upward from the bed, transitioning smoothly into a seated position. His eyes remained closed as he stretched languidly, still caught in the haze between sleep and wakefulness.

"A nice stretch," the boy murmured, his eyes fluttering open as the room slowly came into focus. Yet, he remained still, seated in stunned silence, a wave of confusion washing over him.

"How did I get here?" he whispered, his voice barely steady. Then, abruptly, he faltered, uncertainty deepening in his gaze.

’What happened to my bass voice?’ he wondered, fingers instinctively brushing his throat. His eyes roamed the room, sharply taking in every detail, every shadowed corner, as if

Pain.

It bloomed in his skull, violent and sudden.

He staggered, clutching his head with both hands as his knees buckled slightly. The urge to scream clawed at his throat, but he bit it back, forcing himself to stay silent.

Then, fragments.

Images began flashing in his mind like fractured memories stitched together by chaos. Scenes, faces, places he didn’t recognize, yet now somehow knew. A motion picture of someone else’s life unspooled violently behind his eyes.

Several agonizing minutes passed before the pain began to fade, then disappeared altogether, as suddenly as it had come. Ethan remained still, gasping softly for breath, his body trembling as he slowly pushed himself upright from his half-collapsed position.

His mind raced, reeling from the torrent of memories that had just been forced upon him.

They weren’t his, but now, somehow, they were.

He had just witnessed the life of the soul that once inhabited this body. Every experience, every moment, every scar etched into the consciousness now fused with his own. And what he saw left him stunned.

"You’ve got to be kidding me." Ethan murmured, his voice low, almost breathless with disbelief.

Gone was the ease and privilege of his former life, his days of comfort, laughter, and effortless success. What lay before him now was chaos. Betrayal. Blood. And a legacy riddled with danger.

It was as though fate had ripped him from Easy Mode and hurled him headfirst into Hell Mode, without warning, without reason, and without mercy.