Ethan Cross stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his bedroom, watching the sun rise over the city he would one day rule. At sixteen, he possessed the kind of classical handsomeness that should have made him popular.
golden hair that caught the light like spun silk, emerald eyes that seemed to pierce straight through people, features carved with almost divine precision.
Yet his classmates instinctively avoided him, sensing something predatory beneath the perfect exterior.
They were right to be afraid.
"Show me again," he commanded, raising his hand to examine the ornate ring that had appeared on his finger three years ago, during the worst beating of his miserable childhood.
The ring pulsed with warm light, and suddenly the air before him shimmered like heat waves.
Images formed in the distortion—a young woman with gentle eyes and flowing hair, surrounded by spirits that bent toward her like flowers seeking sunlight. Rei Yoshida, the orphan girl who didn't know she held the power to bridge worlds.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" the ring's voice whispered directly into his mind, honeyed and persuasive. "Such potential. Such strength waiting to be awakened."
Ethan's jaw tightened as the vision shifted, showing Rei laughing with someone else—that insufferable student council president with her perfect life and perfect family. Sephy Keith, who drew attention like a magnet and had never known a moment's hardship.
"She's in the way," Ethan said flatly.
"Indeed." The ring's agreement carried a note of ancient malice. "The president pollutes her potential.
Rei was meant for greatness, but she allows herself to be diminished by inferior companionship."
The images changed again, showing possible futures: Rei at Ethan's side as he claimed his destiny, her spirit powers amplifying his own gifts, together ascending to heights that would make the gods themselves bow. But in each vision, Sephy's presence cast shadows over their triumph, her mundane heroics somehow stealing Rei's spotlight.
Ethan lowered his hand, and the visions faded. He moved to his desk, where photographs of Rei were arranged in careful chronological order—candid shots taken during his months of careful observation.
Rei feeding stray cats at the animal shelter. Rei studying in the library, unconsciously beautiful in her concentration. Rei walking home alone, unaware of the destiny that awaited her.
His favorite photo showed her crying after a particularly difficult exam, sitting alone on a park bench while rain soaked through her uniform. Even in distress, she'd been radiant. That was the moment Ethan had known she was meant to be his.
"The Cross family fortune opens many doors," he mused, tracing Rei's face in the photograph. "But money alone won't be enough."
The ring hummed with approval. "Your luck has been building, growing stronger each day. Watch."
As if summoned by the ring's words, Ethan's phone buzzed with a text from their homeroom teacher:
"Ethan, I've reviewed your latest exam. Exceptional work as always. See me after class about advanced placement opportunities."
Ethan smiled coldly. He'd barely glanced at that exam, filling in answers almost at random. But the ring's influence ensured that random chance bent in his favor, that his careless marks somehow formed brilliant responses, that his lazy essays read like works of genius.
"Lucky me," he said with bitter irony.
The ring had first appeared during his fourteenth birthday—not that anyone had bothered celebrating. His father's legitimate children had been opening expensive gifts in the main house while Ethan sat alone in the servant's quarters, nursing bruises from his latest "accident" with the older boys.
He'd been contemplating the bottle of pills he'd stolen from the medicine cabinet when golden light had filled the room.
"You don't have to endure this," the ring had whispered as it slid onto his finger. "You were meant for greater things than this petty cruelty."
That night, three of his worst tormentors had suffered a series of unfortunate accidents. Nothing fatal—the ring was subtler than that. But broken bones and sudden illnesses had a way of keeping bullies at bay.
Since then, his luck had been extraordinary. Test scores that defied his actual knowledge. Teachers who inexplicably favored him despite his obvious disinterest. Even his father had started acknowledging his existence, commenting on his "surprising academic improvement."
But the ring demanded payment for its gifts. It showed him visions of a greater destiny, whispered of power that could reshape the world, promised him everything he'd ever wanted. All he had to do was claim what was rightfully his.
And deal with anyone who stood in his way.
Ethan spread out printed photographs across his desk—surveillance shots showing Sephy's daily routines, her route to school, her favorite study spots. He'd been watching the student council president for months, learning her patterns, mapping her vulnerabilities.
"She has some martial arts training," he noted, studying an image of Sephy leaving what appeared to be a family training session. "But she's still human. Still fragile."
"Accidents happen," the ring suggested silkily.
Ethan nodded, already formulating plans. But first, he needed to get closer to Rei, to begin the delicate process of separating her from her friends. The ring's luck would help, but he needed to be smart about this. Subtle.
He pulled up Rei's volunteer schedule on his laptop—information obtained through a combination of social media stalking and carefully placed bribes. Every Tuesday and Thursday, she worked at the Sakura Animal Shelter on the outskirts of town. Away from school, away from her friends, vulnerable and alone.
"Tomorrow," he decided. "I'll need a reason to be there, something that won't seem suspicious."
The ring pulsed warmly. "A lost pet, perhaps? Something to make you seem caring, vulnerable. Girls like her respond to kindness."
Ethan's smile was sharp as a blade. He could do kindness.
He'd practiced it in mirrors until the expression looked genuine, studied videos of genuinely caring people until he could mimic their mannerisms perfectly.
The ring's luck would handle the rest, ensuring his performance hit all the right notes.
As he began planning his approach, Ethan felt that familiar surge of anticipation. Soon, Rei would see him as he truly was—not the bastard child dismissed by his family, not the outsider ignored by his classmates, but the chosen one destined for greatness.
And once Sephy Keith was removed from the equation, nothing would stand between him and his fate.
The ring pulsed with ancient satisfaction, and for just a moment, Ethan could swear he heard something like laughter echoing from its depths. But he pushed the sound aside, focusing instead on the photographs spread before him.
Tomorrow, everything would begin.