---
The man on the floor screamed.
The sound echoed in the empty warehouse, each cry like a knife scraping against my conscience.
But I couldn't stop.
Not yet.
I had the gun in my hand.
I could feel its coldness, the weight of it, like a constant reminder that this was no longer a choice.
It was a test.
Riven was watching me, standing in the shadows, his eyes gleaming with cold approval.
His presence loomed over me, pushing me forward, urging me to cross a line I wasn't sure I wanted to cross.
But I did.
I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the gunshot was deafening, but it didn't scare me.
What scared me was how easy it had been.
I didn't hesitate.
I didn't flinch.
The man on the floor went silent, the terror in his eyes slowly replaced by something else.
Shock.
I stood there, holding the gun, watching as his blood began to pool on the floor around him.
I didn't feel disgust.
I didn't feel remorse.
I felt... nothing.
---
Riven stepped forward, his gaze never leaving mine.
"You did well," he said, his voice low, approving.
I didn't respond.
I couldn't.
The room felt like it was closing in on me, the weight of the moment pressing down on me.
I wanted to breathe, to break free of the suffocating silence, but I couldn't move.
I was still staring at the man on the floor.
At the blood that was slowly spreading out, staining the concrete beneath him.
"Lesson six," Riven continued, his voice sharp.
"You now know what it feels like to pull the trigger. To end a life." He paused, his tone shifting.
"Now, you need to learn what it means to take control of your own."
---
The door creaked open again, and the tall, broad-shouldered man who had been silent until now stepped forward.
He was holding a thick, leather-bound book in his hands, the edges worn with use.
"This is the next phase," he said, his deep voice like gravel.
"It's time to teach you the art of manipulation."
---
My heart skipped a beat.
Manipulation?
I turned to face Riven, but he wasn't looking at me.
He was watching the man with the book, his expression unreadable.
"Go on," Riven said.
"Show him."
The man stepped forward, his hands steady as he placed the book on the table in front of me.
I glanced down at it, then back up at Riven.
"What's this?" I asked, confusion creeping into my voice.
Riven's lips curled into a faint, amused smile.
"It's your next lesson. The first step to becoming someone people fear."
---
The man opened the book, revealing pages filled with strange symbols and diagrams, written in a language I didn't recognize.
"Manipulation," the man said slowly, "is more than just getting people to do your bidding. It's about control — mental, emotional, physical. You need to learn how to read people, how to make them trust you, and then how to twist that trust into something you can use."
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"And how do I do that?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
The man smiled, a cruel twist of his lips.
"By understanding them. By becoming what they want. But more importantly, by never showing them who you really are."
---
I looked back at Riven.
His eyes were focused on me, intense, calculating.
"You're not just learning how to fight, to kill," he said, his voice cold.
"You're learning how to survive. How to control your own fate. And the only way to do that is to understand the game. To become a player, not a pawn."
---
The words hit me like a slap to the face.
It was all a game.
I had never thought of it like that.
But now, as I stood in the dimly lit warehouse with blood on my hands, I understood.
I was a part of something much bigger than myself.
And the only way out was through.
---
The man with the book looked at me, his gaze piercing.
"Lesson seven," he said softly.
"You need to learn to manipulate the truth."
---
I frowned, confused.
"Manipulate the truth?"
The man nodded, a dark gleam in his eyes.
"Everyone has secrets. Everyone hides something. But if you can find out what they're hiding, if you can twist their perception of the truth, you control them."
---
Riven stepped forward, his presence filling the room like a storm about to break.
"Lesson eight," he said, his voice low.
"Control is not just about taking. It's about withholding."
---
I didn't understand.
"Withholding?" I asked, my brow furrowing.
Riven gave a small, almost imperceptible smile.
"Yes. The more you withhold from someone, the more power you hold over them. The more you give, the weaker you become. Understand?"
---
I nodded, but the truth of it, the weight of it, didn't hit me until later.
---
The man with the book nodded in approval and stepped back.
"Lesson nine: Power is not always visible. It's not always in your hands, or in your words. Sometimes, it's in your silence."
---
I was starting to see the pattern now.
This was no longer just about survival.
It was about domination.
And I had only just begun to learn the rules of the game.
---
Riven's voice cut through the silence once more, his words sharp and final.
"Lesson ten," he said, "is simple. You never trust anyone."
---
The words hung in the air between us, like a threat, a promise.
I swallowed hard, the weight of everything crashing down on me.
---
I had crossed a line.
And there was no going back.
---
[End of Chapter 6]
---
---