CHAPTER 1: CRACKS IN THE FROZEN SNOW
The first sensation to hit me upon returning to reality wasn’t pain—it was a piercing cold. The sharp, bitter stench of chemical disinfectant rushed straight [more…]
Series: The Portrait of a Manipulator
CHAPTER 2: THE COLOREDLESS PAINTING
The fluorescent light above the garage beamed down onto the syringe in Julian’s hand. The metallic needle flashed with a cold, razor-sharp glint. I stood [more…]
CHAPTER 3: THE CLEANER IN THE SHADOWS
My sweet yet chilling whisper still hung in the suffocating air of the secret exhibition room. The slash-faced paintings scattered across the raw brick walls [more…]
CHAPTER 4: SHOWDOWN ON THE ICY SLOPE
The message had been sent three minutes ago. And the man beside me—the very one who had just embraced me and sworn to sacrifice himself—was [more…]
CHAPTER 5: THE MANIPULATOR’S PERFECT CANVAS
In the minus-twenty-degree cold, the only thing keeping my heart beating was not the instinct to survive, but the blazing fire of hatred burning to [more…]